War as a Metaphor in Modern America 4219-SB037
Course topics may include:
Wars Hot
The Cold War
Politics as war
War on Poverty
The War on Terror
The surveillance state
The War on Drugs
Race Wars
The war on Labor
Culture Wars
The war on science
Climate change
Teaching evolution
The war on religion
The war on Christmas
The war on the tradition family
The war on women
Course coordinators
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
By the conclusion of this course, students will have
a general understanding of how war rhetoric functions in contemporary American political, cultural, and social debates
an overview of how war has shaped American society in the 20th century
Skills
By the conclusion of this course, students will develop skills in
researching the contemporary expression of America’s culture wars
analyzing popular culture for expression of the culture wars
communicating in good English prose the results of that research
Competences
By the conclusion of this course, students will be
sensitized to the way war functions as a metaphor in contemporary American society
aware of the key issues dividing Americans culturally and politically
able to make comparisons with other nations
Assessment criteria
Assignments include a research paper (50%), online forum contributions (30%), and in class oral presentations (20%).
Bibliography
Reading assignments may be selected from the following:
Suid, Guts and Glory
Dower, War without Mercy
Koppes and Black, Hollywood Goes to War
Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War
Hunter, Culture Wars
Mooney, The Republican War on Science
Films may be selected from the following:
Why We Fight
Fruitvale
White Dog
The Big Red One
Salt of the Earth
The War Room
Primary Colors
Gettysburg
Hearts and Minds
Inherit the Wind
Flag of Our Fathers
Citizenfour
For the most current version of the syllabus, consult the COME platform.