Reagan and Madonna. The United States in the 1980s 4219-SH0051
Introduction and overview of course objectives and scope. Course literature and requirements.
Introduction to the 1980s: economy, politics, society, and international relations. Ronald Reagan.
The 1980 election: analysis of Democratic and Republican platforms and campaign advertisements; campaign rhetoric.
Reagan’s foreign policy: the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe.
Reagan and the Soviet Union; the Cold War and its conclusion.
The US economy in the 1980s.
Social changes: labor unions, the working class, and the consequences of Reaganomics.
Madonna and the popular culture of the decade; Bruce Springsteen.
Film, television, and global American culture; *Rambo*.
The culture wars.
The War on Drugs.
The significance of Ronald Reagan and America’s place in the world.
George H.W. Bush’s America.
Reagan and religion—and its political significance.
Final test.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Outcomes of the course:
in the field of knowledge:
1. will have knowledge about the period discussed
2. will be able to explain the relationships between the socio-economic and political phenomena of the period discussed
3. will notice the international conditions of the phenomena and changes taking place in the USA
4. will know the directions of development and evolution of the United States in the national and international dimension.
in the area of skills:
1. will be able to explain the causes and dynamics of phenomena occurring in the United States
2. analyze cultural processes and phenomena occurring in the United States correctly using normative systems
3. identify, describe social phenomena and manifestations of social culture in the United States using basic theoretical and methodological tools from the field of sociological sciences,
as well as formulate and solve research problems in this area
4. communicate on American studies topics related to the United States using specialized terminology in English and using advanced information and communication techniques
in the field of competences:
1. use acquired, interdisciplinary knowledge in the field of American studies on the United States to formulate their own opinions, and recognize its importance in solving cognitive and practical problems
2. critically receive content about the United States transmitted by the media and other environments
3. will be aware of the role of events from the period discussed for the contemporary United States.
Assessment criteria
The following elements will make your final grade
1. Participation - 35%
2. Paper 1 - 25 %
3. Paper 2 - 25 %
4. Presentation 15 %
Your grade will depend upon the above.
Letter grade equivalencies:
5= 95-100;
A- = 90 - 94;
4+ =85- 89;
4 = 88- 83;
4- = 72 - 78
3+= 77 - 73;
3 = 72 - 68;
3- = 67 - 63;
Fail = below 62.
Your papers are due in mid-Novemeber and mid-December. The exact dates will be specified later. Please do not be late. I am willing to discuss your paper grade if necessary.
Paper:
1. Your paper must be related to the class. It should cover various aspects of American social history of the 19th century. Topics will be assigned.
2. The paper should be structured. Please include the title of your paper. This will help you in writing and giving it a proper structure and it will help me in better evaluating and grading
your paper.
3. The paper should contain an opening paragraph with clearly stated point (thesis) that you present and „defend”. It should also contain a clear conclusion.
4. The simplest structure of the paper is below:
a. opening paragraph with your main point
b. The body of the paper - this part should contain your arguments for your main point.
Preferably three or four arguments should be included. Each argument should be in the form of paragraphs. Paragraphs should be documented (supported with notes).
c. Conclusion should support your main point.
This structure represents a typical descriptive paper.
If you would like to write a more advanced paper, discussing the problem, it is advised to add counterarguments to your arguments. In this situation your paper may look like this:
a. opening paragraph with your main point
b. the body - arguments supporting your point and arguments against. Each argument is in the form of paragraphs, but in this case the paragraphs should contain points for and against a given point.
Bibliography
Provided the instructor
Literatura w języku angielskim:
Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Matthew R. Costello, Mourning the Presidents. Loss and Legacy in American Culture, UNiversity of Virginia Press 2003.
Robert Collins, Transforming America: Politics and Culture During the Reagan Years, Columbia University Press 2007.
Jefferson Cowie, Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class, The New Press 2010.
Wilbur Edel, Defenders of the Faith. Religion and Politics from the Pilgrim Fathers to Ronald Reagan, New York 1987.
Jeremy Hatfield, For God and Country. The Religious Right, the Reagan Administration, and the Cold War, Hatfield, Jeremy accepted dissertation 04-01-13 Sp 13.pdf (1.45 MB)
Address to the National Association of Evangelicals ("Evil Empire" Speech), 03/08/1983, Downloadable mp4
A Companion to Ronald Reagan, ed. by Andrew L. Johns, Wiley Blackwell 2015
Osgood, Selling War in a Media Age. The Presidency and the Public Opinion in the American Century, The University Press of Florida 2010
Doug Rossinow, The Reagan Era. A History of the 1980s, Columbia University Press 2015
Graham Thompson , The American Culture in the 1980s, Edinburgh University Press 2007
What Gorbachev Heard, End of Cold War, NATO Eastwards Expansion,
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early
Republican Platform 1980,
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1980
Republican Platform 1984
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1984
You Tube presidential advertisements, https://livingroomcandidate.org/
1980 https://livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1980
1984 https://livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984