HIST 205 1968:The Year That Defined A Generation

Division of Liberal Arts

3 credits 45.0 hours
200 level undergraduate course

Was 1968 a revolutionary year? This course will examine the course and consequences of 1968 - a year-long crisis halfway between the end of the Second World War (1945) and the end of the Cold War (1991) - for the United States, Europe, and the Soviet Union. From Paris to Berlin, and from Washington to Chicago to San Francisco, mostly young citizens protested against American (“Tet”) and Soviet (“Prague”) hegemony in Europe, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, and demanded instead freedom, justice, and self-determination for all people. With this in mind, we will consider such questions as the connection between domestic and international forces; the role of the mass media in shaping the events of 1968; formal and informal activist networks across Europe, across the Atlantic, and across the world; the degree to which ideology (whether real or perceived) united or divided leaders, followers, and spontaneous movements; the diverse meaning of protest and its impact on class, age, gender, and racial relations; and, finally, the role that “1968” played in separating Western Europe from the U.S., producing new centers of power across the world, and contributing to the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Empire in 1991.

Prerequisites FYWT*101 or FYWT*112

This course is not repeatable for credit.
This course can fulfill a liberal arts elective or free elective requirement.