May 19, 2024  
2023-2024 Course Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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HIST 2043 - United States Since 1945

Credits: 3
Hours/Week: Lecture 3 Lab 0
Internship hours per week 0
Course Description: This course focuses on the social, political, cultural, and economic history of the United States from World War II through the present, exploring the major events, figures, ideas, and movements during that time.  Recurring themes include protest and reform movements, transformations in American capitalism, the expansion of the government, democratization and backlash, interventions abroad, and the effect of new technologies. 
MnTC Goals
5 History/Social/Behavioral Science, 9 Ethical/Civic Responsibility

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1020  with a grade of C or higher OR ENGL 1021  with a grade of C or higher.
Corequisite(s): None
Recommendation: None

Major Content
  1. The Effects of the Depression and World War II
  2. Cold War Politics at Home and Abroad
  3. American Affluence and Its Limits
  4. Civil Rights Movements
  5. Liberal Reforms
  6. Cold War Interventions in the Global South
  7. Sex, Gender, and Rights Revolutions
  8. Deindustrialization, Globalization, and Economic Crisis
  9. Conservative and Backlash Movements
  10. Demographic Change and the Politics of Diversity
  11. Oil, Terror, and the Middle East
  12. American Life in the Internet Age
  13. Political Polarization and the Culture Wars
  14. Conflicts over the Criminal Justice System

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students will be able to:

  1. interpret the history of the United States since 1945 by making connections between significant events, people, movements, and ideas in the past.
  2. use historical thinking to make connections between the history of the United States and the present.
  3. apply the standards of historical evidence and credibility while using diverse sources.  
  4. formulate a historical argument.
  5. explain their civic and ethical responsibilities with respect to contemporary social issues and political ideas. 

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC): Goals and Competencies
Competency Goals (MnTC Goals 1-6)
05. 01. Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
05. 02. Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
05. 03. Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.

Theme Goals (MnTC Goals 7-10)
09. 03. Analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal, social, and scientific issues.
09. 04. Recognize the diversity of political motivations and interests of others.
09. 05. Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.



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