AMST 4910
AMERICAN PERIOD SEMINAR:
POSTWAR AMERICA (1945-1968)
Fall 2014 (Wednesday, 7:10-10:00 pm)
Dr. David Gray
This course explores American politics, culture and society in the post-World
War II era (1945-1970). During this period, the United States underwent
significant social, political and cultural change. The major events of the era—the
shift to a postwar economy, the postwar consumer boom, the onset and
escalation of the Cold War, the American war in Vietnam and the growth of the
counterculture in the 1960s—altered the course of American society in
innumerable and permanent ways. We will use political events, popular culture
and social change as a lens into this transformative era. Why did mainstream
values and identities change so much during this period? How did advertising,
film noir, comics, anti-communist films, Rock ‘n’ Roll, the beat generation and
the counterculture shape these developments? How did shifting perceptions of
race, class, gender and sexuality influence American life and values? And, in
what ways do the era’s developments continue to inform American life today?
For more information e-mail Dr. David Gray at david.gray11@okstate.edu