HIST 1112 — US History: Civil War to Today
By exploring our shared past, we can shape a better future for the United States and its people. As students of the past, we investigate whose stories get told and whose stories have been left buried, ignored, or forgotten. Examining primary sources (things people created during their lives, for their own purposes) and secondary source claims (what “histories” say about that past) allows us to analyze how groups interacted in the past and how power affected individual lives and interactions from the Civil War toward the present. Individual and group analysis and critical thinking together get us closer to understanding the choices, limits, and options that controlled their visions of the possible. Students will develop vital skills in source evaluation and analysis as well as how to communicate historical knowledge about current issues with clarity and nuance.