TOPIC:  AMERICAN HISTORY/AMERICAN CULTURE:  THE CONSTRUCTION OF
NATIONAL IDENTITY

For most of us, history is comprised of an intractable set of facts,
dates, and battlefields we learn about either in high school or
through travel with parents on interminable family road trips.  Our
history is passed down to us through textbooks, national holidays, and
cultural landmarks.  The purpose of this course will be to examine the
ways in which the history we "know" is both constructed by and
constructs our cultural and national identities.  Readings will range
from analyses of American history and the creation of historic
narratives to representations of American history in contemporary film
and fiction.  During the course of the semester, we will examine
everything from the creation of American ideologies and national
narratives to the place of American history in late twentieth-century
popular culture.  In particular, we will examine how we, as American
citizens, participate in the construction of our own national and
cultural identities.