The Global Sixties (HIST*3440)

Code and section: HIST*3440*01

Term: Winter 2023

Instructor: Alan McDougall

Details

Course Format: 

The class will take place in person, with a mixture of lectures and seminar discussions.

Course Synopsis:  

This course examines the political, social, and cultural history of the twentieth century’s most contested decade: the sixties. It adopts global perspectives to ask how and why the sixties mattered in the development of the modern world. A diverse range of themes will be covered, from the political controversies stirred up by the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, decolonization in Africa, Mao’s Cultural Revolution, and 1968 to the social and cultural changes occasioned by the birth control pill, the Beatles, and television. Each week’s classes will focus on a single theme, combining a short lecture with seminar discussions based on assigned readings (and sometimes viewings).

Methods of Evaluation and Weights:

Class contributions: 30%
Short assignments (2): 30% (15% each)
Essay plan: 5%
Essay: 35%         

Texts and/or Resources Required:

• Gerard DeGroot: The Sixties Unplugged (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008).
• Additional readings will be available on the HIST*3440 Courselink site.

**Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.**