AMS 2430 - INDIVIDUALISM AND COMMUNITY IN AMERICAN LIFE

credits: 3.0
Crosslisted/Same As: HIS 2430
Crosslisted/Same As (2): SOC 2430
AMS 2430-HIS 2430-SOC 2430 The history of American culture is in many ways the story of the struggle to reconcile two contending forces: to construct a society that does not smother the individual, and to nurture an individualism that does not destroy the society. Will introduce us to the terms of this struggle through texts drawn from the fields of fiction, poetry, drama, politics, sociology and popular culture. How the meanings of individualism and community have changed over the course of American history and how individual Americans have responded to conflicting demands of these two powerful forces will be considered. While the focus will be on the way in which these themes have been developed in the past, by the end of the term, will recognize in them the background to contemporary debates about the nature and future of America. Method of Instruction: Directed discussion. Method of Evaluation: Participation, three papers, and final exam. Meets *WEP Distribution Requirement.