Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Romance Languages and Literatures
HIST 15A: The Challenge of Making America Modern
Course Instructor: Lizabeth Cohen
Before and after World War II, and with greater intensity thereafter, Americans anticipated building a modern society of shared material prosperity and political equality. In particular, a well-paid working class was promised a middle-class lifestyle of home ownership, consumer abundance, and increasing leisure. Towards this goal, new highways, housing developments, shopping malls, and chain stores transformed the American physical landscape. The results, however, were mixed, varying according to people’s race, gender, occupation, and location. And by the last quarter of the 20th century, as the nation deindustrialized and a low-paying service sector expanded, inequalities grew, with significant economic, social, and political impacts. This seminar will explore these themes through primary and secondary sources. Students will investigate aspects of the topic in their own research papers.