This is America: Reimagining the American Saga

Description

History offers us a framework to appraise the forces and conditions that have formed people’s shared experiences. Because of this, the histories we tell are often explanatory. They delineate how we arrived at this moment and tell us which people and what events were most consequential. But what happens when the people who look like you are not part of the story? Or if their inclusion amounts to cameos in support of a larger narrative that ultimately minimizes or ignores their contributions? This course reimagines American history by placing in the foreground the people and events often marginalized or forgotten in traditional appraisals of the past. Through a review of historical sources, literature, oral histories, and evidence found in popular culture, this class offers a more inclusive retelling of the American saga.