HIST 248 War, Peace, Memory in America

This course offers a study of how the experience of war has shaped Americans' identities and definitions of citizenship. Themes include the incorporation of women into the military, gender roles, propaganda, PTS(D) and its precursors, veteran studies, and social movements for peace. Readings provide an investigation into how wars that Americans have fought are remembered in the collective memory, whether through national narratives, in the media, or in popular culture. These address whose histories are remembered and forgotten, the ways myths of war are created for political purpose, definitions of heroism, and how memories of war shift over time.