HST 104 - Reformers & Radicals in U.S. History

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement HU.
Meets Explore Core requirement (students beginning Fall 2024 and later): HS and RP
This course will examine Americans who, individually and in groups, offered radical alternatives to accepted patterns of social and political thought and behavior from early America to the twentieth century. Key questions will include: What have been the achievements and limitations of different approaches to effecting change in American culture and society? How have reformers and radicals been portrayed in works of art from fiction to film? Why has American culture valorized some radicals and vilified others? What can the ideas and actions of activists tell us about the broader contours of American history? About race, gender, and class in America? About social change? About justice?