HIST 521AU.S. in the 1960s

Catalog

HIST 521A - Revolution & The Founding Professor Robert Parkinson Fall 2025 Course Description: This reading intensive graduate seminar explores the historiography of the era of the American Revolution. By reading both recent and classic interpretations of the war for Independence and the founding of the United States, this class will combine an analysis of trends in historical writing and research with a close examination of the problems related to the economic, social, political, cultural, and legal developments of late eighteenth-century America. Specific concerns include the relative revolutionary character of the Revolution, the causes and consequences of the war for Independence, the relationship between social conflict and ideas in the formation of legal institutions, the imperial and Atlantic aspects of revolutionary America, and the comparative importance of religion, ideology, and class conflict in the political developments of the era. In addition to active participation in discussion, each student will be responsible for leading a discussion of a particular reading of the week, and for writing an extensive historiographical paper.