The Civil War in American Memory

Catalog description

The Civil War remains among the most venerated and contested stories in American history. This course explores those dueling narratives from the war's origins, its long afterlife, through to today. We will ask several key questions. Why was the war fought? When did it begin and end? Was the Confederate cause noble? Did the North oppose slavery? What was the meaning of freedom then? How does a nation attempt racial justice? What does it mean to fly the Confederate flag or erect a Confederate monument? How does a divided nation reckon with a legacy it cannot quite agree on? Tackling these and more from before, during, and after the Civil War (1861-1865), we will grapple with why it was and is a defining event in the past and present of multiracial democracy in the United States. You will gain hands-on experience with sources historians use to study the Civil War era while developing skills in critical thinking and communication to apply to a wide variety of problems. We will discuss and explore a struggle that consumed the physical and social lives of countless people in the mid-1800s as we attempt to understand America's ongoing memory war. This course is open to all students and does not require any prerequisites. Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/