Cultures of the Cold War

Catalog description

The Cold War is often framed as a historical conflict between two competing geopolitical blocs, but it impacted the lives of many people throughout the world. This class explores how literature and culture shaped and was shaped by the Cold War, in American and some non-American contexts. How did Cold War cultures interact with state funding, the development of new sciences and technologies, and weaponized ideology? How did writers, intellectuals, artists, and activists -- state-sponsored and/or dissident -- navigate Cold War pressures and divides? We will begin with Hiroshima and the several forms of American anticommunism, and proceed from containment culture to countercultures, decolonization movements, and the environmental movement. Topics of study may include intelligence (espionage), advertising (publicity), civil rights, and the public questioning of gender roles. We will also engage with films, music, and painting, and possibly more recent works and new media. (ENGL-LOA, ENGL-PST)