Global 1960s: Youth in Revolt

Catalog description

This class focuses on the 1960s in a global context, with a particular emphasis on Europe, Latin America, and the United States. We will trace the rise of mass movements dedicated to racial, economic, and sexual justice, against the backdrop of the Cold War and decolonization. We will first examine the structural developments of the postwar years that allowed the protest movements to develop. We will then turn to particular sites of protest, including Berkeley, Paris, Berlin, Chicago, Prague, and Mexico City, in order to gain an understanding of how these specific events were embedded in contingent national histories, discussions about identity, and positions in the geography of the Cold War. Key themes of the course that permeated all of these uprisings include civil rights, anti-war agitation, student protest, and counter-cultural experiences. Arguably just as important as the "new social movements" growing out of the 1960s were "conservative" responses taking shape during the 1970s. Thus our course will examine both the progressive and the conservative legacy of the global 1960s.