Pow! Bam! Zap! Modern American History Through Comic Books

Catalog description

What role did comic books play in Modern American History? From the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries comic books have both reflected and shaped American culture and society. How can studying superheroes help us understand gender roles or economic inequality? What role did comics perform as tools of propaganda during World War II or the Cold War? How did American comics compare to images disseminated by other belligerent nations? What can investigating military-issued comics tell us about how the government viewed race and ethnicity? Throughout the semester, students will examine how comic books illuminated major issues such as nationalism, sexism, discrimination, civil rights, capitalism, environmental protection, and the United States position in the world.