Manifest Destiny Abroad, Social Darwinism at Home: The Politics of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina

Catalog description

The attacks of September 11, 2001 presented the United States with one of its most challenging foreign policy crises in its history. On the other side, Hurricane Katrina was the largest natural – and some say man-made – disaster in its history. Occurring within five short years of one another, some say that 9/11 and Katrina have changed the United States in fundamental ways of which we are just beginning to see the effects. Others argue that these two events have actually exposed the “true” nature of American politics and culture. How have 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina changed American politics? This course will examine these two events and seek to place them in a historical context by analyzing American foreign policy and domestic policy pre- and post-9/11 and Katrina.