HIST 005B. Modern American History

The history of the 20th- and 21st-century United States has been marked by the tension between the ideal of democracy and the expansion of American empire. Through analysis of primary and secondary sources, including film, music, images, and literature, this course surveys American history from the end of Reconstruction to the recent past. We will focus on the development of the “American century” and examine how the emergence of the U.S. as a world power has influenced domestic politics and social movements.
Recommended for teacher certification.

Concentration: Domination and Resistance, Empires and Nations
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for Concentration: Domination and Resistance, Empires and Nations
Spring 2026. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history

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