Course Info

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Course Info for AMST - 285 - 01, Fall 2023
Class number: 3252 Title: Born in Blood Department: American Studies
Career: Undergraduate Component: Lecture Session: Regular
Instructor's Permission Required: No Grading Basis: Regular Units: 1.00
Enrollment limited to 49 Current enrollment: 30 Available seats: 19
Start date: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 End date: Thursday, December 21, 2023 Mode of Instruction: In Person
Schedule: MW: 2:55PM-4:10PM, MC - AUD Instructor(s): Gac, Scott
Prerequisite(s): None
Distribution Requirement: Meets Humanities Requirement
Course Description:
This course explores the formations and functions of violence in the United States from 1754 to 1900. It investigates government (federal, state, and local) and individuals-and the intersection of the government and the individual-regarding military bodies, access to weapons, and legal and extralegal violent activities. Using figures from the well-known (George Washington or Abraham Lincoln) to the lesser known (Hannah Dustan or Robert Smalls), the class questions the limits and boundaries of American violence according to race, class, and gender. In the end, students will debate whether violence belongs aside liberty, democracy, freedom, and equality in the pantheon of American political and cultural ideals.