Great Books in US History?

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Why were certain books about US history once considered pathbreaking and essential? Do they still deserve that status today? As a way of studying the history of our discipline, this seminar will discuss major works by such scholars as Frederick Jackson Turner, Charles Beard, W.E.B. DuBois, Richard Hofstadter, Gerda Lerner, and Patricia Limerick as well as past and recent critiques of their work and divergent interpretations of the same subjects.