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HISTORY 375

THE COLD WAR - FROM WORLD WAR II TO END OF SOVIET EMPIRE

3-4 credits.

The Cold War was the first event to impact virtually all of humanity and left a lasting legacy that still shapes the current world order. Exploration of its conduct on five continents entails both a diversity of sources (film, fiction, documents, and memoir) and a range of topics (geopolitics, ideology, internationalism, empire, revolution, counterinsurgency, and covert operations). Its half-century history was marked by nuclear-armed stalemate and ideological competition in Europe, cultural politics of repression and generational revolt in America, interplay of anti-colonial nationalism and counterinsurgency in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and a succession of major wars worldwide in Korea, Vietnam, Angola, and Afghanistan. By adopting an international perspective that carries us beyond the narrow ambit of the Moscow-Washington rivalry, integrate diverse global forces and particular national histories for a fuller understanding of an ever-changing world system.

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Sophomore standing or 3 credits in HISTORY or INTL ST Course Designation: Core GenEd - Humanities & Arts Breadth - Humanities or Social Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Interpret primary sources Audience: Undergraduate 2. Develop a refined ability to critically analyze secondary sources Audience: Undergraduate 3. Merge a considered thesis, operational factors, and empirical evidence into a coherent analytical narrative Audience: Undergraduate 4. Edit their own prose for both grace and clarity Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Develop a perspective on how to incorporate primary sources in undergraduate teaching Audience: Graduate 6. Develop a foundation for teaching their own world history courses, which are a requirement for job placement in a growing number of colleges and universities Audience: Graduate 7. Develop a resonant sense of the extraordinary carrying capacity of historical narrative Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Interpret primary sources Audience: Undergraduate 2. Develop a refined ability to critically analyze secondary sources Audience: Undergraduate 3. Merge a considered thesis, operational factors, and empirical evidence into a coherent analytical narrative Audience: Undergraduate 4. Edit their own prose for both grace and clarity Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Develop a perspective on how to incorporate primary sources in undergraduate teaching Audience: Graduate 6. Develop a foundation for teaching their own world history courses, which are a requirement for job placement in a growing number of colleges and universities Audience: Graduate 7. Develop a resonant sense of the extraordinary carrying capacity of historical narrative Audience: Graduate

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