The History of Drugs in America

Undergraduate

Virtually every American today “does” drugs. As a nation, our drug use ranges from everyday activities, such as drinking coffee or beer, to combating illnesses with prescription medications, to using illegal drugs for recreation. This course follow a loose chronology beginning in the early twentieth century and ending in the present day. Instead of focusing on the biography of a single drug, or class of drugs, this course incorporates a wide range of substances, including alcohol, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, psychedelics, and narcotics. Through a selection of essays, book chapters, and primary source material, we discuss how certain ways of using and selling drugs have been sanctioned and encouraged, while others have been pathologized as addiction or criminalized. We explore how drug definitions are constructed, how they shift over time, and how they reflect, reinforce, and sometimes challenge anxieties about race, disability, sexuality, and gender. Throughout the course, films, images, music, and television episodes are also presented as objects of analysis to provide insight into the cultural lives of drugs. We explore how historians approach this subject, assess their sources and assumptions, and consider the choices they have made in researching and writing. Students are expected to apply these historical lessons to the present and demonstrate the ability to think and write critically about the history of drugs. Students previously enrolled in HSHM 488, The History of Drugs in 20th Century America, are not eligible to enroll in this course. HU , SO 0 Course cr HTBA