JINS 383 - Years of Change: 1968 (template course)

Social-cultural change, like its analog in the natural world, is not always a linear process. Most of the important changes are relatively sudden, catastrophic, chaotic and wasteful. The status quo endures, while, unnoticed, pressures build, and the resulting tectonic event distorts or destroys institutions. Destabilized governments often react violently. A Machiavellian desire for order is opposed to the forces of change, and a sharp polarization creates new social geographies that may last for generations. 1968 was such a year. We explore the motivations of the major figures involved, their successes and failures, and the new social algorithm that emerged as expressed politically, in the literature and music of the time here in the U.S., and its surprising impact worldwide.

Prerequisite: Junior status.
Credits: 3
NOTE:
* This course fulfills the Junior Interdisciplinary Writing-Enhanced Seminar Interconnecting Perspective of the Liberal Studies Program.
** This course counts toward the 63-credit Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) graduation requirement.
*** This is a writing-enhanced course.