HIST 307 Happy Days? America 1946-1963

This course concentrates on the 1950's and encourages students to move beyond the stereotypes of Happy Days. Using movies, music, television, and written texts, the class will explore the tensions of the 50's, the era of overt repression and covert rebellion, stretching from the late 1940's to the early 1960's. Themes include: the Cold War and McCarthyism, early Rock 'n Roll, the Beats, the Bomb, civil rights protests, HUAC, the "feminine mystique," sexuality, and cultural icons such as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.