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SoSe 23: The American and Other Revolutions

Jessica Gienow-Hecht

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Topic: Revolutions are never orderly nor straightforward. Yet that’s the image we often get when perusing textbook information on the American Revolution. Taking what is likely one of the most studied events in U.S. history, this course revisits the notion of revolution of 1776 as an orchestrated and controlled episode in the name of liberty and liberalism. Instead, it stresses the social, political, diplomatic and economic chaos on both the local and the international level as well as the cross-border impetus for rebellious behavior framing the half-century between the mid-18th century and the Hawaiian Revolution, in 1804. Based on secondary and primary source material, we will encounter slaves and masters, patriots and loyalists, partisans and land owners and examine both their views of and experience in what has commonly become known as the “Age of Revolutions.” Course: This B.A. orientation seminar will take you out of the classroom (digital or real), to your most favorite spot for reading (the sofa? The café?), and around the world to explore the U.S. American Revolution in an international context. This is an intensive study of the political, cultural, and social history of the U.S. Revolution, with an emphasis on both the ideas, events but also emotions of revolution, in and outside of Boston and the U.S. since the 1750s. The class includes virtual field trips to historic sites, archives, libraries, and museums. Readings: In the course of this course, we will read Alan Taylor’s voluminous American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 (2017) and I recommend that students obtain their own copy. Average reading per week is about 50-60 pp. If you want more, take a peek at Jill Lepore’s These Truths (2018, see the relevant chapters), David Armitage’s Declaration of Independence: A Global History (2008) as well as Richard Brown & Benjamin Carp’s Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791 (2013). Requirements: Class participation; engagement with the weekly texts and uploading of a weekly “précis” (5-8 lines) based on the readings to Blackboard (24 hours prior to class); research and discussion of a specific topic/primary source. No more than two no-shows/submissions are acceptable; there will be no reminders for students who have failed to submit material in time. For extra credit, please consult with the instructor. close