The Public in Conflict: War and American Society in the Long 20th Century - Semester 1 - HIS00218H

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Module summary

Throughout the long 20th century most of the American public only encountered war from a distance, in its mediated form. Through media channels including news, film, letters, and cartoons, among many others, Americans constructed their understanding of a conflict and their own personal role within it. In this module, we will examine war not primarily as a military concern, but rather as a social enterprise. We will do so by employing analytical lenses related to gender, class, race, and culture. Some of the questions we will consider include – how did military service define changing models of masculinity? What were the myriad labours women were assigned during wartime? What meanings did the iconic Rosie the Riveter carry, and how was motherhood mobilised to support the war effort, or to resist it? How did domestic race relations shape, and were in turn shaped by, military campaigns overseas? Why is the Vietnam War remembered as a ‘working class war’? How did consumerism come to represent a form of participation in the war, or in activities against it? And does the public’s lack of direct engagement in military labour and warfare make war more, or less likely?

The module moves chronologically from the Spanish-American War to the Iraq War, with the onset of the Cold War serving as the cut off point between semester 1 and semester 2. Beyond chronological linkage alone, terms and methods established in semester 1 will serve and inform our discussions in semester 2 as well. During our sessions, we will study a range of primary sources related to the arena of popular culture – including motion pictures, songs, cartoons, prose, as well as newspaper archives. Aside from the module readings, students will be required to analyse sources in various media both in preparation for class and in class.

Related modules

Students taking this module must also take the second part in Semester 2.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2024-25

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

• To introduce students to in depth study of a specific historical topic using primary and secondary material;
• To enable students to explore the topic through discussion and writing; and
• To enable students to evaluate and analyse primary sources.

Module learning outcomes

Students who complete this module successfully will:

• Grasp key themes, issues and debates relevant to the topic being studied;
• Have acquired knowledge and understanding about that topic;
• Be able to comment on and analyse original sources;
• Be able to relate the primary and secondary material to one another; and
• Have acquired skills and confidence in close reading and discussion of texts and debates.

Module content

Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1 and a 3-hour seminar in weeks 2-4, 6-8 and 10-11 of semester 1. Weeks 5 & 9 are Reading and Writing Weeks (RAW). Students prepare for and participate in eight three-hour seminars in all.

Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:

1. Gender and Race in the Spanish-American War
2. For the Benefit of Uncle Sam: State Propaganda During World War I
3. Possibilities and Constraints of Anti-War Dissent
4. The Tenets of the Citizen-Soldier Construct
5. The ‘Dear John’ and Women on the Homefront
6. What Soldiers Do Overseas and Back Home
7. Demobilization, Veteran Politics, and the Post-war Order
8. The Cold War as a Social Enterprise

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

For formative work, students will produce a text commentary.

The summative assessment will consist of two parts, to be submitted together:
a) Two text commentaries of 500-750 words; and
b) One 1,500-word essay.

The commentaries comprise 50% and the essay 50% of the overall mark for this module. Summative assessments will be due in the assessment period.

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Module feedback

Following their formative task, students will typically receive written feedback that will include comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission.

Work will be returned to students in their seminars and may be supplemented by the tutor giving some oral feedback to the whole group. All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their formative work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.

For summative assessment tasks, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 25 working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.

Indicative reading

For semester time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading:

• Bailey, Beth. An Army Afire: How the U.S. Army Confronted its Racial Crisis in the Vietnam Era. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 2023.
• Macleish, Kenneth T. Making War at Fort Hood: Life and Uncertainty in a Military Community. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
• Vuic, Kara Dixon. The Girls Next Door: Bringing the Homefront to the Front Lines. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2019.