HIST 3414A: The United States in the World
Winter 2025
Instructor: Professor Candace Sobers
Since the founding of the Republic, questions of national identity and America’s role in the world have occupied policymakers and ordinary Americans alike. As Americans once again (re)negotiate their nation’s place in the world, this course encourages students to have a critical and nuanced understanding of American power today by examining the ways in which America has constructed its image and projected its power in the past.
This course will encourage a thematic approach to American foreign relations history, addressing such issues as: multiple notions of empire and expansion, the spread of American cultural and economic influence, and the relationship between business interests and government. In particular, this course will pay special attention to the role of culture, ideology, and ideas in the formation of foreign policy, and in American attitudes towards themselves and towards others. Students enrolled in this course should already be familiar with the broad outlines of US history. An understanding of international history and international relations is an asset.