Full Syllabus: Pol S 487 - Civil War Syllabus - Spring 2021.pdf
The theme for this honors seminar is "The American Civil War: Its Meaning and Legacy in U.S. Politics." Subjects will include slavery in the U.S. Constitution; the sectional conflict; the political thought of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln; the secession crisis; emancipation as a political and social process; gendered divisions of labor in the conduct of the war; Reconstruction and the conflict over voting rights; the legacies of slavery and the endurance of white supremacy; and the Civil War in American memory. Students will read a mix of historical narratives, primary historical sources, and social scientific studies. The course will culminate in a 15-20 research paper on a topic of your choosing.