HIST 380 - The History of the American Dream

Credit Hours: 3

Traces the evolution of the concept of the American Dream from the time of the nation’s founding to the present day. Examining elite culture and political views as well as individual perspectives, the course investigates populations who enjoyed easy access to benefits of the Dream as well as those who found the Dream elusive or unfulfilling. Establishing the Dream as a flexible ideal, interpreted and reinterpreted across generations, this course allows students to develop an argument about the Dream’s core components through the exploration of primary source evidence.