GENED 1133. Is the U.S. Civil War Still Being Fought?

Instructor: John Stauffer
TBD | Location: TBD

How and why does the U.S. Civil War continue to shape national politics, laws, literature, and culture---especially in relation to our understanding of race, freedom, and equality?

Most of us were taught that the Civil War (which most Northerners called a "Rebellion") was fought on battlefields chiefly in the American South between the years of 1861-1865. In this narrative, the North won and the South lost. But what if the issues were never resolved? What if the war never ended? This course analyzes the ways in which the United States is still fighting the Civil War, arguably THE defining event in U.S. culture. In each class, we connect current events to readings and themes from the past, highlighting how and why the war is still being fought. From Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in 1831 to the riot (or battle) in Charlottesville and the seditious conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 presidential election results, we explore the ways in which the South has won the war, even though the Rebellion was destroyed and the Constitution radically altered. We explore the different kinds of war—ideological, political, cultural, military, and para-military—that placed the unfreedom of blacks—as slaves, serfs, and prisoners—at the center of larger conflicts over federal versus state and local rule; welfare; globalization; and "free trade." We analyze the Civil War in literature, art, politics, photography, prints, film, music, poetry, speeches, and history, while also discovering how these cultural forms worked to shape our memory of the event itself. We will on occasion have guest speakers. By the end of the course, we will be able to understand how and why contemporary U.S. debates are rooted in this defining narrative, and we will better understand the dilemmas the nation faces today.

This course satisfies the “1700-1900 Guided Elective" requirement for English concentrators and Secondary Field students.