79-249 On Screen: Film & Contemporary Themes in U.S. History
9 units, Carnegie Mellon University
This survey course covers the history of the United States from Reconstruction to today through by focusing on migration, race and ethnicity, and citizenship or national belonging. Chronologically organized, the course centers key themes and issues of social, economic, and political importance in both past and present. We will also explore how historical events and their documentation change in meaning and importance over time, and what forces and influences shape these realities. Overall, we will consider the causes, processes, and experiences shaping the arrival of different immigrant groups to the United States at different historical moments. More specifically, we will follow migrations of different groups of people, like African Americans, north and westward; European immigrants into coastal port cities and beyond; Mexican bracero workers into agricultural industries; Chinese laborers work experiences in diverse economic settings; and more. We will apply critical lenses toward movements like Americanization and try to understand different groups of citizens' divergent experiences with national belonging. We will also interrogate the logics, values, and symbols that shaped ideas regarding ethnic, racial, class, and gender difference, particularly as they were used to characterize difference regarding citizenship.
Prerequisites: none listed
Offered: Spring 2027, Fall 2026, Fall 2025
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