1. Introductions: Why Does the Civil War Era Have a Hold on American Historical
Professor Blight introduces the historiographical challenges of the American Civil War and Reconstruction, examining core texts and the enduring national fascination with this pivotal era, including analyses of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Promissory Note" and Walt Whitman's "Democracy."
The Civil War and Reconstruction (HIST 119)
Professor Blight offers an introduction to the course. He summarizes some of the course readings, and discusses the organization of the course is discussed. Professor Blight offers some thoughts on the nature of history and the study of history, before moving into a discussion of the reasons for Americans' enduring fascination with the Civil War. The reasons include: the human passion for epics, Americans' fondness for redemption narratives, the Civil War as a moment of "racial reckoning," the fascination with loss and lost causes, interest in military history, and the search for the origins of the modern United States.
Seminar notes & discussion
No public seminar notes on this lecture yet.