The "Good War"

Course Description

In popular memory, then and since, it is, say many, the defining moment of the twentieth century, perhaps all the American experience. Between 1941 and 1945, the American people waged global war, an undertaking of unprecedented scale and urgency. After Pearl Harbor, the national will stiffened and at least for the duration, the story goes, Americans forgot their differences, rallied to the cause, and through their collective suffering and sacrifice saved the world. This was not just a necessary war; it was a good war fought against a palpable evil in a world reduced to rival spheres of right and wrong whose only acceptable end, "victory," justified any means however extreme. Virtue abroad, cohesion at home, and prosperity in the marketplace, the war united all three in a way previous Americans had only dreamed about and never achieved before or since. Small wonder, then, that over the years since 1945, in a world less simple and a society more divided, the memory of World War II has hardened into myth, the golden, "feel good" moment of rectitude, shared sacrifice, and uncomplicated moral triumph. This course is very much about that moment and the myth it established. Please note, it is not a military history of the Second World War, replete with situation maps, production figures, and casualty reports. It is instead a topical examination of the American experience at home and abroad, 1941-45. It focuses critically on five related subjects, each providing ample opportunity to examine the myth and memory of "Good War America," this pivotal moment in national and global history.

Code

AMS 545

Credits

3

Subject

AMS

Programs That Include This Course

• Graduate Certificate Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies
• Master's Master of Arts in American Studies