HIST 389 - The Global Cold War, 1917-1991

Credit Hours: 3

The Cold War was arguably the twentieth century’s most significant long-term conflict. This course takes an international perspective on its varied causes and consequences in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. We will explore diplomatic relations between several nations during this era and the many effects the Cold War had on these nations’ citizens, including the American military-industrial “complex,” the Soviet gulag, and “client” regimes in the developing world. Major topics will include U.S.-Soviet relations and nuclear diplomacy; wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Latin America; crises in Berlin, Budapest, Prague, and Cuba; decolonization and the rise of the “Third World”; “the containment doctrine”; espionage and McCarthyism; and the (surprising) end of the Cold War.