Introduction to American Society
Lecturer: Dušan Fischer
Course Description
The purpose of the course will be to take hold of American Society by defining what is “society”
and what is “American” throughout the course. The narrative will begin with the story of the first
settlers in North America before it called itself the US of A. The classes will describe and analyze
how the American Society was born, raised, and developed in the last three centuries. The
emphasis of the first part of the course will be placed on the birth of a nation and will cover the
historical part of the society. The second half will focus more on current topics and issues which
frequently arise in the history and today. This course will presume no background in the
American society or its political system.
Course Objectives
After passing the course, students will be competent to characterize American Society and will be
fully capable of discussing some of the most stressing problems today. By relying on primary as
well as secondary sources the students will examine the texts within the era in which they were
created and they will manage to link some of their impact with today’s America.
Course Readings
The class will rely immeasurably on the primary sources and will be only supported by the
secondary writings. The intention of the class is for the students to comprehend the historical
context of the writings and find similarities within today’s society. All readings will be submitted
electronically prior to the first session and all of them are to be completed before the session for
which they are assigned. Apart from textbooks, readings will also include movies, documentaries,
episodes of TV shows, and chapters from fictional books. All readings are subject to change.
Keep yourself updated
Since we will be discussing contemporary events in the United States it is important, if not
essential, to know the issues being discussed today and to be updated on debate on politics and
social issues. We will begin each class with a short preview of what occurred during the
preceding week. To keep up with the stories I recommend you to continuously track the U.S.
news channels and newspaper websites. I suggest to read regularly in The New York Times, The
Washington Times, The Washington Post, The Weekly Standard, The Economist (United States
section). Plus in this day and age, you can find PBS Newshour and NBC Nightly News with Brian
Williams on YouTube and respective websites. You do not have to be an Internet genius to be
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able to find some news, really. To add some amusement to it, follow the infotainment shows like
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report (both Mon-Thu on Comedy Central), and
Real Time with Bill Maher (Fridays on HBO). Be careful not to get distracted by their humor and
satire. They often discuss very serious issues right to the point. Those of you who really like to
laugh about (or at rather) serious stuff watch anything on Fox News.
Attendance Policy
All classes are mandatory. A note of absence, be it from a doctor or any other authority desirable
to be delivered via e-mail or handed as soon as possible after the examination / doctor’s
appointment. Two missing classes may be excused based on the note and reason of the absence.
Evaluation and Grading
Here comes the fun part. Students will be required to deliver one short PowerPoint or Prezi (or
any other tool) presentation in front of the class on a pre-selected primary source related to the
current class. Technical details about the presentation will be addressed during the introductory
class. The final evaluation will be a short paper written in the form of an essay during the final
class. Technical details on the essay will be delivered and agreed on during the semester.
Course Outline
1. Intro
 Introductory remarks
 Myths and stereotypes about America and Americans
 Required readings: None (don’t want to scare you right from the beginning  Just
think of some of your most favorite / least favorite stereotypes about the U.S. and
your country)
2. Puritans, Puritans Everywhere
 Colonial and post-colonial era
 First settlers
 Religion and society
 Required readings: John Winthrop: A Model of Christian Charity; Ken Hopper,
Will Hopper: The Puritan Gift
3. Origins of the Union
 American Revolution
 Declaration of Independence
 Equality of “all men”
 The Philadelphia Convention
 Required readings: Declaration of Independence, The Articles of the
Confederation, U.S. Constitution
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4. More perfect Union and Reconstruction
 Civil War
 South v. North
 post-bellum euphoria
 Required readings: Lincoln’s House Divided Speech and Gettysburg Address
 Voluntary watchings: Lincoln (2012)
5. Origins of the Foreign Policy to WW II
 Schools of US foreign policy
 Isolationism, Interventionalism
 Required readings: George Washington’s Farewell Address, John Quincy Adams
July 4th Speech, The Monroe Doctrine, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Declaration
of War
6. Cold War Dimension
 Euphoria v. Stress
 1950s Levittown
 East v. West
 Good v. Evil
 “Duck and Cover”
 Required readings: The Truman Doctrine, The Marshal Plan Speech
 Voluntary watchings: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), I love Lucy (1951-57),
Red Dawn (1984), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Rocky IV (1985)
7. 11/9 to 9/11 to post-9/11
 The ‘90s!
 L.A. riot
 Scandals
 End of history
 Required readings: Patrick J. Buchanan – 1992 Republican National Convention
 Voluntary watchings: 25th Hour (2002)
8. The Power of Race
 Slavery in the 19th century
 Abolitionists
 Afro-American movement in the 20th century
 Racism today
 Affirmative Action
 Required readings: Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have a Dream speech, Letter from
a Birmingham Jail
9. The Power of Media
 Media left to right
 Media in times of crises
 Required readings: Piers Robinson: The CNN Effect: Can the News Media Drive
Foreign Policy?
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10. The Power of Politics
 Checks-and-Balances
 Government branches
 Party system
 Elections
 Fictionalization of U.S. politics
 Required readings: George W. Bush 2001 Inaugural Address, Barack Obama
2009 Inaugural Speech, The U.S. Constitution (yes, again)
 Voluntary watchings: Veep, House of Cards, The West Wing
11. The Power of Lobby
 Lobby groups
 Pressure groups
 Interest groups
 Foreign and domestic policy
 Required readings: Federalist No. 10
 Voluntary watchings: Thank You For Smoking, Casino Jack, Fast Food Nation
12. Where Are We Going, What Do We Want?
 American society today
 Migration – back to the beginnings
 Reflexion and recollection of the course
13. FINAL EVALUATION
Please note that the above mentioned course outline is subject to change due to unexpected events.
Skipped classes will be most definitely postponed to a different time slot.
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