HIS 639 - History of the U.S. in World War II

Credits: 3

This course will cover the period from the rise of Nazi Germany and the expansion of Imperialist Japan to the surrender of Japan in 1945. Attention will be paid to the underlying causes of the war; the periods of conquest by the Axis powers; and the intervention of the U.S. following the attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. The class will examine the American role from 1941 to 1945 in the European Theater, in the Pacific Theater, and on the home front for the American people. Classes will include lectures, discussions, brief media excerpts, and at least one field trip to the new Patton Museum in South Hamilton. Readings will be drawn from both secondary and primary source materials including newspaper accounts of the period.