Through the twentieth century, American culture took on new forms and meanings, spurred by technological innovation, commerce, and institutions, and shaped by an ever-changing population. In the process, American culture became self-consciously 'modern'-embraced, contested, repudiated, and continually redefined. This course explores the history of American culture from the 1890s to the 1990s, with a focus on the following questions: Why did culture become such an important part of American economic, social, and political life in the twentieth century? How has culture been created, understood, and mobilized by different groups in American society at different times? What have been the politics of culture over the twentieth century? Topics include the rise of 'culture industries' and mass entertainment, including amusement parks, film, radio, and television; the growth of consumer culture; the impact of gender in such arenas as sports and fashion; the role of working-class peoples, African Americans, and immigrants in American culture; the cultural response to the Depression and World War II; and popular activism. The course emphasizes the study of primary documents-journalism, fiction, letters and diaries, music, photographs, and film-as a means of understanding the past.

A broad overview of American economic history will be provided by focusing on the following topics: European colonization of the western hemisphere; mercantilism and the British Economy; the economics of slavery; metro-industrialization; agricultural expansion and technological innovation in the nineteenth century; the growth and role of credit institutions; financial panics and business cycles; the evolution of federal government interventions into the economy; women and work; the dynamics of mass consumerism; the Great Depression and the New Deal; political economic shifts in post-World II America; forms of globalization; deindustrialization; the "financialization" of the American economy; and the economic disorders of our own times.

A broad overview of American economic history will be provided by focusing on the following topics: European colonization of the western hemisphere; mercantilism and the British Economy; the economics of slavery; metro-industrialization; agricultural expansion and technological innovation in the nineteenth century; the growth and role of credit institutions; financial panics and business cycles; the evolution of federal government interventions into the economy; women and work; the dynamics of mass consumerism; the Great Depression and the New Deal; political economic shifts in post-World II America; forms of globalization; deindustrialization; the "financialization" of the American economy; and the economic disorders of our own times.

A broad overview of American economic history will be provided by focusing on the following topics: European colonization of the western hemisphere; mercantilism and the British Economy; the economics of slavery; metro-industrialization; agricultural expansion and technological innovation in the nineteenth century; the growth and role of credit institutions; financial panics and business cycles; the evolution of federal government interventions into the economy; women and work; the dynamics of mass consumerism; the Great Depression and the New Deal; political economic shifts in post-World II America; forms of globalization; deindustrialization; the "financialization" of the American economy; and the economic disorders of our own times.

A broad overview of American economic history will be provided by focusing on the following topics: European colonization of the western hemisphere; mercantilism and the British Economy; the economics of slavery; metro-industrialization; agricultural expansion and technological innovation in the nineteenth century; the growth and role of credit institutions; financial panics and business cycles; the evolution of federal government interventions into the economy; women and work; the dynamics of mass consumerism; the Great Depression and the New Deal; political economic shifts in post-World II America; forms of globalization; deindustrialization; the "financialization" of the American economy; and the economic disorders of our own times.

A broad overview of American economic history will be provided by focusing on the following topics: European colonization of the western hemisphere; mercantilism and the British Economy; the economics of slavery; metro-industrialization; agricultural expansion and technological innovation in the nineteenth century; the growth and role of credit institutions; financial panics and business cycles; the evolution of federal government interventions into the economy; women and work; the dynamics of mass consumerism; the Great Depression and the New Deal; political economic shifts in post-World II America; forms of globalization; deindustrialization; the "financialization" of the American economy; and the economic disorders of our own times.

A broad overview of American economic history will be provided by focusing on the following topics: European colonization of the western hemisphere; mercantilism and the British Economy; the economics of slavery; metro-industrialization; agricultural expansion and technological innovation in the nineteenth century; the growth and role of credit institutions; financial panics and business cycles; the evolution of federal government interventions into the economy; women and work; the dynamics of mass consumerism; the Great Depression and the New Deal; political economic shifts in post-World II America; forms of globalization; deindustrialization; the "financialization" of the American economy; and the economic disorders of our own times.

This course will provide an introduction to the history of Asian Pacific Americans, focusing on the wide diversity of migrant experiences, as well as the continuing legacies of Orientalism on American-born APA's. Issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality will also be examined.

The history of race and science has its American epicenter in Philadelphia. Throughout this Academically-Based Community Service (ABCS) course, we will interrogate the past and legacy of racial science in the United States; the broad themes we broach will be met concretely in direct engagement with Penn and the Philadelphia community. As an extended case study, students will undertake independent research projects using primary source documents from local archives, tracing the global history of hundreds of human skulls in the 19th century Samuel G. Morton cranial collection at the Penn Museum, a foundational and controversial anthropological collection in the scientific study of race. These projects will be formed through an ongoing partnership with a Philadelphia high school in which Penn students will collaborate with high school students on the research and design of a public-facing website on the Morton collection and the legacy of race and science in America. In our seminar, we will read foundational texts on the study of racial difference and discuss anti-racist responses and resistance to racial science from the 19th century to the present. Throughout, we will work directly with both primary and secondary sources, critically interrogating how both science and histories of science and its impacts on society are constructed. Throughout this course, we will explore interrelated questions about Penn and Philadelphia's outsize role in the history of racial science, about decolonization and ethics in scholarly and scientific practice, about the politics of knowledge and public-facing scholarship, and about enduring legacies of racial science and racial ideologies. All students are welcome and there are no prerequisites, save for intellectual curiosity and commitment to the course. This course will be of particular interest to those interested in race, American history and the history of science, anthropology, museum studies, education, and social justice.

The history of race and science has its American epicenter in Philadelphia. Throughout this Academically-Based Community Service (ABCS) course, we will interrogate the past and legacy of racial science in the United States; the broad themes we broach will be met concretely in direct engagement with Penn and the Philadelphia community. As an extended case study, students will undertake independent research projects using primary source documents from local archives, tracing the global history of hundreds of human skulls in the 19th century Samuel G. Morton cranial collection at the Penn Museum, a foundational and controversial anthropological collection in the scientific study of race. These projects will be formed through an ongoing partnership with a Philadelphia high school in which Penn students will collaborate with high school students on the research and design of a public-facing website on the Morton collection and the legacy of race and science in America. In our seminar, we will read foundational texts on the study of racial difference and discuss anti-racist responses and resistance to racial science from the 19th century to the present. Throughout, we will work directly with both primary and secondary sources, critically interrogating how both science and histories of science and its impacts on society are constructed. Throughout this course, we will explore interrelated questions about Penn and Philadelphia's outsize role in the history of racial science, about decolonization and ethics in scholarly and scientific practice, about the politics of knowledge and public-facing scholarship, and about enduring legacies of racial science and racial ideologies. All students are welcome and there are no prerequisites, save for intellectual curiosity and commitment to the course. This course will be of particular interest to those interested in race, American history and the history of science, anthropology, museum studies, education, and social justice.