Photographic detail of monument to black Civil War soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts regiment. (Image courtesy of Daniel Bersak.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Christopher Capozzola
MIT Course Number
21H.223
As Taught In
Fall 2002
Level
Undergraduate
Translated Versions
Course Description
Course Highlights
This course features archived syllabi from various semesters.
Course Description
Writing in the wake of the Civil War, poet Walt Whitman insisted that "the real war will never get in the books." Throughout American history, the experience of war has fundamentally shaped the ways that Americans think about themselves, their fellow Americans, and the meanings of national citizenship. War has also posed challenges of representation, both for those who fought as well as those who did not. This subject examines how Americans have told the stories of modern war in history, literature, and popular culture, and interprets them in terms of changing ideas about American national identity.