Apr 18, 2024  
2020-21 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-21 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

US 211 From Hippies to Hipsters: The Legacies of Counter Culture


What exactly is a counterculture? Do they still exist? Didn’t they disappear with the Hippies? How do they benefit society? This seminar will answer these questions (and many more) as students examine how the 1960s counterculture represented a major departure from mainstream ideology – one where the youth began to question the idealized American way of life. Yet, counterculture isn’t just a singular decade. Instead, we’ll explore (through literature, art, film, and discussion) how counterculture extends beyond the 60s and into the contemporary moment where hegemonic resistance and American bohemia is alive, well, and redefining the way all of us live.

Topics such as civil rights, gender, race relations, sexuality, war, drug culture, environmental issues, politics, and more will be on the table. Not only will students think critically in class, but they will also literally extend beyond the boundaries of our classroom as they interact, interview, and experience first-hand the work of an individual whom they deem to be a countercultural agent of change. Ultimately, throughout the course, students will be inspired to reexamine their own weighted identities and enact tangible change in their own society.