“In these circumstances it is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
–George Kennan, “Sources of Soviet Conduct” 1947
Books (available via library reserves or online access)
- John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment (Oxford, Rev. Ed. 2005)
Additional Readings & Resources
- Alpha History: Cold War (2018-23) [WEB]
- Dickinson student projects (HIST 204): Herzfeld // Nelkin
- Mary L. Dudziak, “Brown as a Cold War Case,” JAH 91 (June 2004): 32-42 [JSTOR]
- Paul Frazier, The Venona Project and Cold War Espionage,” OAH Magazine of History 24 (Oct. 2010): 35-39. [JSTOR]
- Francis Fukuyama, “The End of History?” National Interest (Summer 1989): 3-18 [JSTOR]
- George Kennan, “Long Telegram,” February 22, 1946 [WEB]
- X [Kennan], “Sources of Soviet Conduct,” Foreign Affairs 25 (Jul 1947): 566-82 [JSTOR]
- Walter LaFeber, “The Constitution and United States Foreign Policy: An Interpretation,” Journal of American History 74 (Dec. 1987): 695-717. [JSTOR]
- Living Room Candidate, Select TV ads, 1952-68, Museum of the Moving Image [WEB]
- Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, eds., The American Yawp (Stanford University Press, 2023-24 ed.) [WEB]
- Elaine Tyler May, “Security Against Democracy: The Legacy of the Cold War at Home,” Journal of American History 97 (March 2011): 939-57 [JSTOR]
- Cuban Missile Crisis, National Security Archive, George Washington University [WEB]
- Martin J. Sherwin, “Hiroshima as Politics and History,” Journal of American History 82 (Dec. 1995): 1085-93. [JSTOR]
- Naoka Shibusawa, “The Lavender Scare and Empire: Rethinking Cold War Antigay Politics,” Diplomatic History 36 (Sept. 2012): 723-52 [JSTOR]
First Essay –Origins of Cold War
On Monday, March 4, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay on the origins of the Cold War from a question provided to them in class on Thursday, Feb. 29. All essays must feature source material from the course site, including the Gaddis book, properly cited using Chicago-style footnotes. Outside research is allowed but not required. Additional information will be available on the annotated assignment guidelines at the course site. Essays will be graded on depth of analysis, use of evidence, and quality of prose. Late essays will be penalized up to 5 points each day.
On Monday, April 8, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay on a topic about the global Cold War during the 1950s and 1960s provided to them in class on Thursday, April 4. All essays must feature source material from the course site, including the Gaddis book, properly cited using Chicago-style footnotes. Outside research is allowed but not required. Additional information will be available on the annotated assignment guidelines at the course site. Essays will be graded on depth of analysis, use of evidence, and quality of prose. Late essays will be penalized up to 5 points each day.
The highlight of this semester will be a website project that students will undertake to explain the contributions of an American figure in shaping or illustrating aspects of the Cold War era. Subjects might include diplomats or politicians who helped define the period 1945 to 1991, or ordinary Americans whose lives were shaped by Cold War developments in that timeframe. By Monday, April 29, students must submit an 8- to 10-page essay on their subject, relying on a range of primary and secondary sources, and employing Chicago-style footnotes. All essays should address some key element of Cold War historiography or interpretation. By Thursday, May 9, students should revise this essay and transform it into a website on the free platform Weebly. Each website should include an array of properly credited and captioned images as well as at least one embedded short video (about 1 to 2 minutes). Projects will be graded on depth of analysis, research and design effort, and quality of prose. Late project submissions will be penalized 5 points per day.
Grade Distribution
Class Participation 20 percent
First Essay (Origins of Cold War) 25 percent
Second Essay (Global Cold War) 25 percent
Final web projects 30 percent
| Day | Date | Discussion Topic | Reading Assignment |
| Tuesday | 1/23 | Methods & Expectations | |
| Thursday | 1/25 | World War II overview | Yawp, chap 24 |
| Tuesday | 1/30 | Case study: Enola Gay exhibit | Sherwin article |
| Thursday | 2/1 | Cold War overview | Yawp, chap 25 + ALPHA on Historiography |
| Tuesday | 2/6 | Kennan documents | Long Telegram + X article |
| Thursday | 2/8 | Origins of Containment | Gaddis, chap 1 |
| Tuesday | 2/13 | Containment doctrine | Gaddis, chap 2 |
| Thursday | 2/15 | Truman & Containment | Alpha History: Truman Doctrine // Marshall Plan // Berlin Blockade // NATO |
| Tuesday | 2/20 | Symmetry and Asymmetry | Gaddis, chap 3 |
| Thursday | 2/22 | Case study: Atomic spies | Frazier article |
| Tuesday | 2/27 | NSC-68 and Korea | Gaddis, chap 4 |
| Thursday | 2/29 | Case study: McCarthyism | Dickinson projects: Herzfeld and Nelkin |
| Monday | 3/4 | Origins of Cold War essay due | By 5pm by email attachment |
| Tuesday | 3/5 | Case study: Civil Rights | Dudziak article |
| Thursday | 3/7 | Case study: Lavender Scare | Shibusawa article |
| Tuesday | 3/12 | NO CLASS –SPRING BREAK | |
| Thursday | 3/14 | NO CLASS –SPRING BREAK | |
| Tuesday | 3/19 | New Look | Gaddis, chap 5 |
| Thursday | 3/21 | Eisenhower and Dulles | Gaddis, chap 6 |
| Tuesday | 3/26 | Flexible Response | Gaddis, chap 7 |
| Thursday | 3/28 | Case study: Cuban Missile Crisis | GW National Security Archives |
| Thursday | 3/28 | LECTURE: Harold Holzer | Stern Great Room, 7pm |
| Tuesday | 4/2 | Vietnam and the Cold War | Gaddis, chap 8 |
| Thursday | 4/4 | Case study: TV ads, 1952-68 | Living Room Candidate |
| Monday | 4/8 | Global Cold War essay due | By 5pm by email attachment |
| Tuesday | 4/9 | Détente | Gaddis, chap 9 |
| Thursday | 4/11 | Imperial Presidency | Gaddis, chap 10 |
| Tuesday | 4/16 | End of Cold War | Gaddis, chap 11 |
| Thursday | 4/18 | Case study: Reagan & Gorbachev | Suri article |
| Tuesday | 4/23 | Fear and Legacy of Cold War | May article |
| Thursday | 4/25 | Cold War and Constitution | LaFeber article |
| Monday | 4/29 | Final project essays due | By 5pm by email attachment |
| Tuesday | 4/30 | End of History? | Fukuyama article |
| Thursday | 5/2 | Lessons & Legacies | |
| Thursday | 5/9 | Final Web Projects due | By 5pm by email link |