| Additional Class Topics
College Division image; link to college web site
College Division image; link to college web site
For LayoutFor Layout
For Layout
For LayoutFor Layout|For LayoutFor Layout|For LayoutContact Us
For Layout
For Layout
For Layout
For Layout
For Layout
> Instructor Resources > Additional Class Topics
Instructor Resources

Support student learning and save time with these password-protected materials. To request a password, please complete and submit the request form. After your request has been reviewed and authorized, you will receive a response from our Faculty Services team within 48 hours.

Some content requires software plugins. Visit our Plugin Help Center for help with downloading plugins.

Additional Class Topics

For Further Interest: Additional Class Topics
Chapter 40: The Resurgence of Conservatism, 1980 - 1992

  • Focus on Reagan as personality and political leader. Discuss why his personal popularity seemed to transcend his politically controversial policies, and what legacy he left to the Republican party and American politics generally.

  • Examine the growing role of women and womens issues in the politics of the 1980s and 1990s. Consider the increasing impact of women in public and political life, perhaps by examining the careers of prominent figures such as Sandra Day OConnor, Dianne Feinstein, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

  • Discuss the new importance of the Third World in American foreign policy of the 1980s and 1990s. The involvement of the United States in the underdeveloped world can be considered in relation to both military issues (e.g., the Latin American civil wars of the 1980s and the Persian Gulf War), as well as economic issues involving NAFTA and trade with countries like Mexico and China.

  • Conduct a class debate over the following topics: e.g., America Is Facing a Crisis of Confidence and The End of the Cold War Marked a Great Triumph for the U.S.; primary source readings will come from the following book: Opposing Viewpoints in American History Volume II: From Reconstruction to the Present, San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Another good source of debate topics is Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle, Taking Sides Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History, Volume II: Reconstruction to the Present, Connecticut: McGraw-Hill, 2000.

  • Show students the following video: The Century Americas Time (ABC Video in association with The History Channel), Volume VI: 1981-1989: A New World. Cold War tensions escalate until a new Soviet leader suddenly dissolves the long-standing Communist rule in Eastern Bloc countries, and the word glastnost is the international mantra of the era. At home, another G-word changes lives and fortunes when the Guru of Greek, Ivan Boesky, preaches the gospel of guiltless profitmaking.

  • Have students listen to Billy Joels We Didnt Start the Fire. Have students compete to try and see who knows the most references to the words in the song. A great website with a power point presentation of the song, complete with images: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~yel/Fire.html

  • Have the students read Richard Rortys Science as Solidarity (1986) in David A. Hollinger and Charles Cappers (Editors) The American Intellectual Tradition: Volume II 1865 to the Present, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.



For Layout