070586 SE The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945 (2006S)

The Seminar will discuss the variety of aspects which were characteristic of the Roosevelt administration; we examine the Great Depression, the New Deal; domestic politics and American Federalism; a New Deal for the Arts; Social Security and the Welfare State; Latin America and the Good Neighbor Policy in the Hemisphere; the Second World War in Asia and Europe; and the creation of the post-war international order (UN). Students will read and discuss different approaches to this era in historiography, and we address the political, economic, and cultural impact of the Roosevelt administration in American history. We will discuss as well the changing evaluation of the legacy of this presidency, especially since the end of the Cold War in 1989/91.
Students will address, research and answer specific questions on a regular basis, and they will have to write a paper on a selected subject to be presented at the end of the Seminar.
As a result, students will get deeper insights into and a broader picture of this administration and its many aspects, facets, achievements, and failures. They will familiarize themselves with changing interpretations of this particular presidency in American as well as in European, in particular German, historiography.