In this special two-part study, discover how the United States has developed into the country it is today by exploring environmental, social, cultural and economic patterns, important people and events. This is a two-part series; the second half will be offered in the spring.

“I am not primarily interested in persuading you that I am right. The object is to help you make your own sense out of our history.”
William Appleman Williams, historian

This class is for those who want to better understand the United States and how it developed into the country that it has now become. In this special two-part study, Professor Longley will look at the history of the United States from settlement until today, exploring the environmental, social, cultural and economic patterns that have evolved to show participants how the comparatively unique American character changed over time. The class will emphasize important events and people who helped shape the country, from traditional figures such as George Washington, Andrew Jackson and Eleanor Roosevelt to lesser-known but important individuals like John Winthrop, William Walker, Ida B. Wells and Mario Savio. Participants will gain an understanding of how the United States progressed into a democratic republic, how it became a global power and the challenges of various groups in seeking equal citizenship, among a whole host of other issues. The class will be a great refresher for everyone interested in understanding where the United States is today and how it arrived at this particular place in time.

Fall course schedule
Week 1: How British Colonists Became Americans, 1620–1787
Week 2: A Rising Republic, 1788–1824
Week 3: Democracy and Empire, 1825–1850
Week 4: America Divided, 1851–1877
Week 5: From the Gilded Cage to the Global Eagle, 1878–1902

Kyle Longley is the Snell Family Dean’s Distinguished Professor and the associate director of the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies as well as a professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. He is the author of five books, including The Sparrow and the Hawk: Costa Rica and the United States During the Rise of José Figueres, 1942-1957, winner of the A.B. Thomas Book Prize from the South Eastern Council on Latin American Studies; In the Eagle’s Shadow: The United States and Latin America, Senator Albert Gore, Sr.: Tennessee Maverick and Grunts: The American Combat Soldier in Vietnam. He also edited and contributed to Deconstructing Reagan: Conservative Mythology and America’s Fortieth President. He recently finished The Houses of the Purple Hearts: The Morenci Nine, Small Town America, and the Vietnam War and has nearly finished The Switzerland of the Americas: A Concise History of Costa Rica (written with Jason Colby). His future books will focus on a military history of the United States (written with Admiral Jim Stavridis, supreme allied commander of Europe) and another on President Lyndon Johnson and the tumultuous year of 1968.

Longley has published articles and reviews in a variety of journals including Diplomatic History, Review of Faith and International Affairs, The Journal of American History, The Hispanic Historical Review, and Mesoamérica. He also has been actively involved in distributing information about U.S.-foreign relations and politics to the national and international media. His opinion pieces have been published in the Los Angeles Times, The Arizona Republic and Austin American Statesman. In addition, he has been interviewed and quoted in stories for The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, Slate, The Boston Globe, Associated Press, JiJi Press, Shanghai Wenhui Daily and the Jornal do Brazil as well as ABC News.

Beyond being a researcher and writer, Longley has been an active teacher. His most popular courses at Arizona State University have been modern U.S.-foreign relations, U.S.-Latin American relations, the American Experience in Vietnam War, U.S. Military History and a multidisciplinary course (history, political science, religious studies and English) called War, Culture, and Memory. His work at the undergraduate and graduate levels routinely has received recognition. In 2003, the Associated Students of Arizona State University named Longley the Centennial Professor as the outstanding teacher of the year. He also has received other awards, including the Zebulon Pearce Award for Outstanding Teacher in the Humanities in 2008, the ASU Habitat for Humanity “Making the World a Cooler Place to Live” Teaching Award, the Preparing Future Faculty Program Mentor Appreciation Award, and the Kappa Alpha Fraternity National Teacher of the Year Award.