Warrior Nations: Russia & U.S. (FMS-0058)

Spring 2025 · FMS 0058 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

Comparative study of how war is central to each nation's identity and to the narratives in popular culture that help shape it. Focus is thematic, not chronological, with the course structured around topics, including shared myths of exceptionalism, points of triumph (how WWII is memorialized in both) and catastrophic defeat, when the myth of exceptionalism is shattered (Vietnam, Afghanistan). Other topics include civil war and the cold war. Attention is also directed to how post-1991 changes impact the connection between exceptionalism and militarism regarding wars today and the renewed tension between the two in the dynamics of competing hegemonies. Texts include film, fiction, and popular history. Course taught in English; no prerequisites.

Course codes: FMS-0058, FMS 0058, FMS0058, FMS-58, FMS 58, FMS58, ILVS-0088, ILVS 0088, ILVS0088, ILVS-88, ILVS 88, ILVS88, RUS-0078, RUS 0078, RUS0078, RUS-78, RUS 78, RUS78

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