The American Revolution promised liberty, equality, and a new beginning - yet it also entrenched slavery, excluded many, and left profound contradictions at the heart of the republic. This course explores the Revolution as both a bold experiment in self-government and a foundational trauma. We examine the ideals that inspired change and the realities that complicated them, from the creation of the Constitution to the struggles of those left out. Through historical analysis and contemporary parallels, students will uncover how 1776 remains both a powerful symbol of freedom and a contested legacy in America’s ongoing political and cultural identity crisis.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

COURSE OUTLINE

• The Revolutionary Moment – War, Independence, and the Birth of a Nation
• Excluded from the Revolution – Race, Gender, and the Limits of Liberty
• Inventing the Nation – The Constitution, Identity, and the Politics of Memory
• The Revolution Lives – Protest, Patriotism, and Political Division Today

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Analyse the American Revolution as both a foundational event and a contested narrative in U.S. political history.
2. Evaluate how revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality were unevenly applied, and how those tensions persist in modern political debates.
3. Interpret the Revolution’s legacy in relation to race, class, gender, and national identity.
4. Critically reflect on the symbolic and political uses of 1776 in contemporary movements, conflicts, and constitutional crises.