This class examines the “culture wars” of the 1980s and 1990s. Anti-racist, feminist, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer activists were changing the way that people thought about love, sex, and family. At the same time, a growing evangelical Christian movement was using “social issues” – opposition to abortion, feminism, and homosexuality – to galvanize its members. The seminar focuses on the ensuing struggle between these movements over sexuality, religion, and art.
Ryan Murphy, Assistant Professor of History