Prof. Meg Jacobs This course will explore how Americans have
confronted energy challenges since the end of World War II.
Beginning in the 1970s, Americans worried about the supply of
energy. As American production of oil declined, would the US be
able to secure enough fuel to sustain their high consumption
lifestyles? At the same time, Americans also began to fear the
environmental side affects of energy use. Even if the US had
enough fossil fuel, would its consumption be detrimental to
health and safety? This class examines how Americans thought
about these questions in the last half-century. We will consider
the political, diplomatic, economic, cultural, and technological
aspects of the energy crisis. Topics include nuclear power,
suburbanization and the new car culture, the environmental
movement and the challenges of clean energy, the Middle East and
supply of oil, the energy crisis of the 1970s, and global
warming.