Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:
For this assignment students will write a short paper integrating the disciplines of History (the home discipline of this course) and Psychology on how the United States OR the Soviet Union appealed to the human need to identify friends or enemies to create a sense of community.
For example, community can be defined as
The American and Soviet wish to create the ideal society
The American and Soviet plan to exclude those who do not meet the definition of community
The American and Soviet desire to find the enemies in their midst who ruined the creation of an ideal society
The American and Soviet employment of propaganda to describe the ideal society
The American and Soviet employment of propaganda to convey their fear of what the ideal society SHOULD NOT LOOK LIKE
To help prepare for the assignment, Dr. Rebekah Wanic from Psychology delivered a guest lecture. (ATTACHED BELOW AS PDF) She will discuss how the American fear of communism is related to the way evolution has influenced, and continues to influence, the way men and women regard each other as sexual partners, rivals, or companions.
After her lecture, we will examine the themes she raised and determine how Cold War History and Evolutionary Psychology can address the same subjects but in different ways. (Is the fear of Communism related to the way some men fear an assertive, independent woman?)
The questions you must consider when you write the essay:
1. How does Cold War History address the TLC theme of Engage and the creation of communities? What examples does the class use to show how the United States and the Soviet Union interpret the idea of Engage and the creation of communities?
2. How does Evolutionary Psychology address the TLC theme of Engage and the creation of communities? What examples does Professor Wanic (Attached below) use to show how Evolutionary Psychology influences the way men and women see each other as sexual partners, companions or rivals?
3. How do Cold War History and Evolutionary Psychology compare? Does the fear of Communism encourage Americans to limit the way they engage with one another and create a sense of community? For example, does the fear of women and their reproductive prowess, (one of the themes Dr. Wanic will discuss) parallel the supposed power of Communism to spread across international borders without hindrance? Or, does the American wish to establish a world order dedicated to democracy and capitalist advancement--and thus become the means to fulfill the idea of Engage and community building--parallel the Communist ambition to build the perfect state where all people from all nations live in harmony?
