HIST 372: Aviation in American Culture

Instructor: Sean Seyer

Day & Time:
Tuesday & Thursday
9:30 AM - 10:45 AM

Category Fulfillment: I

In front of an old airplane stands African American woman smiling at a African American man speaking.

Aviation in American Culture 

Whether Charles Lindbergh’s famous 1927 flight, the Berlin Airlift, or the closure of airspace in response to the invasion of Ukraine, aviation has played an important role in how Americans have defined themselves and their relationship with the rest of the world over the last one hundred years. With material that ranges from Harriet Quimby’s groundbreaking flights to the attacks of September 11, 2001, in this course you will learn how Americans imposed certain cultural values upon the new technology of the airplane, how the airplane emerged as a site for contesting the established social hierarchy, and how aviation became a primary tool for the projection of U.S. power. 

Class periods are divided between lectures and discussions on preassigned readings, with a strong emphasis on student participation.  

See How this Course Fits into Your Schedule  

Official Catalog Description:

  • This course examines the complex relationship between powered flight and American society from the invention of the airplane to the rise of drone warfare.

  • Through a mixture of scholarly works, personal accounts, and primary sources, we will investigate how use of and access to the airplane became a focal point for many things during this time period.

  • Access to the airplane became a focal point for the construction and deconstruction of race, gender, and class distinctions and an important site in the struggle for equality and social justice.

  • Using the airplane as a lens, we will recognize and challenge key assumptions within American technoculture such as technological messianism, technological neutrality, and the role of government in technological development.