HIST 348C Vice in America
The definition of vice in this class will usually be the legal one (including gambling, prostitution, illegal sales of alcohol, the sale of narcotics, and pornography), but we will also deal with behavior considered to be immoral or wicked - the sort that inspired the "blue laws" of the 19th century. The fundamental question the course seeks to address is "what do attitudes toward vice tell us about American culture and society?" We will see that the United States has a long history of permitting vice, sometimes legally, sometimes tacitly. At the same time, societal tolerance and even acceptance of vice could change rapidly due to a confluence of cultural, political, societal, economic, and religious concerns, leading to social reform.
Although the course will deal with American history from the colonial era to the present, it will not be comprehensive. Instead, we will use case studies found in secondary sources to ask how the nature of vice has changed, how could the definition of vice be used as a means of social control, and who wielded that social control?