Discussion Project #5: Generational Changes

History 467

Week 12

Due: in discussion section, Tues. March 27 or Wed. March 28

Project: William Finnegan begins Cold New World with the declaration: "I was born in the 1950s, and grew up in a country very different from the America described in this book. Disparities of race and class account for some of that difference, but the rest is generational--the fallout from, above all, economic stagnation and decline" (xvi).

Write a short essay (one-page, single-spaced maximum) that analyzes and critiques Finnegan's generational answers to his own question: "Why is this such a strange and difficult time to grow up in America?" (343). The book discusses a broad range of issues that shape youth culture, from consumerism to the War on Drugs to family dynamics to government policies to economic restructuring. Provide your own response to the stories of American youth recounted in Cold New World, and feel welcome to include comments on the film Traffic as well, although you are not required to examine the film in this discussion project.