HUAS97023 - The Rise of the American Alpha Male

Course Description

Through most of our nation’s history, white American working men have bought into the promise of the “self-made man.” With a little hard work and elbow grease, they would rise from rags to riches, become anything they wanted, and live out the American Dream. But after generations of unchallenged dominance, white men are finding their sense of entitlement betrayed--by women, minorities, and immigrants. This course will investigate the history of white men as men, focusing on how broad economic and cultural changes have re-defined how manhood is experienced today. We will consider recent masculinity movements like the rise of “men’s rights” activism, the establishment of “men’s studies” as an undergraduate field, and the expanding significance of “alpha male” social zones like gyms, locker rooms, and sports bars. We will then turn to the 2016 presidential election to think about how men’s new self-understandings became have become materialized in the persona of Donald Trump.

HUAS97023