Arguably the single most powerful agency shaping life in the United States in the twentieth century was the automobile. Making cars go-building and maintaining them and the systems they require-is by far the country's largest industry. From cities and towns to the smallest hamlets and the uninhabited wilderness beyond, the national landscape has been totally transformed by the automobile. In a less tangled but hardly less important vein, automobiles have left an indelible imprint on the dreams we dream. They have also changed forever the way we work, the way we play; the way we date and mate; the way we rear our children; how and what we consume; the demands we make on government; the crimes we commit; the way we enforce the law-even the way we go to our graves. The course will consider this protein phenomenon selectively and in detail, with an eye to discovering what historians have said and can say about it. Readings will be drawn from a wide variety of sources. Written work will include both short and longer papers. There will be an optional final exam. Enrollment limited. Preference to first-year students. Group A