Ever wonder what happened in Virginia after the Civil War? This course explains how Virginia went from the defeated capital of the Confederacy to the Silicon Dominion. The main characters in Virginia's political story are no less exciting--from William Mahone to Harry F. Byrd to L. Douglas Wilder. The course will also examine changes in Virginia's social landscape and demography: Manassas, once a battlefield now a booming suburb, Tyson's Corner, once a crossroads now an interchange and more, Hampton Roads and Norfolk, once a regional seaport now a national base for the largest navy in the world, and the new immigrants who have settled all across Virginia, bringing with them new ideas, customs, religions, and busin esses. This course will cover Virginia's change in the last 135 years which includes some of the most dramatic problems in modern American history: racial conflict, urban growth, suburban expansion, demographic change, and political contest.

The course features both lectures and discussions and requires a mid-term (30%) and final exam (40%) and a research project (30%). Students interested in African American history, women's history, and American Studies, as well as Virginia and southern history are welcome.