My department chair has assigned me an upper-level “topics” course for the Fall 2019 semester. I am seriously considering taking advantage of the popularity of the Lin Manuel-Miranda musical by offering a class titled “The Age of Hamilton.”
If you have taught a similar class that draws upon the musical or the soundtrack, I would love to hear from you!
While I have not taught a specific Early U.S. Republic course focused on Hamilton, many students recount their love for the musical. But my personal preference is for William Hogeland’s populist/radical interpretation of Hamilton’s financial policies that cast him in a much less favorable (and more accurate IMHO) light.
“If opinion-shapers really want to strengthen democracy by enhancing competition, opportunity, and mobility, Hamilton is not their man. Neo-Hamiltonians of every kind are blotting out a defining feature of his thought: the essential relationship between the concentration of national wealth and the obstruction of democracy through military force.” – Willaim Hogeland http://bostonreview.net/hogeland-inventing-alexander-hamilton
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Hey John,
You may be aware of this already, but Jim Cullen (fellow Springsteen fan!) teaches a history course on the musical to high school students at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in NYC. I believe you can find his syllabus online.
Best,
Tim
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https://www.amazon.com/Historians-Hamilton-Blockbuster-Restaging-Americas/dp/0813590299/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543859838&sr=8-1&keywords=historians+of+hamilton seems like a natural addition to the reading list – either yours or theirs.
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