At Washington University I teach in both the History Department and the American Culture Studies Program. I am also a part-time administrator, serving in various roles in Arts & Sciences and the University at large.
My courses range widely from focused courses on the early American republic to broad-reaching surveys of American history.
All of these courses operate from the foundation that students learn best–and enjoy learning most–when they can formulate their own questions. To do this work, students work closely with the primary sources generated in the past, ranging from letters, pamphlets, and books to quantitative records of population or government institutions to maps, paintings to movies, music, and television programming.
Selected Courses:
- Americans and Their Presidents.
- Hamilton’s America.
- 1984: One Weird Year.
- The American Frontier, 1776-1848.
- Lewis and Clark and the American Challenge. Freedom, Citizenship, and the Making of American Life.
- American Culture: Traditions, Methods, Visions.
- Undergraduate Honors Thesis Seminar.
- Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Study of American History to 1865.
- Graduate Research Seminar.
Peter Kastor 