This paper describes a pedagogical technique employed for an interdisciplinary course on Cold War America. Students had to "become" a fictional person and discuss how political and social changes during the Cold War era would have impacted that person. By doing a semester-long project that required primary source research, this…

If the United States can lower its expectations just enough, it can put together a series of agreements which will constitute an arms control breakthrough that will serve our interests for decades to come. (Author/RM)

Nuclear war is unthinkable, psychologically unfeasible, and untenable technically; conventional war against the Russians is impossible. Therefore, time and money should not be spent preparing for confrontation. Proposals are made for redirecting funds. (RM)

Examines treatment of the United States in social studies textbooks used in the USSR, as reported by the US/USSR Textbook Study Project. Identifies major problems, including ideological bias, adequate coverage, balance of treatment, factual errors, distortion and bias by undue emphasis, omission of important details, and dependence on outdated…

This paper describes the joint cooperation between the United States and the USSR for a bilateral textbook review project that was begun in the 1970s. The US/USSR Textbook Study Project, suspended in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter ended U.S. cultural exchanges with the Soviet Union after the Afghanistan invasion, resumed in 1986 with different…

How some nations are motivated by political or geo-political considerations when denouncing human rights abuses is examined. Examples from US and Russian foreign policies are discussed. (RM)

Efforts of the United States since the end of World War II to advance the arms control process are discussed. There are five major sections. The first section recounts past arms control efforts--those that have worked and those that have not--and discusses the principles underlying U.S. arms control initiatives. The second section describes the…

Explains the "Truman Doctrine" speech within the context of Truman's presidential speaking during his first two years in office. Explores the philosophical and psychological factors underlying Truman's reticence to comment on deteriorating U.S.--U.S.S.R. relations. Concludes that Truman failed at the central task of the rhetorical…

Presents passages from the memoirs of Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev which reveal their recollections regarding the famous "Kitchen Debate." Provides activity suggestions which help students analyze the contrasting points of view presented. (JDH)

States that autobiographies such as Patricia Hampl's may be the best source of information for revealing the effects of the Cold War on the American psyche. Maintains that such works may help counteract the narrow and naive view of superpower relations youth gain from such movies as "Rocky" and "Rambo." (JDH)

After World War II ended in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) emerged as the two dominant countries in the post-war world. An arms race began, and this constant pursuit for respect and supremacy was called the Cold War. On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, with the first…

Reviews seven resource units, journal articles, and supplementary textbooks published between 1983 and 1985 for teaching about the Cold War in secondary social studies classes. (JDH)

Provides a lesson plan, complete with readings and teaching procedures, for teaching students about the revisionist interpretations of Cold War history. Students are challenged to think critically about the differences in the traditional and revisionist interpretations. (JDH)

This study explores the value-oriented behaviors associated with membership in prominent youth organizations in the Soviet Union and the United States of America during the Cold War. The archetypal heroic ideals and values of the Soviet Octoberists and Pioneers and the U.S. Boy Scout and Girl Scout organizations were examined. Key political,…

Discusses U.S. studies at Russian universities. Includes the status of the field, difficulties in obtaining sources, communist interpretation of U.S. social problems resulting in methodological isolationism, and low quality of scholarship. Warns against a shift in attitude that idealizes the Western experience. Argues that changes in mentality…