HIST 02SU26 - This Thing is Ours: The Golden Age of Vegas
Course Description
HIST 02SU26 This Thing is Ours: The Golden Age of Vegas ONLINE
Building on my previous iterations of this course, this updated online version of "This Thing of Ours" provides a sophisticated analysis of the American criminal underworld through the transformative lens of the 1940s and 1950s. While maintaining a rigorous focus on World War II as a primary case study—exploring the U.S. government's strategic collaboration with mob figures for intelligence and the syndicates' mastery of wartime black markets—this latest iteration expands to track the post-war migration of criminal capital.
Specifically, the curriculum now highlights the pivotal role of Las Vegas from the mid-1940s through the late 1950s, tracing how the "open city" of the Nevada desert allowed organized crime to transition from back-alley operations into the burgeoning hospitality and gambling industries. By examining this evolution in a fully asynchronous online modality, students will contribute to the study of American history by analyzing the symbiotic relationship between illicit economies and the nation’s formal development. The course challenges traditional narratives of the "American Dream" by demonstrating how organized crime influenced labor unions, international operations, and the eventual rise of the modern federal surveillance state during the Cold War era.
Tue 6/16-6/30 10:00AM-11:15 ONLINE
Instructor: Ryan Pettingill Sessions: 3
Ryan Pettengill, Ph.D., earned a Doctor of Philosophy in American history from Michigan State University in 2009. In 2021, Dr. Pettengill began teaching at the Wylie campus with Collin College. His scholarship and research interest are based in the history of labor and working-class activism, and his most recent book examines community-based activism in Detroit throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s. Dr. Pettengill’s current research project involves the modern labor movement’s involvement in human rights. He resides in the area where he and his wife are raising two wonderful children.