History 492 — The Kennedy Assassination in Global Perspective
Spring 2026
________________________________________
Course Description
This course offers a global and comparative examination of one of the most significant and controversial events of the 20th century: the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
Students will:
- Analyze the forensics of the crime.
- Explore the assassination’s impact on:
o Partisan politics
o The executive presidency
o U.S. political culture
- Evaluate the construction of the Kennedy “myth” and multiple conspiracy theories.
- Situate the event within the Cold War, including:
o Relations with the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev
o The struggle over Cuba and Fidel Castro
- Examine global patterns of political violence, comparing JFK’s assassination to other cases involving:
o Presidents
o Monarchs
o Tsars
o Commissars
o Civil rights leaders
o Political candidates
________________________________________
Course Policies
Course Expectations
Students are expected to:
- Complete all assigned readings
- Listen actively in class and take detailed notes
- Participate in discussions
- Give one 5 minute in class presentation based on outside research
- Attend class regularly
Attendance
- Attendance is required.
- Students who arrive late may be counted as absent.
- Excessive unexcused absences may reduce the final grade.
________________________________________
Grading
Your final grade is the average of seven equal parts:
- Participation, including:
o Class discussions
o The 5 minute presentation
- Six handwritten, in class essays, each equally weighted
Grading Philosophy
This course does not use mechanical point systems
→ Instead, grading is based on:
- Quality of analysis
- Depth of interpretation
- Creative and interpretive synthesis of lectures + readings
________________________________________
Required Readings
Books
- Vincent Bugliosi, Parkland (Norton, 2013)
- Warren Commission, Report of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
o Available at: https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/
Articles and Chapters
- Craig Warren, “Presidential Wounds: The JFK Assassination and the White Male Body,”
Men and Masculinities 10/5 (2008): 557–582
- Lawrence Freedman, Kennedy’s Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam (Oxford, 2002)
o Available via Purdue Libraries Online
Note:
Additional readings may be provided on Brightspace.