Changing the World, Changing Oneself: Political Protest and Collective Identities in West Germany and the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s

The collection addresses several issues that are currently very important growth areas in scholarship: protest movements, their transnational connections, the question of Americanization/Westernization in Europe, and the 1960s/1970s in general as an important watershed in postwar history...There have been other recent works that have focused on these issues, but this collection has the advantage of being truly transatlantic in its approach and in the inclusion of some of the most interesting younger scholars working in the field. · Ronald Granieri, University of PennsylvaniaThis tantalizing volume explores the neglected impact of intercultural exchanges during the 1968 generational rebellion by focusing on German-American transfers of critical ideas, protest practices and feelings of solidarity. It especially emphasizes the close connection between freeing personal life-styles and liberating politics at home and abroad. · Konrad Jarausch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Zentrum fuer Zeithistorische Forschung in PotsdamThis wonderfully innovative compilation of scholarly articles and participant recollections tackles the multifaceted transfer of ideas and people between West Germany and the United States to shed new light on 1960s protests and their long afterlife. · Uta G. Poiger, University of WashingtonA captivating time, the 60s and 70s now draw more attention than ever. The first substantial work by historians has appeared only in the last few years, and this volume offers an important contribution. These meticulously researched essays offer new perspectives on the Cold War and global relations in the 1960s and 70s through the perspective of the youth movements that shook the U.S., Western Europe, and beyond. These movements led to the transformation of diplomatic relations and domestic political cultures, as well as ideas about democracy and who best understood and promoted it. Bringing together scholars of several countries and many disciplines, this volume also uniquely features the reflections of former activists.Belinda Davis is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University.Wilfried Mausbach is the Executive Director of the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) at the University of Heidelberg.Martin Klimke is a postdoctoral fellow at the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.Carla MacDougall is a doctoral student at Rutgers University.