This class offers a history of the early-21st century United States, taking the 9/11 terror attacks as its point of departure. It explores the contested meanings of 9/11 itself and the conflicts and controversies it spawned: wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a global torture program, rising Islamophobia, and restrictions on civil liberties — all driven by a politics of vengeance, fear, imperial ambition, and the vast expansion of Executive power. Each of these policies raised profound questions about the nature of American identity and America's role in the world. This class is also about resistance the War on Terror. A robust antiwar movement took shape, in response to the Iraq War especially. Smaller movements addressed U.S. torture, assaults on civil liberties, and drone warfare. We will both recognize and honor these dissident voices, which were a vital part of the times. Last, we explore continuities between the War on Terror and Trump’s war on migrants and abuse of presidential authority.