Neoliberalism has been North America's dominant ideological, policy-framework and political,economic, and social reality for the last half-century. Neoliberalism's defining elements — free trade, individualism, market fundamentalism, privatization, deregulation, and a weakening of the state — have profoundly reshaped Canadian and American governance and society since the 1970s, and marked a departure from the Keynesian interventionist approaches that dominated policy and discourse from 1945 until the 1970s. This course seeks to historicize neoliberalism's emergence, its ascendance, and the resistance that this ideology and its policies have engendered from its beginnings in the postwar period to the present, and within a transnational context. The aim of this course is for students to develop their own opinions on just what the impact of neoliberalism has been on life in North America. Students will develop and sharpen these views by critically assessing historical works together, and by individually addressing issues through writing and seminar discussion. It should be emphasized that this is first and foremost a history course, and that all of these activities shall be rooted within the historical discipline.