Professors: Paul Monod (chair), James Ralph, Neil Waters (fall), Don Wyatt; Associate Professors: Ian Barrow (on leave), Darién Davis (on leave), William Hart, Kathryn Morse, Jacob Tropp; Assistant Professors: Febe Armanios (on leave), Rebecca Bennette, Louisa Burnham, Joyce Mao, Amy Morsman; College Professors: John McCardell, John McWilliams; Humanities Professor: James West (on leave); Visiting Assistant Professor: Oscar Sanchez; Coordinator: Ann Nottingham
The Department of History seeks to instill in its majors and in students from other disciplines who sample its offerings, the awareness that no effort to make the past meaningful, the present intelligible, or the future conceivable can be divorced from the effort to comprehend change over time. The department encourages the intelligent application of that effort by asking students to regard themselves and their culture as changing entities in a historical continuum, not as the purpose or culmination of the past. Because the culture that surrounds us is rooted in the history of the West, majors are expected to take courses on the European and American past. To develop both a broader perspective on human history and a vantage point from which to reexamine their own past, majors also take courses outside of the geographical confines of the traditional West, and outside of the temporal confines of the last two centuries.
Because the field of history is inherently interdisciplinary, the department makes use of a variety of methodologies in its effort to produce students who can examine, discuss, and write about complex issues with intelligence and lucidity. It emphasizes training in research, critical analysis, writing, and oral expression. These are skills in broad demand in business, government service, international relations, law, and teaching.
Required for the Major in History: Each major must take 11 history courses before graduation, including: (1) at least one but no more than three courses numbered 0100 to 0199; (2) at least one course in European history (which may include Russia/Soviet Union); (3) at least one course in United States history (not including HIST 0203 or HIST 0204); (4) and at least one course in the history of Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, or Russia/Soviet Union, all to be taken at the 0200-level or higher. (A course in Russia/Soviet Union may not be used for more than one geographical area); (5) a reading seminar; (6) a writing and research seminar OR HIST 0600; (7) a two-term senior thesis, which counts as two of the required 11 courses.
Two of the courses required for the major must deal primarily with the period before 1800. Courses which qualify for the pre-1800 requirement are identified in the course descriptions (see below) and a list is available from the department. In addition to winter term senior thesis study, one other winter term history course may be counted toward the eleven courses necessary for a major in history. With permission of the department, up to two cognate courses in historical aspects of other disciplines may be counted toward a major in history.
Students planning to spend all or part of the junior year abroad should consult with the department before the second semester of the sophomore year.
Advanced Placement: An advanced placement (AP) grade of 4 or 5 in a history subject supplies one college credit and counts for one course towards the history major requirement of 11 history courses. However, an AP grade of 4 or 5 cannot replace any other specific requirement for the major (see “Required for the Major in History,” above). In addition, a student wishing to apply an AP grade of 4 or 5 in European history toward the major cannot also count HIST 0103 or HIST 0104 toward the major. Such a student must take a different 100-level course, and at least one course in European history at the 200-level or higher. Furthermore, a student wishing to apply an AP grade of 4 or 5 in United States history toward the major cannot also count HIST 0203 or HIST 0204. and must take a different course in United States history to complete the major.
Joint Major: A student who is a joint major in history and another department must take a total of at least eight courses in history, chosen in consultation with a faculty adviser. Cognates are not allowed. A student must take at least one course in two of three sub-fields: Europe, North America, and AAL (Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Russia/Soviet Union), and one course in the period before 1800. The choice of courses should depend upon the need to achieve an intellectual coherence and integrity in the student's program. Joint majors must take a reading seminar and a research seminar and must write a two-term thesis combining the skills of both major disciplines.
International Studies Majors with Disciplinary Focus in History: Students must complete a 0100-level course and five other courses, including a 0400-level reading seminar normally taken in the senior year. The reading seminar and at least two other courses should be within the regional focus, and at least one course should be outside the regional focus. With the permission of the History Department Chair, up to two of these courses can be taken abroad.
Minors in History: Cognate courses from other disciplines may not be used to replace the history courses listed below. AP credit in history (a score of 4 or better), and approved transfer credits in history, however, may used.
I. European history (five courses): (1) HIST 0103, HIST 0104, or HIST 0105; (2) three of the following: HIST 0139, HIST 0240, HIST 0241, HIST 0242, HIST 0243, HIST 0244, HIST 0245, HIST 0246, HIST 0247, HIST 0248, HIST 0249, HIST 0250, HIST 0253, HIST 0254, HIST 0256, HIST 0257, HIST 0258, HIST 0302, or HIST 0319; and (3) one reading seminar in European history: HIST 0400, HIST 0401, HIST 0402, HIST 0403, HIST 0404, HIST 0423, HIST 0424, HIST 0425, or HIST 0428.
II. American history (five courses): (1) HIST 0203; (2) three of the following: HIST 0204, HIST 0206, HIST 0222, HIST 0362, HIST 0364, HIST 0365, HIST 0367, HIST 0368, HIST 0371, HIST 0372, HIST 0373, HIST 0374, HIST 0375, and HIST 0377, HIST 0391, HIST 0393, HIST 0397 and (3) one reading seminar in American history: HIST 0405, HIST 0406, HIST 0407, HIST 0408, HIST 0409, HIST 0410, HIST 0411, or HIST 0426.
III. Latin American history (four courses): (1) HIST 0285 and HIST 0286; (2) one of the following: HIST 0103, HIST 0104, HIST 0105, HIST 0243, HIST 0244, HIST 0245; and (3) one reading seminar in Latin American history: HIST 0310, HIST 0412, or HIST 0413.
IV. Asian history (five courses): (1) HIST 0111 or HIST 0112; (2) three of the following, including one course each on China and Japan; at least one of the three must focus on the pre-1800 era: HIST 0102, HIST 0133, HIST 0231, HIST 0232, HIST 0235, HIST 0236, HIST 0237, HIST 0238, HIST 0239, or HIST 0273; and (3) one reading seminar in Asian history: HIST 0414, HIST 0415, HIST 0417 or HIST 0418.
V. African history (four courses): (1) HIST 0225 and HIST 0226; (2) one of the following: HIST 0102, HIST 0105, HIST 0245, HIST 0246, HIST 0371, HIST 0372, HIST 0377, HIST 0415; and (3) one reading seminar in African history: HIST 0419, HIST 0420, or HIST 0421.
VI. Middle Eastern history (four courses): (1) HIST 0108 or HIST 0109; (2) two of the following: HIST 0262, HIST 0263, or HIST 0266; and (3) one reading seminar in Middle Eastern history: HIST 0416 or HIST 0427.
Honors: To earn departmental honors, a student must have at least a 3.3 average or above in history department courses other than the senior thesis, have an oral examination on the senior thesis, and receive a grade of at least B+ on the thesis (HIST 0700).
HIST 0100-LEVEL COURSES
The 0100-level courses (0100-0199) deal with events and processes that affect human societies over long periods of time and across broad geographical areas not confined to national boundaries. These courses include components that act as introductions to the field of history.
HIST 0200-LEVEL COURSES
These are lecture courses that deal with a single cultural or national entity, or a clearly related group of such entities, over a substantial period of time (usually a century or more).
HIST 0300-LEVEL COURSES
These courses, for the most part, are temporally or topically focused courses. Most of them are also lecture courses which meet for two 50-minute lectures and a 50-minute discussion section (12-18 students) each week, or for two 75-minute sessions per week in a format that combines lecture and discussion. The HIST 0390 courses are taught in a seminar format. These are not, however, seminars that fulfill the reading seminar requirement .
HIST 0400-0430 READING SEMINARS
Unlike the courses below the 0400 level, which are primarily lecture courses, these courses are reading seminars on particular periods or topics. They are open to all students, although in cases of overcrowding, history majors will be given priority. First-year students are admitted only by waiver.
HIST 0600 HISTORY RESEARCH SEMINAR
All history majors who have not taken a writing and research seminar, (HIST 0450-0460) are required to take HIST 0600 their junior fall or, if abroad at that time, their senior fall semester. In this course students will conceive, research, and write a work of history based on primary source material. After reading and discussion on historical methods and research strategies, students will pursue a paper topic as approved by the course professors.
HISTORY/INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SEMINARS
These seminars are "capstone" courses required for the International Studies major. They are thematic, interdisciplinary, cross-regional, and team-taught. Students who are not International Studies majors may take these courses for departmental credit, but they will not normally fulfill the History Department major requirement of a 0400-level reading seminar or writing/research seminar.
HIST 0700 SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY
All senior history majors will write a two-term thesis under an adviser in the area of their choosing. The department encourages students to do their theses during the fall and winter terms. Fall/spring theses are also acceptable and, with permission of the chair, winter/spring. On rare occasions, with departmental approval given for compelling reasons, a thesis may be initiated in the spring of an academic year and finished in the fall of the following year. All students beginning their thesis in a given academic year must attend the Thesis Writers' Workshops held in the fall and winter of that year. Further information about the thesis is available from the department.
LECTURE COURSES
HIST 0103 The Making of Europe (Fall)
This course covers the history of Western Europe from the death of Caesar in 44 B.C. to the Peace of Westphalia in A.D. 1648. We will examine three interrelated themes: political authority within European society, the development of the religious culture of the West and the challenges to that culture, and the ways in which the development of a European economy contributed to the making of Europe itself. While examining these questions from the Roman Empire to early modern Europe, students will focus on the use of original sources, and on how historians interpret the past. Pre-1800. Not open to seniors. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC EUR (L. Burnham)
HIST 0104 States and Revolutions (Not offered 2008-09)
Most powerful modern states trace their origins to some dramatic upheaval in government and society: a revolution. From where did the idea of revolution come, and why has it been so important in the formation of national states and identities? This course will focus particularly on the English tumults of the seventeenth century, on the French Revolution of 1789-94, on the revolutions of 1848 in Europe, and finally on the Russian Revolution and its worldwide consequences. We will consider what these events may have in common, and whether they represent an age of revolutions that has only recently ended. Pre-1800. (Not open to seniors.) HIS SOC EUR
HIST 0105 The Atlantic World, 1492-1900 (Not offered 2008-09)
Linking the Americas with Europe and Africa, the Atlantic has been a major conduit for the movement of peoples, goods, diseases, and cultures. This course will explore specific examples of transatlantic interchange, from imperialism and slave trade to religious movements, consumerism, and the rise of national consciousness. It will adopt a broad comparative perspective, ranging across regional, national ,and ethnic boundaries. We will consider the varied experiences of Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans as they struggled to establish their own identities within a rapidly changing Atlantic world. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC CMP
HIST 0108 The Early History of Islam and the Middle East (Not offered 2008-09)
This course is an introduction to the history of Islamic civilizations from the advent of Islam around 610 C.E. to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The principal geographic areas covered are the Middle East and North Africa. Since "Islam" encompasses not simply a religion but an entire cultural complex, this course will trace the development of religious, political, economic, and social institutions in this region. Topics covered include the early Islamic conquests, the rise of religious sectarianism, gender relations, and the expansion of Islamic empires. Pre-1800. 3 hrs lect./disc. HIS SOC AAL
HIST 0109 History of Islam and the Middle East, Since 1453 (Not offered 2008-09)
This course is an introduction to the major institutions that evolved under the aegis of what we might call Islamic civilization since the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The principal geographic areas covered are the Middle East and North Africa. Major topics include the rise of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, Western intervention and colonialism, nationalism and state formation, and the challenges of and responses to modernization. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS AAL
HIST 0111 Early East Asia (Not offered 2008-09)
This course deals with the civilizations of China and Japan in the centuries before extended contact with the West. The course is more topical than comprehensive, focusing on the philosophical, religious, and social values that defined and linked the cultures of the "Sinic zone," and on the characteristics that made them distinct. Topics include: Chinese cosmology, Confucianism, Buddhism, the Japanese creation myths, Heian society, and the emergence of the samurai. Pre-1800. Not open to students who have taken HIST 0231 or HIST 0235. HIS SOC AAL CMP
HIST 0112 Modern East Asia (Not offered 2008-09)
This course examines the East Asian region from approximately 1650 to the present. Students are expected to look beyond the confines of the "Western stimulus, Asian response" interpretation of East-West relations; East Asia's encounter with the West is treated as a collision of vastly different, mutually uncomprehending cultural traditions. Not open to students who have taken HIST 0232 or HIST 0236. Limited places available for students to satisfy the College writing requirement. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC AAL CMP
HIST/CLAS 0131 Archaic and Classical Greece (Not offered 2008-09)
See Department of Classics for course description. Pre-1800. HIS LIT EUR
HIST/CLAS 0132 History of Rome (Not offered 2008-09)
See Department of Classics for course description. Pre-1800. HIS LIT EUR
HIST 0133 Nomads of Eurasia (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will investigate the age-old conflict and coexistence of nomadic peoples and their sedentary neighbors in Eurasia. The persistence of the nomadic way of life into the twenty-first century suggests its adaptability in the face of often hostile political and social forces. The histories and cultures of nomadic peoples ranging from Afghanistan and the Middle East to Tibet and Mongolia will be examined. Central Asian Turkic peoples such as the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz will also be included. Pre-1800. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC AAL CMP
HIST/CLAS 0139 Machiavelli in History (Not offered 2008-09)
No Renaissance figure remains as complex and controversial as Niccolo Machiavelli. The beloved and reviled Florentine humanist has been labeled the first "modern" intellectual, precursor to the Atlantic republican tradition, guide for dictators (as well as managers, parents, feminists, and countless others), and a thinker so devilish that even the Devil was eventually considered Machiavellian. In this class we will study Machiavelli in his historical context. We will examine his treatises, histories, plays, poetry and letters, placing Machiavelli and his writings within the framework of sixteenth-century Florence and the Renaissance fascination with the classical authors of Greece and Rome. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS EUR
RELI/HIST/AMST 0170 Religion in America (Fall)
See Department of Religion for course description. PHL HIS NOR (M. Cavazos)
HIST/AMST 0202 The American Mind (Fall)
This course will provide an introduction to the history of influential ideas in and of America, with particular regard to their changing cultural contexts, and their origin in writers' personal experiences. A continuing concern will be the extent and validity of American claims to be an exceptional nation, somehow exempt from world history. Writings will include Franklin, Jefferson, Tocqueville, William James, Henry Adams, Walter Lippmann, Reinhold Niebuhr, Betty Friedan, Frederic Jameson, and Neil Postman. 3 hrs. sem. Previously taught as HIST/AMST 0426 HIS NOR (J. McWilliams)
HIST 0203 United States History: 1492-1861 (CW 10) (Fall)
A survey of American political, social and intellectual developments from the colonial period to the Civil War. Students receiving AP credit in American history may not take HIST 0203 for credit. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC NOR (W. Hart)
HIST 0204 United States History: 1898-2001 (Not offered 2008-09)
This course analyzes the global dimensions of America's rise to power in the twentieth century by examining economic, diplomatic and cultural interactions with other nations and peoples. We will examine the role the United States has played in world events and how other countries and peoples have shaped American society beginning with American imperial expansion after the Spanish-American war and ending with 9/11. Topics covered include American empire and manifest destiny, Dollar Diplomacy, U.S. participation in WWI and II, the Cold War, and globalization. A continuation of HIST 0203, but an independent course; there are no prerequisites. Students with AP credit in American history may not take HIST 0204 for credit. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC NOR
HIST 0206 America and the World Since 1898 (Fall)
This course serves as an introduction to the history of American foreign relations from the Spanish-American War of 1898 to the turn of the 21st century. Through lectures, discussions, and a variety of readings, we will explore the multi-dimensional nature of the nation's rise to power within the global community, as well as the impact of international affairs upon American society. In addition to formal diplomacy and foreign policy, this course addresses topics such as immigration, cultural exchange, transnationalism, and globalization. HIS NOR (J. Mao)
HIST/ECON 0220 American Economic History since 1865 (Fall)
See the Department of Economics for description. SOC HIS NOR (R. Prasch)
HIST/ENVS 0222 Introduction to Environmental History (CW)(Spring)
This introduction to the history of human interactions with the physical environment focuses on case studies, including European settlement of the New World, industrialization, fire, warfare, and the modern environmental movement, both in the United States and beyond its borders. The course explores several themes, including the consequences of European expansion for human communities and their environments; shifting understandings of nature; cities and their hinterlands as different ways that humans organize nature; and class and race as factors in the human experience of nature and of environmentalism. HIS SOC NOR (K. Morse)
HIST 0225 History of Africa to 1800 (Fall)
This course offers an introductory survey of African history from earliest times to 1800. Through lectures, discussions, readings, and films, we will explore Africa's complex and diverse pre-colonial past. Themes examined in the course include development of long-distance trade networks, the linkages between ecological change and social dynamics, the formation of large pre-colonial states, and the transatlantic slave trade and its impact on social and economic relations within Africa. A broader concern in the course is how we have come to understand the meaning of "Africa" itself and what is at stake in interpreting Africa's pre-colonial history. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC AAL (J. Tropp)
HIST 0226 History of Modern Africa (Spring)
We begin looking at revolutions in the early nineteenth century and the transformations surrounding the slave trade. Next we examine the European colonization of the continent, exploring how diverse interventions into Africans' lives had complex effects on political authority, class and generational dynamics, gender relations, ethnic and cultural identities, and rural and urban livelihoods. After exploring Africans' struggles against colonial rule in day-to-day practices and mass political movements, the last few weeks cover Africa's transition to independence and the postcolonial era, including the experience of neo-colonialism, ethnic conflict, poverty, and demographic crisis. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC AAL (J. Tropp)
HIST 0231 Imperial China (Not offered 2008-09)
The history of China, from her cultural beginnings to the conflicts with the West in the 1840s and the internal unrest of the 1850s and 1860s. Special attention will be directed toward the social, institutional, and intellectual processes, such as dynastic succession and bureaucratic centralization that were key constituents in shaping China's traditional period of development. Pre-1800. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC AAL
HIST 0232 Modern China (CW 5) (Spring)
The history of China from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Concentration on the problems of modernization, the rise of Mao as charismatic leader, revolution and the installation of socialism, and the building of an agrarian communist nation-state. Particular consideration will also be given to the contemporary social, political, and economic conditions prevailing in the People's Republic of China. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC AAL (D. Wyatt)
HIST/JAPN 0235 The History of Pre-Modern Japan (Fall)
A study of the cultural, literary, and institutional history of Japan from the earliest times through the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Major themes include: the evolution of Japanese aesthetics, warrior ethics, adaptation and "Japanification" of Chinese institutions, imperial legitimacy, and other concepts and processes that set Japan apart from other nations. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC AAL (N. Waters)
HIST/JAPN 0236 The History of Modern Japan (Not offered 2008-09)
The social, intellectual, and institutional milestones in the evolution of Japan from about 1700 to the present. Topics include: the transmutation of bushido (the way of the warrior) and other Tokugawa values into modern forms, the emergence of nationalism, the road to Pearl Harbor, and the historical roots of the economic achievements of contemporary Japan. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC AAL
HIST/PHIL 0237 Chinese Philosophy (Fall)
A survey of the dominant philosophies of China, beginning with the establishment of the earliest intellectual orientations, moving to the emergence of the competing schools of the fifth century B.C., and concluding with the modern adoption and adaptation of Marxist thought. Early native alternatives to Confucian philosophy (such as Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism) and later foreign ones (such as Buddhism and Marxism) will be stressed. We will scrutinize individual thinkers with reference to their philosophical contributions and assess the implications of their ideas with reference to their historical contexts and comparative significance. Pre-1800. 3 hrs. lect./disc. PHL HIS AAL (D. Wyatt)
HIST 0238 Ancient and Medieval India (Not offered 2008-09)
This course is an introduction to the historical study of pre-modern India. The course will cover the period from the Indus Valley Civilization to the heyday of the Mughal empire. We will examine the controversies swirling around the Indus Civilization, the Aryan invasions, and the establishment of caste and kingship as the basis of early Indian government. We will then proceed to read about subsequent empires, including the Mauryas, the Guptas, and the Islamic Sultanates. We will read a variety of texts, from traditional history books to original sources (e.g., literature, religious tracts, and contemporary political commentaries). Pre-1800. HIS AAL
HIST 0239 Modern India (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will be an introduction to modern Indian history. We will examine political events and social conditions since the decline of the Mughal Empire and the rise of the British Empire in the eighteenth century. We will also focus on three questions: Why did the British have an Indian Empire? How did India gain its independence in 1947? And what is India's postcolonial predicament? As an aid to answering these questions, the class will read a variety of texts, including primary sources, novels and histories. HIS AAL
HIST 0240 Medieval Cities (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will examine the economic, social, topographical and cultural history of the medieval city. We will study the transformation of urban life from the Roman period through the dark years of the early Middle Ages in the West into the flourishing of a new type of European city life in the High Middle Ages. The development of urban institutions, the building of cathedrals, universities and fortifications, and the growth of trade will all be considered, as will the experience of groups such as Jews, women and intellectuals. Although the class will focus on the medieval European city, we will also draw comparisons with cities of the Muslim East. Pre-1800. 3 hrs lect/disc. HIS EUR
HIST 0241 Europe in the Early Middle Ages (Not offered 2008-09)
This course covers the formative centuries in European history which witnessed the emergence of Western Europe as a distinct civilization. During this period, A. D. 300-1050, the three major building blocks of Western European culture: the classical tradition of Greco-Roman antiquity, the Judeo-Christian tradition, and Germanic tradition, met and fused into an uneasy synthesis that gave Western Europe its cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious foundations. Pre-1800. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC EUR
HIST 0242 Europe in the High Middle Ages (Not offered 2008-09)
This course covers the development and expansion of Western European civilization from approximately 1050 to 1300. This period witnessed the rise of towns, commerce, universities, and cathedrals, as well as important developments in the areas of politics, philosophy, and Western culture. Together, these achievements represent a fundamental shift in Western Europe from an impoverished, besieged society to a dynamic civilization that established the institutions and assumptions on which the modern West is based. The goal of this class is to view these achievements of medieval Europe in their own context, with appreciation of the methodological problems presented by medieval sources. Pre-1800. HIS SOC EUR
HIST 0243/RELI 0289 The Mediterranean World, 400-1600 (Spring)
The Mediterranean has long been a crossroads between East and West and North and South, a meeting point of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Southern Europe. Merchants and armies have plied the seaways carrying with them their religions and cultures. The pre-modern Mediterranean offered an exhilarating but, at times uncomfortable, mix of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures. Starting from Fernand Braudel's conceit, we will consider the Mediterranean itself as an important character in the narrative of history. We will study the geography of the Mediterranean as well as its religious, economic, environmental, and cultural history with a view to bringing together different understandings of Mare Nostrum (our sea). Pre-1800. 2 hrs lect./1 hr. disc. HIS CMP (L. Burnham)
HIST 0244 Society and Culture in Early Modern Europe, 1555-1789 (Spring)
War, famine, and disease marked the terrible "iron century" of European history, from 1550 to 1660. Out of this frightful crucible, modern society was created. We will trace this troubled genesis from the aftershocks of the Reformation to the first rumblings of the French Revolution, stressing the conflicts that gave rise to the modern world: monarchy vs. "liberty," religion vs. "enlightenment," elite vs. popular culture. Topics such as the family, witchcraft, warfare, and fashion will be given special attention. Pre-1800. 3 hr lect/disc. HIS SOC EUR (P. Monod)
HIST 0245 History of Modern Europe: 1800-1900 (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will trace several complex threads across the nineteenth century, a period that saw enormous changes in economic structures, political practices, and the experience of daily life. We will look specifically at the construction of nation-states, the industrial revolution and its effects on the lives of the different social classes, the shift from rural to urban life, and the rise of mass culture and its political forms. Taking a cultural perspective, we will consider, for example, the language of working-class politics, the painting of modern urban life, and imperialism in popular culture. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC EUR (R. Bennette)
HIST 0246 History of Modern Europe: 1900-1989 (Spring)
Revolution in Eastern Europe and unification in Western Europe have reshaped the contours of the twentieth century. This course will move from turn-of-the-century developments in mass culture and politics through World War I and II, the rise and fall of fascism, and on into the postwar era. This century has seen a series of radically new ideas, catastrophes, and then renewed searches for stability. But we will also investigate century-long movements, including de-colonization, the creation of sophisticated consumer cultures, and the battles among ideas of nationalism, ethnicity, and international interdependency. 2 hrs. lect. 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC EUR (R. Bennette)
HIST 0247 Traditional Russia (Fall)
This course will examine the social, economic and political history of Russia, focusing on the relationship between the centralized, autocratic state and Russia's different social groups, and the emergence of an autocratic and statist political culture. The course will cover the Kievan, Muscovite and Imperial periods and end with the reforms and counter-reforms of the 1860s and 1880s, and the rise of the revolutionary movement. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect. 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC AAL (O. Sanchez)
HIST 0248 Modern Russia (Spring)
Russia at the turn of the century was faced with a crisis of transition from the traditional world to the modern. The first half of this course will focus on the social, economic and political causes of the crisis, which culminated in the Russian Revolutions of 1917. The course then follows the revolution through the civil war and NEP periods to Stalin's "Revolution from Above," which was largely responsible for creating the Soviet Union as we knew it. The course concludes by examining the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of Russia, and the renewal of attempts to modernize. 2 hrs. lect. 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC AAL (O. Sanchez)
HIST 0249 Germany in the Long Nineteenth Century (Not offered 2008-09)
This chronologically-organized course will examine Germany's development over the long nineteenth century. Pivotal moments in the formation of Germany will be explored, including but not limited to the following topics: the impact of French revolutionary ideas and the Napoleonic Wars on political organization, the revolutions of 1848-9, the industrial revolution, the wars of unification and 1871, the Kulturkampf, and the efforts at colonization in Africa. Beyond politics and economics, however, this course will also attempt to view the developments in high culture and daily life that were intimately tied up with the larger events. This will include themes like the "Catholic ghetto," urban culture, and Marxist philosophy. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS EUR
HIST 0250 The Jews in Modern Europe, 1760-1939 (Not offered 2008-09)
A study of the process through which the Jews, isolated on the fringe of society until near the end of the eighteenth century, integrated into the mainstream of European life. How did the Emancipation, the achievement of the rights of citizenship, and the process of assimilation transform the existence of the Jews? How did they adapt to their Christian surroundings and yet retain a distinctive Jewish identity? How were ancient anti-Jewish prejudices refashioned into new stereotypes, and how did the Jews respond to political movements of anti-Semitism? The course ends with a study of the rise of Zionism. HIS EUR
HIST 0253 British History: 1603-1815 (Not offered 2008-09)
The medieval pattern of English society disintegrated in the seventeenth century. The unity of the English Church, the relationship between Crown and Parliament, even the social hierarchy, were threatened by new developments. After generations of civil war, revolution, and party strife, the eighteenth century saw the establishment of an oligarchic but more flexible order, able to withstand the challenges of radicalism and the American and French revolutions. By 1815 Britain, at the peak of its power in Europe, was already beginning to experience tensions of industrialism. This course will concentrate on the religious, social, and political aspects of these transformations. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS EUR
HIST 0254 British History: 1815-1979 (Not offered 2008-09)
The spectacular rise and dramatic decline of Britain as an imperial and industrial power is the central theme of this course. The century after 1815 was an age of political and social reform and the apogee of middle class culture. But in 1914 the crucial problems of women's rights, of labor against capital, and of Irish nationalism remained unsolved. War and economic depression followed. The Labour Party tried, and failed, to create a social democracy out of post-war Britain. Today, empire gone and industry spent, Britain continues to provide both warning and example to the rest of the world. HIS EUR
HIST/MUSC 0256 Topics in European Culture and History: Weimar Culture and the Nazi Revolution (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will examine the catastrophic collision of tradition and modernity in the Weimar Republic (1919-1933). We will trace the evolution of Germany's politics of Kultur in the decades preceding WW I. The modernist explosion of the Weimar period forms the centerpiece of the course. We will conclude with a consideration of the rise of Nazism in the 1930s. In addition to films and a wide range of musical works, readings will include: Stern, The Politics of Cultural Despair; Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra; Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain; Gay, Weimar Culture; Hitler, Mein Kampf; Rees, The Nazis; Heinrich Mann, Mephisto. 3 hr. lect./disc., screen. ART HIS EUR
HIST 0257 The Holocaust (Not offered 2008-09)
Why did the Holocaust happen? How could the Holocaust happen? In this course we will consider several aspects of the Holocaust, including the long-term conditions and events leading up to it, the measures employed in undertaking it, and the aftermath of the atrocities. Beyond a general survey, this course introduces students to the many varying interpretations and historical arguments scholars of the Holocaust have proposed and invites them to discuss and debate these issues in class. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS EUR
HIST 0262 History of the Modern Middle East (Not offered 2008-09)
This course investigates the history of social and political change in the Middle East from 1798 to the present. Within a general political framework, the course will cover the main social, economic, and intellectual currents. Emphasizing political, economic, social and cultural history, the course seeks to examine the impact of outside powers on the region, the responses of the region's peoples to this challenge, colonization, nationalism and identity, religious and ideological trends, gender issues, major "crises" (including the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Lebanese civil war, and the Iranian Revolution), and efforts to reassert Islamic identity in an era of globalization. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC AAL
HIST 0263 Religion and Politics in Islamic History (Not offered 2008-09)
In this course, we will examine the relationship between religion and politics in Islamic history, from the rise of Islam in seventh-century Arabia until modern times. We will use a range of primary and secondary sources including translations of original Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu texts. Our focus will be mainly on historical trends in the Middle East and North Africa, with some discussion of the Indian subcontinent. Through a chronological and thematic approach, we will explore relevant examples of politicized Islam such as the notion of the Caliphate; the rise of Islamic governments (Sunni and Shi'a); the development of Islamic fundamentalism; Wahhabism; Islamic reformism; reactions to secularism and colonialism; and modern Islamic political activism. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS AAL CMP
HIST 0266 Egypt, Iran, and Turkey: Alternatives to Modernization (Not offered 2008-09)
The Middle East's struggles with modernization are encapsulated in the history of its three most populous nation-states: Egypt, Iran, and Turkey. The rise of nationalism, European incursions in the Middle East, and internal strife contributed to the gradual fall of the Ottoman and Qajar Empires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From the rubble emerged distinct social, political, economic, and religious responses to modernization, ranging from the establishment of a secular, ultra-nationalist state in Turkey, Arab nationalism in Egypt, monarchism and Islamism in Iran. We will explore and compare these three experiences using an array of sources including primary documents, works of fiction, and film. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC AAL CMP
HIST/RELI 0271 The Puritans and Their Cultured Despisers (Not offered 2008-09)
See Department of Religion for description. PHL HIS NOR
HIST/PHIL 0273 Confucius and Confucianism (Not offered 2008-09)
Perhaps no individual has left his mark more completely and enduringly upon an entire civilization than Confucius (551-479 B.C.) has upon that of China. Moreover, the influence of Confucius has spread well beyond China to become entrenched in the cultural traditions of neighboring Japan and Korea and elsewhere. This course examines who Confucius was, what he originally intended, and how the more important of his disciples have continued to reinterpret his original vision and direct it toward different ends. Pre-1800. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS PHL AAL
HIST 0285 Colonial Latin America (Not offered 2008-09)
We will examine the formation of Latin American societies from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, with emphasis on four major phases: indigenous, European, and African civilizations prior to contact; conditions that facilitated the European conquest; life in the colonial societies; and the political, economic, and philosophical changes that led to the independence movements of the nineteenth century. Pre-1800. HIS SOC AAL
HIST 0286 Modern Latin America (Not offered 2008-09)
This survey will trace the philosophical, economic, political, and cultural developments of Latin America from independence to the present day. Particular emphasis will be placed on the formation of nation-states; issues of development, including agricultural production and industrialization; national and cultural symbols; and social relations within Latin American societies. The aim of the course is to provide a broad background of the five major geographical areas of modern Latin America, which include Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Basin, Brazil, the Andes, and the Southern Cone. HIS SOC AAL
HIST 0301 Problems in Contemporary Historiography (Not offered 2008-09)
We will explore competing conceptions of the nature of historical inquiry. The historian's craft will be examined through the varied lenses of major methodological and philosophical paradigms prevalent over the last 30 years: Marxism, "critical" history, structuralism and the Annales School, and post-structuralism. Texts of the philosophers whose thought informs these approaches, such as Marx, Nietzsche, Saussure, Derrida, and Foucault, will be read. Historians whose scholarship has been shaped and influenced by these paradigms, such as Eric Hobsbawm, E.P. Thompson, Fernand Braudel, Le Roy Ladurie, Dominic LaCapra, and Hayden White, will also be considered. 3 hrs. sem. HIS PHL EUR
HIST 0302 European History through the Eyes of the Novelist (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will be a thematic survey of the major cultural trends in European society from the Enlightenment to the twentieth century. Beginning from the premise that cultural production reflects the historical conditions under which it was created, the course will examine European literary works of the Enlightenment, the Romantic Age, the Age of Positivism, and the early twentieth century. Major works to be read will include: Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther, Voltaire's Candide, Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Mann's Death in Venice, Eliot's The Wasteland, and others. Corresponding works of art, architecture, and music will also be considered. HIS LIT EUR
HIST/FMMC 0310 Film and History (Not offered 2008-09)
In this class we will study the challenges and promises of film as a historical artifact by focusing on cinematic representation of social activism and struggles of liberation (from national and post-colonial struggles to the rise of ethnic consciousness and revolutionary movements of the twentieth century). Students will examine how filmmakers present historical figures as well as the acts of ordinary citizens. In addition to researching the historical events represented on the screen, and exploring how film can be used as primary and secondary sources, we will also become involved in the creative process of historical representation. We will study films from countries around the world but most of our examples will come from Latin America and the Caribbean. HIS
HIST/RELI 0318 The Crusades: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Contact in the Middle Ages (Not offered 2008-09)
See Department of Religion for course description. Pre-1800. PHL HIS
HIST/PHIL 0319 Readings in the Philosophy of History (Spring)
Even before the appearance of Georg W. F. Hegel's classic study The Philosophy of History, a heated debate was being waged concerning the nature and substance of history. Is history, like science, expressible in predictable patterns or subject to irrevocable laws? What factors distinguish true history from the mere random succession of events? What should we assume to be the fundamental nature of historical truth, and are we to determine it objectively or subjectively? Is it possible to be human and yet be somehow "outside of" history? These are among the questions we will examine as we read and deliberate on a variety of philosophies of history, while concentrating on the most influential versions developed by Hegel and Karl Marx. 3 hrs. sem. PHL HIS EUR (D. Wyatt)
HIST/SOAN 0327 The Aztec Empire and the Spanish Conquest (Spring)
See Department of Sociology/Anthropology for course description. Pre-1800. HIS SOC CMP AAL (J. Fitzsimmons)
HIST/CLAS 0331 Athens and Sparta (Not offered 2008-09)
See Department of Classics for course description. Pre-1800. LIT HIS EUR CMP
HIST/CLAS 0332 Roman Law (Not offered 2008-09)
See Department of Classics for course description. Pre-1800. HIS EUR
HIST/CLAS 0337 From Alexander to Rome (Not offered 2008-09)
See Department of Classics for course description. Pre-1800. LIT HIS EUR
HIST 0362 Revolutionary America: 1763-1800 (Not offered 2008-09)
A study of the origins, progress, and significance of the American Revolution. In this course we examine the diverse economies, cultures, and sociologies of the American Colonies on the eve of the Revolution; the disruption of the balance of empire in the Atlantic; the ideology which guided colonists in rebellion; the changes wrought by revolution; and the first decades of nationhood under the Constitution. Pre-1800. 2 hr. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS NOR
HIST 0364 Civil War and Reconstruction: 1845-1890 (Spring)
This course explores the era of the American Civil War with an emphasis on the period 1861-1865. It combines lectures, readings, class discussion, and film to address such questions as why the war came, why the Confederacy lost, and how the war affected various elements of society. We will also explore what was left unresolved at the end of the war, how Americans responded to Reconstruction, and how subsequent generations have understood the meaning of the conflict and its legacy. We will make a special effort to tie military and political events to life on the home front. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS NOR (A. Morsman)
HIST 0365 Immigration and American Identity: 1840-present (Not offered 2008-09)
The history of American immigration from the mid-nineteenth century until today. The course will examine why immigrants came to this country, where they came from, and what role they have played in shaping American society. Major themes include: the global dynamics of migration, race, ethnicity and citizenship, globalization, and changes to American immigration policy after 9/11. 3 hrs. lect./disc. HIS SOC NOR
HIST 0366 The Emergence of Modern America, 1877-1929 (Not offered 2008-2009)
At the end of Reconstruction, the values and customs of the village still largely controlled the United States. Fifty years later, the country was defined by its cities, its industrial prowess, and its modern temper. In this course we will explore this remarkable transformation and the variety of responses to it. In particular, we will examine the growing power of corporations, the revolt of the Populists, the complex nature of Progressive reform and the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, the extension of American power beyond its borders, and the perils of prosperity in the 1920s. HIS NOR
HIST 0367 Twentieth-Century America, 1929-1960 (Not offered 2008-09)
This course explores the political, social, and diplomatic history of the United States from the Great Depression and FDR's New Deal to the Affluent society and Eisenhower equilibrium of the 1950's. In addition to the response to the economic crisis of the 1930s, topics include the challenge of totalitarian fascism, World War II and its impact, and postwar America with emphasis on Truman's Fair Deal, the emerging Cold War, the Red Scare and McCarthyism, and the "American High" of the 1950s. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS NOR
HIST 0368 Twentieth-Century America, 1960-2000 (CW 5)(Spring)
This course concentrates on the history of the United States from the emergence of JFK's New Frontier until the eve of September 11, 2001. In particular, we will focus on the ways in which domestic development shaped America's place within the international community, and vice versa. Topics to be considered include: the rise and fall of the post-1945 social welfare state, decolonization and the Vietnam War, increasing American investment in the Middle East, the emergence of the "New Right," the end of the Cold War, and globalization and its contexts. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS NOR (J. Mao)
HIST 0371 African American History (Spring)
This course will explore the history of the African American people from the slave trade to the present. It will examine the process of enslavement, the nature of American slavery, the meaning of emancipation, the response to the rise of legalized segregation, and the modern struggle for equality. Special attention will be given to placing the African American story within the context of the developing American nation, its institutions, and its culture. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS NOR (W. Hart)
HIST/AMST 0372 The Civil Rights Revolution (Not offered 2008-09)
A study of the quest for a more inclusive American polity in the twentieth century. The modern civil rights movement is the central focus, but this course offers more than a survey of events from Montgomery to Memphis. It explores the pre-World War II roots of the modern black freedom struggle, the impact of the heroic phase of the civil rights movement, and the ambiguous developments since 1970. This course employs a "race relations" perspective, stressing the linkages among the experiences of African Americans, whites, and other groups. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS NOR CMP
HIST/AMST/WAGS 0373 History of American Women: 1869-1999 (Fall)
This course will examine women's social, political, cultural, and economic position in American society from 1869 through the late twentieth century. We will explore the shifting ideological basis for gender roles, as well as the effects of race, class, ethnicity, and region on women's lives. Topics covered will include: women's political identity, women's work, sexuality, access to education, the limits of "sisterhood" across racial and economic boundaries, and the opportunities women used to expand their sphere of influence. 3 hrs lect./disc. HIS NOR CMP (A. Morsman)
HIST/AMST 0374 History of the American West (Not offered 2008-09)
This is a survey of the history of the trans-Mississippi West from colonial contact through the 1980s. It explores how that region became known and understood as the West, and its role and meaning in United States history as a whole. The central themes of this course are conquest and its legacy, especially with regard to the role of the U.S. federal government in the West; human interactions with and perceptions of landscape and environment; social contests among different groups for a right to western resources and over the meanings of western identity; and the role of the West in American popular culture. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS SOC NOR
HIST/AMST 0375 The History of Urban America (Spring)
"The magnification of all the dimensions of life," writes Lewis Mumford, " . . . has been the supreme office of the city in history." Mumford's appraisal of the mission of the city can be debated, but the importance of the city to civilization cannot be denied. This course traces the rise of the city in America from the colonial era to the present. It explores why Americans have huddled in concentrated settlements and the consequences of that clustering. Special attention will be given to the growth of the industrial city of the late nineteenth century and the modern metropolis of the twentieth century. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. HIS NOR (J. Ralph)
HIST 0377 Comparative Slavery in the Americas (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will examine the development and decline of the institution of slavery in the United States between 1619 and 1865 by comparing the institution to slavery in the Caribbean and Latin America (principally Brazil). Themes and topics to be explored include: ecology and slavery, religion and slavery, the international slave trade, nationalisms and race, slave communities, slave resistance, emancipation, and freedom. Readings for the course will range from scholarly monographs to slave narratives. HIS CMP
HIST/AMST 0391 Native Americans in the American Imagination (Spring)
In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will examine the changing image of Native Americans in American popular culture from 1800-2000. Through novels, plays, films, photography, advertisements, amusements, sport-team mascots, and museum displays, we will trace and analyze how the American Indian has been defined, appropriated, and represented popularly to Americans from the early republic to the turn of the twenty-first century. We will consider how American popular culture has used over time the image of the American indian to symbolize national concerns and to forge a national American identity. 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR (W. Hart)
HIST/WAGS 0393 A History of Gender in Early America (CW)(Spring)
Exploration, conquest, settlement, revolution, and nation-building: no course in early American history should ignore such traditional topics. In this course, though, we will examine the various ways that gender shaped these historical processes. How, for example, did colonials’ assumptions about manhood and womanhood affect the development of slavery in America? Or how did the Founding Fathers’ identities as men inform their attitudes about democracy and citizenship? We will scrutinize historical documents, of both a private and public nature, and discuss several recent scholarly works on gender from 1600-1850 to consider these kinds of questions. Pre-1800. 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR CMP (A. Morsman)
History 0397 The United States and the Pacific (Fall)
If the 20th century was "America's Century," then it could also be deemed "America's Pacific Century" as interaction with Asia fundamentally shaped the United States' political, social, and diplomatic development. In this course we will examine American foreign relations on the Pacific Rim from the Philippine-American War to the Los Angeles riots of 1992. Topics to be covered include: America's imperial project in Asia, the annexation of Hawaii, Wilsonian diplomacy, the reconstruction of Japan after World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Richard Nixon's visit to Communist China, and the immigrant experience. 3 hrs sem. HIS NOR (J. Mao)
READING SEMINARS
HIST 0400 Saints and Sinners (Fall)
One man casts off all his worldly goods (including his clothes) in public, and is called a saint. Another rejects his wealth while studying the Gospel and preaching, and is declared a heretic. What made Francis of Assisi saintly, and Waldo of Lyons heretical? In this course we will look at saints' lives and heretical sources to examine the grey areas between sanctity and heresy, and their implications for medieval and early modern society. We will examine several case studies (including Francis and Waldo, Joan of Arc, and Menocchio). In a final research paper students will explore another case on their own. 3 hrs. sem. HIS EUR (L. Burnham)
HIST 0401 Readings in Modern European History: Enlightenment, Revolution, and Terror (Fall)
The French Revolution provided a model for democratic political reform throughout the world, spreading new ideas about equality, national identity, and rights for minorities. Although informed by the Enlightenment and progressive social thought, it led to the Terror, a period of violence and repression in the name of revolutionary change. We will examine this attempt to create a just society and the corresponding violence against internal and external enemies. We will also consider the Revolution's origins, the events in France, the shock tremors throughout the world, and the long-term repercussions of change. 3 hrs. sem. HIS EUR (R. Bennette)
HIST/WAGS 0402 Readings in European History: Sex and Society in Modern Europe (Not offered 2008-09)
Since 1789, European women have encountered great upheavals including massive industrialization, intense political and social struggles, and the brutal wars of the twentieth century. This seminar examines how women have experienced and participated in these transformations and how such developments were themselves influenced by ideas about gender differences. We will explore topics such as changing patterns of work and material life, the development of domestic ideology, medico-sexual politics, consumer culture, and fascism. We may also look at some of the gendered aspects of nationalism and the role of European women in colonialism. HIS EUR
HIST 0403 Readings in Modern European History: Tudor England (Spring)
This was one of the most exciting and dynamic periods of English history. It saw the Protestant Reformation, the establishment of a strong monarchy, and the beginnings of imperial expansion overseas. It was also a time of social upheaval, popular unrest, and witchcraft trials. The age of Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Francis Drake and William Shakespeare, it defined for later generations what it meant to be English. 3 hrs. sem. HIS EUR (P. Monod)
HIST 0404 Readings in Russian and Soviet History: Stalin and Stalinism (Spring)
Stalin and Stalinism have had tremendous influence in shaping the former Soviet Union as we know it today, and while Russia has formally rejected the Stalinist system, its influences continue to be felt. Utilizing a combination of biographical and analytical readings, as well as original memoirs, this course will focus on the man and the myth and their influence on various aspects of the Soviet and post-Soviet polity, economy, society, and culture. 3 hrs. sem. HIS EUR (O. Sanchez)
HIST 0405 Readings in American History: The Civil War and American Historical Memory (Fall)
A consideration of the sectional conflict and its influence on both the participant and successor generations. Though the focus will be primarily upon historical and literary texts, the seminar will also explore artistic, architectural, musical, and cinematic expressions of the war and its meaning. (Not open to students who have taken AMST 0365 or HIST 0364.) 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR (J. McCardell)
HIST/ENVS 0406 Readings in American History: American Environmental History (Spring)
Although the U.S. has long been thought "nature's nation," scholars have only begun to include the study of human interactions with nature in their study of the American past. This course will examine the history of interactions between human beings and their physical environments in North America, through readings that bring plants, animals, climates, and landscapes as well as human culture, politics, labor, race, and gender into histories of settlement, capitalism, urbanization, region, science, and policy. Readings will also trace the emergence of this new field, and the problems inherent in creating a more inclusive account of the past. 3 hrs sem. HIS NOR (K. Morse)
HIST 0407 Readings in American History: Cultures in Contact (Not offered 2008-09)
The course will examine the dimensions of cultural contact among Native Americans, Europeans, African Americans, and Euro Americans in the eastern half of the United States, from early encounters at Roanoke, to Cherokee removal to Oklahoma. Themes of investigation include: encounter vs. invasion; Indian depopulation by men, microbes, and munitions; religious conversion; cultural persistence, change, and revitalization; slavery by and of Indians; and the changeable image of the Indian. 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR
HIST/WAGS 0408 Readings in American History: Gender & Race in the American Experience (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will explore a variety of ways that gender and race have shaped the lives of Americans living in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We will also examine how Americans from all walks of life have used gender and racial distinctions to manipulate their identity, improve their circumstances, resist oppression, and gain leverage over others. Readings will address the negotiation of gender and racial boundaries from the antebellum period, through the great migration and immigration waves at the turn of the twentieth century, during military conflicts, and up through the Civil Rights movement. 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR
HIST 0409 Readings in American History: The Cold War at Home and Abroad (Spring)
This course will examine America's Cold War experience from both international and domestic perspectives. In addition to official U.S. foreign policy, readings will consider topics such as: federal state formation, immigration, the struggle for civil rights, shifting definitions of liberalism and conservatism, the military-industrial complex, and anti-communist campaigns waged by private citizens. Rather than divorcing the global and national dimensions of the American Cold War, we will explore their points of convergence and use them to complicate our understandings of the "postwar" era. 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR (J. Mao)
HIST 0410 Readings in American History: The Protest Impulse (Fall)
An exploration of the protest impulse in American history, with particular attention given to the American Revolutionaries, Populists, and Civil Rights activists. Among the key questions to be explored are: What are the principal causes of insurgency? What is the relationship between a leader and a protest movement? Is there an American protest tradition? Why are some insurgent groups more successful than others? As these questions are discussed, we will examine the qualities of good scholarship, the role of theory in history, and the influence of political commitments on the shaping of interpretations. 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR (J. Ralph)
HIST 0411 Readings in American History: The American West (Not offered 2008-09)
The last few decades have brought an explosion of new historical research and writing on the American West, in fields ranging from environmental, cultural, and urban history to Native American, gender, social and labor history. We will explore how scholars define and interpret the region which, perhaps more than others, has come to define the United States as a nation and Americans as a diverse people. Readings will trace how the West was created, conquered, settled, and transformed, and will explore the vibrant contests over land, democracy, identity, and mythic imagination that define the region. 3 hrs. sem. HIS NOR
HIST 0412 Urbanization and the Rise of Popular Culture, 1880-1950's (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will examine the emergence and development of "popular culture" from the turn of the nineteenth century to the end of the1950s. We will study the interconnections between leisure, the development of mass media, particularly the radio, and urbanization. This was a time which witnessed the proliferation of popular music, the emergence of popular religions such as Rastafarianism, the institution of national celebrations such as carnival, and international sports, as well as other cultural manifestations for mass consumption. It will also be important to understand the ethnic, racial and national implications of these developments and to examine how historians study, document and analyze them. Examples will come from Latin America and the Caribbean but we will discuss their impact and relationship to popular culture in other parts of the world including Europe and the United States. HIS CMP
HIST 0413 Diaspora and Exile (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will examine the complex political, economic, and cultural causes and impacts of the movement of peoples across various national boundaries in the 20th century. While we will focus on the African Diaspora in the Americas and Europe, we will also examine and make comparisons to other ethnic, religious and national diasporas. We will study the experiences of exiles and immigrants to Latin America and look at the impact of the first and second world wars as well as during other displacing conflicts. In addition, we will critically examine issues of the contribution of diaspora communities to national communities, intermingling and assimilation, cultural production and the relations of all of the above to power. Students will choose a research topic on a diaspora or exile community of their interest. 3 hrs. sem. HIS CMP
HIST 0414 Readings in the History of India: Gandhi and the Independence of India (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will focus on the works and actions of Mahatma Gandhi. At one level, the readings will provide an introduction to the philosophy and life of one of the most significant, influential, and well-known figures of the twentieth century. At another level, the course will discuss in detail the major themes and occurrences in modern Indian history, tracing the rise and ultimate victory of the Indian nationalist movement. The class will read a variety of texts, including books written by Gandhi, tracts published by his political and religious opponents, social commentaries, contemporary novels, and engaging histories. 3 hrs sem. HIS AAL
HIST 0415 Colonialism (Not offered 2008-09)
This course will examine the history of European colonialism since the early eighteenth century. We will focus on the British Empire in India, although other empires, such as the French, will be studied briefly. Issues to be addressed will include: the social, political, and economic reasons for colonialism, the causes of its collapse, and the ways in which it was represented in art and literature. We will also examine the strength and power of anti-colonial sentiment and activity. Readings will include histories, biographies, and novels. HIS CMP
HIST/WAGS 0416 Readings in Middle Eastern History: Women and Islam (Not offered 2008-09)
In this course we will examine women's lives in Islamic societies from the seventh century to the contemporary period, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. Readings will explore a variety of topics including the changing role of women from pre-Islamic to Islamic societies; women in Islamic law and practice; gender roles in relation to colonialism, nationalism, and radical Islam; non-Muslim women in Islamic societies; and Western images of Muslim women. 3 hrs. sem. HIS PHL AAL
HIST 0417 Readings in Chinese History: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Not offered 2008-09)
Readings will explore a variety of topics including nineteenth- and twentieth-century Chinese and Russian dominance over Central Asia; present-day Chinese policies towards minority peoples (Tibetans, Mongols, Uighurs, Kazakhs, and others) within China; the radicalization of twentieth-century Chinese politics; the position of Chinese intellectuals in relation to the state; and the process of modernization of China's economy and society. HIS AAL
HIST/JAPN 0418 Readings in Japanese History: Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima (Not offered 2008-09)
America's experience in World War II began and ended with Japan, and this course emphasizes the events that marked the opening and closing of active hostilities between the two Pacific powers. Both Pearl Harbor and the dropping of the atomic bombs have generated enormous controversy, both at the time and in retrospect. Students will read and discuss a wide selection of materials that examine these events and their contexts from both Japanese and American perspectives. HIS AAL
HIST/ENVS 0419 Readings in African History: Environmental History of Africa (Spring)
This seminar will explore the history of human-environmental interaction on the African continent. The course examines how scholars have begun unraveling dominant historical understandings of African landscapes, cultures, and pre-colonial ecologies. A major portion of the course looks at how colonial relations shaped conflicts over environmental control and ecological change and the legacies of such dynamics in the postcolonial era. Readings on gender relations, urban environmental change, and the evolution of development thinking will be the focus of class discussions on new ways of interpreting African social and environmental change. 3 hr. sem. HIS AAL (J. Tropp)
HIST 0420 Popular Culture and History in Africa (Not offered 2008-09)
In recent years scholars of the African past have increasingly turned their attention to the multiple arenas of "popular culture" that have helped shape and express Africans' histories. In this course, we will explore the diverse thematic range of such approaches and the new conceptual lenses they bring to interpreting African colonial and post-colonial history. Readings and seminar discussions will touch on such varied historical topics as Africans as producers and consumers of popular photography, film/video, and music; the politics of fashion; and local dynamics of sports and leisure. 3 hrs. sem. HIS SOC AAL
HIST/WAGS 0421 Readings in African History: Women and Gender in Africa (Not offered 2008-09)
This course takes up the challenge of understanding women's experiences and the role of gender in Africa's past. We will read from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives and literary forms, including ethnographies, life histories, and fiction, in order to explore different methodological and interpretive approaches to these subjects. Themes will include: changes in the structure of patriarchy and women's status in the pre-colonial period, the gendered impact of colonial rule on African economies and ecologies, historical identities of masculinity and femininity, and gendered experience of postcolonial "development." Prior experience in African history is not required. 3 hrs. seminar HIS AAL
HIST/WAGS 0423 Readings in Medieval History: Sex and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (Not offered 2008-09)
Was there a medieval war between the sexes? Did women have a Renaissance? How were the institutions of medieval life gendered? Who were the witches, wives, virgins and whores of medieval and early modern Europe? We will consider such phenomena as "holy anorexics," "bridal mysticism," the gendered nature of medieval monasticism and the construction of monasteries, and the witch hunt of early modern Europe. Through intensive analysis of both primary and secondary sources, this course will examine the history of women but also of gender in pre-modern Europe. 3 hr. sem. HIS EUR
HIST 0424 Readings in Modern European History: The Nazis and the Jews (Not offered 2008-09)
Hitler and his functionaries in the Nazi Party initiated and led a vicious campaign to annihilate the Jews of Europe during the Second World War. This seminar will examine the issues and events that helped shape the National Socialist worldview of individuals and groups during the Nazi Holocaust, and will close with an examination of how modern European cultures have addressed the legacy of the Nazi past, including such topics as Holocaust denial and memorialization. 3 hr. sem. HIS EUR
HIST 0425 Modern Religion, Identity, and Conflict (Not offered 2008-09)
Europe experienced a marked decrease in the formal observance of religion during the nineteenth century, and hence, this period is viewed as the point at which the significance of religion declined. Yet, the indirect importance of religion has continued to be substantial. In this course we will explore the lasting influence of religion on the formation of identity and the creation of conflict during the modern era. It will also address methodological questions concerning the study of religion, such as how should religion be defined and how can researchers measure religiosity beyond formal expressions. We will also consider European and American examples from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, concluding with the current significance of religion for terrorism. In light of its formative effect on scholarly interpretations of religion, however, the long nineteenth century in Europe will be the most heavily examined. 3 hr. sem. HIS PHL
HIST 0427 Readings on Ottoman History in the Middle East and the Balkans (Not offered 2008-09)
The Ottoman Empire arose from the rubble of waning Islamic and Byzantine empires and became the longest lasting Islamic empire in history. In this seminar we will explore the rise of the empire, from its nascence as an unknown tribe in thirteenth-century western Anatolia to its formidable dominance of the Mediterranean and European worlds in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and on to its responses to European ascendancy on the eve of modernity. Selected readings will help us explore its origins, its political, social, and cultural structures, as well as its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural identity, with particular attention to its influence on the Balkans and the Arab Middle East during the early modern period. 3 hrs. sem. HIS AAL
HIST 0428 Readings in Medieval History: Violence in Medieval Europe (Not offered 2008-09)
The adjective 'medieval' is today synonymous with excessive violence and cruelty, but how violent were the Middle Ages? In this seminar we will examine violence in medieval Europe, from the Germanic migrations and Viking incursions through the Crusades and the expansion of centralized authorities in the Late Middle Ages. We will explore the evolution of medieval definitions of legitimate and illegitimate violence and how ideas of what constitutes violence are related to concepts of crime, law, custom, and religion. Specific topics to be examined include feuds, warfare, mutilation, torture, crime, violence prevention, and the interpretation of violent images in medieval literature and art. 3 hrs. sem. HIS EUR
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SEMINARS
HIST/INTL 0469 Fascism: Italy and Germany Compared (Spring)
See Program of International Studies for description. This course is equivalent to HIST 0469. (Approval requird) 3 hr. sem. HIS EUR CMP (R. Bennette, N. Chang)
HIST/INTL/RELI 0472 "The Religious Life": Buddhist and Christian Monastic Traditions (Spring)
See Program of International Studies for description. This courese is equivalent to INTL 0472 and RELI 0472. Pre-1800. (Approval required) 3 hr sem. HIS PHL CMP (L. Burnham, E. Morrison)
HISTORY RESEARCH SEMINAR (Replaces previous writing and research seminars numbered HIST 0450 - HIST 0460)
HIST 0600 History Research Seminar (Fall)
All history majors who have not taken a writing and research seminar, are required to take HIST 0600 their junior fall or, if abroad at that time, their senior fall semester. In this course, students will conceive, research, and write a work of history based on primary source material to the degree possible. After reading and discussion on historical methods and research strategies, students will pursue a paper topic as approved by the course professors. HIST 0600 is also open to International Studies and Environmental Studies majors with a disciplinary focus in history. 3 hr. sem. (Staff)
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
HIST 0500 Special Research Projects (Fall, Winter, Spring)
Special research projects during the junior year may be used to fulfill the research seminar requirements. Approval required.
HIST 0700 Senior Independent Study (Fall, Winter, Spring)
The History Senior Thesis is required of all majors. It is written over two terms, with the final grade applying to both terms. The project is generally begun in the fall and completed during winter or spring. Approval is required to begin the thesis in winter or spring, and such students must still attend the Thesis Writer's Workshops that take place in fall and winter.