History Courses 2005-2006

History 101 American Themes            Fall, Spring

An introduction to history as a mode of intellectual inquiry, this is an intensive reading, writing, and discussion course which is limited to 24 students. This course seeks to develop a sense of history through an in-depth study of selected topics and themes in American history. Emphasis is on student participation and the development of critical thinking. Readings involve some textual analysis, and there are frequent short papers. First year students only. Only one themes course may be applied toward the minimum of 10 courses needed for the major. One unit each semester.

History 103 Perspectives on Asia 1: “Traditional” East Asia            Fall

Introduces the major philosophical, political, social, religious and artistic traditions that developed in Asia prior to the twentieth century; examines the historical contexts in which those traditions evolved, and considers their legacy for the modern era. Students are also introduced to the historical discipline itself: the concepts, methods, and tools that historians use to study the past. Various works in translation (fiction, philosophical and religious tracts, chronicles) are used, together with films, slides, field trips, lectures and discussions. Fulfills non-Western requirement and one pre-industrial/pre-modern requirement for the major. One unit.

History 104 Perspectives on Asia 2: Modern Transformations  Spring

Focuses on historical and cultural movements in the Asian region. This a team-taught course and themes vary according to the interests and expertise of the Asian Studies faculty. Creative literature, anthropological accounts, journalists’ reports, films and guest lecturers will be used to gain a multi-layered perspective of these complex societies. Fulfills one non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 105 Asia in Western Fiction & Film             Alternate years

Examines and compares descriptions of Asia and portrayals of Asian societies found in Western novels, short stories and films produced since the mid-19th century, and relates them to colonial and post-colonial historical encounters between Asia and the West. Fulfills one non-Western requirement for the major.  One unit.

History 106 Origins of Japanese Culture            Alternate years in fall

Surveys the development of Japanese social and political institutions, religion, art, and literature from prehistory to A.D. 1600. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between cultural and political change. Students also learn how archeological discoveries, painting, sculpture, poetry, fiction, and performing arts are used to study history. Fulfills non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 109 The Ancient Near East and Greece            Fall, every 3 years

Examines the history of the Ancient Near East, Egypt, and Greece from the Neolithic to the fourth century B.C. Studies and compares the evolution of ancient humanity from prehistoric origins through the growth of ancient empires, explaining history as a discipline while studying the development of early human cultural advance. Fulfills one pre-industrial/pre-modern requirement for the major. One unit.

History 110 Rome: Republic and Empire            Spring

An examination of the growth and evolution of Rome from a city-state republic to its mastery of a Mediterranean empire. Concludes with the restructuring of the Empire by Diocletian and Constantine, and the patristic synthesis of Christian and pagan cultures. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 111 The Rise of the Christian West to A.D. 1000     Fall, Spring

Western history from the later Roman period to the formation of Europe in the 11th century. Covers political, religious, economic, social, artistic and legal developments in the fusion of Roman and Christian civilization, the disintegration of the Western Roman empire in the face of barbarian invasions, relations with the Byzantine Eastern Empire, the impact of Islam, rural and urban life, the Carolingian revival, and the impact of new peoples on the European scene. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 112 Emerging Europe, 1000-1500            Fall, Spring

The emergence of Europe in the 11th century to the era of the Renaissance. Covers political, religious, economic, social, artistic and legal developments in the formation of European states and territorial monarchy, European frontier expansion, urban growth, the evolution of Romanesque and Gothic styles, and the conflict of church and state. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 113 Renaissance to Napoleon, 1500-1815            Fall, Spring

Social, cultural, religious, economic, and political developments in Europe from the Renaissance to the fall of Napoleon. Special emphasis on the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, the evolution of monarchical power, the rise of European overseas empires, the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. Fulfills one of pre-modern/pre-industrial requirements for the major. One unit.

History 114 Napoleon to the European Union, 1815-Present Fall,Spring

European history from the end of the French Revolution to the aftermath of the collapse of communism in Europe: industrialization, the rise of liberalism and nationalism, the revolutions of 1848, the creation of national states in Italy and Germany, evolution of a consumer culture, European imperialism in Asia and Africa, art and culture of the 19th and 20th centuries, World War I, the rise of Bolshevism, fascism and Nazism, World War II, the history of the Cold War, western European integration, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the formation and growth of the European Union. One unit.

History 115 Historical Themes            Annually

An introduction to history as a mode of intellectual inquiry, focusing on a particular theme which changes each semester. Themes courses develop a sense of history through an in-depth study of selected topics; they involve intensive reading and discussion. Only 24 students are enrolled in a Themes course and discussion sections are conducted in small groups of no more than 12 students. Emphasis is placed upon student participation and the development of critical thinking. Readings involve some textual analysis, usually of primary sources. These courses are limited to first year students. Only one themes course may be applied toward the minimum of 10 courses needed for the major. One unit.

History 121 Making of the Modern Middle East           Annually

This course examines the making of modern Middle Eastern states and societies from World War I to the present, including the Arab countries as well as Iran, Israel and Turkey. Against the backdrop of the rise of European economic and political domination vis-a-vis the Middle East and expanding relations of capitalist production in the 18th and 19th centuries, the course surveys the main political, social, economic, and intellectual currents of the 20th century Middle East with an emphasis on historical background and development of current problems in the region. Topics include imperialism, nationalism, state and class formation, religion, Orientalism, women, the politics of oil, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian revolution, the Gulf War and 9/11 and its aftermath. Fulfills non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 126 Colonial Latin America                  Fall

Introduces students to the emerging field of United States Latino history. While the course emphasizes the intersection of U.S. and Latin American national histories, the migration process, and the formation of communities within the United States, it also examines the experience of Latinos in the U.S. through inter-disciplinary themes that include ethnicity, poverty and social mobility, identity, popular culture, and politics-all in historical perspective. Readings will stress the experiences of people from Puerto Rico, Mexico/U.S. Southwest, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Central America. Fulfills one non-Western requirement and one pre-industrial/pre-modern requirement for the major. One unit.

History 127 Modern Latin America            Spring

Surveys the history of 19th- and 20th-century Latin America, focusing on six countries. Topics include the formation of nation-states, the role of the military, the challenges of development and modernization, the Catholic church and liberation theology, social and political movements for reform or revolution, slavery, race relations, the social history of workers and peasants, and inter-American relations. Fulfills one non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 137 American Slavery, American Freedom                  Annually                                                                
Over the course of the term we will examine the intertwined origins and development of American slavery and American freedom, racial ideology and democracy, and the combustible interaction that created the central contradiction of antebellum America: a republican nation professing equality that was also an enormous slave holding society.  Additionally, effort will be made to examine the ways in which historians work and make arguments, and students will be asked to critically examine both primary and secondary documents.  One unit.

History 150 The Formation of American Society, 1491-1877  Annually                                         
This course offers an introductory survey of the history of the United States from the pre-Columbian era through the mid-nineteenth century.  It covers themes such as exploration, colonization, Native American responses, the rise of race slavery, the American Revolution, Euro-American expansion, slave life and culture, industrialization, reform, disunion, the Civil War, emancipation, and Reconstruction.  The course will focus on social developments, conflicting political and economic visions, and tensions between ideals and realities.  One Unit.

History 190 The Historian’s Craft                        Fall, Spring

This course is an introduction to historical methods and to historiography--that is, how history is written and interpreted, and how the discipline or a topic within it has evolved.   Students will learn how historians formulate questions or lines of inquiry, how to locate and read primary sources, how to use secondary sources, how to develop research topics that are incisive and focused, and how to organize and present one's research in oral and written form.  Required of all history majors starting with the Class of 2009.  One unit.

History 199 Introductory Topics in History            Annually

These courses explore various subjects in the historical sciences, emphasizing reading, discussion, and writing on a topic selected by the instructor. Course format and subjects vary from year to year. One unit.

History 200 Environmental History            Spring

Beginning with the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, China, and the Mediterranean,  this course integrates human experience with the natural order. The course examines changing ratios of humans to the land and of humans to other species and the impact of the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the hemispheres after 1492. We will also consider how perceptions of nature have differed over time.  Case studies of environmental crises in the contemporary world will be based on their 19th and 20th century roots. One unit.

History 201 Colonial America            Alternate years in the fall

The exploration, settlement, and development of North America from the late-16th to the mid-18th century. Special emphasis: comparative analysis of the backgrounds, goals, and accomplishments of the original colonists; social structure, economic development, and religious life; immigration and white servitude; slavery; Indian-white relations; and development of the British imperial system. One unit.

History 202 The Age of the American Revolution, 1763-1815      Spring

The American Revolution and independence in the context of Anglo-American ideas and institutions. Special emphasis: imperial reorganization after the Seven Years’ War; colonial resistance and loyalty; revolutionary ideology; social and political consequences of the Revolution; Confederation and Constitution; political parties under Washington, Adams, and Jefferson; and impact of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars on the U.S. One unit.

History 203 The Age of Jackson: 1815-1860         Fall

American life and politics between the time of the Founding Fathers and the Civil War. Emphasizes Jackson’s role as a national hero and political leader; constitutional issues; political and economic developments; continental expansion; antebellum literature, social life, and reform; and the breakup of the Jacksonian consensus as a prelude to the Civil War. One unit.

History 204 Lincoln and His Legacy, 1860-1900         Spring

American life and politics from the Civil War to the end of the 19th century. Emphasizes Lincoln’s leadership and vision, the proximate causes and military progress of the Civil War, “Reconstruction” of the former Confederate states,and the evolution of the 14th and 15th Amendments as protectors of civil rights. One unit.

History 205 U.S. in the 20th Century 1, 1890-1945            Fall

Examines the major political, economic, social and cultural forces that contributed to the modernizing of America. Special emphasis on: industrialization and Empire; the impact of racial, gender, class and ethnic struggles for justice with a democratic republic; “Americanism”; the expanding role of the government in the lives of its citizens; labor and capitalism; popular and consumer culture; war and homefront. One unit.

History 206 U.S. in the 20th Century 2, 1945-present            Spring

Examines the major political, economic, social and cultural forces of the post-WWI era. Special topics include: Reorganizing the post-war world; McCarthyism; consumer and youth culture; the Civil Rights Movement; the New Left and the Vietnam War; the women’s movements; Watergate and the resurgent Right; and post-Cold War America. One unit.

History 207 19th Century U. S. Diplomacy             Fall

Studies the foundations and development of American diplomacy to the turn of the 20th century, with emphasis on the American presidents and their secretaries of states. One unit.

History 208 20th Century U. S. Diplomacy             Spring

A study of the foreign policies and relations of the U.S. with respect to the nations of the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, with an emphasis on the American presidents and their secretaries of state during the 20th century. One unit.

History 211 Labor and Capital in America             Spring

This course examines the origins, development, and maturation of the Industrial Revolution in America, from 1800 to the present, with a special emphasis on the experience of workers and the labor movement they built.  It also takes into account the perspectives and interests of capitalists and the American entrepreneurial tradition to provide as full and complete a picture possible of the often contentious relations between workers and their employers.  One unit.

History 214 Comparative Women’s History            Alternate years

Beginning with the New Woman of the early 20th century, women's social roles were transformed with the spread of women in higher education, the transformation of women's work, and the impact of the women's rights movement.  A particular focus will be the role of gender and sexuality in the construction of Fascism and National Socialism, and the impact of nationalism, imperialism and two world wars on women and the family. Many of the assigned texts are women's writings from the Holocaust and the Resistance.  One unit.  

History 215 American Social Gospel             Alternate years

This course will examine the response of American Christians to the political and social problems confronting the United States. These problems include labor conflict, slavery, racism and civil rights, feminism and the women’s movement, poverty, war and weapons, and the decline of citizenship. The readings will combine theology and social history. One unit.

History 216 American Religious History            Alternate years

A study of the American religious experience from colonial times to the present with an emphasis on the major religions, persons, institutions, and movements. One unit.

History 217, 218 Family in American History 1, 2            Annually

A study of the history of the American family. The first semester deals with the family in America from the English background of colonization in the 16th and 17th centuries to the middle of the 19th century. The second semester covers the mid-19th century to the present. One unit each semester.

History 219, 220 African-American History 1, 2            Annually

The first semester, 1619-1865, explores the passages from Africa to America, and from slavery to freedom. The course will examine in detail 1) the origins of American slavery, and the role of racism and racial ideology, combining with democracy to form America’s “peculiar institution;” 2) the plantation system in maturity; 3) slave resistance and abolitionism; 4) the Civil War and emancipation. The second semester, 1865 to present, explores the problem and promise of freedom, reconstruction, the triumphs of white supremacy, segregation and Booker T. Washington. The course will trace the movement of African Americans through the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, down through to the time of the Civil Rights era. One unit each semester.

History 221 American Urban History            Alternate years

A study of the role of cities in American life and thought from the colonial period to the present, with emphasis on the popular experience of city life, the evolution of municipal government, the organization of urban space, the emergence of suburbs and inner-city ghettoes, and visions of the ideal city in the United States. One unit.

History 222 Great Leaders            Spring

A biographical study of leadership on the international scene as reflected in the persons who have shaped the social, political, intellectual, religious, and economic history of the 20th century. Does not fulfill U.S. history requirement. One unit.

History 223 Radicalism in America            Annually

Americans recognize that we live in a profoundly different nation than that which was created out of the American Revolution. Citizenship, itself, has changed. Civil society has been expanded such that we feel quite confident in our belief that the United States today is a fairer and more just nation in relation to the status of women, African Americans, and working people. We might account for these changes in various ways-the genius of the Founding Fathers, the general prosperity of the nation, even the feeling (an article of faith for some Americans) that “things” just always get better over time. This course is based on the idea that these changes have been the result of human effort, and that the efforts of American radicals have been essential to the rise of the American democracy. We shall examine the thought and action of radicals of various stripe and means, from Tom Paine to Martin King, from the brutal war on American slavery attempted by Nat Turner and John Brown, to the more genteel fight against patriarchy waged by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, and look closely at the various efforts of Wobblies, Syndicalists, and Reds to advance the cause of industrial democracy. One unit.

History 224 Catholicism in the United States            Annually

A historical examination of the development of the Catholic Church and its people in the U.S. Particular attention devoted to issues of church and society as they have developed since the 19th century. One unit.

History 225 – The Civil Rights Movement              Annually               
This course is intended to provide an in-depth study of the civil rights movement from its origins in Jim Crow America to its stirrings in the 1950s, through to the heights of its successes in the mid-1960s and its dissolution thereafter.  We will assess its legacy and consequence in the 1970s and afterward.  Special attention will be paid to the way in which the movement worked within and challenged consensus notions about progress and “the Negro’s place” in Americaand also to the movement as an ideological problem for Americans and activists like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and others.  Additionally, effort will be made to examine the ways in which historians work and make arguments, and students will be asked to critically examine both primary and secondary documents.  One Unit.

History 226 Irish American Experience             Alternate years in fall

Examines the historical experience of the Irish, one of the largest ethnic groups in America. The Irish in America have left an indelible mark on the nation’s economy, politics, and culture, while at the same time they have been shaped by their adoptive country. Among the many topics it addresses include: colonial era immigration, the Famine, changes in ethnic identity, class conflict and the labor movement, the Catholic Church, machine politics and political affiliations, culture and the arts, nationalism and the fight for Irish freedom, upward mobility and the quest for respectability, relations with other ethnic and racial groups. One unit.

History 227 American Immigration to 1882            Alternate years in fall

A survey of immigration from the colonial period to the era of the Civil War. Topics include colonial immigration and the emergence of an American identity; 19th-century immigration from Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, and China; 19th-century nativism; Asian immigration, and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. One unit.

History 228 American Immigration since 1882         Alternate years in spring

A survey of immigration since the era of the Civil War. Topics include new immigration from southern and eastern Europe, the growth of sentiment for immigration restriction, assimilation in the wake of the National Origins Act of 1924, refugee immigrants, Hispanic-American and Asian immigrants, and immigration legislation since 1945. One unit.

History 231 Medieval England to 1216            Alternate years in fall

Examines the political, social, legal and economic developments in England and the Celtic fringe from the prehistoric period, through the Roman and Anglo-Saxon invasions, into the Norman and Angevin eras, ending in 1216 with Magna Carta and the death of King John. Topics include the Romanization of Britain, the growth of Christianity, the roles of medieval women and minority groups, crime and violence. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 232 Medieval Lives            Every third year

Focuses on medieval life-writings dealing with personal expressions of the intersection of faith and action, personal identity and communal responsibility. Chosen works deal with basic questions of morality and ethics, and exhibit the variety of rhetorical methods by which to communicate these issues. Readings range from Augustine’s Confessions, the autobiographies of Guibert of Nogent and Peter Abelard, to the trial testimony of Joan of Arc. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 233 Medieval France            Every third year

Examines the political, social, and cultural developments in France from Roman Gaul to the reign of Louis XI. Emphasizes the institutional development of the state, the vital role of Christianity in the religious, political and intellectual life of France, the evolution of social life and social classes, and the rich artistic and architectural heritage of this era in French history. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 234 Medieval Spain            Alternate years in spring

The historical evolution of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula from their Roman experience to the creation of Spain as a political entity at the end of the 15th century. Emphasis is placed on political, social, economic, religious and artistic development, and the influence of the Visigothic and Muslim invasions and the Reconquest on the shaping of Luso-Hispania. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 236 Renaissance Europe             Every third year

Surveys the significant intellectual, cultural, social and political developments across Europe, beginning with the social and economic structures of family life during the early Italian Renaissance, continuing with the political and artistic expressions of the Italian city-states, and tracing the spread of Renaissance influences to northern Europe through the early 16th century. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 237 The Reformation            Alternate years

The most significant political, intellectual, and religious developments of the Protestant and Catholic Reformation movements in 16th  and 17th century Europe. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 238 The Papacy in the Modern World            Alternate years

Examining the evolution of the papacy from the Renaissance to the present, this course considers the various roles played by the popes, not only in church government, but also in the arts, in politics and diplomacy, and in international advocacy of peace and justice. One unit.

History 239 Louis XIV’s France, ca. 1560-1715            Alternate years

 Studies the politics, religion, society, and culture of early modern France, from the Wars of Religion to the end of the reign of Louis XIV. Considers how and why France was the ‘superpower’ of the seventeenth century. One unit.

History 240 French Revolution and Napoleon    Alternate years in fall

The period of the Enlightenment to the Revolutions of 1789, 1830 and 1848 represents the birth of revolution, the concept of citizenship and of civil rights, and it is still one of the most debated events in modern history.  The focus of the course is the dynamic of revolution itself, its causes and effects, the origins of terrorism, counterrevolution that was massive and durable, the survival of monarchy, and the domination over Europe of a French Empire until 1814.  The strength of both revolutionary and counterrevolutionary movements was demonstrated by the revolution of 1848 which inspired Karl Marx, the founder of modern socialism.

History 241 Modern France             Spring

From the political, social and cultural transformation of France after 1848 through the creation of  the European Union in the 1990s.  It was in this period that Paris was rebuilt as “the capital of Europe”, the center of artistic modernism as well as an economy fueled by an expanding empire.  Having suffered three wars with Germany since 1870, France has experienced the devastating effects of total war on its own territory.  France played a central role in the creation of the European Union, and has had to accept the political reality of being a diminished force in the world since the Second World War.  One unit.

History 242 British Society and Empire, 1763-1901    Alternate years

By the end of the Seven Years War (1756-1763), Britain had emerged as a genuine world power, with holdings larger and richer than any other in the Western world.  During the next one hundred and fifty years, Britain would eclipse its European rivals in industry, trade, and sea power.  At the height of its power in the late nineteenth century, Britain controlled one quarter of the world’s population and one-fifth of its land surface. This course will survey the history of Britain and its empire from the late eighteenth century to the turn of the twentieth century. This course rethinks certain familiar topics in British history by considering the intersections between home and empire and by highlighting how imperial considerations influenced Britain’s social formation.  Topics studied will include the slave trade and slavery, rise of capitalism, industrialization and consumer culture, political reform movements (e.g., anti-slavery, Chartism, and Irish Home Rule), imperialism, religion, and British identity.  One unit.

History 243 Twentieth-Century British Society and Empire   Alternate years

By the turn of the century, at the height of its power, Britain controlled one quarter of the world’s population and one-fifth of its land surface. Over the next sixty years, Britain would lose its status as a world and imperial power. The aim in this course will be to foreground the ways in which imperialism was constitutive of much of the domestic history of Britain from 1901 to 2001, even after Britain lost most of its colonies.  During the course we will focus on Britain's declining role as a world and imperial power and interrogate the meaning of Britain's national and imperial identities.  A good deal of attention will be devoted to a discussion of the two World Wars with analysis of their economic, social, cultural, and ideological repercussions within Britain and its empire. One unit.

History 245 Imperial Russia – Between East and West             Spring

At its height, the empire of tsarist Russia stretched across one-sixth of the earth, running from Germany to the Pacific Ocean and bordering regions as disparate as Sweden, China, and Iran.  Ever-preoccupied with their country's amorphous position between Europe and Asia, Russians have struggled for centuries to define how their vast homeland should modernize and what path of development it should follow.  This course will examine controversies about Russia's relationship to West and East that raged from the time of Peter the Great in 1682 to the outbreak of World War One in 1914. We will focus on the rival critiques of European-style capitalism, and individualism articulated inside the Imperial Empire by pro-autocracy conservatives, on the one hand, and socialist radicals, on the other.  Drawing on novels, memoirs, paintings, and a variety of other primary sources, we will discuss issues including religion and secularization, serfdom and emancipation, terrorism, family and communal values, reluctant industrialization, and revolution.  One unit.

History 251 Colonial Ireland and India      Alternate years
As British colonies gained their independence in the twentieth century, Ireland and India offer interesting points of comparison for studying the nature of British colonialism. Such a comparison offers opportunities to understand distinctions and nuances within colonialism such as the complex interactions of peoples in inherently unequal power relationships; the difficulties of administering a vast multi-national empire in an age of nationalist ferment; and the often stark clash between pre-independence nationalist expectations and post-colonial realities.  We will lay particular stress on their place in the Empire through three lenses: an imperial lens that considers how Britain achieved dominance and maintained rule; a subaltern lens that focuses on indigenous peoples whose “pre (British)-imperial” histories and experiences of empire varied enormously and would continue to shape their relationships in the present; and a lens that probes the complicated interactions between colonizer and colonized.  With regard to the latter, we will explore Ireland’s unique position within the Empire, as both a colonized territory and an imperial participant.  One Unit.

History 253 Russia in the 20th Century            Alternate years

Studies the main stages in Russia’s 20th-century experience: the Russian Revolutions, 1905-1921; the development of a new order, the Soviet Union, 1921-1941; World War II and the Soviet super power, 1941-79; and stagnation and the end of Soviet Union, since 1979. One unit.

History 255 Europe: Mass Politics and Total War 1890-1945            Alternate years in fall

From the high point of European global power and cultural influence, Europe moved into an era of world war, popular millenarian ideologies, dictatorships, and unprecedented mass murder. This course examines the origins, evolution, and impact of the modern European ideological dictatorships, from the cultural ferment and socioeconomic change that characterized the pre-1914 “belle époque” through the two world wars. Topics include: modern art; liberalism and its discontents; the origins and nature of World War I; the Russian revolutions; the Versailles peace settlement; the struggling interwar democracies; the economic crises; communism and fascism; the Italian, German, and Soviet dictatorships; the Spanish Civil War; and the origins of World War II. One unit.

History 256 Europe and the Superpowers: 1939-1991            Alternate years in spring

Postwar Europe was shaped in part by four major influences: the clash between Western liberalism and Soviet communism; the withdrawal from overseas empires; the effort to come to terms with the legacy of world war, and the creation of integrative European institutions. Concentrating on Europe, this course examines reciprocal influences between the Europeans and the two peripheral superpowers (USA and USSR) of the Atlantic community. Topics include: World War II, the Holocaust, science and government, the Cold War, the division of Europe, the revival and reinforcement of western European democracy, denazification, Christian democracy, the economic miracle, European integration, the strains of decolonization, the rise of Khrushchev, the Berlin crises, De Gaulle and his vision, protest and social change in the sixties, the Prague Spring, Ostpolitik and détente, the oil shocks, the Cold War refreeze, the Eastern European dissidents, the environmental movement, Gorbachev’s reforms, and the collapse of communism. One unit.

History 261 Germany in the Age of Nationalism      Alternate years in fall

Late to unify, late to industrialize, and late to acquire democratic institutions, Germany had to cope with all three processes at once, with tragic consequences for human rights and international order. This course analyzes the development of German nation-building from the time of Metternich, through the age of Bismarck and the Kaisers, to the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler. We explore the trends and circumstances in German and European history that came together to produce Nazism. But we also explore the presence of diversity, the alternative pathways, and the democratic potential in pre-Nazi German history. Topics include religious tension and prejudice (Catholics, Protestants, and Jews), Prusso-Austrian duality, the German confederation, the revolution of 1848, German national liberalism, Bismarck’s unification and its legacy, imperial Germany under the Kaisers, German socialism, World War I, the revolution of 1918, the Weimar Republic, and the Nazis. One unit.

History 262 Germany from Dictatorship to Democracy            Alternate years in fall

In Western Germany after World War II, a people that once had followed Hitler now produced perhaps the most stable democracy in Europe. At the same time, eastern Germans lived under a communist dictatorship that lasted more than three times as long as Hitler’s. What is the place of the two postwar Germanies in the broader context of German and European history? To what degree were the two German states a product of their shared past, and to what degree were they products of the Cold War? What are the implications for reunified Germany? This course explores these questions by examining the history of democracy, dictatorship, political ideology, and social change in modern Germany. Topics include: Marx as a German; liberalism, socialism, communism, and political Catholicism in pre-Nazi Germany; popular attitudes toward Nazism; the legacy of Nazism and the Holocaust; the Allied occupation; de-Nazification, the Cold War, and the partition of Germany; Christian Democracy and Social Democracy; the Adenauer era, the Berlin crises, and the economic miracle; German-German relations and the Ostpolitik of Chancellor Willy Brandt; protest politics, Euromissiles, and the Green movement; the development and collapse of East Germany; and Germany since reunification. One unit.

History 267 Modern Italy            Fall

Italy has a distinguished past, but its political unification occurred only in 1861. This course analyzes the process of unification, the social and cultural life of 19th-century Italy, the deep divisions between the north and the south, Italy’s role in both world wars, Fascism and resistance to Fascism, the postwar economic miracle, the role of the Mafia in Italian politics, and Italy’s role in the formation of the European Union. One unit.

Hist 271 The American Indians’ New World (American Indian History 1)                                                                                                           Annually

This course is a survey of American Indian history from the pre-Columbian era through the 1840s.  What was life like in North America 500 years ago?  How did Native Americans react and relate to people from diverse cultures?  Can we make broad generalizations about their lives, or do particularities like sex, age, and geographical location indicate diverse experiences among Native Americans? These are some of the questions we will consider as we explore themes such as trade, work, war, disease, gender, and religion in early North America.  The course begins by looking at theories of origin and life in North America before 1492.  It ends with "removals" to Indian Territory in the 1830s and 1840s.  One unit.

History 272       American Indians: From the Plains Wars to the Present (American Indian History 2)                                               Annually                                                                                                                      
This course explores American Indian history from the 19th-century Plains Wars to the present. Because of the complexity, diversity, historical depth, and geographic scope of North American Indian societies, this course seeks to provide a general framework, complemented by several case studies, through an approach that is both chronological and thematic.  Among the specific topics that the course will address are the development and implementation of U.S. federal policies toward Indian peoples; Indian resistance and activism; definitions and practices of sovereignty; and cultural attitudes towards Indians in American society.   We will treat Native Americans not as victims, but as historical, political, economic, and cultural actors who resourcefully adjusted, resisted, and accommodated to the changing realities of life in North America and continue to do so in the 21st century.  One unit.

History 281 Imperial China            Alternate years in fall

Surveys Chinese political history from the formative era of the imperial system in the fourth century B.C. through the Communist revolution in 1949. Themes demonstrate how the tradition has shaped and is reconstructed to suit contemporary agendas in China. Films, biographies, historical and philosophical writings, and western interpretations of events and personalities offer a variety of perspectives. Fulfills one non-Western and one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 282 Revolutionary China            Alternate years in spring

Introduces students to events, personalities, and concepts of particular significance for understanding China’s 20th-century history. Covers the period from 1911 through the present in some detail through a variety of documentary sources, interpretive accounts, and literature. Fulfills one non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 286 Modern Japan            Spring

Part One provides a chronological overview of early-modern and modern Japanese history from the 17th century to the present. Part Two closely examines the dilemmas of modernization posed for Japan between the 1860s and the 1930s, the choices Japan made, and their consequences. Topics include: industrialization and economic change; law and politics; education, religion, and the state; diplomacy and war; and cultural currents. Fulfills non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 287 The Pacific War            Spring

Examines the origins, conduct, impact, and legacy of the Pacific War. While the primary focus is on the years between the Manchurian Incident of 1931 and Japan’s surrender to the Allied Forces in September 1945, significant attention is also given to the period between 1868 and 1930, when Japan came of age as a modern imperialist nation competing with the Western colonial powers for power, territory, and influence in East and Southeast Asia-as well as to the legacy of the war in the years since 1945. Fulfills non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 288 Japan Since the Pacific War            Fall

Examines the political, economic, social, intellectual, and cultural history of Japan since 1945. Some comparisons are made with the prewar period, in order to place these developments within a broader historical context. Topics include: individual, community and state; religion, education and socialization; gender relations; industrial development and its consequences; Japan and the global community; and postwar interpretations of Japanese history. Fulfills non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 290 Vietnam: More Than an American War            Alternate years in spring

Examines Vietnam in terms of its own unique history and culture through a wide range of materials produced by Vietnamese writers, historians and filmmakers. Covers the Vietnam-American War with an eye to understanding all sides involved and with a critical approach to information. Examines different perspectives of a conflict that continues to trouble both sides by using new materials from Vietnamese and American participants. Films, memoirs and creative literature will offer students a sense of the tenor of life in post-war Vietnam. Fulfills non-Western requirement for the major. Does not fulfill U.S. history requirement. One unit.

History 291 Tarnished Gold: Asian Experiences in America            Alternate years in fall

Explores the myriad experiences of Asian immigrants and sojourners who have come to America in search of peace and prosperity since the 19th century. Examines the context that propel Asian peoples from their homelands to the United States and explores the barriers and opportunities that affect their responses. Draws from a wide range of resources to recognize as well the contributions that Asian peoples have made to American culture and politics. Explores the many ways that ordinary people have coped with a contradiction in American culture, which celebrates pluralism and diversity, yet encourages assimilation and conformity. Takes up current issues as well as those that have become a part of our national story. One unit.

History 292 — Afro Latin America                  Alternate years in spring

This course examines the African Diaspora in Latin America from the aftermath of slavery to the present.  We will study the struggles of Afro-Latin Americans in establishing citizenship and a dignified existence, emphasizing topics such as liberation movements; gender and racial politics; art; African religions in the Americas; national policies of “whitening”; and Afro-centric ideologies of the Caribbean.  The course extensively uses music as both art and historical text.  One unit.

History 293 Ottoman Empire 1, 1300-1600            Fall

In the mid-16th century, all of Europe feared the power of the “Grand Turk”, whose empire stretched from Baghdad to Budapest and from the Adriatic to the ports of the Red Sea. Its population was made up of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Kurds, Serbs and Bosnians, to name only a few. This course surveys the emergence of this demographically diverse and geographically vast Ottoman state from a small frontier principality into a world empire in its social, political and cultural contexts. Fulfills non-Western and one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 294 Ottoman Empire 2, 1500-1922            Spring

This course surveys the major themes in the history of the Ottoman 17th-20th centuries in an effort to understand transformations in state and society, which have collectively been termed by  historians, “decline”. Topics include transformations in the classical Ottoman land and military systems, forms of protest and rebellion, the formation of provincial magnates, Ottoman incorporation into the world economy, reform and revival, the Eastern Question and the rise of local nationalisms throughout the empire. Fulfills non-Western and one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major.   One unit.

History 299 Intermediate Topics in History            Annually

These courses explore various subjects in the historical sciences, emphasizing reading, discussion, and writing on a topic selected by the instructor. Course format and subjects vary from year to year. One unit.

History 305 America’s First Global Age                        Alternate years

We talk a great deal about “globalization” and “global economies” during the late twentieth and early twenty-first century.  However, people living in America were touched by global economic processes as early as the time of Columbus.  This course explores North America’s first global age beginning in the 1400s and extending through the 1860s.  It examines this history thematically by focusing on various kinds of trades and industries such as gold, fish, timber, tobacco, silver, sugar, alcohol, fur, coffee, tea, and cotton.  In addition to economic processes, the course addresses the social, cultural, and political implications of these global trade connections for Americans of African, European, and Native descent. One unit.

History 320 Medieval England: 1216-1485            Alternate years in fall

Political, legal, social, and economic development in England and the Celtic fringe from 1216 and the reign of Henry III to the death of Richard III in 1485. Covers the growth of English common law and Parliament, especially during the reign of Edward I 1272-1307; agriculture and society, particularly during the years of demographic expansion in the 13th century and contraction after the Black Death; disturbances of the Hundred Years’ War, the Wars of the Roses, and the role of crime and violence in medieval society. Fulfills one pre-modern/pre-industrial requirement for the major. One unit.

History 322 War and Cinema            Alternate years in fall

Examines the depiction of war in American and British cinema, contrasting filmed versions to historical events, ranging from Medieval Europe to the jungles of Vietnam. Reading includes analysis of both the historical events and the background to the filmed versions. Emphasis given to the nature of film as a primary source reflecting the perspectives of the society generating it. One unit.

History 324 Italy and France: War & Resistance        Alternate years in spring

Focuses on the nature of resistance to the Fascism in Italy and to the French State under Vichy, and provides the opportunity for more advanced study of Italian and French history to students already familiar with the general history of modern France or modern Italy or those with an interest in the period of the Holocaust and World War II. Traces the emergence of intellectuals out of the opposition to fascism, the postwar political generation by the experience of war and the resistance to fascism by reading the works of Carlo Levi, Ignazio Silone, Primo Levi, Albert Camus, Marguerite Duras, Iris Origo, Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and others. One unit.

History 325  Women and Gender in the War, Holocaust and Resistance                                                             Alternate  years in spring
Beginning with the New Woman of the early 20th century, women's social roles were transformed with the spread of women in higher education, the transformation of women's work, and the impact of the women's rights movement.  A particular focus will be the role of gender and sexuality in the construction of Fascism and National Socialism, and the impact of nationalism, imperialism and two world wars on women and the family. Many of the assigned texts are women's writings from the Holocaust and the Resistance.  One unit.  

History 350 Latino History            Alternate years in fall

Introduces students to the emerging field of United States Latino history. While the course emphasizes the intersection of U.S. and Latin American national histories, the migration process, and the formation of communities within the United States, it also examines the experience of Latinos in the U.S. through inter-disciplinary themes that include ethnicity, poverty and social mobility, identity, popular culture, and politics-all in historical perspective. Readings will stress the experiences of people from Puerto Rico, Mexico/U.S. Southwest, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Central America. One unit.

History 360 The Warrior Tradition in Japan            Alternate years in fall

One of the most popular and durable of Japanese icons is the samurai warrior. Like all traditions, that of the Japanese warrior has evolved over time through a combination of fact and fiction, reality and myth. This course examines both of these histories: the rise and fall of the warrior class itself between the ninth and late-19th centuries; and the evolution of the warrior tradition, which arguably began even earlier and persists today. Various works in translation (legends, war tales, plays, short stories, autobiographies), films, slides, field trips, a martial arts demonstration, student-designed skits, lectures, and discussions are used. Fulfills non-Western requirement for the major. One unit.

History 361 Germans, Jews, and Memory             Every third year
This course explores the place of Jews in German life before, during, and after the Nazi period. The course commences with an examination of the centuries-old issue of assimilation. We then explore the twentieth-century "German world" of Einstein and Freud, everyday Jewish life in Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, survivors and their problems, the place of Jews in divided Germany after 1945, the growing Jewish community in contemporary reunified Germany, and the changing relationships among the children and grandchildren of the Holocaust's perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. The course gives special attention to memory issues in postwar Germany. These issues too have a history. How have Germans dealt with their past? How has the passing of generations affected this issue? Are Jews and non-Jews in today's Germany comfortable with each other?  One unit.

History 399 Advanced Topics in History                         Annually

These courses explore various subjects in the historical sciences, emphasizing reading, discussion, and writing on a topic selected by the instructor. Course format and subjects vary from year to year. One unit.

History 401 History Seminar            Fall, Spring

An intensive research-oriented study on various themes; offered each semester; limited to 12 participants. One unit.

History 408 Tutorial            Fall, Spring

Reading of selected sources, with individual written reports and discussion, under the direction of a member of the department. Students enrolled in a tutorial must receive the approval of the instructor. One unit.

History 420, 421 Fourth-Year Thesis            Annually

An individual, student-designed, professor-directed, major research project. Usually available only to outstanding fourth-year majors. A lengthy final paper and public presentation are expected. Students engaged in a thesis may be nominated for Honors in History. One unit each semester.