2021-2022 University Catalog archived
History (HIST)
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Honors: The History Department offers an Honors Program in history for qualified students; see the department head or department web page for details.
Department Head: Mary (Molly) Michelmore
Faculty
First date is the year in which the faculty member began service as regular faculty at the University. Second date is the year of appointment to the present rank.
David A. Bello, Ph.D.—(2004)-2016
Elizabeth Otey Professor of History
Ph.D., University of Southern California
Richard H. Bidlack, Ph.D.—(1987)-2011
Martin and Brooke Stein Professor of History
Ph.D., Indiana University
Michelle Diane Brock, Ph.D.—(2014)-2018
Associate Professor of History
Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin
Robert Matthew Gildner, Ph.D.—(2012)-2012
Assistant Professor of History
Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin
Sarah Horowitz, Ph.D.—(2008)-2020
Professor of History
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Mary C. (Molly) Michelmore, Ph.D.—(2006)-2020
Professor of History
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Barton A. Myers, Ph.D.—(2013)-2016
Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and History
Ph.D., University of Georgia
William Patch, Ph.D.—(2005)-2005
William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of History
Ph.D., Yale University
Nicolaas A. Rupke, Ph.D.—(2011)-2011
Johnson Professor of History
Ph.D., Princeton University
Melissa E. Vise, Ph.D.—(2018)-2018
Assistant Professor of History
Ph.D. Northwestern University
Note: History courses are numbered according to the following scheme. Within the 200 and 300 levels, the last two digits indicate the following groupings:
00-29 European History
30-69 United States, Canadian, and Latin American History
70-89 African, Asian and Global History
Major
HIST 100 - European History, 325-1492
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An introductory survey, featuring lectures and discussions of European culture, politics, religion and social life, and of Europe’s relations with neighboring societies, from the rise of Christianity in Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance, to the beginnings of the 16th-century Protestant and Catholic Reformations. Peterson.
HIST 101 - European History, 1500-1789
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An individual who died in 1500 would have been surprised, if not bewildered, by many aspects of European life and thought in 1800. What changed over these three centuries? What stayed the same? Why should we in the 21st century, care? This course examines the history of Europe from the Renaissance through the beginning of the French Revolution. It explores the interplay of religion, politics, society, culture, and economy at a time when Europe underwent great turmoil and change: the Reformation, the consolidation of state power, the rise of constitutionalism, global expansion and encounters with “others,” perpetual warfare, the rise of the market economy, the spread of the slave trade, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. This course discusses how these processes transformed Europe into the Western world of today, while also challenging ideas about what “Western,” “European,” and “Civilization” actually mean.
Staff.
HIST 102 - European History, 1789 to the Present
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon, the era of nationalism, the rise of socialism, imperialism, World Wars I and II, the Cold War, and European Union. Staff.
HIST 103 - China: Origins to 20th-Century Reforms
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
China’s history embodies the full range of experience -as domain of imperial dynasties, target of imperial aggression, dissident member of the cold war Communist bloc, and current regional superpower in East Asia. This course tracks these transitions in political and social organization that, among other things, terminated history’s longest lasting monarchical system, ignited two of its largest revolutions, began World War II and produced the most populous nation on earth. A wide range of cultural, political and intellectual stereotypes of China are challenged in the process of exploring its particular historical experience. Bello.
HIST 104 - Japan: Origins to Atomic Aftermath
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course traces the span of Japan’s historical development from its origins through the Cold War, with a special, but not exclusive, emphasis on an environmental perspective. The first half of the course covers the emergence of indigenous Japanese society and its adaptation to cultural and political influences from mainland East Asia, including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese concepts of empire. The second half covers Japan’s successful transition from a declining Tokugawa Shogunate to a modern imperial nation to a reluctant U.S. Cold War ally from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. Bello.
HIST 105 - Scenes from Chinese History
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Film is one of the 20th century’s most influential forms of mass communication and, consequently, has been one medium for the creation and maintenance of nation-states. In this sense, no film can be considered as mere entertainment entirely divorced from the social, political, economic and, ultimately, historical context in which it was produced. This is particularly true of modern nation-states “invented” during the 20th century like the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This course is intended to explore how contemporary PRC cinema has interpreted Chinese history, as represented by some of that history’s pre-PRC milestones of conflict in the Qin and Qing dynasties as well as the Republican period. Students evaluate the films critically as historical products of their own times as well as current historical narratives of the past by examining each event through a pair of films produced at different times in PRC history. Students also examine post-1949 changes in China and its interpretation of its pre-1949 history, and so, by seeing how a country interprets its history at a given time. Bello.
HIST 107 - History of the United States to 1876
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of United States history from the colonial period through Reconstruction with emphasis on the American Revolution, the formation of the Constitution, the rise of parties, western expansion, the slavery controversy, sectionalism, secession, Civil War and Reconstruction. Staff.
HIST 108 - History of the United States Since 1876
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of United States History from Reconstruction to the present with emphasis on industrialization, urbanization, domestic and international developments, wars, and social and cultural movements. Staff.
HIST 111 - Roman History
(CLAS 111) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The course covers a long chronological span, from the period of the city’s prehistoric foundations to the final years of the western Empire in the fifth century CE. The aim of the course is not only to treat the major political and social events of Roman history according to the annalistic tradition, but also to give special attention to various cultural norms and practices, the structure of Roman society and its institutions, and the interactions between different social groups in each period. Central to our study of these themes will be a consideration of the wide range of primary evidence available to ancient historians and an understanding of the methodological problems encountered in reconstructing the history of any society. Easton.
HIST 130 - Latin America: Mayas to Independence
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An introduction to the “Indian” and Iberian people active from Florida to California through Central and South America between 1450 and 1750. Gildner.
HIST 131 - Modern Latin America: Túpak Katari to Tupac Shakur
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of Latin America from the 1781 anticolonial rebellion led by indigenous insurgent Túpak Katari to a globalized present in which Latin American youth listen to Tupac Shakur yet know little of his namesake. Lectures are organized thematically (culture, society, economics, and politics) and chronologically, surveying the historical formation of people and nations in Latin America. Individual countries (especially Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, and Peru) provide examples of how local and transnational forces have shaped the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of North and South America and the Caribbean, and the cultural distinctions and ethnic diversity that characterize a region too often misperceived as homogeneous. Gildner.
HIST 170 - The World of Islam: Origins to 1500
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course surveys the political, social, and cultural history of the Islamic World from the 7th to 15th centuries, with particular attention paid to the diverse geographical and cultural contexts in which pre-modern Islamic civilization flourished. Topics include the origins of Islam in late Antiquity; the development of Islamic religious, political, and cultural institutions; the flourishing of medieval Islamic education, science, and literature; the tension among state, ethnic, sectarian, and global Muslim identities; and the emergence of a distinctly Muslim approach to historiography. Atanasova.
HIST 171 - The World of Islam: 1500 to the Present
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course surveys the political, social, and cultural history of the Islamic World from the 16th to 21st centuries, with particular attention paid to the diverse experiences of the various regions that make up the Islamic world. Topics include the emergence of the early modern centralizing states in Iran, Turkey, India, and elsewhere; the spread of Islamic religious and political practices in Africa and Asia; the colonial and post-colonial confrontation between the Islamic World and Europe; and the evolution of new political, cultural, and intellectual movements as Muslim nations in the context of globalization. Atanasova.
HIST 172 - Muslims in the Movies
(REL 172) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An examination of the history of visual representation of Islam and Muslims in classical and modern cinema. We approach movies produced by both Muslims and non-Muslims over the last century as historical sources: visual monuments that have captured the specific cultural and political context in which they were produced. We examine a selection of these movies through the lens of critical theory and the study of religion in order to pay attention to how questions surrounding identity and representation, race and gender, Orientalism and perceptions of difference have historically influenced and continue to influence cinematic images of Islam. Atanasova.
HIST 174 - Global History since 1300: Connections and Change from Genghis Khan to Boko Haram
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A study of the increasing interconnection of various parts of the world from the 14th century to the present. The class focuses on mobility–the way that people, ideas, objects, and materials move through various geographic and social spaces and across borders throughout history. This course is thematic in its approach, emphasizing that ‘globalization’ is hardly a new phenomenon but has occurred for centuries. We examine the ways that peoples, communities, and nations made and remade themselves as they traveled across the globe over the past seven centuries. Equal emphasis on Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Tallie.
HIST 175 - History of Africa to 1800
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Examination of the history and historiography of Africa from the origins of humankind to the abolition of the trans- Atlantic slave trade. Topics include human evolution in Africa, development of agriculture and pastoralism, ancient civilizations of the Nile, African participation in the spread of Christianity and Islam, empires of West Africa, Swahili city-states, and African participation in the economic and biological exchanges that transformed the Atlantic world. Tallie.
HIST 176 - African History Since 1800
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Examination of the history and historiography of Africa from the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present. Topics include precolonial states and societies, European colonial intrusions and African responses, development of modern political and social movements, decolonization, and the history of independent African nation-states during the Cold War and into the 21st century. Tallie.
HIST 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
First-year seminar. Prerequisite: First-year standing. Topics vary by term and instructor.
Fall 2021, HIST 180-01: FS: First-Year Seminar: The History of American Capitalism: From Colonization to Crypto (3). Prerequisite: First-year class standing only. What is capitalism, how did it develop in the United States, and how have historians studied it? These are the principal questions that will guide this course on the history of American capitalism from the colonial period to the present. To understand capitalism in its historical context, we will examine its relationship to the social, cultural, technological, environmental, and political changes that have defined American history: settler colonialism, slavery, industrialization, ecological transformation, consumerism, and more. Throughout, we will consider enduring questions about the relationships between economic growth and inequality, dynamism and instability, opportunity and exploitation. Each week you will read historical scholarship and examine primary sources not only to better understand American capitalism, but to develop your ability to sort and evaluate evidence, to make arguments, and to interpret the past. (HU) Sammons.
HIST 190 - Bibliographical Resources
Credits: 1
Corequisite: Enrollment in a history course requiring a research paper. An introduction to bibliographical tools and their use, including finding aids to the historical literature of various countries and periods. Most class meetings and assignments take place in the first half of the term in order to permit completion of a specialized bibliography essential to the preparation of the research paper in the corequisite course. Degree credit is given for only one 190 course, regardless of academic discipline. Directed by the history faculty and the library staff.
HIST 195 - Topics in History for First-years and Sophomores
FDR: HU
Credits: 3 credits in Fall or Winter; 4 credits in Spring
Prerequisite: Varies with topic. Selected topic or problem in history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
Fall 2021, HIST 195A-01: Topics in History for First-years and Sophomores: Romans and Barbarians (3). This course investigates the world of Late Antiquity (200-800 AD) by looking at the relationship between “Romans” and “barbarians.” Exploring the transformation between the late Roman empire and the Early Middle Ages, we will interrogate questions of identity and ethnicity to reframe the political, institutional, and cultural changes in this critical period in European history. Students will examine famous events like the Crisis of the Third Century, the conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity, the “fall of Rome,” the foundation of Islam, and the establishment of the Frankish empire. (HU) Halsted.
Fall 2021, HIST 195A-02: Topics in History for First-years and Sophomores: Romans and Barbarians (3). This course investigates the world of Late Antiquity (200-800 AD) by looking at the relationship between “Romans” and “barbarians.” Exploring the transformation between the late Roman empire and the Early Middle Ages, we will interrogate questions of identity and ethnicity to reframe the political, institutional, and cultural changes in this critical period in European history. Students will examine famous events like the Crisis of the Third Century, the conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity, the “fall of Rome,” the foundation of Islam, and the establishment of the Frankish empire. (HU) Halsted.
HIST 200 - Dante: Renaissance and Redemption
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of the culture, society, and politics of early Renaissance Italy using the life of the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and his Divine Comedy. This period witnessed revolutions in Florence and Rome and the emergence of new artistic forms aimed at reconciling Christian beliefs with classical thought, notably that of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and the Roman poet Virgil. It also generated conflicts between popes, kings, and emperors that issued ultimately in modern European states. First, we survey Dante’s historical setting using a chronicle by one of his contemporaries, Dino Compagni. We then follow Dante on his poetic pilgrimage of personal and collective redemption through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven as he synthesized the artistic, religious, philosophical and political challenges of his age. Peterson.
HIST 201 - Violence in Pre-Modern Europe
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Popular imagination envisions violence in pre-modern Europe as it appears in film and video games like Assassin’s Creed 2 – an age of vendetta, factional and gang violence, constant war, and abuse. Yet the same period witnessed great movements for peace and the creation of a new identity: The Chivalrous Knight. We look at the history of large-scale violence and in particular at warfare, popular revolt, government-sanctioned violence, enslavement, and inter-religious violence from the period 800-1600 CE to begin answering that question. When and why was violence justified or even considered a positive attribute of social life and when and why not? Vise.
HIST 203 - The Italian Renaissance in Its Historical Setting
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Examines, through lectures and discussions, the Italian Renaissance within the framework of European religious, political and cultural development. The rise and impact of commercial and urban values on religious and political life in the Italian communes to the time of Dante. Cultural and political life in the “despotic” signorie and in republics such as Florence and Venice. The diffusion of Renaissance cultural ideals from Florence to the other republics and courts of 15th-century Italy, to the papacy, and to Christian humanists north of the Alps. Readings from Dante, Petrarch, Leonardo Bruni, Pico della Mirandola and Machiavelli. Peterson.
HIST 204 - The Age of Reformation
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Examines the origins, development, and consequences of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations of the 16th century. The late medieval religious environment; the emergence of new forms of lay religious expression; the impact of urbanization; and the institutional dilemmas of the church. The views of leading reformers, such as Luther, Calvin, and Loyola; and the impact of differing social and political contexts; and technological innovations, such as printing, on the spread of reform throughout Europe. The impact of reform and religious strife on state development and the emergence of doctrines of religious toleration and philosophical skepticism; recent theses and approaches emphasizing “confessionalization,” “social discipline,” and “microhistory.” Peterson.
HIST 205 - Public and Private in Europe, 1700-1900
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
This course investigates the construction of and relationship between public and private spheres in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. It explores the relationship between civil society and democracy, how women’s roles were redefined at the advent of modernity and the relationship between the public and the private spheres. Horowitz.
HIST 206 - Gender & Sexuality in Modern Europe
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course investigates the history of Europe from the late 18th century to the present day through the lens of women’s lives, gender roles, and changing notions of sexuality. We examine how historical events and movements (industrialization, the world wars, etc.) had an impact on women, we look at how ideas about gender shaped historical phenomena, such as imperialism and totalitarianism. We also consider the rise of new ideas about sexuality and the challenge of feminism. Horowitz.
HIST 207 - Dreaming of Paris (Revised as a result of COVID-19)
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
For the revised Spring 2020 offering:
“The City of Lights.” “The City of Love.” The capital of fashion. The world’s most romantic city. The second most visited city in the world. For centuries, Paris has held an enduring appeal as a city of devoted to pleasure, intellectual life, culture, art and fashion. This course examines the appeal of Paris and some of the mythologies of the city, as well as the reality and the history behind the image. Horowitz.
HIST 208 - France: Old Regime and Revolution
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Historical study of France from the reign of Louis XIV to the Revolution, tracing the changes to French society, culture and politics in the 17th and 18th centuries. Topics include absolutism under Louis XIV, the Enlightenment, socioeconomic changes during the 18th century, and the Revolution. Horowitz.
HIST 209 - France Since the Revolution
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Historical study of France from the Revolution through the present, tracing France’s revolutionary tradition and the continuing “Franco-French” war it spawned, and the construction of and challenges to French national identity. Topics include the successive revolutions of the 19th century, the acquisition and loss of two empires, and the transformations in French society brought by wars, industrialization, and immigration. Horowitz.
HIST 210 - Paris: History, Image, Myth
FDR: HU
Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Students may not take this course and ARTS 223. Participants in this course spend four weeks in Paris asking the following questions: how has history shaped Parisian life and Parisian spaces? How can we use photography to document the city’s changing landscape as well as understand its rich past? Indeed, how has photography–the development of which is closely tied to Paris’ history–altered the fabric of the city? Topics include the social and political transformations of the 19th century, the shifting geography of artistic Paris, and contemporary trends such as immigration and gentrification. This course is taught in close collaboration with ARTS 223, creating an interdisciplinary context for students to explore the relationship of photography to the modern history and contemporary issues of Paris.
Horowitz.
HIST 211 - Scandal, Crime, and Spectacle in the 19th Century
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course examines the intersection between scandal, crime, and spectacle in 19th-century France and Britain. We discuss the nature of scandals, the connection between scandals and political change, and how scandals and ideas about crime were used to articulate new ideas about class, gender, and sexuality. In addition, this class covers the rise of new theories of criminality in the 19th century and the popular fascination with crime and violence. Crime and scandal also became interwoven into the fabric of the city as sources of urban spectacle. Students are introduced to text analysis and data mining for the humanities. Horowitz, Walsh.
HIST 212 - Crime and Punishment in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An exploration of the history of crime, law enforcement, and punishment during the period of 1200-1650. Our central project is to investigate the deep problems of writing history from a paucity of very biased sources: the criminal records of a world of the past. We begin with the central historical questions: What counted as criminal when, who defined it, and with what authority? What could count as proof of guilt? What constituted acceptable punishment (torture, imprisonment, spectacle executions, penance) and how did this change over time? What role did politics, religion, class, gender, or marginal status play? Vise.
HIST 213 - Germany, 1815-1914
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The impact of the French Revolution on Germany, the onset of industrialization, the revolution of 1848, the career of Bismarck and Germany’s wars of national unification, the Kulturkampf between Protestants and Catholics, the rise of the socialist labor movement, liberal feminism and the movement for women’s rights, the origins of “Imperialism” in foreign policy, and Germany’s role in the outbreak of the First World War. Patch.
HIST 214 - Dictatorship and Democracy in Germany, 1914-2000
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The failure of Germany’s first attempt at democracy in the Weimar Republic, the interaction between art and politics, the mentality of the Nazis, the institutions of the Third Reich, the Second World War and Holocaust, the occupation and partition of Germany in 1945, the reasons for the success of democratic institutions in the Federal Republic, the origins of modern feminism, the economic collapse of the German Democratic Republic, and the process of national reunification in 1989-91. Patch.
HIST 215 - From Weimar to Hitler: Modernism and Anti-Modernism in German Culture after the First World War
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
Germany adopted an admirably democratic constitution after the First World War, and the Weimar Republic became a center of bold experimentation in literature, the arts, theater, cinema, and scholarship, but it also became a hotbed of radical nationalism and xenophobia. This course analyzes the relationship between art and politics through case studies in the debates provoked by anti-war films and poetry, the Bauhaus “international style” of architecture, the plays of Bertolt Brecht, expressionist art, and films and paintings to celebrate the advent of the “New Woman.” Why did modernism inspire so much anxiety in Germany in the 1920s? To what extent did cultural experimentation contribute to the popularity of Adolf Hitler? What lessons did Weimar intellectuals in exile learn from the Nazi seizure of power? Patch.
HIST 216 - The Making of Modern Scotland: Braveheart to Brexit
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A surveys of the history of the Scottish people from the medieval period up to the current debates surrounding the possibility of Scottish Independence and the future of Great Britain. Along the way, we examine the Wars of Independence, the Renaissance and Reformation, the Scottish Enlightenment, the Highland clearances, emigration to North America, involvement in the British Empire, and the development of Scottish nationalism. Students confront two interrelated questions: How has the history of Scotland been made, manipulated, and romanticized over the last seven centuries, and why do we remain fascinated by this small country across the Atlantic? This class, then, is both an introduction to Scottish history, and an exploration of the thin lines between history, myth, and reality. Brock.
HIST 217 - History of the British Isles to 1688: Power, Plague, and Prayer
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The history of the British Isles to 1688 tells the story of how an island remote from the classical world came to dominate much of the modern one. This course ventures from Britain during Roman occupation and Anglo-Saxon migration, to the expansion of the Church and tales of chivalry during the Middle Ages, then finally to exploration and conflict during the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. Topics include the development of Christianity, Viking invasions, the Scottish wars of independence, the evolution of parliament, the Black Death, the Wars of the Roses, the Reformation, the beginnings of Empire, and the 17th-century revolutions. Brock.
HIST 218 - Rule Britannia, 1688- 1990: The History of Britain from the “Glorious” Revolution to the Iron Lady
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course explores three centuries of British history, from the Revolution of 1688 to the era of Margaret Thatcher. Between these years, Britain became the world’s pre-eminent industrial and imperial power— one that has had a profound influence on the history of America. Though only a small collection of islands in the North Atlantic, throughout these centuries Britain created, for good and for ill, an empire upon which the sun never set. At the same time, British society at home had to come to grips with the dark underbelly of urban, industrial life - crime, disease, prostitution, unrest, etc. We examine the themes of revolution, economic growth, imperialism and decolonization, geopolitics, modern warfare, race and gender, and above all, ideas of “Britishness” across time and space. Brock.
HIST 219 - Seminar: The Age of the Witch Hunts
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. First-years may request instructor consent. This course introduces students to one of the most fascinating and disturbing events in the history of the Western world: the witch hunts in early-modern Europe and North America. Between 1450 and 1750, more than 100,000 individuals, from Russia to Salem, were prosecuted for the crime of witchcraft. Most were women and more than half were executed. In this course, we examine the political, religious, social, and legal reasons behind the trials, asking why they occurred in Europe when they did and why they finally ended. We also explore, in brief, global witch hunts that still occur today in places like Africa and India, asking how they resemble yet differ from those of the early-modern world. Brock.
HIST 220 - Imperial Russia, 1682 to 1917
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
From the rise to power of Peter the Great, Russia’s first emperor, through the fall of the Romanov dynasty. Bidlack.
HIST 221 - Soviet Russia, 1917 to 1991
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. The revolutions of 1917, the emergence of the Soviet system, the Stalinist period, Stalin’s successors, and the eventual collapse of the USSR. Bidlack.
HIST 222 - Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union and the Resurgence of Russia
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Note: Completion of HIST 102 is recommended but not required. This course analyzes the reasons for the decline of the Soviet Union commencing in the latter part of the Brezhnev era and its collapse under the weight of the failed reforms of Gorbachev. It further traces the fragmentation of the USSR into 15 republics and the simultaneous devolution of authority within the Russian Republic under Yeltsin. The course concludes with the remarkable reassertion of state power under Putin up to the present. Students write an essay assessing the Yeltsin transition and engage in a class debate at the end of the term on the prospects for Russia’s future. Bidlack.
HIST 223 - International Relations, 1815-1918: Europe and the World
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Topics include the “Metternich system” for maintaining peace, strains in that system caused by the rise of nationalism, European relations with Africa and Asia during the era of Free Trade, the dramatic expansion of Europe’s colonial empires in the late-19th century (with special emphasis on the partition of Africa), the development of rival alliance systems within Europe, and the causes of the First World War. Our goal is to understand the causes of international conflict and the most successful strategies for maintaining peace. Patch.
HIST 224 - International Relations, 1919-2000: The End of European Hegemony
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors, and first-years who have AP European History or IB credit by obtaining instructor consent. Topics include the Versailles peace settlement of 1919, the spread of the British Empire to the Middle East and birth of Palestinian nationalism, the impact of the Great Depression and totalitarianism on international relations, the outbreak of the Second World War, the Holocaust and foundation of the State of Israel, the Nuremberg Trials, decolonization in Africa and Asia, the origins of the Cold War, and the foundation of the European Economic Community. What have Europeans learned about conflict resolution from their experience of two world wars and numerous colonial wars? Patch.
HIST 225 - The Reformation in Britain: Blood, Sex, and Sermons
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The Reformation of the 16th century shattered the once unitary religious cultures of England and Scotland. Although important continuities remained, the introduction of Protestantism wrought dramatic effects in both countries, including intense conflict over nature of salvation, the burning of martyrs, the hunting of witches, religious migrations, a reorientation of foreign policy, changes in baptismal and burial practices, and more. Students explore these changes and the lives and legacies of some of history’s most fascinating figures, from Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell in England to Mary Queen of Scots and John Knox in Scotland, while also constantly asking how ordinary English and Scottish men and women experienced the Reformation and its aftermath. Brock.
HIST 226 - Pillage, Peddling and Piety: Travel in the Middle Ages
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Perhaps contrary to expectation, Medieval people traveled extensively for trade and profit, pilgrimage and piety, conquest and gain, and even for pleasure. These motives cut across the cultures of the medieval world to encompass Muslims, Christians, and Jews and led these people to places both proximate to and far distant from Europe. We explore the medieval world as a world that moved. To that end, in addition to some more traditional academic exercises, students create a group mapping project using a host of digital tools that can communicate movement, exchange, and interaction. Topics include pilgrimage, trade, economic systems, holy war, gender, race, and chivalry. Vise.
HIST 227 - Discover Scotland: History and Culture through Theater
(THTR 227) FDR: HU
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 4
Spring Term Abroad. For a small nation of just over 5 million, Scotland looms remarkably large in our historical, cultural, and artistic imagination. This course travels to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Highlands to allow students to go beyond the mythologizing and romance to discover Scotland as it has been experienced and performed by the Scottish people. Using Scotland’s vibrant and remarkably political theater scene as our jumping-off point, we study this country’s history and culture, examining the powerful intersections of myth and reality that shape Scottish identity past and present. We pay particular attention to the dichotomies – Highland and Lowland; urban and rural; separatist and unionist; poor and rich; Protestant and Catholic, etc. – that make modern Scotland such a fascinating subject of historical and artistic inquiry. Brock, Levy.
HIST 228 - Women in Russian History
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Students read many accounts by and about Russian women to gain an understanding of how Russian women have been affected by wars, revolutions, and other major events and, simultaneously, how they have been agents of change from the beginnings Russian history up to the present. Bidlack.
HIST 229 - Topics in European History
FDR: HU
Credits: 3 credit in fall or winter; 4 in spring
A course offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in European history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
HIST 230 - Discovering W&L’s Origins Using Historical Archaeology
(SOAN 230) FDR: SS4
Credits: 3
Not open to students who have taken SOAN 181 with the same description. This course introduces students to the practice of historical archaeology using W&L’s Liberty Hall campus and ongoing excavations there as a case study. With archaeological excavation and documentary research as our primary sources of data. we use the methods of these two disciplines to analyze our data using tools from the digital humanities to present our findings. Critically, we explore the range of questions and answers that these data and methods of analysis make possible. Hands-on experience with data collection and analysis is the focus of this course, with students working together in groups deciding how to interpret their findings to a public audience about the university’s early history. The final project varies by term but might include a short video documentary. a museum display, or a web page. Gaylord.
HIST 233 - U.S.-Latin American Relations from 1825 to Present
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Examines the historical interaction between Latin America and the United States from Spanish American Independence in 1825 to the present. Explores the political, social, cultural, economic, and ecological dimensions of this relationship, focusing on such key themes as imperialism, development, military-state relations, the environment, the war on drugs, science and technology, and human rights. Gildner.
HIST 236 - Afro-Latin America
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This class examines the intrinsic role that African peoples have played in the historical formation of the geographic and cultural area known as Latin America. We survey the history of African descendant people in the Americas from the forced migration of the Atlantic slave trade to the Haitian Revolution; from the sugar plantation to the city street; from Brazilian Samba in the 1920s to the emergence of salsa music in Spanish Harlem in the 1970s. Topics include slavery, the Haitian Revolution and its legacy, debates on “racial democracy”, and the relationship between gender, race, and empire. Gildner.
HIST 238 - Anthropology of American History
(SOAN 238) FDR: SS4
Credits: 3
This course explores issues within historic American communities that ethnographers often investigate among living groups, including cultural values, religious ideologies, class structures, kinship networks, gender roles, and interethnic relations. Although the communities of interest in this course ceased to exist generations ago, many of their characteristic dynamics are accessible through such means as archaeology, architectural history, and the study of documents. Case studies include early English settlement in Plymouth, Mass.; the 18th-century plantation world of Virginia and South Carolina; the post-Revolutionary Maine frontier and 19th-century California. Bell.
HIST 240 - Early American History to 1788
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An intensive study of the political, constitutional, economic and social development of British North America from European discovery through the American Revolution and the years of the Confederation government. DeLaney.
HIST 242 - The United States, 1789-1840
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The political, constitutional, economic and social history of the United States from the beginning of Washington’s first term as president to the end of Van Buren’s only term. Launching the Republic; Hamiltonian economic program; the first party system; the Revolution of 1800, the second war for independence; the second party system; westward expansion; Nullification; the Bank War; and the second Great Awakening. Staff.
HIST 243 - The Evolution of American Warfare
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course examines U.S. military history from the colonial period to the post-9/11 American military experience. Since this is a period of more than four hundred years, the course limits its focus to major topics and central questions facing the men and women who have fought in American wars. We trace the course of American military history by focusing on three themes: the early development of American military institutions, the evolution of military policy toward civilian populations, and the changing face of battle in which Americans have fought. All three of these themes relate to the central goal of this course, which is to gain a better understanding of how America’s military developed in conjunction with and sometimes in conflict with American democracy. Myers.
HIST 244 - The Art of Command during the American Civil War
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. Most appropriate for students who have completed HIST 245 or HIST 269. Additional course fee required, for which the student is responsible after Friday of the 7th week of winter term. This seminar examines the role of military decision-making, the factors that shape it and determine its successes and failures, by focusing on four Civil War battles: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Wilderness. Extensive reading and writing. Battlefield tours. Myers.
HIST 245 - The American Civil War
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The sectional crisis. The election of 1860 and the secession of the southern states. Military strategy and tactics. Weapons, battles, leaders. Life of the common soldier. The politics of war. The economics of growth and destruction. Emancipation. Life behind the lines. Victory and defeat.
Myers.
HIST 246 - American Experience with Guerrilla Warfare and Insurgency
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course dives headlong into the chaotic, destructive, and brutally violent world that has been American Involvement with irregular warfare. Over the past 400 years, Americans have trained guerrillas, fought as irregulars, and sparked armed insurrections. This course looks at the broad typology of violence known as irregular warfare, including insurrections, violent revolutions, partisan and guerrilla warfare, U.S. Army/Native American conflict, and 20th-century insurgency and low-intensity conflict. Myers.
HIST 247 - America in the Gilded Age, 1870-1900
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of the transformation of American society under the impact of industrialization and urbanization. It examines how business leaders, workers, farmers, and the middle class attempted to shape the new industrial society to their own purposes. Emphasis is given to social, intellectual, and cultural experiences and to politics. Senechal.
HIST 250 - Saints and Sinners in the Puritan Atlantic
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This class explores the history of Puritans—a term that was itself derisive— on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the legacy of Puritanism in Britain and America. Topics covered include the development of Puritanism after the English Reformation, the settlement of Massachusetts, the trial of Anne Hutchinson, relationships with Native Americans, the English Civil War and rule of Oliver Cromwell, and the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Throughout, we will pay special attention to the relationship between religion and politics, the role of gender in Puritan life and theology, the nature of transatlantic ideas and communication, and popular practice versus orthodoxy. Brock.
HIST 254 - History of the U.S. Welfare State
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of the history of the U.S. welfare state from the 19th century through today. Topics include Social Security, welfare, the War on Poverty and Great Society, the Reagan-Era War on Welfare. Students analyze contemporary public-policy questions in their historical dimensions, and use historical knowledge to better understand contemporary political and policy debates. Michelmore.
HIST 255 - England in the Age of Shakespeare
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This class uses the dates of Shakespeare’s life (1564-1616) as our chronological frame to explore the history of England during the profoundly important reigns of Elizabeth I and James VI and I. Together we examine the era of personal monarchy and the growing resistance of parliament, the encounters with “others” beyond England’s shores, the relationship between gender and power, the spread of religious convictions and contradictions, colonialism and the beginnings of the British Empire, and the great literary and artistic figures of the day. We also investigate what life was like for the average men and women who lived and died during England’s “golden age.” Brock.
HIST 256 - The History of Violence in America
(SOAN 256) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An examination of the social origins, evolution, and major forms of extralegal, violent conflict in the United States, including individual and collective violence and conflict related to race, class, gender, politics, and ethnicity, especially emphasizing the 19th and 20th centuries. Major topics include theories of social conflict, slavery and interracial violence, predatory crime, labor strife, and inter-ethnic violence. Senechal.
HIST 257 - History of Women in America, 1609-1870
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An examination of women’s social, political, cultural and economic positions in America through the immediate post-Civil War. Changes in women’s education, legal status, position in the family, and participation in the work force with emphasis on the diversity of women’s experience, especially the manner in which class and race influenced women’s lives. The growth of organized women’s rights. Senechal.
HIST 258 - History of Women in America, 1870 to the Present
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of some of the major topics and themes in American women’s lives from the mid-19th century to the present, including domestic and family roles, economic contributions, reproductive experience, education, suffrage, and the emergence of the contemporary feminist movement. The influence on women’s roles, behavior, and consciousness by the social and economic changes accompanying industrialization and urbanization and by variations in women’s experience caused by differences in race, class, and region. Senechal.
HIST 259 - The History of the African-American People to 1877
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An intensive study of the African-American experience from the colonial period through Reconstruction. Special emphasis is given to the slave experience, free blacks, black abolitionists, development of African-American culture, Emancipation, Black Reconstruction, and racial attitudes. DeLaney.
HIST 260 - The History of the African-American People since 1877
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An intensive study of the African-American experience from 1877 to the present. Special emphasis is given to the development of black intellectual and cultural traditions, development of urban communities, emergence of the black middle class, black nationalism, the civil rights era, and the persistence of racism in American society. DeLaney.
HIST 261 - Women and Slavery in the Black Atlantic
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
From the 16th century to the 19th century, over 12 million Africans were shipped to the New World. Of those who survived the Middle Passage, fewer than 500,000 arrived in the United States; the vast majority were dispersed throughout the Caribbean and South America. The experiences of enslaved women, as well as the relationships between free and enslaved women, are as diverse as the African diaspora. Given the broad geographical scope of Africans’ arrivals in the New World, this course offers a comparative examination of women and slavery in the Black Atlantic. Topics for consideration include black women’s gendered experiences of slavery, white women’s roles in slave societies, and women abolitionists. Students also examine how African and European conceptions of gender shaped the institution of slavery in the New World. Particular attention is devoted to slavery in West Africa, Barbados, Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. Dennie.
HIST 262 - The Old South to 1860
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A study of the making of the Old South. Slavery. Antebellum political, economic, social, and cultural developments. The origins and growth of sectionalism. Myers.
HIST 264 - Morning in America? Society, Culture and Politics in The Age of Reagan
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
This course provides students with an in-depth analysis of the United States during the Reagan presidency. While the bulk of the course focuses on the 1980s, it also provides an overview of the 1960s and 1970s as well as the legacy of the decade for contemporary America. Rather than studying a single theme across a long period of time, this class provides students with a variety of thematic approaches within a more confined time-period. Accordingly, while the focus is on national politics, we explore the impact of the decade on economic, social, cultural, diplomatic, and political history. Michelmore.
HIST 265 - The U.S. in the Era of World War II
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course studies the history of the Second World War, with particular attention to its consequences for the United States. Major topics include the political and economic origins of the war, the American debate over intervention, American military and diplomatic strategy, the effect of the war on the U.S. economy, the consequences for mobilization for American society, and the myth and reality of the “Greatest Generation.” Michelmore.
HIST 266 - The American Century: U.S. History from 1945
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course surveys the social, political, cultural, and economic history of the United States in the post-1945 period. Topics include the atomic bomb and the cold war, the growth of the state, liberalism, conservatism and radicalism, race and civil rights, feminism and anti-feminism, and foreign policy. Michelmore.
HIST 268 - Building a Suburban Nation: Race, Class, and Politics in Postwar America
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Together, the overdevelopment of the suburbs and the underdevelopment of urban centers have profoundly shaped American culture, politics and society in the post-WWII period. This course examines the origins and consequences of suburbanization after 1945. Topics include the growth of the national state, the origins and consequences of suburbanization, the making of the white middle class, the War on Poverty, welfare and taxpayers “rights” movements, “black power,” and how popular culture has engaged with questions about race and class. In the process of understanding the historical roots of contemporary racial and class advantage and disadvantage, this course will shed new light on contemporary public policy dilemmas. Michelmore.
HIST 269 - Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History
FDR: HU
Credits: 3-4
A course offered from time to time, depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in United States, Latin American or Canadian history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
Spring 2022, HIST 269A-01: Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: Slavery and Colonialism in the African Diaspora (4).
The histories, politics, and cultures of various regions have given shape to the global African diaspora, at times producing continuities and at others, points of departure. Two constants, however, are the prevalence of colonialism and slavery, particularly in Africa and the Caribbean. This class will examine the impacts that colonialism and slavery have had on colonized peoples, as well as the linkages between African and Caribbean history, by traveling to Barbados and Martinique—a former British colony and a former French colony. Particular points for consideration include colonial systems of governance, such as direct rule and indirect rule, as well as the contemporary legacies of colonialism and slavery, including movements for reparations. (HU, EXP, GL) Dennie and Kamara.
Winter 2022, HIST 269A-01: Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: History of the Civil Rights Movement (3).
This course will examine the trajectory of the Civil Rights Movement by focusing on particular events, strategies, organizations, and political actors. After identifying the conditions that contributed to the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, the course will trace the movement from the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board case to the rise of Black Power during the 1970s. The course will conclude by examining the relationship between the Civil Rights Movement and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. (HU) Dennie.
Winter 2022, HIST 269B-01: Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: Thugs, Jezebels, and Contemporary Politics (3).
In the months prior to the 2016 presidential election, race relations in the United States were propelled into the American public consciousness with great force, although race has continually exerted an omnipresent influence on contemporary politics. Beginning with Clarence Thomas’s 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings, this course will survey how discourse on Black femininity, masculinity, sexuality, and class has impacted American politics from 1991 to the present. Topics for consideration include welfare reform, reproductive justice, mass incarceration, voter suppression, and white nationalism. Readings will also consider how Black activists and Black public figures such as lawyers, journalists, and politicians have responded to and resisted racism and sexism in contemporary politics. (HU) Dennie.
Winter 2022, HIST 269C-01: Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: The Indigenous South (3).
This course is about Indigenous southerners and the region they have long inhabited. It is a chronically broad course that will focus primarily on the history of Indigenous people and nations in the Southeast from the pre-contact period to the present. Comprised of diverse peoples, speaking different languages, and with a range of customs and beliefs, the people of the Native South nevertheless share common cultural traditions, social systems, and histories. In this class will examine the Mississippian mound building civilizations; Native southerners encounters with Europeans; the American Revolution, Civil War, and Jim Crow as seen and experienced in the Native Southeast; and contemporary struggles for Native sovereignty in Virginia. Students will learn about the experiences of Indigenous southerners throughout southern history and in the present; be introduced to the methodologies used by ethnohistorians and in the discipline of Native American and Indigenous Studies that are used to recover Indigenous perspectives and history; develop a final project that explores Indigenous history and erasure in and around Rockbridge County. (HU) Sammons.
Fall 2021, HIST 269A-01: Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: Introduction to Black Women’s History (3).
What happens when American history is narrated by Black women and through Black women’s experiences? How might we understand US history if we locate Black women at the center rather than the peripheries? These questions provide the guiding framework for this course. This course will trace African American women’s history from slavery to the present. Particular attention will be devoted to Black women’s labor, activism, intellectual thought, and cultural productions. We will also consider how race, gender, class, and sexuality have functioned in Black women’s lives. (HU) Dennie.
HIST 271 - Islam in America: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
(REL 271) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
From the discourse on the War on Terror, to debates about Muslim women’s dress, Islam in America has attracted the attention of journalists, activists, government officials, and scholars of religion. This course takes a critical-historical approach to the topic by examining key themes in the history of Islam in America: the lives of enslaved African Muslims in the Antebellum period and the Founding Fathers’ visions of Islam; the immigrant experience of Arab Muslims at the turn of the 20th century; the role of Muslim organizations in the Civil Rights movement; and, the changing representations of American Muslims after the Gulf War and post-9/11. In interrogating the history of Islam in America, we specifically pay attention to the ways in which religion, gender, class, race, and citizenship continue to inform representations of Muslims in the U.S. Atanasova.
HIST 272 - Victorian Britain and the World
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An examination of the reign of British monarch Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) on a global scale, paying careful attention to imperialism, gender, sexuality, and violence. Staff.
HIST 275 - African Women in Comparative Perspective
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
In this course, we will widen our appreciation of African Women’s experiences, including history, legal and socio-economic status, religious and political roles, productive and reproductive roles, and the impact of colonialism and post-independence development and representation issues. The course will move across time and space to examine the aforementioned in pre-colonial, colonial and ‘post’-colonial Africa. We will begin with the question: What common beliefs/images about African women did/do Euro-Americans share? Ballah.
HIST 276 - History of South Africa
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course aims to study the history of the country of South Africa with particular attention to both the uniqueness and the commonalities of its colonial history with other settler societies. Unlike other Anglophone settler colonies, South Africa never reached a demographic majority where white settlers became predominant. Instead, European settlers made fragile alliances against the African and Indian populations in their midst, solidifying a specific form of minority settler rule. This rule was crystallized in the near half-century of apartheid, the legal discrimination of the vast majority of the country for the benefit of a select few. Students emerge from this course as better scholars of a different society and of many of the historic pressures and struggles that are part of the history of the United States. Tallie.
HIST 277 - Speaking and Being Zulu in South Africa
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
“Sanibonani, abangani bami!” (“Greetings, my friends!”) Want to learn more about an African language and culture? We spend the first two weeks intensively learning isiZulu, a language spoken by over 10 million people in South Africa. We also learn about the history of the Zulu people in southern Africa, covering topics from colonialism, racial discrimination, gender and sexuality, and music, and we enjoy Zulu music and film. “Masifunde ngamaZulu!” (“Let’s learn about the Zulus!”) Tallie.
HIST 278 - Great Moments in the History of Medicine
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Significant aspects of medicine’s development through the ages. Great doctors and the plight of patients are considered, along with major breakthroughs in diagnostic practice and clinical treatment, benefits and costs to humanity, failures and ethical dilemmas. We explore medicine as a situated practice by dealing with its institutionalization, hospitals, psychiatric institutions, and biomedical laboratories. Special attention is paid to some of the many points of friction that are evident when looking at the changing place of medicine in society. Rupke.
HIST 279 - Africa in the Western Imagination
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
From benefit concerts to AIDS charities to study abroad literature, Africa is everywhere. And yet it is frequently explained only in absence or in suffering. Rather than being a place that is defined by what it is, often Africa is viewed by what it is not, and the term ‘Afro-pessimism’ has been coined by some to criticize such solely negative depictions of a vast and varied continent. What, then, is ‘Africa’: a location on a map, a geographical boundary? Who are ‘Africans’? What does the idea mean and how is it used? This course draws on literature and popular culture to discuss the very idea of ‘Africa’ and how the concept has been created, redefined, re-imagined, and (de)constructed in differing times and spaces. Tallie.
HIST 280 - History of the Caucasus and Central Asia
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The peoples who inhabit the Caucasus Mountains region and Central Asia are extraordinarily diverse in their history, culture, language, and religion. The area has been a crossroads of civilizations for centuries, and comprises present-day southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. Students study how the Caucasus region and Central Asia have developed from early-recorded history to the present, through close reading and discussion of scholarly texts and primary sources. Students also write an analytical essay from a range of assigned topics and a research paper on a topic of their own choosing. Bidlack.
HIST 282 - Picturing Muhammad? Perceptions of the Prophet from the Hijra to Hip-Hop
REL 282 FDR: HU
Credits: 3
To Muslims, Muhammad is a prophetic figure whose model life is to be emulated; to non-Muslims, a controversial figure that has stirred the imagination for centuries. Through an analysis of the earliest non-Muslim sources on Muhammad, to insider Muslim narratives of the prophet’s miraculous life, to polemical medieval Christian stories about him, to Deepak Chopra and Muhammad in hip-hop, this course explores the various historical, literary, and media representations of Muhammad. We will pay special attention to recent controversies on visual depictions of Muhammad, as well as contemporary ritual practices surrounding the embodiment of Islam’s most important prophet. Atanasova.
HIST 284 - Visions of Japan’s Empire in East Asia: 19th-Century Origins through World War II
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Japan’s 19th-century imperial system ensured its status as the only major non-western “great power” in the first half of the 20th century. Within the space of its fifty years of existence (1895-1945), imperial Japan underwent radical political, social and cultural transformations that had equally profound effects on East Asian and world history, culminating in World War II. The course explores these distinctive transformations, which constitute Japan’s theory and practice of political and cultural imperialism, through an analysis of text and image, from which the class constructs a website. Bello.
HIST 285 - Seminar: The Yin and Yang of Gender in Late Imperial China (10th-19th centuries)
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Relations between men and women are the basis of any human society, but the exact nature and interpretation of these relations differ from time to time and from place to place. The concepts of Yin (female) and Yang (male) were integral to the theory and practice of Chinese gender relations during the late imperial period, influencing marriage, medicine and law. This course examines the historical significance of late-imperial gender relations across these, and other, categories from both traditional and modern perspectives. Bello.
HIST 286 - History of Kyrgyzstan from the Silk Road to the Present: Crossroads of Empire, Culture, and Religion
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Experiential Learning. An analysis of the history of empire, culture, and religion in the Central Asia nation of Kyrgyzstan. Together with the course instructor, students travel to Bishkek, attend courses taught by faculty of the American University of Central Asia, and visit important sites and landmarks within the city. The program includes an excursion of several days to the northern and southern shores of Lake lssyk-Kul, where students experience rural, nomadic life, hike in the mountains, and stay in yurts. Students keep a daily log and write a research paper on a topic of their choice with the instructor’s approval. Bidlack.
HIST 288 - Key Thinkers on the Environment
(ENV 288) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
“Key thinkers on the environment” are central to this course, ranging from ancient greats such as Aristotle to modern writers such as David Suzuki and E.O. Wilson about the ecosystem crises of the Anthropocene. We highlight certain 19th-century icons of environmentalist awareness and nature preservation, such as Alexander von Humboldt in Europe and Humboldtians in America, including Frederic Edwin Church and Henry David Thoreau. Rupke.
HIST 289 - Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History
FDR: HU
Credits: 3 in fall or winter; 4 in spring
A course offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in Asian or African history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
HIST 295 - Seminar: Topics in History
FDR: HU
Credits: 3-4
A seminar offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, in a selected topic or problem in history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
Spring 2022, HIST 295A-01: Topics: Slavery and Colonialism in the African Diaspora (4). The histories, politics, and cultures of various regions have given shape to the global African diaspora, at times producing continuities and at others, points of departure. Two constants, however, are the prevalence of colonialism and slavery, particularly in Africa and the Caribbean. This class will examine the impacts that colonialism and slavery have had on colonized peoples, as well as the linkages between African and Caribbean history, by traveling to Barbados and Martinique—a former British colony and a former French colony. Particular points for consideration include colonial systems of governance, such as direct rule and indirect rule, as well as the contemporary legacies of colonialism and slavery, including movements for reparations. (HU, EXP, GL) Dennie and Kamara.
Winter 2022, HIST 295A-01: Topics: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic (3). This course investigates the Roman Republic from its foundation after the overthrow of the last Roman king to its transformation into the Roman empire. Topics covered will include the Conflict of the Orders, Rome’s early expansion, the Punic Wars, the reforms of the Gracchi brothers, and the careers of powerful generals seeking to dominate the state like Marius, Sulla, and Julius Caesar. Students will read and analyze some of the most important historical sources from the era, including Livy, Polybius, Plutarch, Sallust, Caesar, and Cicero. (HU) Halsted.
Winter 2022, HIST 295A-02: Topics: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic (3). This course investigates the Roman Republic from its foundation after the overthrow of the last Roman king to its transformation into the Roman empire. Topics covered will include the Conflict of the Orders, Rome’s early expansion, the Punic Wars, the reforms of the Gracchi brothers, and the careers of powerful generals seeking to dominate the state like Marius, Sulla, and Julius Caesar. Students will read and analyze some of the most important historical sources from the era, including Livy, Polybius, Plutarch, Sallust, Caesar, and Cicero. (HU) Halsted.
HIST 304 - Seminar on Medieval Heresy and Inquisition
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
The advent of heresy in the medieval west spurred major developments in law and legal procedure, many of which found their way to the practice of Western law today. But its most memorable practice, inquisition, is better remembered as a blood-thirsty and irrational institution that preyed upon free-thinking. What was heresy? Who defined it and why, after a hiatus of almost 500 years, did it all of a sudden seem to appear on the horizon in the 11th century? This course explores this turbulent but arguably creative moment in the history of Western culture and consider techniques of power, the creation of in-groups and out-groups, gender, literacy, politics, reform and revolt, and the nature of religious practice. Vise.
HIST 305 - Seminar: Religion and the Church in Medieval and Renaissance Politics and Society
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Using texts and documents from the period itself, this seminar surveys the history of the Christian church in Western Europe and its relations with its neighbors from its emergence in Late Antiquity to the eve of the Protestant Reformation. Topics include the evolution of religious orders, relations with secular powers, scholastic theology, mysticism, humanism, lay religious movements, gender, heresy, and the recurring problem of reform. Peterson.
HIST 306 - Seminar: Politics and Providence: Medieval and Renaissance Political Thought
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
How did religion shape politics and the development of political institutions in the Middle Ages? This seminar surveys the evolution of political thought from St. Augustine to Machiavelli. We examine Christianity’s providential view of history, church-state relations, scholasticism, the revivals of Greek and Roman philosophy, humanism, and the origins of the modern state. Readings include St. Augustine, John of Salisbury, St. Thomas Aquinas, Marsilius of Padua, Leonardo Bruni, and Niccolò Machiavelli.
Peterson.
HIST 307 - Seminar in Politics and History: The Machiavellian Moment
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Is it better to be loved or feared? How much of our destiny do we control? When are societies fit for self-rule? Can people be forced to be good? Niccolò Machiavelli, arguably the first and most controversial modern political theorist, raises issues of universal human and political concern. Yet he did so in a very specific context–the Florence of the Medici, Michelangelo, and Savonarola–at a time when Renaissance Italy stood at the summit of artistic brilliance and on the threshold of political collapse. We draw on Machiavelli’s personal, political, historical, and literary writings, and readings in history and art, as a point of entry for exploring Machiavelli’s republican vision of history and politics as he developed it in the Italian Renaissance and how it addresses such perennial issues as the corruption and regeneration of societies.
Peterson.
HIST 309 - Seminar: The French Revolution
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing. The French Revolution is one of the most fascinating and momentous events in European history. At once “the best of times” and “the worst of times,” the Revolution was both the origin of modern democracy and a period of tremendous political violence - indeed, some say it is the origins of totalitarianism. In this seminar, we study the following questions: What are the origins of the Revolution? How did a revolution that began with proclamations of human rights turn into one of mass bloodshed in just a few short years? How did a desire for democracy lead to political violence? What was the nature of the Terror, and how can we understand it? We also examine how various schools of history have interpreted the Revolution, as well as the legacy of the Revolution. Horowitz.
HIST 310 - Seminar: Speech and Censorship in the Middle Ages
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
What is censorship, where does it happen, and why? To most U.S. Americans, the Middle Ages is an era known for Inquisition, book burning, and the brutal silencing of political and religious dissent. Yet, compared to more modern censoring institutions, the institutions of medieval Europe held much weaker powers of enforcement, different motives for censoring, and ambiguous technologies to do so. What and who could censor (or be censored) in a society without the printing press? Among other topics, we cover the public vs. private spheres; artistic liberty; religious vs. political concerns; gender; and the role of and limitations upon the modern historian investigating a censored past. Vise.
HIST 312 - Seminar on Nazism and the Third Reich
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: HIST 102, 214, 215, or 224 or equivalent, or instructor consent. Common readings introduce students to some of the most lively debates among scholars about the causes of the failure of democracy in the Weimar Republic, the mentality of Nazi leaders and followers, the nature of the regime created by the Nazis in 1933, the impact of the Third Reich on the position of women in German society, and the degree to which the German people supported this regime’s policies of war and racial persecution. Students develop a research topic related to one of these debates for analysis in a substantial research paper utilizing both primary and secondary sources. Patch.
HIST 319 - Seminar on The Great War in History and Literature
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: HIST 102, 213, 218, or 223 or equivalent. An advanced seminar in which students analyze different kinds of written accounts of the First World War (memoirs, autobiographical novels, poems, and diaries) by different kinds of participants, including common soldiers, government leaders, and women who worked on the “home front.” In class discussions and two short papers, students evaluate the reliability of these witnesses and what the historian can learn from them about the psychological, cultural, and political consequences of the First World War in Great Britain, France, and Germany. Students choose one question raised in our common meetings for more detailed investigation in a substantial research paper integrating primary and secondary sources.
Patch.
HIST 322 - Seminar in Russian History
Credits: 3-4
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Note: Completion of HIST 102 or 221 is recommended but not required prior to taking HIST 322. Selected topics in Russian history, including but not limited to heroes and villains, Soviet biography, Stalin and Stalinism, the USSR in the Second World War and origins of the Cold War, the KGB, and the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and the re-emergence of Russia. May be repeated for degree and major credit if the topics are different.
HIST 337 - Seminar: Revolutions in Latin America
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Detailed analysis of 20th-century revolutionary movements in Latin America. Examines historical power struggles, social reforms, and major political changes, with in-depth exploration of Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua. Explores the social movements and ideologies of under-represented historical actors, such as peasants, guerrillas, artists, workers, women, students, and indigenous people. Gildner.
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