HIST 195 - Topics in History

FDR: HU
Credits: 3 credits in Fall or Winter; 4 credits in Spring
Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.

Prerequisite: Varies with topic. Selected topic or problem in history. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different.

Topic for Winter 2012:

HIST 195-01: Great Moments in the History of Science (3). Open to all classes. A broad overview of major scientific breakthroughs, from the Copernican Revolution to today’s human genome sequencing. These are linked to the lives of representative scientists in order to facilitate discussing the breakthroughs in terms of scientific leadership. (HU) Rupke. Winter 2012

Topic for Spring 2012:

HIST 195-01: “Too Big to Fail”: Commerce, Corruption, and Crisis in Antiquity (4). Open to all classes. Like the modern world, ancient economies were dependent on complex financial markets plagued by fiscal collapses, inflation, instability caused by debt and constant warfare, and corruption. In this course, we survey ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, African, Roman, Chinese, and Indian economies and explore their relevancy for understanding modern economic systems. The impact of war and corruption on these economies is a central theme, as is the identity of the tradesmen that helped to sustain ancient markets. Through these professionals, we explore the routes of cultural transmission, reveal the formation of the first trade unions, and discern both local and long-distance trade networks. A final objective is to assess the corruption evident in the later Roman empire and propose reasons for the ‘fall’ of Rome. Throughout the course, we ask, “What can we learn from the ancient economy that can help us to subsist in the modern financial realm?” (HU) Bond.