Courses

HIAF 1559: Debating African History

Instructor: James La Fleur

This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of African History.

Concentrations: 

HIAF 3051: West African History

Instructor: James La Fleur

History of West Africans in the wider context of the global past, from West Africans' first attempts to make a living in ancient environments through the slave trades (domestic, trans-Saharan, and Atlantic), colonial overrule by outsiders, political independence, and ever-increasing globalization.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life
• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIAF 3501: Gender, Law and Empire

Instructor: Emily Burrill

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

HIAF 4260: Disease, Medicine, and Health in African History

Instructor: James La Fleur

This course explores the long history of human well-being in Africa: from the diets and mental health of earliest people; through challenges of diseases in eras of pre-modern globalization; to the formulation of ¿medical science¿ amid the Atlantic slave trade and then European overrule; to the aspirations of Africans after political independence to care for themselves amid the challenge of constrained national budgets for health care while facing emergent scourges.

Concentrations:

HIEA 1501: China & Southeast Asia

Instructor: Sean Cronan

Introduces the study of history intended for first- or second-year students. Seminars involve reading, discussing, and writing about different historical topics and periods, and emphasize the enhancement of critical and communication skills. Several seminars are offered each term. Not more than two Introductory Seminars may be counted toward the major in history.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIEA 1501: Hiroshima in History and Memory

Instructor: Robert Stolz

Introduces the study of history intended for first- or second-year students. Seminars involve reading, discussing, and writing about different historical topics and periods, and emphasize the enhancement of critical and communication skills. Several seminars are offered each term. Not more than two Introductory Seminars may be counted toward the major in history.

Concentrations:

• Environment, Space and Society
• Capitalism and Economic Life

HIEA 2101: Modern Korean History: One Peninsula, Two Paths

Instructor:  Joseph Seeley

This course traces Korea's history from its unified rule under the Choson dynasty (1392-1910) to Japanese colonization (1910-1945) and subsequent division into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Republic of Korea (South Korea). It examines how processes of reform, empire, civil war, revolution, and industrialization shaped both Koreas' development and how ordinary people experienced this tumultuous history.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire
• War, Violence and Society

HIEA 3171: Meiji Japan

Instructor: Robert Stolz

This course will examine the rise of the nation-state form in Japan as a new form of historical subjectivity. It will explore in depth the political, economic, social, and cultural changes in the wake of the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1868 to the start of the Tasiho period in 1912.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• War, Violence and Society

HIEA 3559: The Mongol Empire

Instructor: Sean Cronan

This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of East Asian History.

Concentrations:

HIEA 4501: North Korea

Instructor:  Joseph Seeley

A small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the seminar. The work of the seminar results primarily in the preparation of a substantial (ca. 25 pp. in standard format) research paper. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies.

Concentrations:

• War, Violence and Society

HIEA 4501: Cultural Revolution in China

Instructor:  Xiaoyuan Liu

A small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the seminar. The work of the seminar results primarily in the preparation of a substantial (ca. 25 pp. in standard format) research paper. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies.

Concentrations:

• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIEU 1501: Life & Death Dark Age Europe

Instructor: Paul Kershaw

‘Life and Death’ is an undergraduate seminar intended to introduce students to the social, cultural and political history of Europe during the so-called ‘Dark Ages’, the period from c. CE 600 to 1000 also known as the early Middle Ages. We’ll explore these centuries by looking each week at a different individual, examining the textual and material/archaeological evidence for their life (and death), as well as for the wider historical moment in which they lived. To do this we will make use of archaeological, anthropological, environmental and literary studies alongside historical analysis, much of it very new.

Reading will conventionally consist of a combination of primary sources (in English translation) and accompanying scholarship. The class meets twice a week. Its discussion–based format means there are high expectations of class participation and informed engagement. 

Concentrations:

• Environment, Space, and Society
• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire
• War, Violence and Society

HIEU 2041: Roman Republic and Empire

Instructor: Jon Lendon

Surveys the political, social, and institutional growth of the Roman Republic, focusing on its downfall and replacement by an imperial form of government, the subsequent history of that government, and the social and economic life during the Roman Empire, up to its own decline and fall.

Concentrations:

• Race, Ethnicity and Empire
• War, Violence and Society

HIEU 2072: Modern Europe and the World

Instructor: Jennifer Sessions

European history since the French Revolution, with an emphasis on social, cultural, and political change in global perspective.

Concentrations:

HIEU 2102: Modern Jewish History

Instructor: Glenn Dynner

Survey of Jewish history from the seventeenth century to the present, primarily in Europe, but with further treatment of Jewish life in the U.S. and Israel. Major topics include Jewish historical consciousness; patterns of emancipation; religious adjustment; the role of women; anti-Semitism; Zionism; the American Jewish experience; the Holocaust; the establishment of Israel; and Jewish life in Europe after the Holocaust.

Concentrations:

HIEU 2112: Disunited Kingdom: Britain from 1688 to the Present

Instructor: Erik Linstrum

This course surveys the history of modern Britain from the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to the resurgent nationalisms of the present. Themes include the state-building, overseas expansion, and widening inequality of the Georgian years; the industrialization, urbanization, and increasingly assertive imperialism of the Victorian era; and the problems of war, decolonization, and decline in the twentieth century.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History

HIEU 2721: Supernatural Europe, 1500 - 1800

Instructor: Erin Lambert

Surveys the intellectual, religious, and social history of Europe c.1500-1800 through the lens of changing beliefs about the supernatural. Selected topics include the rise and decline of witch-hunting, changing understandings of the universe, the impact of religious reform on traditional belief, and the "disenchantment" of European society as beliefs in the supernatural declined in the 18th century.

Concentrations:

HIEU 3141: Age of Conquests: Britain from the Romans to the Normans (43 - 1066)

Instructor: Paul Kershaw

Surveys the history of Britain from the establishment of Roman rule to the Norman Conquest of 1066. Particular focus falls upon the social, political and cultural history of early England and its neighbors in Wales and Scotland, the Scandinavian impact of the 8th through 11th centuries, and Britain's links with the wider late antique and early medieval worlds.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity, and Empire
• War, Violence and Society

HIEU 3501: Film & Memory Postwar Europe

Instructor: Erik Linstrum

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

HIEU 3501: Violence in European Jewish History

Instructor: Glenn Dynner

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

• War, Violence, and Society
• Race, Ethnicity, and Empire

HIEU 3501: Ukraine/Russia

Instructor: Kyrill Kunakhovich

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

HIEU 3505: History and Fiction Topics: Hitler

Instructor: Manuela Achilles

Explores the relationship between facts and fiction in the representation of the past. Course materials range from archival sources and scholarly articles to novels, films, paintings, sculptures, poems and other creative articulations of the historical imagination. The role of the new media and media analysis in the representation of history will also be examined. Topics vary annually.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• War, Violence and Society

HIEU 3505: Kafka and the Kafkaesque

Instructor: Manuela Achilles

Who was Adolf Hitler, and why does he remain a figure of public fascination? Was his rise to power a political accident or the product of deeper historical forces? How much did his personality matter compared to structural factors, and what are the ethical stakes of representing Hitler in popular culture today? This course explores Hitler's life and afterlife on the basis of a wide range of sources, including scholarly texts, Nazi propaganda, short stories, films, and digital media. We will examine the interplay between individual agency and systemic power, processes of individual and societal radicalization, as well as the representational frameworks that that influence how Hitler is remembered and how history is told. Requirements include weekly responses, one presentation, two projects. No prerequisites.  

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• War, Violence and Society

HIEU 4502: Seminar in Post-1700 European History

Stalinism

Instructor: Jeffrey Rossman

The major seminar is a small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the seminar. The work of the seminar results primarily in the preparation of a substantial (ca. 25 pp. in standard format) research paper. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies.

Concentrations:

• War, Violence and Society

HIEU 4511: Colloquium in Pre-1700 European History

Late Archaic Greece

Instructor: Jon Lendon

The major colloquium is a small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the colloquium. Colloquia are most frequently offered in areas of history where access to source materials or linguistic demands make seminars especially difficult. Students in colloquia prepare about 25 pages of written work. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies.

Concentrations:

HIEU 5011: Late Archaic Greece

Instructor: Jon Lendon

Examines the history of Greece in the late archaic age down to the end of the Persian wars. Prerequisite: HIEU 2031 or equivalent.

Concentrations:

HILA 3021: Human Rights in Latin America

Instructor: Lean Sweeney

Covers issues of human rights violations, defense, reparations, and prevention, from independence movements through the Cold War, neoliberalism, extractivism, racism, and transnational migration, trade and crime.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life
• Global and Transnational History
• Law and Society
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire
• War, Violence and Society

HILA 3501: Latin American Borderlands

Instructor: Lean Sweeney

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

HIME 2001: Making of the Islamic World

Instructor: Kristina Richardson

Explores the history of the Middle East and North Africa from late antiquity to the rise to superpower status of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Topics include the formation of Islam and the first Arab-Islamic conquests; the fragmentation of the empire of the caliphate; the historical development of Islamic social, legal, and political institutions; science and philosophy; and the impact of invaders (Turks, Crusaders, and Mongols).

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire
• War, Violence and Society

HIME 2010: Modern History of Palestine/Israel

Instructor: Caroline Kahlenberg

This course surveys the history of modern Palestine/Israel. Using sources including scholarly texts, memoirs, newspapers, songs, short stories, posters, we study the history of this region from the mid-1800s to the present. Historical themes include colonialism in the region; the relationship between religion, nationalism, and ethnicity; rising violence and war; the relationship between memory and history; and the ongoing importance of history amidst the current crisis.

Concentrations:

HISA 1501: India's Partition

Instructor: Neeti Nair

Introduction to the study of history intended for first- or second-year students. Seminars involve reading, discussion, and writing about different historical topics and periods, and emphasize the enhancement of critical and communication skills. Several seminars are offered each term. Not more than two Introductory Seminars may be counted toward the major in history.

Concentrations:

• War, Violence and Society

HISA 3003: Twentieth-Century South Asia

Instructor: Neeti Nair

Surveys 100 years of Indian history, defining the qualities of the world's first major anti-colonial movement of nationalism and the changes and cultural continuities of India's democratic policy in the decades since 1947.

Concentrations:

HISA 5559: Decolonial Gender

Instructor: Indrani Chatterjee

Open to both upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, this seminar-style course studies the changes that appeared in the sex-gender systems of Asian societies between the sixteenth and the twentieth century.

Concentrations:

HIST 1501: Birds in Human History

Instructor: Christopher Gratien

Introduction to the study of history intended for first- and second-year students. Seminars involve reading, discussion, and writing about different historical topics and periods, and emphasize the enhancement of critical and communication skills. Several seminars are offered each term. Not more than two Introductory Seminars may be counted toward the major in history.

Concentrations:

• Environment, Space, and Society
• Global and Transnational History

HIST 2014: Fascism: A Global History

Instructor: Manuela Achilles 

This class studies fascism as an ideology, movement, and regime in a global framework. Thematic perspectives include: the origins and theories of fascism, key terms in the fascist lexicon, motives that brought people to fascism, fascism as an aesthetics and lived experience, and the role of women in fascism. We will also study the historical articulations of antifascism, i.e. groups and individuals who have fought against fascism over the years.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire
• War, Violence and Society

HIST 2210: Epidemics, Pandemics, and History

Instructor: Christian McMillen

Covers epidemic diseases such as plague, cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS in world history since 1500.

Concentrations:

HIST 2213: The Rule of Law

Instructor: Emily Burrill

This course explores the workings of law and sovereignty in a changing world-historical landscape, mixing conceptual readings with concrete case studies across space and time. By exploring the discourses and practices of sovereignty-making across world history, we develop a more grounded approach to the issue and its contours in global politics today, from disputes over the high seas to discourses on "failed states" and interventions.

Concentrations:

HIST 2214: The Cold War

Instructor: William Hitchcock

An exploration of the geopolitical and ideological conflict that dominated world affairs from 1945 to 1990. Assignments include the readings of historical work, as well as primary sources, some of which are recently declassified material from the major states involved in the Cold War.

Concentrations:

• Environment, Space and Society
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIST 2354: Espionage: A Global History

Instructor: Jeffrey Rossman

This course will use case studies to explore the history of intelligence, espionage, and covert operations from ancient times to the end of the Cold War. We will also explore the history of spy panics and the representation of espionage in fiction and film.

Concentrations:

• Global and Transnational History
• War, Violence and Society

HIST 3352: The First World War

Instructor: Christopher Gratien

At the Great War's centennial, we take stock of how it shaped life in the 20th century for peoples around the globe. Movies, memoirs, government reports and other texts throw light on causes of the war, the human carnage of 1914-18, Woodrow Wilson's effort to end war forever with a League of Nations, the demise of liberalism and the rise of fascism and communism in postwar Europe, and the launch of anti-colonial movements in Asia and Africa.

Concentrations:

HIST 3501: Digital Map History

Instructor: S. Edelson

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

HIST 3559: European Empires in Asia

Instructor: Sumit Guha

In 1900, three European colonial empires – the British, Dutch and French – ruled much of Asia. A fourth – that of the Spanish in the Philippine islands, had only just been taken over the USA.

This course considers social, cultural and economic changes introduced by colonization and industrialization in these territories c.1800-1945. It also considers the 20th-century process of decolonization that occurred as the old empires lost their power and new national identities emerged across Asia.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life
• Global and Transnational History
• Race, Ethnicity, and Empire

HIST 3861: Soccer Politics

Instructor: Laurent Dubois

Explores the history of soccer to understand how and why it has become the most popular sport on the planet. We focus on the culture, economics and politics of the sport. Examples are drawn from Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, and include a focus on women's soccer. Class materials include scholarly works, essays, fiction, and film; students work on digital projects related to upcoming international tournaments.

Concentrations:

• Environment, Space and Society
• Global and Transnational History

HIST 3910: History Internship

Instructor: Jennifer Sessions

History-related internships to bridge academic and professional experiences. It combines an exploration of "self" in relationship to the complexities and structures of the professional organizations in which students work as interns with exploration of the professional applications of the knowledge and skills developed by History students. Students will develop mindsets and tools to conceptualize their interests and make valuable connections between their academics and potential career paths.

Concentrations:

HIST 4501: Caribbean History

Instructor: Noah Beissel

The major seminar is a small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the seminar. The work of the seminar results primarily in the preparation of a substantial (ca. 25 pages in standard format) research paper. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life
• Law and Society

HIST 4991 Distinguished Majors Program - Special Seminar

Instructor: Joshua White

Analyzes problems in historical research.  Preparation and discussion of fourth-year honors theses.  Intended for Distinguished Majors who will have studied abroad in the fall of their fourth year. Prerequisite: Open only to students admitted to the Distinguished Majors Program.

Concentrations:

HIST 5351: The International Economy since 1850

Instructor: Mark Thomas

This seminar will focus on key aspects of the development of the international economy since the mid-nineteenth century. Emphasis will be on the process of change, the impact of policy, and the operation of international institutions. Special focus will be paid to the economics of the Great Depression, the impact of the First and Second World Wars, and the drivers of growth.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life
• Global and Transnational History

HIST 5559: Legal History Research Methods

Instructor: Paul Halliday

This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of general history.

Concentrations:

• Law and Society

HIUS 1501: Who Owns American History

Instructor: Alice King

Introduces the study of history intended for first- or second-year students. Seminars involve reading, discussing, and writing about different historical topics and periods, and emphasize the enhancement of critical and communication skills. Several seminars are offered each term. Not more than two Introductory Seminars may be counted toward the major in history.

Concentrations:

• Law and Society
• Race, Ethnicity, and Empire
• War, Violence, and Society

HIUS 2001: American History to 1865

Instructor: Alice King

Studies the development of the colonies and their institutions, the Revolution, the formation and organization of the Republic, and the coming of the Civil War.

Concentrations:

HIUS 2002: American History since 1865

Instructor: Andrew Kahrl

Studies the evolution of political, social, and cultural history of the United States from 1865 to the present.

Concentrations:

• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIUS 2051: War and the Making of America to 1900

Instructor: Elizabeth Varon

This course examines warfare and military developments in America from the colonial period to 1900. Major topics include debates over the role of the military in society; the motivations and experiences of soldiers; interaction between the military and civilian spheres; the development of a professional army and navy; and the social and cultural context, impact, and legacies of warfare.

Concentrations:

• War, Violence and Society

HIUS 2053: American Slavery

Instructor: Justene Hill Edwards

This course will introduce students to the history of slavery in the United Sates.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIUS 2168: US-Mexico Border: History, Policy, and Theory

Instructor: S. Deborah Kang

This course will introduce students to the history of the US-Mexico borderlands. Adopting a transnational approach, it will explore the relationships between the peoples, empires, and nations spanning the US-Mexico border. Starting with the various historiographical approaches to the study of borders and frontiers, then with the recent history US-Mexico border, and the persistence of transnational communities along the border from the nineteenth century to the present.

Concentrations:

• Law and Society
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIUS 2559: U.S. in the World since 1898

Instructor: Andrew Preston

This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of United States history.

Concentrations:

HIUS 3011: Colonial British America

Instructor: S. Edelson

This course tells the story of British America from an Atlantic perspective. The thirteen colonies that formed the United States were once part of a larger empire that spanned eastern North America and the Caribbean. From 1500 to 1800, cross-cultural encounters among Africans, Native Americans, and Europeans created a dynamic new world. Key topics trade, religion, agriculture, slavery, warfare, and the origins of the American Revolution.

Concentrations:

• Environment, Space and Society
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIUS 3051: The Age of Jefferson

Instructor: Christa Dierksheide

This course uses Thomas Jefferson as a lens to explore the post revolutionary era in the United States (ca. 1776-1830), with a focus on race and slavery, trans-nationalism, imperialism, and legal/constitutional developments.

Concentrations:

• Law and Society
• Race, Ethnicity and Empire

HIUS 3131: From Lincoln to Roosevelt: America in the Gilded Age

Instructor: Caroline Janney

This course will examine the years after the Civil War, from 1865 to 1900, a period in which Americans witnessed unprecedented economic expansion that profoundly altered political and social arrangements. It explores how the nation "recovered" from the Civil War, how it reconstructed itself, and continued to define the notion of who was an American and who was not. In short, it examines how the nation transitioned from one divided to the threshold of world domination in the age of imperialism. 

Concentrations:

HIUS 3411: American Business

Instructor: Mark Thomas

Surveys the rise of the modern corporate form of American business and an analysis of the underlying factors which shaped that development.

Concentrations:

HIUS 3501: War and Its Afterlives

Instructor: Andrew Preston

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

• Race, Ethnicity, and Empire
• War, Violence, and Society

HIUS 3501: Race, Place, and the Schoolhouse

Instructor: Erica Sterling

Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life

HIUS 3620: All Politics Is Local

Instructor: Andrew Kahrl

The history of local government and local politics in shaping American life. Course examines issues, themes, and problems of local democracy in historical and contemporary contexts. Class meetings combine lectures and discussions. Course includes local civic engagement component.

Concentrations:

• Capitalism and Economic Life
• Law and Society

HIUS 4501: Slavery, Freedom and Founders

Instructor: Christa Dierksheide

The major seminar is a small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the seminar. The work of the seminar results primarily in the preparation of a substantial (ca. 25 pp. in standard format) research paper. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies.

Concentrations:

HIUS 4501: Race, Nation, and Gender

Instructor: Chloe Porche

The major seminar is a small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the seminar. The work of the seminar results primarily in the preparation of a substantial (ca. 25 pp. in standard format) research paper. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies.

Concentrations: