Courses

Courses

Fall 2006 Courses

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012. Utopia: Intentional Communities in America, 1630-1997
Sarah McMahon M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25
An examination of the evolution of utopian visions and utopian experiments that begins in 1630 with John Winthrop�s �City upon a Hill,� explores the proliferation of both religious and secular communal ventures between 1780 and 1920, and concludes with an examination of twentieth-century counterculture communes, intentional communities, and dystopian separatists. Readings include primary source accounts by members (letters, diaries, essays, etc.), �community� histories and apostate expos�s, utopian fiction, and scholarly historical analyses. Discussions and essays focus on teaching students how to subject primary and secondary source materials to critical analysis.
013. Living in the Sixteenth Century
Thomas Conlan M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25
Examines the nature of state and society in an age of turmoil. Studies patterns of allegiances, ways of waging war, codes of conduct, and the social matrix of sixteenth-century Japan, based on primary and secondary sources. Kurosawa's masterpiece Kagemusha provides the thematic foundation for this course.
018. A History of Latino Immigration
Nelly Blacker-Hanson T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25
An examination of Latino immigration in the context of US foreign policy. Begins with an overview of US expansion and empire-building, positioning the histories of Latino "immigration" (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Caribbean, and Central Americans) in international context. US cultural attitudes of race, class, labor and gender frame the study. Explores classic "push" and "pull" factors in the histories of immigration. Political, cultural and economic differences among the many diverse populations defined as "Latino" are explored. The course concludes with analysis of contemporary debates on immigration positioned in its historic context of US-Latin American relations. Course materials include primary and secondary sources, both historiographic and cultural (videos, music, autobiography).
LAB
Nelly Blacker-Hanson M 6:30 - 9:30
An examination of Latino immigration in the context of US foreign policy. Begins with an overview of US expansion and empire-building, positioning the histories of Latino "immigration" (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Caribbean, and Central Americans) in international context. US cultural attitudes of race, class, labor and gender frame the study. Explores classic "push" and "pull" factors in the histories of immigration. Political, cultural and economic differences among the many diverse populations defined as "Latino" are explored. The course concludes with analysis of contemporary debates on immigration positioned in its historic context of US-Latin American relations. Course materials include primary and secondary sources, both historiographic and cultural (videos, music, autobiography).
140. War and Society
Patrick Rael M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55
Explores the nature of warfare from the fifteenth century to the present. The central premise is that war is a reflection of the societies and cultures that wage it. This notion is tested by examining the development of war-making in Europe and the Americas from the period before the emergence of modern states, through the great period of state formation and nation building, to the present era, when the power of states to wage war in the traditional manner seems seriously undermined. Throughout, emphasis is placed on contact between European and non-European peoples. Students are required to view films every week outside of class.
LAB
Patrick Rael M 6:30 - 9:25
Explores the nature of warfare from the fifteenth century to the present. The central premise is that war is a reflection of the societies and cultures that wage it. This notion is tested by examining the development of war-making in Europe and the Americas from the period before the emergence of modern states, through the great period of state formation and nation building, to the present era, when the power of states to wage war in the traditional manner seems seriously undermined. Throughout, emphasis is placed on contact between European and non-European peoples. Students are required to view films every week outside of class.
207. Medieval Europe
Dallas Denery M 9:30 - 10:25, W 9:30 - 10:25, F 9:30 - 10:25
Examines the social, cultural, religious, and economic development of medieval Europe from the origins of Christianity to the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Particular attention is paid to the varying relations between church and state, the birth of urban culture and economy, institutional and popular religious movements, and the early formation of nation states.
217. The German Experience, 1918-1945
Kimberly Herrlinger M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55
Seminar. An in-depth inquiry into the troubled course of German history during the Weimar and Nazi periods. Among the topics explored are the impact of the Great War on culture and society in the 1920s; the rise of National Socialism; the role of race, class, and gender in the transformation of everyday life under Hitler; forms of persecution, collaboration, and resistance during the third Reich; Nazi war aims and the experience of war on the front and at �home,� including the Holocaust.
218. The History of Russia, 1825�1936
Kimberly Herrlinger M 10:30 - 11:25, W 10:30 - 11:25, F 10:30 - 11:25
Examines major transformations in Russian society, culture, and politics from 1825 to 1953. Among topics explored through novels, autobiographies, film, and other primary documents are: life in �Old Regime� Russia, attempts at reform and modernization in the late nineteenth century, the rise of the revolutionary movement and the Revolutions of 1905 and 1917, the building of socialism under the Bolsheviks, and the making of the modern �Soviet system� under Stalin.
222. History and Families in Europe
Susan Tananbaum T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55
This intermediate seminar explores topics and debates in European family history from the early modern period to the present. We will consider the impact of social, political, religious, and economic forces on family structures and functions. Students will have an opportunity to complete individual research projects.
223. Modern Britain, 1837 to the 1990s
Susan Tananbaum M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25
A social history of modern Britain from the rise of urban industrial society in the early nineteenth century to the present. Topics include the impact of the industrial revolution, acculturation of the working classes, the impact of liberalism, the reform movement, and Victorian society. Concludes with an analysis of the domestic impact of the world wars and of contemporary society.
226. The City as American History
Matthew Klingle M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55
Seminar. America is an urban nation today, yet Americans have had deeply ambivalent feelings toward the city over time. Explores the historical origins of that ambivalence by tracing several overarching themes in American urban history, from the seventeenth century to the present. Topics include race and class relations, labor, design and planning, gender and sexual identity, immigration, politics and policy, scientific and technological systems, violence and crime, religion and sectarian disputes, and environmental protection. Discussions revolve around these broad themes, as well as regional distinctions between American cities. Students write several short papers and one longer paper based upon primary and secondary sources.
229. From Petrograd to Sarajevo: Gender in Socialist and Post-socialist Russia and Eastern Europe
Jill Massino T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25
Explores women's and men's lives under socialism by focusing on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. We will begin by analyzing early writings on socialism and the "woman question," moving on to examine the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and its effects upon women, the family, and gender relations. We will then explore women's and men's lives under socialism by focusing on a number of communist countries in Eastern Europe. The aim of this class is to examine how the socialist state reformulated gender roles, notions of civic identity, social relations, and women's position with in the family. As a corollary to this, we will examine how women and men responded to and resisted communist policies and ideologies on an everyday level. We will close by examining how women and gender relations have been affected by the transition to democracy and, in the case of the former Yugoslavia, war, and consider the gendered dimensions of communist nostalgia.
232. History of the American West
Connie Chiang M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55
Survey of what came to be called the Western United States from the early sixteenth century to the present. Topics include Euro-American relations with Native Americans; the expansion and growth of the federal government into the West; the exploitation of natural resources; the creation of borders and national identities; race, class, and gender relations; the influence of immigration and emigration; violence and criminality; cities and suburbs; and the enduring persistence of the �frontier� myth in American culture. Students write several papers and engage in weekly discussion based upon primary and secondary documents, art, literature, and film.
233. American Society in the New Nation, 1763-1840
Sarah McMahon T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55
A social history of the United States from the Revolution to the Age of Jackson. Topics include the various social, economic, cultural, and ideological roots of the movement for American independence; the struggle to determine the scope of the Constitution and the political shape of the new republic; the emergence of and contest over a new social and cultural order and the nature of American �identity�; and the diverging social, economic, and political histories of regions (North, South, and trans-Appalachian West) and peoples in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Topics include urbanization, industrialization, and the development of new forms of social organization in the North; religion and the Second Great Awakening; the westward expansion of the nation into areas already occupied; the southern plantation economy and slave communities; and the growth of the reform impulse in Jacksonian America.
238. Reconstruction
Patrick Rael M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55
Seminar. Close examination of the decade following the Civil War. Explores the events and scholarship of the Union attempt to create a biracial democracy in the South following the war, and the sources of its failure. Topics include wartime Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan, Republican politics, and Democratic Redemption. Special attention is paid to the deeply conflicted ways historians have approached this period over the years.
252. Colonial Latin America
Nelly Blacker-Hanson T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25
Introduces students to the history of Latin America from pre-Columbian times to about 1825. Traces developments fundamental to the establishment of colonial rule, drawing out regional comparisons of indigenous resistance and accommodation. Topics include the nature of indigenous societies encountered by Europeans; exploitation of African and Indian labor; evangelization and the role of the church; the evolution of race, gender, and class hierarchies in colonial society; and the origins of independence in Spanish America and Brazil.
LAB
Nelly Blacker-Hanson W 6:30 - 9:25
Introduces students to the history of Latin America from pre-Columbian times to about 1825. Traces developments fundamental to the establishment of colonial rule, drawing out regional comparisons of indigenous resistance and accommodation. Topics include the nature of indigenous societies encountered by Europeans; exploitation of African and Indian labor; evangelization and the role of the church; the evolution of race, gender, and class hierarchies in colonial society; and the origins of independence in Spanish America and Brazil.
260. Writing the Self: Autobiography & History in Modern India
Rachel Sturman T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55
Seminar. Course explores the history of the idea of the self in India, focusing on the era from the eighteenth century to the present. We will briefly consider ancient philosophical and religious perspectives on the self, before turning to a range of modern texts, including the autobiographies of major public figures, such as Gandhi and Nehru, as well as those of women and dalits (former "Untouchables") whose very ability to write reflected a history of personal struggle. Questions we will consider include the relationship between individual and broader social or national histories, and the nature of modern selfhood or subjectivity in colonial and post-colonial India.
265. Africa and the Indian Ocean World
David Gordon T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55
History of the Indian Ocean World from the perspective of the east African littoral, and in particular the Swahili islands of Zanzibar. Examines African engagement with the Indian Ocean World and the rise of African diasporas across the Middle East and South Asia. The course begins prior to Portuguese conquest, continues through Omani, British, and German colonialism, the Zanzibar revolution of 1964, and culminates in the rise of independent Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, and Somalia.
269. After Apartheid: South African History and Historiography
David Gordon T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25
Seminar. Investigates the diverse representations and uses of the past in South Africa. Begins with the difficulties in developing a critical and conciliatory version of the past in post-apartheid South Africa during and after the much-discussed Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Then turns to diverse historical episodes and sites of memory from the Great Trek to the inauguration of Nelson Mandela to explore issues of identity and memory from the perspectives of South Africa�s various peoples.
275. Modern China
Kidder Smith M 8:00 - 9:25, W 8:00 - 9:25
An introduction to the history of China from 1840 to the present. Studies the confrontation with Western imperialism, the fall of empire, the Republican period, and the People�s Republic.
LAB
Kidder Smith M 6:30 - 9:00
An introduction to the history of China from 1840 to the present. Studies the confrontation with Western imperialism, the fall of empire, the Republican period, and the People�s Republic.
277. Trials of the Century: Legal and Cultural Controversies in 20th-Century America
David Hecht T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55
Uses controversial legal cases to explore changing notions of justice, rights, and equality in twentieth-century America. The course focuses on issues of race, class, science, Cold War politics and foreign policy; trials discussed will include Sacco & Vanzetti, the Scopes Monkey Trial, the Rosenberg spy case, Watergate, and O. J. Simpson. The course uses a variety of primary and secondary sources, such as trial transcripts, news coverage, memoirs, film, and literature.
280. Imperialism, Nationalism & Human Rights
Rachel Sturman T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25
Examines the history of modern global imperialism and colonialism from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. Course will focus on the parallel emergence of European nationalism, imperialism and ideas of universal humanity, on the historical development of anti-colonial nationalisms in the regions ruled by European empires, and on the often-contentious nature of demands for human rights. Emphasis on the history of South Asia, with significant attention to Latin America, Africa and other regions of Asia.
283. The Origins of Japanese Culture and Civilization
Thomas Conlan T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25
How do a culture, a state, and a society develop? Designed to introduce the culture and history of Japan by exploring how �Japan� came into existence, and to chart how patterns of Japanese civilization shifted through time. We try to reconstruct the tenor of life through translations of primary sources, and gain a greater appreciation of the unique and lasting cultural and political monuments of Japanese civilization.
307. Topics in Medieval and Early Modern European History
Dallas Denery M 1:00 - 3:55
A research seminar for majors and interested non-majors focusing on Medieval and Early Modern Europe. After an overview of recent trends in the historical analysis of this period, students pursue research topics of their own choice, culminating in a significant piece of original historical writing (approximately 30 pages in length).
333. Science and the Politics of Inequality
David Hecht T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55
Examines theories of innate �difference� � in race, class, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality � as they have developed in scientific investigation and American politics over the twentieth century. The course explores why such notions were created, to what political and social ends they have been used, and what the role of science has been in alternately validating and challenging them. Topics discussed include evolution, eugenics, the emergence of cultural anthropology, the growth of genetics under the shadow of Nazism, and the �Bell-Curve wars� of the 1980s.
370. Problems in Chinese History
Kidder Smith M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25
Reviews the whole of Chinese history. Students develop their research skills and write a substantial research paper. Primarily for seniors.

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