Courses

Courses

Spring 2007 Courses

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010. Monsters, Marvels, and Messiahs: Europe during the Age of Discovery
Dallas Denery T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25 Hubbard-22
Examines how Europeans have sought to understand themselves and the world around them through travel and travel literature. Particular attention is paid to the fascinating ways in which Europeans have used travel narratives to define and distinguish themselves from their “others.”
011. Memoirs and Memory in American History
Connie Chiang M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55 Chase Barn-Chamber
Examines the ways in which Americans have remembered the past and documented their experiences in individual memoirs. Considers the tensions between memory and history, the value of memoirs as historical documents, and the extent to which memories deepen, complicate, and even convolute our understanding of the American past. Introduces many central themes in twentieth-century American history such as immigration, gender, race relations, and war. Writing-intensive, including several short papers and a family history research paper.
025. The Civil War in Film
Patrick Rael M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 Kanbar Hall - 109
Explores the American Civil War through an examination of popular films dedicated to the topic. Students analyze films as a representation of the past, considering not simply their historical subject matter, but also the cultural and political contexts in which they are made. Films include The Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, Glory, and Cold Mountain. Weekly film screenings are held in the evening.
LAB
Patrick Rael M 6:30 - 9:25 Searles-315
Explores the American Civil War through an examination of popular films dedicated to the topic. Students analyze films as a representation of the past, considering not simply their historical subject matter, but also the cultural and political contexts in which they are made. Films include The Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, Glory, and Cold Mountain. Weekly film screenings are held in the evening.
125. Entering Modernity: European Jewry
Susan Tananbaum T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25 Searles-313
Explores Jewish life through the lenses of history, religion, and ethnicity and examines the processes by which governments and sections of the Jewish community attempted to incorporate Jews and Judaism into European society. Surveys social and economic transformations of Jews, cultural challenges of modernity, varieties of modern Jewish religious expression, political ideologies, the Holocaust, establishment of Israel, and American Jewry through primary and secondary sources, lectures, films, and class discussions.
200. Gender and Modern Europe: 1750-present
Jill Massino T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Chase Barn-Chamber
Examines the history of Europe from 1750 to the present through the lens of gender. Begins by considering the ways in which ideas about gender informed politics and notions of civic identity, the economic and cultural organization of society, and social relationships and women's position within the family. Proceeds to examine how women and men responded to and, at times, resisted their prescribed roles, both in their everyday lives and though participation in social and political movements and major historical events. Topics of investigation include revolution, industrialization and urbanization, domesticity, nationalism, socialism, fascism, war, the development of the welfare state, feminism, and globalization. Analyzes the way in which race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality intersect with gender and are implicated in broader political, cultural, and social issues.
202. Ancient Rome
Irene Polinskaya M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25 Sills-117
Surveys the history of Rome from its beginnings to the fourth century a.d. Considers the political, economic, religious, social, and cultural developments of the Romans in the context of Rome's growth from a small settlement in central Italy to the dominant power in the Mediterranean world. Special attention is given to such topics as urbanism, imperialism, the influence of Greek culture and law, and multi-culturalism. Introduces different types of sources—literary, epigraphical, archaeological, etc.— for use as historical documents.
205. A History of the Body
Dallas Denery T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25 Sills-117
Examines changing conceptions of the body and gender from early Christianity through the Baroque. Special attention is paid to the cult of relics, bodily practices in Catholic and Reformed Christianity, the body of God, and the body as object of scientific investigation.
225. Science and Technology in Modern American History
David Hecht T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Adams-208
Focuses on twentieth-century science, technology, and medicine. Examines the challenges and changing meanings of “progress” in United States history, using as touchstones a number of seminal events in the history of the interaction between science and society. Topics include the atomic bomb; eugenics; environmentalism; industrial growth; changing public health concerns; and ongoing debates over evolution, science, and religion. Few of the many changes that science has wrought have been embraced unequivocally — uses this sometimes chaotic mix of acceptance and suspicion of scientific advance to explore how Americans felt about their rapidly modernizing society.
237. The History of African Americans from 1865 to the Present
Patrick Rael M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55 Adams-208
Explores the history of African Americans from the end of the Civil War to the present. Issues include the promises and failures of Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, black leadership and protest institutions, African American cultural styles, industrialization and urbanization, the world wars, the Civil Rights movement, and conservative retrenchment.
242. Environment and Culture in North American History
Matthew Klingle M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 Adams-208
Explores relationships between ideas of nature, human transformations of the environment, and the effect of the physical environment upon humans through time in North America. Topics include the “Columbian exchange” and colonialism; links between ecological change and race, class, and gender relations; the role of science and technology; literary and artistic perspectives of “nature”; agriculture, industrialization, and urbanization; and the rise of modern environmentalism. Assignments include a research-based service learning term project.
243. The Civil Rights Movement
Daniel Levine T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25 Druckenmiller-004
Concentrates on the period from 1954 to 1970 and shows how various individuals and groups have been pressing for racial justice for decades. Special attention is paid to social action groups ranging from the NAACP to the SNCC, and to important individuals, both well known (Booker T. Washington) and less well known (John Doar). Readings mostly in primary sources. Extensive use of the PBS video series Eyes on the Prize.
246. Women in American History, 1600–1900
Sarah McMahon T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Sills-109
A social history of American women from the colonial period through the nineteenth century. Examines women's changing roles in both public and private spheres; the circumstances of women's lives as these were shaped by class, ethnic, and racial differences; the recurring conflict between the ideals of womanhood and the realities of women's experience; and focuses on family responsibilities, paid and unpaid work, religion, education, reform, women's rights, and feminism.
247. Maine: A Community and Environmental History
Sarah McMahon M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25 CT-16 Harrison McCann
Seminar. Examines the evolution of various Maine social and ecological communities—inland, hill country, and coastal. Begins with the contact of European and Native American cultures, examines the transfer of English and European agricultural traditions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and explores the development of diverse geographic, economic, ethnic, and cultural communities during the nineteenth and into the early twentieth centuries.
258. Latin American Revolutions
Nelly Blacker-Hanson M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 Sills-Smith Auditorium
Examines efforts toward revolutionary change in twentieth-century Latin America, placing such efforts in both their national and international historic context. Analyzes significant (complementary or competing) revolutionary theories, and then assesses their applicability to particular revolutionary movements. Students will be encouraged to explore both “successful” and “failed” revolutionary movements, including but not limited to Mexico (1910), Bolivia (1952), Cuba (1959), Chile (1971), Peru (1980s) and Nicaragua (1979). In the process, orthodox definitions of key terms, including “revolutionary” and “successful” will be challenged. Class, gender, power relations, foreign intervention, violence and popular media are among the components discussed.
264. Conquest, Colonialism, and Independence: Africa since 1880
David Gordon T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25 Kanbar Hall - 107
Focuses on conquest, colonialism, and its legacies in sub-Saharan Africa—the violent process of colonial “pacification,” examined from European and African perspectives; the different ways of consolidating colonial rule and African resistance to colonial rule, from Maji Maji to Mau Mau; and African nationalism and independence, as experienced by Africa's nationalist leaders, from Kwame Nkrumah to Jomo Kenyatta, and their critics. Concludes with the limits of independence—mass disenchantment, the rise of the “predatory” post-colonial state, and the wars of the Great Lakes and Sudan.
272. Foundations of Indian History
Hayden Bellenoit T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Searles-126
Examines some of the broad trends that have shaped the long course of Indian history. Possible areas of exploration include politics and religion, state and society, the history of colonialism, diasporic cultures, and modernity in South Asia.
274. Chinese Poetry and Society
Kidder Smith T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25 Adams-301
Examines Chinese poetry from early times through its great flourishing in the Tang dynasty (618–906), situating it in its social, political, and religious contexts. Students who have previously enrolled in this course cannot repeat the course for credit.
278. Topics in South Asian History
Rachel Sturman Hayden Bellenoit T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55 CT-16 Harrison McCann
Seminar. Explores key themes in the history of South Asia, while offering special attention to developing strong and eloquent writing. Possible topics may include colonial society, nationalism, the politics of identity and inequality, non-modern and modern religion, gender relations, elite and popular culture.
284. The Emergence of Modern Japan
Thomas Conlan M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 Searles-217
What constitutes a modern state? How durable are cultures and civilizations? Examines the patterns of culture in a state that managed to expel European missionaries in the seventeenth century, and came to embrace all things Western as being “civilized” in the mid-nineteenth century. Compares the unique and vibrant culture of Tokugawa Japan with the rapid program of industrialization in the late nineteenth century, which resulted in imperialism, international wars, and ultimately, the post-war recovery.
287. Kingship in Comparative Perspective
Thomas Conlan T 6:30 - 9:25 Sills-111
What makes a king? How does one characterize or define sovereign authority and to what degree is this culturally specific? Explores the nature of kingship through a comparative perspective, contrasting Buddhist and Confucian notions of kingship and sovereignty. The focus is on Asia (South Asia, China, and Japan), although further insight is provided through comparisons with medieval Europe.
288. The Cold War
David Hecht T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55 Sills-209
Examines the history of the Cold War. Primarily considers United States politics and culture of the era, focusing on issues such as the atomic bomb, the arms race, McCarthyism, civil rights, 1960s student protests, the Vietnam War, and the myriad ways in which all aspects of American culture — from film to literature to science to religion — were affected by the Cold War. Addresses issues of historiography and historical memory, exploring changing notions of Cold War history and the political and ideological implications of those ideas.
289. Home: History, Culture and the Design of Housing in North America
Jill Pearlman M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25 VAC-Picture Study
Seminar explores themes in the history and design of an American icon--home. The places we live in, whether by choice or circumstance, offer powerful statements about human values, political and social ideals, complex and changing ideas of family, of private and public life. Focusing mostly on the period from 1850 to the present, we will examine a variety of houses and housing types of all economic groups: multi- and single-family; urban and suburban, traditional and experimental. Our examples will include commonplace and anonymous buildings as well as architect-designed houses. The seminar will also will also explore the relationship of our differing domestic landscapes to the larger built environment. Students write a major research paper on a related topic of their choosing.
321. Victorian Age
Susan Tananbaum W 1:00 - 3:55 Sills-Peucinian Room
An interdisciplinary study of the Victorian era in England. Explores the changing political milieu; issues of industrial progress and poverty; the status of men and women in domains such as the home, work, health, education, and philanthropy. Emphasizes critical reading of primary and secondary sources, discussion, and research methods. Students play a prominent role in leading discussion and undertake a major research paper.
357. Latin America in the Cold War
Nelly Blacker-Hanson M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55 Edward Pols House-Conference Room
A seminar exploration of the Cold War era in Latin America. Begins with an overview of the post-War political environment, and readings and critique of representative traditional historiography’s generally bipolar analysis. Then focuses on the role of Latin American governments and opposition movements in shaping regional and international politics. Case studies explore the 1954 coup in Guatemala, the Cuban Revolution and Missile Crisis, the Nicaraguan Revolution and United States intervention, Mexican foreign relations, and Argentina’s role in advocating counter-terrorism and the spread of “dirty wars.” Course materials include primary and secondary sources (in English), including cultural artifacts of the Cold War era. No prerequisites are required, but students are encouraged to have background in either modern Latin America and/or twentieth-century United States history.
360. Religion and Popular Politics in African History
David Gordon W 1:00 - 3:55 CT-16 Whiteside Room
Religion in African history since the colonial period, with a focus on Islam in Saharan Africa and Christian movements in south and central Africa. Examines popular anti-colonial religious movements and the relationship between religious movements and post-colonial political parties and states. Includes missionary influences and independent African Christianity in south and central Africa; Sufi Brotherhoods in Senegal; and Islamic rebellion and fundamentalism in Nigeria, Algeria, and Sudan.

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