100-199 | 200-299 | 300-399 | 400-599 |
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100-Level Courses are Survey Courses and Introductory Courses for First- and Second-Year Students
110. Medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation Europe. (4). (SS).
The first half of the European history survey course covers a sweeping period of over a millennium. The course is designed to expose students to general outlines and chronology of European history and to encourage critical, skeptical analytical thinking. To anchor our flying coverage of this long and varied time, we will focus on developments in culture (art, architecture, literature), social organization (family, community, gender relations), and in political organization and theory. Readings will include a textbook, primary sources, challenging interpretive essays. Lecture time will be punctuated by small-group discussions, and active participation is strongly encouraged. Slides will frequently accompany lectures. Cost:3 WL:1
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121/Asian Studies 121. Great Traditions of East Asia. (4). (HU).
This is an introduction to the civilizations of China, Japan, Korea, and Inner Asia. It aims to provide an overview of changing traditions from ancient to early modern times (ca. 1660 AD) by outlining broad trends which not only transformed each society, economy, and culture but also led to the development of this region into distinctly different modern nations. The development of state Confucianism, the spread of Buddhism, the functions of the scholar and the warrior, the impact of the military empires of Inner Asia, and the superiority of pre-modern Asian science and technology are some of the topics we will cover. In addition to the required textbooks, we will read contemporary accounts and view slides and films to acquire intimate appreciation of these cultures. Course requirements include successful completion of: quizzes given in sections; four major tests given in class; one report/project (5 pp. plus bibliography and notes). Cost:2 WL:3
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132/AAPTIS 100/ACABS 100/HJCS 100. Peoples of the Middle East. (4). (HU).
See AAPTIS 100. (Babayan)
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151/Asian Studies 111. South Asian Civilization. (4). (HU).
This course is an introduction to the civilization of India, that is, the region of South Asia consisting of the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. We will begin with the first Indian civilization, that of the Indus Valley, and go on to the Vedic age, the formation of empires and the classical civilization of India, its social organization, arts, and sciences. We will then examine the encounter of India with Islamic and European civilization, and the formation of the independent nation-states of today. Course requirements include short papers, midterm, and final exam. (Trautmann)
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160. United States to 1865. (4). (SS).
This lecture/discussion course will examine central issues and events in the history of the territories that became the United States, and the peoples who lived there, from the late 16th to the middle of the 19th centuries. Among the topics that will be considered are the territorial expansions of Europeans into the Americas; the creation of Anglo-American colonies; the social, political, and cultural orders of British North America; the creation of an independent American republic in the Revolution; and the destruction of that first republic in the War Between the States. The required readings will include both primary and secondary sources, and will be examined in weekly discussion sections. There will be both a midterm and a final examination, and active class participation will be expected in the sections. (Vinovskis)
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161. United States, 1865 to the Present. (4). (SS).
This course is an undergraduate survey of U.S. history from 1865 to the present. We will examine major social, cultural, political, and economic events that shaped the United States after the Civil War. We will focus particularly on: Reconstruction, Westward Movement, Industrialization, Progressivism, World War I, Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Sixties, and Reagan Republicanism. This survey introduces the students to urban, labor, ethnic, and women's history of the time period through extensive use of primary sources. The students will be examined in weekly discussion sections over their readings of both primary and secondary sources. There will be a midterm and a final. Active class participation will be expected in the sections. Cost:3 WL:1
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195. The Writing of History. (4). (Introductory Composition). This course may not be included in a history concentration.
"The Writing of History" courses offer students the opportunity to learn writing through the study of historical texts, debates, and events. Each "Writing of History" section will study a different era, region, and topic in the past, for the common purpose of learning how history is written and how to write about it. Students will read the work of modern historians as well as documents and other source materials from the past, such as historical novels, letters, diaries, or memoirs. In each case the goal will be to learn how to construct effective arguments, and how to write college-level analytic papers. History 195 satisfies the first-year writing requirement. Each section will enroll a maximum of twenty students.
Section 006 - "Tribe" and "Tradition" in 20th Century Africa. Our class will introduce students to a variety of perspectives and issues relating to two fundamental topics in modern sub-Saharan African history: "tribe" and "tradition". A principal goal of our class will be to investigate the prevailinig "common wisdom" about these two issues in Africa. We will approach these issues from a number of different perspectives: colonization, attempts at colonial rule and control, African rebellion, economic change, social changes, and urbanization. In doing so, we will examine how ethnic identity and affiliation can alter depending on changing events and circumstances, and how this affects our interpretation of African history and current events. We will also have lessons on writing techniques, on analyzing texts and on formulating and supporting an historical argument. (J. Shapiro)
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196. First-Year Seminar. Only first-year students, including those with sophomore standing, may pre-register for First-Year Seminars. All others need permission of instructor. (3). (SS).
Section 002 - Gender, Race, and Class Students will use the techniques of historical analysis to unravel how gender, race, and class have functioned in American History. We will also explore the historiography of these subjects - how historians have identified, analyzed, and written about them and how approaches have changed over time. Students will be introduced to the concept of social construction - the idea that race, gender and class structures are not fixed, universal biological entities, but are shaped and determined by cultural values, time, and place. They will also be urged to think about how these categories intersect. This seminar is intended to be a small reading and discussion class, so regular attendance and participation are mandatory. There is a strong writing component. Cost:2 (Morantz-Sanchez)
Section 003 - Nationality and the Soviet Union. Beginning with the question, what is a nation?, this seminar will examine nationality in the Soviet Union and will consider the three interrelated topics of national identity, nationality policy, and nationalism. Particular attention will be given to the approaches and policies of Lenin and Stalin, their consequences, and to the experience of nationalities in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia. As a case study, we will examine in detail the origins, evolution, and outcome of a movement in support of national self-determination in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic between 1988 and 1990. Topics to be explored in depth include the movement in the context of Gorbachev's reforms; the movement in comparison with other national movements in the Soviet Union; and the role of historical memory in nationalisms of the period. The relationship between nationalism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union also will be considered. Readings will include primary and secondary sources. Class presentations and papers will be required. (Platz)
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197. First-Year Seminar. Only first-year students, including those with sophomore standing, may pre-register for First-Year Seminars. All others need permission of instructor. (3). (HU).
Section 003 - Coming of Age in 20th-Century Nigeria, Ghana, and Zimbabwe. Explores the transformation of specific African social groups during the transition from agricultural-based rural life to new forms of living in major urban areas, such as Lagos, Accra, and Harare. The primary questions examined include the following: how are older cultural practices designed to socialize young men and women transformed by the changes in lifestyles and the new forms of economic, religious, and social organization?; what are the major challenges to inter-generational relationships?; and how have young people managed to confront the heavy burdens of both cultural expectations and the demands of urban life? The course requires the writing and rewriting of a series of papers. (Scarnecchia)
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100-199 | 200-299 | 300-399 | 400-599 |