History (HIST)
Chair: Associate Professor Adeeb Khalid
Emeritus Professor: Robert E. Bonner
Professors: Clifford E. Clark, Jr., Kirk Jeffrey, Diethelm Prowe, Carl D. Weiner, Harry McKinley Williams
Associate Professors: Anna Rachel Igra, Adeeb Khalid, Jamie Monson
Assistant Professors: Andrew B. Fisher, Victoria Morse, William North, Susannah R. Ottaway, Parna Sengupta, SeungJoo Yoon, Serena R. Zabin
Requirements for a Major:
A total of 66 credits from courses taken in the History Department. First year seminars (History 110s) and the comprehensive exercise both count toward the total number of credits. Certain courses offered outside the History Department may count toward the major; consult the department chair for specific information. Courses in ancient history are taught in the Classics department. Credit toward the major will also be awarded for a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement examination in American or European History.
A student must take courses in at least three of the following eight fields: Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, Middle East/Islamic history, Europe to 1450, Europe Since 1450, and the United States. The Department expects that a student majoring in History will complete four courses (24 credits) in his or her primary field and two courses (12 credits) in each of two secondary fields. At least one of the student's three fields must be non-western historyEast Asia, South Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Middle East/Islamic historyand one of the fields must be in western history (Europe before 1450, Europe After 1450, United States including African-American history). In consultation with faculty, students may also propose a self-designed thematic field as their primary field (e.g., Gender and History, Colonialism, Central Asia). Interested students should consult the department for more information. The History major must complete a research seminar (History 395), normally in the primary field, the History Colloquium (History 298), and the senior integrative exercise (History 400).
Courses numbered below 200 are open to first year students. First year students may not register in courses numbered 200 and above without the written permission of the instructor. It is recommended that students planning to major in history take History 110 and one or two other courses during their first year. History majors who are interested in study and research in a major library should consider the Newberry Library Seminar program. (See the index) See History Department website at http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/HIST/.
History Courses
HIST 110. The Chinese Revolution of 1949 For the last half century the communist regime in China has made an indelible mark on the society comprising a quarter of the world's population. This seminar will examine various interpretations of different aspects and phases of Chinese life between the 1920s and 1990s. The emphasis will be on historical analysis of documentary sources. Students are introduced to materials in translation on the Chinese Revolution consisting of government publications, biographies memoirs, personal letters, journalistic reports, travelogues, and novels. Topics include political ideology, class and gender, nationalism, agricultural development, and mobilization of intellectuals. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—S. Yoon
HIST 110. The English Civil War In the middle of the 17th century, English society was "turned upside down" by the civil war. Radical religious sects sprang up, preaching such subversive ideas as equal rights for all men and women, and government broke down at both national and local levels. This seminar examines this crucial time in English history using both primary and secondary sources. The course also focuses on some of the lively historical debates concerning the civil war period. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—S. Ottaway
HIST 110. Japanese-American Internment during World War II This course will examine the experience of Japanese immigrants to the United States between 1900 and 1941, the reasons behind the decision to intern West Coast Japanese-Americans during World War II, the experience of the internees, and the postwar reconciliation between Japanese-Americans and the country that had wronged them. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—K. Jeffrey
HIST 110. Conquest and Survival in Indigenous Mexico The 16th century Spanish conquest of the native "empires" of Mexico and its long-term consequences. How disruptive was the conquest for indigenous societies? Did the downfall of indigenous empires and city-states signal the demise of indigenous culture? We will examine and discuss the views of the combatants themselves and later interpretations of historians. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Fall—A. Fisher
HIST 110. Black Slaves, White Masters: Historians and History This seminar explores the place of slavery in American historiography in the half-century following U.B. Phillips's American Negro Slavery (1918). It probes the complexities of the master-slave relationship as well as integrates the methods and skills of the historian regarding questions of culture, gender, economics, and resistance. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—H. Williams
HIST 110. German Revolutions of 1848 An exploration of the German Revolution of 1848 from a broad range of 19th century intellectual perspectivesliberalism, conservatism, Romanticism, Marxismand through contemporary analyses and socioeconomic change. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—D. Prowe
HIST 110. African Life Histories Through life histories we can learn about the history of African people using the lens of their own individual experiences. Life histories also involve the collaboration of a scholar or editor. In this seminar we will read selected life histories to explore African history and the ways it is recorded. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—J. Monson
HIST 119. Frontiers in Early America This introduction to colonial American history will consider the frontier as both place and metaphor in order to understand this period. More than a simple geographic line, the early American frontier was also a zone of racial, gender, economic, and military interactions between peoples, empires, and cultures. Through the idea of the frontier, this class will explore the wide range of ideologies and experiences in 17th and 18th century North America. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 120, 121. Rethinking the American Experience: American Social History 1607-1865, 1865-1945 A survey of the American experience from before Christopher Columbus' arrival through the Civil War. Some of the topics we will cover include: contact between Native and European cultures; the development of the thirteen mainland British colonies; British, French, and Spanish imperial conflicts over the Americas; slavery; the American Revolution; religious "awakenings;" antebellum politics; and the Civil War. 6 credits each cr., HU, Winter,Spring—S. Zabin, springK. Jeffrey
HIST 137. Before Europe: The Early Medieval World, 250-c. 1050 Cross-listed with FRST 137. This course examines the formation of western Christendom from its origins in the Christian Roman Empire to its consolidation in the 11th century. As we move from Merovingian Gaul, Lombard Italy, and Anglo-Saxon England to the Carolingian Empire and its successor kingdoms in Germany, France, and Italy, we will examine such issues as the cultural and political legacy of the Roman and Carolingian worlds; the nature and forms of secular and sacred power; gender roles and relations; ethnic and social identity; and the forms, patterns and meaning of communication (political, economic, ritual, literary, religious) both inside and outside early medieval Europe. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 138. The Making of Europe What are the origins of what we call "Europe?" How did this corner of the Eurasian continent come to play a predominant role in world history? What forces worked to create or to undermine a recognizably "European" culture? While cultural developments and new institutions offered powerful sources of shared experience and practice, national states and self-conscious localisms introduced new lines of fragmentation. Through lectures and discussion of a wide variety of primary sources from the period this class will examine these competing tendencies as they shaped the history of Europe's peoples during the later Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 139. Foundations of Modern Europe A narrative and survey of the early modern period (15th through 18th centuries). The course examines the Renaissance, Reformation, Contact with the Americas, the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment. We compare the development of states and societies across Western Europe, with particularly close examination of the history of Spain. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—S. Ottaway
HIST 140. Modern Europe 1789-1914 Cross-listed with FRST 140. . An introduction in the age of political and social revolutions. Emphasis is given to the impact of industrialization, the rise of national consciousness, and the search for progress through the great liberal and socialist movements, and ultimately the drive for global domination and development, students are invited but not required to take HIST 141 as a follow-up to this course. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—D. Prowe
HIST 141. Europe in the 20th Century Cross-listed with FRST 141. A survey of the major political, socio-economic, and intellectual developments of 20th century Europe. Special emphasis will be placed on the rise of urban masses and private economic power and the attempts to integrate these new forces into a stable political system. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—D. Prowe
HIST 150. Japan Before 1868 An introduction to the history of Japan from its pre-historical past to the fall of the Tokugawa order in 1868. It examines the ways in which the Japanese civilization has been shaped by its political institutions, foreign relations, religious developments, social forms, and literary achievements. Topics include the sources and legitimization of ancient political power; aristocracy in medieval times; the popularization of various sects of Buddhism; the rise of the warrior class; agrarian society and peasant rebellions; urban lives of artisans, merchants, and entertainers; and the world of popular literature and arts. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—S. Yoon
HIST 151. History of Japan Since 1868 This course explores the modern transformation of Japanese society, politics, economy, and culture from the Meiji Restoration of 1868 to the present. It is designed to provide students with an opportunity to explore basic issues and problems relating to modern Japanese history and international relations. Topics include the intellectual crisis of the late Tokugawa period, the Meiji Constitution, the development of an imperial democracy, class and gender, the rise of Japanese fascism, the Pacific War, and postwar developments. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 152. History of Imperial China An introduction to the history of China from its beginnings to the end of the last dynasty in 1911, providing an overview of traditional Chinese thought, culture, institutions, and society. Students examine the development of philosophy and religion, achievements in art and literature, and social and economic change. This course also considers foreign conquest dynasties, Chinese expansion into Inner Asia, and China's relations with the West. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 153. History of Modern China This course, a continuation of History 152 ("History of Imperial China"), offers a critical survey of the modern transformation of politics, economy, society, and culture in Chinese history from the 18th century to the present. Topics include neo-Confucianism, the bureaucracy, the repudiation of civil society, the interaction with the West, peasant rebellions, nationalism, party politics, the dynamics of Communist rule, and alternative Chinese societies both inside and outside Mainland China. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—S. Yoon
HIST 156. History of Modern Korea An historical survey on the development of Korean society and culture from the 15th century to the present. Students will analyze various aspects of Korean life such as autocracy and bureaucracy, family and education, peasantry and rural life, commerce and industry, Yangban literary enterprises, and religious orientations, both elite and popular. In addition, sections will also be devoted to a discussion of Korea's interactions with its neighbors, including China, Inner Asia, Japan, Europe, and America. North Korea, for example, will be examined in terms of colonialism and post-colonialism as well as Cold War contexts 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 160. History of Classical India This course will look at classical Indian civilization by examining the interconnectedness of its political and social institutions, religions, and material life. We begin with the Indus Valley civilization (2500 B.C.) and end with the Turkish Sultanate in Northern India (1525 A.D.). Ancient India has recently become the object of intense political debate; we will consider the implications of current debates and the challenges and methods of reconstructing India's history. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 161. History of Modern India A survey of the modern history of the Indian sub-continent from the establishment of the Mughal Court in North India (1525 A.D.) to the present including the Indian Ocean trade, the Southern independent kingdoms, British colonial rule, nationalism and post-colonial South Asia. Students will be asked to consider the differences between the early modern, colonial, and national states and empires on the subcontinent. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 169. Colonial Latin America 1492-1810 Cross-listed with LTAM 169. How did peoples from the Americas, the Iberian Peninsula, and Africa contribute to the creation of new colonial societies in Latin America and the Caribbean? The course examines the bewildering spectrum of indigenous societies Europeans and Africans encountered in the Americas, then turns to the introduction and proliferation of Hispanic institutions and culture, the development of mature colonial societies, and the increasing tensions and internal contradictions that plagued the region by the late 18th century. It asks how the colonized population managed to survive, adapt, and resist imperial pressures and examines the creation of new collective identities. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Fall—A. Fisher
HIST 170. Modern Latin America 1810-Present Cross-listed with LTAM 170. This course focuses on the legacy of colonial rule and asks how nascent nation-states dealt with new challenges of political legitimacy, economic development, and the rights of citizens. Case studies from the experiences of individual nations will highlight concerns still pertinent today: the ongoing struggle to extend meaningful political participation and the benefits of economic growth to the majority of the region's inhabitants, popular struggles for political, economic, and cultural rights, and the emergence of a civic society. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Winter—A. Fisher
HIST 180. An Historical Survey of East Africa and the Horn Cross-listed with AFAM 180. Linkages to the trade networks of the Indian Ocean and to the African interior provide excellent material for the study of the impact of long-distance trade on African social, political and economic development from the turn of the millennium to the present. Using case studies and primary documents, this course will survey the history of Eastern and Northeastern Africa from 1000 B.C. to the present. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Winter—J. Monson
HIST 182. A Survey of Southern African History Cross-listed with AFAM 182. . This course will review the history of southern Africa from the Late Neolithic period to the 20th century. The development of a multiracial society; the impact of the mineral/industrial revolution in the 19th century; and the growth of African resistance and nationalism up to the present will be the focal points. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—J. Monson
HIST 183. Farm and Forest in African History Cross-listed with AFAM 183,ENTS 183. This course will study the history of environmental change in Africa, using the concepts of "farm" and "forest" to analyze human intervention and ecological change in a variety of ecosystems. Our focus will be primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, as we look at the impact of such processes as urbanization, trade, colonial settlement and post-colonial development policy on African landscapes. As we investigate these topics, we will also discuss how African environmental issues have been represented in colonial and post-colonial discourses. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—J. Monson
HIST 190. Technology in American History Cross-listed with ENTS 190. . What is technology? Why study its history? Is technology fundamentally different in modern times than it was in earlier periods of human history? How does technological change occur? Is technology out of control or is it subject to human shaping and direction? This course will investigate such questions using examples from throughout human history and from several different civilizations. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 195. American Environmental History Cross-listed with ENTS 195. An introduction to the study of environmental history and an examination of several significant elements in the history of human interaction with the natural environment on the North American continent. These will include such subjects as fire, agriculture, river management, urban development, wilderness, and species extinction. Between humans and nature there is a constant tension, because humans are the only species with the power to alter their environment significantly. The course will examine salient instances of that tension, from the efforts of pre-historical populations to manipulate their environment to the growth of the modern environmental movement. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—R. Bonner
HIST 199. Foreign Language Option This course offers students with proficiency in Greek the opportunity to work with extracts from histories, letters, laws, hagiography, and other genres from the Middle and Late Byzantine periods (ca. 800-1450) in the original language. Students will also explore aspects of Byzantine manuscript and book production, palaeography, and literary history through readings and work with facsimiles and photographs. Classes will consist of translation and discussion of Greek texts, discussion of the historical issues that they raise, and mini-lectures. Prerequisite: Completion of a 200-level Greek course. 2 credits cr., S/CR/NC, ND, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 200. The Zen of Asian and Western Woodworking This course will contrast traditional Chinese and Japanese philosophies of woodworking to those used in England and the United States through readings, museum visits, and hands-on projects in the woodshop. The focus will be on the history of the design and construction of furniture using traditional hand tools. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of Ming Dynasty furniture design on the furniture constructed in colonial America. We will also explore some of the complexities of cultural borrowing and cultural difference. Students will be responsible both for writing essays and for completing several small projects made out of wood. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 201. Greek History: The Greek World From the Rise of the City-State to the Rise of the Hellenistic Kingdo Cross-listed with CLAS 227. A survey of the civilization of the ancient Greeks, emphasizing the evolution of the city-state as a cohesive social, political, and economic organism. The development of the city-state as a response to the physical environment of Greece will form a component of this study, as will a discussion of the historical method: how do we use the few surviving archaeological remains and little written evidence to reconstruct the history of these people and their institutions? The period covered in depth will run from the beginning of the city-state ca. 750 B.C. to the conquests of Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.) and the legacy of international monarchies that followed. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 202. Roman History, Republic and Principate Cross-listed with CLAS 228. Introduction to the basic facts of political history from the Etruscan period to the early third century A.D. Readings in literary works and primary sources with emphasis on historiography and interpretation of evidence. Some attention to art and architecture. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Spring—J. Bryce
HIST 203. The Later Roman Empire, Byzantium and Islam Cross-listed with CLAS 229. Introduction to the basic facts of political history of the Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic empires from the 3rd to the 9th centuries A.D. Readings and discussion of primary texts from the points of view of social, intellectual, and particularly religious history. Some attention to art and architecture; individual projects of research and interpretation. An important goal is to understand the phenomena of Christianity and Islam in their native context, the Mediterranean world of late antiquity. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 204. Crusade, Contact and Exchange in the Medieval Mediterranean The theory that the focus of affairs in Europe turned northwards after the Muslim conquests of North Africa and Spain has been highly influential in shaping courses on medieval Europe. More recently, however, attention has focused on the rich culture of contact among the peoples of the Mediterranean throughout the medieval period. Through lectures and critical discussion of primary sources, this course will explore the many faces of this contact, including trade, warfare, political ties, missions, and artistic and intellectual influences. Our primary focus will be on the Christian European experience, but we will also study Jewish, Muslim and Byzantine sources. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 210. Studies in Traditional Societies: Bandits, Outlaws and Other Rebels: A Comparative History Are bandits and outlaws "Primitive Rebels?" Images of the bandit-hero abound in history and folklore, from Robin Hood, Blackbeard, Jesse James and Bonnie and Clyde. In this course, we will examine criminality as a form of resistance in the history of selected societies around the world. Using both theoretical texts and examples from case studies, we will discuss whether smuggling, poaching, riots and plunder can be considered rebellious acts. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—J. Monson, C. Weiner
HIST 211. Colonial North America An intensive exploration of particular topics in early American history in its context as part of an Atlantic world. Topics will include voluntary and involuntary migration from Europe and Africa, personal, political, and military relationships between Europeans and Native Americans, the pattern of colonial settlement and politics, concepts of family and community, strategies of cultural adaptation and resistance, slavery, religion, the making of racial, rank, and gender ideologies, and the development of British and American identities. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 212. The American Revolution This class will examine the American Revolution as both a process and a phenomenon. It will consider the relationship of the American Revolution to social, cultural, economic, political, and ideological change in the lives of Americans from the founding fathers to the disenfranchised, focusing on the period 1750-1800. The central question of the course is this: how revolutionary was the Revolution? Students without a solid grounding in early American history should read Edmund S. Morgan, The Birth of the Republic (Chicago: 1993), before the first class. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—S. Zabin
HIST 213. The Early American Republic This course will examine the social, political and cultural history of the period 1783-1830 with special consideration of the framing and ratification of the Constitution and the defining of the "United States." Historians contend that the period covered by this course is the key era of social transformation in American history. To assess this hypothesis, we will examine changes in race, gender, and class relations within the context of economic and geographical expansion and religious revitalization. We will explore paradoxes of American democracy and citizenship as they developed in the early Republic. Previous knowledge of American history will be assumed. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 214. The Civil War Era This course will examine the American Civil War as a defining moment in this country's history. We will study the years leading up to the war as well as the Reconstruction period following it, and trace such themes as the definitions of citizenship to freedom; the role of the federal government and race relations. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 218. History, Memory, and the Vietnam War What is the difference between history and memory of past events? Do members of different generations remember historical events differently? In this course we will first examine the political, diplomatic, and military events of the Vietnam War, then look at oral histories and memoirs as historical sources about the war. Students will then put their knowledge about oral history into practice by taking oral histories from elderly residents of Northfield. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—S. Ottaway
HIST 220. African American History I Cross-listed with AFAM 220. . The transition of the slave from an African to an African-American either directly or indirectly through the institution of slavery until 1865. Special attention will be given to individuals, organizations, and philosophies proposing solutions to the African- and Euro-American dilemma. Previous knowledge of American history is desirable. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—H. Williams
HIST 221. African American History II Cross-listed with AFAM 221. The transition from slavery to freedom; the post-Reconstruction erosion of civil rights and the ascendancy of Booker T. Washington; protest organizations and mass migration before and during World War I; the postwar resurgence of black nationalism; African Americans in the Great Depression and World War II; roots of the modern Civil Rights movement. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 222. U.S. Women's History to 1877 Cross-listed with WGST 222. . Gender, race, and class shaped women's participation in the arenas of work, family life, culture, and politics in the United States from the colonial period to the late 19th century. We will examine diverse women's experiences of colonization, industrialization, slavery and Reconstruction, religion, sexuality and reproduction, and social reform. Readings will include both primary and secondary sources, as well as historiographic articles outlining major frameworks and debates in the field of women's history. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 223. U.S. Women's History Since 1877 Cross-listed with WGST 223. . In the 20th century women participated in the redefinition of politics and the state, sexuality and family life, and work and leisure as the United States became a modern, largely urban society. We will explore how the dimensions of race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality shaped diverse women's experiences of these historical changes. Topics will include: immigration, the expansion of the welfare system and the consumer economy, labor force segmentation and the world wars, and women's activism in civil rights, labor, peace and feminist movements. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 227. History of the American West Cross-listed with ENTS 227. . This course treats the history of a distinctive region, the arid section of the United States between the 100th Meridian and the Sierra Nevada, during the 19th and 20th centuries. We will study cultural interactions among the indigenous populations and the Euro-American immigrants, the development in the area of institutions and economic systems characteristic of European civilization, and the political and environmental consequences of those developments. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 229. Gender and Work in U.S. History Cross-listed with WGST 229. . Historically work has been a central location for the constitution of gender identities for both men and women; at the same time, cultural notions of gender have shaped the labor market. We will investigate the roles of race, class, and ethnicity in shaping multiple sexual divisions of labor and the ways in which terms such as skill, bread-winning and work itself were gendered. Topics will include domestic labor, slavery, industrialization, labor market segmentation, protective legislation, and the labor movement. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Winter—A. Igra
HIST 230. Power, Sanctity, and the Search for Order: The Early Medieval World, 300-1000 The emergence of Latin/Germanic, Byzantine, and Islamic societies in the Mediterranean region; the nature and sites of political power and legitimacy; gender roles in medieval society; medieval conceptions of ethnicity; the nature of sanctity and the role of ascetics in society, and the dynamic interactions between universalist religions (Christianity and Islam) and local cultures. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 232. The Renaissance Through lectures and careful reading and discussion of primary sources and secondary essays, we will enter the creative, turbulent world of Renaissance Europe to assess continuities with and changes from the "medieval" world and to examine the differences between the northern and southern Renaissances. We will listen to contemporaries discuss the meaning of being human and ideal forms of civil society and government; the nature of God and mankind's duties toward the divine; the family and gender roles; definitions of beauty and the goals of artistic achievement; accumulation of wealth; and exploration of new worlds and encounters with other peoples. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 233. Cultures of Empire: Byzantium, 850-1453 Heir to the Roman Empire, Byzantium proved to be one of the most enduring and fascinating polities of the medieval world. Through written and visual evidence, we will examine the central features of Byzantine culture from the period of Iconoclasm to the Empire's fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, concentrating on the nature and function of imperial rule; Byzantine aesthetics and religiosity; Byzantium's response to the Crusades and Islam; and the changing nature of the Byzantine thought world. No prerequisites, but Classics 229 would be useful background. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 234. France in the Making, 987-1460 Cross-listed with FRST 235. This course will examine the political and social transformations and cultural developments that conspired to make the kingdom of France one of the most influential and dynamic polities in the medieval world. Among the topics to be addressed: the ideals and practice of medieval governance; the formation of "French" national identity; France as a center of European intellectual and cultural life; forms of religious life, dissent, and persecution (the Albigensian Crusade, treatment of the Jews, and Trial of the Templars); and the ideals and realities of social relations (courtly romance, the rise of the merchant class, the status of women). 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—W. North
HIST 236. Women's Lives in Pre-Modern Europe Cross-listed with FRST 232,WGST 236. Did women have a Renaissance? Were women increasingly relegated to a separate sphere from men: "domesticated" into the household? Or, on the contrary, is the history of European women characterized by fundamental continuities? This course seeks to answer these questions through an exploration of women's place in the family and economy, laws and cultural assumptions about women, and women's role in religion. Throughout the term, we will be focusing not only on writings about women, but primarily on sources written by women themselves, as we seek a fuller understanding of the nature of European women's lives before the modern era. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 237. The Enlightenment Cross-listed with FRST 237. This course focuses on the texts of Enlightenment thinkers, including Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Kant and Mesmer. Emphasis will be on French thinkers and the effect of the Enlightenment on French society. The course covers the impact of the Enlightenment on science, religion, politics and the position of women. Students will have the opportunity to read the philosophies in French. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 238. Topics in Medieval History: Papacy, Church and Empire Cross-listed with RELG 238,FRST 238,WGST 233. In the late 11th century, the foundations of medieval society began to shake. Monks and clerics, kings and princes, lay men and women, challenged the traditional order of European society, demanding purity, freedom, and justice for their church and the reform of institutions grown corrupt. Yet the traditional order had its defenders, too. In this course we will examine their strugglesverbal and physicalas they debate such issues as clerical marriage and purity, institutional corruption, the relationship of Church and King, the meaning of canon law, the concept of just war, and the power of the pope within the Church. 3 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 238. Topics in Medieval History: Gender and Ethics in Medieval France Cross-listed with RELG 238,FRST 238,WGST 233. Acknowledged by contemporaries as one of the leading intellects of her time, Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364-ca. 1431) was an author of unusual literary range and perceptiveness. In addition to romances, poetry, and a quasi-autobiographical Vision, she composed works on political theory, arms and chivalry, and her famous defenses of womenThe City of Ladies and the Treasure of the City of Ladies. Using Christine's writings as a foundation, we will explore problems and perceptions of gender, love, the ethics of personal relations, and the exercise of power in domestic and public spheres in late medieval France. 3 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 238. The World of Bede Cross-listed with RELG 238,FRST 238,WGST 233. This course will examine the works and world of the Venerable Bede (c. 673-731), one of the great Christian thinkers and historians of the Middle Ages and a key witness to the history of early medieval Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England. Through close study of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People and other contemporary sources, we shall address such issues as Christian vs. Germanic rulership; the nature of religious conversion in early medieval societies; monasticism and conceptions of sanctity; Ireland and England as outposts of classical and Christian culture; and the problems of historical thought and writing in the early Middle Ages. 3 Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 240. History of Russia to 1917 A survey of selected topics in Russian history including the emergence of Kievan Rus, the period of Mongol domination, the rise of Muscovy, Westernization under Peter the Great, and Russia's emergence as a major European power. We will pay special attention to social and cultural issues. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—A. Khalid
HIST 241. History of Russia Since 1917 A continuation of History 240, this course focuses on the dilemmas of modernization and industrialization faced by both the Late Imperial and Soviet regimes in Russia after the Great Reforms of the 1860s. We will also deal with the social, cultural, and political responses to the regimes. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 242. History of the Working Class in Modern Europe This course will look at the social and political evolution of the Western European working class from its pre-industrial origins down to its reputed demise at the dawn of a post-industrial society. Topics under discussion will include: peasants into workers; from Guild to Trade Union; Utopian Socialism; the Marxist break; working class collective action and rebellion; mass trade unionism and mass-working-class parties; from Social democracy through Leninist vanguard; "middle class" respectability and the new militancy. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 243. The Peasants are Revolting! Society and Politics in the Making of Modern France Cross-listed with FRST 257. Political propaganda of the French Revolutionary period tells a simple story of downtrodden peasants exploited by callous nobles, but what exactly was the relationship between the political transformations of France from the Renaissance through the French Revolution and the social, religious, and cultural tensions that characterized the era? This course explores the connections and conflicts between popular and elite culture as we survey French history from the 16th through early 19th centuries, making comparisons to social and political developments in other European countries along the way. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—S. Ottaway
HIST 244. History of European Diplomacy A study of modern European diplomacy from the 17th to the 20th century. Special attention will be given to the evolution of diplomatic principles, concepts and methods. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—D. Prowe
HIST 245. Ireland: The Origin of the Troubles The religious and political tensions and violence that have characterized modern Irish history have deep roots in centuries of troubled relations between Ireland and England. This course examines Irish history with a special focus on Anglo-Irish relations from Tudor colonization through the Great Hunger of the 19th century. We will also be examining the very different ways in which Irish history is told by nationalist and revisionist scholars. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—S. Ottaway
HIST 253. Bureaucracy, Law, and Religion in East Asia One tends to interpret East Asian polity in terms of rule by person rather than rule by law and of the unity between politics and religion. Students will examine the validity of these traditional conceptualizations through an analysis of the intricate interactions between bureaucratic behaviors, legal parameters, and religious orientations as evolved in the East Asian historical societies from its beginnings to the present. Students will discuss the relationships between autocracy and bureaucracy, church and state, aristocracy and literati ideals, eunuch prerogatives, samurai ethics, and yangban protocols, with a focus on various bureaucratic configurations (public, private, ecclesiastical, parallel, and interstitial). 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—S. Yoon
HIST 258. Foreign Relations of East Asia in Modern Times This course explores the history of foreign relations in East Asia, with special attention given to its cultural underpinnings. It covers the 17th century to the present, the period during which the Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese became integrated into the modern world. Students will first examine the distinguishing characteristics of multilateral exchanges in the context of empires, kingdoms, modern states, and Western Powers. The course then attempts to define a system of regional order in theoretical terms and, by extension, the role of East Asia in the world. Topics include the collapse of the tributary system, colonialism, nationalism, and post-colonialism. Some previous work on East Asian history is recommended. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—S. Yoon
HIST 259. Women in South Asia: Histories, Narratives, and Representation Cross-listed with WGST 259. The objective of this course is to survey the historical institutions, practices and traditions that defined the position of women in India. We will examine the laws and religious traditions related to women in South Asia including marriage, inheritance, sati and purdah. We will also read a variety of women's writings including the poetry of buddhist nuns and medieval women saints, as well as stories and memoirs from the colonial and post-colonial period. The purpose of the course is to understand women in India as both the object and subject of history. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 260. The Making of the Modern Middle East Topics include: state and society, the military and bureaucracy, religious minorities (Jews and Christians), and women in premodern Muslim societies; the encounter with modernity. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—A. Khalid
HIST 261. The Modern Middle East A study of the major political and social developments in the Middle East since World War I. Topics discussed: the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of nation-states; the impact of Western imperialism; the domination of military regimes; "Islamic fundamentalism;" women and gender in contemporary Muslim societies. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 263. Inventing the Nation This course will explore theories of nation-building, nationalism, and anti-colonial struggle in the 19th and 20th centuries. Using the examples of Britain and India, we will study the 'invention' of the nation through images and text, particularly the centrality of imperialism and colonialism to the process of nation building. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 265. Empires of the Steppe This course provides an introduction to the history of Inner Asia, the vast region that bridges the civilizations of China, the Middle East, and Europe, but which itself has been the center of empires that have shaped and reshaped the history of the Old World. Beginning with the ecological imperatives that shape life in Inner Asia, we will survey the history of the region and its interactions with its neighbors, with an emphasis on cultural and political developments from the earliest times to the present. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—A. Khalid
HIST 272. The Emergence of Modern Mexico Cross-listed with LTAM 272. This course will explore the challenges that nation-builders in Mexico encountered in their attempt to forge and maintain an independent nation-state after achieving independence from Spain in 1821. An important theme of the course will be how national leaders and popular groups came to define Mexican national identity, particularly during and after the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). The themes of the course should help frame similar inquiries about other post-colonial situations in Latin America and elsewhere. Prerequisite: History 169 or 170 or consent of the instructor. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Spring—A. Fisher
HIST 276. African Slavery in Latin America: From the Middle Passage to Abolition Cross-listed with LTAM 276. The course will examine Latin American slavery in a wide geographical context and ask how the study of slavery has evolved over the last several decades. It will cover areas of the region where slavery was the dominant institution of local society and areas where slavery played a more marginal role. Students will compare how scholars have addressed certain issues and questions over time (various labor regimes, slave resistance and rebellion, maroon communities, manumission and free people in slave societies, etc.) by reading older and more recent works in tandem. Prerequisite: History 169 or 170 or consent of the instructor. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Winter—A. Fisher
HIST 279. American Intellectual History A study of selected moments in the history of ideas from Puritanism to the 1960s. The major focus will be on the classic writing of William Bradford, Anne Hutchinson, Thomas Jefferson, Henry David Thoreau, Alexis de Tocqueville, William James, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and others. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 282. Women in African History: (Re-)Production, Representation, and Resistance Cross-listed with WGST 282. . This course will explore several themes that are central to understanding the changes n African women's lives and experiences in the countryside and the city from before colonialism to the present: work, education, labor migration, marriage, sexuality, motherhood, political action and creativity. Readings will include both primary and secondary sources, as well as historiographic articles outlining issues in African women's history and the novels and autobiographies through which African women have begun to make their voices heard. But women in Africa do not speak as one, and thus we will also study the differences of race, gender, class and culture. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 283. Africa Before the Europeans: The Dark Continent? Cross-listed with AFAM 283. Through epics, origin myths, praise songs, poetry, ethnographic materials, historical works and novels, this seminar will explore Africa's rich pre-colonial past, paying particular attention to material and social change and the ways in which both ruling elites and "ordinary" men and womenfarmers, herders, traders, slaveshelped to shape their worlds. The course challenges Western depictions of Africa as the "dark continent" by showing that African peoples had vibrant cultures and sophisticated technologies, participated in far-reaching commercial and political networks, and maintained dynamic (and internally differentiated) social systems for centuries before the arrival of Europeans on African shores. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 298. Junior-year History Colloquium In the junior year, majors must take six-credit reading and discussion course taught each year by different members of the department faculty. The general purpose of History 298 is to help students reach a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of history as a discipline and of the approaches and methods of historians. A major who is considering off-campus study in the junior year should consult with their advisor on when to take History 298. 6 credits cr., ND, Fall,Winter—A. Igra, S. Ottaway
HIST 301. Contact and Frontiers in Early America More than a simple geographic line, the early American frontier was also a zone of racial, gender, economic, and military interactions between peoples, empires, and cultures. This course will consider French and Spanish attempts to establish colonies in North America as well as British. A primary focus of the class will be on European-Native American contact. This will be a reading intensive course heavily dependent on class discussion. Written work will consist of one short critical review at the mid-term and a final, more extensive analytic paper. Prerequisite: One American history class before 1800 or permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 305. Topics in American Environmental History Cross-listed with ENTS 305. The course will be offered each year, with subject matter changing year by year. In 2004 the subject will be "Water in American History." Oceans, rivers, lakes, canals, creeks, transport, locks, dams, levees, power, irrigation, recreation, washing, drinking, sewage: we will look at water law and water practice, aiming to construct a whole vision of what water has done for us and to us, and what we have done with and to water in the last 200 years. There will be opportunity for primary research on a wide variety of water problems. Prerequisites: One of the following courses: History 195, History 227, ENTS 110, Economics 273, Political Science 257, Geology 120; or permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—R. Bonner
HIST 322. The Civil Rights Movement in America Cross-listed with AFAM 322. It will be the task of this seminar to explore the discourse of civil rights reform in U.S. history from the standpoint of activists, organizations, and histories of domestic civil rights politics. The impact of Cold War foreign affairs on civil rights is discussed. The seminar is also an occasion to study the 1954 Brown decision and its fifty-year aftermath. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—H. Williams
HIST 324. The Concord Intellectuals The social and intellectual history of the American Renaissance with focus on selected works of Emerson, Thoreau, Amos Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller. Special emphasis will be placed on the one common denominator uniting these intellectuals: their devotion to the possibilities of democracy. Prerequisite: History 120 or consent of the instructor. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—H. Williams
HIST 331. Controversial Histories: Ideological Conflict and Consensus in the Pre-Modern World This seminar explores the history of how people in the pre-modern world discussed, debated and decided the issues, ideals, and policies that shaped their lives, communities, and world. Particular attention will be paid to the role of institutions and individuals, networks, the form and functions of polemical discourse, and the dynamics of group formation and sigmatization in the historical unfolding of conflict and consensus. Theoretical readings and case studies of conflicts from late antique, medieval, and early modern periods will provide the common readings for the seminar. Students may take the course as either a 331 or 395. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—W. North
HIST 340. France in Revolution, 1750-1870 Cross-listed with FRST 340. A narrative and analytic history of France from the downfall of the Bourbon Monarchy to the establishment of the Third Republic, this course will investigate how France, experiencing almost generational cycles of revolution and reaction, tried to come to terms with the social, cultural and political legacies left by its first and greatest revolution. A week or so will be spent highlighting comparisons with the American and Haitian revolutions and their aftermaths. The course is one of the supporting courses required for a French and Francophone studies concentration. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—C. Weiner
HIST 341. France, Third-Fifth Republic Cross-listed with FRST 341. Modern France from 1870 to the present. The politics, culture, society and economy of modern France will be studied in relation to such topics as agriculture and industry, archaic and modern; mass politics, class struggle and the rise of socialism; perceiving Paris; modernism in art and life, Bohemia, the belle epoque and the post-industrialist society; Gaullism and the prospect of European unity. History 341 can be taken as one of the core courses in the French and Francophone Studies Concentration. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 345. Atlantic Revolutions, France and America Cross-listed with FRST 345. An examination of the recent literature on the French and American Revolutions to establish a basis for a comparative approach to both revolutions. Our approach will include social, political, intellectual and cultural perspectives on a variety of subjects illuminating the reciprocity between the revolutions. The course will not concern itself with a detailed narrative of either revolution so some solid knowledge of one or both of these revolutions is assumed. This will be a reading intensive course heavily dependent on class discussion. Written work will consist of one short critical review at the mid-term and a final, more extensive analytic paper. Permission of the instructors is required. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 370. History of African American Education Cross-listed with EDUC 336. The course will explore the history of African-Americans from slave codes prohibiting literacy instruction to the challenges of contemporary urban schools. One strand will be biographical and institutional, examining the thinking of key educational leaders and the programs they created. Another focus will be on the ideological underpinnings and legal reasoning of public policies such as "separate, but equal," desegregation, and the consideration of race in college admissions. The course will use primary sources and data to compare the barriers, opportunities and achievements of African-Americans with those of other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. 6 credits cr., SS,RAD, Not offered in 2003-2004.
HIST 381. History, Memory and Black Atlantic: Ghana and the United States Cross-listed with AFAM 381. This course is an interdisciplinary, comparative, and international seminar. It asks: Did Ghanaians participate in the Atlantic slave trade as equal partners, or were they the victims of European power and greed? How have Ghanaians and black Americans remembered and recorded the Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and independence? Was Nkrumah's real mentor Garvey or duBois? Why during the Nkrumah years was Ghana the African American Camelot? Permission of the instructor is required. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—H. Williams
HIST 382. History, Memory and Black Atlantic: On-Site in Ghana and Revisted Cross-listed with AFAM 382. The first part of the course consists of a two-week field trip in late November-early December to Ghana. The field trip begins in Accra, continues to Kumasi, and ends in Cape Coast. The seminar will conclude on campus, meeting once a week for ten weeks to enable students to complete and give oral presentations on topics chosen during the fall term and researched during the two-week field trip. Prerequisite: History/African American Studies 381 and permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—H. Williams
HIST 395. Man and Water in the East China Seas This seminar explores human interactions in the maritime world surrounding the East China Seas and their tributaries, watersheds and reservoirs. Students will examine how the maritime spaces have shaped the evolving patterns of cultural encounters and economic transactions in East Asia. Although discussion topics will center upon the socio-economic transformations, students will also examine different conceptualizations of changing ideas behind modern economic behaviors. Its objective is to place our own notions of economy and society into a comparative perspective through the lenses of merchants and pirates, migrants and ethnic minorities, pilgrims and missionaries, and poets and travelers of the region. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—S. Yoon
HIST 395. Liberty, Equality, Power: America 1607-1865 From Roanoke to Gettysburg, tensions between liberty, equality, and power have shaped the American past. This is an advanced research seminar in which students will write a 25-30 page paper based on original research. Possible topics include colonial American societies, relations between America's red, white, and black inhabitants, the American Revolution and the Constitution, the religious reform movements of the Second Great Religious Awakening, and the debates over the spread of slavery. Participation in the seminar will also include some common readings about the major themes of this period, and extensive peer reviews of research papers. 6 cr., HU, Fall—S Zabin
HIST 395. Nationalism In the first half of the course, students will acquaint themselves with the recent literature on nationalism, including both theoretical and historical works. In the second half, they will prepare and present research papers on nationalism in a given historical context. Previous work in history required. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—A. Khalid
HIST 395. The United States in Depression and War, 1929-1945 The era of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II. Emphasis on the politics, domestic policy, and foreign policy of Franklin Roosevelt's twelve-year presidency. Each student will write a substantial paper based on original research. Previous course work on 20th century American history is expected. A two-credit reading course during the summer break, set up in consultation with the instructor at the end of the previous spring term, is required. Consent of the instructor is required. 6 credits (2 credit summer rea cr., HU, Fall—K. Jeffrey
HIST 395. Fascism An historical analysis of the 20th century phenomenon of fascism in Germany, France and Italy, with special emphasis on the sources, methods, and practice of National Socialism in Germany. A two-credit reading course during the summer break, set up in consultation with the instructor at the end of the spring term, is required. History 141 is recommended, but not required, as useful background. Limited to juniors and seniors. 6 credits (2 credit summer rea cr., HU, Fall—D. Prowe
HIST 395. Controversial Histories: Ideological Conflict and Consensus in the Pre-Modern World This seminar explores the history of how people in the pre-modern world discussed, debated and decided the issues, ideals, and policies that shaped their lives, communities, and world. Particular attention will be paid to the role of institutions and individuals, networks, the form and functions of polemical discourse, and the dynamics of group formation and sigmatization in the historical unfolding of conflict and consensus. Theoretical readings and case studies of conflicts from late antique, medieval, and early modern periods will provide the common readings for the seminar. Students may take the course as either a 331 or 395. 6 credits cr., HU, Fall—W. North
HIST 395. War, State and Society Mankind has waged war as long as organized societies have existed. Once, almost all history was about warfare and warriors. That age has long since passed. Still, viewing the culture and institutions of a particular society through the prism of warfare can yield incredible insights into the anatomy and workings of "civilized" communities. Cutting across chronological, cultural and geographic sub-divisions, we will study warfare using sources from the time of the tribe and polis to modern 20th century societies. This is an advanced research seminar; students will prepare one short analysis of a source and/or an author and write and present a larger final essay. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—C. Weiner
HIST 400. Integrative Exercise Required of all seniors majoring in History. Students approved to write a thesis should register for section 1, 2, or 3. Those approved to write an essay should register for section 3. 6 credits cr., S/NC, ND, Winter—A. Igra, J. Monson, S. Zabin