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Course Offerings

History 100: Introduction to Chinese History (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Ryan Yokota
A survey of Chinese society from ancient times to the present. Examines the premodern development of Chinese philosophy, arts, imperial state, and social structure. Also explores the decline of the Chinese empire, the impingement of Western imperialism, and subsequent efforts to strengthen China through reform and revolution. Contributes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration. Sec. 1, TR 9:25-10:40; Sec. 2, TR 10:50-10:05

History 120: The Ancient and Medieval West (CHC), Professor Lee Brice
A survey of Western Civilization from its origins in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, to the late Middle Ages. Political history is balanced by social, cultural, and intellectual history with an emphasis on those elements which became part of the Western heritage. MWF 9:00-9:50

History 150: Introduction to American Studies (CHC, U) Professor April Schultz
A revolt against the rigidity of the traditional academic disciplines of history and literature gave birth to the American Studies movement in the 1930s.  A basic principle of the interdisciplinary field that emerged in the succeeding decades is that “America”—a concept which includes but is not limited to the United States—is too richly complex to be analyzed with the tools of a single discipline.  “American Studies is an interdisciplinary practice that aims to understand the multiplicity of the social and cultural lives of people in – and in relation to – the United States, both past and present” (Deloria and Olson, 2017). 
In this introduction to the field of American Studies, we will be focusing on myth, founding stories, folklore, and their relationship to national identity. We will be studying the Pocahontas myth as a founding narrative and the subsequent significance of “playing Indian” in American history and culture; the creation of public memory, focusing on the Civil War and construction of public monuments; and the contested nature of American identity following WWII. TR 1:10-2:25

History 202: WWII in the Pacific (CHC), Professor Ryan Yokota
Explores the origins and consequences of Japanese militarism in Asia, 1931-1945. Examines domestic and international factors behind the war, assesses responses to Japanese expansion by East Asians, Southeast Asians, Americans, and the Japanese people themselves, and evaluates the use of nuclear weapons at war’s end. Contributes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration. M 6:15-8:55

History 249: Growing Up in America (CHC and US Diversity), Professor April Schultz
In this course, we will study key texts and topics in the history of childhood in the United States over two centuries, encountering a rich variety of historical issues, methods, and sources, from diaries, newspapers, and memoirs to paintings, photography, and Hollywood films. We will examine the changing construction of childhood and experiences of children (emphasizing preadolescence) from the early nineteenth century to the present. We will focus particularly on how childhood and children are valued—economically, emotionally, morally, and symbolically—in changing economies and cultures from plantation slavery through industrial production to the development of a modern consumer society and a changing global economy.
In the process we will persistently ask several key questions: What is the relationship between what the sociologist Viviana Zelizer calls the emotionally priceless, economically useless, middle-class child, on the one hand, and the economically valued, emotionally vulnerable child worker, on the other? Has this split been resolved in modern consumer culture, and, if so, on what terms? How are children valued today? Contributes to Women, Gender, and
Sexuality Studies and is a recommended course for Elementary Education. TR 9:25-10:40

History 252 (cross listed with English 252): Slavery in US Literature and Film (LIT, US Diversity), Professor Juan Rodriguez Barrera
This course examines the representations of slavery in American literature and film from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries, illuminating the ways that this institution was and continues to be foundational to American experience and identity. Prerequisite: Gateway Colloquium. MWF 1:00-1:50

History 270, sec. 1: Asia’s Revolutions (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Ryan Yokota
In this course, we undertake a comparative study of modern revolutionary movements borne of struggles in East and Southeast Asia. Building upon a historical examination of these revolutionary movements, we will investigate not only how they are distinctly "of" the modern world but their aspirations to remake it. Examining political economic thought, cultural experiments, and social movements, we will ask: what worlds of possibility were imagined, constructed, or buried amidst these revolutionary struggles? How and why did thinkers take up conditions in Asia,
including its uneven development in the wake of imperialism and colonialism, as holding distinctly revolutionary potential? What were the historical limitations for revolutionary projects to transform institutions like the state and family? Contributes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration. MW 2-3:15

History 270, sec. 2: From Pyramids to AI: Global Perspectives of Science, Medicine, & Technology (IT and Global Diversity Pending), Professor Alyssa Culp
In the famous words of Bill Nye, "Science is cool!" And it is; science tells us about the world around us, it reveals our infinite universe, it helps us compare species, it allows us to explore human anatomy, and even study the Earth. However, science has never existed in a vacuum; it is intertwined with medicine and the technology around it. For over 12,000 years, humans have wondered, experimented, calculated, and discovered new things about the world in which we live. We will start the course by tracing the path of science, medicine, and technology from the agricultural revolution to the exploration of the Americas in 1500. We will then dive into how humans learned to manipulate nature and globalized trade of goods and ideas with the emergence of modern science, biomedicine, and applied sciences like engineering. Our course will end in looking at our newly formed digital world and its impact on the physical world around us. Throughout the course we will consider how the histories of science, medicine, and technology are entangled in world events, from Mongol conquests and plagues to vaccination campaigns and races to digitize. Contributes to International and Global Studies. TR 10:50-12:05

History 370: Beyond Disease and Quarantine (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Alyssa Culp
In 1992, Mary Fisher, a white middle-class mother, received a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS contracted from her former husband. Frustrated by the isolation, stigma, and silence associated with the disease, she eloquently gave a speech that reminded her audience that disease transcends boundaries of class, race, or nationality. With profound simplicity she asserted, “HIV only poses one question: Are you human?” Diseases like SARS, Cholera, AIDS, and
recently Covid-19 remind humanity that disease has often shown little discrimination in its impact on humankind. On the other hand, humans have also played a powerful role in shaping global disease environments. Disease presses humanity to reimagine their world, health system, politics, and everyday life. This course will examine the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of public health, and the experiences behind them. We will
investigate how disease and public health measures from the Justinian Plague to Coronavirus have shaped the social, political, biological, and environmental world we live in. Throughout the semester, we will discuss changing ideas about the cause of illness and how best to treat or prevent it. We will also evaluate historical debates about the consequences of quarantine and public health measures. Contributes to International and Global Studies and Public Health. TR 1:10-2:25

History 371(cross listed with Theatre 371): Theatre History 1 (CHC, W), Professor Michelle Gibbs
A comprehensive survey-seminar about world theatre history tracing theatre 1650 to present, exploring theatrical architecture, conventions, theory, and literature as they interact with cultural movements. This class requires significant dramaturgical and written projects alongside a heavy reading load. MWF 10:00-10:50

History 101: Introduction to Japanese History (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Harlan Chambers
This is an introductory survey of Japan’s history, from the premodern through the early twenty-first century. Over the course of the semester, we will attend to the basics of political, economic, social, and cultural developments. We will also engage critically and creatively with (translated) historical sources to build a general understanding of how social worlds were constituted through and against imperial Japan’s dynastic projects, as well as how they changed over time. To this end, we will attend to developments in philosophy and political thought, theater, literature, and visual art. No prior knowledge is necessary. All course materials are in English. Contributes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration. MWF, 9-9:50

History 152: US Development and Experiences, 1877-Present (CHC and US Diversity), Professor Robert Schultz
The major objective of this course is to provide students with a general understanding of the significant factors that have shaped American social, cultural, political and economic life since the end of the Civil War. We will study how industrialization,urbanization, immigration, globalization, race, class, gender, war and cold war, the expansion of political rights to previously excluded groups of Americans, and the increased roles of the federal government and corporations in society and the economy have shaped modern American history. An additional objective of the course is to enhance students' analytical skills by critically examining the causes and consequences of historical developments and the stories that various historical figures and interest groups have constructed about those developments. For historical knowledge is not the rote memorization of events and dates. Rather, it is the critical understanding of complex social, economic, cultural, and political change; of how individuals and groups influence historical processes as they are simultaneously shaped by those processes; and of various historical figures' interests in and explanations of historical developments. Sec. 1, TR 2:35-3:50; Sec. 2, TR 9:25-10:40

History 216: The World of Alexander the Great (CHC), Professor Amy Coles
During his short reign (336-323 BCE), Alexander the Great conquered a vast empire, from Greece to Egypt to ancient India. He used courage, savvy, and rhetorical skill to blend a myriad of peoples both in his army and under his rule to create a new, Hellenistic culture. After his untimely death, however, his successors split his empire among themselves, waging bitter battles and forging shifting alliances. In this course we examine the cultural changes brought to the Mediterranean and Near East by Alexander’s conquest. We will read and analyze the official and vulgate sources for Alexander’s life and accomplishments in our quest to determine for ourselves who Alexander was to his contemporaries and is to us. TR 8-9:25

History 243: The Stories We Tell: Introduction to Public History (CHC and US Diversity Pending), Professor April Schultz
An introduction to public history which emphasizes not only the work of public history professionals in museums, historic sites, and heritage centers, and documentary film, but considers their connection to the popular historical narrative we consume in our daily lives - from our holidays and the names of our streets, to Hollywood films and historical fiction. Though academic historians and public historians share similar research methods and interpretive standards, professional public historians must consider a broad public audience and collaborate with communities, funding agencies, and politicians as they seek to educate, inspire, and entertain, not always in that order. Public histories in all their forms are always engaged in broad social and cultural issues of power, identity, and belonging. For the purposes of this class, public history is broadly conceived, considering all public-facing settings in which the past is invoked, from museum exhibitions, historic houses, and public monuments, to public celebrations and commemorations based in local communities. Students will learn about how public history projects engage with controversial issues from the past and the present and how dominant historical narratives have been challenged in all kinds of public spaces that have become both more inclusive and more accurate in the full telling of our local and national stories. We will ask how much public historians in the present should and do engage with healing the wounds of the past. Foundational course for the Public and Applied History Pathway for History majors. MWF 10-10:50

History 244: History of American Feminisms (CHC and US Diversity), Professor April Schultz
This course will emphasize such topics as the 19 th century women’s movement and suffrage, the history and politics of reproductive rights, radical and liberal feminism, and African-American feminism. We will pay particular attention to the diversity of women’s experiences in the United States and to women’s multiple and often conflicting responses to the fight for equal rights in relation to politics, work, family, reproduction, and sexuality. We will also address the ways ideas associated with what came to be called feminism at the turn of the twentieth century both grew out of and were shaped by the everyday lives of women. Introductory course for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. TR 1:10-2:25

History 270 (sec. 1): Asia’s Revolutions (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Harlan Chambers
In this course, we undertake a comparative study of modern revolutionary movements borne of struggles in East and Southeast Asia. Building upon a historical examination of these revolutionary movements, we will investigate not only how they are distinctly "of" the modern world but their aspirations to remake it. Examining political economic thought, cultural experiments, and social movements, we will ask: what worlds of possibility were imagined, constructed, or buried amidst these revolutionary struggles? How and why did thinkers take up conditions in Asia, including its uneven development in the wake of imperialism and colonialism, as holding distinctly revolutionary potential? What were the historical limitations for revolutionary projects to transform institutions like the state and family? Contributes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration. MW 2-3:15

History 270 (sec. 2): The World Wars in Public Memory & Digital History (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Alyssa Culp In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson famously expressed optimism that the First World War would bring about an end to all future conflicts. However, less than three decades later, the dropping of the atomic bomb symbolically marked the conclusion of yet another world war. These global conflicts were devastating, human-made disasters that revolutionized the nature of warfare and resulted in the loss of over ninety million lives. Nevertheless, the World Wars and the atrocities committed during them continue to captivate the popular imagination. This fascination is evident in Christopher Nolan's 2023 film
Oppenheimer, which earned $777 million at the global box office. This course explores how memories of the World Wars were and continue to be constructed, conveyed, and preserved in the public consciousness through the lens of public and digital history. We will explore various mediums, including oral history, memoir, fiction, film, and digital projects to uncover stories from the wars that impact our memory today. Contributes to International and Global Studies and the Public and Applied History Pathway for History majors. TR 10:50-12:05

History 270 (sec. 3): From Pyramids to AI: Global Perspectives of Science, Medicine, & Technology (IT and Global Diversity), Professor Alyssa Culp
In the famous words of Bill Nye, "Science is cool!" And it is; science tells us about the world around us, it reveals our infinite universe, it helps us compare species, it allows us to explore human anatomy, and even study the Earth. However, science has never existed in a vacuum; it is intertwined with medicine and the technology around it. For over 12,000 years, humans have wondered, experimented, calculated, and discovered new things about the world in which we live. We will start the course by tracing the path of science, medicine, and technology from the agricultural revolution to the exploration of the Americas in 1500. We will then dive into how humans learned to manipulate nature and globalized trade of goods and ideas with the emergence of modern science, biomedicine, and applied sciences like engineering. Our course will end in looking at our newly formed digital world and its impact on the physical world around us. Throughout the course we will consider how the histories of science, medicine, and technology are entangled in world events, from Mongol conquests and plagues to vaccination campaigns and races to digitize. Contributes to International and Global Studies. MF 11-12:15

History 290: Theories, Methods, and Crafting of History (W), Professor April Schultz
This course is an introduction to the philosophical and methodological debates in the profession of history, paying particular attention to the critical skills of the historian – including the analysis of primary sources, historiography, historical research and writing, critique, and historical argument, as well as an analysis of history in more popular forms (documentaries and museums, for example). It is Writing Intensive and therefore will include special attention to writing skills and workshop drafts. Required for sophomore majors and minors; open to Pre-Law students. TR 9:25-10:40

History 370 (sec. 1): Narrating Ecology and Feminism in Modern East Asia (IT and Global Diversity Pending; cross listed with English 370 (sec. 2) and Environmental Studies 370 (sec. 3)), Professor Harlan Chambers This course interrogates the historical emergence of ecological and feminist critical approaches across East Asia since the late nineteenth century, particularly as thinkers grasped them within a common historical crisis of imperial incursion and colonial expropriation. We will focus on how thinkers across East Asia have aligned and integrated ecological and feminist concerns in anti-imperialist confrontations through the work of narrative. Whether it be in political essays or fictional prose, their narratives have given to elaborate feminist and ecological frameworks that rethink the past and possible futures. We will analyze how East Asian thinkers and artists undertake narrative work in specific mediums of essay, fiction, photography, and film to articulate elements of ecological and feminist critique, as well as their convergence in potentially new forms of ecofeminist intervention. Contributes to English, Environmental Studies, International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. MF 11-12:15

History 370 (sec. 2): Beyond Disease and Quarantine (CHC and Global Diversity Pending), Professor Alyssa Culp In 1992, Mary Fisher, a white middle-class mother, received a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS contracted from her former husband. Frustrated by the isolation, stigma, and silence associated with the disease, she eloquently gave a speech that reminded her audience that disease transcends boundaries of class, race, or nationality. With profound simplicity she asserted, “HIV only poses one question: Are you human?” Diseases like SARS, Cholera, AIDS, and recently Covid-19 remind humanity that disease has often shown little discrimination in its impact on humankind. On the other hand, humans have also played a powerful role in shaping global disease environments. Disease presses humanity to reimagine their world, health system,
politics, and everyday life. This course will examine the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of public health, and the experiences behind them. We will investigate how disease and public health measures from the Justinian Plague to Coronavirus have shaped the social, political, biological, and environmental world we live in. Throughout the semester, we will discuss changing ideas about the cause of illness and how best to treat or prevent it. We will also evaluate historical debates about the consequences of quarantine and public health measures. Contributes to International and Global Studies and Public Health. TR 1:10-2:25

History 370 (sec. 3): Countercultures of Black America (cross listed with English 370 (sec.1)), Professor Juan Rodriguez Barrera
This course will argue that African-American culture, history, and politics have always existed inside and outside Western modernity, at once shaping its construction and interrogating its guiding principles. This ambiguous status—a hallmark of what Paul Gilroy calls “countercultures”—will supply the theoretical basis of the course. “Countercultures” will move chronologically from the antebellum period to the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the early 21st century. Cultural highpoints will include the Harlem Renaissance, the proletarian thirties, the Black Arts Movement, the rise of feminisms of color, and others. Through the study of African-American culture in general and literature in particular, we will render visible points of connection between and among moments of cultural efflorescence often considered radically
different, if not ideologically antagonistic. MW 2-3:15

History 490: Capstone Seminar in History (W), Professor Robert Schultz
Students review principles and methods of historical scholarship, producing a substantial original research project. Course assignments allow students to demonstrate their mastery of the key elements of historical endeavor: reading, research, writing, critiques, and oral presentation. Required for majors. T 6:15-8:55

History 100: Introduction to Chinese History (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Harlan Chambers
This is an introductory survey of China’s history, from antiquity to the early twentieth century. Over the course of the semester, we will attend to the basics of political, economic, social, and cultural developments. We will also engage critically and creatively with (translated) historical sources to build a general understanding of how social worlds were constituted through and against imperial China’s dynastic projects, as well as how they changed over time. To this end, we will attend to developments in philosophy and political thought, theater, literature, and visual art. Over the course of the semester, we will develop three skills: 1) developing rigorous arguments for why phenomena are historically significant; 2) analyzing primary sources; and 3) synthesizing points one and two by using an analysis of primary sources to develop historical arguments. No prior knowledge is necessary. All course materials are in English. Contributes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration.

History 122: Modern Global History (2 sections) (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Alyssa Culp
Our goal in this class is not to tell the history of the entire globe, as it is impossible to study in one semester let alone one lifetime. Since fall brings to mind past vacations and travel, we will explore this course through the movements of people, ideas, goods, medicine, and politics. To do this, we will investigate the connections formed between people in East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas as they encounter each other through trade, exploration, and expansion. We will use keywords to guide us through various ideas, misconceptions, and conflicts along the way. Contributes to International and Global Studies.

History 151: Colonial and US, 1500-1876 (2 sections) (CHC and US Diversity), Professor Doug Cutter
This course will present the American experience from the earliest human societies in the Americas to the consequences of the Civil War. We will explore key themes such as how an American identity emerged, who was considered a citizen, and how the young United States dealt with its religious and ethnic diversity. Emphasizes slavery; forced and voluntary migrations; Spanish, French, English, Dutch Imperial power conflicts to 1776; economic development and impact on diverse peoples as three worlds of Indigenous, African, and European peoples collide; social, economic and political developments in colonies, early Republic, war with Mexico, road to Civil War, Reconstruction; ideologies.

History 152: US Development and Experiences, 1877-Present (CHC and US Diversity), Professor Mary Hollywood
The major objective of this course is to provide students with a general understanding of the significant factors that have shaped American social, cultural, political and economic life since the end of the Civil War. We will study how industrialization, urbanization, immigration, globalization, race, class, gender, war and cold war, the expansion of political rights to previously excluded groups of Americans, and the increased roles of the federal government and corporations in society and the economy have shaped modern American history. An additional objective of the course is to enhance students' analytical skills by critically examining the causes and consequences of historical developments and the stories that various historical figures and interest groups have constructed about those developments. For historical knowledge is not the rote memorization of events and dates. Rather, it is the critical understanding of complex social, economic, cultural, and political change; of how individuals and groups influence historical processes as they are simultaneously shaped by those processes; and of various historical figures and interests in and explanations of historical developments.

History 270: Documenting Difference in Asian Cinema and Photography (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Harlan Chambers
How have creators working in diverse forms of visual media participated in historical constructions of difference between ethnicity, gender, and other social categories? And how have those working in these mediums reflected critically about such differences, envisioning forms of solidarity and common cause? This course interrogates the roles of creators in cinema, photography and other media in fashioning and contesting historical understandings of difference between peoples across Asia. Over the course of the semester, we will engage with formal analysis of visual materials in comparative, historical frameworks from Central to East and Southeast Asia. We will place a special emphasis on a comparative analysis of different forms of media, ranging from photography and film to architecture and experimental video. As we progress through the semester, our study will embrace increasingly bold experiments with documentary which seek to investigate the past and reimagine the future. Contributes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration.

History 300: China’s Revolutions (CHC and Global Diversity), Professor Harlan Chambers
What was revolutionary about China’s revolution? We begin exploring this question by examining China at the conjuncture of world-making crises of the late nineteenth century. They permit us to situate China’s germinating revolutionary projects within a global context of capitalist expansion, with an emphasis on questions of race, gender, and incipient ecological crisis. From this, we can see how China’s revolution grew not just as a contest over political authority, but as a fundamental challenge to the social order of the modern world. It is in this sense that we will interrogate Mao Zedong and other key contributors to China’s revolution in its cultural, political, and economic dimensions across the twentieth century. As a 300-level undergraduate course, we tackle major issues at a level of considerable sophistication. Course texts require close, active reading and re-reading. Lecture will be kept to a minimum in favor of seminar-style discussion. Over the course of the semester, we will train skills to organize and lead small-group discussions on complex topics. Contibutes to International and Global Studies and Asian Studies Concentration.

History 318: Blood Rites and Rituals (CHC), Professor Amy Coles
From the Trojan War (c. 1200 BCE) through the height of the Roman Empire (4th century CE), people celebrated festivals with violent gladiatorial games, undertook bloody sacrifices, and joined in mysterious secret initiations. Christian apologists have pointed to these practices as a sign of depravity and moral turpitude, which was only expunged by the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire. But what do these evocative rituals and polytheistic cults tell us about Mediterranean society? How did the political and economic realities of the Empire shape religious practice? What was the impact of the rites on the individual? We will interpret ancient Mediterranean religious systems through the ideas of various theorists from the fields of history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and linguistics in order to answer these questions and more. While you may never analyze ancient cults again after this semester, the skills you learn in this course will help you weigh the reliability and objectivity of information, learn different ways to think about why people do what they do, and write complex analyses in a clear format that shows the sources of your information. 

History 343: (Im)Migration, Race, and Ethnicity (CHC and US Diversity)
This course will survey the migration experience of those who came to this continent and later the United States in the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Through lectures, readings emphasizing cultural, social, and economic history, literature, music, and feature films, we will focus on both voluntary and forced migration and on the ways race, ethnicity, gender, class, and national ideals and policies shaped the lives of immigrants during this period. At the same time, we will explore the dynamic and creative ways that immigrants and ethnics have confronted and shaped American culture and society. What did it mean to be Irish American in the mid- nineteenth century? What does it mean to be Irish American today? What does it mean to be female and Mexican American? To be working-class and Polish American? How has and does race impact the experience of ethnicity for African Americans or Asian Americans? When is group identity--or individual identity--primarily American and when is it primarily ethnic? Or are our identities multiple, always changing and rearranging themselves in interactions with history and society? Such questions should prepare us to think not only about the past, but also about the current debates surrounding the competing searches for a unified America and ethnic and racial identities. Contributes to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

 

Catalog Course Descriptions

HIST 100 - Introduction To Chinese History (CHC, G)

A survey of Chinese society from ancient times to the present. Examines the premodern development of Chinese philosophy, arts, imperial state, and social structure. Also explores the decline of the Chinese empire, the impingement of Western imperialism, and subsequent efforts to strengthen China through reform and revolution. Offered each fall.

HIST 101 - Introduction To Japanese History (CHC, G)

A survey of Japanese society from ancient times to the present. Examines the premodern development of religions, continental influences, the arts, and feudal society. Also explores the modern rise and fall of Imperial Japan, the postwar US occupation, and the emergence of Japan as an East Asian economic power. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 120 - The Ancient And Medieval West (CHC)

A survey of Western Civilization from its origins in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, to the late Middle Ages. Political history is balanced by social, cultural, and intellectual history with an emphasis on those elements which became part of the Western heritage. Offered annually.

HIST 122 - Modern Global History (CHC, G)

This course focuses on a selected number of topics to make clear the historical roots of the contemporary world. Such topics include: the nation-state, warfare and diplomacy, modern ideologies, and Western imperialism and its anti-Western response. Emphasis is on 20th century global affairs. Offered annually.

HIST 144/344 - Gilded Age, 1865-1900 (CHC, U)

An examination of the transformations in American life and culture from 1865 to 1900. Emphasizes the conflicts and contradictions of American life for various racial, ethnic, class, regional, and gender groups, focusing particularly on the new industrial city; the growth of commercialized leisure; the “civilizing” of the West; and African Americans in the New South. Students enrolled at the 300-level will complete a research project and prepare developmentally appropriate material for the 100-level students. Prerequisite for HIST 344: HIST 290 or permission of instructor. Offered every other year.

HIST 150 - Introduction to American Culture Studies (CHC, U)

This course examines the historical, literary, and material culture of the United States. Topics addressed in the course may include specific events, discrete periods, or larger themes, but in each instance they will serve as significant case studies for understanding the multiplicity of  the social and cultural lives of people in the United States, past and present. Offered annually.

HIST 151 - Colonial and United States, 1500-1876 (CHC, U)

Emphasizes slavery; forced and voluntary migrations; Spanish, French, English, Dutch Imperial power conflicts to 1776; economic development and impact on diverse peoples as three worlds of Indigenous, African, and European peoples collide; social, economic, and political developments in colonies, early Republic; war with Mexico, road to Civil War, Reconstruction; ideologies. Offered annually. 

HIST 152 - United States, Development/Experiences 1877-present (CHC, U)

Emphasizes struggles for civil and voting rights, workers’ rights, women’s rights; economic development and its consequences associated with corporate reconstruction of American capitalism; Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Cold War; technologies’ impact on society, culture(s), politics, social life; New Deal, Great Society, welfare state and its opponents. Offered annually.

HIST 153 - The First Progressives, US (CHC, U)

We study the first reformers who defined themselves as “progressive” while they created and used private and government organizations and agencies to intervene in social, economic, cultural, and political life; they searched for order in response to the apparent irrational development of modern society and the economy. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 154 - Film and History, US (CHC, U)

A study of American cultural history via the medium of film, and the birth and development of the motion picture industry from the early twentieth century to the present. We study a variety of US historical issues and how they are represented in American film in different historical contexts. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 160 - Latin America (CHC, G)

A survey of Latin American history from Columbus to the present that focuses primarily on Mexico and Argentina and addresses key historical issues: conquest, colonialism, independence, racial relations, dependency, economic development, urbanization, militarism, nationalism and relations with the United States. Offered annually.

HIST 170 - Studies In History

Courses designed to introduce the beginning student to the skills and challenges involved in the disciplined study of the past. Each course is an examination of a particular topic in history which will be announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. See current Program of Classes to determine if this course fulfills general education requirements. Offered occasionally.

HIST 202 - World War II In The Pacific (CHC)

Explores the origins and consequences of Japanese militarism in Asia, 1931-1945. Examines domestic and international factors behind the war, assesses responses to Japanese expansion by East Asians, Southeast Asians, Americans, and the Japanese people themselves, and evaluates the use of nuclear weapons at war's end. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 210 - Emperors And Revolutionaries: Chinese History Through Travel

May Term travel course hosted by the History Department at Peking University. Explores China from pre-historic to recent times, focusing on the imperial state and the Communist revolution. Visits historic locations in cities and countryside, including well-known sites and those off the beaten path. Lectures by top Chinese historians and interaction with Chinese students at PKU. Prerequisite: 100, 300, PSCI 214, or consent of instructor. Offered occasionally, May Term.

HIST 212 - Ancient Greece (CHC)

This course focuses on cultural and historical change in the Greek world beginning with the Bronze Age and continuing until the death of Alexander the Great (1300-323 BC). Emphasis is placed on the interconnection of Greek historical themes with literature, art, and architecture. Offered in alternate years, Fall Term.

HIST 214 - Ancient Rome (CHC)

Charts the political, social, and cultural development of the Roman state from the foundation of the city to the conversion of the emperor Constantine to Christianity (ca. 753 BC-AD 312). Emphasis will be placed on the multiplicity of peoples and cultures that constituted the Roman state, religious experience and change, the evolution of political institutions, and the variety of sources necessary for our reconstruction of the Roman past, from the literary to the art historical. Offered in alternate years, Fall Term.

HIST 216 - The World of Alexander the Great (CHC)

Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) conquered from Greece to India, creating the largest Mediterranean empire yet seen. This course examines contemporary politics, culture, and religion, with attention to the peoples Alexander encountered and his impact on the histories and cultures of both the east and the west. Offered in alternate years, Spring Term.

HIST 217 - Race, Gender, and Ability in the Ancient World (AV, W)

Ancient concepts of law, freedom, and democracy shape Western values. But should Greek and Romans be role models for human rights and equality? This class examines ancient identity and citizenship as a foil for critiquing what rights people of different races, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities ought to have today. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 221 - The Holocaust (CHC)

The course seeks to understand the Holocaust and examines the process of extermination from its religious cultural antecedents through the wartime process of ghettoization, open-air mass execution, and the employment of gas in fixed chambers. Among sources examined are laws and directives emanating from the German bureaucracy, eyewitness testimony and memoirs of survivors from the ghettos and camps, and film. Offered annually.

HIST 223 - The Two World Wars

The course focuses on the diplomatic and military origins of these two global conflicts, war and the popular imagination, the soldiers' experience, the literary testimony of combatants and non-combatants, the effect of the wars on the status of women, mutiny and revolution, the American struggle with Japan, and the unleashing of war against civilian populations. Offered occasionally.

HIST 241 - The Great Depression in the United States (CHC, W)

The course is an in-depth study of the social, cultural, and political history associated with the economic crisis known as the Great Depression, 1929-1941. The emphasis is on thinking and writing about the issues prevalent in Depression America and the significant changes that resulted from the crisis. Offered annually. 

HIST 242 - Colonial American (CHC, U)

Examines the establishment of colonies before the American Revolution, the development of diverse colonial societies, the transformation of life for all peoples and groups, and the interactions of diverse cultural and religious groups. The people we study include farmers, planters, merchants, craftsmen, witches, slaves, Native Americans, Puritans, Catholics, and Quakers. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 244 - History of American Feminism (CHC, U)

This course will emphasize such topics as the 19th century women’s movement and suffrage, radical and liberal feminism, and African-American feminism. We will pay particular attention to the diversity of women’s experiences in the United States and to women’s multiple and often conflicting responses to the fight for equal rights in relation to politics, work, family, and sexuality.

HIST 245 - Individualism And Community In American History (AV, W)

Studies the tensions between individualism and community in American History regarding religion, business, politics, culture and the economy and nature. Examines the values of individualism and community embedded in these arguments. Explores the consequences of implementing the social and economic practices. Offered occasionally.

HIST 246 - "By Force, By Famine, And By Fabled Story": Irish Emigration To The U.S. (CHC, G)

Between 1815 and 1920, five and a half million Irish emigrated from Ireland to the United States. This emigration had an enormous impact on American society, of course, but it had just as significant an impact on Irish society, both demographically and culturally. In a two-week stay in Ireland at the Allihies Language and Arts Centre, Beara Peninsula, County Cork, students live with host families and study together the historical, cultural, musical and literary impact of Irish emigration on both the Irish in Ireland and in the United States. Offered occasionally in May Term.

HIST 247 - American West (CHC,U)

An introduction to the history of the American West. Particular attention will be paid to the clash of peoples and cultures that resulted from territorial and economic expansion, the significance of ideas and myths about the frontier in American history, and the changing social relationships and patterns of land use that accompanied the economic development of the West. Offered occasionally.

HIST 248/ENST 248 - American Environmental History (CHC, U) (Cross-listed with ENST 248)

Overview of American environmental history from pre-colonial days to the present. This course examines the relationship between social and ecological change, focusing on the impact of native American societies, Western colonialism, and market forces on land-use patterns, biodiversity and the development of the contemporary environmental movement in the United States. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 249 - Growing up in America, 1607-Present (CHC, U)

No aspect of American life is as shrouded in myths and misconceptions as the history of the family. This course examines childhood and family in American culture from the colonial era to the present, providing historical perspective and understanding regarding these primary institutions of American life. Though the course is roughly chronological, we will compare family structures across both time and space, examining the changing and divergent meanings of motherhood, fatherhood, and childhood through such sources as advice manuals, popular journalism, fiction, art, and film. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 250 - Special Project

A research project under the supervision of a member of the department on a topic mutually agreed upon. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Offered as needed.

HIST 251 - The Vietnam Wars (CHC)

Explores the origins, expansion, and repercussions of the Vietnam War (1945-1975) within the context of Vietnamese history. Uses film, interviews, and documents to examine this historical context and events of the war. Analyzes support for and resistence to war among the Vietnamese and American peoples. Offered occasionally.

HIST 254 - American Capitalism to 1900 (CHC, U)

We study the development of the capitalist economy; the emergence of social classes; how people representing different classes shaped and were shaped by historical developments like the corporate reconstruction of the capitalist system; the increasing social, economic, and cultural diversity that resulted; the impacts of technological change on people and the economy; the political battles over the nature of the capitalist system; and much more. Offered as needed.

HIST 255 - Museums: Making History Come Alive! (CHC)

Discover how museums are reexamining the theory, practices, and history of their institutions, which are facing tremendous challenges. This course explores the tensions between history and memory, internal missions and external audiences, tradition and entrepreneurship. Students learn how museums interpret collections through exhibits, tours, oral history, archives, film and digital media, living history, historic preservation, landscape conservation, heritage tourism, and fundraising. Museum visits and guest lecturers introduce career options that are available to students in history and related humanities disciplines. Offered by arrangement.

HIST 257/ENG 257 - Promised Lands: A Cultural and Literary History of the Great Migration, 1917-1970 (CHC, U) (Cross-listed with ENG 257)

Between 1917 and 1970, more than six million African-Americans departed the rural U.S. South seeking asylum, economic opportunity, and equality in the urban North. This “Great Migration”, as scholars call this collective movement, reconfigured the demographics, politics, and culture of both regions. This course will explore the Great Migration through two disciplinary lenses – cultural history and literature – in order to reimagine the twentieth-century United States from an African-American perspective that descenders and denaturalizes whiteness as an unspoken condition in this historical construction of American identity. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 260 - Spanish North America (CHC, G)

Explores the region that today comprises Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean from the conquest to the present. Examines major social, political and economic issues including: conquest and resistance; indigenous, European and African; economic development; and relations with the United States. Offered occasionally.

HIST 270 - Studies In History

Open to all students, these courses explore a specialized topic of historical study at an intermediate level, requiring focused and extensive reading but not necessarily a significant research project. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. Consult current Program of Classes to see if any particular course fulfills general education requirements. Offered occasionally.

HIST 290 - Theories, Methods, Crafting of History (W)

An introduction to philosophical and methodological debates in the profession of history, paying particular attention to the critical skills of the historian – including the analysis of primary sources, historiography, historical research and writing, critique, and historical argument. Open to History majors, History minors and pre-law students with consent of department chair. Offered annually.

HIST 300 - The Chinese Revolution (CHC, G)

Examines the conditions of 20th century China that gave rise to revolution and Communism. Uses fiction, documents, and film to explore the decay of Confucianism, the impact of imperialism, the plight of urban and rural areas, the rule of Chiang Kai-shek, the victory of Communism and "continuing revolution" under Mao Zedong, and the "reforms" of Deng Xiaoping. Offered annually.

HIST 301 - Modern Japan, 1800-Present (CHC, G)

Explores the fall of the feudal order and Japan's emergence as a world power since 1868. Focus on the social impact of this political and economic transformation. Topics include "Restoration," the state and democracy, dissent, militarism, war, the postwar "reinvention" of Japan by the U.S., and the rise to economic preeminence in Asia. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 303 - China: The Cultural Revolution (G)

Explores the tumultuous Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976). Originally hailed as a progressive social experiment in education, health care, women's rights, sports, and the work-place, the movement was later condemned for its fanaticism, violence, and vilification of intellectuals. Evaluates the complex issues and conflicting appraisals of the upheaval and assesses its impact on recent Chinese history. Prerequisite: HIST 100 or 210 or 300 or consent of instructor. Offered occasionally in May Term.

HIST 305 - Seminar In Asian History (CHC, G)

In-depth study of selected topics in Asian history. Emphasis on reading and discussion, with several short papers to facilitate reflection on the material. Prerequisite: One other course in Asian history, or consent of instructor. Offered occasionally.

HIST 310/REL 310 - Cults in America (CSI, U) (Cross-listed with REL 310) 

A critical investigation of so-called “cults,” New Religious Movements, sects, and alternative spirituality formed over the past 150 years in the United States. Includes study of a wide range of phenomena, from millenarian groups to the New Age, and their purpose and place in contemporary society. Offered in alternate years. 

HIST 311/ART 311 - Art And Architecture Of The Roman World (AR) (Cross-listed with ART 311)

This course follows the development of the forms and ideologies of Roman art from the republic to late antiquity. The issues to be discussed will include public and private and civic and religious art and architecture, urban planning, and the interaction of Roman art forms and provincial cultures in the forging of identity. Offered occasionally.

HIST 318/REL 318 - Blood Rites and Mystery Cults (CHC) (Cross-listed with REL 318)

 Ancient Roman religion was uniquely open to foreign influence while respecting its own customs. This course will examine how the Roman people demonstrated this quality as they adopted or adapted new religious ideas and traditions from the beginnings of the Roman monarchy in 753 BCE to the fifth century CE. Offered occasionally.

HIST 322 - Love And Death In Freud's Vienna (CHC)

Simultaneously one of the most politically explosive and artistically creative urban centers in Europe at the turn of the century, Vienna was a battleground of reaction and modernism. The course focuses on the leading intellectual and artistic movements of the day: Freud and psychoanalytic theory; modernism in art, architecture, and music; the drama of Schnitzler, and the creative insights and social criticism. Offered annually.

HIST 325 - Modern Germany (CHC, G)

A social, economic, and cultural history of Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include the formation of national identity, Prussian ascendancy, the creation of empire, the role of women, the rise of the working class, war and revolution, and the refashioning of state, society, and culture after 1945. Offered annually.

HIST 326 - Modern Russia/Soviet Union (CHC, G)

A survey of Russian/Soviet history since 1861, emphasizing the collapse of the Tsarist regime, the Leninist and Stalinist revolutions, and problems in the Soviet Union and after. Offered occasionally.

HIST 343 - Migration, Ethnicity, and Race (CHC, U)

Survey of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. Focuses on the ways race, ethnicity, gender, class, and national ideals shaped the lives of immigrants during this period. Also explores the dynamic and creative ways that immigrants and ethnics have confronted and shaped American culture and society. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 350 - Women, Work And Leisure, 1890-1930 (CHC, U)

This course examines the transformation of ideas about women and gender roles at the turn of the century. Focuses on how women of all classes played a central role in changing these ideas and reshaping family, work, and leisure practices in the context of a rapidly changing industrial society. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 351 - Modern America, 1900-1945 (CHC, U)

Provides students with a firm foundation in the social, cultural, and political history of early twentieth century. Topics include Progressive-era reforms, domestic "culture wars", home front during world wars, jazz age, Great Depression, birth of mass culture and motion picture industry. Analyze written texts, documentaries, films. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 352 - United States, 1945-Present: People, Power, Politics (CHC, U)

Study of the social, cultural, political, and economic changes that have transformed Americans’ ways of life and foreign relations. Emphasized: demographic changes; immigration; new technologies including television, computers, internet, world-wide web, smartphones, social media; civil rights and women’s movements; continuing struggles for racial and gender equality; modern Presidency and Congress. Offered every third semester.

HIST 353, 354 - History Of United States Foreign Relations (CHC)

The conceptual formulation of America’s attitudes and actions in the world from colonial times to 1914; the United States as a world power since the First World War. Either semester may be taken separately. HIST 353 offered each fall; HIST 354 offered each spring.

HIST 360 - Modern Brazil, 1825-Present

An in-depth study of Brazilian history and culture from the independence period to the present. Brazil is the most populous Latin American nation with the world's eighth largest economy and fifth largest area. Offered in alternate years.

HIST 370 - Studies In History

Courses treating a specialized topic of historical study at an advanced research level. May be repeated for credit if the topic matter is different. See current Program of Classes to determine if this course fulfills general education requirements. Offered occasionally.

HIST 380 - Emperors And Revolutionaries: Chinese History Through Travel

Research section of a travel course to China, hosted by the History Department at Peking University, covering the country’s political history in both ancient and modern times. Students visit and study pre-historic, dynastic-era, and modern revolutionary sites throughout the country. Explorations include both famous historical sites and lesser-known but historically significant locations off the beaten track-all enhanced by discussions with Chinese scholars, students, and common people. Research conducted on changes in rural life since 1949. Prerequisite: HIST 100, 300, or consent of instructor. Offered occasionally, May Term.

HIST 390 - ARCHES: Archiving and Reflecting on the Course of Your History Education and Signature Experience (.25) 

In consultation with a faculty advisor, students will document and reflect on one of four chosen History Pathways in a multi-year ePortfolio. The ePortfolio will culminate with a presentation of and reflection on the student’s Signature Experience. Required each year or per semester as determined by the date of major declaration; repeated for a total of 1.0 course units, with a maximum of .25 allowed in any one semester.

HIST 397 - Internship In Public History

A work experience intended as an introduction to the field of public history. The exact activities will vary, depending on the abilities and interests of the intern and the needs of the organization. Possibilities include accessioning and cataloging artifacts; making calendars and inventories; preparing exhibits; conducting outreach programs; researching and writing; and collecting oral histories. This course is limited to students seriously interested in careers in public history. Internships offered only on a credit/no credit basis. Prerequisites: 290, and consent of departmental internship supervisor. Offered as needed.

HIST 450 - Special Project

A research project under the supervision of a member of the department on a topic mutually agreed upon. Prerequisite: 290 and consent of the instructor. May be repeated for a maximum of two course units. Offered as needed.

HIST 490 - Capstone Seminar in History (W)

Students review principles and methods of historical scholarship, producing a substantial original research project. Course assignments allow students to demonstrate their mastery of the key elements of historical endeavor: reading, research, writing, critique, and oral presentation. Open to History majors and minors, or by permission of instructor. Offered annually.

April Schultz - Chair and Professor of History

Department - History