Not offered this year

As ever greater numbers of Western traders sought access to China's products and markets in the early nineteenth century, their ideas of free trade, hopes for commercial expansion, and expectations for international intercourse clashed with the policies and practices of the Qing Dynasty's multi-ethnic empire. This conflict reached a climax in the mid-century Opium Wars, in which China's defeat inaugurated a period of Western domination by several powers (including Britain, France, the United States, and later, Japan). Despite its weakened position, the Qing dynasty continued to contest the definition and scope of Western privilege in China through the end of the century. Historians have long disagreed over how to interpret this "clash of empires," some seeing Western involvement in China as exploitative imperialism and others seeing it as a positive, modernizing force. In either case, however, this conflict profoundly affected China's national development in the twentieth century, and continues to inform contemporary China's view of itself and its international position. This tutorial course will examine a series of significant points of contention between the Qing Dynasty and expanding Western powers during this period. These will include the opium trade, Christian missionaries, extraterritorial privilege, Western technology, the looting of Chinese artworks and antiquities, and contests over sovereignty in Tibet and Manchuria. We will examine both Western and Chinese perspectives on these conflicts, how the period has been remembered and interpreted, and how it continues to affect Chinese and Western perceptions of China's place in the world. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The largest non-Western empire of modern times, Japan extended its reach to Taiwan, Korea, China, Sakhalin, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific. This course explores the many contentious political, economic, social, and cultural questions that arise from Japan's imperial project. We will ask what drove imperialist expansion; how the Japanese ruled; who won and lost in economic relations; what various aspects of life were like in the empire; how to understand the dynamics between Japanese settlers and the colonized; what effects empire building had at home in Japan; how to explain the nature of wartime conquests; and what legacies Japanese imperialism and empire left in their wake. Throughout the semester, we will make a point of examining these issues from various standpoints, and we will also read theoretical works that place the Japanese empire in a comparative context. Course materials will include political documents, intellectual treatises, films, memoirs, and literature. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The two Koreas--North and South--were born in the aftermath of World War II, when the United States and the Soviet Union arbitrarily divided the peninsula into two zones of occupation at the 38th parallel. Today, over six decades later, the split endures as what has been called "the Cold War's last divide." This tutorial examines the history of the two Koreas from their creation in 1945 to the present. We will explore the historical and ideological origins of the division; how tensions between North and South led to the outbreak of the Korean War; why the paths of the two Koreas have differed so markedly; how each country has been shaped by its political leaders and their ideologies; and what recent developments in North Korea, including its nuclear program, have meant for relations on the peninsula and beyond. Course material will include primary and secondary sources of various kinds, including political documents, intellectual treatises, films, and short stories. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course investigates the expansion of European power and influence over much of the rest of the world from the late Middle Ages to the mid-nineteenth century--the early period of European Imperialism. Specific topics will vary, but include the development and initial expansion of medieval and Renaissance Europe, the discovery and conquest of the New World, the struggle with Islam for command of the seas, the establishment of European influence in the East and Far East, the slave trade, the invasion of North America, and the initial steps toward hegemony in the Middle East and Africa. Students will investigate the ways in which individual personality, religiosity, greed, critical first contacts, and cultural misunderstandings and prejudices combined with important aspects of the Military, Scientific, and early Industrial Revolutions to establish European hegemony on a world-wide scale during this early period of European Imperialism. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The French Revolution was an important turning point in world history. Besides ushering in an age of liberte (liberty) and egalite (equality), it also postulated the existence of a new revolutionary fraternite (brotherhood) between peoples of all backgrounds. Would revolutionary fraternity include women, African slaves, and Jews in the new democratic polity? French men and women debated these questions in ways that have had a direct impact on our contemporary discussions of race, gender, religious freedom and ethnicity. In this course, we will explore these debates, their Enlightenment roots, and the legacy of these debates for France's minorities today, especially those of Arabic and Islamic origin. Students will be introduced to various types of historical sources (rare books, art, opera, plays), as well as to the lively historiographical debates between historians of France concerning methodology, politics, and the goal of historical research. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course introduces students to the artistic movements, everyday life, and socio-cultural upheavals of urban Russia in the fin-de-siecle (1880 to 1917). The fast-paced, consumer-oriented modern city, with its celebrities, fashions, and technological wonders, gripped the imagination of imperial Russia's urban denizens. The inhabitants of St. Petersburg and Moscow, conscious of living in a new era, embraced and grappled with the Modern Age as journalists, impresarios, and artists narrated and interpreted it. We will explore the ways revolution and war, industrialization, the commercialization of culture, and new sensibilities about the self and identity were reflected in modernist art and thought, literature, and autobiographical writings. We also will look closely at the realms of elite entertainment and popular amusement in an attempt to relate consumer culture to notions of gender and sexuality, the redefinition of status and privilege, and concepts of leisure. Historians have offered competing explanations of how and why the rapid social, economic and cultural changes of this period contributed to the fall of the Russian monarchy and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Our primary goal will be to use sources to assess their arguments and, hopefully, make our own. Texts include: historical scholarship, literary works, philosophical and sociological writings, music, visual art, and film. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Few events shaped world politics during the second half of the twentieth century as profoundly as the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Transformed by the leadership of Fidel Castro into a socialist country battling U.S. intervention, the Cuban revolution attempted to reshape society by eradicating racism, sexism, and illiteracy. However, policies against social inequalities were uneven and included contradictions that hampered the elimination of various forms of discrimination. Cubans who lived the Revolution also differed in their reactions to it: while many celebrated the social impact of Cuba's revolution, others condemned the revolutionary state as nothing more than a repressive (albeit populist) dictatorship. Exploring the precedents, processes, and legacies of the Cuban Revolution, this course will give students a better understanding of how and why the Cuban state has endured for so long in the face of U.S. hostility. We will read historical monographs, speeches by revolutionary leaders, and testimonies of Cubans living during the 20th century to access these themes. And while the course will begin in 1898 with the Cuban wars for independence, it will end in the present and explore the meaning of President Obama's closure of U.S. prison camps in Guantanamo and the transition from Fidel to Raul (and beyond) to try and answer the question that is on the minds of most Cubans and scholars of Cuban history: What next? [ more ]

Not offered this year

For more than a century, the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has served as the principal touchstone for legal debates over the meaning of equality and freedom in the United States. This course explores the origins of the 14th Amendment in the years immediately following the Civil War, and examines the evolution of that amendment's meaning in the century that followed. Central themes in this course include the contested interpretations of "due process," "privileges and immunities," "equal protection," and "life, liberty or property"; the rise, fall, and rebirth of substantive due process; and the battles over incorporating the Bill of Rights into the 14th Amendment. We will pay particular attention to how debates over the 14th Amendment have shaped and been shaped by the changing meanings of racial and gender equality, and how the 14th Amendment has transformed the promise and experience of American citizenship. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Is there an historically distinct American way of war? How have Americans experienced warfare? From the earliest days of European settlement through the final campaigns against American Indians west of the Mississippi, Americans have often been at war. Long before the United States became a world power those conflicts had determined many of the basic contours of American society, culture, and nationhood. This tutorial will investigate the nature and development of American wars over the period 1600 to 1900. Though some attention will be paid to the American Revolution and the Civil War, the tutorial will concentrate primarily on lesser known but still historically significant wars, including King Philip's War, the Seven Years War, the War of 1812, Jackson's Indian Wars, the Mexican-American War, the Plains Indians Wars, and the Spanish American War. All but the last were fought to conclusion in North America itself. How did Americans fight these wars? How did American militaries establish control over such a huge and varied continent? What role did military institutions play in the development of a distinctive American society? Did war abet social mobility, or lend itself to social control? What role did race play in the creation and sustaining of martial goals? What was the relationship between local military institutions and centralist attempts to create a national and/or professional army? What was the impact of warfare on American culture, on concepts of masculinity, and national or community images? Despite the fact that Americans have often conceived of themselves as a peace-loving people, war from the beginning has played a key role in shaping their society and nation. It is exactly the nature, meaning, and paradoxes of American wars that this tutorial will attempt to unravel. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Slavery and freedom rose as concomitant ideologies--simultaneously and interrelated--critical to the development of the American colonies and United States. Few areas of American social, political, and economic history have been more active and exciting in recent years than the study of this relationship. This seminar introduces students to the most important aspects of American slavery, beginning with an examination of the international slave trade and traces the development of the "peculiar institution" to its demise with the Civil War. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This tutorial explores the transformation of marriage as an institution, idea, and experience from colonial times through the beginning of the twenty-first century. What is marriage? Is it a private agreement or a public contract? A legal bond or a religious sacrament? A right or a privilege? Who can enter it? Who determines when it is over, and on what grounds? Examining the long history of American debates about these questions, we will consider the complex ways that beliefs and policies regarding marriage have affected national understandings of gender roles, of racial difference, of the meaning of citizenship, and of the function and reach of government. We will explore many of the controversies associated with marriage over the last 400 years, including interracial marriage, polygamy, divorce, domestic violence, property rights, custody, cohabitation, working mothers, and same-sex marriage. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Obama's recent successful bid for the Presidency has reminded Americans of the strong links between African-Americans and Africans and of the international dimensions of the struggle for racial justice. This struggle has its roots in the post-World War II transformation of the world associated with the decolonization struggles led by individuals like C.L.R. James, Aime Cesaire, Kwame Nkrumah, Franz Fanon and Nelson Mandela. This course will examine this movement, focusing on activists in the Caribbean and Africa, the new ideas and cultural movements they inspired (Pan-Africanism, Negritude, and Socialism), their organizational activities in London and Paris, and their success in breaking free of European imperialism only to be confronted with American and Russian Cold War rivalry. By comparing and contrasting different experiences of independence--in the Caribbean, in independent Ghana, and in anti-apartheid South Africa--this course will grapple with the ways in which racism, political power, and cultural difference affected relations between Blacks, mulattoes, whites, and Indians in these countries as they fought for independence. The comparative and transatlantic scope of this course, combined with its focus on race relations, power, and privilege helps it meet the requirements of the Exploring Diversity Initiative. [ more ]

Not offered this year

What is the history behind today's major events? And what are some of the differing perspectives and interpretations around the world on how to address some of the most significant issues that face us all? This course will challenge students to think globally and historically about the present by introducing the methods and conceptual tools historians use to understand the past and how that may lead to a better appreciation of contemporary society. Students will be encouraged to become more critical readers of the media and thus better assess when and how history is used and abused in the public sphere. Throughout the semester, members of the History Department will visit the class and address how their field (e.g. East Asian, Latin American, African-American History) is represented in the media and political discourse. The theme for 2009-10 will be citizenship. Because of its commitment to explore how people in different societies respond to the pressing issues of the day and how people in various corners of the world are redefining and rethinking notions of citizenship, this course is part of the Exploring Diversity Initiative (EDI), [ more ]

Not offered this year

Both Muslim and non-Muslim historians usually see the rise of Islam in the seventh century C.E. as a total break with the past. This course will challenge that assumption by placing the rise of Islam in the context of the history of late antiquity (c. 250-700 C.E.). The first portion of the course will examine the impact of Judeo-Christian monotheism in the ancient world, the rise of confessional empires, articulation of new ideas about holiness and its relation to sexuality and the transformations undergone by Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. We shall examine the conversation of these traditions with classical paganism and philosophy, the internal struggle within traditions to define rules of interpretation, the impact of ascetic, iconoclastic and apocalyptic ideas and, finally, polemics among the traditions. We will then examine the career of Muhammad (PBUH) in the context of Arabia, the spread of the Islamic empire into Christian and Iranian worlds, the impact of apocalyptic expectations, the fixation of religious decision making within the tradition, the process of conversion, the encounter with the Late Antique heritage and religious diversity within the commonwealth of Islam. The course will end with the end of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The first fifty years of the 20th century saw unprecedented changes in almost every sphere of Chinese society. A political system that had survived in some form for over two millennia abruptly disintegrated. New ideas challenged orthodox intellectual culture in profound and complex ways. Chinese intellectuals questioned the value of inherited traditions while simultaneously facing the real possibility of the near total extinction of those traditions. Literature, which had historically been an important locus of cultural debates, served this role to perhaps an even greater extent during this tumultuous period, as writers struggled with questions of how to save a country and culture wracked by internal disintegration and facing urgent external threats. These debates framed many of the issues that continue to influence the political, intellectual, and literary cultures of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan to this day. In this course we will examine a broad range of sources that engage the key debates of this period. This is an EDI course in which we will address such questions as the role of traditional culture versus that of modern or Western culture, the role of ideology and politics in literary and artistic production, ideas of nationhood and cultural identity, and the relationship between the individual and the state. All readings will be in English translation. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The ascension of powerful warlords in the late 1500s brought to an end a century of constant warfare and laid the foundation for the Tokugawa bakufu, the military government headed by the Tokugawa shogun that would rule Japan for almost three hundred years. This course will introduce students to the extraordinary changes of the years between the establishment of the Tokugawa bakufu in 1603 and its collapse in 1868, an era characterized by relative peace and stability, periods of economic growth as well as stagnation, the growth of cities and towns, the flourishing of urban culture, and the decline of the samurai. We will focus on the political and social history of early modern Japan, including topics such as the establishment of the Tokugawa order, the nature of the political system, urbanization, popular culture, rural life, gender and sexuality, class and status, religion, and the fall of the Tokugawa bakufu. Assigned materials will include government documents, literature, and films. [ more ]

Not offered this year

A modernizing revolution, the construction and collapse of an empire, devastating defeat in a world war, occupation by a foreign power, and postwar economic rollercoaster have marked Japan's modern experience. This course will examine the main themes of modern Japanese history with a focus on how various "ordinary people" have lived through the extraordinary changes of the past century and a half. Through the perspectives of ordinary people, be it a young girl working in a cotton textile factory in the 1920s, a wartime soldier, or a teenager of the early twenty-first century, issues of national identity and nationalism, democracy, work, gender, family, youth and consumerism will be addressed. Reading materials will include anthropological studies, fiction, films, political documents, and oral histories. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course provides a broad introduction to the cultures of China from earliest times to the contemporary era. The use of the plural "cultures" here is important. The notion that Chinese culture, especially in "pre-modern" times, is a monolithic and unchanging entity is one that has been appealing to interests as diverse as Western imperialist powers and the Chinese Communist Party. It is, however, a notion that is more fiction than fact, one story of many that can be told about the area we now call China. This course is organized around a number of topics ranging across different periods and cultures in China, including the following: language, protest, order (and disorder), commerce, the supernatural, reclusion, individualism, and beauty. Lectures and discussions will focus on texts from a wide range of time periods and genres, from ancient poems to modern films, from Buddhist sutras to the writings of Mao Zedong. This course functions as an EDI course in a number of ways. Throughout, we will compare the different cultures broadly considered Chinese to understand the ways in which they interacted, influenced each other, and came into conflict. We will also examine issues of power and privilege as we analyze how different interests used cultural structures and products to gain and maintain their power in society. No previous knowledge of China or Chinese expected. All readings in English. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Bounded by the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean, the vast South Asian subcontinent is home to one fifth of humanity. Boasting one of the world's oldest civilizations, it has had a tumultuous modern history. A common heritage and environment notwithstanding, South Asia presents a picture of social complexity, economic disparity, cultural diversity, and political heterogeneity. The course will explore the history of Modern South Asia between the eighteenth century and the present. Beginning with a brief introduction to the pre-modern period, and a discussion of the Mughal empire, we will use a combined chronological and thematic approach against a historical canvas that engages such diverse issues as gender, political economy, conquest, resistance, state formation, economic exploitation, national liberation, and identity politics. The aim is to interrogate the impact of British colonialism and South Asian nationalisms on the state, society, and the people of the subcontinent. Using primary and secondary sources, we will address both the most significant moments of modern South Asian history and the historiographical debates that surround them. Students will be able to take away from this course an understanding of the successes, failures, and challenges faced by the people and states of Modern South Asia today from a historical perspective. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Ancient Greece has been thought to embody the origins of Western civilization in its institutions, values, and thought; it has been seen as the infancy of modern society, with the attributes of innocence, purity, and the infant's staggering capacity for exploration and learning; it has been interpreted as an essentially primitive, violent culture with a thin veneer of rationality; and it has been celebrated as the rational culture par excellence. The study of ancient Greece indeed requires an interpretive framework, yet Greek culture and history have defied most attempts to articulate one. We will make our attempt in this course by investigating ancient Greece as a set of cultures surprisingly foreign to us, as it so often was to its own intellectual elite. But we will also come to appreciate the rich and very real connections between ancient Greek and modern Western civilization. The course will begin with Bronze Age-Greece and the earliest developments in Greek culture, and will conclude with the spread of Greek influence into Asia through the conquests of Alexander the Great. We will explore topics such as the aristocratic heritage of the city-state, the effects of pervasive war on Greek society, the competitive spirit in political and religious life, the confrontations with the East, the relationship of intellectual culture to Greek culture as a whole, Greek dependence on slavery, and the diversity of political and social forms in the Greek world. The readings will concentrate on original sources, including historical writings, philosophy, poetry, and oratory. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The study of Roman history involves questions central to the development of Western institutions, religion, and modes of thought. Scholars have looked to Rome both for actual antecedents of European cultural development and for paradigmatic scenes illustrating what they felt were cultural universals. Yet Roman history also encompasses the most far-reaching experience of diverse cultures, beliefs, and practices known in the Western tradition until perhaps contemporary times. A close analysis of Roman history on its own terms shows the complex and fascinating results of an ambitious, self-confident nation's encounter both with unexpected events and crises at home, and with other peoples. As this course addresses the history of Rome from its mythologized beginnings through the reign of the emperor Constantine, it will place special emphasis on the impressive Roman ability to turn the unexpected into a rich source of cultural development, as well as the complex tendency later to interpret such ad hoc responses as predestined and inevitable. The Romans also provide a vivid portrait of the relationship between power and self-confidence on the one hand, and violence and ultimate disregard for dissent and difference on the other. Readings for this course will concentrate on a wide variety of original sources, and there will be a strong emphasis on the problems of historical interpretation. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course examines the development of Roman archaeology and material culture from the early Iron Age, ca. 1000 BCE, to the end of the reign of Constantine in 337 CE. The primary goal of the course is to help students understand the social and historical context in which Roman material culture was created and used. We will consider a variety of evidence from across the empire, including monumental and domestic architecture, wall painting, mosaics, sculpture, coins and inscriptions. Special emphasis will be placed on the city of Rome; however, we will also look at other important urban centers, such as Pompeii, Aphrodisias and Lepcis Magna. Roman art and architecture were not the product of any single people or culture, but rather the hybrid synthesis of complex cultural negotiations between the Romans and their colonial subjects (i.e., Greeks, Jews, Celts, etc.). Class discussions will focus on issues related to gender, ethnicity and cultural identity in the Roman Empire. For example, we will explore what it meant to be "Roman" in terms of language, ethnicity and cultural institutions. We will also discuss how Roman elites used material culture to convey political messages and social status in the imperial hierarchy, as well as the legacy of Roman art and architecture in the modern world. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course introduces students to the major historical developments in Western Europe during the early modern period--such pan-European phenomena as the Reformation, the Witch Craze, the Military Revolution, the rise of absolutist states, the seventeenth-century crisis in government and society, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and Napoleon, and the establishment of European influence around the world. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course introduces students to the era of the European domination of the world, a time of revolutionary excitement and fervor, of war and travesty, of profound social and economic change, and of great intellectual ferment. Topics include the French and Russian Revolutions, the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848, the Industrial Revolution, German and Italian Unification, European imperialist expansion, processes of secularization and religious revival, and the origins of World War I. With an eye toward exploring the origins of today's complex attitudes toward race, ethnicity, and gender, the course will also investigate racial thought, anti-Semitism, and feminism in the nineteenth century. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course surveys European imperialism in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, paying special attention to important case studies such as British India, the Scramble for Africa, and the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. Issues to be explored include imperialism and its relationship to Christianity, gender, racism, and economic profit. In the second half of the course, we will examine some of the most dramatic cases of decolonization, including Gandhi and Nehru's independence movement in India, Ho Chi Minh's victory at Dien Bien Phu, and the torturous struggle for independence in Lumumba's Congo. As a transatlantic and transpacific course focusing on race relations, power and privilege, this course fulfills the EDI requirement. [ more ]

Not offered this year

What does it mean to be a Jew? The vexed question of Jewish identity emerged at the end of the eighteenth century in Europe and has dominated Jewish history throughout the modern period. Although Jewish emancipation and citizenship followed different paths in France and the German states, in both cases Jews were confronted by unprecedented opportunities for integration into non-Jewish society and unprecedented challenges to Jewish communal life. This course will introduce students to the major social, cultural, religious, and political transformations that shaped the lives of Europe's Jews from the outbreak of the French Revolution to the aftermath of World War II. We will explore such topics as emancipation, Jewish diversity, the rise of religious denominations within Judaism, competing political ideologies, Jewish-gentile relations, the role of Jewish women, Jewish responses to Nazism, and the situation of Jews in the immediate postwar period. In addition to broad historical treatments, course materials will include memoirs and diaries. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will examine the processes commonly referred to as the creation of "Latin America" and will do so from numerous perspectives. Starting with the construction of indigenous societies, from small and decentralized groupings to huge imperial polities-, before 1492, to the invasion of Europeans from that date forward, we will take up the question of the Iberian "conquest," looking at the often violent encounters that made up that event and analyzing its success, limits, and results. We will then study the imposition of Iberian rule from the point of view of would-be colonizers and the peoples they treated as objects of colonization, stressing the multiple and conflicting character of European, indigenous, and African perspectives. Thus looking at the Americas from both the outside-in and inside-out, we will focus on the unequal relations of power that came to define cultural, political, and economic life in the colonies, always with an eye on the gendered and racialized nature of those relations. We will also not only compare very different regions of the Iberian Americas but also see how the grand shifts of history intervened in--and perhaps consisted of--the most normal elements of daily life in northern Mexico, the central Andes, coastal Brazil, and other parts of colonial Latin America. Visual as well as more traditional written primary materials, along with secondary texts and films, will serve as the basis for our discussions throughout the semester. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will examine salient issues in the history of the independent nations of Latin America. The first two sections of the course will focus on the turbulent formation of nation-states over the course of the "long nineteenth century," from the crises of the Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires in the late eighteenth century to the heyday of liberal political economies at the turn of the twentieth century. In this regard the course will analyze the social and economic changes of the period up to World War I and the possibilities they offered for both political order and disorder. Key topics addressed will include caudillismo, the role of the Church in politics, economic dependency and development, and the place of indigenous and African Latin-American peoples in new nations, and industrialization and urbanization. The latter two sections will examine the trend toward state-led national development in the twentieth century, considering the diverse forms it took and conflicts it generated in different nations and periods. Here we will take up questions the emergence of workers' and women's movements and the rise of mass politics; militarism, democracy, and authoritarian governments; the influence of the U.S. in the region; and the life and possibly death of revolutionary options. Within this chronological framework of national and regional political economy, we will consider the ways that various Latin American social actors shaped their own lives and collective histories, sometimes challenging and sometimes accommodating the ideals of national elites. General regional trends will be illustrated by selected national cases, including Mexico, Brazil, Agentina, Cuba, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course explores the history of the Caribbean, from pre-Columbian times to the present. The goal of the class is to trace the emergence of modern Caribbean nations from the slave colonies of the not-so-distant past. We will show that though they may be picturesque vacation destinations, the islands of the Caribbean have played a central role in global history. In particular, the course will introduce you to the Caribbean through sustained attention to two simultaneous and related long-term developments: the maintenance of European and North American imperial enterprises and the elaboration of racial ideologies around the diversity that has characterized the island populations. Through this prism, we will explore issues such as colonialism, piracy, sugar revolutions, slavery and emancipation, national independence, tourism, and Caribbean migrations. Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica will be the main areas under consideration for this semester; however, we will also examine texts from other islands such as the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Martinique when appropriate. Sources will include speeches, song lyrics, films, testimonios, and other primary documents that shed light on the history of Caribbean nations. This EDI course explores the experiences and expressions of the culturally diverse peoples of African descent in the New World (and the Old), as well as the myriad ways in which they confront, negotiate, and at times challenge dominant U.S. and/or European hierarchies of race, culture, gender and class. [ more ]

Not offered this year

From its foundation in 1776 to the beginning of World War I in 1914, the United States developed a complex of ideas for understanding--and methods for securing--its place in the world. During this period, the nation's diplomacy went through several phases as it made the transition from a young republic struggling to conduct its diplomacy, to an expansionist power in the first half of the nineteenth century, to an emerging world power in the aftermath of the Civil War, and then to an imperialist power after the Spanish-American War. Amidst these events, U.S. statesmen and citizens constantly debated the country's proper diplomatic role and struggled to construct and propagate a unique American ideology, as well as an advantageous geo-strategic position, on the global stage. Debates about foreign relations were imbued with questions of race, nation, independence, religion, economy, law, gender, and geographic expansion; indeed, defining U.S. foreign relations was a means of defining the nation itself. Through a variety of primary sources and scholarly books and articles, this course will examine U.S. relations with external powers as well as the interactions that occurred between U.S. domestic and foreign policy during this period. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course provides a survey of African American History from the earliest importation and migration of Africans to North American through the present day. Our readings and discussions will take up the development, expansion, and organization of slavery, the coming and meaning of freedom, and the political and cultural landscapes of African Americans over time. We will discuss slavery, freedom, civil rights, and racial ideologies. Finally, we will examine the post Civil Rights era, the changing meaning of the designation "African American" in light of global migrations, and African American political power in the 21st century. Our readings, which will include both primary and secondary sources, will help us to interrogate American history and gain an understanding and overview of African American history. The course will be primarily discussion based. Given its focus on the workings of racial ideology and the development of slavery and other forms of unfree labor in the U.S. economic system, this course fulfills the criteria of the Exploring Diversity Initiative. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course provides an introduction to the history of African Americans in United States during the colonial, early republic, and antebellum eras. The course demonstrates how economically, culturally, and politically, African Americans shaped and were shaped by the historical landscape of the nation. The experience of enslavement necessarily dominates this history, and it is the contours and nuances of slavery--and the development of racial classifications--that give this course its focus. But with a attention centered on African Americans, the course also explores African cultural influences, the significance of gender, the lives of free blacks, and the cultural and intellectual significance of the abolitionist movement. The course closes on the themes that emerge from the war between the states, and on the meaning of freedom and emancipation. Our readings will include primary sources and secondary literature. Class meetings will combine lecture and discussion. Informed participation in class discussion is essential. This EDI course explores the experiences and expressions of the culturally diverse peoples of African descent in the New World (and the Old), as well as the myriad ways in which they confront, negotiate, and at times challenge dominant U.S. and/or European hierarchies of race, culture, gender and class. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course introduces students to the significant themes and events that have shaped African-Americans' historical experiences from Reconstruction to the end of the twentieth century. Course themes will include: the changing meanings of freedom, equality, and rights; the intersection of ideology and activism; the disconnection between local and national perspectives. Additionally, the course explores the political nature and development of African-American protest traditions, giving particular attention to the rise of Jim Crow, the franchise, black institutional and organizational life, black migration and urbanization, the black freedom movement and its legacy, and the demise of the liberal coalition. This EDI course explores the experiences and expressions of the culturally diverse peoples of African descent in the New World (and the Old), as well as the myriad ways in which they confront, negotiate, and at times challenge dominant U.S. and/or European hierarchies of race, culture, gender and class. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course serves as the introduction to Asian American history, roughly covering the years 1850 to the present. It examines the lives of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Indians, and Southeast Asians in America, and the historical reasons why they came to the US and their subsequent interactions with other ethno-racial groups in the United States. Topics include the anti-Asian exclusion movements, the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, the increase of Asian immigration after the 1965 Immigration Act and the war in Viet Nam, and the impact of the events of September 11, 2001 on Asian American communities. These themes and others will be explored through the use of historical texts, primary documents, novels, memoirs, and films. This is an EDI course because it examines how people from different Asian countries and cultures interacted with each other and those already here in the US. Theirs is a story of immigration, exclusion, resistance, accommodation, and the process of "becoming American." [ more ]

Not offered this year

A study of the growth and development of medical thought and practice, together with consideration of its interaction with science and social forces and institutions. The course aims at an appreciation of the socio-historical construction of Western medicine, from prehistory to the twentieth century. The course begins with paleomedical reconstructions, and moves to Babylonian, Egyptian and Greek [not only Hippocratic] medicine, Greek and Roman anatomy and physiology, Arabic medical thought, Renaissance medicine, and the gradual professionalization and specialization of medicine from the sixteenth century. Attention is paid to theories of health and disease, ideas about anatomy and physiology, in addition to achievements such as anesthesia and internal surgery, and advances in instruments such as obstetrical forceps and the stethoscope. [ more ]

Not offered this year

"History" refers to the aggregate of past events as well as to the branch of knowledge that seeks to understand those past events. Whereas history courses often take as their content the first of these two meanings of history, focusing on the politics, society, and culture of a particular place in a particular historical era, this course will examine history's often concealed "other" meaning: the practices of historians, their methods and assumptions. In so doing, this course aims to unsettle history majors' own assumptions about what history "is" and what historians "do". How do historians reconstruct the past, and how and why have their approaches to sources, theories, and narrative strategies changed over time? And on a deeper level, how have historians' suppositions changed--if they have changed--about the nature of historical truth, knowledge, and the value of history to the societies in which they wrote? Taking history-writing itself as our object of study, over the course of the semester we will read the work of twelve, quite different historians from the classical to the modern era. Each week in our seminar meetings, we will subject these texts to a careful reading in order to understand and assess these historians' theories and practices. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will explore how the discipline of 'History' has come to assume its present form and how a number of historians since the 1820s have understood their craft. We will begin by discussing the work of three great nineteenth-century historians (Macaulay, Marx, and Ranke) who believed that historical "truth" existed and could, with skill, be deciphered. Next we will explore the philosophy and practice of the cultural and social historians of the 1960s/1970s, comparing and contrasting it with that of their nineteenth-century predecessors. We will then consider the work of those recent theorists who have tried to refute historians' claims to be able to capture the "truth" of the past, focusing on the state of the field in the wake of challenges posed to its epistemological foundations by "post-modernism." We will conclude with an assessment of the state of the discipline today. In general, we will be less concerned with "the past" than with what historians do with "the past." Consequently, we will focus primarily on those abstract, philosophical assumptions that have informed the practice of history. [ more ]

Not offered this year

What is history? What is it that historians do? In this course, students will explore questions of how and why we historians practice our craft. The first section of the course will examine how historians come to know, think about, and understand the past. Issues of the nature of historical "truth," objectivity and bias, types of sources, and uses of theory will be discussed. Next, we will address the ways in which historians write about the past, considering the influence of postmodernism on historical narratives, and historical film. Finally, we will examine the uses of history, including public history, history education, and the construction of historical memory. The class will meet once a week, and each session will focus on some theoretical material as well as readings that concretely illustrate the methodological issues at stake. These readings will be drawn from a broad range of topics, such as the Great Depression, the Nanking Massacre, and the assassination of JFK. [ more ]

Not offered this year

How does historical knowledge evolve? How do historians build on but also repudiate the work of historians that came before them? In this course, we will explore the historiography that has developed over the last 150 years about the Anglo-American settlement of the West, using it as a lens to explore larger questions about shifting perspectives of the historian's craft. This historiography will also illuminate critical conflicts about the meaning of American history. Did the frontier build American character, as Frederick Jackson Turner argued in 1893? Did it establish patterns of conquest that have shaped American policy toward other parts of the world, as later historians would argue? Has the West been an "exceptional" place or representative of the nation at large? The class will meet once a week, and each session's discussion will focus intensively on one book, examining the theoretical and historical assumptions of the author; how these assumptions shaped the historian's search for evidence and his or her claims; and the impact they have had on our understanding of the American West. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The modern historical profession is very much a European creation, originating in the Age of Enlightenment. Championing reason and challenging religious views of the past, the Philosophes linked the new secular study of man and his society to a view of historical progress. Some have argued that the very nature of the historical discipline is Eurocentric, based as it is on Western concepts of reason, science, and historical evolution which privilege European history at the expense of its non-Western counterparts. In this course, we will study some of the important spokesmen for historical progress (Voltaire, Condorcet, Marx, von Ranke) as well as some of their important critics. The first half of the course will survey the history of the historical profession from the Enlightenment to the present. In the second half of the course, we will read some of the great works of history which have attempted to explain the rise of the west, grappling with how and to what extent these interpretations are Eurocentric. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course introduces students to the spatial, legal, economic, social and political structures that created Apartheid in South Africa, and to the factors that led to the collapse of the racist order. We will examine the many forms of black oppression and, also, the various forms of resistance to Apartheid. Some of the themes we will explore include industrialization and the formation of the black working classes, the constructions of race, ethnicities and sexualities, land alienation and rural struggles, township poverty and violence, Black education, and the Black Consciousness Movement. This EDI course explores the experiences and expressions of the culturally diverse peoples of African descent in the New World (and the Old), as well as the myriad ways in which they confront, negotiate, and at times challenge dominant U.S. and/or European hierarchies of race, culture, gender and class. [ more ]

Not offered this year

In 1932, or twelve years into his rule and twelve years after the establishment of Iraq, King Faysal I lamented that there were "no Iraqi people but only unimaginable masses of human beings, devoid of any patriotic idea, imbued with religious traditions and absurdities, connected by no common tie." This course will consider how true the Kings statement still holds by evaluating the various attempts at state and nation building in the modern Middle East and the challenges of statecraft. After assessing some of the more influential theories of nationalism, we will explore the historical experience of nationalism and national identity in Iraq, Israel, Turkey, Palestine, Iran, and Egypt. What has been at the basis of nationhood? How did European concepts of nation translate into the Middle Eastern context? What was the role of religion in these modern societies? How did traditional notions of gender effect concepts of citizenship? We will also explore some of the unresolved issues facing the various nations of the Middle East, such as unfulfilled nationalist aspirations, disputes over land and borders, and challenges to sovereignty. Finally, we will evaluate the role of foreign powers in nation building in the Middle East and consider whether the modern concept of the nation has any validity in the Middle Eastern context. Because this course is comparative in nature that utilizes theoretical frameworks to better understand cross-cultural interaction and because it focuses on the ways in which governments in the Middle East have used their power to legitimate their actions in the name of nationalism, this course fulfills the requirements of the Exploring Diversity Initiative (EDI). [ more ]

Not offered this year

Is Islam compatible with modernity? And if so, how? This course in intellectual history will systematically address the vast corpus of writings by Muslim activists and scholars on the role of Islam in today's world. Through this examination some of the central questions related to Islam's encounter with modernity will be explored in detail, such as those related to post-colonialism, political authority, violence, the status of women, democracy, and war. Geographically, this course will focus on Egypt and Iran as well as the ideas being developed by Muslim scholars in Europe and North America. Students will discuss these pertinent issues via videoconferencing with other university students in the Middle East on a regular basis. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Despite being neighbors, the historical experience of Iran and Iraq has been drastically different. In this course we will begin by exploring the creation of Iraq in 1921 and the Pahlavi government in Iran. We will evaluate the revolutions of 1958 and 1978-9 and compare the lives and careers of Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini. The tragic Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88 will also be discussed. Finally, the political future of these countries will be assessed. [ more ]

Not offered this year

At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States was considered a benign superpower in the Middle East. Americans were known as "innocents abroad" for their educational and philanthropic work. From a distance, American society was admired for its affluence and freedom, and Middle Eastern politicians eagerly sought American advice and assistance. Today, however, the situation could hardly be more different. This course will examine the remarkable transformation of American involvement in the Middle East. Significant cultural and political encounters of the latter half of the twentieth century will be assessed in order to identify how the United States has approached the region and consider the multifaceted and sometimes ambivalent reactions of people in the Middle East to increasing U.S. presence. It will also explore the difficulty the United States has experienced in balancing diverse, and sometimes conflicting, foreign policy interests, and will evaluate what may account for the increasing level of antagonism and mistrust on both sides. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Nationalism is a major political issue in contemporary East Asia. From anti-Japanese demonstrations in China, to tensions on the Korea peninsula, to competitive elections in Taiwan, to debates in Japan about the possibility of a woman ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne, national identity is hotly debated and politically mobilized all across the region. This course begins with an examination of the general phenomena of nationalism and national identity. It then considers how nationalism is manifest in the contemporary politics and foreign relations of China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Taiwan. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Although sometimes claimed as part of a set of immutable "Asian values," the Chinese family has not remained fixed or stable over time. In this course, we will use the framework of "family" to gain insight into gender, generational, and sexual roles in different historical periods. Beginning in the late imperial period (16th-18th Centuries), we will examine the religious, marital, sexual, and childrearing practices associated with the "orthodox" Confucian family. We will then explore the wide variety of "heterodox" practices in imperial China, debates over and critiques of the family system in the twentieth century, and configurations of gender and family in contemporary China. As an EDI course, this class makes use of anthropological and gender studies methods to analyze both the specificities of Chinese ideas and practices regarding family, gender and sexuality as well as the considerable variety among these ideas and practices at different points in time. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The inferior political status and heavily circumscribed lives of women in ancient Greek and Roman societies have received extensive study in recent decades. Yet it is nearly impossible to understand women's lives without also studying the often stringent cultural norms that governed men's lives as well. This course seeks to understand these aspects of Greek and Roman societies over time as expectations for the behaviors, priorities, and activities of both women and men evolved. While the impact of these gendered expectations on the lives of men and women often varied considerably in kind and degree, their interplay was at the same time often intricate, and many that constructed women's lives could only be articulated with reference to corresponding expectations for men. Others emerged only during times of crisis and could even involve a reversal of the usual roles of men and women. Some norms gave men and women a shared experience that is rare in other societies.
We will explore these and related issues by reading widely in such ancient authors as Homer, Sappho, Herodotus, the Greek tragedians, Greek and Roman philosophers, Vergil and other Latin poets, and Roman didactic writers. We will also read modern scholarship on such subjects as the family, prostitution, the exposure of unwanted infants, demography, and the anthropology of gender in both Greek and Roman societies. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Visionary, opportunist, reformer, tyrant, demagogue, popular champion: concise characterization of influential leaders is often irresistible. But placing leaders in their much less easily encapsulated political, social, and religious contexts reveals them to be far more complicated and challenging subjects. Among the questions that will guide our study of Greek leadership: Was the transformative leader in a Greek city always an unexpected one, arising outside of the prevailing political and/or social systems? To what extent did the prevailing systems determine the nature of transformative as well as of normative leadership? How did various political and social norms contribute to legitimating particular kinds of leader? After studying such leaders as the "tyrants" who prevailed in many Greek cities of both the archaic and classical eras, then Athenian leaders like Solon, Cleisthenes, Cimon, Pericles, Cleon, and Demosthenes, and Spartans like Cleomenes, Leonidas, Brasidas, and Lysander, we will focus on Alexander the Great, whose unique accomplishments transformed every aspect of Greek belief about leadership, national boundaries, effective government, the role of the governed, and the legitimacy of power. Readings will include accounts of leadership and government by ancient Greek authors (e.g. Homer, Solon, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, all in translation) and contemporary historians and political theorists. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This class will introduce you to the history, writings, practices, and structures of early Christians between 30-600 CE. Who were "Christians" and how did they understand and define themselves in this time period? What historical and cultural factors influenced the ways in which Christians were perceived, could imagine themselves, and lived? While this class addresses the basic flow of events and major figures in early Christian history, it will also require you to develop a critical framework for the study of history in general. In addition, you will gain significant experience in the critical analysis of primary source materials. Special attention will be paid to the incredible diversity of early Christian thought and practice. [ more ]

Not offered this year

From the ancient world to the twentieth century, war has always played an important part in European history. Europeans have not only constantly been at war with other Europeans, but also with neighboring cultures and, indeed, most peoples around the globe. This course will introduce students to the history of European warfare from its origins in the classical and medieval periods to its maturation in the early modern period (1450-1815), and its disastrous culmination in the nationalist struggles of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Has there been a distinctively "European Way of War" from the beginning? How do we explain failure and success in European wars? What exactly happened at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war? And what caused changes in the organization and waging of European war from one period to the next? [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course tracks the major developments in Christian thought from the Reformations to the nineteenth century. We will begin by examining the background to the Reformations across Europe and across denominations of Christianity, showing how the Reformations along with their precursors indirectly helped to usher in a world that placed greater emphasis on the value of selfhood and moral autonomy, encouraged the emergence of the Enlightenment and scientific rationality, and helped to lead to the cultural and political re-alignment of nation-states. [ more ]

Not offered this year

What is gnosis and Gnosticism? Who were the Gnostics? Salvation by knowledge, arch-heresy, an eternal source of mystical insights and experiences, secret esoteric teachings available only to a few. All these and more have been claims made about gnosis, Gnostics, and Gnosticism. This course will introduce you to the key ancient texts and ideas associated with Gnostics as well as to the debates over and claims made about Gnosticism in modern times. We shall explore neoplatonic, Jewish, and Christian thought, as well as modern spiritualism and esotericism. We shall also ask about how ancient Gnostics relate to later religious groups such as the Knights Templar and modern Theosophists. Readings include: Nag Hammadi writings in English, Irenaeus, Against All Heresies; David Brakke, The Gnostics; Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels; Karen King, What is Gnosticism? and The Secret Revelation of John. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will introduce students to some of the most significant and exciting social, artistic, intellectual, and political developments in fin-de- siecle Europe (1870 to 1914). "Fin-de-siecle" is a concept that denotes not only a historical period--the end of a century--but refers to a consciousness of living in a time of accelerated change and crisis. Intellectuals and artists of the decades we will be examining were preoccupied with "degeneration," loss of innocence, meaning, morality, and the inner self. They were simultaneously fascinated and horrified by technological innovation, emergent political and ideological currents, and the challenges to traditional values and identities posed by them. After a survey of political upheavals during the European fin-de- siecle, the course will focus on three metropolises consecutively: Vienna, Paris, and St. Petersburg. Through analyses of historical literature, novels, music, visual art, and the seminal texts of psychoanalysis we will explore how the self, public life, gender relations, sexuality, and aesthetics were conceived and re-imagined in each city, and bring to light the sensibilities and culture they shared. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course is a history of National-Socialist Germany based to a considerable extent on primary documents. Students will use the documents to reconstruct the history of the Third Reich and to articulate and assess some of the principal historiographical debates relating to National-Socialist Germany. The course will consider the following topics: the failure of the Weimar Republic and the rise of National Socialism; the consolidation of Nazi rule; the experiential reality of the Volksgemeinschaft; the popularity of National Socialism; youth and women in the Third Reich; Nazi culture; Nazi racism and image of the Jew; Gestapo terror; the pre-war persecution of Jews; popular German anti-Semitism; the regime's euthanasia program; the Nazi Empire; the experience of war in Russia; the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Problem"; German knowledge of and complicity in the "Final Solution"; the experience of "total war" on the home front; resistance to National Socialism; and the collapse of the Third Reich. The course will focus especially on how ordinary Germans experienced and participated in the history through which they lived. We will take an empathic approach to National-Socialist Germany and to the Germans who lived through this period, attempting to understand why they felt, thought, and acted as they did. We will also consider the epistemological and ethical problems involved in attempting to empathize with Nazis. [ more ]

Not offered this year

In twenty-first century United States, the murder of approximately six million European Jews by Nazi Germany remains a central event in our political, moral, and cultural universe. Nevertheless, the Holocaust still confounds historians' efforts to understand both the motivations of the perpetrators and the suffering of the victims. In this course, we will study the origins and unfolding of Nazi Germany's genocidal policies, taking into consideration the perspectives of those who carried out mass murder as well as the experiences and responses of Jews and other victim groups to persecution. We will also examine the Holocaust within the larger context of the history of World War II in Europe and historians' debates about Germany's exterminatory war aims. Course materials will include diaries, speeches, bureaucratic documents, memoirs, films, and historical scholarship. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The Near East under Roman rule was a zone of intense cultural contact and exchange. Major urban centers,like Ephesus and Alexandria, were home to a diverse array of Greeks, Romans, Jews, Egyptians and other Semitic peoples. Out of this cultural crucible emerged new movements in religion, science, and the arts which changed the face of the Roman Empire. This course examines the history and material culture of Roman cities in the Near East, from Pompey's annexation of Syria in 64 BCE to the Arab conquest in the 7th century CE. We will consider a variety of evidence, including sculpture, architecture and epigraphy, as well as textual sources, such as Josephus' Jewish War, Acts of the Apostles and Tacitus' Histories. Class discussion will focus on issues related to ethnicity and identity formation in the eastern Roman provinces. Possible topics include the Romanization of the Near East, the First Jewish Revolt, the formation of early Christianity, and the Roman wars with Sassanian Persia. This course fulfills the EDI requirement because it explores the interaction between peoples and cultures in the ancient Near East and their diverse responses to Roman imperialism. [ more ]

Not offered this year

During the first century BCE, successive civil wars divided the Roman Empire along ethnic, geographical and partisan lines. Octavian's victory at battle of Actium in 31 BCE officially brought an end to the Roman civil wars, but it did not in itself unify the empire. Out of this matrix of social fragmentation and uncertainty arose the geographical texts of the Augustan age. The genre of universal geography provided a convenient means to reconfigure identity boundaries in post-Actium world. By delineating stable borders between the peoples and provinces, geographical texts (whether written, sculptural or pictorial) literally mapped out identity boundaries and power relationships to create a new, unified image of the Roman Empire. This course examines the political and cosmological of implications geographical sources produced under the Roman Empire, including the Res Gestae of Augustus, Strabo's Geography and Tacitus' Germania. We will also look at maps and other visual representations of the Roman world, such as the personification groups depicted on the Roman imperial cult temples at Aphrodisias and Pisidian Antioch. Discussion will focus on such issues as the relationship between geography and ethnography and the differences between modern cartography and the geographical mapping techniques used in the ancient world. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course examines the relations between the United States and Latin America during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We will explore a variety of U.S. military interventions in the region, including U.S. participation in the Spanish-Cuban-American War, the occupation of Haiti, and the CIA's role in the overthrow of President Salvador Allende in Chile. We will look for consistencies and changes over time, weighing the role of ideology, national security, economic interests, and cultural factors in the creation and outcomes of U.S. policy. Readings will consist of a variety of primary source materials, including letters and memoirs by U.S. policy-makers. All of the course documents are in English, but students with a reading knowledge of Spanish will be encouraged to investigate sources in Spanish. In addition to the actions and motivations of officials in Washington, the course will investigate how ordinary Americans like young soldiers, African Americans, and women saw their roles as occupiers, allies, and the vehicle of modern civilization in the region. History 345 will also consider Latin American initiatives and responses to U.S. intervention, from attempts by nationalist regimes in Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, and Nicaragua to find an alternative to dependence on the United States, to critiques by Latin American intellectuals concerning U.S. cultural influences. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Brazil has been "the country of the future" far longer than it has been an independent nation. Soon after Europeans descended on its shores, Brazil was hailed as a land of resources so rich and diverse that they would inevitably produce great wealth and global power for its inhabitants. Although this has often lent a booster-ish quality to its descriptions of the country, it has also brought ambiguity--for if the label suggests Brazil's potential, it also underlies the country's failure to live up to that promise. Being an eternal "country of the future" must be as much a troubling as a cheering designation. This course will examine the modern history of that country of the future by taking up major themes from independence to the present. Beginning with what was by Latin American standards an easy transition from colony to independent empire, we will analyze the hierarchies that have characterized Brazilian society and their relation to the political and economic evolution of the Brazilian nation-state. The course will give particular attention to the themes of race, gender, and citizenship; national culture and modernity; and democracy and authoritarianism in social and political relations. Combining cultural, political, and social analyses, this course fulfills the Exploring Diversity Initiative requirement by examining a range of written texts and other sources to understand these and other themes in the lives of Brazilians of different social identities and political standings since Independence. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The inability--or failure--of Latin American countries to establish stable and democratic governments has frustrated observers across the region and beyond for almost 200 years. This course will examine the historical creation of both democratic and anti-democratic regimes in different national cases, seeking to identify the conditions that have fostered the apparent persistence of dictatorial tendencies in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, and the countries of Central America. In this regard we will look at the social and economic forces as well as the political actors and ideologies that have contributed to distinct, if often parallel, outcomes. At the same time, we will also question the criteria we use to label regimes "democratic" or "dictatorial"--and the implications of our choice of criteria. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The American Revolution remains one of the most-studied events in American history. Yet, agreement about its main causes, significance, and purpose remains as distant as ever. Some historians argue that political ideas and principles brought about calls for Independence. Others emphasize the economic motives behind revolutionary fervor. Still others argue that British political institutions failed to adapt to the needs of a growing empire, leading colonists to replace British imperial rule with a form of government suited to their local exigencies. Some have told the story through the eyes of the Founding Fathers, while others have explored what the American Revolution meant for the lived experience of average citizens, of women, of free and enslaved African Americans, of Native Americans, and of peoples living beyond North America. Collectively, such a range of studies speaks to the significance of the American Revolution. Individually, however, these varying perspectives provide a fragmented picture of the era and its people. Through readings, lectures, and primary sources, this class will explore these different views of the Revolution and try to create some synthetic unity out of this historical kaleidoscope. [ more ]

Not offered this year

In this course we will study the lives, ideas, visions and, above all, the political and moral leadership of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. The three Roosevelts transformed the role of government in American society, bringing about fundamental and lasting change. What were their leadership strategies and styles? Did they mobilize followers or did their followers mobilize them? How did they balance political compromise with bold, principled leadership? How did their personalities affect their visions and their goals? To what extent did they offer ethical and moral leadership? In addition to studying histories and biographies, we will do extensive research in primary source material. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will consider whether and how the 1980s are coming into view as history. Conventional wisdom views the 1980s as being defined by selfishness, greed, and materialism, but that decade also saw society engaged in serious debates about individual and social responsibility, the relationship between the state and society, and about America's role in the world. Understanding this era involves tackling broader questions about liberalism, conservatism, the welfare state, the cold war, globalization, the presidency, social movements, identity politics, popular culture, religion, and the media in modern U.S. history. This course will address some of these questions, examine the varieties of ways in which individuals and social groups conceived and reconceived their personal and political identities, and explore various methods used to assess contemporary history. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will tackle one of the most hotly debated topics in American history: the significance of the frontier to the development of North America. The course will have two core themes: the history and historiography of the early American frontier and the various conceptions of the frontier in popular culture and works of fiction. It will explore the changing nature of the frontier (and scholarly interpretations of it) in early American history, tracing expansion, development, and conflict from its earliest occurrences in Virginia and New England to the Mexican-American War of 1846. The course will be interdisciplinary in nature with readings and assignments ranging from scholarly writings to fictional works and from contemporary movies to primary sources. This approach will help address questions that historians and the public alike have struggled to answer: What was life really like on a frontier? How do popular conceptions comport with historical realities of frontier life? What exactly did the frontier mean to American history? [ more ]

Not offered this year

The politics surrounding the environment today are a super-heated source of conflict, at the same time that most opinion polls show that Americans widely embrace many environmental protections. While environmental concerns have long been a part of local politics in America, this course will largely explore the emergence and prominence of environmental issues in national politics from the first organized conservation efforts in the late nineteenth century to the present-day concerns with the global environment. Throughout the course, we will investigate both how changes in the environment have shaped American politics and how political decisions have altered the American, as well as the global, environment, with particular attention to which groups of people have had, or have not had, access to political processes and institutions. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Over the course of American history both the experience of childhood and our understandings of childhood have changed radically. Children have been bought and sold as slaves, hanged as convicted witches, and purchased slaves themselves. A century ago many children were sent "out to work" at ages that our society now defines as too young even to be left alone in the house. Common experiences of modern middle-class American childhood--summer camp, secondary school, and organized youth sports teams--are recent additions to American life. Through reading works of history and autobiography we will explore American childhood and what attitudes toward specific groups of children reveals about American society. This course is an EDI course; as such, we will consistently study groups of children that differ by race and class. In addition, we will interrogate the category of childhood and debate its universality and usefulness. Does the experience of childhood help to "unify" diverse groups of people? [ more ]

Not offered this year

Sex is often thought of as an unchanging need, behavior, or instinct--a form of experience without history. And yet even in the recent past, sexual desires, acts, identities, attitudes, and technologies have undergone profound transformations. This course explores those transformations, tracing the shifting and contested meanings and experiences of sex and sexuality from the pre-colonial period to the present, and examining how and why sexuality has become so central to identities, culture, politics, and history. To understand how sexuality has been regulated by the state and what sexuality has meant to ordinary Americans in the past, we will use a wide range of primary sources, including as private letters, law cases, photographs, films, and music. Many of the topics are relevant to contemporary public debates, including controversies over censorship, sexual violence, gay and lesbian sexualities, transgender identities and politics, abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases. [ more ]

Not offered this year

As slaves and free women, activists, domestics, artists and writers, African Americans have played exciting and often unexpected roles in U.S. political, social, and cultural history. In this course we will examine black women's lives from the earliest importation of slaves from Africa and the Caribbean through to the expansion of slavery, the Civil War, freedom, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movements, and up to the present day. Consistent themes we will explore are the significance of gender in African American history and the changing roles and public perceptions of black women both inside and outside the black community. We will read and discuss a combination of primary and secondary sources; we will also consider music, art, and literature, as well as more standard "historical" texts. This course meets the requirements of the Exploring Diversity Initiative in that it focuses on empathetic understanding, power and privilege, especially in relation to class, gender, and race within a U.S. context. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will focus on the early history of Chinese and Japanese immigrants and their descendents in the United States. We will first look at the immigration patterns of these two Asian groups to the United States, how they made a living here, and how other Americans reacted to their presence. From there, the course will take an in-depth look at the anti-Asian movement in this country which culminated in the prohibition of most Chinese immigrants from entering the country and later, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. This course fulfills the Exploring Diversity Initiative requirement because it examines the history of the two Asian immigrant groups of this time period and their relationship to each other and to other ethno-racial groups, all within the context of American history from the Antebellum period through World War II. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Since 1965, the Asian-American community has increased in number and diversity. This course will examine the Asian diaspora since 1965 in light of events in both Asia and the United States and how Asians have come to populate the American landscape in terms of immigration and adjustment patterns, Asian-American identity and politics, and the Asian presence in American popular culture. Readings will include oral histories, novels, and contemporary historical and sociological studies of the Asian-American experience. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course examines the impact of the global economy on Latinas from 1945 to the present, including Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican women, as well as more recent immigrants from Central and South American countries. Using the garment industry as an example of a labor intensive industry that has gone global, we ask questions regarding the impact on Latinas in their countries of origin and in the United States. What impact has the global economy and economic development had on Latinas' work and their households in their countries of origin? How have economic changes and government policies fostered Latinas' migrations? How have Latinas been incorporated into the changing U.S. economy? How have Latinas confronted the challenges created by a globalizing economy? We will also explore the migration and the experiences of Latina domestics and farm workers, past and present. Focusing on the experiences of Latinas as they become racialized populations in the United States, this EDI course explores the impact of dominant U.S. hierarchies of race, gender and class on their economic incorporation, as well as the myriad ways in which they confront, negotiate, and at times challenge those dominant U.S. hierarchies. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course examines the Cold War from its origins in World War II to its end with the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991. Lectures, readings, and discussions will explore how and why the Cold War began, why it continued, what characterized it, how its foci changed over time, and how and why it ended. We will pay particular attention to the ideological, diplomatic, technological, and military competitions that marked the bipolar Soviet-American rivalry. We will also explore the collapse of the European imperial order and the resulting process of Third World decolonization, which was a major factor in shaping, perpetuating, and arguably ending the Cold War. Sources for the course will include primary documents, scholarly books and articles on a variety of international Cold War topics, and documentary and feature film clips. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course explores the Vietnam Wars from the perspectives of various Vietnamese, French, and American agents, and addresses the roles played by other international actors. Lectures, readings, films, and discussions will place the Vietnam Wars in the broad context of the Cold War and the post-World War II wave of decolonization, as well as the specific contexts of Vietnamese, French, and American history, politics, and culture. It will address everything from Cold War geopolitical dynamics to the experiences of anti-war protestors and soldiers on patrol. Students will read a number of scholarly texts, primary sources, memoirs, and novels. The course will also be accompanied by a mini-film series. [ more ]

Not offered this year

How did Germany, Italy, and Japan deal with the economic, political, and social crises of the 1930s? In what ways did each of these three countries navigate the economic depression, challenges to democracy, and ascendance of totalitarianism that marked this pivotal and transformative decade? This course will take a transnational approach to such questions, examining various aspects of the politics, economy, society, and culture of the 1930s in Germany, Italy, and Japan. It will explore the origins and rise of Italian fascism, German National Socialism, and Japanese militarism; the political cultures of charisma, violence, terror, collaboration, and resistance; racism and anti-Semitism; and fascist aesthetics. We will also consider how these phenomena shaped, and were shaped by, the nature of everyday life in this decade with particular attention to issues of religion, family, and gender. To conclude the semester, we will discuss how the 1930s have been remembered, and whether we can speak of fascisms at work in the present day. This course will fulfill the requirements of the Exploring Diversity Initiative by comparing how global frustrations and challenges played out both similarly and differently in Germany, Italy, and Japan; and how these countries that would become the axis powers negotiated their particular encounters with fascism. [ more ]

Not offered this year

We often tend to think of warfare in the classic terms described by Clausewitz: states waging armed conflict against other states using uniformed armed forces that are distinct from non-combatant civilian populations. Throughout history, however, we may also encounter many instances of asymmetric conflict within states, colonies, and other political entities, involving combatants who are often indistinguishable from the general population and whose objectives are often unlike those of states: Peasant revolts, revolutions, wars of independence or national liberation, and other forms of resistance and civil insurgency pit the relatively weak against the power of the state and may succeed because, to use Mao's metaphor, the insurgents move among the people like fish in water. The close relationship between insurgent fighters and the supporting population makes the social structure, social values, social institutions--in short, the culture--of the society particularly relevant to understanding the nature of a given asymmetric conflict. In this course we will use theoretical and analytical concepts from anthropology, sociology, history, and political philosophy to examine asymmetric conflicts of the twentieth century and the present day. The course will be divided into three parts: in the first we will explore some of the theoretical literature on violence and warfare as well as some of the basic literature on tribal and peasant society, peasant revolts, wars of national liberation, guerilla warfare, and insurgencies. The second part of the course will be devoted to presentations prepared by small groups of students on case studies, e.g., the Hukbalahap insurgency in the Philippines, the communist revolutions of China, Cuba, and Malaysia, wars of national liberation such as those in Algeria and Vietnam, and other ongoing civil conflicts such as the Palestinian intifadah and "ethnic cleansing" in the Balkans. The final portion of the course is devoted to an in-depth study of Iraq following the American invasion and to a consideration of the evolving nature of asymmetric conflict in a globalizing world. [ more ]

Not offered this year

In the late-eighteenth century, two revolutions burst forth-they were the most striking and consequential events in modern history, decisive turning-points that transformed society and politics. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the overarching ideas and visions of the sister revolutions. Through correspondence, political essays and speeches, we will seek to understand the fundamental theories, goals and accomplishments of both revolutions. Who were their leaders and according to what principles did they govern? Did revolutionaries in France find a model in America for their Revolution? What is the meaning of the "Terror" in France and what light does it shed on modern revolutionary movements? Why was the American Revolution followed by decades of stability while the French Revolution bequeathed a turbulent succession of failed governments? Have America and France continued to conceive of themselves as revolutionary nations? We will read works by Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams, Rousseau, Robespierre, Saint-Just, Tocqueville, Burke and others. [ more ]

Not offered this year

What is the relationship between politics and religion? How do kings legitimate their rule? Why did the ancient Greeks and Romans worship their emperors as gods? This course examines the origins and development of divine kingship in the ancient Mediterranean from its earliest beginnings in Pharaonic Egypt to the reign of the Christian Roman Emperors in the fourth century CE. We will address the various symbolic strategies employed by ancient kings to project their own divinity. These include portraiture, panegyric poetry, ritual processions, royal autobiography and monumental architecture, e.g., the Great Pyramids in Egypt and the Pantheon in Rome. We will also study the reception of royal art and ideology among the king's subjects. Special attention will be paid to the role of the Roman emperor-cult in shaping social, political and religious identity in the Roman Empire. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will explore Europe's tumultuous relationship with North Africa, focusing on French and British colonialism and its aftermath in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics to be covered include Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Anglo-French rivalry over the Canal and the Suez crisis of 1956, the Algerian Revolution and the anti-Islamic coup in 1991-2, and the migration of North Africans and Indian/Pakistani Muslims to Europe in the post 1945 period. Racial tensions, battles over headscarves, French hip-hop music, and Jewish-Muslim relations in contemporary France are among the topics to be explored with an eye to examining how Europe is coming to terms with its new multicultural identity. By comparing and contrasting Muslim and European societies, and by showing the ways in which colonial power and racial privilege affected these cultures, this course meets the Exploring Diversity Initiative requirement as it seeks to develop an empathetic understanding of the position of Muslims in Europe today. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Although Africa has come to be known as a continent that relies heavily on foreign aid, that aid rarely reaches ordinary people. In fact, recent studies have suggested that foreign aid has not helped develop Africa. In spite of the staggering problems that ordinary Africans face, many see Africa--now more than ever before--as a place bursting with promise and opportunity, even if that opportunity may require challenges to conventional economic and political thinking. Increasingly, an innovative class of entrepreneurs is emerging in Africa that is hustling in the formal and informal economy in order to accumulate capital. This seminar will trace the social and cultural history of entrepreneurship in Africa from the 19th century to the present. We will explore the individual journeys of several entrepreneurs, the values and objectives they nurtured, the changes in the strategy and structure of the businesses they created, and the dynamic environments in which they each lived and worked. The course will also examine the long-term impact of entrepreneurial innovation and market evolution on African communities and governments. Readings will include histories, biographies, autobiographies, ethnographies, and novels. [ more ]

Not offered this year

What role does ancient history play in modern societies? What is the role of myths and fables in the creation of national identities? This course will address the use and abuse of ancient history and archaeology in the modern Middle East. The first part will focus on some of the primary ancient texts, with special focus on Ferdowsi's epic Shahnameh (Book of Kings); we will compare its themes and world view with those of the Icelandic sagas that share many similarities with the Iranian canon. In the second part of the course we will explore how ancient history, archaeology, and epic texts helped forge national identities in the modern Middle East. Our primary attention will be Iran and its relationship with the Shahnameh. But we will also consider the relationship of Biblical history to the establishment of modern Israel and Israeli nationalism, how contemporary Egypt relates to its Pharaonic past, the obsession with pre-Islamic history in modern Turkey, and the relationship between archaeological artifacts and ancient Mesopotamian history and 20th century Iraqi politics. Because of its comparative focus, this course is part of the Exploring Diversity Initiative. [ more ]

Not offered this year

As the expression "Chindia" in the title of a recent book suggests, contemporary commentators find it difficult to resist conflating the rise of China and India as economic powers in the early 21st century. There are, however, both significant parallels between the two national histories and important distinctions that shape their contemporary viewpoints and futures. This seminar will examine various historical dimensions of entrepreneurial activity in China and India from the early modern period through the twentieth century. It will focus on topics such as indigenous forms of merchant organization, the impact of nineteenth-century imperialism, the adoption of Western business forms and methods, and the relationship of entrepreneurial elites to the modern state. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The word "terrorism" entered the English language in 1795, an import from France that referred to the use of violence and intimidation by the ruling party during one phase of the French Revolution. Over the ensuing two centuries, terrorism has come to refer to the employment of violence, not only as a means of governing, but also and more often as a means of undermining the authority of those in power. This seminar examines a series of episodes of terrorism in Europe from the "Terror" of the French Revolution to the late twentieth century. It also explores various interpretations of the legitimacy and ethics of political violence and the phenomenon of terrorism in different historical contexts. In addition to common readings, students will conduct independent research on some aspect of the history of terrorism that will culminate in a 20-page paper. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This seminar studies the movements and themes of Russian thought from the Enlightenment to 1917, situating works of Russian philosophy and literature, when appropriate, within the broader context of Western intellectual traditions. We will explore how ideas about human nature and society inspired and gave meaning to political reform, terrorism, and revolution in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and ponder their relevance in Russia today. The course covers themes such as the individual and society, morality and love, and time and eschatology, as well as topics like: the problem of national identity, conservatism and radicalism, the forging of the "intelligentsia" tradition, the commercialization of culture, and revolutionary language in 1917. Readings include texts by Pushkin, Belinsky, Dostoevsky, Herzen, Tolstoy, Solvyov, Berdiaev, as well as modernist works (Bely, Blok, Ivanov) and Marxist writings (Plekhanov, Bogdanov, Lenin). We also will read secondary historical literature, watch films, and listen to music in order to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural environment in which our primary sources were written and the ways social ideals and types were disseminated. [ more ]

Not offered this year

To historians, activists, and other observers, Latin America has often appeared either a racial paradise--where racial mixture and the absence of a "color bar" led to more racially "democratic" societies--or a racial hell--where the seeming fluidity of race relations masked real, violent discrimination. This seminar will explore the ways in which such views were both right and wrong in their judgments and the conditions that made such depictions possible and politically significant. It will explore the historical roots of race relations and politics in Latin America from the beginnings of slavery through its abolition; the changing constructions of indigenous ethnicities; and on to the emergence of new racial identities and political movements in Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, and throughout the region. Concerned with radically different understandings of racial politics than those in the United States, this course fulfills the requirements of the Exploring Diversity Initiative. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This senior Africana capstone course/History seminar explores the central role of Haiti in the American and the transnational pan-African imaginations. As home to the world's only successful slave rebellion, Haiti has been a role model of tremendous importance, stimulating slave rebellions in America and throughout the Caribbean, playing an instrumental role in the liberation of South America from the Spaniards, and inspiring decolonization movements in Africa and the Caribbean in the 20th century. Not surprisingly, it has had tumultuous relations with both its colonial occupier, France, and its most powerful neighbor, the United States. From isolation and sanctions, to occupation and U.S. supported dictatorship, this seminar traces the historical silencing suffered by Haiti at the hands of western historians, the vivid images Haitians evoke in the American imagination--from boat people and carriers of Aids, to practitioners of voodoo and creators of a uniquely African-Caribbean art--and the role of the French and American governments in the recent coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Film, dance, literature, music, history, anthropology and religion will be explored in this interdisciplinary course, with an eye towards helping students produce an original work of their own as the final project. By examining Haiti's fraught racial relations--particularly between Haitian blacks and mulattoes--and her early and unique black power movement--noirisme--this class fulfills the requirements of the Exploring Diversity Initiative. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course will use three narrative genres--testimonios (memoirs), historical novels, and travel accounts--to explore the experiences and cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As genres of literature and sources of historical writing, testimonios, novels, and travel accounts are, of course, uneven in quality and utility. Yet, even as we analyze how issues of memory, perspective, and misrepresentation complicate the use of these types of sources for historical inquiries, we will also explore what they reveal about ordinary Latin American and Caribbean citizens. HIST/AFR 400 will unpack what meanings readers can glean from these narratives and how the personal can be political. We will pay special attention to the methodology of reading non-traditional sources and learn to read these narratives for insights into the daily experiences, social hierarchies, gender norms, and family relations of the region. For the final research project, students will select one narrative to use as a starting point of analysis for a significant historical event or theme. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This seminar explores the legal history of the United States as a gendered system. It examines how women have shaped the meanings of American citizenship through pursuit of political rights and obligations such as suffrage, jury duty, and military service; how those political struggles have varied across race, religion, and class; and how the legal system has shaped gender relations for both women and men through regulation of such issues as marriage, divorce, work, reproduction, and the family. While we will read some court cases, the focus of the seminar is on the broader relationship between law and society. Readings will address not only the history of statutory law, and of the lawsuits and trials testing those laws, but also the social history of the impact of the law and the political history of efforts to change laws. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Between 1865 and 1965 white Americans developed and deployed a set of practices that sanctioned racial discrimination. Jim Crow--as this American system of apartheid was called--is one of the least studied aspects of U. S. History. This course explores the law, cultural, economics, and politics of Jim Crow; the dynamics of racialized power; and the roles of media and history in sustaining racial inequality. Informed by how segregation operated to construct and sustain differences, it qualifies as an Exploring Diversity Initiative course by linking the issue of diversity to the issue of power relations, investigating how American institutions enabled and maintained racial disparities despite constitutional guarantees, and considering how the legacy of racial discrimination affects current domestic issues like public education, affirmative action, and the persistence of poverty. In addition to covering race theory in historical context, the course suggests that current scientific ideas about race--that there are no consequential biological differences among humans--is a recent discovery. Finally, the course examines the discrete development of black communities, institutions, politics, and racial destiny. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Since the 1970s, policymakers, scholars, the media, and popular discourses have used the umbrella terms "Hispanic" and "Latina/o" to refer to Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans and more recent immigrants from Central and South American countries. As a form of racial/ethnic categorization, however, these umbrella terms can mask widely divergent migration histories and experiences in the United States. In this course, we develop theoretical perspectives and comparative analyses to untangle a complicated web of similarities and differences among Latino groups. How important were their time of arrival and region of settlement? How do we explain differences in socioeconomic status? How fruitful and appropriate are comparative analyses with other racial/ethnic groups, such as African Americans or European immigrants? Along the way, we explore the emergence of Latina/o Studies as an interdisciplinary and comparative field of study, as well as methods used in Latino and Latina history, specifically oral histories, government documents, newspapers, and interdisciplinary approaches. In this EDI course, we ask whether the history and processes of racialization in the United States has created similarities and/or differences in each group's experiences, and to what extent the field of Latina/o Studies offers an alternative to racial biases embedded in the dominant academic discourses. [ more ]

Not offered this year

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union set in motion dramatic changes to the natural and built environments of many nations between 1945 and 1991. Nuclear test and missile launch sites, naval installations, military production operations, and border securitizations are just a few of the most obvious ways in which the stand-off between the two countries altered rural and urban landscapes. But one can also see the Cold War as setting in motion less immediately direct but nonetheless profound changes to the way that many people saw and planned for the environments around them, as evidenced, for instance, by the rise of the American suburb, the reconstruction of postwar Europe, and agricultural and industrial initiatives in many developing nations. We will begin this seminar by exploring several distinct "Cold War landscapes" in the United States, then move on to examining others in Europe and the Soviet Union. We will spend the final weeks of the semester discussing examples from other parts of the world. Our approach to our topics will be interdisciplinary, and students are welcome to write their research papers on any geographical area of the world. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Are Latin American societies really post-racial? Since the period of independence and abolition, many Latin American intellectuals and policy makers have made such claims. Yet, others, including many Afro-Latin American activists have challenged this view. This course will examine the centrality of discourses about race in Latin America by reading both classic works such as Gilberto Freyre, The Master and the Slaves (1933) and Jose Vasconcelos, The Cosmic Race (1926) along with the newest transnational scholarship on the spread of racial ideologies throughout the Americas. We will also explore how and why some 20th century revolutionary movements chose to incorporate promises of racial equality in their platforms when others did not. In doing so, the course seeks to answer questions such as: Why has racism persisted in Latin America despite political revolution? What historically have been the benefits and challenges of post-racial discourses? And how have AFRo-Latinos and indigenous populations been both incorporated and excluded from Latin American nations? [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course examines the form and function of African-American historical narratives with attention to written texts pertaining to the enslavement and freedom of African Americans during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The lack of documentary material pertaining to this history has made the task of reading and interpreting African-American experience particularly challenging. By crossing generic and disciplinary boundaries, students will take up the task of reading African-American history while attending to the difficulties such a task raises. To do so, we will read both historical and fictional narratives that raise explicitly the problems of writing African-American history. In the first part of the course, we will discuss selected texts (fiction, narrative, and historiography) from the antebellum era in order to schematize the literature of slavery. In the second half of the course, we will take up the discourse of freedom that followed the Emancipation Proclamation. Readings will include works by Booker T. Washington, James Weldon Johnson, Charles Chesnutt, Harriet Wilson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Sutton Griggs. In addition, we will read historiography on African American slavery, freedom, and urbanization. [ more ]

Not offered this year

This course examines the ideas of major figures in the progressive tradition of African political thought. This emancipatory tradition emerged in societies shaped by racial, cultural, and economic exploitation, forcing both African men and women to address questions of identity and political action. Most members of this tradition also considered the ways in which uneven power relations within African communities shaped the personal and political landscapes. The Africans we will examine in this course drew on resources as varied as Pan-Africanism, Nationalism, Classical Liberalism, Social Democracy, Marxism, Black Consciousness, Negritude and Gender theory, yet each participated, at least implicitly, in a common African intellectual project: the meaning of Africa and of being African. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Although the Victorian era has traditionally been considered a psycho-social model of emotional inhibition and sexual prudery, recent studies have demonstrated that this characterization grossly oversimplifies the attitudes toward emotional and sexual life held by Europeans and Americans in the second half of the nineteenth century. This tutorial will investigate professional and popular ideas about human psychology during the Victorian era. We will attempt to define and understand what people thought and felt about insanity, the unconscious, dreams, sexuality, the relationship between natural impulses and civilized society, child development, the psychological differences between men and women, and the relationship between the physical and the psychical. The course will concentrate on the close reading and analysis of primary documents from the era. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Over six decades after Japan's surrender, the issue of how to remember the Pacific War continues to raise controversy both within Japan and between Japan, Korea, and China. This tutorial will consider how individuals, groups of individuals, and nations construct and reconstruct historical memories by examining how various Japanese, as well as Koreans and Chinese, have sought to remember the Pacific War. The course will begin with a discussion of theoretical writings on the social and political construction of historical memory and the distinctions between official, collective, and historical memory. Then we will consider Japan's unique position as both wartime aggressor and victim, focusing on how the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Occupation, and the Tokyo war crimes trial have shaped how the war has been remembered. We will also deal with how the war has been portrayed in literature, film, and other media. Finally, the course will explore how Japanese, Korean, and Chinese memories of the war continue to influence relationships within East Asia. We will examine the mnemonic sites contested by Chinese, Korean, and Japanese memories by discussing issues pertaining to military comfort women, the Nanking massacre, Unit 731, history textbooks, and Yasukuni shrine. Themes will include how the construction of memory is linked to the nation, how the passage of time influences the construction of historical memory, and the dilemmas of coming to terms with pasts contested both within and between countries. [ more ]

Not offered this year

Why have Islamist movements become so powerful in the last 30 years? What are their real political goals? Is political Islam a rejection of modernity, a reaction to Western culture, or an ideology aimed at specific political objectives? Does the rise of political Islam herald an inevitable "clash of civilizations" with the West, or can Islam and the West peacefully co-exist? Questions such as these have become increasingly urgent since September 11. This course will examine the emergence, development, and substantive content of Islamist political movements in the twentieth century. The tutorial focuses upon the emergence of Islamist movements within distinctive political, economic, social and cultural conditions in the Middle East. It will juxtapose analytical readings on specific states or aspects of the Islamic trend with the writings of Islamists and other primary sources. We will look both at Islamist movements active in single states, the wider phenomenon of transnational Islamist politics, and the theoretical and philosophical issues raised by the rise of Islamist movements, to consider both similarities and diversity in Islamic politics. The object of the course is to understand Islamist movements on their own terms, and to be able to make informed judgments about the future of international politics. Because of its comparative approach and its concerns with power and privilege this course is part of the Exploring Diversity Initiative. [ more ]

Not offered this year

For much of Latin America's postcolonial history, political and business elites in the United States have viewed the region as a source of revolutionary threats. Too often histories of actual revolutionary movements and the ideas they promulgated have followed either the self-serving narratives that the revolutionaries have laid out or the similarly limited stories composed by their opponents. This tutorial, by contrast, will delve into the complex, contingent, and at times counterintuitive history of revolutionary thought in modern Latin America. Our readings and discussions will carry us from the nineteenth century to the rise of the "New Left" in the last few years. Throughout the course our principle goal will be to examine the internal logic of the most influential programs of revolutionary thought as well as their relationship to circumstances external to them, both in their home regions and globally. At the same time, we will consider the human or moral promise and price of revolutionary options: did the proposed or alleged aims of revolutionary ideals justify the costs they would impose? This course will fulfill the requirements of the Exploring Diversity Initiative by comparing and analyzing divergent theorizations of history and society, as well as the contexts in which such theories emerged and to which we might or might not choose to apply them. A central aim of the course will be to compare the formation of revolutionary initiatives across national and chronological boundaries. [ more ]