Fall 2018
History 314.01 “The U.S. Civil War: History and Memory.”
Students in this seminar will complete major research projects about the U.S. Civil War and/or its presence in public memory. The Civil War was a major watershed event, and students will study a number of important recent trends and debates in its historiography before defining their own topics of research. We will consider new approaches to analyzing the military, economic, social, gender, and racial dimensions of the war as well as topics such as popular culture, geography, immigration, and transnational history. In addition to studying the war itself, students will also consider how Civil War commemorations continued to shape U.S. history and culture during Reconstruction and beyond. Prerequisites: HIS 100 course and one 200-level U.S. History course. 4 credits. Purcell
History 336.01 "The European Metropolis."
This seminar takes as its starting point the explosion of large cities in Europe from the mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries. As the narrative goes, parallel political and economic revolutions made possible–even inevitable–the blossoming of entirely new spaces characterized by unprecedented population density and diversity, radical shifts in architecture and infrastructure, and vertiginous social and cultural developments. We examine this phenomenon by concentrating upon the ways in which artists and intellectuals in London, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin (and occasionally elsewhere) grappled with the idea and the experience of the metropolis. Our investigations include political developments, social theory, the visual arts, film, literature, architecture, consumer culture, and music. Among the myriad of qualities and tensions inherent in the modern urban experience, we consider community and alienation, the fluidity of the self, spectacle and entertainment, disease and criminality, gender, and class. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and HIS 236, 237, 238, 239, or 241. 4 credits. Maynard
History 342.01 “Stalinism.”
This seminar will examine the political, social, and cultural history of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, with a particular focus on the 1930s. The first half of the course will feature a series of common readings on topics such as the rise of Stalin’s dictatorship, the Great Terror of the 1930s, and the drive to collectivize Soviet agriculture and industrialize the economy; we’ll discuss the nature of everyday life and social identity under Stalin, look at the impact of propaganda and revolutionary ideology on the values and mindset of the population, and debate whether Stalinism represented the continuation of the revolution or a divergence from its ideals. After looking at a set of representative primary sources (such as oral histories, memoirs, and diaries), students will then produce a research paper in the second half of the semester, delving into some aspect of Soviet society and politics under Stalin. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and HIS 242 or 244. 4 credits. Cohn
Spring 2019
History 323.01 "American Women Since WW II."
Students in this seminar will explore the history of American women since the Second World War. The postwar decades and late twentieth century witnessed enormous changes in the lives of American women, including both expanding opportunities as well as rising expectations. We will consider how American women fomented and navigated these changes, paying careful attention to the significance of race, class, sexuality, and citizenship status in shaping their experiences. Students will begin the semester by engaging in close reading of historical texts, both primary and secondary, to establish a shared foundation in the historiography of this period, in the theoretical basis of women's history as a field, and in the special considerations of doing contemporary history. Students will conclude the semester by producing an article-length research paper and a 15-minute presentation of their historical research into this era. Students will be expected to mine digital archives as well as traditional collections in order to locate sufficient primary sources for their project. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and either HIS 222 or 295: American Sexual History, or permission of the instructor. 4 credits. Lewis
History 325.01 “American Indian Reservations.”
This course examines the history of American Indian reservations from the late-nineteenth century to the present. The common readings will introduce students to the origins and major historical problems of reservation history, especially the tricky task of defining the relationship between American Indian reservations and the United States. Specifically, we will examine the end of treaty-making between the United States and Indian tribes, allotment of Indian land, federal assimilation programs, boarding schools, the meaning of U.S. citizenship for Native peoples, and the opportunities and challenges of casinos. Prerequisites: Any HIS 100 course and one 200-level history course. 4 credits. Lacson
History 330.01 “The Politics of Food Early Modern Europe.”
Through an examination of the conflicts surrounding the purchase, consumption, and production of food, as well as the processes by which food became politicized, classed, and gendered, this class offers a chronological and thematic look at the 'century of revolutions' in England beginning with Elizabeth I's ‘second reign’ in 1590 and ending with the Act of Union in 1707. Over the course of the semester, we will utilize case studies about food to explore how an early modern 'moral economy' and an ideology of governance centered on the person of the monarch gave way to a modern, commercialized economy and parliamentary politics. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and HIS 232, 233, 234, or 295 (Global Cultural Encounters). 4 credits. Chou