History Courses for Spring 2021

Dear Students,

Read on if you’d like to hear more about spring courses in history. And let me add: history has never been more relevant than today, in the face of the global pandemic of COVID-19, the challenges of our current politics, and the ongoing movement for racial justice. History provides perspective, helps us understand different cultures, reveals how things got to be the way they are, and shows us how change happens.

Whether you’re interested in a history major or minor or adding a course to fill out your gen ed requirements, we hope you’ll take a look at the courses on offer in history. There are some amazing courses here: the history of Islam, Chinese medicine, rulers and rebels in European empires, documentary filmmaking, plagues in history, Black resistance, the Civil War and American memory, the history of anti-Semitism, and much more. A few of these (such as the writing-intensive HIST 201’s) require a previous course in history. But most are open to students with nothing more than an interest in the topic.

See below for more information. We’ve had a couple time changes, indicated here and on Scotweb. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

All the best, gks

HIST-10103 Hist of Afr-American Education (1 Credits)

M/W/F 9:15 AM – 10:05 AM
Prof. Maurice Adkins

HIST 10103. INTRO: HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN EDUCATION AND THE STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE From clandestine education during the Antebellum era to the student movement for black studies programs in the 1960s and 1970s, education has been at the center of social and political reform in the United States, particularly in the African American community. However, the structure of African American education has been influenced and shaped by several debates: public vs. private, masculine vs. feminine, secular vs. non-secular, and liberal arts vs. industrial, which has, for better or worse, shaped the black experience. The goal of the seminar is to introduce the history of African American education and unpack various events and perspectives in the community to show not only how education influenced their lives, but how African Americans used their institutions as workshops for economic, political and social equity. A variety of topics will be covered including gender, education, race, religion, social movements, policies, and politics. Primary and secondary sources, as well as movies, images, and short films, will be discussed in this course. Students are expected to complete an independent project in this course.

HIST-10176 History of Islam (1 Credits)

T/Th 9:45 AM – 11:05 AM
Prof. Ibra Sene

INTRO: HISTORY OF ISLAM. This course surveys the development of Islam’s complex history, from its birth in the 7th century to its global expansion today. We will examine the ways in which language, time, space, ethnicity, social situation, and gender, among other factors, affected the history of Islam. In the meantime, we will show that the diversity of Muslim societies did not exclude the existence of global networks connecting Muslims around the world, fostering deep commonness across space and time. [global] [C, HSS, R]

HIST-10184 Chinese Medicine (1 Credits)

M/W/F 10:30 AM – 11:20 AM
Prof. Margaret Wee Siang Ng

HIST 10184. Intro: Chinese Medicine This class will be an introduction to the history of Chinese medicine. We will explore its roots, and how it changed over time. We will examine canonical texts and ideas, and the multiple ways they have been reshaped in modern and contemporary periods. [Global] [HSS]

HIST-10187 History of Native America (1 Credits)

M/W/F 9:15 AM – 10:05 AM
Prof. Jordan Biro Walters

HIST 10187. INTRO: HISTORY OF NATIVE AMERICA This course focuses on some of the major issues Native American nations and tribes face as they seek to assert rights of self-determination in the second half of the twentieth century and start of the twenty-first century. It provides exposure to many Native peoples’ identities and ways of life and will explore themes of sovereignty, activism and reform, health and social welfare, art, culture and language, religious freedom, education and land and water rights. [C, HSS]

HIST-10600 Western Civ to 1600 (1 Credits)

T/Th 9:45 AM – 11:05 AM
Prof. Madonna Hettinger

HIST 10600. WESTERN CIVILIZATION TO 1600 A survey of the rise of western civilization to 1600. European history. [Pre-1800] [HSS]

HIST-11100 US Experience Since 1877 (1 Credits)

Note New Time! T/Th 2:00 PM – 3:20 AM
Prof. Julia Haager

HIST 11100. THE UNITED STATES EXPERIENCE SINCE 1877 A survey of United States history from 1877 to the present. [HSS]

HIST-20101 History of the News (1 Credits)

M/W/F 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM
Max 20
Prof. Greg Shaya

HIST 20101. CRAFT OF HISTORY: HISTORY OF NEWS This course serves two functions. It is, first of all, an introduction to the history of the news in Western societies – from the newsbooks and ballads of the sixteenth century to the newspaper, broadcast news, and the internet. At the same time, this course is a practical introduction to the critical skills of the historian – including the analysis of primary sources, historiography, historical research and writing, and historical argumentation. Prerequisite: one course in History or permission of instructor. [HSS, W]

HIST-20104 Latin America & the US (1 Credits)

M/W/F 9:15 AM – 10:05 AM
Max 20
Prof. Katie Holt

HIST 20104. THE CRAFT OF HISTORY: LATIN AMERICA & THE UNITED STATES This course is an introduction to the intimate but often conflictual relationship between the U.S. and Latin America from the early 19th century to the present. In addition to case studies drawn from U.S. relations with Mexico and Cuba, we will emphasize the evolving cultural, political, and economic roles of Latino communities in the U.S.. As a HIST 201 course, this seminar is a practical introduction of the critical skills of the historian – including the analysis of primary sources, historiography, historical research and writing, and historical argumentation. Prerequisite: one course in History or permission of instructor.  [C, HSS, W, D]

HIST-20131 Rulers & Rebels in Eur Empires (1 Credits)

M/W/F 11:45 AM – 12:35 PM
Max 20
Prof. Christina Welsch

HIST 20131. CRAFT OF HISTORY: RULERS AND REBELS IN EUROPEAN EMPIRES This course offers a critical examination of the European imperial expansion across the globe from the sixteenth century to the process of decolonization in the twentieth. We will explore the structures and ideologies through which these empires were constructed and will pay equal attention to those who resisted and challenged imperial rule. The class also serves to introduce students to critical tools of historical analysis, including historical research and historiography. Prerequisite: one course in History or permission of instructor. [HSS, W, D]

HIST-20201 Wrkshp: Historical Documentary (0.25 Credits)

Note New Time! T/Th 12:45 PM – 1:35 PM
Max 12
Prof. Greg Shaya

HIST 20201. HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING This course will provide a theoretical foundation and practical training in a historical methodology. Prerequisite: one course in History or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit as offerings vary. This section focuses on the theory and practice of the historical documentary. We will study some landmarks of documentary history. We will examine practical considerations of documentary filmmaking and video production, working on lighting, composition, sound, software, and editing. We will work together to produce a series of short documentaries. A quarter-credit course, we will meet for about two hours a week for eight weeks of the semester. NOTE: Due to its partial credit (.25 course credit), the course does not fulfill the requirement for one course in Category II of the Film Studies minor.

HIST-21600 Modern Latin America (1 Credits)

M/W/F 11:45 AM – 12:35 PM
Prof. Katie Holt

HIST 21600. MODERN LATIN AMERICA Latin American history from the 1830s to the present. The course will emphasize the difficult problems encountered by Latin American nations forced to face the demands of the modern world with political, economic, and social institutions developed in a colonial past. [C, HSS, D, GE]

HIST-22100 The Modern British Empire (1 Credits)

M/W/F 3:30 PM – 4:20 PM
Prof. Christina Welsch

HIST 22100. THE MODERN BRITISH EMPIRE At its peak, the British Empire ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. In both overt and insidious ways, the institutions, relationships, and ideas established in the British Empire continue to shape the world today. This course explores the emergence and persistence of that empire from the 1700s to the present. It focuses on the lived experience of those who created the empire and of those who lived within it, examinging the way that changing conceptions of race, gender, and national belonging shaped those lives. The class requires no prior familiarity with British history. [HSS, D, GE]

HIST-23200 Africa Coloniz/Globalization (1 Credits)

T/Th 2:00 PM – 3:20 PM
Prof. Ibra Sene

HIST 23200. AFRICA FROM COLONIZATION TO GLOBALIZATION: With the official abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade in the early 19th century, the encounter between Africa and Europe took a new and dramatic turn, with the beginning of the “legitimate trade.” This course will investigate how this change paved the way to the conquest and colonization of most of the continent by countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal. We are also going to examine the important role played by Africans during the two World Wars, the severe impact of the Great Depression on them, and the origins of the nationalist movement that led to the end of colonialism in the 1960s. We will then turn to the ways in which the combined effects of the Cold War, neocolonialism, and the failure of many of the first postcolonial leaders created a deep sentiment of disillusionment among millions of Africans and ushered into a tumultuous period that literally engulfed the continent from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Starting in the 1990s, strong civil society groups began to emerge and, against all odds in Africa and beyond, pushed forcefully for Africans to define their own place in the world. [Global] [C, HSS]

HIST-23500 Modern China (1 Credits)

M/W/F 9:15 AM – 10:05 AM
Prof. Margaret Wee Siang Ng

HIST 23500. MODERN CHINA Chinese history from 1644 to the present: the modernization of traditional institutions in response to the foreign challenge in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; rebellion, reform, nationalism, and communism as components of a Chinese revolution in process. [Global] [C, HSS, D, SJ, GE]

HIST-27511 Plagues in History (1 Credits)

T/Th 2:00 PM – 3:20 PM
Prof. Madonna Hettinger

HIST 27511. PLAGUES IN HISTORY Some of the most powerful forces in history are the ones we cannot see. As historical actors, bacterial and viral agents have shown little respect for national boundaries. This course looks at three major epidemics in history, bubonic plague, smallpox, and influenza. Through an analysis of primary sources we explore the challenges these diseases posed to belief systems, social relationships, and economic structures in both a local and a global context. This is a writing intensive course and specifically addresses the craft of reading and writing as a historian. Prerequisite: 1 course in History; or permission of instructor. [HSS]

HIST-27524 Hist of Black Resistance (1 Credits)

M/W/F 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM
Prof. Maurice Adkins

HIST 27524. History of the Black Resistance in the US This course highlights the significance of resistance movements from the slave uprisings of the colonial era to the present-day racial justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd. The goal of the seminar is to introduce the History of Resistance and unpack various events and perspectives of the African American community to show not only how racism influenced black resistance, but how the continued ignoring of this issue further marginalizes people of color. A variety of topics will be covered to give context to the movements such as gender, education, race, religion, social movements, policies, and politics. Additionally, primary, and secondary sources, movies, images, and short films will be discussed in this course. Students are expected to complete an independent project in this course.

HIST-30156 Gender Commemoration Civil War (1 Credits)

M/W/F 2:15 PM – 3:05 PM
Max 15
Prof. Jordan Biro Walters

HIST 30156. Seminar: Gender & Commemoration in the Civil War More words have been written and published about the American Civil War than any other event in the history of the United States. This course will examine why. It will focus on the central themes of freedom, equality, self-determination, racial justice and injustice, economic and class conflict, and constructions of gender and sexual power. The course will also explore the power of memory, and the conflicts over commemoration and memorialization, that have shaped the cultural meanings of the Civil War Era and how they continue to influence American politics and culture today.

HIST-30157 War & Memory in Contemp Europe (1 Credits)

M/W 3:30 PM – 4:50 PM
Max 15
Prof. Greg Shaya

HIST 30157. Seminar: War & Memory in Contemp Europe This seminar explores the ways Europeans have remembered (and forgotten) the traumas of the twentieth century: war, genocide, dictatorship, and ethnic cleansing. We will draw upon historical works, oral histories, memoirs, films, and novels to understand the struggle over the meaning of these events. The course is organized around a series of conflicts and their retellings: the First World War, the Holodomor (the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine), the Second World War and the Holocaust, the Algerian War of Independence, the Francoist Dictatorship in Spain, and the Yugoslav Wars. We will center on themes of collective trauma, individual versus national memories, the role of amnesia and fantasy in collective memory, the ongoing reckoning with colonialism, racism, and anti-Semitism in Europe, and the politics of the past. [HSS]

RELS-26714 Jews, Judaism, and Jew Haters (1 Credits)

Cross-listed in History
M/W/F 9:15 AM – 10:05 AM
Prof. Joan Friedman

RELS-26714 Jews, Judaism, and Jew Haters This course examines the dynamics of the modern Jewish experience to understand how the Jews’ encounter with modernity led to new forms of religious expression such as Reform and Conservative Judaism, and to new forms of secular Jewish identity, such as political and cultural Zionism – and also to a new form of Jew-hatred calling itself anti-Semitism. [R]

HIST-40100 Junior Independent Study (1 Credits)

Time by arrangement
All History Faculty

HIST 40100. JUNIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY A one-semester tutorial that focuses upon the research skills, methodology, and theoretical framework necessary for Senior Independent Study.

HIST-45100 Senior Independent Study 1 (1 Credits)

Time by arrangement
All History Faculty

HIST 45100. SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY–SEMESTER ONE The first semester of the Senior Independent Study project.

HIST-45200 Senior Independent Study 2 (1 Credits)

Time by arrangement
All History Faculty

HIST 45200. SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY–SEMESTER TWO The second semester of the Senior Independent Study project, culminating in the thesis and an oral examination.