Spring 2025 Undergraduate Courses
Please note: dates/times/modes of instruction/ instructors are subject to change due to enrollment demands and budget.
HIST 11200: World History 1500 to the Present
Instructor: Melson, Tues/Fri 8:30 – 9:45 am
This course is a survey of world history from the 16th century until the present. Our focus will be the evolution of global connections and interactions that led to unprecedented movements of people, ideas, technologies, and microbes during this time period. As novel forms of migration and rule crossed our world, they propelled new forms of domination and resistance. We will explore how these processes impacted the causes and consequences of the slave trade, imperial domination, decolonization, and nationalism. Specific case studies will illuminate these events by exploring how global processes effected local contexts and vice-versa. Particular emphasis will be placed on how historians analyze primary source material, interpret, and debate the past. Finally, this course will reorient students away from a western perspective to highlight global and alternative histories that are often ignored within broad historical surveys.
For College: Fulfills CUNY Common Core (World Cultures).
For History Majors: New requirements: Counts as Geographic Field F: World;
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
HIST 12100: Early Modern Europe
Instructors:
Sec. 01: Melson, Tue/Fri 2:30 – 3:45 pm
Sec. 02: LeJacq, Mon/Thurs 10:00 – 11:15 am
The early modern period saw the Renaissance, the Reformations, the Age of Discoveries, the invention of print, the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Contemporary observers interpreted these events as harbingers of new times, and speculated how society should or will be organized in the future. This course reads the major transformations of early modern Europe through the lens of these utopian visions. As we will see, the expectations of contemporaries were often not realized. Yet their writings reveal how scholars, priests, newswriters and ordinary people experienced and hoped to shape the world they were living in.
For College: Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group D).
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field C: Europe; and Prior to 1815
Old requirements: Counts as European; and prior to 1815
HIST 12200 (W): 19th and 20th Century Europe
Instructor: Spritzer, Mon/Thurs 8:30 - 9:45 am
History of modern Europe between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, covering Western, Eastern Europe, and Russia. The focus of this course is upon political history but topics related to economy, culture and the arts are included as well. We start with the French Revolution of 1789 and complete the course with the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union in 1991. We will analyze how the concept of Europe changed over time; how colonies turned into nation states, and how these nations transformed during the modern era; why, how, and when some states adopted totalitarian models; and how colonialism and totalitarianism came to an end in Europe after WWII. Themes include: the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars, romanticism, liberalism, socialism and Marxism, 1848, empire and nation states, European imperialism, WWI, interwar radicalism, Nazism, fascism, and Stalinism, WWII, the Holocaust, cold war, European Union, the collapse of communism, and the creation of a new Europe. Lectures will be supplemented by weekly readings from the textbook and primary sources. Students will learn to work with primary sources and incorporate them into historical analysis.
For College: Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group D)
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field C: Europe
Old requirements: Counts as European
Writing Intensive Course. (W)
HIST 15100: United States from the Colonial Era to the Civil War
See general schedule for sections, instructors, day/times and MOIs
These sections will NOT be offered as writing intensive*
American political, social, and cultural history from the early period of European settlement to the conclusion of the Civil War.
For College: Fulfills CUNY Common Core (US Experience).
For History Majors:
New requirements: (does not count toward geographical requirements)
Old requirements: Counts as US
HIST 15200: United States from the Civil War to the Present
See general schedule for sections, instructors, day/times and MOIs
These sections will NOT be offered as writing intensive*
American political, social, and cultural history from the Civil War to the present. Among the subjects covered are the struggles for justice of African Americans and women; the expanding scope and power of the federal government; and the increasing engagement of the United States with the world.
For College: Fulfills CUNY Common Core (US Experience).
For History Majors: New requirements: (does not count toward geographical requirements)
Old requirements: Counts as US
HIST 21100: Medieval Civilization
Instructor: Melson, Tue/Fri 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
The thousand year period between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the beginnings of the modern age were a dynamic, action-packed era which saw the birth of many modern social institutions, including universities, systematized law, centralized government, and the romance novel, just to name a few. We will approach the course with the following goals in mind: to understand the social, institutional, economic, cultural, and religious shifts that occurred during this period; to understand the continuities of medieval thought and society and to be able to explain its relationship to the periods before and after the Middle Ages; to be able to critically analyze primary sources, and to understand how to use primary sources to forward a historical argument; and to understand how historical interpretations of a topic or event themselves change over time.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field C: Europe; and Prior to 1815
Old requirements: Counts as European; and Prior to 1815
HIST 25011 (W): African American History 2
Instructor: Haywood, Tue/Fri 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
Amid a resurgence in white nationalist movements and anti-democratic forces, it seems that our current political moment has disrupted and stalled Black politics, activism, and consciousness. It is almost as if Black people’s freedom struggles actually continue. This course takes the position that they do. In fact, the course acts as a primer on Black political theory and Black political engagement that historicizes Black people’s freedom struggles across time and different spaces, and outlines a critical blueprint for resisting ongoing racial injustice. This course surveys Black people’s experiences in the United States, foregrounding how Black people have grappled with the promises and failures of American democracy. The course reveals the ways in which Black American culture, politics, communities, and protest have cohered and divided over deep questions of citizenship, belonging, racial advancement, resistance, and/or simply living as a “Black” person in the West. Through close readings of primary sources and historical debates, students will deepen their understanding of the travails and triumphs of Black Americans, develop critical analytical skills, and leave the course with a “usable history” that prepares them to be at once a critical thinker and critical actor in the history of today.
For History Majors: New requirements: US History course (200-level or above)
Old requirements: Counts as US
Writing Intensive Course. (W)
HIST 25082 (W): History of Jewish Mysticism
Instructor: Ruben, Mon/Thurs 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
This course will examine the important mystical stream within Jewish thought from its origins in the bible to the present day through the lenses of theory as well as mystical experience.
For History Majors: New requirements: (Does not count toward geographical requirements)
Old requirements: Counts as Europe
HIST 25084 (W): Mapping Jewish New York
Instructor: Welt, Wed. 11:30 am – 2:20 pm
This course will explore the history of Jewish New York up close and in person. Each week will entail walking tours of historic neighborhoods in the city that reveal the story of American Jews in the nation's largest city. While we navigate the historic Jewish spaces in New York, students will also learn about the political, cultural, and economic history of American Jewry.
For History Majors: New requirements: US History course (200-level or above)
Old requirements: Counts as US
Writing Intensive Course. (W)
HIST 26100 (W): History of Modern India and South Asia, 1526 - Present
Instructor: Bhagavan
Sec. 01: Tue/Fri 10:00 – 11:15 am
Sec. 02: Tue/Fri 1:00 – 2:15 pm
This course is designed to introduce students to the civilization(s) of the subcontinent from the coming of the Mughals in 1526 to the present. We will examine aspects of South Asia’s diverse political, social, and cultural histories. “South Asia” here refers to the contemporary countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. No prior knowledge of South Asian history or culture is expected or required.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field B: Asia
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
Writing Intensive Course. (W)
HIST 27200: History of Latin America in the 19th and 20th Centuries
Instructor: John, Tues/Fri 10:00 – 11:15 am
This course explores key topics in the History of Latin America from the struggles for Independence through the present day. These include the rise of Latin American liberalism to upheavals like the Mexican Revolution, the birth of nationalist and populist mass politics, the Cuban Revolution and the counterinsurgency wars in Central America to the neoliberal" and "pink tide" trends of recent decades, and today's turbulence in many parts of the region. Using texts as well as music and video, we will study social, political and cultural aspects of the history of this varied and vibrant region whose importance for the U.S. and New York City in particular keeps growing.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field D: Latin America and the Caribbean
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
HIST 277000 (W): East Asia to 1600
Instructor: Belsky
Sec. 01: Tue/Fri 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Sec. 02: Tue/Fri 2:30 – 3:45 pm
A survey history of the cultures and sociopolitical structures of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam from about 1600 AD to the present.
For the College: Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group A).
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field B: Asia
Old requirements: Counts as Non-US/Non-Europe
HIST 29000: History Practicum (W)
Instructor: Rosenthal / section 01: Tues 10:00 – 11:15 am (hybrid)
Instructor: Rosenthal /section 02: Tues 11:30 am – 12:45 pm (hybrid)
A writing intensive seminar intended to help history majors develop their skills as historians. Each section of this course may focus on a different historical theme and so students will encounter different readings and topics. But in all sections of this course students will learn to locate, critically assess, and interpret primary sources, both textual and non-textual; analyze and critique a range of secondary sources for both methodological and historiographical purposes; and develop, draft, and revise a strong and effective research paper by learning how to construct a thesis, organize a paper, devise a bibliography, and cite sources following the Chicago Manual of Style.
Writing Intensive Course (W)
Prereq: ENGL 12000; 6 cr in history and declared history major.
HIST 32100: History of the Holocaust
Instructor: Bloch, Tue/Fri 2:30 – 3:45 pm
This course examines the fate of European Jewry between 1933 and 1945. Following an introduction to Jewish history and the historical background of anti-Semitic ideology, we will cover: the rise and fall of the democratic Weimar Republic in the 1920s; the Nazi seizure of power; anti-Jewish policy and legislation in Nazi Germany; ghettoization in Nazi Europe; and, the conception and implementation of the Final Solution during the Second World War. Additional topics will include discussions of the Jewish Councils, Jewish resistance, life in the ghettos and camps, the Jewish Question and public opinion in Nazi-occupied Europe, and the reactions of the Allies, the Church, and world Jewry to the Holocaust.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field C: Europe
Old requirements: Counts as European
HIST 33500: History of Modern France
Instructor: Spritzer, Mon/Thurs 10:00 – 11:15 am
This course will explore central issues in the history of France and the French empire from the late nineteenth to the twenty-first century. We will use primary sources to explore the emergence of anti-Semitism, and the social changes wrought by the First World War and the expansion of colonialism. We will study conflicting interpretations of the extremes of France’s 1930s politics and the experience of occupation, resistance, and liberation during World War II. After analyzing the Franco-Algerian war and its legacies for French republicanism, racial divides, and the political football of immigration, we will finish the term by discussing attempts in France to legislate interpretations of the past and to regulate the wearing of religious symbols.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field C: Europe
Old requirements: Counts as European
HIST 3411U (W): China Since 1911
Instructor: Belsky, Tues-Fri 10:00 – 11:15 am
An overview of post-imperial China. Major themes include: the historical legacies and unfulfilled promises of China's republican period; the rise of the Communist party and the rule of the Communist party/state; Maoist and post-Mao period policies; social, cultural, political trends; and China's changing position in the world order over time.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field B: Asia
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
Writing Intensive Course. (W)
HIST 3412C: History of Anti-Semitism
Instructor: Ruben, Mon/Thur 1:00 – 2:15 pm
This course will trace what one scholar calls "A Convenient Hatred," the persistent verbal and physical attacks upon the Jewish people over the course of its long history. We will examine the origins of anti-Semitism in the biblical period and its manifestations in the Second Temple era, particularly within the Greco-Roman world. Next we will analyze the implications of anti-Jewish rhetoric in early Christian literature as that religion strove to differentiate itself from its parent faith. The seeds sown in the Gospels bore tragic fruit in the High Middle Ages, culminating in the expulsion of the Jews of Christian Europe. Again in the Early Modern Period, Luther presented a new challenge to Judaism. With the rise of secularism, there was the hope of toleration and acceptance of Jews. Yet, even within the French Enlightenment, the seeds of a new and virulent racist anti-Semitism were sown. These came to expression in the late 19th century's embrace of racial and nationalist ideologies, and to full actualization in the murderous war against the Jews by the Third Reich. In the aftermath of this annihilation of six million Jews, there was some hope that this ancient prejudice would disappear. Yet new forms of hostility and the recycling of old ones persist to this day. The course will try to understand anti-Semitism, but recognizes the ultimate irrationality of the phenomenon.
For History Majors: New requirements: (does not count toward geographic requirements)
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
HIST 3412S: (W) Africa in the Cold War
Instructor: Rosenthal, Tue/Fri 2:30 – 3:45 pm
This course centers the history of sub-Saharan African states and peoples during the Cold War. Such histories reveal how struggles over decolonization fundamentally altered the “balance of power” following World War Two—in Africa but also in Europe and the United States. Tensions over what kind of nations would emerge from colonization in Africa became central to conflicts over control—of people and of resources—in Africa. We will explore struggles over communism and capitalism, democracy and development, through case studies ranging from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Ghana and Angola (among others). Through such analysis, students will explore the history of how Cold War rivalries impacted different African communities, and how those contestations in turn affected the tenor of the Cold War itself.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field A: Africa
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
Writing Intensive Course. (W)
HIST 3412W: (W) Queer Europe
Instructor: LeJacq, Mon/Thurs 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
This course examines queer history, gender, and sexuality in Europe from classical antiquity to the present. It explores evidence of sexual and gender behavior and evolving categories for describing, organizing, and explaining sex and gender. We will consider individual lives and sources that allow us to trace people's lived experiences as well as perspectives from philosophy, religion, law, medicine, and the arts. This course explores key themes in queer history including the instability of descriptive categories, acts versus identities, gender and sex systems, stigma and normalization, regulation, medicalization, and sexual disease. Students will learn and use important methods in queer studies including creating and preserving ephemera and conducting oral histories.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field C: Europe
Old requirements: Counts as Europe
HIST 34152: (W) Art, Politics & Culture in C20 Latin America
Instructor: Roldán, Wed. 11:30 am – 2:20 pm
This course uses the lens of culture and the role of the artist to examine the processes of revolution, reaction, repression, and reform that characterized twentieth century political contention in Latin America over such issues as the definition of national identity and citizenship, ideology and values, and persistent racial/ethnic, class, and gender inequalities. Latin American artists (poets, musicians, painters, writers, artisans) were often in the vanguard of challenging the status quo, offering alternative visions of the nation, exposing and criticizing social inequalities, and spearheading popular expression and resistance when formal political participation in parties, elections, or free speech was constrained by repression or limited only to a privileged few. The focus will be on the use of film, music, plays, painting, and photography in shaping culture and politics in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Argentina, Cuba from the 1900s through the early 21st century.
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field D: Latin America and the Caribbean
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
HIST 35900: Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States
Instructor: Contreras, Mon/Thurs 1:00 – 2:15 pm
In this course we will examine the historical experiences of immigrants and their families in the United States with an emphasis on the variety of experiences among migrants, and the reasons for them. Learning Objectives include an understanding of the chronological sequence and historical context of foreign migration to the United States, the major issues and events of American immigration history, and the ability to analyze and contextualize relevant documents.
For History Majors: New requirements: US History course (200-level or above)
Old requirements: Counts as US
HIST 38700: (W) 20th-Century India
Instructor: Bhagavan, Tue/Fri 2:30 – 3:45 pm
This seminar will explore the history of India in the twentieth century. Guided by the visions and legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, “India” as a concept and idea has come to mean different things to varying groups and individuals, dependent upon their own agendas. This course explores these divergent visions as a means to better understand the making of the world’s first major non-Western postcolonial state, and its “largest democracy.”
For History Majors: New requirements: Geographic Field B: Asia
Old requirements: Counts as World, Non-Western, Latin American
Writing Intensive Course. (W)