100-level Courses
HIST 11100: World History to 1500
This is a survey the history of human civilization from the end of the Stone Age to 1500 CE. The course examines the concept of civilization, the emergence of the earliest civilizations, and the distinctive features of ancient cultures, societies and governments. Other topics include the expansion of contacts among the early centers of urban society, and the emergence of civilizations in what had originally been peripheral regions. Particular attention is paid to the development of the religious and intellectual traditions of several classical civilizations, and the influence these traditions have had on later societies. The course ends roughly around 1500, on the eve of the tremendous changes that came about in the relationship between Europe and the rest of the world as a result of the European explorations and conquests that began with the voyages of Columbus.
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group A).
HIST 12100: Early Modern Europe 1500-1815
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.
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group D).
HIST 12200: 19th & 20th Century Europe (W)
Elidor Mëhilli
An introduction to the history of modern Europe. Beginning with the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the course traces the development of the Industrial Revolution, the dissemination of ideas and ideologies across the continent, imperialism, two world wars, and the global repercussions of the Cold War. We will raise a number of big questions: How do we explain European predominance and decline in the modern era? Was the nation-state inevitable? Were free markets inevitable? Were democratic systems inevitable? How did the two world wars change the international system? How did Europe’s global entanglements over the last two centuries shape its societies? How can we make sense (or not) of the past, and what does that say about the present?
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group D). (W) Writing intensive course.
HIST 12200: 19th & 20th Century Europe (W)
Iryna Vushko
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.
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group D). (W) Writing intensive course.
HIST 141.51: Twentieth-century World History
Manu Bhagavan
This course is designed to introduce students to major themes in the world’s history during the twentieth century. Some of the questions explored during the term include: What are the drivers of integration and unification? What forces have been divisive? What have been major fault lines of conflict? What visions have advocated peace and justice, and in what way? No prerequisites.
HIST 15100: United States from the Colonial Era to the Civil War (W)
Staff
This course will cover U.S. History broadly from the early period of European settlement to the conclusion of the Civil War. The course will include at least one focused study of a particular topic or event from this period.
Writing Intensive Course (W)
HIST 15100: United States from the Colonial Era to the Civil War (W)
Staff
This survey course examines the development of the United States politically and socially through the Civil War. Specific topics we will follow over the entire course include the foundation and development of the United States government, economic growth, immigration, slavery, social and intellectual thought, territorial expansion, and the place of women in American society. Students who satisfactorily complete this course should be able to discuss the major themes, questions and events that shaped the United States through the Civil War, including the foundations and institutions of the American government; understand and employ historical method, including cause and effect, change and continuity over time, and the role evidence plays in writing history; conduct critical reading of primary and secondary sources and apply these readings to in-class discussions and written assignments and exams; develop, draft, and edit a research essay which investigates a historical topic with rigorous, scholarly sources.
Writing Intensive Course (W)
HIST 15200: United States from the Civil War Era to the Present (W)
Donna Haverty-Stacke
This course surveys some of the major developments in United States history from 1865 to the 1970s. 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.
Writing Intensive Course (W)
HIST 15200: United States from the Civil War Era to the Present (W)
Daniel Hurewitz
While this course is designed to be a broad overview of the last 150 years of American history, this version of the U.S. survey focuses in on the shifting answers to 3 key questions. Who counts as American in terms of race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender? How much is economic inequaity an issue of public concern? What role should the United States plan in the affairs of other countries.
Writing Intensive Course (W)
HIST 15200: United States from the Civil War Era to the Present (W)
Jonathan Rosenberg
This course surveys some of the major developments in United States history from 1865 to the 1970s. 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.
Writing Intensive Course (W)
HIST 15200: United States from the Civil War Era to the Present (W)
Eduardo Contreras
This course surveys the political, social, cultural, and economic history of the United States from the Civil War era to the present. We will study key themes and developments in U.S. history since the mid-nineteenth century, including industrialization and deindustrialization; urbanization and suburbanization; liberalism and conservatism; (im)migration and racialization; and civic action and social movements, among others.
Writing Intensive Course (W)