200-level Courses

HIST 250.05: Eastern Europe since 1800
Iryna Vushko
History of Eastern Europe from 1800 to the present. In this course, we analyze the concept of and historical trajectories of Eastern Europe during the modern era. The focus of this course is upon political history, but we will also discuss how modern politics affected culture and the arts. Themes and topics include (but not limited to): the concept of Eastern Europe; empire, statehood and nationalism in East-European history; Marxism, radicalism, fascism, communism; the revolutions of 1848, 1917, 1989, and 2014. No prior knowledge of East-European history is required. We focus on territories that belong to today’s Poland, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, and will also address some issues related to the history of the Balkans, specifically former Yugoslavia. Lectures will be supplemented by weekly readings from the textbook and primary sources. Readings include two textbooks and excerpts from primary sources as well as two works of fiction related to specific historical events and periods.

HIST 250.06: Men, Women & Sex in 20th Century U.S.
Daniel Hurewitz
This course explores how ideas about masculinity and femininity, and “appropriate” heterosexual and homosexual behavior have shifted over the last 100+ years in the U.S. We look at the emergence of sexual identities, and recent battles about abortion, AIDS, and sex education.

HIS 250.07: Europe in the Age of Total War 1900-1963
Benjamin Hett
This class explores the history of Europe between approximately 1900 and 1963 from a particular angle, that of the intersection of large-scale wars and military mobilization (the two World Wars and the Cold War) and processes of social, political, cultural and economic change. We will consider throughout what exactly the concepts of “total war” (and its near cousin, “totalitarianism”) really mean; and at the core of the course will be the question of how the World Wars were possible, and whether or not some similar kind of war remains possible – and if not, why not. We will also spend time considering important questions of historical causation – especially that of whether certain social or intellectual changes were results of the World Wars or instead causes of them. By the end of the course students should have a good grasp of the causes and consequences of these large scale historical events; they should be familiar with the use and analysis of primary sources and secondary sources such as are listed on this syllabus; and they should be able to formulate and sustain an argument on the basis of such sources.

HIST 250.76: Modern South Asia
Manu Bhagavan
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.
No prerequisites.

HIST 250.80 / WGS 20001: Introduction to LGBT Studies
Daniel Hurewitz
The class will begin with questions about the meaning of sex and sexuality and then explore some of the historic evolution of these concepts in a U.S. context. From there, we will investigate several contemporary situations including the politics of same-sex marriage, the making of queer families, the treatment of LGBT characters in pop culture, and intersections of race and sexuality.

HIST 27100: Early Latin America
Mary Roldán
This course provides an overview of the early political, economic, cultural and social history of Latin America (1490s to 1820s). The course encompasses the history of Spanish America as well as Portuguese Brazil, but emphasis will be on the former. Among the topics covered are pre-Columbian indigenous societies in the Americas; the personal, regional and transnational impact of the encounter between European, African and Native peoples; evolving land, labor and production arrangements; Christian evangelization and the role of the Catholic Church in colonial society; the character and reach of imperial authority; racial, ethnic, caste and gender relations; popular resistance and protest; and the ideological and material underpinnings of emergent independence movements in the early 19th century. 

HIST 27650: Middle Eastern History from the Beginning of Islam to 1800
Karen M. Kern
History 276.50 is a survey that acquaints the student with the origins and development of the history and civilization of the Middle East since the advent of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula until 1800 when Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt changed the course of Middle Eastern (and European) history. As a result, the concentration of this course is on the Muslim experience in the Middle East. Non-Muslim populations are also considered in relation to the dominant Muslim culture. This course introduces Middle East history through the voices of the makers of that history and, consequently, the majority of the primary sources are translations of works written by scholars and intellectuals from the region. This course describes and analyzes the historical development of religious, educational, social, and legal institutions in the Middle East in the imperial and early modern periods, and the relevance of those institutions to the world today.
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group A)

HIST 27651: Modern Middle East: 1500 to the Present
Karen M. Kern
History 27651 is a survey of Middle East history spanning from the 16th century, during the period of the time of the great Ottoman and Persian empires, to the present. This course introduces modern Middle East history through the voices of the makers of that history and, consequently, the majority of the primary sources are translations of works written by scholars, intellectuals, and artists from the region. In addition, films in English or subtitled will be shown during the semester. Geographically, the course concentrates on lands of the former Ottoman Empire, particularly present day Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and North Africa, plus Iran. Thematically, topics covered are concerned with state formation and the impact of European imperialism on Middle East politics and society. The primary focus of the course is on intellectual history and examines the views of scholars on issues such as nationalism, pan-Arabism, political Islam, women’s rights, colonization, decolonization, and revolutions.
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group A).

HIST27700: East Asia to 1600
Richard Belsky
A survey history of the traditional cultures and sociopolitical structures of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam to about 1600 AD. This course tracks East Asian history from the regionally diverse evolution of early Neolithic cultures into more complex hierarchical polities. It examines the evolution of distinctly Chinese schools of thought regarding proper social/political relations and structures, and both traces how Chinese ideology evolved over time and how Chinese classical thinking affected and was adopted by the regionally diverse and distinctive societies with their own rich autonomous traditions located in modern Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group A).

HIST 27800: East Asia, 1600 to the Present
Richard Belsky
A survey history of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam from 1600 AD to the present day. The course examines the cultural, economic and material attainments of the Qing empire, and the Choson, Tokugawa and Nguyen regimes. We trace the rising presence of Western powers in East Asia during this period, note the differing challenges and varied responses in these different regions to Western challenges, examine the fall of traditional polities and the rise of new ones. Finally we examine the reconstructed modern East Asian identities, the renegotiated power relations (among East Asian states and vis-à-vis the international order), the rise of new and types of political orders, as well as economic developments and cultural trends.
Fulfills Pluralism and Diversity requirement (Group A).

HIST 290: History Practicum: Nineteenth-Century American Civic Life (W)
Donna Haverty-Stacke
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. Prereq: ENGL 12000; 6 cr in history and permission of the department.

HIST 290: History Practicum (W)
Daniel Hurewitz
This version of the practicum focuses in on the “whys” and “hows” of history as a field. For the whys, we examine the historical impulse and why we explore the past. For the hows, we practice multiple research techniques and materials, including oral history interviews, newspaper research, census records, and photography.
Writing Intensive Course. Prereq: ENGL 12000; 6 cr in history and permission of the department.

HIST 290: History Practicum (W)
Elidor Mëhilli
This course offers an introduction to the practice of historical research and writing. Students locate, assess, and interpret primary sources, and they also analyze a variety of secondary sources for methodological and historiographical purposes. During the first half of the coure, students discuss approaches in political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual history. Then, they devise a research paper on a topic, incorporating feedback from peers and the instructor. Students learn to think about history as a discipline (through analysis of key texts about what historians do and how writers work). Authors covered include Robert Darnton, Friedrich Engels, Michel Foucault, Jan T. Gross, Niccolo Machiavelli, George Orwell, E.P. Thompson, and Sun Tzu. Writing Intensive Course. Prereq: ENGL 12000; 6 cr in history and permission of the department.