FALL 2004
HIS 342.01 "Stalinism."
This seminar will concentrate upon the major historiographical divide over Stalinist Russia and evaluate the evidentiary bases that sustain these interpretations. Traditional historiography of this era has concentrated upon the "totalitarian" model, and has depended upon official documents, as well as the memoirs and public statements of major figures and йmigrйs. More recent interpretations have sought to complicate the story, and give voice to more ordinary historical actors-as preserved in the archives of the secret police, in private diaries, and in the collections of unprinted denunciations and letters to the editors of Soviet publications and Soviet leaders. Through scrupulous reading of some major representatives of these views, as well as through careful consideration of representative examples of the various sources, participants in the seminar will develop a better understanding of the historiographical issues and the way that these issues inform historical research. The first part of the seminar will depend upon our common reading, but students will also select a project of their own on which to work the entire semester, culminating in a written paper and oral presentation to the seminar. Prerequisite: History 242 or its equivalent. 4 credits. Mr. Kaiser
History 375.01 "The East-Asian Discovery of Europe, 1520-1830."
This course will examine the first series of full contacts between Europe and East Asia during the three centuries following the Chinese purchase of a cannon from the Portuguese in 1520. It will focus on the patterns of cultural penetration of the Europeans as well as on the East-Asian responses to Christianity, military technology, and international trade. Readings will include first-hand accounts of mutual perceptions of the European and the East-Asian peoples. Prerequisite: History 275, 276, 277, or 278. 4 credits. Mr. Hsieh
SPRING 2005
History 323.01 "The Art of Biography."
This seminar will explore the complex blend of objective and subjective elements which necessarily comprise the writing of biography. Using American biographies as our texts, we will examine problems related to sources, including the use of interviews, correspondence, diaries, the popular press, legal records, and, of course, autobiographies. In addition, we will trace trends in the theoretical literature, considering how shifts from psychoanalytic theory to post-structuralist and feminist theory have influenced both writers' and readers' approaches to biography. Students in this seminar will be asked to consider questions of ethics and literary style, as well as questions of logic and veracity, as they examine both the theory and the practice of biography. There will be an opportunity to experiment with the writing of biography. There will also be the opportunity to employ current theories of biography in writing a historiographical critique of the existing biographical literature on selected American subjects. Prerequisites: History 112 and one 200-level course in American history. 4 credits. Ms. Brown
History 329.01 "Latin America and the United States."
As the saying goes, Latin America lies too far from God and too close to the United States. This proximity has affected Latin American economics, demographics, culture, and politics. The seminar will begin with common readings. This year those common readings will focus on US attempts-both official and unoffical-to democratize and modernize the region. Students will then write a research paper using primary documents. These papers could focus on any one of a number of issues that were central to US-Latin American relations such as hemispheric security, economic affairs, democracy, and socialism. A reading knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is helpful but not required. Prerequisite: History 201, 202, or 204. 4 credits. Mr. Silva
History 333.01 "The Civilizing Mission and Its Discontents".
One of the hallmarks of nineteenth-century Britain was the unprecedented number of programs for moral and social improvement that grew out of middle-class values of progress and civilization. Victorians believed they could elevate the human condition through individual and collective reform; yet ironically, these lofty ideals often replicated the very social divisions and hierarchies they sought to transform and alienated the beneficiaries they sought to save. This seminar will examine the development of the "civilizing mission" through various arenas at home and abroad, including imperialism, missionary work, charity organizations, and public health programs. We will treat philanthropy as a cultural encounter that encompassed conflicting ideas of race, gender, sexuality, class, religion, and empire, since benevolence movements carried the potential for both empowerment and subjugation, we will also consider how marginalized groups responded to this growing imperative to civilized Britain and the world. The shared readings will facilitate students' development of a research project later in the course, and will focus on primary sources such as novels, travel narratives, newspapers, missionary and charity propaganda, and self-improvement manuals, in addition to current scholarship. Prerequisite: History 105 or 236. 4 credits. Ms. Prevost
