Majors must take two seminars (or their equivalent) in two different geographic areas: Asia, Europe, Latin America, Russia, or the U.S. Seminars with a broader geographic focus, such as HIS 328, can be sorted into one of these categories based on the focus of your research paper.
FALL 2009
History 311.01 "Politics in the Early American Republic."
Students in this seminar will discover and debate recent developments in the study of political history by focusing intensely on one of its most exciting periods, the early American republic. During the years 1789-1820, the American political system first took shape as federal and state governments established themselves, as the country experienced its first era of party conflict, and as philosophical ideas about the structures of American power and concepts such as "republicanism" and "democracy" were put to the test. The seminar will analyze traditional topics of political interest in this period such as political party formation and interaction among the "founding fathers," and it will also explore the many ways that recent historians have broadened their view of politics to include such factors as political culture, female involvement in politics, the politicization of everyday life, and the global context of U.S. politics. Students will write in-depth research papers on some aspect of politics in the period. Prerequisites: History 111 and any 200-level American History course or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Ms. Purcell
History 332.01 "Gender and Empire in Victorian Britain."
This course will examine the centrality of women, gender, and sexuality to British colonialism in the "long nineteenth century." The first half of the course will focus on three related investigations: women's historical experience in the empire through travel, emigration, and philanthropy; the role of imperial identity in shaping metropolitan feminist and reform movements; and the gendered dynamics of both colonial encounters abroad and British imperial culture at home. We will also consider the impact of poststructuralist and postcolonial theory on studies of gender and empire. The shared readings will facilitate students' development of an independent research project. Prerequisite: History 236, 262, 295 (British Empire), 295 (Disease & Public Health in Europe), or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Ms. Prevost
History 335.01 "Crusades and Crusaders."
This research seminar will introduce students to modern debates and research into the crusades. In the first seven weeks, students will read extensively in the primary sources of the first four crusades and choose a research topic. Class discussion will focus on understanding these written texts as both literary works and historical sources. Weeks 8-13 will be devoted to special topics and students' research projects. A different student/group of students will be responsible for structuring class discussion in each of these remaining weeks and assigning (short) readings for the rest of the class. This exercise will help students become familiar with their classmates' research area and teach them how to understand and frame their own research within a broader context. Prerequisite: History 233 or the permission of the instructor. 4 credits. Mr. Wei
History 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. Cohn
SPRING 2010
History 312.01 "Race in Early America."
This course examines the social construction and significance of race during the colonial and early national periods in North America. In what ways did the concept of race in early America differ from our twenty-first century assumptions about race? How did Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans understand race? How did their experiences with one another shape their ideas about race? The readings are meant to introduce students to the various ways in which historians have examined race. Each student will be challenged to develop a historical question related to race. Students will then write a research paper to answer that question. Prerequisites: Any 100-level history course and any 200-level American History course, or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Mr. Lacson
History 327.01 "Labor in Twentieth-Century Latin America."
During the twentieth century, Labor Movements helped transform many Latin American countries socially, politically, and economically. Organized workers have played key roles in the Mexican Revolution, the rise of Peronism, and the recent political triumphs of Brazil's Worker's Party. The common readings for the seminar will include some of the classic works and then move to more recent studies. These readings raise questions about the effect of employer paternalism on workers; the impact of special privileges on workers; and the role of women in the home, in the shop and in the union. In the second half of the course students will then write a major research paper on labor in twentieth-century Latin America. A reading knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is helpful but not required. Prerequisite: History 201, 202, or 204. 4 credits. Mr. Silva
History 336.01 "Representing the Metropolis."
This seminar investigates cities such as Paris, Vienna, London, and Berlin by exploring the visual arts, film, literature, architecture, consumer culture, and music since the late 19th century. Our study of inherent qualities and tensions in the modern urban experience will include community and alienation, the fluidity of the self, spectacle and entertainment, disease and criminality, gender and class. Final papers will apply course themes to primary source research topics. Prerequisite: One 200-level European history course, including Russian or British history. 4 credits. Ms. Maynard
History 395.01 "Advanced Special Topic: The Environmental History of the Midwest."
This interdisciplinary seminar explores the environmental history of the upper Midwest and Great Plains, focusing on the transformative century that began with the early stages of settlement in the 1830s and ended with the upheavals of the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, and New Deal. The first half of the course will introduce students to the wide range of questions, methodologies, and sources that environmental historians use to construct their accounts of the past. Students will learn to incorporate the perspectives of geography, ecology, and spatial analysis into their study of American history, offering new ways of thinking about how the environment has shaped the contours of society and historical change in America's "heartland." Particular emphasis will be paid to the environmental dimensions of Midwestern agriculture, forestry, urban ecology, disease and public health, natural resources and hazards, as well as the wide-ranging effects of market capitalism on the region. In the second half of the course, students will pursue a topic of their own choosing which will culminate in a substantial research paper. Prerequisite: One 200-level American History course or an Environmental Studies course. Mr. Guenther, Mr. Carter
Last updated: 13 May 09
