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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 33X.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 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: HIS 236, 295 (British Empire), 295 (Sub-Saharan Africa), or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Ms. Prevost
SPRING 2010
History 318.01 "The Many Faces of the 'New' American Woman, 1880-1930." This seminar will examine the public image and lived experience of three cohorts of women: those who came of age in the 1880s, early 1900s, and 1920s. The goal of the seminar is to explore changes in both women's definition and the popular culture's definition of the "new" woman, and to analyze the ideological debates and social tensions that were manifest in the "new" woman. The "new" woman will be discussed in terms of change and persistence in education, sexuality, family life, professional life, and political life. Included will be the experiences of white women, African-American women, Mexican-American women, Asian-American women, heterosexual and homosexual women, wealthy, middle-class, and working-class women, private women and public women. These variegated female experiences will be placed in the context of a popular culture that sought to define the "new" woman. Common readings will prepare students to
select their own research topics to pursue in the second half of the semester. Prerequisite: History 222. 4 credits. Ms. Brown
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 3XX.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: History 111 and any 200-level American History course or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Mr. Lacson
History 3XX.01 Topic in Modern Russia TBA
History 33X.01 Topic in Modern European History TBA
Last updated: 04 April 08
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