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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 2010
History 326.01 "History of 19th Century American Popular Culture." Students in this seminar will examine the creation and expansion of American popular culture in the nineteenth century as they focus on diverse cultural forms: dime novels, newspapers, music, sports, cartoons, material culture, theater, minstrel shows, magazines, etc. The seminar will focus particularly on how ideas and structures of race, class, and gender were changed and reinforced by American popular culture. Research papers will analyze popular culture in a historical context to consider how popular culture created or changed power dynamics in American society. Prerequisites: Any 100-level history course and any 200-level American History course, or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Ms. Purcell
History 333.01 "The Civilizing Mission and Its Discontents." This seminar examines how various institutions in nineteenth-century Britain and the Empire worked to emancipate and improve the human condition through missions, charity organizations, humanitarian campaigns, Parliamentary commissions, public health, and education. Since "progress" carried the potential for both empowerment and subjugation, we will also consider how marginalized groups responded to the Victorian imperative to civilize Britain and the world. We will therefore approach philanthropy and reform movements as cultural encounters that encompassed conflicting ideas of race, gender, sexuality, class, and religion. The shared readings will facilitate students' development of a research project later in the course. Prerequisites: Any 100-level history course and HIS 235, 236, 261, or 262, or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Ms. Prevost
History 33X.01 "Two Reformers: Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther." Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther are two of the most influential religious reformers from the sixteenth century. Erasmus was a great classicist and scholar. Although he himself refused to break with the Catholic Church and ally with Luther, his biblical scholarship and Christian humanism, it is often argued, contributed decisively to Luther's intellectual development and popular success. Luther was the father of the Protestant Reformation. His writings and activism not only led to the creation of new Christian churches, they also contributed to the development of the German language and the growth of German nationalism. This research seminar will explore the lives and writings of these two fascinating figures. We will spend the first half of the semester reading and discussing their major writings. The second half of the semester will be devoted to individual research. Prerequisites: Any 100-level history course
and HIS 234, or HUM 140, or 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 émigrés. 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 histor
ical 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. Prerequisites: Any 100-level history course and HIS 242 or its equivalent. 4 credits. Mr. Cohn
SPRING 2011
History 321.01 "Colonial Encounters in North America: A Comparative Approach." This seminar will examine Spanish, French, and British encounters with the native peoples of North America from 1492-1821. Students will grapple with three comparative questions: 1) What common attitudes and behaviors marked the European colonizers? 2) How did European colonists differ in their reactions to, and actions toward, the native peoples? 3) What was the range of native responses to the three different European empires and their colonists? Students will use the course common readings to propel them towards their own research project. Prerequisites: Any 100-level history course and any 200-level history course, or permission of the instructor. 4 credits. Mr. Lacson
History 32X.01 Topic in Modern American History TBA 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 unofficial-to democratize and modernize the region. Students will then write a research paper using primary documents. These papers could focus on anyone 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. Prerequisites: Any 100-level history course and HIS 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: Any 200-level European history course, including Russian or British history. 4 credits. Ms. Maynard
History 37X.01 Topic in Asian History TBA
History 3XX.01 "American History as Family History." Students in this seminar will explore ways to trace 20th century American history by tracing the stories of individuals in two generations of one family. Students will be allowed - but not required - to choose their own family members as the subjects of their historical investigations. Most of the semester will be devoted to research on specific individuals' life stories and on the social context that shaped and informed those life stories. This is not a geneology class nor is it a course on psycho-history. This is a course on how a two-generational family history can be analytically entwined with larger themes, such as class, gender, ethnicity, religion, education, migration, and politics. Participants will be encouraged to meet as a group before Winter Break to discuss possibilities for conducting oral history research during Winter Break. Pre-requisites: HIS 220, 222, or 227. 4 credits. Ms. Brown.
Last updated: 06 November 09
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