Fall 2024
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 race and slavery, 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 100 and any 200-level American History course, or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Purcell
History 334.01 “Decolonization”
In the decades following the Second World War, more than a quarter of the world’s landmass and population were converted from colonies into nation-states with surprising speed. But did the end of empire constitute a meaningful transformation or merely the change of a flag? And was the transfer of power as orderly as the imperial powers liked to claim? In this seminar, we will explore some of the debates surrounding the timing, causality, character, and consequences of decolonization and consider how historical actors impacted and were impacted by the changing relationship of metropolitan centers and colonial peripheries. Common texts will investigate the political, social, intellectual, and cultural dimensions of winning independence from Britain in East Africa and South Asia, as well as within the British Isles; students will then develop research topics in these areas or (provided they have the appropriate academic background and language skills) in other national, colonial, or geographic contexts. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and either HIS 236, 237, 262, 266, or 295 Sp22 (“Israel and Palestine History” or “Reckoning with the Past in Modern Africa”). 4 credits. Prevost
History 37x “China” and the “West” since 1800
This course delves into traveling, communicating, and the circulation of knowledge between “China” and the “West” since the 18th century. We will explore the political, cultural, economic, social, religious, and ideological interactions between China and the West, highlighting the nuanced and often turbulent nature of this relationship. The goal will be to produce a research paper on a topic concerning the exchanges between China and the West. 4 credits. Prerequisites: HIS 100 Prerequisites: HIS-100 and one of the following: HIS-275, 277, 377, 195 (Classical Asia, J. Smith), 295 (Classical Asia, W. Luo), 295 (Modern China: History from the Margins), 295 (Kungfu Pandas: Chinese Environmental History). 4 credits. Chen.
Spring 2025
History 309.01 “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 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. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and either HIS 201, 202 or 295 (Cold War Latin America). 4 credits. Silva
History 335.01 “Order and Disorder in Early Modern Europe”
How did early modern Europeans envision the ideal society? How did they attempt to enact or enforce these visions, and with what results? The first part of this seminar will be spent working collaboratively on case studies of lawsuits, revolts, raptures, crimes, resistance, and other types of disturbances to the social order in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. For each case study, students will be presented with a collection of primary sources. From there, they will learn how to conduct research for their own papers by practicing how to read different genres of primary sources week-to-week, finding secondary sources to contextualize them, developing analytical questions that can be answered by the sources, and organizing a central argument in a logical flow. Prerequisite: HIS 100 and 232, 233, 234, or 283. 4 credits. Chou
History 325.01 “American Indian Reservations”
This course examines the history of American Indian reservations from the late-nineteenth century to the present. The common readings will introduce students to the origins and major historical problems of reservation history, especially the tricky task of defining the relationship between American Indian reservations and the United States. Specifically, we will examine the end of treaty-making between the United States and Indian tribes, allotment of Indian land, federal assimilation programs, boarding schools, the meaning of U.S. citizenship for Native peoples, and the opportunities and challenges of casinos. Prerequisites: Any HIS 100 course and one 200-level history course. 4 credits. Lacson