Seminars, 2017–18

Fall 2017

History 322.01 "Twentieth Century American Sexualities."

Students in this seminar will explore the history of sex and sexuality in the twentieth century United States. We will identify changes, contradictions, and continuities in sexual ideals as well as the even more complicated realities of Americans’ sexual experiences. Topics will include desire, pleasure, violence, marriage, dating, identity, laws, cultures, and more. Students will begin the semester by engaging in a close reading of historical texts, both primary and secondary, to establish a shared foundation in the historiography of this period. Students will conclude the semester by producing a 20-page research paper and a 15-minute presentation of their original historical research into this era. Shorter writing assignment will be completed throughout the semester. Students will be expected to mine digital archives as well as traditional collections in order to locate sufficient primary sources for their project. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and either HIS 222, HIS 295.01 ST (Sex in American History), GWS 211, or permission of the instructor. 4 credits. Lewis

History 326.01 "History of Nineteenth-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. Transnational elements of U.S. popular culture will also be explored. 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. Students in this course will also work on methods and sources in digital history. Prerequisites: History 100 plus any 200-level American History course or permission of instructor. 4 credits. Purcell

Spring 2018

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 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: HIS 100 and either HIS 201 or 202. 4 credits. Silva

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 any 200-level history course. 4 credits. Lacson

History 330.01 "The Politics of Food in Early Modern England."

Through an examination of the conflicts surrounding the purchase, consumption, and production of food, as well as the processes by which food became politicized, classed, and gendered, this class offers a chronological and thematic look at the 'century of revolutions' in England beginning with Elizabeth I's ‘second reign’ in 1590 and ending with the Act of Union in 1707. Over the course of the semester, we will utilize case studies about food to explore how an early modern 'moral economy' and an ideology of governance centered on the person of the monarch gave way to a modern, commercialized economy and parliamentary politics. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and HIS 232, 233, 2334, or 295 (Global Cultural Encounters). 4 credits. Chou

History 334.01 "Decolonization."

In the decades following the Second World War, more than a quarter of the world’s land mass 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 and student research projects will focus on the political, social, intellectual, and cultural dimensions of decolonization in British Africa and South Asia, as well as in Britain itself; students with relevant background may also pursue a topic related to another national/geographic context. Prerequisites: HIS 100 and either HIS 235, 236, 261, 262, 266, or 295. 4 credits. Prevost

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