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Thematic Courses and Upper Level Regional Courses

HST. 100: Historical Marxism
Selected consideration of the substance and context of themes in political economy and historical Prognosis and major literary expressions of the Marxist tradition, primarily, but not exclusively, in its European forms. Daniel Mulholland

HST. 103: Consumption, Power and Identity
A socioeconomic history of luxury goods and staples from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Coffee, tea, sugar, spices, opium, silk, cotton, potatoes, and rice. National and social identity through commodities. Consumerism and daily life in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Exports from Asia and the Americas to Europe and from Europe to Asia and the Americas. Globalization and ecology. Ina Baghdiantz McCabe

HST. 104: Gender, Travel & Imperialism: European Women in Asia, Africa, and the Americas
Female pirates, prisoners and slaves, missionaries, aristocrats, ambassadors' wives, and tourists from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. The domestication of empire, the transformation of gender, race, class, and family in expatriate life, and the construction of new social roles in exile. Women as "honorary males," cross-dressing, the female gaze, and views of race and identity in travel writing by women. The role of European women in producing imperial discourse and in building empire. Ina Baghdiantz McCabe

HST. 105: Greece, Rome and China: Ancient Civilizations of the Mediterranean and East Asia Compared [formerly HST. 119.12]
Exploration of the strong parallels and telling differences between the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean—Greece and Rome—and ancient China. This comparative approach helps us understand the formation and development of cultural and political legacies that continue to shape the societies of Europe, America, and East Asia into our times. Steve Hirsch

HST. 106: Cosmopolitanism and Colonialism [formerly HST. 109.05]
What is cosmopolitanism, and how does it relate to the history of nationalism? What significance did cosmopolitanism have for individuals and groups in the colonized world in the modern period? This course offers comparative and connective study of the transnational resistance movements of the Global South from the early to mid-20th century, including Pan-Arianism, Pan-African ism, International Communism and Islamic Universalism. Students will critically engage with current theoretical debates on cosmopolitanism, decolonization and the postcolonialnation-state. Kris Manjpara

HST. 110: Race, Class, and Power in Southern Africa [formerly HST. 150]
Continuity and change in Southern African history from the mineral revolution of the late nineteenth century to the present. Themes include regional struggles for land, labor, and political authority within the developing regional economy; strategies to shape the migrant labor system; patterns of urbanization and dispossession; political articulation and recent dismantling of racial segregation and apartheid in the region's core; interrelated experiences of war, exile, refugee status; commitments to political reconciliation; and the issue of economic redistribution. Jeanne Penvenne

HST. 111: Africa and the Diaspora to the Americas [formerly HST. 151]
The roots of African origin populations in the Americas. Introduction to major West African political and social groups and their involvement in the Atlantic system; exploration of the historical demography of African Diaspora to the Americas. Themes include the changing nature of slavery and dependent labor; the development of Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Brazilian, and Afro-Latino cultures; Pan-Africanist history; contemporary bonds among Africans and people of African origin in the Americas. Jeanne Penvenne

HST. 112: Angola and Mozambique: From Liberation to Humanitarian Crises [formerly HST. 152]
Southern African settler colonies moved slowly to self-determination. The transition in Portugal's colonies of Angola and Mozambique was especially difficult. Both areas experienced a generation of fighting for independence, and subsequently fractured into intractable insurgencies. This course grounds a broader study of decolonization, sovereignty, social authority and governance in a case study of Angola and Mozambique from the 1890s to the early twenty-first century. Jeanne Penvenne

HST. 115: Revolution in Latin America: Mexico and Cuba [formerly HST. 160]
Latin America's paradigmatic revolutions in comparative historical perspective. The colonial legacy; the struggle for independence and its aftermath; economic expansion and the failure of reform; and the roots, course, and consequences of revolution, including international involvement and impact. Peter Winn

HST. 116: Revolution in Central & South America [formerly HST. 161]
A comparative study in historical perspective of the causes, courses, and consequences of revolution and counterrevolution in twentieth century Central and South America. Peter Winn

HST. 120: American Military History to 1900 [formerly HST. 179.10]
American military events and developments from the colonial era through the end of the nineteenth century. Role of military in a free society; civilian-military relations; “laws of civilized warfare”; clash of military cultures; role of social hierarchies; war on the home front; professionalization, recruitment, and mobilization; imperial ambitions, strategies, and tactics; technology and resources; war and memory. Benjamin Carp

HST. 122: America and the National Pastime [formerly HST. 88]
From the end of the Civil War to the present, baseball has reflected the evolution of urbanization, immigration, segregation, the rise of labor, entrepreneurial capitalism, crime, corruption, and legal precedents that reached to the Supreme Court. We will examine "The National Pastime" both inside and outside the lines, how it was played, and the place of this children's game in the American psyche. Sol Gittleman

HST. 123: Industrial America and Urban Society: The Progressive Era to the
Great Depression [formerly HST. 174]
The social, cultural, and political development of modern U.S. cities and the nation's transformation. Focus on industrialization, labor, family life, the built environment, popular culture, personal identity, and civic democracy. Reed Ueda

HST. 124: Sickness and Health in America [formerly HST. 94]
Medical and cultural attitudes toward sickness and health in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. Attention to the impact of race, class, and gender on medical beliefs and practice. Topics include epidemics in social context, the popular health movement, rise of the modern medical profession, decline of midwifery and rise of obstetrics, women's health and women's rights, Tuskegee syphilis study, eating disorders. Virginia Drachman

HST. 125: Women and Religion in America: 1600 to the Present [formerly HST. 179.03]
(Cross-listed as CR 0192-15)
This seminar examines the significance of women's presence in American religious history from the 17^th century to the present. We will explore the role of religion in shaping, upholding, resisting and transforming gender norms in a variety of social and cultural contexts. Drawing upon a range of primary sources, including poetry, court records, conversion narratives, autobiographies and novels, as well as on important secondary works in the field of women's history, we will ask how participants in diverse religious traditions have understood women's "nature," defined their "roles" in society, and debated their "calling" to religious leadership. Students will undertake a semester-long project based on primary-source research in the religious history of American women. Virginia Drachman

HST. 126: Religion and U.S. Politics [formerly HST. 179.08]
(Cross-listed as CR 0010-14)
"In God we Trust," "One Nation Under God," "God Bless America,": phrases like these alert us to the on-going influence of religion on American public life. This course explores the role of religion in shaping American civil engagement and political activity from the seventeenth century to the present, aiming to put contemporary events in broader historical context. Key topics and themes include: the relationship between church and state in the colonial period; the role of religion in the American Revolution; faith and the founding fathers; religion and social activism in the antebellum era (especially anti-slavery and women's rights); religion, race and Civil Rights; Roman Catholics and American politics from 19th century Nativism to JFK; spirituality and social protest in the 20th century (labor reform, pacifism; debates about abortion); the rise of the religious right; religion and American politics post-9/11; and the 2008 presidential election. Heather Curtis

HST. 132: Religion in Japanese History.* [formerly HST. 122]
(Cross-listed as CR 136)
Traces development of religious ideas and institutions from prehistory to the present, stressing connections to broad socioeconomic and cultural trends. Topics include Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, Christian missions, and new religions. Gary Leupp

HST. 133: Japanese History through Literature [formerly HST. 123]
Reading and discussion of primary sources with both historical and literary interest, including representative samples of chronicles, courtly diaries, war tales, novels, and kabuki dramas. Gary Leupp

HST. 134: Tokugawa Japan [formerly HST. 124]
This course is an intensive examination of Japan's early modern period (1572-1868), particularly the period of Tokugawa rule (from 1600). During these centuries, feudal institutions reached their highest level of development, while an increasingly sophisticated urban-driven economy worked to undermine feudal social relations and pave the way for Japan's subsequent transformation into an advanced capitalistic, industrial power. Course will combine lectures with class discussion; individual readings and reports; and a substantial research paper on a topic to be chosen by the student in consultation with instructor. Gary Leupp

HST. 135: Gender and Sexuality in Japanese History [formerly HST. 125]
Course description to be posted soon. Gary Leupp

HST. 140: Nationalism and Its Critics in South Asia [formerly HST. 134]
Course description to be posted soon. Ayesha Jalal

HST. 141: Religion, Law and Misplaced Secularity in South Asia [formerly HST. 135]
Course description to be posted soon. Ayesha Jalal

HST. 142: Islam in South Asia [formerly HST. 136]
Social and political conflict and cultural and political accommodation in the history of South Asian Islam, spanning the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods. The question of Muslim identity and the politics of coexistence with members of other religious communities, especially Hindus and Sikhs. The multiple and shifting affiliations of Muslims as individuals to the community of Islam, as well as to the linguistic groups, economic classes, and modern nations. Ayesha Jalal

HST. 148: Rise of the Greeks [formerly HST. 119.01]
(Cross-listed as CLS 185)
Examination of the formation and development of the characteristic Institutions, practices and values of Greek civilization during the Archaic Period, approximately 800 to 500 B.C., beginning with the emergence of the Greeks from the centuries-long isolation of the Dark Age and the resumption of contact and commerce with other peoples of the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire. Exposure to original sources, including Homer, Hesiod, lyric poetry, Herodotus and Aristotle, and attention to the fragmentary nature of the evidence for this period- archaeological, literary and historical- and some useful interpretative approaches. Topics to include agriculture, colonization, origins of the polis, tyranny, hoplite, warfare, the social and political evolution of Sparta and Athens, religions, orality and writing, lyric poetry, presocratic philosophy, and the origins of historical writing. TBA

HST. 149: Greeks and Barbarians [formerly HST. 119.03]
Course description to be posted soon. Steve Hirsch

HST. 150: Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine [formerly HST. 119.02]
(Cross-listed as CLS 146)
The historical development of ancient Greek and Roman medicine with emphasis on methodology and sources, as well as the assessment of the influence of ancient medicine on the development of modern Western clinical medicine. Topics covered include ancient theory and practices with regard to anatomy, physiology, surgery, pharmacology, etiology of disease, and medical deontology. Satisfies the Classics Culture area and the Humanities Distribution requirements. Heather Curtis
Prereq: Sophomore Standing

HST. 151: Athens: Marathon to Socrates [formerly HST. 119.04]
(Cross-listed as CLS 186)
Investigation of Athens in the period of her greatest power, prosperity and cultural achievement. Consideration of the methods by which Athens acquired and maintained an empire, the internal workings of the Athenian democracy, the economy of the Athenian state, the conditions of life for citizens, women, slaves and foreigners, the intellectual renaissance which made Athens into "the School of Hellas," and the contribution of outstanding individuals, among them Themistocles, Cimon, Pericles, Alcibiades and Socrates. Frequent reference to ancient documents, works of literature in translation, and images of archaeological sites and objects which serve as the basis for our knowledge of Athens in fifth century B.C. Satisfies the Social Sciences Distribution Requirement.
Prereq: CLS 0031/CLS 0037 Steve Hirsch

HST. 152: The Religious and Spiritual Map of Europe, 300-1500 [formerly HST. 113]
(Cross-listed as CR 113)
The encounter between Christianity and Roman, Celtic, and German Paganism; resistance to established Christianity among the common people; spread of Judaism and changing relations between Christians and Jews; coexistence of Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Spain. Focus on cultural history and development of institutions such as monasticism, a clerical hierarchy, and rabbinical communities, with attention as well to evolution of spiritual practices in the three "religions of the book": Judaism, Christianity, and, for southern Europe, Islam. Beatrice Manz

HST. 153: Martin Luther: The Man and his Era (GER68/CR68) [formerly HST. 119.13]
A study of selected political and religious writings of Luther and his contemporaries to introduce the man and his era, while reflecting their impact on twentieth-century Christendom. Emphasis on Luther and the German Reformation. Attention give to Zwingli, Calvin, and the radical reform movements. Cross-listed with CR 68, HIST 153. Daniel Brown

HST. 154: Health and Healing in Medieval and Early Modern Europe [formerly HST. 39.08]
How did the Black Death start? Did doctors really use leeches? This course explores the history of medicine in Western Europe from approximately 1100-1700. It presents the key intellectual, social, and cultural themes and trends in pre-modern medicine. Major topics include: (a) the development of university medicine from its Greek and Arabic roots through the theoretical upheavals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; (b) medical practice, particularly the many and diverse types of healers and the relationship between patients and practitioners; (c) epidemic disease, such as plague and syphilis, and the early public health measures formed in response; (d) the development of hospitals and other medical institutions. Overlapping naturalistic, religious, and magical approaches to disease and healing will be emphasized throughout the course. Steven Marrone

HST. 155: Women, Gender, and Family, 1200-1800 [formerly HST. 181.05]
Course description to be posted soon. Virginia Drachman

HST. 156: Science, Magic, and Society 1100-1700 [formerly HST. 114]
Western European intellectual and cultural history from the twelfth-century Renaissance to the scientific revolution: the development of a rationalist worldview among intellectuals, the persistence of magic among the lower classes, and the phenomenon of the witch craze in the seventeenth century. Steven Marrone

HST. 159: French Revolution [formerly HST. 26]
The Revolution of 1789 in France and its impact in Europe and beyond, from the fall of the Old Regime to the rise of Napoleon. A crucial, iconic event in world history, the French Revolution marks the birth of modern political culture and citizenship, transforming the way the French viewed themselves and their role in the world. Revolutionary debates on human rights, individual liberty, representative democracy and social equality in the global context of revolutions in North America and Haiti. The course will make use of primary sources and engage the rich historiography of this era. Elizabeth Foster

HST. 162: Economics of the British Industrial Evolution, 1750-1850 [formerly HST. 119.11]
(Cross-listed as Econ 87)
English property rights, the demographic revolution, the agricultural revolution, the Poor Law, labor market integration, standard of living, domestic and international capital flows, foreign trade, Empire trade (India, Ireland, West Indies), and the relative retardation of France and Holland.
Prerequisites: Economics 1 and 2, or 5. Winifred Rothenberg

HST.163: Special Relations: Britain and America Since WWII [formerly HST. 118]
The Anglo-American relationship viewed from the British perspective. From the GI "invasion" of England in 1942 to present-day mass tourism. Political, diplomatic and economic issues will be treated, but the course will emphasize issues of "Americanization" through popular culture and the media. Howard Malchow

HST. 165: Mongol Empire [formerly HST. 146]
The nomad empires of Eurasia, from the development of mounted nomadism to its decline in the seventeenth century. The Mongol Empire (founded by Genghis Khan) and its many successor states that lasted into the modern period. Political traditions, the relation of nomads to settled peoples, the legacy of the Mongol Empire in both settled and nomad worlds. Beatrice Manz

HST. 166: History of Afghanistan [formerly HST. 147]
Colloquium on history, society and culture of Afghanistan. Ethnic groups and lifestyles. History from Alexander the Great to the Taliban, with emphasis on modern. Formation of the Afghan state in the 18th century, 19th century imperial politics, Cold War, Soviet Invasion, civil war. Beatrice Manz

HST. 167: Medieval Islamic History [formerly HST. 64]
Political, social, and intellectual history of the Middle East, 600-1400. Muhammad and the spread of Islam. The Caliphate and the formation of a distinctive Islamic culture. The role of Persians and Turks in the Islamic world. Beatrice Manz

HST. 170: Advanced Special Topics, World/Transregional:
Development as History
This course explores the evolving concept of development and how it can serve as a means to execute, support, or justify various ideological, state, and geopolitical programs. Development is a notoriously vague concept. It can be synonymous with progress or simply social, cultural, or economic change. "Development" in this context describes an intentional action, not merely a "natural" process of social or economic evolution. We will not use the term as social scientists of the last century who sought to define a universal paradigm of "modernization." Rather, the course will examine the multiple, changing, and contested meanings of the concept in different times and places by different historical actors. TBA

HST. 170: Jesus' Dangerous Ideas (Spring 2010)
(Cross-listed as CLS 186)
As one scholar observes, any study of Christianity and Roman society, "whatever its perspective, must still confront the great question: how on earth did this tiny religious splinter-group survive to become the dominant religion of the Roman empire? … The traditional Christian answer uses words ascribed to the Jewish teacher Gamaliel. 'If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin, it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God, you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God' (Acts 5.38-39)."
Yet, even for those who think this explains why Christianity survived, there is still a question of how. This class will focus on early Christian ideas and how these ideas interact with the classical Greco-Roman intellectual and material contexts within which they were written. We will compare these emergent, formative Christian texts such as the Gospels and the letters of Paul with the classical literatures (drama, history and philosophy) that (in)formed the religious and secular intellectual koine of the Roman world.

Emphasis will also be placed on situating early Christian texts and their narrated events within their spatial and historical complexes, as attention to time and space will amplify our understanding of early Christian experiences within the Roman Empire. Gregory Crane

HST. 171: Advanced Special Topics, Africa
Course description to be posted soon. Jeanne Penvenne

HST. 172: Advanced Special Topics, Latin America
Course description to be posted soon. Peter Winn

HST. 173: Advanced Special Topics, North America
Course description to be posted soon. TBA

HST. 174: Advanced Special Topics, East Asia
Course description to be posted soon. Ayesha Jalal, Kris Manjapra

HST. 175: Calcutta and Dacca: Exploring in South Asian Urban History
[formerly HST. 139]
This interdisciplinary course explores the changing social and cultural geographies of Bengal's two capital cities, Calcutta and Dacca, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Comparisons with other metropolises of South Asia, including Bombay, Lahore and Karachi will be made. Themes include the history of colonial and post-colonial architecture and public works, the shifting relationship between Hindu and Muslim cultural identity and urban geography, the connections between urban centers and hinterlands, and the problem of massive population transfers that affected both cities beginning in 1947 due to partition and war. Students will help develop web content about South Asian urban history for a new website that archives oral history interviews about life in Calcutta and Dacca from the 1940s onwards. For the main research project, students will have the opportunity to focus on an Asian metropolis of their choice, in consultation with the instructor. Kris Manjapra

HST. 176: Vienna: A biography
(Cross-listed as GER 76)
A "biography" of Vienna through the texts the city has produced/inspired; the changing (multi)cultural role Vienna has played and continues to play in the heart of Europe. The emphasis is on literary texts, but in conjunction with art, architecture, and music, as well as their modes of consumption. No prerequisites. In English. Cross-listed as GER 76. Christiane Romero

HST. 177: Advanced Special Topics, Middle East/Central Asia
Course description to be posted soon. Beatrice Manz/Leila Fawaz

HST. 178: Colloquium on International Research [formerly HST. 192]
(Cross-listed as IR 91)
This course encourages students to approach their study abroad or other international programs as opportunities to conduct quality research that might later form the basis of a senior project, research seminar paper or thesis. We recall and build upon the basic analytical and research skills introduced through the college writing requirement and the introductory / foundation courses in the various disciplines that comprise the International Relations Program. International research poses specific practical, ethical, and cultural challenges. We raise those issues as part of the research process from an initial exploration of a project to the completion of a research précis. TBA

HST. 190: Research Seminar, Travel Writing and History (Spring 2010)
This research seminar examines the literary roots of historiography. Travel accounts and their major influence in shaping historiography, from Marco Polo, to colonial reports, to travelogues and journalism today. The focus is on how cross-cultural encounters and exchanges shaped historiography, revolutionary writing and political philosophy in Europe and how narrative style and description still shapes historical text. Travel descriptions of Europe, the New World, Persia, India and China and Africa, some integrated into later historical texts are used as primary sources. Sources include text, early maps, photographs and documentary film are analyzed. Several short oral and written papers. Sources are analyzed for views of the "other", views of the world, post-colonial issues of representation, Orientalist discourse, expressions of racism, sexism, imperialism and colonialism. Ina Baghdiantz McCabe

HST. 191: Research Seminar, Africa
Course description to be posted soon. Jeanne Penvenne

HST. 191: Research Seminar, Latin America
Course description to be posted soon. Peter Winn

HST. 193: Research Seminar, North America:
Cities in Revolution: The Urban Experience of the American Revolution
[formerly HST. 187]  (Fall 2009)
This research seminar aims to explore the urban experience of the American Revolution. The cities were particularly diverse and cosmopolitan places with populations that crossed political, racial, ethnoreligious, gender, and class lines. This class will explore revolutionary mobilization (and its weaker counterpart, Loyalist countermobilization) in the legislative halls, streets, wharves, taverns, churches, and households of the cities. We will examine politics, culture, ideas, and social and economic changes in the cities during the Revolutionary period the Revolution against Great Britain and the social upheaval that accompanied it. Benjamin Carp

HST. 193: Black Panther Party
This course examines the history, legacy, and controversy surrounding the Black Panther Party (1966-1982). The BPP represents arguably the most potent symbol of 1960s era militancy. This course examines the group's innovative, successful, and at times deeply flawed efforts to transform American democracy at the local, national, and international level. Peniel Joseph

HST. 194: Research Seminar, East Asia
[formerly HST. 187]
Course description to be posted soon. Ayesha Jalal, Kris Manjapra

HST. 195: Comparative Anti-Colonialism
[formerly HST. 183]  (Fall 2009)
This course offers a comparative study of "anti-colonialism", or the politics and ideologies aimed at ending European colonial rule in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Our study will span the decades from the 1850s to the 1970s, as we compare varieties of anti-colonial action in colonial India, the Dutch East Indies (especially Indonesia), Vietnam and Algeria. Special attention will be given to the role of social class in defining strategies of resistance, the tension between radicalism versus reformism, the history of European imperial competition, counterinsurgency, and the many coalitions that developed between colonial politicians and European anti-colonial activists. A number of small-group projects during the semester will culminate in the research paper at the end of the course. Benjamin Carp

HST. 196: Research Seminar, Europe:
World War One and its Legacy (Fall 2009)
The Great War of 1914-1918 brought the "long nineteenth century" (1789-1914) to a close and gave rise to new orders, new conflicts, and new ideas that re-shaped Europe and the wider world in the twentieth century. In this research seminar, students will use a variety of primary and secondary sources to study the origins, the experience, and the aftermath of this unprecedented conflict. The course explores testimony and scholarship dealing with a variety of fronts, including the Western Front, the Eastern Front, the homefronts, and Europe's colonial empires. The course will also examine the legacies of the war, including the effects of violence on society and culture, popular and official memory of the conflict, as well as the peace settlement and the tensions it provoked in Europe and its colonies. TBA

HST. 196: Research Seminar, Europe:
Magic in Europe, 1000-1500 (Spring 2010)
Magic is a subject fraught with ambiguity for both the historian and the anthropologist. This seminar will combine history with anthropology in an effort to find out exactly what "magic" meant to Europeans in the high and late Middle Ages and what sorts of practice or belief it entailed (or was thought to entail). Of particular importance will be the effort to separate magic as understood by the elite from magic as it was conceived among the common people. Steven Marrone

HST. 197: Research Seminar, Middle East/Central Asia:
Religion and Law in Islamic History [formerly HST. 184]
(Fall 2009)
We will examine issues concerning religion, law and the state: sources of religious and legal authority, the development of a recognized religious class, the separation of religious and state power, Islamic mysticism (Sufism) the legal system and its impact on society, women and family law, the effect of modernization on religious institutions. Possible paper topics range from studies of individual figures or Sufi orders to religious uprisings against colonial rule, or developments in Islamizing states such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. Beatrice Manz

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