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FALL
2008
His 307-1/Aas 325-1 African American
History to 1865
Professor Daphne Chamberlain
9:00 MWF
Bishop 101
This course is a survey of African American history
up to 1865. It is designed to broaden each student’s
historical perspective by introducing them to major
themes and watershed events in African American history
from the early 17th century to the full emancipation
of slaves in 1865. Over the course of the semester,
students will explore trends in social, political, and
cultural history through readings from the survey text.
To develop a better understanding of the African American
experience, students will also read and analyze literature
written by African Americans who played an integral
role in helping to shape African American history, in
particular, and United States history, as a whole. By
the semester’s end, students will understand that
history is not just about remembering facts and dates;
it is subject to interpretation, can be cyclical, and
helps us understand how our personal views and experiences
have been shaped by the past.
Over the course of the semester, students will take
two mid-term exams and a comprehensive final exam. Students
will also be required to complete a writing assignment.
His 307-2/Aas 325-2 African American History
to 1865
Professor Charles Ross
11:00 TTH
Bishop
This course is an introduction to African American
history from West African to 1865. The course focuses
on central themes in the development of African American
growth, cultural development, and emphasizing the role
of black leaders and their struggle against racial segregation
and oppression. Themes treated in the course include:
early African civilizations; the Atlantic slave trade;
colonial slavery; black participation in the American
Revolution; slave rebellions; antebellum slavery; the
abolitionism; slavery and intersectional strife; the
Civil War and black participation.
Textbooks:
John Hope Franklin, From Slavery To Freedom.
8th edition
Kenneth S. Greenberg, Confessions of Nat Turner.
(1996)
Deborah Gray White, Ar'n't I a Woman? (1985)
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass.
Assignments include 2 exams, an eight page paper based
on two readings, and a final examination.
His 315-1 The American Dream
Professor Sheila Skemp
2:00 MWF
Bishop 101
This course will examine the various understandings
of the concept of the “American Dream.”
Partly chronological, partly topical, it will utilize
a variety of sources—essays, novels, autobiographies,
short stories, poems, and plays—in an effort to
trace and explain the changes in that dream over time.
It will also examine the ways in which certain Americans
at certain times were excluded from participation in
“the dream.”
Course Requirements:
Two, hour exams (100 points each)
A Final (comprehensive) exam (200 points)
Four short (4-5 pages) papers (50 points each)
One Book Review (100 points)
Texts will include:
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography
Horatio Alger, Ragged Dick and Mark the Match Boy
O.E. Rolvag, Giants in the Earth
Anzia Yezierska, The Bread Givers
Richard Wright, Black Boy
Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
Plus a Course Pack
His 324-1/Aas 324-1/Gst 321-1 Race, Gender,
Courtship
Professor Hornsby-Gutting
10:00 MWF
Bishop 112
The course will examine concepts of courtship and
romantic love among African Americans to assess the
central roles that race, gender, class and social forces
played in the most private, and intimate, of matters.
Though American social historians have addressed concepts
of romantic love, with articles and texts focusing on
relationships of white Americans in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, scholarly illumination of intimacy
among African Americans is rare.
Through readings (primary and secondary), assignments,
and discussions, students will assess the importance
of “love” as a social construct among African
Americans and how expressions of it complement or diverge
from Euro-American conceptions. Class members will also
study the diverse ways in which this history has thus
far been approached and understood by historians. The
remainder of the course will probe definitions of romantic
love among black southerners. We will analyze love letters
for clues as to how respectability and romantic love
manifested themselves within southern locales during
Jim Crow. By semester’s end, students should have
become extensively familiar with this type of historical
scholarship and have demonstrated improvement in their
reading, writing, and analytical skills.
Course requirements: Two exams, a short paper based
on primary sources and a longer paper (8-10 pages).
His 327-1/Aas 438-1 Historical Perspectives
on Slavery
In the Americas
Professor Justin Roberts
9:30 TTH
Bishop 112
This course will take a broad perspective on slavery
by examining some of the defining features of forced
labor throughout the Americas over the course of four
centuries (with occasional examples from elsewhere in
the world). To complicate the overly simplistic slave-free
dichotomy and develop a more nuanced understanding of
the denial of freedom, we will investigate not only
slavery but other systems of labor coercion, such as
the encomienda, convict labor, debt bondage, serfdom,
pauper apprenticeship, poorhouse work and indentured
servitude. We will consider definitions and justifications
of slavery (including racist ideology) that have been
used by past and present theorists. To better understand
the extent to which the working environment shaped the
lives of the enslaved, we will compare slaves’
living and working conditions in a range of historical
settings. We will conclude with a brief survey of the
impact of abolition in the Americas and a glance at
forced labor in the new millennium. Students will be
introduced to a variety of written, visual, audio and
material sources for understanding slavery. There will
be two short written assignments, focusing on the interpretation
of individual primary sources and a longer term paper.
Topics and potential sources will be provided by the
instructor. A take-home final-exam will ask students
to consider some of the historiographical and theoretical
themes addressed throughout the course.
His 329-1/Aas 443-1 The Civil Rights Era
Professor Charles Eagles
9:00 MWF
Bishop 112
The course will examine the post-World War II black
struggle for equal rights, with a special emphasis on
the southern movement. Topics covered will range from
the NAACP’s campaign against school segregation
in the 1940s and 1950s to the effects of the Voting
Rights of 1965 in the late 1960s and will include Martin
Luther King, Jr., the sit-ins and freedom rides, the
role of churches in the movement, and white opponents
of the movement.
Each student will write a brief paper on each of the
books assigned. Two tests and a final examination will
be required.
Possible readings:
Harvard Sitkoff, The Black Struggle for Equality,
1954-1992.
Adam Fairclough, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Robert J. Norrell, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Civil
Rights Movement in Tuskegee.
Neil R. McMillen, The Citizens’ Council: Organized
Resistance to the Second Reconstruction, 1954-1965.
His 331-1 The South Through the Nineteenth Century
Staff
9:30 TTH
Bishop 103
This course will examine social, political, economic,
and cultural development through the 19th century. It
will include slavery, the plantation system, western
migration, the Civil War, and its aftermath.
His 333-1 The Era of the Civil War, 1850-1877
Professor John Neff
2:30 TTH
Bishop 101
An exploration of the American Civil War, its origins
and causes, and its consequences. Since the issues which
produced war in 1861 had been present in the fabric
of the American nation since its creation and definition,
the sweeping social, political, economic and cultural
changes unleashed by the armed conflict altered the
very definition of the nation. We will consider the
origins and evolution of the sectional frictions which
divided the country, the political and racial tensions
which fueled the division, the compromises that failed
to avoid war, and the recourse to battle. As we look
at the war itself, we will try to understand it in whole
and in parts – the grand strategies of generals
and the experience of individual soldiers. All wars
take place in a social context, and so the respective
home fronts, the civilians who supported war and made
it possible, also demand our study. Lastly, in the aftermath
of battle, all Americans – north and south, black
and white – worked to live in the nation redefined
by war, but encountered great difficulty as they tried
to fulfill the promise inherent in Northern victory.
In addition to faithful and diligent completion of
the assigned readings and sterling class participation,
students will be required to complete other class and
research assignments, including two midterm examinations,
a final exam, and two writing assignments.
His 339-1/Aas 362-1/Gst 362-1 African-American
Women’s History
Professor Erin Chapman
1:00 TTH
Bishop 107
In this course we will explore the history of African
American women's labor, leisure, institution-building,
and activism from the antebellum period through the
early 1990s. In addition, we will investigate the complexities
of race, gender, and class as they have shaped African
American women's experiences, racial identity and racism,
and U.S. society. We will cover slavery, abolitionism,
Reconstruction, the Women's Era, the New Negro Era,
Civil Rights, Black Power, Black Feminism, and the Anita
Hill/Clarence Thomas debacle, with an eye toward both
African American women's participation and the gender
politics of racial advancement efforts. Readings will
include memoir, biography, and histories of specific
moments and movements and primary texts such as speeches,
essays, poetry, and fiction. Requirements will include
reading responses, formal papers, and mid-term and final
examinations.
His 340-1 Science in the Modern World
Professor Theresa Levitt
2:30 TTH
Bishop 107
Course Description:
Science and technology have become defining features
of modern life. This course examines how this came to
be, and how in turn the conditions of modern life have
shaped man’s views on the natural world. It will
cover many topics, including:
- the Scientific Revolution, during which new models
of exploring nature were proposed in both the physical
and life sciences
- the place of science in the industrializing, secularizing
world of the nineteenth century, focusing particularly
on cosmology and evolutionary biology
- the shift from classical to modern physics, and the
impact of this shift on wider culture
- the development of nuclear weapons and the role of
scientists in public life
- the genetic revolution and its implications
Several questions will interweave this material: Does
our knowledge of the world depend on the conditions
in which we create it? Can science be separated out
from the rest of human cultural activity? How has science
come to play the role that it does in our lives?
Course Mechanics:
Grades will be determined as follows: Class participation:
10%; in-class presentation/paper: 35%; Mid-term exam:
20%; Final exam: 35%.
His 350-1/Clc 311-1 Greek History
Professor John Lobur
11:00 TTH
Bishop 104
This course will examine the history of the Greek world
from the earliest times to 146 B.C. Included in this
study will be the influence of Greek institutions on
modern civilization.
His 357-1 The Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment,
1648-1789
Professor Marc Lerner
2:00 MWF
Bishop 104
The course examines important political, social and
intellectual developments in early modern Europe during
the 17th and 18th centuries. These developments will
be investigated on a pan-European basis. We will start
with the models of Absolutism in France and Britain
and later transformations of and challenges to Absolutism
throughout
Europe. In addition we will look at the origins of the
Enlightenment and its development as an intellectual
and cultural movement. Through the reading of political
writings, plays and reform tracts we will consider the
transformative impact of this broadly based movement
throughout the 18th century.
His 361-1 The History of the Holocaust
Professor Alexander Joskowicz
11:00 TTH
Bishop 103
This course discusses the origins and implementation
of the Nazi genocide against the Jews and explores its
ethical, aesthetic, and political implications. In the
first part of the course, we will focus on some of the
most important historical explanations of the Holocaust.
What was the role of individuals and bureaucratic institutions
in the exclusion, persecution, and murder of the Jews?
How did Jews react to the measures? What was the role
of "ordinary" German civilians and soldiers?
In the second part of the course, we will read some
of the broader interpretations of the Holocaust and
ask questions such as: What is the relationship of modernity
to the Holocaust? Is this a European, a German, or a
Christian phenomenon? How can the Holocaust be compared
with other genocides?
Students will have ample opportunity to work with primary
sources, including diaries from the Holocaust, propaganda
films, and contemporary newspaper articles.
His 375-1/Rel 375-1 History of Medieval Christianity
Professor Lester Field
11:00 MWF
Bishop 112
Description of Course and Pedagogical Objectives:
In seminar and lecture format, this course examines
major events and trends in the development of Christian
theologies from the time of the legalization of Christianity
under Constantine to the dawn of the Protestant Reformation.
Students who successfully complete this course will
have gained an elementary knowledge of medieval Christianity.
Required Texts:
Geary, Readings in Medieval History (2003)
Hillgarth, Christianity and Paganism (1986)
Lynch, The Medieval Church (1992)
Placher, Readings in the History of Christian Theology
Vol. 1 (1988)
Tanner, Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils 1
(1990)
Tierney, Middle Ages 1 (1999)
Course requirements and percentage of final grade:
Class participation 10% Attendance and discussion
Essays 20% See below
Midterm 20% Bring blue book(s)
Final 50% Bring blue book(s)
His 384-1 British Empire and Commonwealth
Professor Deborah Hughes
9:30 TTH
Bishop 107
This course will attempt to cover the long and rich
global history of British imperialism from the late
18th century to the close of the 20th century. Although
British historian
J. R. Seeley once wrote that the empire was built in
"a fit of absence of mind", we will seek to
draw connections between the economic, political, social
and cultural forces that
allowed the British to accumulate territories on all
seven continents and to sustain their hegemony for over
200 years.
Important events that will be examined closely include
the American Revolution, the abolition of imperial slavery,
the Indian Revolt of 1857, the publication of Darwin's
Origin of the Species, the Scramble for Africa, the
Boer Wars, the Irish Civil War, both World Wars, the
creation of the Modern Middle East, Indian Independence
and other decolonization movements, and the post-colonial
experience of the modern Britain.
His 387-1/Aas 392-1 Sub-Saharan Africa
Professor Bashir Salau
2:00 MWF
Bishop 107
This course surveys African history from the nineteenth
century to the present. Significant political, economic
and cultural developments will be analyzed. Some of
the major topics to be considered include the early
nineteenth century political mutations, the abolition
of slave trade, the partition of Africa, African responses
to European expansion, colonial rule, apartheid, and
the political economy of the post colonial era. Attention
will also be given to exploring the nature of relationship
between the United States and Africa. After completing
this course, students should: have gained a sound knowledge
of major controversies in modern African history, have
a better appreciation of the processes which shaped
modern Africa, be more critical in interpreting information,
and be able to effectively communicate history through
writing and verbal statements. The format will be lecture
and discussion.
His 393-1 State, Citizen and Nation in Modern
Latin America
Professor Oliver Dinius
1:00 TTH
Croft 107
This course examines the history of Latin America from
the 1820s to the present day. The focus is on the transformation
of economically and ethnically fragmented postcolonial
societies into politically unified, though socially
still fragmented nation states.
The overarching theme for the 19th century is state
formation. Issues include colonial legacies and independence;
rebellions and civil wars; the end of African slavery;
and Latin America’s (re)integration into world
markets. The overarching theme for the 20th century
is nation-building. Issues include mestizaje, ‘whitening,’
and cultural nationalism; industrialization, urbanization,
and economic nationalism; democracy, populism, and social
revolution; national security, military coups and dirty
wars; drugs, violence, and poverty.
The promise of citizenship – guaranteed individual
rights as well as economic, social, and cultural integration
- remains unfulfilled for many Latin Americans today.
In fact, much of the recent political turmoil in the
Andean countries is a response to this history of unfulfilled
promises. The course will illuminate the sub-continent’s
long history of race- and class-based inequality and
try to explain why these patterns of social exclusion
persist to this day.
Lectures and readings use country examples to illustrate
thematic points. The focus is on Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking
Latin America, and the larger countries (above all Brazil
and Mexico) will receive the most attention.
His 396-1 Modern Japanese History
Professor Noell Wilson
9:30 TTH
Bishop 101
This course examines the emergence of modern Japan
from the late 1500s to the present. Class lecture and
discussion will analyze the historical background from
which modern Japan emerged, identify the principal political
and cultural developments in her transition to a modern
industrial society, explore the rise and fall of Japan's
colonial empire and examine her emergence as a major
world power today. Intertwined with analysis of events,
people and ideas, we will consider key theoretical debates
on the meaning of "modernity" and how these
analytical frameworks influence our understanding of
Japan's past and present.
His 400-1 Undergraduate Research Seminar
“Major Incidents in American Foreign Policy Since
the Civil War”
Professor Michael Namorato
4:00 Monday
Bishop 326
This seminar will focus on America’s growing
perception of herself and her role in world affairs.
It will begin by examining the pre-Civil War theme of
manifest destiny and then proceed to analyze how the
United States expanded upon and develop that theme in
subsequent decades.
Special emphasis will be placed on those incidents
where America played a vital role in the outcome of
the foreign policy event. Specifically, the seminar
will study the Spanish-American War, World War I, World
War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Iraq War. In addition
to these major events in world affairs, the seminar
will also examine such incidents as America’s
intervention in the 1910 Mexican Revolution, the adoption
of the Good Neighbor policy, the Mexican expropriations
of the 1930s, the Castro revolution, and the growing
importance of the Middle East in American foreign policy
considerations.
Each student will be expected to do weekly readings
assigned by the instructor as well as participate in
group oral-research projects. Each student will also
select a foreign policy situation and write a 20-25
page research paper on it after receiving the instructor’s
approval for the chosen topic.
Readings will be done in a host of sources ranging
from textbooks in American diplomatic history to articles
and primary documents placed on Library reserve. All
readings will be announced at the beginning of the class
seminar.
His 450-1 Undergraduate Research Seminar
The Cold War in Europe
Professor Chiarella Esposito
1:00 Monday
Bishop 333
Course Description and outcomes:
This is one of the history senior capstone seminars
whose primary objective is to instruct students on how
to write a 25-page research paper. Paper topics will
have to deal with the history of the Cold War in Europe,
including: the postwar settlement; the origins of the
Cold War; the reconstruction of Europe and the economic
"miracles" of the 1950s; the Welfare State;
decolonization and loss of empire; European economic
integration; détente; the protest movements of
the 1960s and 1970s; terrorism; the changing faces of
liberalism and socialism; the crisis of communism; the
1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe and their consequences;
the new, post-Cold War Europe. The paper should be based
on both primary and secondary sources, which students
will thoroughly learn to distinguish from each other
in the course of the first 3-4 seminar meetings. During
the first four weeks of classes students will also learn
how to choose an adequate research topic, and to write
footnotes and a bibliography correctly. A three-page
prospectus about the chosen research topic, as well
as a bibliography, will be due by the end of the fourth
week of classes. A 15-page rough draft will be due by
the end of October.
His 460-1 Undergraduate Research Seminar
Women in African History
Professor Bashir Salau
4:00 Wednesday
Bishop 333
This seminar course will engage the class in exploring
the interesting, controversial and chequered history
of women in Africa. It will explore local and external
social, cultural, and political factors that shape the
experiences of women in Africa from ancient times to
the present. Special attention will be given to examining
key themes in women’s studies including: identity,
religion, socio-sexual ideologies, slavery, sexuality,
politics, and work. Readings will consist of important
historical works that might serve as models for students’
research. Thus, readings will include theoretical pieces
and works on specific countries such as Nigeria, South
Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Algeria. By the end of the
course students will not only better grasp the theories
and methods used in the reconstruction of the history
of African women, but will also have a sound appreciation
of the varied social and economic factors affecting
women in African societies.
His 490-1 Undergraduate Reading Seminar in
History
The Meiji Restoration: Japan’s
Modern Revolution
Professor Noell Wilson
4:00 TH
Bishop 326
The Meiji Restoration, Japan’s modern revolution,
was an extraordinary transformation that catapulted
a politically disintegrating, isolated nation into a
world power within the course of three decades (1868-1911).
The speed and scope of this political, cultural, and
economic change is unparalleled in the course of human
history. This reading seminar has two interrelated objectives.
The first is to introduce you to the details, and central
historical debates, of the Meiji Restoration and its
consequences. Drawing from this content, the second
goal of the course is to lead you step by step through
the process of formulating, researching, and then proving
an extended historical argument related to the Meiji
Restoration based on analysis of both primary sources
and secondary scholarship.
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