This semester offers a broad look at the history of the United States in the 150 years from the end of the Civil War through the first decade of the 21st Century. Throughout the course, we will engage with the social, political, and cultural changes, ideas, and events that have profoundly shaped modern American society.

Key questions include: How have we defined being American? How has the nation’s relationship with the world changed?  How have the rights of citizens evolved over time? How have various groups in American society articulated their claims to citizenship and national belonging? What factors have affected the development of American political leadership?

Concentration: U.S. / Period: Modern

This course examines the major developments in European history since the late 18th century, including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, the Industrial Revolution, imperialism, the First World War, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Fascist and Nazi seizures of power, the Second World War, the Holocaust, the Cold War, and European Unification. The thematic focus of this course is the relationship between the individual and the state. How does this relationship change over time – what makes it “modern”? To address this question, we will examine ideologies (liberalism, conservatism, socialism, nationalism, fascism), the birth of mass society, poverty, violence, women’s rights, and racism. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week. Discussions emphasize primary sources and historical debates. Grades are based on in-class exams, papers, and discussion.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Modern

This course introduces students to global history beginning in 1750 by focusing on social, economic, political, intellectual and religious developments in major regions of the world: Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. Beginning with the Mughal Empire in India, the Ottomans, and the empires of the New World, it will trace the growing interaction of these areas with Europe through colonialism and trade. From the age of revolutions to the age of empires and the age of nation-states, this course studies the relevance of the early modern world for understanding today’s global patterns and economic interdependency. We will explore twentieth-century developments including the spread of Marxism, secular nationalism, and decolonization. The course ends by looking at current issues in world history, including the environment, global capitalism, and religious revivalism. Topics will be covered thematically in general chronological order. Lectures will be supplemented by maps, visual materials, music, documentaries and films. All students are required to attend lectures and one discussion section a week. Students need not have taken HST 121 Global History to enroll.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

This introductory survey traces Europe’s transformation during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, from roughly 300 CE to roughly 1500 CE. It begins as the Roman Empire slowly gave way to new societies in both East and West, and then follows the fortunes of these societies over more than 1000 years. It explores the religious, political, economic, social, cultural, intellectual, and artistic aspects of these societies and how they changed over time. Readings will include both primary sources (those written at the time) and secondary sources (by modern scholars). Students will learn to analyze these sources in order to find out what happened in this period, how people understood events, and how historians use evidence to explain the past. Requirements include reading and participation, midterm and final exams, and two papers.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Pre-modern

A basic survey of political, economic, and social history of Africa during the colonial period through the post-independence period.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

In this seminar we will explore the historical experience of Arab Americans from the 1800s onward. Where did they come from and where did they settle? Who did they think they were, and how were they perceived by others? What kind of economic lives did they lead and how did they become "Americans"? Guided by these questions, we will follow the historical traces of Arab Americans in New York City's "Little Syria" and the towns of the American Heartland; among the ranks of US soldiers in World War I, garment factory workers in Massachusetts and peddlers on the US-Mexico border; within the walls of the churches they built and on the pages of the newspapers they published. To understand that social world, students will pursue research assignments that combine historical scholarship and original research in primary sources such as digitized archival collections and recorded oral histories.

Concentration: US/Global / Period: Pre-Modern/Modern

This course examines the rise of Global Korea through K-pop, film, television, streaming media, gaming, esports, sports, beauty, food, fashion, and other forms of popular culture. Beginning with South Korea’s democratization, economic transformation, and globalization in the late twentieth century, students will explore how cultural industries, government policy, corporations, artists, athletes, fans, and digital platforms brought Korean culture to worldwide audiences. The course considers labor, gender, race, national identity, diaspora, soft power, and cultural exchange. Through historical readings and media analysis, students will investigate how Korea became a major global cultural force and reshaped contemporary globalization across media and entertainment.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

What is History? How do scholars “do” history? This seminar introduces history majors to the methods and goals of historical study, and to the skills needed to conduct independent historical research. The first part of the course will be spent discussing what exactly history is and has been. We will then move on to discussing the kinds of history that have developed across the century in the American Historical profession. Finally, students will spend a large portion of the course familiarizing themselves with the analytical and practical skills needed to develop their own research projects.

European invasion of America. Native American resistance. Institutions of conquest, colonization, and empire. Anglicization of the colonists and the acculturation of the Iroquois. Servitude, slavery, and the family.

Concentration: US/Global / Period: Pre-Modern

The Civil War was a second American Revolution, and considerably more transformative than the first. Through lectures, readings of primary and secondary-source texts, discussions, and films, this course will show why. We begin by asking what led Southern states to secede in 1861, why the North resolved to restore the union by force of arms, and how emancipation evolved from a military expedient to a defining war aim. We will ask how changing military strategies and tactics related to political struggles over the objectives of the war, and why the war took so many lives. The role of political and military leaders – Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, to name a few – will be placed alongside the experiences of soldiers, slaves, and civilians. Our examination of Reconstruction will pay particular attention to the efforts of freedmen and women to secure their freedoms despite the hostility of white Southerners and the indifference of Northerners. Care will also be taken to understand the Civil War and Reconstruction in relation to larger social, economic, and cultural developments in nineteenth-century America, and to place them in global context. Finally, we will look at how Americans have remembered the war, from struggles over memorialization, to the persistence of "Lost Cause" mythology, to changing interpretations of the war advanced by historians in the twentieth century.

Concentration: U.S. / Period: Modern

An analysis of key historical issues that have shaped Africa's relationship with the international/global community since about 1870. This includes, but is not limited to, Western imperialism, the African colonial economies, the two world wars, nationalism and decolonization, the Cold War, and the development question.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

This course will survey the history of China from the seventeenth century to the present. Our focus will be on revolution and reform: the primary means through which Chinese people responded to the challenges of a new world, and, most particularly, to Western encroachment and invasion. Topics to be considered in depth include:  politics and society under the Qing dynasty (1644-1911); the end of the dynastic system and the continuing quest for a viable political system; reform of Chinese culture through revolution; the challenge of changing old attitudes about gender roles; conflicting visions for the new nation; the critique of communism by dissident Chinese; the persistence and resurgence of traditional ways, and the renewed interest in Maoism during the 2000’s. Assigned readings include a slim textbook to provide chronology and a variety of historical materials including memoirs, fiction and poetry.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

In this course, we will explore Latin American history from independence to the late twentieth century. This course is broad, geographically and temporally, but no prior knowledge of Latin American history is necessary. Drawing upon primary documents, audio and visual materials, and secondary historical literature, this course will explore the nation-building process and the ways that ordinary people interacted with the state. We will also analyze the construction of racial, class, and gender hierarchies in various Latin American contexts. We draw from case studies and national histories, but we will place these historical moments within a global perspective, elucidating how Latin American actors shaped imperial practices, nation-state formation, revolutionary and counterrevolutionary dynamics during the Cold War, and innovative political practices against neoliberalism.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

Focuses on the experiences of enslaved and emancipated people in North and South America and the Caribbean to understand the role of slavery in the creation of the modern world. Comparisons of African and Native American slavery & indentured servitude c. 1492-1888.

Concentration: US/Global / Period: Pre-Modern/Modern

This course surveys the history of technology and science from the ancient world to the present. It focuses on how the development of technologies and sciences are influenced by society, as well as how discoveries and innovations reciprocally affect society.

Concentration: Global / Period: Pre-Modern/Modern

This course considers the history of capitalism in the United States, exploring the nation from its origins as part of the British empire to its emergence as the world’s greatest financial power.  In it, students will explore how canals, turnpikes, and railroads transformed the nation’s transportation network.  They will discuss the rise of markets in cities and towns.  Students will explore the emergence of plantation slavery, making the South the center of a global market in cotton. The course discusses how technology reshaped manufacturing.  They will consider the development of an American working class and their protests against their treatment.  Students will learn about the rise of the modern corporation, banking, and the stock market.  And the class will discuss a range of additional themes, including law, war, regulation, consumerism, de-industrialization, and white-collar work.

Concentration: U.S. / Period: Pre-Modern

International Relations Theory and History, focusing on the text of Thucydides.

Concentration: Europe/Global / Period: Pre-Modern

This course focuses mainly on the past 150 years and is intended to provide an overview of women’s experiences in America from the Civil War to the present. While it is not a course on the history of feminism, it will be taught from a feminist perspective, meaning that women will be considered as subjects—as actors who themselves “make history,” and not simply as passive objects of the actions of others. It assumes the full personhood of women, as well as the reality of discrimination against women, and the significance of women’s experience. We also will pay attention to diversity among women and their experiences over time. And we will have plenty of discussion.

Concentration: U.S. / Period: Modern

Historical survey of ancient Rome to 300 AD.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Pre-Modern

This seminar explores various facets of the Italian Renaissance mostly through primary sources and a few key works by modern scholars. Texts by such central authors as Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Valla, Machiavelli, and Castiglione are accompanied by more private accounts, from the letters of Alessandra Strozzi to her exiled sons to the diaries of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati. While the scope of the course only permits a brief foray into the extraordinary art history of the Renaissance, readings include Michael Baxandall’s still essential analysis of Renaissance paintings, Antonio Manetti’s Boccaccian tale featuring Filippo Brunelleschi and Donatello, and Benvenuto Cellini’s delightfully boastful and unreliable autobiography. The course concludes with texts produced by Renaissance Italian explorers and travelers including letters by Columbus and Vespucci and Francesco Carletti’s autobiographical account of his eventful circumnavigation. This course is premised on intensive engagement with a select set of texts produced in the Renaissance, reading out from primary sources to begin to understand the society that laid the foundations for much of the modern world.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Pre-Modern

This course examines the history of the modern Italian nation-state from its formation during the nineteenth century up to the present day, covering the major events in modern Italian history: the Risorgimento and Unification, the First World War, the decline of the Liberal state, the rise of Fascism, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the crisis of the Italian Republic (1990s). As we examine these events, we will explore topics such as state-building, nationalism, regionalism, class conflict, poverty, social movements, the Catholic Church, immigration, terrorism, political corruption, and the Mafia.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Modern

This course examines the political, cultural and social history of Early Modern England. Topics covered will include the power and image of the monarchy (cases studies - Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Charles I); the role of the printing press in both ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture; the impact of crime and the treatment of criminals; the importance of London as a center of commerce and culture; the myth and reality of Shakespeare and the role of the theater; witchcraft and the dominance of religion in everyday life; and the role of women in a patriarchal society. The course will emphasize reading, discussion, visual culture and the use of primary sources.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Modern

The history of twentieth-century Europe can be understood in large part as the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The first half of the century was dominated by the antagonism between the Soviet and Fascist powers; the second half, between Soviet and Western spheres of influence in the Cold War. Likewise, if the 20th century began in 1914 with the start of WWI, it arguably ended in 1991 with the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. This course has two main objectives: to examine the major issues surrounding the rise and fall of communism in Russia in the 20th century, and to give you a glimpse of what life was like for people who lived through the Soviet era.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Modern

This course will study major developments in the history of the first and second world wars. These were conflicts that dramatically changed the course of history across the globe

On World War I:  The setting for the war in the struggle for mastery in Europe to 1914.  The Schlieffen Plan and its fate in the critical early months of the conflict.  The creation of the killing ground of the western front trenches by 1915.  The massive attrition battles in the arenas of death at Verdun, the Somme and in Flanders Field.  The war in the east and its implications for the fate of Russia.  The war at sea to Jutland and after.  Warfare beyond the European battlefields.  The war in the air. American entry and the final encounters 1917-18.

On World War II:  The heritage of Versailles and the rise of Hitler.  After appeasement and isolationism – the war begins in Poland with Blitzkrieg.  The Fall of France and the Battle of Britain.  Barbarossa and Hitler’s run of victories against the Red Army.  Pearl Harbor and America’s road to war.  From Stalingrad to the Kursk Salient and beyond.  The Pacific war from Midway to the offensives in the Central and Southwest Pacific. The Holocaust and violence against civilians in Europe and Asia.  Closing the ring in Europe.  Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the decision to use the atomic bomb.

Concentration: U.S. or Europe / Period: Modern

Religion is an explosive issue in contemporary politics globally, but seems to have extra resonance in parts of Asia, including in the Indian subcontinent. Moreover, since 9/11, Islam appears as the typical face of religious extremism. This course challenges the myth of religious politics as the relics of pre-modern solidarities, exploring instead its specifically modern incarnations. Accordingly, we will look at how religious identities are intertwined with modern political forms (democracy) and modern technologies (mass media). To that extent, we will see how religious fundamentalism is not limited to Islam but indeed extends to all prominent South Asian religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. Other key course themes include the gendered nature of religious politics and the lasting consequences of colonial forms of rule. Course material includes articles, documentaries, fiction and poetry.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

Starting in 1095, Christian armies from Western Europe attacked groups they viewed as their religious enemies. These campaigns took place in what is now the Middle East, but also within Europe itself. By studying these campaigns, this course explores what the crusades were, why people fought them, and how they justified violence in the name of religion. In particular, the course investigates the ways in which crusaders dehumanized their enemies and depicted their own violent acts as holy. Students will read and analyze primary sources (those written at the time) in order to learn what happened and to explain how it happened. We will also consider the significance and legacy of these wars. The course emphasizes critical reading and analysis, and writing. Each class will involve a combination of lecture and discussion. Careful reading and active participation in discussion are vital. Requirements include in-class debates, in-class exams, and a final paper. Fulfills the Critical Reflections requirement.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Pre-Modern

The role of law in American history from the colonial period to the present. The common law, the Constitution, the market revolution, slavery and emancipation, laissez-faire, legal realism, the New Deal, and civil rights.

Concentration: US / Period: Modern  

How has American cinema shaped the country's memory of war? From the trenches of World War I to the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq, American filmmakers have transformed combat into spectacle and myth, both in the service of creating a militarized national identity and in critiquing it. This research seminar explores the evolving grammar of war cinema. We'll look at the heroic sacrifice narratives of the 1940s, the moral ambiguity of Vietnam-era films, and the absent enemies of post-9/11 cinema. To begin with, we'll watch and dissect key films together while building the theoretical and methodological toolkit for serious film scholarship. The second half of the semester will be yours: each student will pursue an independent research project on some aspect of American war cinema that interests them, from (for example) gender and representation to propaganda and censorship to the evolution of combat aesthetics across the decades.

Concentration: US / Period: Modern

The goal of this seminar is to produce a research paper (20-25 pp.) that explores one topic related to the history of genocide in the modern world. The term genocide initially referred to the Nazi massacre of millions of European Jews during WWII. Since the defeat of Nazism, the term has been applied to many instances of mass killing that occurred before and after the Holocaust. This course seeks to answer several important questions about genocide. What constitutes genocide? Why does genocide happen? Why do ordinary people kill? Finally, can genocide be prevented? If so, how? During roughly the first half of the semester, the seminar will examine readings that explore these issues. After the sixth or seventh week, members of the seminar will work exclusively on conducting research, giving presentations, and writing their final papers.

Concentration:  U.S./Europe/Global / Period: Modern

This course examines how societies around the world, from the ancient past to the present, interacted with, shaped, and were shaped by the natural environment.

Concentration: Global / Period: Modern

This course will examine why White Nationalism and Right-wing Populism have become so prominent on the early 21st-century American political landscape. Although such tendencies have long been evident (consider the Second KKK in the 1920s and the Dixiecrats of the 1940s and '50s as two examples), we will explore why they have achieved such significance in recent years. Among the questions we will consider are these:

To what extent is there continuity between earlier forms of right-wing radicalism and those we see today?

Was the emergence and ongoing influence of Donald Trump (and pro-Trump groups like QAnon, Proud Boys, Militias, and America First) a cause or consequence of the surge in such beliefs?

In what ways are US developments distinctive, and how are they part of a global authoritarianist wave?

How has social media enabled the development of movements like these? Throughout the term, emphasis will be on reading, reflection, and discussion.

Concentration: U.S. / Period: Modern                         

Elizabeth I: Cultural icon? Virgin queen? ‘Father/Mother’ of the nation? This course will examine the images, personality, words and actions of one of the most important monarchs in English history. How did Elizabeth manage to negotiate her rule of a patriarchal society as a ‘weak-willed woman’? Did she exploit her considerable political skills to benefit the country or simply to maintain her position on the throne? And what of those who sort to assassinate or replace her? How did she react to threats of foreign invasion, domestic rebellion and a barely concerned hostility among many in the governing classes? Using both early modern and modern iconography, we will explore the images and representations of Elizabeth to unravel her life and examine how she sought to portray herself and how others have seen her through the years.

Concentration: Europe / Period: Pre-Modern

As A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) has exploded into contemporary consciousness and its uses in everyday life have expanded exponentially (ChatGPT, for example), it is vital to pause to reflect on its potential impact on nearly every realm, from education, jobs, popular culture, and entertainment to how we think of ourselves as human beings, form relationships, interact with others, and navigate other aspects of our public and private lives. In this course, we will explore AI as a cultural phenomenon through its history, imaginative portrayals in film and the arts, and current debates over its pros and cons, with special attention to the impact of the virtual world of computer technology, social media, the internet, and now AI, on the self. Comparison with earlier concepts of the self, emotion, and thought in intellectual history and cultural criticism of technology and media—with their visions of what the human person is and might strive to be—can help us assess what might be different in emerging concepts and practices.

Concentration: U.S./Native / Period: Modern

Instructor Consent Required

Students doing the thesis will take 3 credits of HST 495 the first semester and 3 credits of HST 496 the second semester (2 semesters for a total of 6 credits), which may begin in their junior or senior year.  Students should register for HST 495 and 496 upon approval from the faculty advisor and Undergraduate Director.