Courses
Courses stress the development of ideas, cultures, and institutions, not merely the accumulation of data about particular events. Students study some topics and methods intensively to learn how to use and evaluate primary sources. Instructors assign extensive reading to familiarize students with various kinds of historical writing. Students are expected to participate in class discussions, and most courses emphasize critical writing rather than examinations.
History students may also be interested in historically-oriented courses in related fields such as History of Art 212 - Medieval Architecture or Growth & Structure of Cities 180 - Introduction to Historic Preservation.
This page displays the schedule of Bryn Mawr courses in this department for this academic year. It also displays descriptions of courses offered by the department during the last four academic years.
For information about courses offered by other Bryn Mawr departments and programs or about courses offered by Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, please consult the Course Guides page.
For information about the Academic Calendar, including the dates of first and second quarter courses, please visit the College's master calendar.
Spring 2013
| COURSE |
TITLE |
SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS |
LOCATION |
INSTRUCTOR(S) |
| HIST B101-001 |
The Historical Imagination |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH |
Carpenter Library 25 |
Kale,M. |
| HIST B102-001 |
Introduction to African Civilizations |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH |
Bettws Y Coed 127 |
Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B115-001 |
Women in Judaism: History, Texts, Practices |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH |
Thomas Hall 104 |
Albert,A. |
| HIST B129-001 |
The Religious Conquest of the Americas |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM MW |
Thomas Hall 118 |
Gallup-Diaz,I. |
| HIST B207-001 |
Early Rome and the Early Republic |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM MWF |
Thomas Hall 111 |
Scott,R. |
| HIST B229-001 |
Europe 1914 - 1945 |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall F |
Prakash,A. |
| HIST B231-001 |
Medicine, Magic & Miracles in the Middle Ages |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Dalton Hall 300 |
Truitt,E. |
| HIST B246-001 |
Medievalisms |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW |
Taylor Hall F |
Taylor,J., Truitt,E. |
| HIST B265-001 |
Colonial Encounters in the Americas |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW |
Taylor Hall D |
Gallup-Diaz,I. |
| HIST B274-001 |
Focus: Topics in Modern US History: Leisure and Society: Tourism & Class |
First Half / 0.5 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Thomas Hall 116 |
Ullman,S. |
| HIST B274-002 |
Focus: Topics in Modern US History: Leisure and Society: Baseball & Class |
Second Half / 0.5 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Thomas Hall 116 |
Ullman,S. |
| HIST B278-001 |
American Environmental History |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall G |
Stroud,E. |
| HIST B286-001 |
Topics in the British Empire: Birth of Nations, Nationalism and Decolonization |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall B |
Kale,M. |
| HIST B311-001 |
Topics in Medieval Art |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 2:00 PM- 4:00 PM TH |
Carpenter Library 13 |
Walker,A. |
| HIST B318-001 |
Topics in Modern European History: Migration |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 3:30 PM W |
Dalton Hall 6 |
Prakash,A. |
| HIST B325-001 |
Topics in Social History: Sexuality in America |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM T |
Carpenter Library 13 |
Ullman,S. |
| HIST B336-001 |
Social and Cultural History of Medicine in Africa |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM T |
Carpenter Library 17 |
Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B357-001 |
Topics in British Empire:: Screening Empire, Projecting Home |
Semester / 1 |
|
|
|
| HIST B371-001 |
Topics in Atlantic History: The Early Modern Pirate in Fact and Fiction |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM TH |
Taylor Hall C |
Gallup-Diaz,I. |
| HIST B383-001 |
Two Hundred Years of Islamic Reform, Radicalism and Revolution |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM M |
Dalton Hall 212A |
Harrold,D. |
| HIST B395-001 |
Exploring History |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM F |
Thomas Hall 116 |
Ngalamulume,K., Prakash,A. |
Fall 2013
| COURSE |
TITLE |
SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS |
LOCATION |
INSTRUCTOR(S) |
| HIST B127-001 |
Indigenous Leaders 1492-1750 |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM W |
Taylor Hall B |
Gallup-Diaz,I. |
| HIST B131-001 |
Chinese Civilization |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Thomas Hall 116 |
Jiang,Y. |
| HIST B223-001 |
The Early Medieval World |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall C |
Truitt,E. |
| HIST B226-001 |
Topics in 20th Century European History: Gender- Modern European State |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Bettws Y Coed 106 |
Kurimay,A. |
| HIST B236-001 |
African History since 1800 |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall C |
Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B262-001 |
The Chinese Revolution |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW |
Thomas Hall 116 |
Jiang,Y. |
| HIST B275-001 |
Improving Mankind: Enlightened Hygiene and Eugenics |
Semester / 0 |
Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH |
Taylor Hall, Seminar Room |
Le Menthéour,R. |
|
Extra Hour for French Credit: Date/Time TBA |
|
|
| HIST B285-001 |
Show and Spectacle in Ancient Greece and Rome |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall E |
Baertschi,A. |
| HIST B303-001 |
Topics in American History: History of Medicine in America |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM M |
Carpenter Library 15 |
Interim,R. |
| HIST B319-001 |
Topics in Modern European History: History of Psychoanalysis: Vienna-Budapest-Berlin |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM TH |
Taylor Hall B |
Kurimay,A. |
| HIST B398-001 |
Senior Thesis |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM M |
Taylor Hall B |
Dept. staff, TBA |
Spring 2014
| COURSE |
TITLE |
SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS |
LOCATION |
INSTRUCTOR(S) |
| HIST B102-001 |
Introduction to African Civilizations |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Taylor Hall C |
Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B128-001 |
Crusade, Conversion and Conquest |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH |
Thomas Hall 104 |
Truitt,E. |
| HIST B156-001 |
The Long 1960's |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH |
Dalton Hall 1 |
Ullman,S. |
| HIST B208-001 |
The Roman Empire |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM MWF |
Thomas Hall 102 |
Scott,R. |
| HIST B226-001 |
Topics in 20th Century European History: Human Rights:Theory & Practice |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Carpenter Library 17 |
Kurimay,A. |
| HIST B237-001 |
Themes in Modern African History: Urbanization in Africa |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW |
|
Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B242-001 |
American Politics and Society: 1945 to the Present |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH |
Thomas Hall 224 |
Ullman,S. |
| HIST B244-001 |
Great Empires of the Ancient Near East |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH |
Carpenter Library 21 |
Ataç,M. |
| HIST B247-001 |
Topics In German Cultural Studies |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH |
Carpenter Library 25 |
Dept. staff, TBA |
|
Film: Date/Time TBA |
|
|
| HIST B260-001 |
Human Rights in China |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH |
Thomas Hall 104 |
Jiang,Y. |
| HIST B283-001 |
Introduction to the Politics of the Modern Middle East and North Africa |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH |
Dalton Hall 2 |
Rudy,S. |
| HIST B303-001 |
Topics in American History: Reproduction in America |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM T |
Dalton Hall 25 |
Interim,R. |
| HIST B319-001 |
Topics in Modern European History: Holocaust: History & Politics of Commemoration |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM TH |
Carpenter Library 17 |
Kurimay,A. |
| HIST B325-001 |
Topics in Social History: Women's Higher Education in 19th and 20th Century |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 3:30 PM F |
|
Dept. staff, TBA |
| HIST B336-001 |
Social and Cultural History of Medicine in Africa |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM T |
Carpenter Library 13 |
Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B352-001 |
China's Environment |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM T |
Thomas Hall 104 |
Jiang,Y. |
| HIST B364-001 |
Magical Mechanisms |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 3:30 PM W |
Taylor Hall E |
Truitt,E. |
| HIST B395-001 |
Exploring History |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM M |
Thomas Hall 118 |
Ullman,S. |
Fall 2010 Tri-Co Course Guide Listings
Spring 2011 Tri-Co Course Guide Listings
Course Descriptions
2013-14 Catalog Data
HIST
B101
The Historical Imagination
Not offered 2013-14
Explores some of the ways people have thought about, represented, and used the past across time and space. Introduces students to modern historical practices and debates through examination and discussion of texts and archives that range from scholarly monographs and documents to monuments, oral traditions, and other media.
Division I or Division III
Critical Interpretation (CI)
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HIST
B102
Introduction to African Civilizations
Spring 2014
The course is designed to introduce students to the history of African and African Diaspora societies, cultures, and political economies. We will discuss the origins, state formation, external contacts, and the structural transformations and continuities of African societies and cultures in the context of the slave trade, colonial rule, capitalist exploitation, urbanization, and westernization, as well as contemporary struggles over authority, autonomy, identity and access to resources. Case studies will be drawn from across the continent.
Division I: Social Science
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B115
Women in Judaism: History, Texts, Practices
Not offered 2013-14
This course will investigate the varied experiences of women in Jewish history. Cultural, religious, and theoretical perspectives will be engaged as we seek to illuminate the roles, practices, and texts of Jewish women, from the biblical matriarchs to Hasidic teenagers today. No previous knowledge of Judaism is required.
Division III: Humanities
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as HEBR B115
Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies
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HIST
B127
Indigenous Leaders 1492-1750
Fall 2013
Studies the experiences of indigenous men and women who exercised local authority in the systems established by European colonizers. In return for places in the colonial administrations, these leaders performed a range of tasks. At the same time they served as imperial officials, they exercised "traditional" forms of authority within their communities, often free of European presence. These figures provide a lens through which early modern colonialism is studied.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures
Counts toward Peace and Conflict Studies
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HIST
B128
Crusade, Conversion and Conquest
Spring 2014
A thematic focus course exploring the nature of Christian religious expansion and conflict in the medieval period. Based around primary sources with some background readings, topics include: early medieval Christianity and conversion; the Crusades and development of the doctrines of "just war" and "holy war"; the rise of military order such as the Templars and the Teutonic Kings; and later medieval attempts to convert and colonize Eastern Europe.
Division I or Division III
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Middle East Studies
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HIST
B129
The Religious Conquest of the Americas
Not offered 2013-14
The course examines the complex aspects of the European missionization of indigenous people, and explores how two traditions of religious thought/practice came into conflict. Rather than a transposition of Christianity from Europe to the Americas, something new was created in the contested colonial space.
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
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HIST
B131
Chinese Civilization
Fall 2013
A broad chronological survey of Chinese culture and society from the Bronze Age to the 1800s, with special reference to such topics as belief, family, language, the arts and sociopolitical organization. Readings include primary sources in English translation and secondary studies.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as EAST B131
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HIST
B156
The Long 1960's
Spring 2014
The 1960s has had a powerful effect on recent US History. But what was it exactly? How long did it last? And what do we really mean when we say "The Sixties?" This term has become so potent and loaded for so many people from all sides of the political spectrum that it's almost impossible to separate fact from fiction; myth from memory. We are all the inheritors of this intense period in American history but our inheritance is neither simple nor entirely clear. Our task this semester is to try to pull apart the meaning as well as the legend and attempt to figure out what "The Sixties" is (and what it isn't) and try to assess its long term impact on American society. This course satifies the History Major's 100 level requirement.
Division I or Division III
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B200
The Atlantic World 1492-1800
Not offered 2013-14
The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the way in which peoples, goods, and ideas from Africa, Europe. and the Americas came together to form an interconnected Atlantic World system. The course is designed to chart the manner in which an integrated system was created in the Americas in the early modern period, rather than to treat the history of the Atlantic World as nothing more than an expanded version of North American, Caribbean, or Latin American history.
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as ANTH B200
Counts toward Africana Studies
Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures
Counts toward International Studies Major
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HIST
B205
Greek History
Not offered 2013-14
A study of Greece down to the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 B.C.E.), with a focus on constitutional changes from monarchy through aristocracy and tyranny to democracy in various parts of the Greek world. Emphasis on learning to interpret ancient sources, including historians (especially Herodotus and Thucydides),inscriptions, and archaeological and numismatic materials. Particular attention is paid to Greek contacts with the Near East; constitutional developments in various Greek-speaking states; Athenian and Spartan foreign policies; and the "unwritten history" of non-elites.
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CSTS B205
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HIST
B207
Early Rome and the Early Republic
Not offered 2013-14
This course surveys the history of Rome from its origins to the end of the Republic, with special emphasis on the rise of Rome in Italy and the evolution of the Roman state. The course also examines the Hellenistic world in which the rise of Rome takes place. The methods of historical investigation using the ancient sources, both literary and archaeological, are emphasized.
Division III: Humanities
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CSTS B207
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HIST
B208
The Roman Empire
Spring 2014
Imperial history from the principate of Augustus to the House of Constantine with focus on the evolution of Roman culture and society as presented in the surviving ancient evidence, both literary and archaeological.
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CSTS B208
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HIST
B211
Medieval World
Not offered 2013-14
Italy in the High and Late Middle Ages examines cultural developments in the Italian peninsula through an intensive examination of translated primary sources of various genres-narrative chronicles, diaries, legal opinions, saints' lives etc--as well as paintings, frescoes and other examples of visual material culture.
Division I or Division III
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HIST
B212
Pirates, Travelers, and Natural Historians: 1492-1750
Not offered 2013-14
In the early modern period, conquistadors, missionaries, travelers, pirates, and natural historians wrote interesting texts in which they tried to integrate the New World into their existing frameworks of knowledge. This intellectual endeavor was an adjunct to the physical conquest of American space, and provides a framework though which we will explore the processes of imperial competition, state formation, and indigenous and African resistance to colonialism.
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Environmental Studies
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HIST
B214
The Historical Roots of Women in Genetics and Embryology
Not offered 2013-14
This course provides a general history of genetics and embryology from the late 19th to the mid-20th century with a focus on the role that women scientists and technicians played in the development of these sub-disciplines. We will look at the lives of well known and lesser-known individuals, asking how factors such as their educational experiences and mentor relationships influenced the roles these women played in the scientific enterprise. We will also examine specific scientific contributions in historical context, requiring a review of core concepts in genetics and developmental biology. One facet of the course will be to look at the Bryn Mawr Biology Department from the founding of the College into the mid-20th century.
Division II: Natural Science
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Scientific Investigation (SI)
Cross-listed as BIOL B214
Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies
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HIST
B215
Europe and the Other: Immigrants and Minorities in Europe
Not offered 2013-14
This course will introduce students to questions of socio-cultural and political belonging and the production of social marginality in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics of study include religious and ethnic minorities in Britain, France, and Germany, colonial and postcolonial migration and the politics of culture, and the question of undocumented peoples.
Division III: Humanities
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B222
France and Algeria since 1830
Not offered 2013-14
This course will trace the intertwined history of France and Algeria by analyzing the beginnings of the French presence in Algeria, colonization and resistance, citizenship and race, the Algerian War, and decolonization. Prerequisite: One 100-level history course.
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as POLS B223
Cross-listed as FREN B222
Counts toward Middle East Studies
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HIST
B223
The Early Medieval World
Fall 2013
The first of a two-course sequence introducing medieval European history. The chronological span of this course is from the early 4th century and the Christianization of the Roman Empire to the early 10th century and the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CSTS B223
Counts toward Middle East Studies
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HIST
B224
High Middle Ages
Not offered 2013-14
This course will cover the second half of the European Middle Ages, often called the High and Late Middle Ages, from roughly 1000-1400. The course has a general chronological framework, and is based on important themes of medieval history. These include feudalism and the feudal economy; the social transformation of the millennium; monastic reform; the rise of the papacy; trade, exchange, and exploration; urbanism and the growth of towns.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CSTS B224
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HIST
B225
Europe in the 19th Century
Not offered 2013-14
The 19th century was a period of intense change in Europe. Some of the questions this class considers are: the relationship between empire, plantation-style agriculture and industrialization; the development of transportations and communication networks; multinational companies, a mass press, film, and tourism as early markers of globalization.
Division III: Humanities
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B226
Topics in 20th Century European History
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Europe 1900 to Present
Section 001 (Fall 2013): Gender- Modern European State
Section 001 (Spring 2014): Human Rights:Theory & Practice
Fall 2013, Spring 2014
This is a topics course. Course content varies.
Current topic description: How have ideas about human rights shaped European politics throughout the twentieth century and how do they influence politics today? The course examines the history of human rights, as a set of ideas and as a motivation for social action. Concentrating on the role of human rights in European history, the course considers how ideas about rights motivated political and social change and looks at how different groups defined and fought for rights, either for themselves or others.
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B229
Europe 1914 - 1945
Not offered 2013-14
Between 1914 and 1945 over sixty million people were killed across Europe and the wider world by warfare. How can we make sense of this mass death? What were the historical conditions that made such an outcome possible? This course attempts to answer these questions by studying the causes, prosecution, and effects of WWI and WWII. Topics of study will include the political inheritance of the nineteenth century, the birth of Bolshevism and fascism, the rise and demise of the League of Nations, Nazi Europe, the Holocaust, and the origins of the Cold War.
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B231
Medicine, Magic & Miracles in the Middle Ages
Not offered 2013-14
An exploration of the history of health and disease, healing and medical practice in the medieval period, emphasizing Dar as-Islam and the Latin Christian West. Using methods from intellectual cultural and social history, themes include: theories of health and disease; varieties of medical practice; rationalities of various practices; views of the body and disease; medical practitioners. No previous course work in medieval history is required. This course is a writing intensive (W) course.
Division I or Division III
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CSTS B231
Cross-listed as ARCH B231
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HIST
B235
Africa to 1800
Not offered 2013-14
The course explores the formation and development of African societies, with a special focus on the key processes of hominisation, agricultural revolution, metalworking, the formation of states, the connection of West Africa to the world economy.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B236
African History since 1800
Fall 2013
The course analyzes the history of Africa in the last two hundred years in the context of global political economy. We will examine the major themes in modern African history, including the 19th-century state formation, expansion, or restructuration; partition and resistance; colonial rule; economic, social, political, religious, and cultural developments; nationalism; post-independence politics, economics, and society, as well as conflicts and the burden of disease. The course will also introduce students to the sources and methods of African history.
Division I: Social Science
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B237
Themes in Modern African History
Section 001 (Spring 2014): Urbanization in Africa
Spring 2014
The course examines the cultural, environmental, economic, political, and social factors that contributed to the expansion and transformation of pre-industrial cities, colonial cities, and cities today. We will examine various themes, such as the relationship between cities and societies; migration and social change; urban space, health problems, city life, and women.
Division I: Social Science
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CITY B237
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B241
American Politics and Society: 1890-1945
Not offered 2013-14
This course examines the first half of the twentieth century in depth. While the twentieth century has often been called the American Century (usually by Americans), this century can truthfully be looked to as the moment when American influence and power, for good and ill, came to be felt on a national and global scale. While much of this "bigfoot" quality is associated with the post WWII period (see you in the spring), one cannot understand the America of today - in the early 21st century - without looking at the earlier period. This course looks closely at the political, social, and cultural developments that helped shape America in these pivotal years.
Division III: Humanities
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B242
American Politics and Society: 1945 to the Present
Spring 2014
How did we get here? This course looks at the stunning transformation of America after WWII. From a country devastated by economic crisis and wedded to isolationism prior to the war, America turned itself into an international powerhouse. Massive grass roots resistance forced the United States to abandon its system of racial apartheid, to open opportunities to women, and to reinvent its very definition as it incorporated immigrants from around the world. Simultaneously, American music and film broke free from their staid moorings and permanently altered international culture. Finally, through the "War on Terror", starting after 9/11, America initiated an aggressive new foreign policy that has shattered traditional rules of warfare and reoriented global politics. We will explore the political, social, and cultural factors that have driven modern American history. Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B243
Atlantic Cultures
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Maroon Societies/Free Black Societies
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Course content varies.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B244
Great Empires of the Ancient Near East
Spring 2014
A survey of the history, material culture, political and religious ideologies of, and interactions among, the five great empires of the ancient Near East of the second and first millennia B.C.E.: New Kingdom Egypt, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia, the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires in Mesopotamia, and the Persian Empire in Iran.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as ARCH B244
Cross-listed as POLS B244
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HIST
B246
Medievalisms
Not offered 2013-14
This course assesses how the "Middle Ages" has been and continues to be constructed as a period of history, an object of inquiry, and a category of analysis. It considers how the past is formulated and called upon to conduct the ideological and cultural work of the present, and it reads historical documents and literary texts in dialogue with one another.
Division III: Humanities
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as ENGL B246
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HIST
B247
Topics In German Cultural Studies
Spring 2014
This is a topics course. Course content varies.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Cross-listed as GERM B223
Cross-listed as COML B223
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HIST
B251
Topics: Growth & Spatial Organization of the City
Section 001 (Fall 2012): 20th C. US Urban History
Not offered 2013-14
An introduction to growth & spatial organization of cities. Topics vary.
Division III: Humanities
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CITY B250
Counts toward Environmental Studies
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HIST
B257
British Empire I: Capitalism and Slavery
Not offered 2013-14
Focusing on the Atlantic slave trade and the slave plantation mode of production, this course explores English colonization, and the emergence and the decline of British Empire in the Americas and Caribbean from the 17th through the late 20th centuries. It tracks some of the intersecting and overlapping routes--and roots--connecting histories and politics within and between these "new" world locations. It also tracks the further and proliferating links between developments in these regions and the histories and politics of regions in the "old" world, from the north Atlantic to the South China sea.
Division I or Division III
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CITY B257
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HIST
B258
British Empire: Imagining Indias
Not offered 2013-14
This course considers ideas about and experiences of "modern" India, i.e., India during the colonial and post-Independence periods (roughly 1757-present). While "India" and "Indian history" along with "British empire" and "British history" will be the ostensible objects of our consideration and discussions, the course proposes that their imagination and meanings are continually mediated by a wide variety of institutions, agents, and analytical categories (nation, religion, class, race, gender, to name a few examples). The course uses primary sources, scholarly analyses, and cultural productions to explore the political economies of knowledge, representation, and power in the production of modernity.
Division III: Humanities
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward International Studies Major
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HIST
B260
Human Rights in China
Spring 2014
This course will examine China's human rights issues from a historical perspective. The topics include diverse perspectives on human rights, historical background, civil rights, religious practice, justice system, education, as well as the problems concerning some social groups such as migrant laborers, women, ethnic minorities and peasants.
Division I: Social Science
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as EAST B264
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HIST
B262
The Chinese Revolution
Fall 2013
Places the causes and consequences of the 20th century revolutions in historical perspective, by examining its late-imperial antecedents and tracing how the revolution has (and has not) transformed China, including the lives of such key revolutionary supporters as the peasantry, women, and intellectuals.
Division I: Social Science
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as EAST B263
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HIST
B264
Passages from India: 1800-Present
Not offered 2013-14
This course explores the histories and effects of migration from the Indian subcontinent to far-flung destinations across the globe. It starts with the circular migrations of traders, merchants, and pilgrims in the medieval period from the Indian subcontinent to points east (in southeast Asia) and west (eastern Africa). However, the focus of the course is on modern migrations from the subcontinent, from the indentured labor migrations of the British colonial period (to Africa, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific) to the post-Independence emigrations from the new nations of the subcontinent to Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
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HIST
B265
Colonial Encounters in the Americas
Not offered 2013-14
The course explores the confrontations, conquests and accommodations that formed the "ground-level" experience of day-to-day colonialism throughout the Americas. The course is comparative in scope, examining events and structures in North, South and Central America, with particular attention paid to indigenous peoples and the nature of indigenous leadership in the colonial world of the 18th century.
Division I or Division III
Counts toward Africana Studies
Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures
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HIST
B267
History of Philadelphia: 1682 to Present
Not offered 2013-14
This course will focus on the intersection of the sense of Philadelphia as it is popularly understood and the Philadelphia that we can reconstruct individually and together using scholarly books and articles, documentary and popular films and novels, visual evidence, and visits to the chief repositories of the city's history. We will analyze the relationship between the official representations of Philadelphia and their sources and we will create our own history of the city.
Division I: Social Science
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CITY B267
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HIST
B273
Topics in Judaic Studies
Not offered 2013-14
What happened in Jewish history between antiquity and the modern era, between composing the Talmud and receiving citizenship in European nations? As we try to understand how Jews got from there to here, this seminar will explore the diverse and sometimes astonishing forms of Jewish life in the medieval and early modern periods (approximately 1000-1800), with special focus on the evolution of Jewish relations with the majority culture. Topics will include the golden age of Jewry in Muslim Spain, the development of European anti-Jewish policies and persecutions, Jewish self-government, and cosmopolitanism, as well as many of the philosophers, mystics and would-be messiahs who sparked religious movements and change in the course of these tumultuous centuries.
Cross-listed as HEBR B271
Counts toward Middle East Studies
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HIST
B274
Focus: Topics in Modern US History
Section 001 (Spring 2013): Leisure and Society: Tourism & Class
Section 002 (Spring 2013): Leisure and Society: Baseball & Class
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course in 20th century America social history. Topics vary by half semester
Division I: Social Science
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Praxis Program
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HIST
B275
Improving Mankind: Enlightened Hygiene and Eugenics
Fall 2013
At first sight, hygiene and eugenics have nothing in common: the former is usually conceived as a good management of our everyday conditions of life, whereas the later are commonly reviled for having inspired discriminatory practices (in Nazi Germany, but also in the US, Sweden, and Switzerland). Our inquiry will explore how, in the context of the French Enlightenment, a subdiscipline of Medicine (namely Hygiene) was redefined, expanded its scope, and eventually became hegemonic both in the medical field and in the civil society. We will also explore how and why a philanthropic ideal led to the quest for the improvement of the human species. We will compare the French situation with that of other countries (mainly UK and the USA). Prerequisites: French Majors must have taken FREN B102; Students who wish to get credit in French will meet one extra hour TBD.
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as FREN B275
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HIST
B278
American Environmental History
Not offered 2013-14
This course explores major themes of American environmental history, examining changes in the American landscape, development of ideas about nature and the history of environmental activism. Students will study definitions of nature, environment, and environmental history while investigating interactions between Americans and their physical worlds.
Division I: Social Science
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as CITY B278
Counts toward Environmental Studies
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HIST
B283
Introduction to the Politics of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
Spring 2014
This course is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the politics of the region, using works of history, political science, political economy, film, and fiction as well as primary sources. The course will concern itself with three broad areas: the legacy of colonialism and the importance of international forces; the role of Islam in politics; and the political and social effects of particular economic conditions, policies, and practices.
Division I: Social Science
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Cross-listed as POLS B283
Cross-listed as HEBR B283
Counts toward Middle East Studies
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HIST
B284
Movies and America
Section 001 (Fall 2012): The Past Lives Forever
Not offered 2013-14
Movies are one of the most important means by which Americans come to know - or think they know--their own history. This class examines the complex cultural relationship between film and American historical self fashioning.
Division I or Division III
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies
Counts toward Film Studies
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HIST
B285
Show and Spectacle in Ancient Greece and Rome
Fall 2013
A survey of public entertainment in the ancient world, including theater and dramatic festivals, athletic competitions, games and gladiatorial combats, and processions and sacrifices. Drawing on literary sources and paying attention to art, archaeology and topography, this course explores the social, political and religious contexts of ancient spectacle. Special consideration will be given to modern equivalents of staged entertainment and the representation of ancient spectacle in contemporary film.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Cross-listed as CSTS B255
Cross-listed as CITY B260
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HIST
B286
Topics in the British Empire
Section 001 (Spring 2013): Birth of Nations, Nationalism and Decolonization
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course covering various "topics" in the study of the British Empire. Course content varies.
Division I or Division III
Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Cross-listed as POLS B286
Cross-listed as CITY B286
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HIST
B287
Immigration in the U.S.
Not offered 2013-14
How we understand the history of immigration to the territory now known as the United States has been transformed by recent explorations of the notion of "whiteness." This course will be framed by the ways in which this powerful lens for interpretation has helped to recast the meaning of ethnicity as we focus on individual immigrant groups and the context which they both entered and created from the 17th century to the present. The first half of the semester will concentrate largely on the "century of immigration," from the early 19th through the early 20th century. Together, we will shape the second half of the course, deciding on the topics we will investigate and upon which 20th century groups we will focus.
Division I or Division III
Inquiry into the Past (IP)
Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures
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HIST
B288
The Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa
Not offered 2013-14
This comparative approach considers historical constructions, the power of economic ideas, domestic politics and resources, and international regimes. Specific areas of focus include theories that seek to explain the economic/political conditions, left, nationalist and liberal, as well as the exceptional growth of the Gulf economies. Prerequisite: at least one other course on the Middle East or a strong area expertise in another region such as Latin America or China with permission of the instructor.
Division I: Social Science
Cross-listed as POLS B288
Counts toward Middle East Studies
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HIST
B303
Topics in American History
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Cold War Political Culture
Section 001 (Fall 2013): History of Medicine in America
Section 001 (Spring 2014): Reproduction in America
Fall 2013, Spring 2014
This is a topics course. Course content varies. Recent topics have included medicine, advertising, and history of sexuality.
Current topic description: History of Medicine in America This course offers an introduction to the history of medicine, health, and the medical sciences in America from the colonial period to the present. We will discuss the changing role of medicine and medical professionals in America, from the rise of modern medical specialties to the politics of disease and public health today. Particular attention will be paid to how race, class and gender have been factors in the creation of biomedical knowledge and practices, the organization of medical work and objects, and contributed to difference and inequality in society.
Current topic description: This course investigates the evolution of reproduction in American medicine, science, politics and culture. We will explore changing ideas about reproductive bodies and health, parenthood, sexuality, and the family as well as changing practices of contraception, conception and childbirth. From midwifery in colonial America to contemporary practices of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), this course focuses on persistent efforts of individuals, organizations, and the state to control reproduction.
Division I or Division III
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B311
Topics in Medieval Art
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Topics vary.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-listed as HART B311
Cross-listed as CITY B312
Counts toward Middle East Studies
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HIST
B313
Religion in Modern Europe -- Enlightenment to Present
Not offered 2013-14
Until recently, historians agreed with Nietzsche's 19th century pronouncement that "God is dead," viewing post-Enlightenment history as one of increasing secularism. This course re-examines that conclusion, looking both at recent historical research and at primary source documents like the Darwin's Descent of Man or "l'affaire du foulard" in France. If religion remained important in modern Europe, why is Nietzsche's verdict so widely accepted? The class has a substantial writing component.
Division I or Division III
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HIST
B318
Topics in Modern European History
Section 001 (Spring 2013): Migration
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Topics vary.
Division I or Division III
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HIST
B319
Topics in Modern European History
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Decolonization Politics/Culture
Section 001 (Fall 2013): History of Psychoanalysis: Vienna-Budapest-Berlin
Section 001 (Spring 2014): Holocaust: History & Politics of Commemoration
Fall 2013, Spring 2014
This is a topics course. Course content varies.
Current topic description: The Birth and Evolution of Psychoanalysis: Vienna - Budapest - Berlin What was the connection between Central Europe and psychoanalysis or the "pseudoscience of sex"? Why were Sigmund Freud's theories and psychoanalysis born in Vienna and embraced most fervently in Budapest and Berlin? In order to answer these questions, the seminar focuses on these three Central European capitals and explores the origins and development of psychoanalysis from the late nineteenth century throughout the first three decades of the twentieth. Using the lens of psychoanalysis the seminar also addresses the cultural, political and social histories of these three cities.
Current topic description: This course examines the programs of persecution and mass murder carried out by the Nazi German regime between 1933 and 1945. We will consider not only the development of Nazi Germany as a "racial state", but also the role of ideologies, such as antisemitism, nationalism, and racism, in shaping policies of exclusion in a European context. Concomitantly, the class will consider how subsequent generations commemorated and portrayed the memory of the Holocaust in both official and popular forms.
Division I or Division III
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HIST
B323
Memoria y Guerra Civil
Not offered 2013-14
A look into the Spanish Civil War and its wide-ranging international significance as both the military and ideological testing ground for World War II. This course examines the endurance of myths related to this conflict and the cultural memory it has produced along with the current negotiations of the past that is taking place in democratic Spain. Prerequisites: SPAN 200/202 and another 200-level course in Spanish.
Division III: Humanities
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Cross-listed as SPAN B323
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HIST
B325
Topics in Social History
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Bryn Mawr:Women's Higher Education in 18th &19th C
Section 001 (Spring 2013): Sexuality in America
Section 001 (Spring 2014): Women's Higher Education in 19th and 20th Century
Spring 2014
This a topics course that explores various themes in American social history. Course content varies.
Division I or Division III
Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies
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HIST
B326
Topics in Chinese History and Culture
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Underneath It All: Bodies, Clothes, Costumes
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Course content varies.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-listed as EAST B325
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HIST
B336
Social and Cultural History of Medicine in Africa
Spring 2014
The course will focus on the issues of public health history, social and cultural history of disease as well as the issues of the history of medicine. We will explore various themes, such as the indigenous theories of disease and therapies; disease, imperialism and medicine; medical pluralism in contemporary Africa; the emerging diseases, medical education, women in medicine, and differential access to health care. We will also explore the questions regarding the sources of African history and their quality.
Division I: Social Science
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B337
Topics in African History
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Topics vary. Enrollment limited to 15 students.
Division I: Social Science
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B349
Topics in Comparative History
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Topics vary.
Division I or Division III
Counts toward Africana Studies
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HIST
B352
China's Environment
Spring 2014
This seminar explores China's environmental issues from a historical perspective. It begins by considering a range of analytical approaches , and then explores three general periods in China's environmental changes, imperial times, Mao's socialist experiments during the first thirty years of the People's Republic, and the post-Mao reforms. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
Division I: Social Science
Cross-listed as EAST B352
Counts toward Environmental Studies
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HIST
B355
Topics in the History of London
Not offered 2013-14
Selected topics of social, literary, and architectural concern in the history of London, emphasizing London since the 18th century.
Cross-listed as HART B355
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HIST
B357
Topics in British Empire:
Section 001 (Spring 2013): Screening Empire, Projecting Home
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Topics vary.
Division I or Division III
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HIST
B364
Magical Mechanisms
Spring 2014
A reading and research seminar focused on different examples of artificial life in medieval cultures. Primary sources will be from a variety of genres, and secondary sources will include significant theoretical works in art history, critical theory and science studies. Prerequisite: at least one course in medieval studies, or the permission of the instructor.
Division I or Division III
Cross-listed as CSTS B364
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HIST
B368
Topics in Medieval History
Not offered 2013-14
This is a topics course. Topics vary.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-listed as CSTS B368
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HIST
B371
Topics in Atlantic History: The Early Modern Pirate in Fact and Fiction
Not offered 2013-14
This course will explore piracy in the Americas in the period 1550-1750. We will investigate the historical reality of pirates and what they did, and the manner in which pirates have entered the popular imagination through fiction and films. Pirates have been depicted as lovable rogues, anti-establishment rebels, and enlightened multiculturalists who were skilled in dealing with the indigenous and African peoples of the Americas. The course will examine the facts and the fictions surrounding these important historical actors.
Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures
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HIST
B382
Religious Fundamentalism in the Global Era
Not offered 2013-14
Through a comparison of Jewish, Islamic, Christian and Hindu political movements, the course seeks to investigate the religious turn in national and transnational contexts. We will also seek to find commonalities and differences in religious movements, and religious regimes, while considering the aspects of globalization which usher in new kinds of transnational affiliation. Prerequisite: An introductory course in Anthropology, Political Science or History or permission of the instructor.
Division I or Division III
Cross-listed as ANTH B382
Cross-listed as POLS B382
Counts toward Middle East Studies
Counts toward Peace and Conflict Studies
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HIST
B383
Two Hundred Years of Islamic Reform, Radicalism and Revolution
Not offered 2013-14
This course will examine the transformation of Islamic politics in the past two hundred years, emphasizing historical accounts, comparative analysis of developments in different parts of the Islamic world. Topics covered include the rationalist Salafy movement; the so-called conservative movements (Sanussi of Libya, the Mahdi in the Sudan, and the Wahhabi movement in Arabia); the Caliphate movement; contemporary debates over Islamic constitutions; among others. The course is not restricted to the Middle East or Arab world. Prerequisites: a course on Islam and modern European history, or an earlier course on the Modern Middle East or 19th-century India, or permission of instructor.
Division I: Social Science
Cross-listed as POLS B383
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HIST
B395
Exploring History
Spring 2014
An intensive introduction to theory and interpretation in history, through the discussion of exemplary historiographical debates and analyses selected by the instructor. This semester the course will also explore questions of historical memory. CI, IP
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HIST
B398
Senior Thesis
Students research and write a thesis on a topic of their choice. Prerequisite: Senior History major.
Division I or Division III
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HIST
B403
Supervised Work
Optional independent study, which requires permission of the instructor and the major adviser.
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HIST
B403
Supervised Work
Optional independent study, which requires permission of the instructor and the major adviser.
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HIST
B425
Praxis III: Independent Study
Counts toward Praxis Program
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