History

history.northwestern.edu

The Department of History is a place where students can study any region of the world, during almost any historical era, from a wide variety of perspectives. The faculty includes nationally distinguished scholars in United States, European, Latin American, African, and Asian history. Faculty expertise enables the department to offer major fields of study in the history of the Americas, English/European history, African/Middle Eastern history, Asian/Middle Eastern history, and global history.

Most history courses are open to any undergraduate. Few have specific prerequisites, although first-year students are generally advised to try 100- and 200-level courses before attempting 300-level courses. History majors have priority in registering for classes, but most students enrolled in history courses are majoring in other areas. The history faculty welcomes this diversity of students.

Since all courses listed below cannot be given in any one year and the quarters in which they are offered are subject to change, see the online quarterly class schedule from the Office of the Registrar for actual offerings.

The Teaching of History

Weinberg College students pursuing a major in history who also wish to be certified for secondary teaching must be admitted to the Secondary Teaching Program in the School of Education and Social Policy and complete all requirements as outlined in the SESP chapter of this catalog. Students are urged to contact the Office of Student Affairs in SESP as early as possible in their academic careers.

Programs of Study

HISTORY 101-7 College Seminar - European History (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and introducing skills necessary to thriving at Northwestern. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

HISTORY 101-8 First-Year Writing Seminar - European History (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and focused on the fundamentals of effective, college-level written communication. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

HISTORY 102-7 College Seminar - American History (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and introducing skills necessary to thriving at Northwestern. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

HISTORY 102-8 First-Year Writing Seminar - American History (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and focused on the fundamentals of effective, college-level written communication. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

HISTORY 103-7 College Seminar - Non-Western History (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and introducing skills necessary to thriving at Northwestern. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

HISTORY 103-8 First-Year Writing Seminar - Non-Western History (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and focused on the fundamentals of effective, college-level written communication. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

HISTORY 200-0 New Introductory Courses in History (1 Unit)   Introductory lecture courses on topics not covered in regular offerings. Content varies. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 201-1 Europe in the Medieval and Early Modern World (1 Unit)   This course introduces majors and non-majors to the history of Europe from roughly 1000-1800. The eight centuries between the medieval Crusades and the Age of Atlantic Revolutions profoundly changed the course of Europe’s history, and the world’s. Topics include: the Crusades, the Black Death, the Renaissance, the Reformations, the Scientific Revolution, colonialism, slavery, and the origins of capitalism. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 201-2 Europe in the Modern World (1 Unit)   This course examines the years from 1750 onward, when European events determined the course of world history. We will ask why Europe came to dominate the globe, considering especially industrialization, revolution, and imperial expansion. We will investigate, too, how these apparent triumphs paved the way for subsequent catastrophes, including the world wars, the Holocaust, violent decolonization, and the Cold War. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 203-1 Jewish History 750-1492 (1 Unit)   Surveys the development of Jewish culture and civilization in the medieval period, and traces the ways in which Jewish culture, thought, and socio-political life developed in dialogue with contemporaneous Christian and Islamic societies. Goals include grappling with how historians use primary documents to reconstruct Jewish history, and learning to read works of historical interpretation with a careful and critical eye. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 203-2 Jewish History II: Early Modern, 1492 - 1789 (1 Unit)   Jewish community's economic and cultural reshaping; legalized readmission of Jews to European cities and integration into European society. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 203-3 Jewish History III 1789-1948 (1 Unit)   Plurality of models of integration, acculturation, and assimilation; multiple identities; split of traditional community; sociocultural behavior; political movements. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 210-1 North America and the United States to 1865 (1 Unit)   The setting: North America, 1400 to 1865. The characters: Indigenous, African, European, Asian, and their descendants; enslaved, free, and in-between; genders of all kinds. The plot: full of tragedy and triumph and terror and twists, including the surprising emergence of the United States, the world’s first modern republican empire, trumpeting inalienable rights and the pursuit of happiness while spreading slavery. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HISTORY 210-2 History of the United States, Reconstruction to the Present (1 Unit)   Interpretative survey from the 17th century to the present. Reconstruction to the present. Lectures, discussion sections. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HISTORY 212-1 Introduction to African-American History: Key concepts from 1700-1861 (1 Unit)   African origins, the slave trade, origins of slavery and racism in the United States, life under slavery in the North and the South. BLK_ST and HISTORY 212-1 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 212-2 Introduction to African American History: Emancipation to Civil Rights Movement (1 Unit)   Emancipation to the civil rights era. Reconstruction, rise of legal segregation, strategies of resistance, migration, and urbanization. BLK_ST 212-2 and HISTORY 212-2 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HISTORY 214-0 Asian American History (1 Unit)   Introduction to the history of Asians in the United States, with a focus on their impact on American society as well as their experiences within the United States. ASIAN_AM 214-0 and HISTORY 214-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 215-0 History of the American Family (1 Unit)   This course traces the evolution of family ideals and practices from pre-colonial through modern America, with a particular emphasis on the roles of gender, race, and class in shaping family experiences. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 216-0 Global Asians (1 Unit)   Survey of Asian diasporas in the United States and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries, emphasizing causes of migration, process of settlement, relations with other ethnic groups, and construction of diasporic identities. ASIAN_AM 216-0 and HISTORY 216-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 218-0 The History of Latinas and Latinos in the United States (1 Unit)   In this course, we will explore the 500-year history of Latinos in the United States—and, indeed, across the Americas—from the 16th century through the early 21st century. In its broadest sense, Latino History offers a reinterpretation of United States history that focuses on race, migration, labor, and empire. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 219-0 History of the Present (1 Unit)   How do historians read the news? This course takes a backward approach to the study of history, beginning by identifying issues relevant to the current moment and then exploring some of the longer histories required to understand the present. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 250-1 Global History: Early Modern to Modern Transition (1 Unit)   This course traces the histories of intellectuals, sailors, enslaved laborers, peasants, pirates, soldiers, activists, and consumers who created and then transformed the early modern world. Ranging across space, illuminating integration and interconnection, it considers the antecedents of our own globalized era and also ponders the discontinuities between the early modern world and our own. No prerequisites; first-time History students welcome. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 250-2 Global History: The Modern World (1 Unit)   This course introduces the main episodes and themes of modern history. Unlike other history classes, however, its focus isn’t on a particular region or country but the whole planet. This scope gets in view large-scale phenomena such as imperialism and decolonization, technological change, the spread of communism, the two world wars, pandemics, and globalization. HISTORY 250-1 is not a prerequisite. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 251-0 The Politics of Disaster: A Global Environmental History (1 Unit)   A global survey of natural disasters over the last several centuries. Key themes include: inequality, social vulnerability, environmental racism, historical memory and forgetting, and preventability. Using disaster history to better understand and meet the present and future challenges of global climate change. HISTORY 251-0 and ENVR_POL 251-0 are taught together; students may not receive credit for both. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

HISTORY 252-0 Global History of Refugees (1 Unit)   What does it mean to designate a person on the move as an “asylum seeker” or a “refugee”? How has that label changed over time? This class examines the development of the international refugee regime in the 20th century, focusing on humanitarian aid, international and US refugee law, and activism by and on behalf of refugees. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 254-0 Entrepreneurship: A Global History (1 Unit)   How has entrepreneurship shaped the modern world? We will consider how the quest for new products and new markets helped to transform societies, economies and environments from the 1780s through the 1950s. We will ask why and how entrepreneurs as various as Josiah Wedgwood, Madame C.J. Walker, Jamsetji Tata, and Aristotle Onassis exploited opportunities that other people either failed to see or failed to act on. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 255-1 Background to African Civilization and Culture: Origins to 17th C. (1 Unit)   Historical approach to society, economy, polity, and culture in Africa. Agricultural origins to the 17th century. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 255-2 Background to African Civilization and Culture: 16th-19th C. (1 Unit)   Historical approach to society, economy, polity, and culture in Africa. 16th through 19th centuries. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 255-3 African History, 1800s-Present: Colonialism, Independence, and Beyond (1 Unit)   How did Africans respond to European colonialism? How did they secure independence? What is neo-colonialism? How and why did society, culture, economics, politics, and intellectual life change during this time? What are the continent’s challenges and strengths today? Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa with some links to North Africa and the African Diaspora, learning to interpret historical sources. No prerequisites. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 260-1 Becoming Latin America, 1492-1830 (1 Unit)   A survey of Latin America through images and primary texts, from the era of Spanish exploration and conquest through Independence (roughly 1492 to 1830), with emphasis on the experiences and sociocultural contributions of Americans, Europeans, and Africans to the region’s history. Students will examine textual sources in translation, along with music, film, and especially images – maps, artwork, architecture. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 260-2 History of Modern Latin America (1 Unit)   Latin America’s history reaches from some of the earliest democracies to some of the most unequal societies on Earth. This course traces the big processes that shaped that history, from Patagonia to El Paso: the arrival of capitalism, the emergence of social movements, revolutions, dictatorships, dramatic environmental change, the persistence of indigenous cultures, and the politics of race. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

HISTORY 261-0 Sex after Shakespeare (1 Unit)   Sex in England between 1600 and 1800, concentrating on the social norms that shaped behavior. Topics covered include shame punishments, puritanism, same-sex desire, romantic friendship, women on stage, libertinism, molly houses, and trans history. Readings include William Shakespeare, Aphra Behn, and the love letters of King James I and the duke of Buckingham. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 262-0 Pirates, Guns, and Empires (1 Unit)   Piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the China Seas from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Examination of notorious pirates (Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Anne Bonny, Barbarossa, Wufeng, Zheng Yi Sao) alongside lesser-known figures. Topics covered include pirate codes, pirate mythology, pirate nests, pirate economics, and pirate hunting. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 270-0 Middle Eastern/Islamic Civilization (1 Unit)   Influence of Islam on the components of Middle Eastern societies (nomads, agrarian and urban populations) from the inception of the faith (7th century BCE) to the modern period. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 271-1 History of the Islamic Middle East: 600-1200 (1 Unit)   The classical Islamic community; medieval Islamic civilization, 600-1200. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 271-2 History of the Islamic Middle East: 1200-1789 (1 Unit)   Invasions from Central Asia and the empires that followed: Mamluks (Egypt), Ottomans (Turkey), and Safavids (Iran), 1200-1800. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 271-3 History of the Modern Middle East, 1789 - Present (1 Unit)   Jewish and Arab nationalism, oil diplomacy, Islam in the modern context, 1789-present. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 272-0 History of Ancient Egypt, 3100-c. 1000 B.C.E. (1 Unit)   The Old Kingdom: centralized government, divine kingship. The Middle Kingdom: new monarchic principles in the aftermath of social disorder. The New Kingdom: imperialism in response to foreign aggression; religious revolution of Akhenaton. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 275-1 History of Early Modern Science and Medicine (1 Unit)   This course introduces students to the major transformations in scientific knowledge and medical practice in Europe and the world during the period known as the 'Scientific Revolution' (c. 1500-1800). Focus is on the social dimension of science and medicine; their links to religion, politics, commercial markets, and colonialism; and the history of unacknowledged and marginalized people in STEM. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 275-2 History of Modern Science and Medicine (1 Unit)   This course introduces students to the history of modern science and medicine from 1800 to the present day. Focus is on the revolutionary transformation wrought by science and medicine on social and political life in Europe, America, and the world. Topics include Darwinism and eugenics, clinical medicine and genomics, nuclear weapons and climate change. HISTORY 275-1 not a prerequisite. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 281-0 Chinese Civilization (1 Unit)   Chinese history to the 16th century, emphasizing cultural and intellectual history. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 282-0 Sino-American Relations in the Modern World (1 Unit)   This course considers the bilateral Sino-American relationship in its larger global context and in connection to the issues of war, diplomacy, race, gender, religion, and material and popular culture. Focuses on the ways domestic politics shape international relations. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 284-1 Ancient and Medieval Japan: From the Realm of the Gods to the Age of the Samurai (1 Unit)   Covers the social, political and economic history of Japan from the earliest evidence of civilization on the archipelago through the flourishing culture of the Kyoto court and the tumultuous age of the samurai. Students read ancient myths, Buddhist sutras, war chronicles, and the diary of a noblewoman. No prior knowledge of Japan is necessary. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 284-2 Japan in the Age of the Samurai, 1600-1868 (1 Unit)   This course covers social, political, and cultural developments during the Edo period. It considers the incessant drama of samurai status (including the story of the 47 loyal retainers), mercantile striving and conspicuous consumption, rural life, and the emergence of much of what we know today as "traditional Japanese culture." No prior knowledge of Japan required. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 286-0 World War II in Asia (1 Unit)   Designed for majors and non-majors, this course analyzes the major causes and vast intended and unintended effects of WWII on East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific, as well as major strategic and technological developments of the war itself. Focuses on nationalism, global history, imperialism, decolonization, fascism, Communism, democracy, and the experiences of ordinary people. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 292-0 Introduction to Topics in History (1 Unit)   Introductory seminar for non-majors and majors interested in a variety of topics related to a historical event, period, or broader historical problem. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 300-0 New Lectures in History (1 Unit)  

Lecture courses on special topics not covered in regular offerings. Content varies. May be repeated for credit with different topic.

Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 301-SA-1 New Lectures in History: City and Civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean World (1 Unit)   Topics in the history of the eastern Mediterranean world. Restricted to students in Northwestern's study abroad programs. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 301-SA-2 New Lectures in History: Milestones of Czech History & Civilization (1 Unit)   Topics in the history of the Czech Republic. Restricted to students in Northwestern's study abroad programs. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 303-1 American Women's History, to 1865 (1 Unit)   Women and gender in American life, taking an intersectional approach to differences among women based on class, race, and ethnicity. Topics include gender and colonization, women and slavery, reproduction, women and politics. To 1865. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 303-2 American Women's History, since 1865 (1 Unit)   Women and gender in American life, taking an intersectional approach and focusing on three themes: women and reproductive health, women and work, and women and social movements. Since 1865.

HISTORY 304-0 Asian American Women's History (1 Unit)   Exploration of race, gender, and the contours of US history from the perspective of Asian American women's experiences. Considers migration, exclusion, labor, marriage, family, sexuality, and cross-racial alliances. ASIAN_AM 304-0 and HISTORY 304-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 305-0 American Immigration (1 Unit)  

Themes in history of immigration, especially from Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Law, racial formation, acculturation, transnational and international contexts, competing notions of citizenship. HISTORY 305-0 and LEGAL_ST 305-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses.

Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HISTORY 308-0 The American West (1 Unit)   Examination of the history of the American West as both frontier and region, real and imagined, from the first contacts between Natives and colonizers in the 15th century to the multicultural encounters of the 21st century. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 309-0 American Environmental History (1 Unit)   American history from precontact to the present, focusing on the role of the natural world in human history and the role of human thought and action in natural history. ENVR_POL 309-0 and HISTORY 309-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Advanced Expression Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HISTORY 310-1 Early American History: Contact and Colonization (1 Unit)  

So much happened on the North American continent before the United States existed. This course explores those events, from before European contact through the beginning of the Seven Years’ War. Moving chronologically and thematically, we will cover themes including slavery, imperialism, gender, and religion to examine how the meeting of Indigenous, European, and African peoples created new worlds for all.

Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HISTORY 310-2 American Revolution: From British Colonies to Republican Empire (1 Unit)  

The American Revolution: a war waged by high-minded gentlemen in wigs. Or was it? This course explores the conflict in all its messy (and surprisingly manure-smeared) reality, particularly its fraught relationship to democracy, settler colonialism, human bondage, and human freedom. We’ll also consider the Revolution as a touchstone in modern-day culture wars, from Supreme Court originalism to the 1619 Project.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 311-0 Democracy and its Discontents: The US from the Constitution to the Mexican War (1 Unit)   Between 1787 and 1848, the United States transformed from a precarious sliver of states to a transcontinental empire. Political participation rose alongside slavery, Indigenous expulsion, and America’s first capitalist “millionaires.” From immigrants and farmers to sailors and sex workers, Americans embraced religion (and alcohol) like never before, along with politics, protest, and violence. Welcome to the world’s first modern democracy. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 314-0 The Civil War and Reconstruction (1 Unit)   Slavery, politics, and the origins of the Civil War. Military mobilization, emancipation, and the challenges of setting the nation on a new footing after the war, including social history in the former Confederacy, federal civil rights policies, and reactionary backlash. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 315-1 The United States Since 1900: Early 20th C. (1 Unit)  

America's domestic history and role in world affairs since 1900. Early 20th century.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 315-2 The United States Since 1900: Mid-20th C. (1 Unit)  

America's domestic history and role in world affairs since 1900. Mid-20th century.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 315-3 The United States Since 1900: Late 20th C. to Present (1 Unit)  

America's domestic history and role in world affairs since 1900. Late 20th century to the present.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 316-0 The Sixties (1 Unit)   Examination of one of the most tumultuous eras in US history, its roots in the reshaping of American society after World War II, and its legacies for the present. Emphasis on social movements of the period, particularly the civil rights movement, and political and cultural change. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 317-1 American Cultural History: 19th C. (1 Unit)  

Changing values of the American people, how they have been transmitted, and how they have shaped American society, politics, and the economy. 19th century.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 317-2 American Cultural History: 20th C. to Present (1 Unit)  

Changing values of the American people, how they have been transmitted, and how they have shaped American society, politics, and the economy. 20th century to the present.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 318-1 Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: Colonial Period to 1850 (1 Unit)  

Colonial period-1850. Development of legal institutions, constitutionalism, law and social change, law and economic development. Taught with LEGAL_ST 318-1; may not receive credit for both courses.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 318-2 Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: 1850 to Present (1 Unit)  

1850-present. Law in industrial society: administration, race relations, corporations, environmental protection, civil liberties. Taught with LEGAL_ST 318-2; may not receive credit for both courses.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 319-0 US Foreign Relations (1 Unit)   The United States has been since 1945 the most powerful country on the planet. This course considers its rise and asks how it came to be the sort of world power it is. This is not merely a history of wars and diplomacy, but also of ideas, social movements, technologies, and markets, both inside and outside of U.S. borders. Advanced Expression Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

HISTORY 320-0 The Fourteenth Amendment (1 Unit)   The Fourteenth Amendment's role in defining and protecting citizenship, privileges and immunities, due process, and equal protection from its nineteenth-century origins to the present. HISTORY 320-0 and LEGAL_ST 320-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 321-0 The Vietnam Wars (1 Unit)   Analysis of Vietnam's wars for national independence, with emphasis on US involvement. Topics include international context, political rationales, military engagements, popular attitudes, cultural exchange, human costs, and lasting legacies. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 322-1 Development of the Modern American City: to 1880 (1 Unit)  

City characteristics of urban society in America from the period of settlement to the present. To 1880.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 322-2 Development of the Modern American City: 1880-Present (1 Unit)  

City characteristics of urban society in America from the period of settlement to the present. 1880-present.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 324-0 US Gay and Lesbian History (1 Unit)  

Gender, sexuality, and the rise of modern lesbian and gay identities. HISTORY 324-0 and GNDR_ST 324-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 325-0 History of American Technology (1 Unit)  

This course studies American history though material artifacts. From colonialism to Silicon Valley, America has been a site of technological change. Topics include slavery and mechanization; industrialization and its discontents; consumer culture and household technology; social media and democratic upheaval; biotech and the digital revolution. Students write the social history of an artifact of their choice. No prerequisites.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 326-0 U.S. Intellectual History (1 Unit)   Central questions in America's intellectual past from the colonial era forward; specific dates vary by instructor. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 330-0 Medieval Sex (1 Unit)   Fluidity of sex and gender roles in an age before "sexual orientation"; impact of and resistance to Christian theology's negative assessment of sexuality; the cult of chastity. Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 331-0 Women in Medieval Society (1 Unit)   Examination of medieval women's lives in both secular and religious spheres through the different ideologies (religious, philosophical, scientific) that shaped them. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 332-1 The Development of Medieval Europe: Early Middle Ages, 300-1000 (1 Unit)  

Early Middle Ages, 300-1000.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 332-2 The Development of Medieval Europe: High & Late Middle Ages, 1000-1450 (1 Unit)  

High and Late Middle Ages, 1000-1450.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 333-0 The European Renaissance (1 Unit)  

In 1348, a third to a half of all Europeans died from the Black Death, which was just one of many calamities, including the near total collapse of international trade and devastating wars that disrupted normal life. In the wake of these disasters, writers and artists began to search for explanations, creating the Renaissance.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 334-0 The Reformation of Religion (1 Unit)  

A history of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations of the sixteenth century. Topics include theological controversies, religious radicalism, the role of women in the Reformation, formation of confessions, the witch craze, religious wars, religion and ritual, and the origins of religious toleration.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 336-0 Spain 1500 - 1700: Rise and Fall of a European Empire (1 Unit)   Social, political, and economic history of the largest early-modern European empire, its multicultural genesis, rise to domination in Europe and the Americas, and struggle to integrate internally. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 337-0 History of Modern Europe (1 Unit)   Survey of the political and social history of Europe between 1815 and 1945, with emphasis on the political integration and disintegration of the Continent and the causes and effects of social and economic change. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 338-1 Europe in the 20th Century, 1900-1945 (1 Unit)  

The development of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century: modern art and culture, the First World War and the Russian Revolutions, the collapse of monarchial empires in Europe and challenges to colonies abroad, mass politics and the rise of nation-states, socialist and fascist movements, women’s and minority rights, the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 338-2 Europe in the 20th Century, 1945-Present (1 Unit)  

The development of Europe from the Second World War to the present: the Cold War, the rise of the welfare state, the expansion and collapse of the Soviet empire, decolonization and its legacy, European integration and disintegration, immigration and diversity, new political movements, including environmentalism, feminism, terrorism, and the revival of nationalist authoritarianism. HISTORY 338-1 is not a prerequisite.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 340-0 Gender, War, and Revolution in the 20th Century (1 Unit)   Examination of changes in gender ideals and in the lives of women and men in Europe and America as a result of world wars, Russian revolution, fascism, and the Cold War. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 341-0 Paris: World City, 1700 to the Present (1 Unit)   Survey of the social, cultural, political, economic, and spatial development of Paris from aristocratic enclave to a class-divided bourgeois city, from an imperial capital to a postcolonial metropolis. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 342-1 The French Revolution and Napoleon (1 Unit)  

The social, political and cultural origins of the French Revolution including the culture and politics of the French Enlightenment. The outbreak and radicalization of the Revolution, culminating in the Reign of Terror. The Haitian Revolution in relation to developments in France. The rise and career of Napoleon Bonaparte. Political and historiographical debates over the meaning of the Revolution.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 342-2 History of Modern France: 19th c. to present (1 Unit)  

France from the late nineteenth-century to the present. The politics and culture of fin-de-siècle France including the Dreyfus Affair and empire. The French experience in World War I, the defeat of 1940, the German occupation, France's role in the Holocaust. Decolonization and the Algerian War. Postwar political, social and cultural developments leading to current problems around immigration, race, and gender.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 343-0 Modern Italy (1 Unit)   Italy from the Enlightenment to the present, concentrating on the movement for unification, the world wars, Mussolini and fascism, the postwar economic miracle, and terrorism. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 344-1 Weimar and Nazi Germany (1 Unit)   Why and how does democracy fail? How does a dictatorship take over a modern state with popular support? This course investigates those questions through a close study of Germany from the 1918 revolution, which toppled the monarchy to create a new democracy, through the Nazi takeover of 1933, to 1945 and the defeat of the Nazi regime. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 344-2 Germany Since 1945 (1 Unit)  

In 1945, Germany was in ruins. West and East Germany were two experiments of how to create the "ideal society” in a vacuum of traditional authority. How did these states re-civilize in the wake of global war and genocide? History 344-1 is not a prerequisite for History 344-2.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 345-1 History of Russia, 800-1917: From Kievan Rus to the Bolshevik Revolution (1 Unit)   This course explores the history of Russia from its origins in Kievan Rus to the dawn of the Soviet period. Major themes include the rise and expansion of the Russian Imperial state; serfdom and emancipation; religious and ethnic diversity; and major developments in the arts and sciences. Course readings include memoirs, poetry, and hagiography as well as recent historical scholarship. Advanced Expression Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 345-2 History of Russia, 1917-1991 (1 Unit)   This course explores the history of the Soviet Union from its beginnings after the revolutions of 1917 to its collapse in 1991. Special topics will include Lenin and the Bolsheviks; the rise and rule of Stalin; the Great Terror; the Second World War; the “Thaw”; the Cold War; and the dawn of the post-Soviet era. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 345-3 History of Russia, 1917-Present: Russia in the Age of Putin (1 Unit)   This class explores Russia from the end of the Soviet period to the “Age of Putin.” Topics include the decline and fall of the Soviet Union; the rise and rule of Putin; the emergence of Russia’s “oligarch” class; the wars in Ukraine, Chechnya, and the Caucasus; and Russia’s relations with the United States, the European Union, China, and Central Asia. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 346-0 East Central Europe under Communist Rule and Beyond, 1945 to the Present (1 Unit)   The history of East-Central Europe from the World War II to the collapse of Soviet rule and beyond. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 347-0 Christians and Jews (1 Unit)   Varieties of historical encounters between Jews and Christians. Origins of the "Jesus movement"; rabbinic attitudes toward Christianity; medieval polemic and engagement; the modern "Judeo-Christian tradition"; Christian Zionism and postwar ecumenicism. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 348-1 Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia (1 Unit)   Social, political, religious, and cultural interaction of Jews and Slavs over a millennium, 1250-1917. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 348-2 Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia (1 Unit)   Jewish encounter with Marxism and communism; social, political, cultural, and artistic aspects of Jewish life; Soviet Jews and the Russian empire: patterns of survival, accommodation, and interaction, 1917-2014. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 349-0 The History of the Holocaust (1 Unit)   Origins and development of the genocide of European Jewry during World War II. Prerequisite: none. HISTORY 349-0 and GERMAN 349-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 352-0 A Global History of Death and Dying (1 Unit)   How death has shaped human history. Ranging from the earliest archaeological record to today, we will focus on the changing meanings of death and changing realities of death and dying. Religions, slave trades, imperial conquests, pandemics, wars, medicine, nutrition, life expectancy. The psychology of death and dying, personal and social meanings of death, and the future of death. No prerequisites. Advanced Expression Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci Ethics Values Distro Area Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules

HISTORY 356-1 History of South Africa, Early Times to 1879 (1 Unit)  

From the African iron age to the establishment of the multinational gold mining industry, emphasizing the rise of African states and the contest for land with white settlers.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 356-2 History of South Africa, 20th century (1 Unit)  

Emphasis on the 20th century, the rise of African nationalism, and the clash with the apartheid state.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 357-0 East Africa (1 Unit)  

Selected topics in East African history.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 358-0 Topics in West African History (1 Unit)   Selected topics in West African history: economy, society, and government. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 360-0 Tudor and Stuart Britain (1 Unit)   Formation of the British state during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with emphasis on changing patterns of religious belief and the ascendancy of parliament. Topics covered include warfare, popular politics, court culture, confessional conflict and martyrdom. Sources include writings by Queen Elizabeth, King James I and William Shakespeare. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 362-1 Modern British History, 1688 - 1815 (1 Unit)  

Social, political, and institutional history, 1688-1815.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 362-2 The Victorians: liberalism, empire, and morality, 1780-1900 (1 Unit)  

This course explores how and why Victorian Britain became the most powerful nation in the world. We will investigate its remarkable political stability; examine its industrial expansion and urbanization; explore its trademark philosophy, liberalism; chart the expansion of empire; and ask what it meant to be a Victorian, whether poor or rich, male or female, notorious or forgotten.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 362-3 Britain since 1900: The Decline and Fall of Empire (1 Unit)  

In 1900, Britain was the greatest power in the world. Why did the British empire end? And was Britain’s decline inevitable? Among the subjects we’ll explore are the effects of the two world wars, decolonization and immigration, state expansion, mass culture, and Britain’s relation to Europe and the United States.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 364-0 Gender and Sexuality in Victorian Britain (1 Unit)   Key debates and issues: prostitution, the city and sexual crime, sexuality and empire, sex and the single woman, homosexuality on trial, and the "scientific" writings of Victorian sexologists. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 365-0 Medicine in Latin America: From Chocolate to Che Guevara (1 Unit)  

Introduction to the history of medicine in the Americas from precontact to the present, with special focus on Latin America and the Caribbean in imperial, transnational, and global frameworks.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 366-0 Latin America in the Independence Era: American Indians and Nations (1 Unit)  

A thematic survey of independence in Latin America, with emphasis on the experiences of Native Americans. Independence from Spain only intensified debates about race, citizenship, and nation. What role would American civilizations, cultures, languages, and histories play in forging national identities? What has citizenship meant for indigenous people in the region?

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 368-2 Revolutions in Latin America and the Caribbean from Haiti to Mexico (1 Unit)  

Revolutions have changed peoples’ worlds across Latin America since the beginning of modern history. In Haiti a slave revolution ushered in a Black republic; in Mexico a peasant revolution founded one of the most enduring one-party states; in Cuba a guerrilla revolution created the only surviving Communist state in the Americas. This course traces why and how they happened.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 369-0 Development and Inequality in Modern Latin America (1 Unit)   Examination of various models of economic development that have been implemented in 20th-century Latin America, exploring the cultural, social, political, and economic roots of such policies and their impact on the region's poorest and most marginalized populations. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 373-1 The Last Empire of Islam: The Ottomans in Europe and Asia in the Early Modern Era (1 Unit)   The Ottoman Empire once ruled over a territory that encompassed Southeast Europe, North Africa, and the region we now refer to as the “Middle East.” This course explores the transformation of the Ottoman state from a small principality at the borderlands of the East Roman Empire to an empire in its own right by the sixteenth century. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 373-2 The Ottoman Empire in the Age of Nationalism: From “Grand Signor” to the “Sick Man of Europe" (1 Unit)   The combined territories of a score of contemporary nation states in Europe, Asia, and North Africa once comprised the Ottoman Empire. In all these countries (including Turkey), the Ottoman centuries present a complicated legacy often read through the contemporary lens of nationalist ideology. This course explores the historical background of the troubled relationship between the Ottoman Empire and its descendants. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 376-0 Global Environments and World History (1 Unit)   The planet’s life support systems are at risk. This introductory course explores the recent histories of big environmental problems around the world, including industrialization, toxic contaminants, climate change, extractive economies, intercontinental warfare, and energy regimes. ENVR_POL 340-0 and HISTORY 376-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Advanced Expression Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

HISTORY 378-0 History of Law and Science (1 Unit)   This class introduces students to the evolving relationship between science and justice in the American and European legal traditions over the past 300 years. Topics include changing standards of evidence and proof; the forensic sciences and the rise of the jury system; identification from fingerprinting to DNA; and intellectual property law in biotech and the digital economy. No prerequisites. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 379-0 Biomedicine and World History (1 Unit)   Course covers four centuries, focusing especially on the power of disease and the limits of global health governance. Subjects include how different medical professions became dominant, why drug industries secured monopolies, and what effects these changes had on other medical cultures. GBL_HLTH 309-0 and HISTORY 379-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Advanced Expression Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

HISTORY 381-1 Modern China: The Transition to Modern Times, 1600-1912 (1 Unit)  

Survey of Chinese history from the rise of the last dynasty (the Qing) to the Revolution of 1911 and the inauguration of the Republic of China. Explores the transition from the “traditional” to the “modern” era and considers the transformation of social, economic, cultural, and international relations.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 381-2 Modern China: The Twentieth Century (1 Unit)  

Survey of Chinese history from the Revolution of 1911 to the era of post-Mao reform. Course explores the political, social, cultural, and international challenges confronting China under the Republic of China (1912-1949) and the early People’s Republic of China after 1949.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 381-3 Modern China: Post-Mao Reforms, 1978-2016 (1 Unit)   Examines the complex transformations unleashed by China’s economic reforms from the late 1970s until the early 21st century. Topics include arguments about the unevenness and morality of socio-economic change, the 1989 Spring Democracy Movement, China’s “Peaceful Rise,” the AIDS crisis and SARS, the crisis of unemployment and public welfare, the environmental movement, and China’s growing participation in global affairs. Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 382-0 The Modern Japanese City (1 Unit)   The Japanese city is the main site of Japanese modernity, and all its pleasures and dangers. This course introduces students to the ways Japanese urbanites experienced their lives. Like other urbanites around the world, they sought an indigenous modernity but have never agreed on what that might entail, an enduring conflict that has long sparked enormous cultural ferment. No prerequisites. Advanced Expression Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 383-0 Japan's Modern Revolution (1 Unit)   This course explores Japan’s emergence as a modern power in the nineteenth century, including the difficult transition from samurai rule to constitutional monarchy; the creation of modern banks, railroads, textile factories, and mining operations; and the transformation from early modern state to imperial power. Subjects include ex-samurai, factory girls, soldiers, tenant farmers, miners, and colonial subjects in Taiwan and Korea. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 384-1 History of Modern Japan: The Modern State, 1860-1943 (1 Unit)  

Japan: the modern state, 1860-1943.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 384-2 History of Modern Japan: War and postwar Japan, 1943-present (1 Unit)  

After defeat in WWII, a devastated Japan quickly became the world's second-largest economy, not to mention the sophisticated society and fascinating culture well-known around the world today. Japan's distinctive mix of achievements and challenges provides thought-provoking opportunities to analyze the range of ways modern people have organized their policies and daily lives. No prerequisites.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 385-1 History of Modern South Asia, 1500-1800 (1 Unit)  

The early modern period, ca. 1500-1800: The Mughal Empire; the early phase of European trade and conquest in the subcontinent.

Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 385-2 History of Modern South Asia, ca. 1750-present (1 Unit)  

ca. 1750-present: The age of British colonial dominance; the politics of nation building and anticolonial resistance; independence, partition, and the postcolonial predicament.

Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 386-2 Southeast Asia in the Age of Empire (1 Unit)   The history of Southeast Asia in the age of European high imperialism, c. 1750-1945. The course examines structures of colonial rule; environmental transformation; urbanization and the making of the countryside; inter-Asian migration; the formation of new Southeast Asian elites; the transformation of Buddhism and Islam; the impact of the Great Depression; peasant rebellions; and the birth of communism, among other topics. Advanced Expression Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity Historical Studies Distro Area Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

HISTORY 386-3 Southeast Asia: Decolonization & Independence (1 Unit)   The history of decolonization and independence in Southeast Asia including: the Japanese occupation; the Indonesian and Vietnamese revolutions; the Vietnam War; the Pol Pot regime; the Laos Civil War; the Malayan Emergency; the 1965 mass murder of the Indonesian Left; Martial Law in the Philippines; the civil war in Myanmar; murdered Thai monarchs and more. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 393-0 Approaches to History (1 Unit)   Introductory seminar for history majors and others interested in understanding how history is thought about and written. Intensive exploration of a significant historical event, period, or topic. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 395-0 Research Seminar (1 Unit)   Students research and complete a term paper on a topic of choice. Required of majors. Historical Studies Distro Area

HISTORY 398-1 Thesis Seminar (1 Unit)   Advanced work through supervised reading, research, and discussion. Admission by written application, to be reviewed by department. Grade of K given in 398-1 and 398-2.

HISTORY 398-2 Thesis Seminar (1 Unit)   Advanced work through supervised reading, research, and discussion. Admission by written application, to be reviewed by department. Grade of K given in 398-1 and 398-2.

HISTORY 398-3 Thesis Seminar (1 Unit)   Advanced work through supervised reading, research, and discussion. Admission by written application, to be reviewed by department. Grade of K given in 398-1 and 398-2.

HISTORY 399-0 Independent Study (1 Unit)   Reading and conferences on special subjects for advanced undergraduates. Open only with consent of director of undergraduate studies and instructor.

HISTORY 399-SA Independent Study (1 Unit)   Reading and conferences on special subjects for advanced undergraduates. Open only with consent of director of undergraduate studies and instructor.