Chair, Professor Richard Moss

Professors Moss and Robert Weisbrot; Associate Professors James Webb, Elizabeth Leonard, Larissa Taylor, Raffael Scheck, and Paul Josephson; Assistant Professors Howard Lupovitch, Peter Ditmanson, and Ben Fallaw

History provides the opportunity to understand the human experience through the study of one's own and other cultures and societies as they have evolved over time. It is also a rigorous intellectual discipline involving research techniques, problem solving, and the critical evaluation of evidence. The department offers a wide variety of learning experiences, including lectures, individual tutorials, discussion groups, 300-level seminars, and senior research seminars. Students are encouraged to take courses in many areas of history and in interdisciplinary programs and related fields. Although a number of distinguished academic historians began their training at Colby, most majors find that history is excellent preparation for careers in business, law, and other professions. In recent years, media research, preservation, and museums have offered new opportunities for persons trained in history.

Requirements for the Major in History
Twelve semester courses in history: at least two courses in each of the following three areas: United States, European, and non-Western history; and History 200 (which should be taken no later than the sophomore year). In each area, at least one course must be at the 200 level or higher; additionally, one of the courses must be in "early" history, the other in "modern" history, as designated by the department. Up to four of the 12 semester courses in history may be transferred from courses taken in history departments at other colleges and universities at home and abroad. Students may petition in advance to count up to a maximum of two courses in allied fields at Colby toward the 12-course requirement for the major. The combined number of courses both transferred from other colleges and universities and counted from allied fields at Colby College is restricted to four.

All majors must take a designated senior research seminar (which may also count toward fulfilling an area requirement) in which they write a major research paper. Students should be aware that all senior seminars are by permission of the instructor. During the spring semester of their junior year, students should consult with their advisors about an appropriate seminar choice. In exceptional cases, history majors may make application to enroll in History 494 Independent Research (in either semester) in order to write a major research paper. History majors granted admission to the campus-wide Senior Scholars Program are exempt from this requirement.

Details on the division of courses among the fields and on the senior seminar requirement are available at the department office.

The point scale for retention of the major applies to all courses in history. No requirement for the major may be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory.

Honors in History
Senior majors in history who write exceptionally strong research papers in a history senior research seminar during the first semester of their senior year and who wish to continue their research in an Honors Program may make application to a history professor who, at his or her discretion, may agree to act as honors adviser and to enroll the student as an honors candidate in History 484. Alternately, exceptionally strong students may make application at the end of the spring semester of their junior year and, at the discretion of a history professor who agrees to act as honors advisor, may be admitted in the first semester of the senior year to History 483, the first semester of a year-long honors program. A total of up to eight credits may be given for the year, including January Program credit. Upon successful completion of History 483, the student, at the discretion of the honors advisor, would be admitted to History 484. Upon the successful completion of History 484 and the requirements for the major, the honors student's graduation from the College will be noted as being "With Honors in History."

Note: all three- or four-credit hour courses offered by the History Department fulfill the area requirement in historical studies (H). Those that also fulfill the diversity requirement include the D
designation.

COURSE OFFERINGS

103j    Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem    Listed as Classics 139j (q.v.). Three credit hours.    J. ROISMAN

[105]    History and the Homeric Epics    Listed as Classics 135 (q.v.). Three credit hours.  H.    

106f    Topics in Ancient History: Greek History    Listed as Ancient History 158 (q.v.). Three or four credit hours.  H.    J. ROISMAN

111f    Europe from Late Antiquity to 1618    A survey of European history from the age of Augustus to the beginning of the Thirty Years War, covering political, intellectual, social, and cultural history. Larger themes include the evolution of medieval kingship, relations between church and state, the development of nation-states, Renaissance, Reformation, and religious wars. Interactions between Christians, Jews, and Moslems; also attention to gender, family, and daily life. Four credit hours.  H.    TAYLOR

112s    A Survey of Modern Europe    An introduction to European political, socio-economic, and cultural developments from 1618 to the present day. Coverage of international relations, both within Europe and between Europe and the non-European world, the development of modern industrial nation-states, and transformations in culture and everyday life. Four credit hours.  H.    SCHECK

131f    Survey of United States History, to 1865    A general overview of key issues and events in United States history from the age of settlement through the Civil War. Four credit hours.  H.    MOSS

132s    Survey of United States History, 1865 to the Present    The rise of national power and its implications for American democratic values. Four credit hours.  H.    WEISBROT

[135]    The Crisis of Liberal Democracy, 1919-1945    Described in the "Integrated Studies" section of this catalogue. Four credit hours.  H.    

136f    The American Superpower, 1945-1970    An exploration of American politics, society, and culture from the emergence of the United States as a superpower at the end of World War II through the turbulent events of the '60s. Why did America forge a consensus for liberal reform at home and containment of communism abroad? How did this consensus find expression in the civil rights campaigns, a war on poverty, confrontations with the Soviet union, and involvement in Vietnam? How did this consensus shatter amid anti-war activism, racial turmoil, and a rising counter-culture? Part of the Integrated Studies program; requires concurrent enrollment in Philosophy 136. Four credit hours.  H.    WEISBROT

150fs    Introduction to East Asia    Listed as East Asian Studies 150 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H, D.    DITMANSON, WEITZ

154s    Roman History    Listed as Ancient History 154 (q.v.). Three or four credit hours.  H.    J. ROISMAN

171s    Introduction to Latin American Studies    Listed as Latin American Studies 171 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H, D.    FALLAW

181f    Jewish History I: From Antiquity to 1492    A survey of Jewish history from the world of the Hebrew Bible to the Expulsion from Spain. Topics include the Chosen People, the Kingdom of David, the age of prophecy, the sacrificial cult, Jews in the Hellenistic world, the revolt of the Maccabees, the birth of Christianity, Masada, the rise of the diaspora, rabbinic Judaism and the Talmud, the Jews of Islam, the Crusades, the Jewish-Christian polemic, medieval anti-Jewish stereotypes, Jewish Mysticism, and the Golden Age of Spain. Four credit hours.  H, D.    LUPOVITCH

182s    Jewish History II: From 1492 to the Present    A survey of Jewish history from the Expulsion from Spain through the birth of the state of Israel. Topics include the return of Jewish life to Western Europe, Jews and the Italian Renaissance, Martin Luther and the Jews, the Jewish Enlightenment, the age of emancipation, reform movements in Judaism, Hasidism, the world of the Shtetl in Poland and Russia, anti-semitism and Jewish responses, the birth of Zionism, and the emergence of new centers of Jewish life in America, Israel, and the Soviet Union. Four credit hours.  H, D.    LUPOVITCH

197f    History of Latin America    Listed as Latin American Studies 197 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H, D.    FALLAW

[198]    Israel, Ancient and Modern: Exploration of the Land and the People    The land of Israel from biblical antiquity to modern statehood. After preparation on campus, students will visit important historical and archaeological sites in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. Exploration of text and monument and the experience of the ecological diversity of the region will be used to emphasize the role of geography both historically and in current affairs. Interaction with Israeli citizens, both Jewish and Arab. The trip may include a visit to Petra in Jordan. Estimated cost: $2500; $500 deposit due by October 13th. Three credit hours.  H, D.    

200s    Introduction to History    A course divided into three units: the first introduces students to history's history and philosophical problems; the second explores the nature of historical disputes with emphasis on the nature of historical evidence and its use; the third introduces the problems of doing original research in history. Open only to history majors. Four credit hours.  H.    MOSS

[208]    Romans and Jews: History and Religion    Listed as Classics 258 (q.v.). Three credit hours.  H, D.    

209j    History As Fiction: The Medieval Historical Novel and Film    Topic for 2001: The Black Death. Through a reading of Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book and contemporary sources from 1347-48, and viewing films such as The Seventh Seal and documentaries, an examination of the historical events and human responses to them. Critical evaluation of the portrayal of history in fiction and the role of interpretation by both historians and writers/filmmakers. Fulfills Historical Studies requirement if taken for three credits. Two or three credit hours.    TAYLOR

212s    England from 1066 to 1603    A focus on English history from the Norman Conquest to the death of Elizabeth I. Topics include the changes from Anglo-Saxon to Norman rule, the Anarchy, Magna Carta and the development of parliamentary institutions, plague and rebellion, the Hundred Years War, the Wars of the Roses, the English Renaissance and Reformation, and the Elizabethan Settlement. Attention to social life, cultural innovations, and gender issues. Four credit hours.  H.    TAYLOR

[214]    Italian Renaissance    An interdisciplinary look at the history and culture of the Renaissance in Italy, with special attention to Florence and Venice. Topics include politics and city-states; court life and patronage; honor and clientage; art and architecture; academic and civic humanism; books, writers, and literature (including Dante, Boccaccio, and Machiavelli); women and family life; popular culture. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

[215]    Heresy, Humanism, and Reform    The wide range of medieval heresies, including the appeal to women and the poor; popular culture on the eve of the Reformation; northern humanism; Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin; the Radical Reformation; Counter-Reformation; Inquisition; the effects of reform on women and the family; the religious wars and the growth of toleration; the witch crazes. Four credit hours.  H.    

[220]    Yugoslavia: Emergence to Dissolution    In a search to understand the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian conflict, the course analyzes the history of the complex Balkan region that constituted Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1991, beginning with Ottoman and Habsburg influence in the 18th century and ending with the civil war of the 1990s. Four credit hours.  H.    

[221]    Europe in Conflict, 1914-1945    A diplomatic and political history of the period that playwright Bertold Brecht called the new 30-years civil war of Europe. War aims and peace efforts in World War I, the emergence of a short-lived international system in the 1920s, attempts to avoid war in an age of ideological radicalization in the 1930s, and the catastrophe of World War II. Four credit hours.  H.    

[223]    European Politics, Culture, and Thought, 1789-1914    A survey of the "long" 19th century in Europe. Special focus on political and social change connected to industrial revolution, demographic explosion, and overseas expansion. Introduction of intellectual and cultural currents in close historical context. Four credit hours.  H.    

224f    Germany and Europe, 1871-1945    What went wrong with German history from the first unification to the catastrophe of Nazism? Examining the question of German peculiarities within the European context and the debate on continuities in recent German history. Four credit hours.  H.    SCHECK

[225]    The History of Childhood in Europe    An introduction to various approaches to childhood in history. Discusses the thesis of the "invention" of childhood as a distinctive period of life in early modern Europe as well as speculations about its "disappearance" at the age of the mass media. Focus on the problem of knowing about childhood experience in the past within changing family structures and social contexts. Three credit hours.  H.    

227f    The Russian Empire: Russia Looks to the West, 1613-1905    The cultural and social history of Russia. Topics include Kievan Rus', the rise of Moscovy, the westernizing influence of Peter the Great, and the development of serfdom and autocracy. Focus on Russia's self-identity as western or eastern and on the challenges of building civil society. Four credit hours.  H.    JOSEPHSON

228s    The Russian Empire: Soviet History and 20th-Century Revolutions    The people of the Soviet Union lived through three revolutions (1905, 1917, 1991) and two world wars. Their leaders forced the pace of modernization and subjected their own citizens to class war, arrest, and execution. An exploration of the last days of Tsarism, of Leninism and Stalinism, and of the forces leading to the Gorbachev revolution and break-up of the Soviet empire. Four credit hours.  H.    JOSEPHSON

231f    American Women's History, to 1870    An examination of key themes in the varied lives of women in America from colonial times to the end of the Civil War, such as their relationship to the public sphere and politics; women's work in the contexts of household production, early industrialization, and slavery; women and citizenship in the new republic; and women, religion, and social reform. Four credit hours.  H, D.    LEONARD

232s    American Women's History, 1870 to the Present    An exploration of critical topics in the history of women in America from Reconstruction to the present, including the struggle for suffrage; black women in the aftermath of slavery; women and the labor movement; the impact on women of two world wars; birth control and reproductive freedom; women's liberation; the feminization of poverty; and the backlash against feminism. Four credit hours.  H, D.    LEONARD

[233]    Not Work: The Rise of Sport and Leisure in America    Surveying the rise in America of a culture characterized by extensive leisure and a nearly fanatical concern with sport. Students will think critically about the historical roots of modern American society and the meaning of sport and leisure in that society. History 131 and/or 132 recommended but not required. Four credit hours.  H.    

[234]    The American Revolution    A social, cultural, and political study of the revolutionary era in American history. The forces leading up to the war, the war itself, and the people who fought it; and such post-war developments as the promulgation of the U.S. Constitution. In what ways did the revolution transform what had been a colonial society into something new? Did the constitutional period witness a retreat, by the founders and American society at large, from the democratic promises of the revolution? Four credit hours.  H.    

[235]    American Women, American Wars    A combination lecture and discussion course that examines the roles played by American women in four American wars--the Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, and World War II--and the effects of those wars on shaping the experience of American women at critical points in American history. Two credit hours.    

[237]    Women in American Religion    Listed as Religious Studies 257 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H, D.    

238f    Religion in the U.S.A.    Listed as Religious Studies 217 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  S.    FINCH

239f    The Era of the Civil War    A social, political, and cultural survey of the Civil War, its origins, and its aftermath. Was the war a watershed in American history, as historians have commonly suggested? And if so, what kind of watershed? Four credit hours.  H.    LEONARD

241f    History of Science in America    Listed as Science and Technology Studies 271 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H.    FLEMING

[242]    Industry, Technology, and Society, 1750-1915    Listed as Science and Technology Studies 250 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H.    

243f    Industry, Technology, and Society Since 1900    Listed as Science and Technology Studies 251 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H.    REICH

247f    African-American History, from Slavery to Freedom    The nature of racism, the experience of slavery, the role of African Americans in shaping the nation's history, and the struggle for equality from colonial times until the present. Four credit hours.  H, D.    WEISBROT

[254]    The World of Ming China, 1368-1644    The Ming dynasty was a period of great flux in Chinese history in terms of political and social order, moral philosophy, gender relations, and artistic and literary representation. An examination of the social and cultural dynamics of this period through reading and discussion of a variety of materials, including political treatises, philosophical essays, religious texts, fiction, drama, and art. Three credit hours.  H, D.    

[256]    Japan from Early Times to the 17th Century    An exploration of the social, political, and cultural dimensions of Japanese civilization from prehistoric times to the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate through study of the ancient archaeological record, early myths and legends, Shinto and Buddhism, the beginnings of empire, the development of Heian aristocratic society, the devolution of power and the rise of the warrior class, Tokugawa political consolidation, and the emergence of urban popular culture. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

261f    African History    An introduction to major themes in Africa's past. Topics include the peopling of Africa, the evolution of African states, the role of Islam, the impact of the Atlantic slave trade on Africa, slavery within Africa, European imperialism, the impact of colonial rule, and struggles for independence. Four credit hours.  H, D.    WEBB

[271]    Introduction to Latin American Culture    Listed as Latin American Studies 271 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H, D.    

276f    Patterns and Processes in World History    An introduction to patterns and processes in world history, principally focused on the period since 1200. Themes include the evolution of trade and empire, global balances in military and political power, historical epidemiology, the evolution of capitalism, slavery and its abolition, democratic and industrialization revolutions, imperialism, global warfare, and decolonization. Four credit hours.  H.    WEBB

281f    Jews and Judaism in America    The history of American Jewry from the 17th century through the present with emphasis on the century after 1880. Topics include the flight from Spanish oppression, Jews in colonial America, Jews and the westward movement, attempts to reconcile Jewish life with the openness of American society, the triumph of Reform Judaism, the Jewish role in the slave trade and the Civil War, Jews and the labor movement, Black-Jewish relations, Jewish and other immigrant experiences, Zionism in America, American Jewish responses to Anti-Semitism, Nazism, and McCarthyism, the impact of feminism, the sexual revolution and the counter-culture movement, and the political strategies of American Jews. Fiction, film, and other sources will be used. One course in Jewish, American, or European history is recommended but not required. Four credit hours.  H, D.    LUPOVITCH

[283]    Jewish Biography and Autobiography    How do Jews remember their lives, and how are they remembered by their contemporaries? Readings include the personal histories of Theodore Herzl, Gershom Sholem, Solomon Maimon, Elie Wiesel, and Golda Meir. Three credit hours.  H, D.    

285f    Christianity: An Introduction    Listed as Religious Studies 215 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H, D.    FINCH

[297A]    Modern Japan    A survey of the history of modern Japan from the 18th century to the present: the decline and fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu; the political, social, and cultural changes in the Meiji era; the emergence of Japan as a global political, military, and economic power; and the culture of Japan in the post-World War II era. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

297Bf    History of the Maya from 200 B.C.    Listed as Latin American Studies 297 (q.v.). Four credit hours.    FALLAW

298As    Premodern China    A survey of the history of China from ancient times to the 17th century, exploring the early archaeological record, the religious and philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, the structure of the Chinese empire, aristocratic culture, and the local society of the literati elite. Four credit hours.  H, D.    DITMANSON

298Bs    Iberia and Its Colonial Experience to 1898    Listed as Latin American Studies 298 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H.    FALLAW

298Cs    In Search of a Strong Man: Greece in the Fourth Century    Listed as Classics 234 (q.v.). Three or four credit hours.  H.    J. ROISMAN

298Ds    Luddite Rantings: A Historical Critique of Big Technology    Adopting a technologically determinist argument, the instructor will subject to withering criticism the way in which westerners, and in particular Americans, have embraced such technologies as automobiles, computers, reproductive devices, rockets, and reactors, with nary a thought about their ethical, moral, political, or environmental consequences. Students will be encouraged to argue. Four credit hours.  H.    JOSEPHSON

299Aj    The World of Thought in Ancient China    A close reading of the Analects of Confucius, the Daodejing of Laozi, and other texts to examine the problems and solutions posed by early Chinese thinkers in their historical context. The place of these schools of thought in the intellectual foundations of imperial China. Three credit hours.  H, D.    DITMANSON

299Bj    Changing Notions of Progress: Technology and the Environment    Since the Enlightenment, many Western thinkers have promoted the practical arts, technology, and science as the keys to the betterment of the human condition. They have advocated the use of various production and processing technologies to ensure adequate resources for present and future generations. They have assumed that "progress," based on technological achievements, in and of itself was good. The roots of this notion and its development from the late 1700s until the mid-1900s. Three credit hours.  H.    JOSEPHSON

299Cj    Caudillos and Populism in Modern Spain and Latin America    A cross-disciplinary study of the historical circumstances behind the failure of the Spanish Republic and the rise of Franco's Fascist regime, the Mexican Revolution and its institutionalization under Cardenas, the rise of Peronism in Argentina, and Gertulio Vargas's Estado Novo of Brazil, crises that brought populist regimes and caudillos, or charismatic strong leaders, to power. Three credit hours.  H.    FALLAW

[302]    Manhood in Greek Society and Literature    Listed as Classics 332 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H, D.    

306s    Alexander the Great    Listed as Classics 356 (q.v.). Four credit hours.  H.    J. ROISMAN

313s    Women in Medieval and Early Modern Europe    The history of women and gender from the early Middle Ages to the French Revolution, with attention to women of all classes and categories of society; virgins, wives, and widows; saints, nuns, and mothers; queens, intellectuals, physicians, and brewers; prostitutes, magicians, and witches. Changes in legal, family, and economic status over time; working opportunities and restrictions; attitudes to sexuality; the querelle des femmes; male views of women; writings by women; church attitudes. Four credit hours.  H, D.    TAYLOR

[317]    The Gothic Moment: Paris and the Ile-de-France, 1100-1250    An exploration of the 12th-century renaissance--the moment during which universities first develop, Gothic cathedrals and churches are built all over northern Europe, literature in the form of Arthurian legends, courtly love, and fabliaux reach all levels of society, and speculative philosophy and theology engage the minds of the leading thinkers. Concentrating on Paris between 1100 and 1250, exploring the culture of this period through interdisciplinary studies. Four credit hours.  H.    

[318]    Medicine and Disease in Medieval and Early Modern Europe    A seminar exploring the evolution of medical theory and practice from Hippocrates, Galen, and Soranus to the development of medical faculties at medieval universities, including how professionalization affected women practitioners. A look at normal life stages, pregnancy, childbirth, midwifery, and mental health. The major medieval diseases: leprosy, plague, and syphilis. Ethical issues regarding social reactions to the physically and mentally sick, including stigmatization, stereotyping, segregation, and assertion of "family values" against perceived threats. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

[320]    The Crisis of European Civilization, 1900-1925    An analysis of the immensely creative and destructive European crisis in the period of World War I. Examines the breakthrough of "modernity" in the arts and society, the devastating experience of the first total war of societies, and the effects of the struggle both in culture and politics. Four credit hours.  H.    

322f    Europe and the Second World War    An exploration of the origins of World War II, its military, civilian, and diplomatic aspects, and its effects. Includes debates on the Versailles peace order, appeasement, collaboration and resistance in Nazi-occupied Europe, war aims, the mass murder and deportation of civilian populations, and the rebuilding of Europe after 1945. Although the focus is on Europe, the global dimensions of the war will receive ample consideration. Four credit hours.  H.    SCHECK

333f    American Cultural History, 1600-1865    American life from the founding to the Civil War as seen from a social and intellectual perspective. Emphasis on the growth of a unique American mind and its relationship to New World social and political development. Four credit hours.  H.    MOSS

334s    U.S. Cultural History, 1860-1974    The growth of the United States as a mass culture, with special focus on the development of popular culture, leisure, and the consumer society, including such traditional themes as Darwinism, pragmatism, and existentialism. Four credit hours.  H.    MOSS

[336]    America: The New World, 1607-1783    The American colonies from their earliest settlement to the Revolution; the emergence of a unique American society and mind from the Puritans to George Washington. Four credit hours.  H.    

[338]    Struggling from Revolution to Civil War, United States History 1775-1860    A junior-level seminar exploring political and cultural conflicts and debates in the United States from the Revolution to the outbreak of the Civil War. Topics include loyalism versus patriotism in the Revolution, federalism versus antifederalism in the constitutional period, and the competition among Jacksonian-era political parties for the loyalty of an expanding electorate. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    

[340]    Seminar: Biographies and Autobiographies of Great American Women    A junior-level seminar in which biographies and autobiographies of prominent individual American women are used to explore not only their lives but also critical issues in American women's history, in the discipline of biographical/autobiographical historical writing, in developing a concept of historical "greatness." Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

[342]    Crisis and Reform: American Society and Politics in the 1960s    The utopian hopes for government during the Kennedy and Johnson years, both in solving social problems and in containing communism around the world. Readings focus on the shaping of federal policies, their domestic and global impact, and the cultural and political legacy of this era. Four credit hours.  H.    

[344]    American Liberalism in Thought and Practice    The changing role of the national government in American society in the 20th century. Primary focus on populism, progressivism, and the civil-rights movement; on the broad expansions of government responsibility that occurred during the Progressive, New Deal, and Great Society eras; and on the contemporary impacts and problems resulting from this enlargement of the role and size of the federal government. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    

347s    America in Vietnam    The course traces the roots of conflict in Vietnam, American involvement, the course of the war, and its legacy for both Americans and Vietnamese. Four credit hours.  H.    WEISBROT

364s    African Economic History    A junior-level seminar on major issues in African economic history. Topics include the interpretation of long distance trade, African production systems, African moneys, the economic significance of slavery in Africa, the Atlantic slave trade, the commercial revolution, colonial and post-colonial policy, food crisis, and international aid. Four credit hours.  H, D.    WEBB

[382]    Women in Modern Jewish History    Exploring the experiences of Jewish women during the last three centuries, as a sub-group of world Jewry with a distinct experience of modernity and as a reflection of broader currents in modern Jewish history. The legal and actual status of women in the world of traditional Judaism, the discrepancies between the static religious role and the more dynamic social role of women in Jewish communal life, the influence of affluent Jewish women in communal politics, the image of women as the defenders of Jewish traditions in the face of assimilation, the interplay between Jewish women and the feminist movement, and the impact of Jewish movements such as Hasidism, Zionism, liberalism, and socialism on Jewish women. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

[383]    War and Society: Classical and Modern Perspectives    Listed as Ancient History 393 (q.v.). Four credit hours.    

[384]    Dilemmas of Modern Jewish Identity    An exploration of the conflicts between Jewish identity and the demands of modern life, and how Jewish thinkers have tried--with varied success--to resolve these conflicts. Topics include Moses Mendelssohn and the separation of church and state, Judaism and democracy, the future of the diaspora, Judaism and Marxism, Judaism and feminism, secular Jewish culture, and Jewish identity after the Holocaust. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

386s    Anti-Semitism    The origins and manifestations of anti-Semitism during the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include medieval anti-Judaism, racial anti-Semitism, political anti-Semitism and notions of a Jewish conspiracy, the role of anti-Semitism in Nazi ideology, and post-war anti-Zionism as an expression of anti-Semitism. Prerequisite: One course in European, American, or Jewish history. Four credit hours.  H, D.    LUPOVITCH

394s    Environmental History    A junior-level seminar that explores major issues in humankind's relationship to the natural world. Topics include the food crisis in prehistory, the human use of fire, disease and urbanization, the domestication of animals, the global exchange of flora and fauna, the impacts of industrialization and global capitalism, tropical deforestation, and the conservation movement. Four credit hours.  H.    WEBB

397f    From the Periodic Table to Sputnik and Chernobyl    What is the role of scientists and engineers in a society undergoing rapid industrialization? How do they manage the pressure of modernization, political and cultural revolution, and war? Russian scientists have been world leaders in a number of fields, but why do we know them more for their failures (Chernobyl) than for their successes (Sputnik)? The rise of Soviet science from its Tsarist roots and the path from Dmitrii Mendeleev to Andrei Sakharov. Four credit hours.  H.    JOSEPHSON

[411]    Sainthood and Popular Devotion in the Middle Ages    An interdisciplinary seminar to explore ideas of sanctity and popular devotion from the Middle Ages to approximately 1700, with attention to studies in anthropology, art history, literature, and religion. Issues include the formation of concepts of sainthood and martyrdom in late antiquity; the uses of sanctity, pilgrimages, and relics; gender differences; and popular versus elite belief. Recommended: previous course in medieval or early modern history. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    

[412]    Body and Soul: Conceptions, Sexuality, and Gender in Medieval and Early Modern Europe    Attitudes of church, state, and ordinary people to sexuality from late antiquity to 1650. What constituted normal versus deviant sexuality? What defined masculinity? What did it mean to be a medieval woman in terms of her body, male views of femaleness, and her view of herself? Were there categories of heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality? A look at prescriptive literature such as sermons, confessional manuals; legal and criminal statutes dealing with sexual transgression, especially in relation to prostitution and sex that was considered contra naturam. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    

413f    Research Seminar: Joan of Arc: History, Legend, and Film    A critical examination of one of the most famous figures in history within the context of 15th-century French history, and particularly the Hundred Years' War with England. Focus will be on the role of narrative and interpretation in the understanding of history from the time of Joan of Arc to our own. Four credit hours.  H.    TAYLOR

[416]    Research Seminar: France in the Renaissance    A focus on life and culture in France from the Italian Wars to the assassination of Henri IV, with special attention to printing, book culture, art, architecture, music, literature, forms of devotion, court life. Prerequisite: Reading knowledge of French and permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    

421s    Research Seminar: Debating the Nazi Past    Focus on the rise of Nazis and on different interpretations of the Third Reich: everyday life, policies toward women and workers, attitude of churches, role of the army, genesis of the Holocaust, Hitler's way of governing and popular perception of him; how Germans have dealt with the Nazi past over the last 50 years. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    SCHECK

[422]    Research Seminar: Topics in Modern European Women's History    Focuses on the rise of political women's movements in the 19th century, the impact of World War I on women, the introduction of universal suffrage, the "new woman" of the 1920s, the status of women in authoritarian systems (fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union), and the impact of World War II on gender roles. Special attention to the articulation of women's rights in the context of democratization and rising mass nationalism. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

433f    Research Seminar: United States Cultural History, 1890-1915    What is culture, how and why should historians study it? Major issues in the methodologies and writing of cultural history as they have been discussed among historians who study the United States. Selected readings in cultural history and historiography and development of a research project in cultural history. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    MOSS

435s    Research Seminar: The American Civil War    An in-depth study of the Civil War in America, with a series of common readings on the war, including its causes; its aftermath; significant military and political leaders (e.g., Grant, Lee, Longstreet, Sherman, Lincoln, Davis); the experiences and the impact of the war for women and African Americans; the impact of defeat on the South; the ways in which Americans "remember" and "reenact" the war. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H, D.    LEONARD

[442]    Research Seminar: African-American Thought and Leadership    An intensive examination of selected leaders in African-American history, focusing on civil-rights activists and black nationalists of the past century; biographies and writings of W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X, among others. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

447f    Research Seminar: The Cold War    An examination of the Cold War from both Soviet and American perspectives, tracing the reasons for this prolonged rivalry, the patterns of military and diplomatic confrontation, the global impact of the Cold War, and the upheaval in Soviet-American relations that recently moved the Cold War into the realm of history. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H.    WEISBROT

[452]    Research Seminar: The Rise of Modern East Asia    The transformations of China, Japan, and Korea from the imperial orders of the latter 19th century to the national regimes of the early 20th. Readings and discussions examine changes in politics, society, religion, and culture to consider the shifting definitions of what it means to be Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

[479]    Research Seminar: Jews and the City    An examination of the Jews of three cities that emerged as major urban centers and major centers of Jewish culture during the 19th century--New York, Vienna, and Budapest--from their origins in the 18th century through World War II. Topics include the impact of urban life on Jewish identity, the role of neighborhoods in the preservation of Jewish communal solidarity, the mixed attitudes of native and immigrant Jews toward one another, Jewish participation in urban culture, the intellectual world of leading Jewish thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein, the enigmatic rise of urban anti-semitism in a cosmopolitan milieu, and the tension between the benefits of anonymity and the tenacity of ethnic cohesiveness. Background in Jewish, European, American, or urban history is encouraged. Four credit hours.  H, D.    

[481]    Research Seminar: Ecological Change in World History    The changing relationship between human agency and the environment over the course of world history, examining broad themes such as the agricultural and industrial revolutions, the integration of world ecozones, historical epidemiology, and the impact of technological change on the environment. Prerequisite: History 276. Four credit hours.  H.    

483f, 484s    History Honors Program    Majors may apply late in their junior year for admission into the History Honors Program. These courses require research conducted under the guidance of a faculty member and focused on an approved topic leading to the writing of a thesis. Upon successful completion of the thesis and the major, the student will graduate "With Honors in History." Prerequisite: Senior standing, a 3.3 grade point average in the history major at the end of the junior year, and permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.    FACULTY

491f, 492s    Independent Study     Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. One to four credit hours.    FACULTY

494fs    History Independent Research     Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. One to four credit hours.    FACULTY

[497]    From the Periodic Table to Sputnik and Chernobyl     Four credit hours.  H.    

498s    Culture and Change in 17th-Century China    China in the 17th century was engulfed in changes, including the expansion of popular literature, economic upheaval, shifting gender roles and social relations, and the complete collapse of the Ming dynasty itself. An exploration of current scholarly approaches to the dynamics of change in this period. Four credit hours.  H, D.    DITMANSON