Fall 2010 New Courses in Department of History
An Empire and Republic: The Dutch Golden Age - 15496 - HIST 0971D - S01
Between about 1580 and 1690, a new nation emerged in Europe that became a bastion of liberty, ideas in ferment, fine art, military power, science and technology, and global economic reach: the Dutch Republic. A nation that thought of itself as peaceful, yet was constantly at war; as Protestant, yet was composed of people of many faiths; as personally aspirational, yet derived much wealth from the conquest and slavery of others. Its people and institutional arrangements greatly influenced Britain and America on their paths to power, too. Its rise and eclipse may be instructive.. Enrollment limited to 20 first-year students. FYS P
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
4:00-6:20 |
Thursday |
Sayles Hall 105 |
Harold Cook |
History of Medicine I: Medical Traditions in the Old World Before 1700 - 15497 - HIST 1490 - S01
People have always attempted to promote health and prolong life, and to ameliorate bodily suffering. Those living in parts of Eurasia also developed textual traditions that, together with material remains, allow historians to explore their medical practices and explanations, including changes in their traditions, sometimes caused by interactions with other peoples of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The course will introduce students to the major medical traditions of the Old World to about 1700, with an emphasis on Europe, and explore some of the reasons for change. A knowledge of languages and the social and natural sciences is welcome but not required. Not open to first year students. P
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
8:00-8:50 |
Mon., Wed., Fri. |
Salomon Center 202 |
Harold Cook |
From Amsterdam to Istanbul: Jews in the Early Modern World - 15498 - HIST 1550 - S01
What can history of a minority teach us about the history of Europe? Using text, pictures, and music, we will examine the relationship of Jewish and non-Jewish societies in the early period, focusing on how the development of the modern state and the blurring of cultural boundaries within the Jewish world and between Jews and non-Jews transformed concepts of identity. New patterns of Jewish life in the Atlantic world, the Ukranian steppe, and the Middle East, as well as the cultural revolutions which led to the codification of Jewish law and the spread of Kabbalah, will be examined. Not open to first year students.
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
10:30-11:50 |
Tuesday, Thursday |
Sciences Library 718 |
Adam Teller |
The Vietnam War in Vietnamese History - 16304 - HIST 1901 - S01
The causes, course and consequences of the Vietnam War, with emphasis on the social and cultural features of the conflict, from a Vietnamese perspective. The experiences of ordinary soldiers and civilians to be considered as much as the motives and decisions of Vietnamese and American politicians and generals. Not open to first-year students. M
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
2:30-3:50 2:30-4:20 |
Tuesday Thursday |
Smith-Buonanno G18 |
Haydon Cherry |
Comparative Native American History: Indigenous Peoples of North and South America - 15502 - HIST 1976A - S01
From Alaska to Argentina, Native people have diverse histories. Spain, Portugal, England and France established different colonial societies; indigenous Latin Americans today have a different historical legacy than Native Americans in the United States. But the experiences of conquest, resistance and adaptation also tell a single overarching story. In colonial times, Native Americans and Europeans struggled over and shared the land. After Independence, however, the new American republics tried to destroy American Indians through war and assimilation. But in the last century Native peoples (both North and South) reasserted their identities within modern states: the "vanishing Indian" refused to vanish. Enrollment limited to 20 students. First-year students require instructor approval. E
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
4:00-6:20 |
Tuesday |
J Walter Wilson 303 |
Jeremy Mumford |
Portuguese Maritime Expansion: Establishing a Global Empire (1400-1650) - 16189 - HIST 1976G - S01
This seminar course will broadly survey, chronologically and geographically, the historical development of Portuguese colonization in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans during the early modern era (approx. 1400-1650), focusing primarily on the role of colonies as conduits for global cultural and economic exchange. The course will examine the political, economic, social and intellectual contexts in which Portuguese maritime expansion occurred. We will consider the various historical catalysts for and significance of Portuguese maritime exploration and colonization, which led to worldwide trading networks and an unprecedented diffusion of populations, cultures and technology. Enrollment limited to 20. Not open to first year students. P LILE WRIT
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
4:00-6:20 |
Tuesday |
J Walter Wilson 402 |
Timothy Walker |
Total War and the Shaping of Modern Europe, 1914-1919 - 16299 - HIST 1976I - S01
Investigates the profound social, cultural, and political changes accompanying the First World War. The goal is to analyze the usefulness of the total war paradigm. Consequently, readings address military history only to the extent that such details shed light on the war's broader social and cultural implications. Primarily, but not exclusively, focuses on Germany's role in the First World War. Themes include the social consequences of modern industrial warfare; the consequences of the war for noncombatants; the identification and restriction of ethnic and national minority populations; and the interplay between political decision-making and industrial warfare. Not open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. M
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
4:00-6:20 |
Tuesday |
Wilson Hall 203 |
Christopher Barthel |
The Emergence of Capitalism in Early Modern Europe - 16379 - HIST 1976K - S01
Students will read and consider how, when and why capitalism emerged and rose to dominance in European and other societies, especially in the 16th through 18th centuries. Theories considered will include evolution/innateness, culture, societal development, colonialism, empire and institutional efficiency. Readings include Smith, Marx, Weber, Pirenne, Wallerstein, Brenner, Hirschman, North and Thomas, de Vries and Arrighi. We will put these accounts into dialogue with one another, assessing their assumptions, persuasiveness and failings. Based on these readings, the goal will be for each student to come to a reasoned judgment as to why and how capitalism emerged. Enrollment limited to 20. Not open to first-year students. M
Time |
Days |
Where |
Instructor |
3:00-5:20 |
Wednesday |
Wilson Hall 203 |
Colin Wilder |