New Courses, Fall 2009

Knowledge and Power: The Late Imperial Chinese Elite - 15543 - HIST 1973F - S01

This is an advanced undergraduate seminar on the nature and social, political, and economic roles of the elite class—variously identified as “the gentry,” “literati,” “scholar-officials”—in late imperial China (roughly the Ming and Qing dynasties, 1398-1911). We will focus in particular on the role that the civil-service examination system (and the educational institutions that supported it) and both landed and commercial wealth played in the formation of the elite and in supporting its social, economic, cultural and political dominance. We will also examine the development of a distinctive elite aesthetics, its impact on Chinese arts and letters, and the tensions that it created within the elite. After discussing the changes in and ultimate decline of the elite over the course of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, we will conclude the course with a consideration of how the legacy of the late-imperial elite has shaped the modern Chinese state.

Time	Days	Where	Instructor
3:00-5:20	Wednesday	Wilson Hall 203	Cynthia Brokaw

The French Revolution - 15815 - HIST 1973N - S01

The French Revolution is inarguably one of the most important moments in western history. Yet its legacy, which is surprisingly widespread, is also quite mixed. Was it a time of progress or a time of retrenchment? Was it a success or a failure? In addressing these and other questions, this course will examine the social and cultural components of this moment, beginning with the Old Regime and ending with the Revolution's "resolution": the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte. We will look at primary and secondary sources, including memoirs, pamphlets, and the debates between contemporary historians about the Revolution.

Time	Days	Where	Instructor
3:00-5:20	Monday	Wilson Hall 203	Kelly Colvin

Colonial Encounters: Indians, Europeans, and the Making of Early America - 15700 - HIST 1975T - S01

This seminar explores Native American histories and cultures in North America, primarily through the multiple and overlapping points of contact and coexistence with Europeans from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Although we will be reading widely in the very interesting recent literature in the field, a major component of the class is to investigate in a practical way the problem of sources for understanding and writing about American Indian history. As a senior capstone seminar, the final project is a substantial research paper. Enrollment limited to 20.

Time	Days	Where	Instructor
3:00-5:20	Monday	J Walter Wilson 402	Linford Fisher

Theory and Practice of Local History - 15158 - HIST 1974U - S01

Examines the theory and practice of local history, evaluating examples from a variety of genres ranging through micro history to folk music, from genealogy to journalism. Work with primary documents, evidence from the built environment and visits to local historic sites and archives will enable students to evaluate sources and develop their own ideas about writing history and presenting it to a public audience.

Time	Days	Where	Instructor
3:00-5:20	Monday	J Walter Wilson 503	Jane Lancaster

Legacies of Empire: Postcolonial Immigration in Modern Europe - 15816 - HIST 1973R - S01

Turkish Gastarbeiter in Germany. Second-generation North African "Beurs" in France. Muslim "home-grown terrorists" in Britain. In the wake of the demise of formal European empires, the migration of former imperial subjects to Europe has become a vexed topic. This course looks at the links between decolonization and postcolonial immigration and examines how immigration has affected European discourses on race and citizenship. It also considers the experiences of such immigrants, focusing on France, Britain, and Germany. Previous coursework in history or related disciplines recommended.

Time	Days	Where	Instructors
4:00-6:20	Tuesday	Wilson Hall 303	Mo Moulton

Modern Britain 1801-2009 - 15814 - HIST 1880 - S01

Modern Britain's history encompasses the industrial revolution, one of the world's greatest empires, two world wars, and one of the first welfare states. In this introductory course, we will examine this history through the lenses of the class system, imperialism, gender roles, and ideas about progress and decline.

Time	Days	Where	Instructor
2:30-3:50	Tues./Thurs.	Wilson Hall 301	Mo Moulton

Minority Peoples of China - 15157 - HIST 1972Z - S01

Examines the history of minority populations of China, where there are today 55 officially recognized ethnic minority nationalities. We will look at how minority identity and experience has shaped and been shaped by intertwined histories of ethnic classification, notions of human diversity, and broader social and political currents of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ranging from nationalism, communist "class struggle," and tourism. Readings will be drawn heavily from anthropological accounts of minority groups, and address the Miao, Yi, Zhuang, and Uighur, among others. The course should be of interest to students of the comparative history of race and ethnicity. Enrollment limited to 20. M

Time	Days	Where	Instructors
4:00-6:20	Thursday	J. Walter Wilson 403	Mark Swislocki

The Crusades - 15874 - HIST 1480 - S01

From the 11th through the 15th centuries. Christians from Western Europe were pitted in a series of Holy Wars against their Islamic, Pagan, and even other Christian neighbors. This course offers a multi-faceted overview of military, political, religious and cultural aspects of the Crusades, including the Crusades' long legacy of cultural conflict in our contemporary world.

Time	Days	Where	Instructors
9:00-10:20	Tues./Thurs.	Wilson Hall 101	Nathaniel Taylor

The American Founding, 1750-1800 - 15603 - HIST 1973H - S01

This capstone seminar surveys original sources, classic interpretations, and new perspectives on America's revolutionary founding during the second half of the eighteenth century. Major topics include imperial loyalty and protest, popular sovereignty, liberty and republicanism, rebellion and revolution, independence, confederation and consolidation, constitution-making and constitutional interpretation, the politics of opposition, the rise of political parties, and the legacy of the American founding. Please note that this conference course does not treat the military history of the Revolution in any substantial depth.

Time	Days	Where	Instructors
3:00-5:20	Wednesday	111 Thayer Street-Watson Inst 138	Daniel Wewers