History

The history of the United States from the colonial period to Reconstruction.

The history of the United States from Reconstruction to the present.

This course offers a general history of civilization, emphasizing the economic, intellectual, political and cultural aspects that have contributed to the development of our world. It covers the period up to 1715. 

General history of civilization emphasizing the economic, intellectual, political, and cultural aspects that have contributed to the development of our world. Covers the period since 1715.

This class surveys Latin American history from the eve of first encounters between Americans and Europeans in 1492 to the present: over 500 years of history for a vast region spanning Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Students will explore historical processes like encounters between Europeans, Americans, and Africans; Spanish and Portuguese colonialism in the New World; struggles for independence and construction of new Latin American states; class struggle, revolution, and counterrevolution in the twentieth century; and globalization, neoliberalism, and inequality in the twenty-first century.
 

This course offers a comparative history of a historical phenomenon: revolution. Throughout the semester, this class will consider multiple modern revolutions across the globe. It will begin with an exploration of the political theory of the Enlightenment, before considering specific revolutions, including but not limited to the American, French, Haitian, Mexican, and Russian. Besides comparing and contrasting various revolutions, this course will ask a number of questions related to revolutionary change, including what causes revolutions? Who makes a revolution? What leads to success or failure in a revolutionary situation? How should we define conceptions such as democracy, freedom, and liberty? 

The History of Warfare from Ancient Times to the end of the Napoleonic era. In addition to examining the developments of warfare in terms of tactics, strategy, and technology, the course will set warfare in a social and institutional context as a major driver of change. Emphasis will be given mainly to Western military developments but we will also examine the way non-Western societies interacted, responded, and adapted to the Western way of war. 

The History of Warfare from the mid-19th century to the present. In addition to examining the main developments in modern warfare, the course will set the study of warfare in a social and institutional context as a major driver of change. We will examine the development of such concepts as total war, conventional war, guerrilla warfare, and the rise of terrorism. Emphasis will be on such well known conflicts as the American Civil War, the Wars of European Unification, the World Wars, and the various anti-colonial wars. 

Study of selected topics in history.

An exploration of the complex history of the Cuban Revolution. We will embrace a methodology that examines Cuban history from within, while also devoting attention to the significant role that Cuba and Cubans have played in the international arena, especially since 1959. While much of the scholarship on Cuba has taken a top-down approach focused on political leaders and their policies, we will use creative examination of primary sources to build our own, bottom-up analysis of the social and cultural impacts of the revolution. We will seek to develop answers to difficult questions about the nature of popular democracy and totalitarian rule, the success of the Cuban Revolution in fulfilling its stated goals, and the ways that the revolutionary project has impacted the real lives of real people. 

A study of the colonial era of American history from the Columbian Encounter of 1492 through the French and Indian War. Students will explore the diverse peoples, cultures, and colonies across the Americas with a special focus on cultural exchange and conflict between European, Indigenous, and African peoples. Other topics include motivations for colonization, imperial wars, the growth of slavery, and the economic, political, and cultural development of European colonies.

A study of the era of the American Revolution, beginning with the French and Indian War and continuing to the War of 1812. Students will learn about the place of the thirteen colonies in the British Empire, the causes of the American Revolution, the course of the Revolutionary War, and the birth of a new nation under the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution. The course will consider whether the Revolution was a radical event, and explore the period from a variety of perspectives, including the Founding Fathers, common soldiers, women, African Americans, and American Indians. 

A survey of the main developments in European history between 1480-1610. Topics include the rise of the Habsburgs under Charles V; the impact of the Reformation; the Religious Wars; Spanish colonization overseas; the Military Revolution; and the Habsburg bid for European hegemony under Philip II; and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the Western Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.  

This course explores the origins of the United States’ relationship with the globe, ca. 1776 until 1919. Throughout the semester we will examine how domestic politics, gender, ideology, and race shaped broader US interactions with the globe. We will also consider how a revolutionary and anti-colonial republic became an imperial power. 

This course investigates the history of the United States’ interactions with the globe after World War I, including with Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It will introduce students to important events, people, and the historiography of the subject. 

This course treats the main event in the History of Europe from 1814 to 1914. It will treat such topics as the Congress of Vienna; the age of Metternich; the liberal revolutions especially the those of 1848; the Crimean War; the rise of Louis Napoleon; the Wars of Italian and German Unification; the rise of Socialism and Anarchism; New Imperialism; and the political polarization of Europe at the end of the century.  Attention will also be given to artistic and literary movements such as Romanticism; Realism; and Naturalism. 

A survey of the main develoments in European in the 17th century. Topics include the Thirty Years War; the Little Ice Age; the English Civil Wars; the Franco-Spanish conflict; the reign of Louis XIV of France; and the Glorious Revolution. 

These reading- and writing-intensive seminars provide opportunities for concentrated work on a particular theme, national experience, or methodology to develop subject expertise and research acuity. Students will critically assess previous historians' work and refine their expository skills in writing and speech. Topics vary by instructor.