History
S = Objectives
Undergraduate Concentrations
The concentration in history
seeks to provide students with a broad introduction to the development
of the modern world. The concentration is flexible, enabling students
to devise individual programs tailored to their own specific needs
and interests. In consultation with their faculty advisor, students
should design a concentration that makes sense in terms of their
other course work and career plans. This concentration strategy
will be different for each student. A student planning a professional
career in history, for example, will certainly want to take a
broad variety of courses, perhaps do a junior tutorial (HIST 98a
or 98b), write a senior thesis (HIST 99d), and master the foreign
languages required for that area of specialization. Students interested
in other careers, such as law or business, will design programs
of study that complement their course work in other departments
and programs (for example, legal studies or economics). The department
strongly recommends that students acquire both geographic and
chronological breadth, which is best provided by our set of two-semester
surveys in American, Asian, European, and Latin American history.
Apart from taking one or more of these surveys, students should
also select appropriate offerings from our more advanced courses
that are thematic or national in scope and that permit more intensive
analysis. The department is deeply committed to the development
of writing and analytical skills, which are invaluable and transferable,
regardless of future career--be it higher education, teaching,
law, business, or public service. The advanced courses, with smaller
classes, provide an ideal opportunity to develop those skills.
Graduate Program in Comparative History
The graduate program in comparative
history leads to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Applicants
wishing to take only the degree of Master of Arts may apply for
admission to the M.A. program described below. Deadline for applications
to the Ph.D. program is February 1; for applications to the M.A.
degree program, it is August 1.
The graduate program trains
students to approach the past from a comparative perspective.
This method represents the most fruitful way to interpret the
past, and the program fosters it in two ways. First, students
specializing in European history will develop expertise in two
broad fields of history--either medieval and early modern or early
modern and modern. Students specializing in non-European history
will master two comparable fields. Second, all students will study
their fields from a thematic approach that transcends national
boundaries and moves away from conventional periodization.
The comparative history program
gives students a broad understanding of historical developments
and fosters the ability to make cross-cultural comparisons. The
thematic approach is central to the process. The Brandeis history
faculty is exceptionally diverse in its interests and offers the
student a variety of approaches to the past, such as the study
of political structure, social relations and institutions, women
and the family, war and diplomacy, psychohistory, culture, or
thought. Each student will read widely on two topical areas, and
in the process learn what developments were unique and which ones
were comparable over time and space.
Finally, students will take
an outside field beyond the areas of their qualifying examinations.
This may be in another area of history such as the history of
the United States, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, East Asia,
Jewish history, or the history of science. It may also be in related
programs such as anthropology, economics, English and American
literature, literary studies, Near Eastern and Judaic studies,
politics, or sociology.
The program is designed to
prepare students for the competitive academic environment of the
next decade. It trains them in methods of historical research
and equips them to teach a broad range of subjects. On a deeper
level, comparative history fosters intellectual flexibility and
interdisciplinary skills that can be creatively employed inside
and outside academia.
A small, select student body
will work in close cooperation with the faculty. Most instruction
will take place in seminars specifically designed for graduate
students or in individual conferences with faculty advisors. From
the beginning, the curriculum will help students prepare for their
qualifying examinations and guide them toward eventual dissertation
research.
During the first year, students
must prepare a major research paper on a topic chosen in consultation
with a principal advisor. The paper may be comparative in research
(involving two or more symmetrical case studies), or it may focus
upon a single case (with that research informed by a reading of
secondary literature on similar cases). The paper constitutes
the major intellectual enterprise of the first year, and students
devote one-quarter of their time to it. Students must also enroll
in HIST 197a (Historical Research: Methods and New Frontiers).
During both of their first two years of residence, students must
also enroll in comparative history seminars that treat significant
problems in a comparative perspective and introduce students to
the methods and issues of comparative history. European specialists
will also enroll in two introductory graduate colloquia, which
cover the early modern and modern periods. Finally, before they
may take the qualifying examination, all students must complete
a tutorial or other work focusing on a part of the world geographically
or chronologically removed from their principal area of specialization
with a view to gaining a comparative perspective on their major
research interest.
Students specializing in European
history are expected to have a general mastery of a major and
a minor field of history, either medieval, early modern (1450-1750),
or modern (1750-present). Students specializing in non-European
history will present a major and minor field approved by the executive
committee. Two faculty members examine in the major field; one
faculty member shall examine for the minor field. First-year colloquia
shall provide the basic groundwork for field preparation. By the
beginning of the fourth semester the student must submit a working
orals bibliography, which will serve as the basis for the qualifying
exam, to be administered at the end of the fourth semester. The
exact delimination of the major and minor fields is to be made
by the student and examiners, with the formal approval of the
chair of the Comparative History Program.
Students should normally plan
to complete all work for the doctorate, including the dissertation,
within five years after entering the program; prolongation of
study past the sixth year is discouraged.
Graduate Program in American History
The program in American history
offers two graduate degrees: Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy.
Its curriculum is designed to help students gain a comprehensive
understanding of American history and mastery of historical research
and writing.
Its flexible program of study allows students to work closely with the faculty in independent reading and research courses. Individual courses of study are developed for each student, to help in preparation for qualifying examinations, and as preparation for dissertation research. Normally, the first year's work is concentrated in American history, and centers on directed research and a critical approach to problems of historiography. Second-year students are encouraged to complete their preparation in their examination fields through directed readings and relevant courses. Applicants should note with care the four parts of the examination, specified under Degree Requirements, in which all students are expected to demonstrate proficiency. Studies in related fields are arranged individually with appropriate members of the University's graduate faculty. For students with appropriate qualifications, there are opportunities for advanced study and research at neighboring universities in such fields as legal, business, and religious history.
S = How to Become an Undergraduate Concentrator
Students normally begin their studies with one of the general courses in historical studies and then go on to more advanced courses. To declare and design a concentration, the student should first see the undergraduate advising head; together they will select as advisor a faculty member who seems best suited to that student's interest and area of future work. The advisor and student will then select a course of study that gives greatest coherence to the student's other course work and career plans.
G = How to Be Admitted to the Graduate Program
T = Comparative History
The general requirements for
admission to the Graduate School given in an earlier section of
this Bulletin apply. Students with a sound preparation
in history and who have demonstrated unusual imagination and critical
insight will receive special consideration. Undergraduate majors
in the other social sciences or in allied fields such as comparative
literature may, however, apply. Applicants should submit a sample
of written work, preferably in history.
Students may be admitted for
full- or part-time work. Partial scholarship assistance is available
for a limited number of exceptional candidates.
T = American History
The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, given in an earlier section of this Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission. An undergraduate major in history is the preferred preparation for admission, and the student's undergraduate curriculum should include some fundamental courses in American history and related fields in the social sciences or humanities. Students with the M.A. degree in history or a professional degree in law or other related fields are especially invited to apply. Prospective students interested in Crown Fellowships or the special arrangements for study in professional fields at neighboring universities, noted above, should submit applications by February 15.
S = Faculty
Jacqueline Jones, Chair
American Southern and women's
history.
Silvia Arrom
Latin America. Women's history.
Social history.
Rudolph Binion
Modern history. Culture and
thought. Psychohistory.
Eugene Black, Graduate Advising Head for Comparative History
Modern history. Political and
social institutions.
David Fischer, Graduate Advising Head for American History
Modern history. Social institutions.
Gregory Freeze
Russia and Germany. Social
history.
Steven Harris
History of science. Early modern
cultural history.
Mark Hulliung
History of ideas. Political
theory.
Paul Jankowski
Modern European and French
history.
Jane Kamensky
Colonial America. American
social and cultural history.
William Kapelle
Medieval history.
Alice Kelikian
Modern history. Social institutional
history.
Morton Keller
Legal and political institutions.
James Kloppenberg
Intellectual and cultural history.
John Schrecker
East Asian history and civilization.
Sino-Western relations.
Govind Sreenivasan
Early modern European history.
Germany.
The following members of other
departments are affiliated with the Department of History:
Joyce Antler (AMST), Lawrence Fuchs (AMST), Avigdor Levy (NEJS), Antony Polonsky (NEJS), Benjamin Ravid (NEJS), Jehuda Reinharz (NEJS), Jonathan Sarna (NEJS), Silvan Schweber (PHYS), Ibrahim Sundiata (AAAS), Stephen Whitfield (AMST).
S = Requirements for the Undergraduate Concentration
All concentrators are expected
to complete satisfactorily at least eight semester courses in
history from among the HIST and cross-listed offerings. No course
grade below a C will be given credit towards the concentration
requirement of eight courses. Students who wish to take more than
one course numbered under 50 must have written approval of the
department advising head. Acceptable AP scores in American or
European history exempt concentrators from equivalent course(s)
but do not reduce the total number of courses required to complete
concentration. A minimum of six courses counted toward concentration
must be taught by members of the history faculty, except that
transfer students and those taking a year's study abroad may offer
up to four semester courses taught elsewhere depending on individual
circumstances, and need take only four courses taught by members
of the history faculty. To apply such transfer courses for history
concentration, a student must obtain the approval of the department
advising head.
In addition, HIST 98a and 98b
(Readings in History) may be taken by students on a subject of
particular interest to them that is not covered in the regular
curriculum or as a supplement to work on the Senior Honors Thesis.
(The consent of the instructor is required.) HIST 99d (Senior
Research), which must be taken in addition to the regular eight-course
requirement, enables students to undertake an honors thesis and
is required for degrees granted with distinction. In addition
to HIST 99d, students must also enroll in HIST 97a (Senior Honors
Seminar).
The concentration can be combined
with other programs of study, such as Latin American studies or
Russian and East European studies. Students should consult their
advisors to design a concentration that best complements the requirements
of other programs.
The following approved courses
may also be counted toward the history concentration:
IMES 104a Islam: Civilization and Institutions
NEJS 166a Modern Jewish History to 1880
NEJS 166b Modern Jewish History,
1880-1948
Combined B.A./M.A. Program
Students with exceptional records may apply for the B.A./M.A. Program in either comparative history or American history. Applications to either graduate program must be made no later than May 1 preceding the senior year. Consultation with the advisor is highly recommended by the beginning of the sixth semester; transfer students should apply by the fourth semester of residence. All applications should include a proposed course of study, specifying how all degree requirements will be met. Grades of B- or better are required in the 100-level courses. The total number of courses required for completion of a B.A./M.A. program is 38, of which at least four must be at the graduate level and not counted toward concentration requirements.
G = Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts
T = Comparative History
This one-year, full-time program
has the following requirements:
Each student must pass an examination
in one foreign language. Each student will complete the first-year
program as defined for the graduate program in comparative history.
An M.A. degree in history will
be awarded to those students who have satisfactorily completed
one year of residence as full-time students, completed the mandated
first-year courses, fulfilled the language requirement, and completed
their research seminar requirement.
T = American History
Students who are admitted for a terminal M.A. degree must complete one full year of course work and the foreign language requirement. Courses will include the two-semester colloquium in American history, a major research project, and four other courses approved by the executive committee.
G = Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
T = Comparative History
Program of Study
During the first year in the
program, students will complete a major research paper and two
colloquia in history. Within the first two years, they must also
take two seminars in comparative history, beside fulfilling the
outside-field requirement.
Residence Requirement
The minimum residence requirement
for doctoral students is three years.
Language Requirement
The use of foreign languages
is an essential tool for the comparative historian. Each student
will be expected to pass, upon admission, one language examination
testing the ability to read historical prose with a dictionary.
The second language examination must be passed before taking the
qualifying examination. All students in European history must
show competence in French and German. Medieval students must also
offer Latin. Students may in some instances petition to substitute
a language appropriate to their research interests for either
French or German.
Qualifying Examination
Each student will take the
qualifying examination at the end of the fourth term. Any student
who has failed to complete the qualifying examination by the fifth
term will be dropped from the program.
Dissertation Prospectus
The student will normally define
a dissertation topic in the term preceding the qualifying examination
but in no case later than the end of the fifth term in the program.
For the dissertation prospectus,
students will make an oral presentation setting their proposed
topic in comparative perspective.
Dissertation Defense
When the student's dissertation
committee accepts the completed dissertation, the candidate must
defend it at the Final Oral Examination.
L =
T = American History
Program of Study
Doctoral candidates must complete
three years in residence at Brandeis and a minimum of 16 semester
courses. Programs of study and concentration will be formulated
for each student, subject to the approval of the executive committee.
Students will be required to maintain an average of B or better
in order to continue in the program. Continuance of fellowship
support requires an average of A- or better.
Incoming students normally
will be expected to take two double-credit courses of Directed
Research in American History in their first year of residence.
The committee may, at its discretion, grant a student transfer
credit of up to one year toward the Ph.D. residence requirement
for relevant graduate or professional work done elsewhere. Application
for such credit shall be considered only after a student has completed
one term's residence in a full-time program. The second 300-level
Directed Research course may be waived by the committee on the
basis of a master's thesis or comparable research project at the
graduate or professional level done elsewhere. In the first year
all students enroll in the Colloquium in American History.
Residence Requirement
The minimum residence requirement
for doctoral students is three years.
Language Requirement
A high level of reading proficiency
in one foreign language is required of all students. Students
are expected to pass the language examination during the first
year of residence. The completion of language requirements at
another university does not exempt the candidate from the Brandeis
requirement.
Qualifying Examination
Each doctoral candidate must
pass at the doctoral level a qualifying examination in the following
four fields: (1) general American history, one examiner to be
in early American history and the other in modern American history;
(2) a period of specialization in American history; (3) an area
of comparative modern European, Asian, Latin American, or African
history; (4) a related discipline in the social sciences or humanities,
or a subdiscipline in history.
All proposed fields must be
submitted in writing and approved by the executive committee.
The period of specialization will normally be selected from the
following: 1607-1763, 1763-1815, 1815-1877, 1877-1914, 1914-present.
The comparative history field
may focus on such themes as 19th-century emigration/immigration,
18th-century American and European political and social philosophy,
the history of the modern family, or the frontier in global perspective.
The fourth field may involve training in politics, international
relations, or literature, for example, to provide perspectives
and methods that can illuminate historical problems. Or it can
involve a subdiscipline in history that has a distinctive subject
matter and methodology, such as American social, legal, ecological,
or intellectual history.
Students entering the program
without previous graduate training in American history are expected
to take the qualifying examination no later than the end of their
fifth term of residence and must pass the examination by the end
of the sixth term. Students who have earned an M.A. degree in
history elsewhere are expected to take and pass the qualifying
examination by the end of their second year in the program.
Qualifying examinations will
be taken separately for each of the fields, with the general American
field coming at the end. For each of the fields (2), (3), and
(4), as above, the student will choose one appropriate faculty
member with the approval of the chair of the program. That faculty
member, in consultation with the student, will define the requirements,
course of preparation, and mode of examination (written and/or
oral) for the field.
For the general American field,
the chair will appoint two members of the executive committee
as examiners. The two faculty members in consultation with the
student will define in advance the major themes or problems on
which the examination will be based. So far as possible, fields
(3) and (4), as above, should be selected with a view to broadening
and deepening the student's understanding of his/her American
history fields and providing valuable background for the dissertation
work.
With the consent of the chair
and the professor concerned, qualified students in appropriate
cases may be examined in fields (3) or (4), as above, by a faculty
member at another university. Moreover, with the consent of the
executive committee, examinations in fields (3) or (4), as above,
may be waived for students with the M.A., J.D., or other advanced
degrees.
Dissertation
During the early stages of their dissertation work students are expected to present a prospectus in a Works-in-Progress session attended by the program's students and faculty. When the dissertation is accepted by the committee, a final oral examination will be scheduled at which the candidate must successfully defend his/her dissertation before the committee and other members of the faculty who may participate. In most cases a student's dissertation committee consists of the advisor, another American history faculty member, and an outside reader from another university.
S = Courses of Instruction
S = (1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students
HIST 20b Images of the Cosmos
[ cl5 cl8 cl31 ss HI ]
Traces the West's changing conceptions of the natural world from antiquity to the present by examining dominant metaphors: from the animism of Plato's cosmos to the mechanism of Newtonian physics and from the metaphors of competition and cooperation in organic evolution (Darwin, Gaia hypothesis) to those of contingency in big-bang cosmology and chaos theory. Extensive use of slides. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Harris
HIST 24a An Intellectual History of Modern Europe and America
[ ss HI ]
Enrollment limited to 100.
Focuses on ideas about knowledge and politics. Readings include selections from More, Montaigne, Locke, Rousseau, Madison, Thoreau, Marx, Mill, James, Freud, Sartre, and Habermas. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Kloppenberg
HIST 25a Faith and Reason in European Culture
[ ss HI ]
A survey of major cultural movements in European history from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century, focusing on faith and reason--their changing forms and relations. Usually offered every year.
Staff
HIST 51a History of the United States: 1607-1865
[ ss ]
An introductory survey of American history to the Civil War. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Kamensky
HIST 51b History of the United States: 1865 to the Present
[ ss ]
An introductory survey of American history from the Civil War to the present. Usually offered every year.
Staff
HIST 52b Europe from 1789 to the Present
[ ss ]
Analytical introduction to modern European history considering such issues as the French Revolution, economic and social modernization and the industrial revolution, the evolution of modern nationalism, imperialism and socialism, development of the world market, imperialism, diplomacy and war in the 20th century, Bolshevism and the decline of liberalism, modern totalitarianism, the Second World War, decolonization, the Cold War, the revival of Europe, and the revolutions of 1989. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Black
HIST 55b The History of the Family
(Formerly HIST 32b)
[ cl11 cl37 ss HI ]
This course may not be repeated for credit by students who have taken HIST 32b in previous years. Enrollment limited to 100.
A social history of the family in Europe from early modern to contemporary times. Topical emphasis on changing patterns in kinship and household structure, child rearing, sex-role differentiation, employment, and marriage. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 71a Latin American History, Pre-Conquest to 1870
[ cl3 cl38 nw ss NW ]
Introduction to the historical foundations of Latin America: Amerindian civilizations, Spanish conquest, colonial economy and society, independence movements, and their aftermath. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Arrom
HIST 71b Latin American History, 1870 to the Present
[ cl3 cl24 nw ss NW ]
Modern Latin America, with stress on the interactions of economics, politics, and external dependency in the region. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Arrom
HIST 80a Introduction to East Asian Civilization
[ cl38 cl41 nw ss NW ]
Enrollment limited to 75.
A selective introduction to the development of forms of thought, social and political institutions, and distinctive cultural contributions of China and Japan from early times to the beginning of the 19th century. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Schrecker
HIST 80b East Asia in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
[ cl3 cl27 cl41 nw ss NW ]
Enrollment limited to 75.
The civilization of East Asia at the beginning of the 19th century, the impact of the West, the contrasting responses of China and Japan to the confrontation and the development and nature of their present societies. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Schrecker
HIST 97a Senior Honors Seminar
Corequisite: HIST 99d. Signature of the instructor required.
Explores a variety of scholarly research methods and introduces students to issues and problems in the writing of history. Seniors who are candidates for degrees with honors in history must enroll in this course in the fall term, along with HIST 99d. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Jankowski
HIST 98a Readings in History
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
HIST 98b Readings in History
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
HIST 99d Senior Research
Signature of the instructor required. Does not meet the concentration requirement in history.
Seniors who are candidates for degrees with honors in history must register for this course and, under the direction of a faculty member, prepare an honors thesis on a suitable topic. Usually offered every year.
Staff
G = (100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
HIST 103a Roman History to 455 C.E.
[ cl17 hum ss ]
Survey of Roman history from the early republic through the decline of the empire. Covers the political history of the Roman state and the major social, economic, and religious changes of the period. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kapelle
HIST 110a The Civilization of the Early Middle Ages
[ cl39 ss ]
Survey of medieval history from the fall of Rome to the year 1000. Topics include the barbarian invasions, the Byzantine Empire, the Dark Ages, the Carolingian Empire, feudalism, manorialism, and the Vikings. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Kapelle
HIST 110b The Civilization of the High and Late Middle Ages
[ cl39 ss ]
Survey of European history from 1000 to 1450. Topics include the crusades, the birth of towns, the creation of kingdoms, the papacy, the peasantry, the universities, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years War. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Kapelle
HIST 112b The Crusades and the Expansion of Medieval Europe
[ ss ]
Survey of the relationships between Medieval Europe and neighboring cultures, beginning with the decline of Byzantium. Topics include a detailed look at the crusades, the Spanish reconquest, crusader kingdoms and the impact on economic growth, Western culture and foundations of imperialism. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Kapelle
HIST 113a English Medieval History
[ cl39 ss ]
Survey of English history from the Anglo-Saxon invasions to the 15th century. Topics include the heroic age, the Viking invasions and development of the English kingdom from the Norman conquest through the Hundred Years War. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Kapelle
HIST 120a Colloquium in Medieval Studies: From the Anglo-Saxon Invasions to Norman England
[ ss ]
Exploration of the critical issues in the formation of the medieval English kingdom and society. Topics include the Anglo-Saxon Invasions, the Viking Invasions, the development of manors and towns, and the Norman conquest. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Kapelle
HIST 121a The Cultural, Social, and Political Foundations of Modern Europe
[ ss ]
This course will analyze the cultural, social, and political forces that transformed Europe from Bastard Feudalism to the French Revolution--the rise of capitalism, development of the modern state, military organization from feudal levies to standing armies, the birth of new idealogies, the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment. Usually offered every year.
Staff
HIST 123a Late-Medieval and Renaissance Florence
[ ss ]
Culture, society, and economy in the Italian city-state (with particular attention to Florence) from feudalism to the rise of the modern state. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
HIST 123b Reformation Europe
[ ss ]
Examines the religious upheavals that transformed Europe between the 15th and 17th centuries. Topics include Luther's break with Rome, peasant uprisings, the Counter-Reformation, and wars of religion. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1995.
Staff
HIST 124a The Revolution of the Saints: Calvinism and the Rise of the Modern World
[ ss ]
Was Calvinism the first revolutionary ideology? Did it contribute to the rise of capitalism or modern political theory? This seminar examines Calvinism in early modern Europe and North America. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1993.
Staff
HIST 125a Rulers and Revolutions in Seventeenth-Century Europe
[ ss ]
Who ruled 17th-century Europe? What were the structures of power in the different countries? How were those structures challenged and transformed? Louis XIV, the English Revolution, peasant uprisings, absolutism vs. constitutionalism. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
HIST 126a Early Modern European History
[ ss ]
The Early Modern period was an era of enormous change, but it was also a time when people valued hierarchy and stability. This course will explore the trends and tensions in Western Europe from 1500 to 1789. Taking a multifaceted approach, it will examine politics, society, religion, intellectual life, and culture and will stress the ways in which these elements interrelated.
Mr. Sreenivasan
HIST 126b Witchcraft and Magic in Early Modern Europe
[ ss ]
Witchcraft, magic, and demonic possession in Europe, especially in the period of the great witch craze, ca. 1560-1660. The relation of these phenomena to religion, science, social change, and gender relations. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
HIST 127a Women, Sexuality, and Family Life in Early Modern Europe
[ cl11 ss ]
Topics include kinship and family structures, conception and childbirth, women's work, homosexuality, prostitution, witchcraft, the roles of elite women in intellectual movements and in government, 17th-century feminist culture. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
HIST 128b Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe
[ ss ]
An introduction to the physical and mental world of the "common folk" in Europe before the industrial revolution. Readings include diaries, letters, plays, and folklore; paintings and prints will also be examined. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
HIST 130a The French Revolution
[ cl9 cl23 cl43 ss ]
The sources, content, and results of the French Revolution; its place in the broader context of the democratic revolution of the West. A study of the events and analysis of the elements involved. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Black
HIST 131a The Scientific Revolution
[ cl5 ss ]
A library intensive course.
Science is now the dominant institution for understanding and manipulating the natural world. Many of its key elements--mathematical law, experiment, systematic observation, open communication--arose in the scientific revolution of the 17th century. This course examines the cultural and intellectual origins of modern science through the seminal works of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Harris
HIST 131b Science and Technology in the Twentieth Century
[ cl34 ss ]
Enrollment limited to 16. A library intensive course.
The major scientific and technological advances since 1900 and their relations to the main intellectual currents. The relation of science to technology, social structure, and political institutions. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Schweber
HIST 132a European Thought and Culture: Marlowe to Mill
[ cl2 cl9 cl21 cl29 ss ]
Main themes and issues, modes and moods, in philosophy and the sciences, literature and the arts, from the skeptical crisis of the late 16th century to the Romantic upheaval of the early 19th. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Binion
HIST 132b European Thought and Culture Since Darwin
[ cl21 cl23 cl26 cl29 ss ]
Main themes and issues, modes and moods, in philosophy and the sciences, literature and the arts, from mid-19th-century Realism to late 20th-century Unrealism. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Binion
HIST 133b Science and Religion in Modern Europe
[ cl34 cl45 ss ]
Analysis of the interaction between modern science and the Judeo-Christian tradition from the 17th century onward: the trial of Galileo, the "Merton thesis," the religious views of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, the lost tradition of natural theology, the impact of Darwinism on Christianity, and the new modes of interaction between science and religion in the 20th century. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Harris
HIST 134a Nineteenth-Century Europe: From Revolution to National Unification (1789-1870)
[ ss ]
The demographic, economic, and French revolutions; Napoleonic imperium; instability and revolt in restoration Europe; romanticism; urbanization and industrialization; revolutions of 1848; national unification and ethnic politics; the "liberal era." Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Black
HIST 134b Nineteenth-Century Europe: Nationalism, Imperialism, Socialism (1850-1919)
[ cl27 ss ]
The world of nation-states; urbanization and mature industrial societies; science and culture; attacks on liberal civilization; socialism, collectivism, and imperialism; domestic tensions and world politics. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Black
HIST 135a Revolutions in Science
[ wi ss ]
Does scientific knowledge grow cumulatively through the cooperative labor of scientists or discontinuously through revolutions? How do "revolutionary" theories establish themselves as the new orthodoxy? Various models of scientific change (Kuhn's paradigm shift, Toulmin's natural selection model, Latour's actor networks) will be tested against historical episodes; Copernicus's heliocentric theory, Darwin's theory of evolution, quantum theory, and the discovery of DNA by Watson and Crick. Usually offered in odd years. Will be offered in the spring of 1998.
Mr. Harris
HIST 136b Science, Pseudo-Science, and the Occult
[ ss ]
Why are some fields called "pseudo-science" and others "science"? What criteria must a theory meet in order for it to be considered a "real" science? Have these criteria changed over time? The course will explore these questions by examining several examples of pseudo-science and "occult practice" in their historical contexts: e.g., alchemy, astrology, Mesmerism, phrenology, "N-rays," parapsychology, Soviet genetics, etc. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Harris
HIST 137a Evolution of the International System, 1815 to the Present
[ ss ]
The evolution of the modern international system from 1815 to the present. Focuses on the domestic bases of international strengths and changes in the balance of power from Napoleon to the end of the Cold War. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Black
HIST 138a Economy and Society in Europe, 1750-1900
[ ss ]
Examination of industrialization and social change in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. The cultural, economic, and political consequences of commercial expansion and urban growth will be traced. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 138b Industrialization and Social Change: 1900 to the Present
[ ss ]
Changing relations between state and society in England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Eastern Europe. Topics include war mobilization, popular culture, and mass politics during the twenties; the political economy of authoritarianism; and the organization of consent in the thirties. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 139a Women, Gender, and Family
[ cl46 ss ]
Examines gender relations in England, France, Italy, Germany, and Russia since the Puritan revolution. Topics include law, family structure, sexualities, education, deviance, patterns of power and sociability, criminal and civil codes, medicine and science. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 139b Fascism East and West
[ ss ]
A comparative analysis of dictatorship in Europe, Japan, and Latin America during the 20th century. Topical emphasis on the social origins, mass culture, and political organization of authoritarian regimes. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1993.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 140b The Jews in Europe Since 1945
[ ss ]
Examines the main social, demographic, and political changes in European Jewry since World War II. Topics include the "displaced persons" problem, war crimes trials, Stalin and the Jews, Vatican II, the impact of Israel, "anti-Semitism without Jews," Jewish languages, and population decline. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
HIST 141a The Thirties
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 15.
"The Thirties" is an undergraduate seminar that examines the 1930s in Europe and North America. Using chiefly literary sources, it studies reactions to fascism, the depression, the Soviet experiment, the Spanish Civil War, and other upheavals of the decade, culminating in the coming of war in 1939. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Jankowski
HIST 141b Studies in British History: 1830 to the Present
[ ss ]
Topics include Victorian society and culture, Britain in the world economy, liberalism, socialism, and the rise of labor, democracy, and collectivism between the wars, labor in power, mass culture, the Thatcher Revolution. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Black
HIST 142b Europe since 1945
[ ss ]
Examines impact of the end of the Eurocentric world system, including the division of East from West Europe; the German question; the impact of decolonization; the involvement of the United States; the growth of the European community; and the collapse of communism. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1995.
Mr. Wasserstein
HIST 145b Introduction to Modern France
[ cl23 ss ]
Explores French politics and society from 1789 to the present. Emphasis on the shocks from which it has had to recover, including revolutions, wars, and foreign occupation, the implantation of stable institutions, and the continuing role of intellectuals in French society. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Jankowski
HIST 146b Hitler, Germany, and Europe
[ ss ]
Hitler's personality and politics in their German and European context, 1889-1945. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1996.
Mr. Binion
HIST 147a Rise of Imperial Russia
[ ss ]
Intensive and systematic analysis of Russian history from earliest times to the Great Reforms of the 1860s. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Freeze
HIST 147b Russia Since 1861
[ cl25 ss ]
Postemancipation Russia with particular attention to the problem of modernization, emergence of new social groups, revolution, and construction of a socialist society. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Freeze
HIST 149a Soviet History: Major Issues, New Approaches
[ cl25 ss ]
Examination of central issues in early Soviet history, from the 1917 Revolution to the Stalinist thirties. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Freeze
HIST 150a Narrative Strategies: Writing History in a Post-Modern Age
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
This reading seminar and writing workshop will explore the changing nature of the historian's craft in an age when notions like "objectivity," authors' control over texts, even the possibility of verifiable truth have come under attack. We will explore theoretical writings on post-modern narrative, but our main focus will be on practice: reading and writing history that engages these concerns. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Kamensky
HIST 150b Gettysburg: Its Context in the American Civil War
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: HIST 153b is recommended. Consultation with instructor prior to registration is recommended.
The Battle of Gettysburg will be presented from the perspective of not only the military events that occurred in the summer of 1863, but also the causes and consequences of the battle. Thus, one aim is to address the drama and meaning of the larger conflict through an intense, but far-ranging, discussion of a pivotal event within it. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Hall
HIST 151b The American Revolution
[ ss ]
Explores the causes, character, and consequences of the American war for independence. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Fischer
HIST 152a The Literature of American History
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
Readings and discussions on the classical literature of American history, the great books that have shaped our sense of the subject. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Fischer
HIST 152b Salem, 1692
[ wi ss ]
Enrollment is limited to 20.
An in-depth investigation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 and their role in American culture during the last 300 years. Focusing on gender, religion, law, and psychology, the class explores primary sources as well as films, plays, and novels. Students will also conduct field research in Salem. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the spring of 1998.
Ms. Kamensky
HIST 153a Americans at Home: Families and Domestic Environment, 1600 to the Present
[ cl11 cl36 ss ]
This survey of nonpublic life in the United States explores the changing nature of families and the material environments that have shaped and reflected American domestic ideals during the last four centuries. Major topics include: gender roles and sexuality; production, reproduction, and material culture in the home; conceptions of the life course; racial, ethnic, and regional variations on the family; the evolution of "public" and "private" life; and the relationship between the family and the state. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Kamensky
HIST 153b Slavery and the American Civil War
[ ss ]
A survey of the history of slavery, the American South, the antislavery movement, the coming of the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Fischer
HIST 154b Women in American History: A Survey, 1600-1865
[ cl36 cl37 ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
An introductory survey exploring the lives of women in Anglo-America from European settlement through the Civil War. Topics include: the "history of women's history"; the role of gender in the context of Native American, African, and European cultures; women's religion, work, and sexuality; and the changing possibilities for female education and expression from the colonial period through the 19th century. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Kamensky
HIST 156b American Social History: 1860 to the Present
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: An American history survey course.
The social evolution of modern America, from the antebellum period to late 20th-century postindustrial society. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Jones
HIST 157a Seminar in American Labor and Working-Class History
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: HIST 51a or 51b. Enrollment limited to 25.
We will put ourselves in workers' and managers' shoes, trying to understand why American working-class history has been so fractious over the last two hundred years, while also reading and discussing the merits of different types of labor history.
Mr. Cover
HIST 158a Environment, the Frontier, and the American West
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: An introductory history course.
Explores the American West in history and myth, focusing on nationalism, the frontier as part of American identity, cultural diversity and conflict, environmental conditions and their management, and approaches to historical truth through primary source documents. Usually offered every year.
Ms. LaDow
HIST 158b Social History of the Confederate States of America
[ ss ]
An examination of the brief life of the southern Confederacy, emphasizing regional, racial, class, and gender conflicts within the would-be new nation. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Jones
HIST 161b American Political History
[ ss ]
Development of American party politics, the legal system, and government. Special attention paid to the social and cultural determinants of party politics and economic and social policymaking. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Keller
HIST 162a From Liberal Democracy to Social Democracy
[ cl20 ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
An inquiry into European and American ideas about democracy, examining the transformation of social and political thought in the context of scientific, religious, philosophical, and socioeconomic developments. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kloppenberg
HIST 167b American Legal History
[ ss ]
An examination of the relationship of law to the political, economic, and social development of the United States. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Keller
HIST 169a Thought and Culture in Modern America
[ cl26 cl33 ss ]
Developments in American philosophy, literature, art, and political theory examined in the context of socioeconomic change. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kloppenberg
HIST 173a Race and Culture in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Brazil
[ nw ss ]
Examines the question of race and culture in Brazil from Independence to the present with an emphasis on the Afro-Brazilian dimension. Discusses elite and popular culture in dealing with themes such as slavery and slave culture, cultural repression, racial ideologies, ethnic organization, race relations and inequality, resistance and rebellion. Classes involve lecture and discussion.
Mr. Reis
HIST 174a U.S.-Caribbean Relations, 1898 to the Present
[ nw ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
This seminar explores relations between the Caribbean and the United States during the 20th century. Emphasis is on the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic), but students may study other countries in research papers if they wish. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Arrom
HIST 175a Modern Mexico
[ cl24 nw ss NW ]
Signature of the instructor required.
Interdisciplinary exploration of the historical roots of modern Mexico. Emphasis on the 1910 Revolution, causes and consequences of underdevelopment, social change, relations with the United States from a Mexican perspective, and the current crisis of the Mexican state. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Arrom
HIST 176a The Emergence of Modern Japan
[ cl41 nw ss ]
A general introduction to Japan's modern transformation from a late feudal society into a powerful nation-state capable of challenging the Western powers. Particular attention is given to feudal legacies, rapid economic growth, nationalism and ultranationalism, the "Pacific War" between Japan and the United States, the meaning of defeat, issues of postwar democracy, and the workings of the postwar political economy.
Staff
HIST 176b Modern Italy 1848-1990
[ ss ]
This course traces high politics, popular culture, and the making of Italian society from unification to the present. It examines the crisis of the liberal state, Mussolini's seizure of power, mass consent during Fascism, postwar reconstruction, terrorism, and the rebirth of Regionalism. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 177a Rise of Modern Germany
[ ss ]
This course explores the transformation of Germany from Reformation of the 16th century to the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. Its primary focus is on political and social history. Particular attention is given to the development of analytical and writing skills. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Freeze
HIST 177b Modern Germany: From Second Empire to Second Republic
[ ss ]
This course is intended to offer a systematic, intensive examination of modern Germany from the establishment of the German Empire in 1871 to unification in 1990. Its primary focus is political and social history; particular attention is given to the development of analytical and writing skills. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Freeze
HIST 180b Topics in Modern Chinese History
[ cl41 ss ]
Prerequisite: HIST 80a or 80b or equivalent. Signature of the instructor required.
An advanced seminar introducing important issues and approaches in contemporary scholarship on China. Reading, discussion, bibliographical training, and term paper. Topics will deal with the close of the imperial era and with Sino-American relations. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Schrecker
HIST 181a Seminar on Traditional Chinese Thought
[ cl41 nw ss NW ]
Enrollment limited to 15.
Social, historical, and political theory is one of China's greatest contributions to world civilization. Studies the most influential schools (Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, and Legalism) through the reading and discussion of original texts. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Schrecker
HIST 184a Arabs and Jews in Palestine, 1840-1948
[ nw ss NW ]
Signature of the instructor required.
Examines the social, economic, religious, and ideological origins of the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine under Turkish and British rule. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1996.
Staff
HIST 186a The Second World War
[ ss ]
Examines the military and diplomatic, social and economic history of the war. Topics include war origins; allied diplomacy; the neutrals; war propaganda; occupation, resistance, and collaboration; the mass murder of the Jews; "peace feelers"; the war economies; scientific warfare and the development of nuclear weapons; and the origins of the cold war. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1996.
Mr. Jankowski
HIST 186b War in Vietnam
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
A reading and research seminar on the American involvement in Vietnam. The purpose of the seminar will be to teach the history of America's longest war, as well as to improve the student's ability to write a research paper using source materials. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Schrecker
HIST 187a Problems in American Women's History
[ cl36 ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
Selected readings in the history of American women, with an emphasis on historiography, research methodology, and the conceptual frameworks of several major, recent secondary works in the field. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Jones
HIST 188b Hidden Bonds of Womanhood: Women in the South, 1830-1990
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
The history of black and white women according to their class, homeplace, work and time, their shared duties, and the sources of mutual estrangement. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Jones
HIST 189a Topics in the History of Early America
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
Reading and discussion seminar exploring problems in the history of British North America from the first white settlement through the mid-18th century. Topics include: contact and "discovery"; cultural exchange among Europeans, Indians, and Africans; labor systems and land use; religion, magic, and popular culture; and family relationships and gender roles. Students will work with documentary evidence from the period and evaluate the major lines of previous scholarship. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Kamensky
HIST 189b Research in American Social History
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
Advanced coordinated research from primary materials. Students will engage in a common project in American social history. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Fischer
HIST 190a Historiography
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
A critical analysis of classical historiography. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kapelle
HIST 191a Seminar: Governance
[ cl44 ss ]
Prerequisite: Previous course on American politics or history. Signature of the instructor required.
This discussion course examines the response of American government to the nation's economic, social, and political problems during the 20th century. It explores such diverse topics as antitrust, conservation, social welfare, voting reform, and regulation of alcohol and cigarettes. The course compares and contrasts contemporary politics with that of the Progressive era. usually offered in even years.
Messrs. Keller (HIST) and Melnick
(POL)
HIST 191b Psychohistory
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 16.
The theory and practice of psychohistory from its beginnings as applied psychoanalysis through its emergence as an independent discipline to the main tendencies and controversies in the field today. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Binion
HIST 193b Anatomy, Sexualities, and Gender
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
This comparative history seminar examines the social construction of modesty and immodesty, the relations between men and women, and notions of gender and sexualities from the Enlightenment until World War II. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1995.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 194b Colloquium in Modern European History II
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
This comparative history colloquium examines topics in modern European social and economic history from the Enlightenment until World War II. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Freeze or Ms. Kelikian
HIST 196b Readings in American Intellectual History
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
This course will focus on the literature of American intellectual history, from the Puritans to the present. We will discuss methodological issues, chart the course of development in the historical study of American ideas, and examine classic and recent works in the field. The course is intended for undergraduates with considerable background in American history and for graduate students. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Kloppenberg
HIST 197a Historical Research: Methods and New Departures
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
This course provides an introduction to research methods and the newest approaches (conceptual, methodological, thematic) in historical research. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Freeze
HIST 199a Colloquium in Early Modern European History
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required. A library intensive course.
An introduction to the major episodes in the religious, social, political, and intellectual history of early modern Europe (ca. 1450-1800), with special attention given to methods of historical scholarship and discussion of various historiographic interpretations. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Harris
G = (200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students
HIST 200a Colloquium in American History
(Formerly HIST 198a)
Topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Kamensky
HIST 200b Colloquium in American History
(Formerly HIST 198b)
An examination of major themes in the historiography of modern America. Topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Keller
HIST 211a Seminar in Comparative History I
(Formerly HIST 197b)
Designed for first year graduate students. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Binion
HIST 212a Seminar in Comparative History II
Designed for second year graduate students. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Black
HIST 221a Colloquium in European Comparative History since the Eighteenth Century I
(Formerly HIST 199b)
Designed for first year graduate students. Comparative examination of major historical issues in Europe from the 18th through the 20th centuries. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Jankowski
HIST 222a Colloquium in European Comparative History since the Eighteenth Century II
Designed for second year graduate students. Comparative examination of major historical issues in Europe from the 18th through the 20th centuries. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Kelikian
HIST 300e Directed Research in American History
(Formerly HIST 201e-209e)
Students will normally elect one research topic in the fall term and the spring of the first year. Each is designed to provide experience in designing, researching, and writing a substantial essay of a monographic character, based on extensive use of sources. Each is equivalent of two full courses. Specific research topics are selected by the student in consultation with the professor. Usually offered every year.
Staff
HIST 320a or b Readings in American History
Usually offered every term. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff
HIST 340a and b Teaching in American History
Usually offered every term. Supervised graduate teaching in American history.
Staff
HIST 401d Dissertation Research
Usually offered every semester. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff
L =
Seminars
CHIS 300a and b Research Papers
Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested. Offered every year.
Staff
CHIS 320a and b Readings
Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested. Offered every year.
Staff
CHIS 400d Dissertation Research
Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested. Offered every year.
Staff
S = Cross-Listed Courses
AAAS 18b
Africa and the West
AMST 123b
Women in American History:
1865 to the Present
HOID 127a
Seminar in the History of Ideas:
Case Studies
NEJS 68b
History of the Jews from 1492
to the Present
NEJS 140a
History of the Jews from the
Maccabees to 1492
NEJS 147a
The Rise and Decline of the
Ottoman Empire, 1300-1800
NEJS 151b
Merchants, Moneylenders, and
Ghetti of Venice
NEJS 152b
History of Anti-Semitism
NEJS 167a
East European Jewish Immigration
to the United States
NEJS 167b
A History of the Jews in Warsaw,
Lodz, Vilna, and Odessa
NEJS 168a
History and Culture of the
Jews in East-Central Europe to 1914
POL 183b
Community and Alienation: Social
Theory from Hegel to Freud
POL 184a
Utopia and Power in Modern
Political Thought
POL 185b
Politics of the Enlightenment
POL 188a
Advanced Topics in Social Theory
and Intellectual History
POL 196b
Romantic and Existentialist
Political Thought