Oberlin College Course Catalog

First Year Seminars and Colloquia for 1st/2nd Year Students

History

Within the History Department's curriculum, one can study the history of a wide range of peoples, cultures, and institutions. Department members offer courses in the history of the United States, Europe, Russia, South and East Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. History classes examine these areas from a variety of broad historical perspectives, including political, social, cultural, intellectual, and economic. We also encourage students to explore history through a number of distinctive specializations such as women's history, labor history, environmental history, and the history of various groups including Jewish, Latino/Latina, and Asian American communities, among others. The most common entry into the history curriculum is through 100-level courses, either surveys, which cover a broad time span and geographical range, or first-year seminars or colloquia for first- and second-year students, which explore particular historical problems or approaches in a small-class setting. In all fields, 200-level courses are largely topical, dealing with a more limited geography (one region or nation), time period, or historical problem. At the 300- and 400-levels, students can pursue advanced topics in small class settings, either colloquia or research seminars which provide focused training in historical research and writing. Many students arrange private readings with faculty members on topics of mutual interest. Some majors complete their work in the department in the year-long honors (500-level) program.

Advanced Placement. Students with grades of 4 or 5 on the U.S. history AP examination will be awarded four hours of credit. Students with grades of 4 or 5 on the European history AP examination will be awarded three hours of credit. Students who have received AP credits are still encouraged to begin their history courses with the appropriate introductory level (100) courses as these are valuable gateways to subject matter and historical methodologies and approaches not often covered in high school courses. Students wishing to transfer IB or other credits originating from high school courses should consult the Chair of the History Department. AP credit is granted only during the first year that a student enrolls at Oberlin College.

Major. The history major consists of at least thirty hours in history courses. Work in the department is divided into two sections, one including European and United States history, the other including African, Asian, Latin American, Caribbean, Russian, and early Jewish history. Students majoring in history are required to take a minimum of six hours in each section, and one 300-level or 400-level course in either section. Majors must take at least 18 hours of history from members of the Oberlin History Department. Up to 12 hours may be transferred into the major from advanced placement credit, approved study-away programs and from selected courses based on historical methodologies taught in African American Studies (African, African American, and Caribbean history), East Asian Studies (Korean history), Gender and Women's Studies, and Classics (Greek and Roman history). Please direct any questions to the Chair of the History Department. In consultation with their major advisor, students are expected to develop a balanced program of historical study culminating in a concentration, and to coordinate their major with course work in related disciplines suitable to their needs and interests.

Concentrations in the Major. The department recommends that, with the help of an advisor, each major plan a concentration in the department which will provide depth as well as breadth within the study of history. Concentrations in the major (at least five courses drawn from geographic, chronological, or thematic groupings), while not required, are designed to help students think creatively about the study of history at Oberlin. The choice of a concentration field will depend on a number of factors including plans after graduation, particular interests, linguistic competencies, and staffing strengths in the department. A fuller description of "Concentrations in the History Major" is available from department advisors, the History Department office, and our web site (www.oberlin.edu/history).

Minor. The minor in history consists of not fewer than 15 hours of credit in history courses. These must include at least one 300- or 400-level course. Minors must take at least 10 hours of history from members of the Oberlin History Department.

Honors. The Honors Program in history offers the opportunity for recognition of distinguished achievement in historical research and writing. Qualified students are invited to enter the program in their seventh semester. Students wishing to be considered for Honors should indicate that interest to the Chair of the History Department in their sixth semester. Further information is available from members of the department. See also the general statement on Honors on our web site (www.oberlin.edu/history).

Transfer of Credit. A maximum of 12 hours can be transferred toward the major. (Please see "Major," above.)

Winter Term. Most members of the department will be participating in Winter Term 2005 and will be available to sponsor projects. Please check with individual instructors to determine availability and possible projects.

History Online. For more information on the department, course times, and instructors, please visit our home page at: www.oberlin.edu/history.

In this Department

First Year Seminars and Colloquia for 1st/2nd Year Students

Introductory Courses

I. Introductory Courses

101. Medieval and Early Modern European History
3 hours 3SS
First Semester.
An introductory level survey course extending from the fall of Rome through the "modernization" of medieval Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Topics will include the political and religious order in the early Middle Ages, conflict between Church and Empire, the urbanization of Europe, the culture of the High Middle Ages, the growth of secular monarchies, the Black Death, the Italian Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution. Enrollment Limit: 60.
Staff

102. Modern European History
3 hours 3SS
Second Semester.
This survey course introduces students to the events, institutions, people, and beliefs that define Europe's modern age. Beginning with the Enlightenment and ending with the collapse of Yugoslavia, we will consider what modernity means by exploring such issues as the rise of the nation state, the spread of secularization, the outbreak of revolutions, the growth of industrial society, the implications of world war, and the emergence of new ideologies and identities. Enrollment Limit: 60.
Ms. Abend

103. American History to 1877: Major Problems of Interpretation
3 hours 3SS, CD
Next offered 2005-2006.

104. American History, 1877–Present: Major Problems of Interpretation
3 hours 3SS, CD
Second Semester.
This course will explore American politics, society, and culture from the post-Civil War era to the present. We will focus on changes in power relations in American society produced by social movements and on the role the U.S. has played in the world. We will also examine the construction and contestation of gender, race, ethnic, and class identities. This course will emphasize the use of primary sources, different modes of historical analysis and interpretation, and scholarly controversies. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Staff

105. Chinese Civilization
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR (4th hour option)
First Semester.
An introduction to the history of China from the archaeological origins of Chinese civilization to the period of the mature imperial state in the 17th century. The diverse origins of China's civilization are stressed as topics in political, social, and economic history are explored, as well as developments in religion and thought, language and literature, and art. The course is the normal introduction to further study of Chinese history and culture and, in particular, provides a valuable context for themes treated in Modern China. Identical to EAST 121. Enrollment Limit: 50.
Mr. Kelley

106. Modern China
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR (4th hour option)
Second Semester.
This history of China from the founding of the Manchu Qing (Ch'ing) dynasty in 1644 takes a China-centered perspective. Along with political and institutional developments, long-term changes in the society and economy of China are stressed, and the indigenous bases for those changes are explored so that China's 20th-century revolutionary upheaval will be seen to be more than a "response to the Western impact" or an "emergence into modernity." Identical to EAST 122. Enrollment Limit: 50.
Mr. Kelley

107. Russian History I
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
This course explores the basic social, political and economic components of Russian history from earliest times to the mid-19th century. Beginning with an overview of Kievan Rus and the period of Mongol overlordship, we will focus on the rise of the Muscovite state and then the creation of a multi-ethnic empire under Peter the Great. The course examines Imperial Russian history up to the mid-century reforms of Alexander II. Enrollment Limit: 50.
Ms. Hogan

108. Russian History II
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Beginning with the reform era in the mid-19th century, this course examines the crisis of old regime Russia, the revolutions of 1917 and the consolidation of Soviet power; Stalinism; Soviet Russia's experience in World War II and the origins of the Cold War. The Khrushchev and Brezhnev era will be briefly examined, as well as the extraordinary collapse of the Soviet Union and the Yeltsin and Putin regimes. Enrollment Limit: 50.
Ms. Hogan

109. Latin American History: Conquest and Colony
3 hours 3SS, CD
First Semester.
An introductory survey of Latin American history centering on the imposition, maintenance, and decline of Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule in Latin America. Emphasis is placed on understanding pre-conquest native societies, the material and cultural basis of colonialism, the complex human mosaic fashioned in colonial Latin America after 1492, issues of gender in preconquest and colonial Latin America, and the nature and development of resistance within the colonial world. Enrollment Limit: 60.
Mr. Volk

110. Latin American History: State and Nation Since Independence
3 hours 3SS, CD
Second Semester.
This course provides an introductory survey of Latin American history from the wars of independence in the early 19th century to the independent nations' struggle to cope with the monumental issues of political legitimacy, economic growth, and social order throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the material, political, class, cultural, and gender structures which shaped Latin America's independent states. Enrollment Limit: 60.
Mr. Volk

113. The French Revolution and the Origins of Modern Europe
3 hours 3SS, WRi
Second Semester.
The French Revolution will be studied as a means of understanding the political, social, and cultural origins of Modern Europe. Topics will include revolutionary ideology, charismatic revolutionary leadership, and mass mobilization through appeals to national identity and gender. Particular attention will be paid to writing about primary sources, as informed by secondary readings, and to individual research projects. Students should expect to do frequent short presentations, and to write (and rewrite) a number of short papers. Note: Designed as a small class for second-year students. Enrollment Limit: 12 second-year students.
Mr. Smith

131. Jewish History From Biblical Antiquity to 1492
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
Identical to JWST 131. For description, please see "Jewish Studies" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 45.
Ms. Magnus

132. Jewish History from the Spanish Expulsion to the Present
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Identical to JWST 132. For description, please see "Jewish Studies" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 45.
Ms. Magnus

159. Traditional Japan to 1868
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
A thematic investigation of traditional Japanese civilization to 1868. Attention will be given to the early process of Sinicization, the rise of the warrior class, the isolationism of the Tokugawa Period, and the initial confrontation with the West in the 19th century. In addition to political and international developments, treatment of aesthetics and religion will also be featured. Identical to EAST 131. Enrollment Limit: 80.
Mr. DiCenzo

160. Modern Japan, 1868 to Present
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
From the collapse of the Tokugawa regime and the Meiji Restoration to the present. The focus will be the modern Western challenge and the Japanese response. Attention will be given to political, international, intellectual, and artistic/aesthetic aspects. Identical to EAST 132. Enrollment Limit: 90.
Mr. DiCenzo

162. Cultures and Peoples of Ancient India
3 hours 3SS, CD
First Semester.
Surveys the development of South Asian civilization from its origins to the beginnings of the European conquest (c. 2500 BCE-1700 CE). The course has as its fundamental concerns the several competing social, religious, and political institutions within Indian civilization including those of the aboriginal, Vedic-Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions. We explore the interactions among linguistic, gender, ethnic, religious, "caste," and class identities. Enrollment Limit: 50.
Mr. Fisher

163. Modern South Asia: From British Imperialism to the Present
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD
Second Semester.
Introduction to South Asian civilization from the European conquest through the colonial period to post-colonial nationhood. Discusses developments within Indian and British-Indian society concerning religion, gender, "caste," and class. Using largely indigenous (primary) sources, we explore issues of British imperialism, nationalism, and anti-colonial political mobilization. We conclude with an assessment of the current conditions in South Asia. Enrollment Limit: 55.
Mr. Fisher

In this Department

First Year Seminars and Colloquia for 1st/2nd Year Students

II. Colloquia for First- and Second-Year Students

117. National Schizophrenia in Japan and Sub-Saharan Africa
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
For description, please see "Colloquia for First- and Second-Year Students" in this catalog. Note: Restricted to first-year students only. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. DiCenzo

145. Water in American History
3 hours 3SS, WRi
Next offered 2005-2006.

III. First-Year Seminars

FYSP 125. American Mixed Blood
3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
For description, please see "First-Year Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Mitchell

FYSP 151. Understanding World War I
3 hours 3SS, WRi
First Semester.
For description, please see "First-Year Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Abend

FYSP 153. Worldview and History: Approaches to the History of the World
3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
For description, please see "First-Year Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Kelley

FYSP 154. Freud's Vienna: Artists, Intellectuals, and Anti-Semites at the Fin-de-Siecle
3 hours 3SS, WRi
First Semester.
For description, please see "First-Year Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Sammartino

FYSP 166. America's Concentration Camps
3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
For description, please see "First-Year Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Maeda

In this Department

First Year Seminars and Colloquia for 1st/2nd Year Students

Topical Courses

IV. Topical Courses

Topical Courses in European History

202. The Making of Early Modern Europe
3 hours 3SS
Next offered 2005-2006.

204. Medieval Intellectual History
3 hours 3SS, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

205. Theology, Science and the Secularization of Europe (1200-1800)
3 hours 1.5HU, 1.5SS, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

212. Spain In the Age of Empire
3 hours 3SS
Next offered 2005-2006.

213. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe
3 hours 3SS
First Semester.
The course focuses on both the various roles women played and the ways in which "female-ness" was constructed in early modern Europe. In addition to exploring the lives of women from different strata of European society, we will consider how women exercised power and were the object of it, how political, legal, religious, and scientific discourses defined women, and how historical events like the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the French Revolution affected gender roles. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Ms. Abend

222. Central Europe, 1848-1989
3 hours 3SS, WR
First Semester.
How should a community constitute itself politically? What does it mean to be a citizen? What is the relationship between the state and the nation? These questions were at issue throughout modern Central European history. We will examine the various answers offered to this question over this period: from nationalists to social democrats to Nazis and Communists. To contextualize these issues further, we will integrate theories of nationality, ethnicity, and identity into our empirical readings. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Ms. Sammartino

224. Twentieth Century Europe, I: 1900-1945
3 hours 3SS
Next offered 2005-2006.

225. Twentieth Century Europe, II: 1945-Present
3 hours 3SS
Next offered 2005-2006.

226. World War II and the Making of the 20th Century
3 hours 3SS, CD
Next offered 2005-2006.

227. The Spanish Civil War
3 hours 3SS
Second Semester.
As one of the defining events of the 20th century, the Spanish Civil War is frequently described as a "dress rehearsal" for World War II. In this course we will not only consider the Spanish war as a stage upon which Europeans and Americans of different political affiliations projected their ideals and agendas, but will go beyond the international influences of the Spanish Civil War to focus on how the conflict permanently defined the Spanish nation itself. Beginning our study in the 1930s, we will use examples from film, literature, and the visual arts to trace the unique combination of political, social, and cultural tensions that exploded in the war and then shaped the 40-year dictatorship that followed. Enrollment Limit: 30.
Ms. Abend

229. Gender in Modern Europe, 1789-1989
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
This course will examine how gender roles, gender expectations and the opportunities for participation for men and women changed over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. We will be using gender as a way of gaining greater insight into different forms of social and political organization. We will also be using these forms of social and political organization as a way of understanding how ideologies of gender function in diverse contexts. Enrollment Limit: 30.
Ms. Sammartino

234. Good and Evil: Ethics and Decision Making in the Holocaust
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Identical to JWST 234. For description, please see "Jewish Studies" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Ms. Magnus

235. East European Jewry: 1772-1939
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

237. Women in Jewish Society, Antiquity to Modernity
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

Topical Courses in American History

252. American Environmental History
3 hours 3SS, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

253. Recent America: The United States Since World War II
3 hours 3SS
Second Semester.
What we recognize as the contemporary United States emerged largely in the second half of the 20th century. In this course, we will examine changes in culture, politics, and society since World War II through consideration of the Cold War, reformulations of race, gender, and sexuality, suburbanization, and the rise of conservatism. By exploring these themes, we will attempt to understand how Americans negotiated the multiple relationships between individuals, institutions, and identities.
Enrollment Limit: 35.
Mr. Maeda

257. Westward Bound: The West in American History
3 hours 3SS, CD
Second Semester.
The American West occupies a special place in American history. This course will survey major events in Western history, from the journey of Cabeza de Vaca and the Pueblo Revolt, to the Gold Rush and the Mexican American War, to World War II, the rise of the urban West, and 1960s political mobilization from Tierra Amarilla to Orange County to the Castro Themes will include the West as geographic region, the West as place of cultural mixing, and the West of desire and fantasy. Enrollment Limit: 50.
Mr. Mitchell

259. Revolutionary America and the Early Republic
4 hours 4SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
The transformation of American society, economy, culture, and politics from 1750 to 1820. Topics include the cultural diversity of late colonial society; imperial crisis and causes of the American Revolution; the construction of a federal government; race, class, and gender in the new nation; market expansion and the spread of slavery; deference, democracy, and capitalism in the formation of an "American character." Lecture/discussion format; independent research projects in primary sources. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Mr. Kornblith

260. Asian American History
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
This course is an introduction to the history of peoples of Asian ancestry in the United States and the construction of an Asian American collectivity. Major themes will include the place of Asian Americans in the American imagination, migrations, labor, communities, and responses to social and legal discrimination. The categories of race, ethnicity, gender, class and sexuality will figure prominently as we explore similarities and differences among Asian American experiences. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Maeda

261. Race and Radicalism in the 1960s
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Throughout the 1960s, people of color in the United States struggled for rights and power. This course examines social movements by African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicano/Latinos, and Native Americans during this period. We will examine the various goals sought, strategies used, and understandings of race and nation deployed. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Mr. Maeda

263. American Civil War and Reconstruction
4 hours 4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

265. American Sexualities
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
This course will examine the creation, maintenance, and reproduction of sexual differences and identities over a broad time span in North American history, beginning with Native American sexual practices and social formations, and stretching through the "modernization" of sex. Major topics will include marriage, changing gender roles, the intersection of sexuality with race and ethnicity, commercialized sex, reproduction, same sex sexual practices, contraception, sexual violence, heterosexism, danger, desire, and pleasure. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Mitchell

268. Oberlin History as American History
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD
Next offered 2005-2006.

270. Latina/Latino Survey
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
What historical forces have brought together diverse groups including Chicanos from Los Angeles, Cubans from Miami and Dominicans; and Puerto Ricans from New York City? From the 16th century to the present, we map the varied terrains of Latina/o history. Major themes include conquest and resistance, immigration, work, and the creation of racial and sexual differences within and between Latino/a communities. We survey Latina/o writers from Cabeza de Vaca to José Martí to Gloria Anzaldúa. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Mitchell

Topical Courses in Asian History

281. Ecology and Equity
1 hour 1SS, CD
First Semester.
Studies comparative environmental histories on a global basis through six integrated lectures, each followed by discussion. Topics include: the wilderness movement in the U.S., peasant-based environmentalism in India, the multiple careers of Mahatma Gandhi, and the German Green Party. Thematic issues include: forests, biodiversity, climate change, resource consumption, environmental conflict, and workable solutions. Students will write a brief paper. Note: Meets October 25-30, 2004 only. CR/NE or P/NP grading only. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Mr. Guha, Mr. Fisher

283. Environmental Histories of South Asia
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
This course explores crucial material, socio-political, and cultural relationships between the diverse peoples of South Asia and their ecosystems, from the pre-colonial period down to the present. We focus on a series of integrated issues including "forest as frontier and/or home," "shaping and using the land," and "meanings and control of water." Students will write short position papers and a substantial research paper on a relevant topic of her/his individual interest. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Mr. Fisher

285. Intellectual History of the Meiji Period (1886-1912)
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

286. World War II in Asia, 1931-45
3 hours 3SS, CD
Second Semester.
This course examines World War II on the entire Asian continent and covers East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The course considers traditional subjects such as diplomatic, political, and military history, but also newer fields such as social and cultural history. Note: Recommended preparation HIST 226, or course work in Japanese, Chinese, South Asian, or Korean history. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Smith

287. Islamic South Asia: Roots and Emergence of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

Topical Courses in Latin American History

293. Dirty Wars and Democracy
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
An exploration of the dictatorships of Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay in the 1970s and 1980s. We will examine why these regimes arose, the nature of the dictatorial state, the opposition to, and fall of, the regimes, and the difficulties of returning to some form of democratic governance. A wide variety of cross-disciplinary methodologies will be employed, from psychology to performance theory. Lecture and discussion format. Note: Recommended preparation HIST 110. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Volk

Topical Courses in Russian History

297. Russia Since 1953
3 hours 3SS
Next offered 2005-2006.

In this Department

First Year Seminars and Colloquia for 1st/2nd Year Students

Colloquia

V. Colloquia

European History Colloquia

303. Historical Consciousness in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
3 hours 3SS, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

306. Germans and Jews
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

307. Seminar: Jewish Memoirs and Memory—Writing the Self in Jewish Society
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
Identical to JWST 307. For description, please see "Jewish Studies" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Ms. Magnus

308. Heresy and Orthodoxy in Medieval Europe
3 hours 3SS, WRi
Next offered 2005-2006.

310. Marx and Marxism
3 hours 3SS, WR
Second Semester.
This seminar examines one of the most important modern thinkers and his intellectual legacy. After spending a few weeks on an intensive analysis of Marx's own work, we will explore later 20th century interpretations of Marxism. Throughout this course, we will be concerned with the evolution of such concepts as class, ideology, political engagement, and capitalism. We will also investigate the relationship between Communist politics and the philosophical work of Marxists in the twentieth century. Consent of the instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Ms. Sammartino

313. The French Empire: Colonizers and Colonized
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

American History Colloquia

322. Women and Power in 19th-Century America
3 hours 3SS, CD
Next offered 2005-2006.

323. Liberty and Power, Democracy and Slavery in Jacksonian America
4 hours 4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

324. Slavery, Antislavery and Emancipation in American History
4 hours 4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

325. Native American History, ca. 1450-1900
4 hours 4SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Explorations in the history of Native American peoples from before the European invasion of North America through the end of the 19th century. Topics include social diversity in North America on the eve of European contact; dynamics of early Indian-European encounters; causes of demographic decline among Native Americans; accommodation and resistance to Euro-American expansion; relations with African Americans; assimilation, adaptation, and rejection of Euro-American values and behavioral norms. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Kornblith

327. Borderlands
3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi
Second Semester.
The American Southwest, roughly the US-Mexico border area from Texas to California, is a political, economic, and cultural crossroads. We will investigate interactions between Native Americans and Spanish colonists beginning in the 16th century, emerging U.S. economic and political control during the 19th century, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, land dispossession, the Mexican Revolution, immigration, civil rights, and twentieth century demography. We also discuss borderlands as a literary and symbolic concept. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Mr. Mitchell

330. Unbearable Whiteness: The Social Construction of a Racial Category
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
Throughout the history of the U.S. people deemed to be 'white' have accrued social, legal, and economic privileges at the expense of others deemed non-white. But the boundaries of whiteness have shifted over time. This course examines the emergence of whiteness as a socially constructed racial identity, especially in relation to ethnicity, class, and the nation. By critically focusing on whiteness, it explores the plasticity of racial categories and the articulation of skin color with power. Consent of the instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Maeda

331. Asian American Cultural History
3 hours 3SS, CD
Next offered 2005-2006.

338. Colloquium in U.S. Urban Environmental History
3 hours 3SS, WRi
Next offered 2005-2006.

Asian History Colloquia

344. Gender, Marriage, and Kinship in China
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

350. Women in Modern Japan, 1868 to the Present
3 hours 3SS, CD
Next offered 2005-2006.

351. National Schizophrenia and the Modern Japanese Novel
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
The works of Mishima, Kawabata, Ariyoshi, Endo, Oe, Ooka, Tanizaki, and others will be utilized to explore the dilemma of post-World War II Japanese novelists engaged in the task of evaluating the tension between tradition and Western modernity. Themes to be explored include the family, religion, gender roles, war, and individuality. Prerequisite: HIST 160/EAST 132. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. DiCenzo

355. Crime, Law and Order in Colonial India
2 hours 2SS, CD
Second Semester. Second Module.
Studies the contested relationships between various parts of Indian society and the British colonial state. Topics include: criminal law and colonial state-making; subaltern resistance to the state; the colonial state as penal regime; domestic law and resistance; race, class, and gender in colonial law. Each student will research and write a substantial paper in consultation with the instructors. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 20.
Ms. Singha, Mr. Fisher

356. The British Empire in Asia and Africa
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Examines origins and development of British imperialism in Britain, India, China, and Africa, from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Common readings and individual research projects explore issues including: What changes within Britain, Asia, and Africa led to their incorporation within the Empire? What resulted from their interactions? What forces culminated in the disintegration of the Empire? Finally, what were the legacies of the Empire for Britain and the former Asian and African colonies? Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Mr. Fisher

357. Non-Violent Opposition to British Imperialism: M. Gandhi
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

360. History of Vietnam
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
A colloquium emphasizing reading and discussion. The course will examine the history of Vietnam from the beginnings to the present. A topical approach will be taken through a variety of readings structured chronologically. Topics will cover pre-colonial history and society, colonialism and nationalism, and Vietnam's struggle for national independence and security, in both national and international contexts. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Kelley

Latin American History Colloquia

361. The Mexican Revolution: Birth, Life, Death
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
No revolution in Latin American history has been more widely studied than the Mexican. Yet after more than 80 years of research, scholars still debate whether there ever was a revolution in Mexico. This seminar will focus on the life cycle of the Mexican Revolution, exploring its origins, institutionalization, and (according to some) demise. Our sources will take advantage of a rich historiography, which has rapidly expanded in the last 15 years, as well as novels and art works. Classes will be organized and discussions led by students. The course will also have a major research component. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Mr. Volk

Russian History Colloquia

377. Russia in Asia
3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi
Next offered 2005-2006.

379. Stalinism
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
This course assumes a basic knowledge of the rise of Stalin to power by the late 1920s and the key events of the 1930s: collectivization, forced draft industrialization and the purges. The course focuses on recent historiographical approaches to the study to Stalinism. Among the topics to be explored are everyday life under Stalin, the literature of personal experience, and the impact of the 2nd World War on Soviet society. Note: Suggested preparation HIST 108. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Ms. Hogan

Methodology Colloquia

312. Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge
3 hours 3SS, WR
Second Semester.
Every museum is a narrative, every visit to a museum a chance to explore the ways that narrative shapes and reflects how we think about the past and the present, underlying ideologies that represent or challenge dominant thought, and assumptions about how we learn. This course is intended for students interested in the way we look at and "conserve" the past via the organization of material culture, and in how museum design and practice reflects contemporary epistemology, ethnography, nationalism, and colonialism. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Volk

316. The Body as Historical Subject
3 hours 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
A historiographical colloquium exploring the use of the body both as a site of symbolic representation and as a site for the construction of experience, gender, and sexuality. Most of the readings will deal with European history, though some comparative component will be included as well. Authors to be read include Caroline Bynum, Michel Foucault, Lynn Hunt, and Thomas Laqueur. Frequent presentations and short papers. Prerequisites: HIST 101, 102, or the equivalent. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Smith

318. History and Memory
3 hours 3SS
First Semester.
How do societies make sense of their past(s)? In this seminar, we will examine how and why diverse social groups construct collective memory, with a particular eye to the relationship between memory and national identity. After establishing a background in the theoretical approaches to the study of memory, we will focus on particular cases, including World War One and the Holocaust. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Ms. Abend

395. Method in Modern European History
3 hours 3SS, WR
Next offered 2005-2006.

In this Department

First Year Seminars and Colloquia for 1st/2nd Year Students

Research Seminars and Individual Projects

VI. Research Seminars

442. Democracy and Human Rights in China
3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Seminar exploring democracy and human rights in Chinese political culture, 19th century to the present. Readings include primary materials in translation, which will provide resources for individual research projects. Topics include, but are not limited to, constructions of "democracy"; "human rights" in cross-cultural context; the status of "minority" peoples and Tibet; and the "Democracy Movement" of the 1970s and 1980s. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Kelley

453. Research Seminar in Japanese History 3 hours
3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
This seminar will provide students with the opportunity to produce a major piece of written work (20-25 pages) on a topic of interest in Japan's domestic and international history. Prerequisite: HIST 160/EAST 132. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 8.
Mr. DiCenzo

VII. Individual Projects

501, 502. Senior Honors
1-4 hours 1-4SS
Students wishing to pursue Honors in History during their final year should consult their Major Advisor and the Chair of History, submitting an Honors Proposal by the established deadline the semester prior to their final year. Consent of department required.

In this Department

First Year Seminars and Colloquia for 1st/2nd Year Students