Department of History

Survey of the peoples, cultures, and social, economic, and political systems that have characterized the world’s major civilizations in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania from prehistory to 1000 CE.

Survey of the history of Europe in the Medieval and Early Modern periods, 800-1700. Discusses the major social, political, religious, and cultural characteristics and developments of the period, as well as key interactions between Europe and other parts of the world. Weekly discussion sections are an important feature of this course, enabling students to develop and expand upon material presented during the lecture hour.

A survey of the history of Chinese civilization from 2,000 BCE to the present, focusing on the origins and later development of political, social, economic, philosophical, religious, and cultural traditions.

The cultural, political, social, and gender history of the Italian city republics and court societies. Examination of how contemporaries viewed their own society, in an attempt to answer the intriguing question of what was the Italian Renaissance.

World War I to the present. A survey of the leading issues in american lifefrom colonial times to the present. The course focuses on politics, cultural development, social conflict, economic life, foreign policy, and influential ideas. Features discussion sections.

Explores how science, technology and/or medicine have helped shape modern societies (roughly 1850-present). Themes include formation of scientific and technical communities, the interactions of science with political and popular culture, and the social context of knowledge production.

Examines the evolving relationships between science and Cold War geopolitics through key episodes from the natural as well as social sciences on both sides of the ideological divide. Topics examined include: science/state relationship, arms race, the military-industrial-academic complex, Big Science, government secrecy, the space race, environmentalism.

The history of Christian communities and doctrines from the first through the eighth centuries. Special emphasis on Christians’ evolving relationships with pagan and Jewish communities throughout the Mediterranean world.

European history from the end of the nineteenth century to the end of World War II.

The rise of Britain as an industrial, urban, and imperial nation. Topics include the nature of industrialization, urbanization, and class formation,the role of gender and race in cultural society, the arts, and the construction of Victorian identities.

The U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on the nation’s most significant social questions ranging from segregation to same-sex marriage and women’s work. Designed to put these and other decisions in proper context, this course covers U.S. legal history from the founding period to the present, with special attention to the evolution of legal conceptions of property, race and gender, civil rights, and criminal justice. Students must read critically and make arguments based on evidence.

A survey on twentieth-century Latin America with an emphasis on social and political history, revolutions, the rise of U.S. hegemony, the Cold War, military dictatorships and human rights, neoliberalism, indigenous movements, and the continued struggle for citizenship.

History 2A or 2B or 2C or 80 or EACS 80 or upper-division standing.

Explores the cultural, economic, and geopolitical roles of food and drink in world history. Topics include: trade, production, and consumption; global food chains; morality and food reform; identities and body image; scarcity, food scares, and food security.