Greek Democracies: Athens and Beyond

HIST-H605/705 with Professor Robinson

This graduate class explores the history of ancient Greek democracy in the Archaic and Classical periods, with special focus on its appearance in city-states beyond Athens. Democracy’s definition, beginnings, expansion, and functioning in different settings will be explored. We will run the class in a discussion-oriented format with frequent, relatively brief, student reports. Graduate students in history, classics, ancient studies, political science, law, and related fields are welcome. Prior knowledge of the general outlines of Greek history is expected, though there are no specific course prerequisites. Newcomers to ancient Greek history should plan to do extra background reading early in the course.

• Monday, 6:30p - 8:30p 

Modern Western European History

HIST-H620 with Professor Roos

This course centers on major books in the historiography of modern Europe from the Napoleonic Era to the end of the Cold War. Although the main emphasis is on western Europe, the course includes significant perspectives on eastern Europe, as well. Graduate students who plan to focus their training and research principally on Europe can use the course to establish a foundation for further work and to prepare for the oral examination in the European fields. For non-Europeanists, the course offers an opportunity to strengthen their command of European history as a teaching field, and to enhance their ability to think comparatively about significant historical problems and methodological questions. We will identify important continuities, as well as key ruptures, in European culture, economy, politics, and society. Europe’s international and global dimensions will receive special attention. Another major focus will be on the different analytical approaches, methods, and sources historians have used. We will assess the current state of the field and discuss profitable directions for future research. Requirements: regular attendance and participation; short oral presentations; two book reviews; one 12-15 page historiographic essay. 

• Monday, 4:10p - 6:10p

 

Slavery, Emancipation, and Religious Change in West Africa

HIST-H695 with Professor Hanson

African participation in broader global developments transformed local forms of slavery, processes of emancipation, and religious identities. This colloquium fosters discussion of conceptual, interpretive, and methodological approaches to the African past, with a focus on African experiences and initiatives in the western regions of the continent. Discussion begins with overview works on western African history and moves to thematic readings focused on slavery, emancipation, and religious identities. Participants also report on focus readings that elaborate on the theme and/or bring examples from other regional contexts. Participants also complete an individual project, providing introductory and final overview presentations to other participants as well submitting an essay or syllabus (12-18 pages) at the conclusion of the course. Individual projects can explore the scholarly literature on a topic, develop a research project, or produce a comprehensive syllabus for an undergraduate African history course. Participants are evaluated on: attendance and class discussions (20%); oral reports on focus readings (10% each); introductory and final overviews of individual project (10% each); essay or syllabus (40%).

• Wednesday, 4:10 - 6:10p

Nations and Nationalisms

HIST-H699 with Professor Guardino

The development of national states and national identities was one of the key features of the modern age. This course will consider relatively recent books by historians about how and why nations came to be the primary focus of so many people’s loyalties and how national states came to be the most important form of political organization. We will use readings on different parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Although we will read selections from some theorists, the focus here will be on how working historians have approached the problems of studying nations.

• Wednesday, 4:10p - 6:10p

Seminar in US History

HIST-H750 with Professor Dierks

This seminar in U.S. history will be organized around the interests and needs of the students enrolled. The first third of the course will focus on research methods and writing. The second part of the course will be dedicated to research, individual consultation, and writing. The final part of the course will entail conference-like presentations of the projects, with peer review. The final grade will be based primarily on the 8,000-10,000-word research paper to be completed by the end of the semester. Smaller fractions of the grade will be based on the related prospectus, annotated bibliography, presentation, and peer review of another student's paper.

• Tuesday, 4:45-6:45p

Seminar in World History

HIST-H799 with Professor Bucur

This history seminar for the modern period will be arranged in terms of specific readings around the interests and needs of the students enrolled. The first third of the course will focus on research methods and writing. The second part of the course will be dedicated to research, individual consultation, and writing. The final part of the course will comprise of conference-like presentations of the projects, with peer review. The final grade will be based primarily on the 8000-10,000 words research paper to be completed by the end of the semester. Smaller fractions of the grade will be based on the related annotated bibliography, presentation, and peer review of another student's paper.

• Thursday, 4:45p - 6:45p