Beyond the Nation: Transnationalism, Global History, and Borderlands
HIST-H600 with Professor Mora
Transnationalism, global histories, and borderlands studies have emerged in the last two decades as an important problem of contemporary knowledge production, and has increasingly become a concern of historians. In this course, with a critical focus upon the history of the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean, we will grapple with the complex questions raised by transnationalism and other historical methods that have sought to move beyond “national” histories. Some of the courses guiding questions include: How has transnationalism, global history, and borderlands history shaped the construction of national, racial, and gender ideologies in the U.S. and across other empires? Are these historical methods an inherently liberating predicament, or does it in fact reinforce colonial and national structures? How have transnational, global, and borderlands histories raised fundamental questions about sovereignty and modernity in the nineteenth and twentieth century? And finally, what have been the benefits and shortcomings of these historical methods?
- Thursday, 4:45p - 6:45p
Intro to the Professional Study of History
HIST-H601 with Professor Black or Professor Gamber
- Tuesday, 4:45p - 6:45p
This colloquium is an introduction to the professional study of history. While a course like this cannot possibly be comprehensive, given the enormous range of historical methodologies practiced today, it does intend to offer a sampling of the variety of approaches and schools that characterizes how historians think and write about the past. In addition to honing analytical skills, the readings and our discussions of them are intended to encourage you to think further about the kinds of history you enjoy and want to practice.
Course outcomes
At the end of the semester, successful students will have gained competence in:
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Identifying, evaluating, and discussing some of the topics, questions, methods, and theories professional historians engage with in their written work.
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In particular, they will be able to discuss how these different facets of the historian’s craft come together in a monograph.
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Discussing the uses of the past and the relationship between past and present, memory and history (and visions of the future).
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Written and oral analysis of historical writing based on the broad parameters outlined above.
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Reviewing a particular sub-field or historical topic by comparing, contrasting, and evaluating recent scholarship.