The cultural context of fascism. Readings from Nietzsche, Sorel, Wilde, Pareto, Marinetti, Mussolini and Hitler, as well as studies of psychology, degenerate painting and music. Both politicians and artists claimed to be Nietzschean free spirits. Who best understood his call to ruthless creativity? Enrollment limited to 18.

This survey course examines Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East in the early medieval era, starting with the dissolution of the Roman Empire. Students will study the turbulent nature of political and societal boundaries and the rise of Christianity in Europe before 900 AD, as well as the emergence of Islam as a religion and political power and its influence on the medieval European and Byzantine worlds. Students will engage in the examination and discussion of early medieval notions of kinship, race, law and justice, popular piety, and political power.

Offered as MES 208 & HST 208. This course examines the history of the modern Middle East from a global perspective. How have gender, economy, ecology, and religion shaped Middle Eastern empires and nation-states within a broader world? The course begins with transformations in Egypt, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire between 1800 and World War I. Next, it turns to experiences of colonialism, the rise of independent nation-states, and the birth of new political movements.

A survey of the history of the Roman people as Rome developed from a village in central Italy to the capital of a vast Mediterranean empire of 50 million people. We trace Rome’s early rise through mythology and archaeology and follow developments from Monarchy to the end of the Republic, including the Struggle of the Orders, conquests and citizenship, wars with Carthage, encounters with local cultures in North Africa, Gaul and the Greek East, challenges of expansion and empire, rich versus poor, political corruption, and the Civil Wars of the Late Republic.

Discussion section. This introductory course looks comparatively at the histories of China, Japan and Korea from the late 18th century to the present. It examines the struggles of these countries to preserve or regain their independence and establish national identities in a rapidly emerging and often violent modern world order. Although each of these countries has its own distinctive identity, their overlapping histories (and dilemmas) give the region a coherent identity. We also look at how individuals respond to and are shaped by larger historical movements.

Discussion section. This introductory course looks comparatively at the histories of China, Japan and Korea from the late 18th century to the present. It examines the struggles of these countries to preserve or regain their independence and establish national identities in a rapidly emerging and often violent modern world order. Although each of these countries has its own distinctive identity, their overlapping histories (and dilemmas) give the region a coherent identity. We also look at how individuals respond to and are shaped by larger historical movements.

This introductory course looks comparatively at the histories of China, Japan and Korea from the late 18th century to the present. It examines the struggles of these countries to preserve or regain their independence and establish national identities in a rapidly emerging and often violent modern world order. Although each of these countries has its own distinctive identity, their overlapping histories (and dilemmas) give the region a coherent identity. We also look at how individuals respond to and are shaped by larger historical movements.

This introductory course looks comparatively at the histories of China, Japan and Korea from the late 18th century to the present. It examines the struggles of these countries to preserve or regain their independence and establish national identities in a rapidly emerging and often violent modern world order. Although each of these countries has its own distinctive identity, their overlapping histories (and dilemmas) give the region a coherent identity. We also look at how individuals respond to and are shaped by larger historical movements.

This course serves as an introduction to the study of History and to what historians do. It is a requirement for the History major. At the root of this course is the question of what is history and what it means to study history. Key questions driving the course are: Is history simply the study of the past? What is the past’s connection to the present? Is it even necessary to make such connections to the present and what is lost and gained in making such connections?

Offered as ENG 207/HSC 207. An introductory exploration of the physical forms that knowledge and communication have taken in the West, from ancient oral cultures to modern print-literate culture. Our main interest is in discovering how what is said and thought in a culture reflects its available kinds of literacy and media of communication.