Ideological and military rivalries of the contemporary era. Special attention to the origin, character and outcome of the two World Wars and to the experience of Fascism, Nazism and Communism.

Focuses on the history of the Soviet Union during the “greater Cold War,” that is, between World War II and the disintegration of the USSR. Touches on foreign policy developments but the main focus is on the social, political and economic processes and cultural developments inside the USSR itself. Explores Soviet history in the second half of the 20th century through historical works and a range of primary sources. Topics include the post-war reconstruction, rise of the military-industrial complex, education, popular culture and dissent.

This course interrogates how scholars have engaged the "transnational" and "global" in African history. In doing so, the course explores the complex networks of identities, loyalties, and attachments forged by diverse groups of African peoples in their attempts to live within and transcend the boundaries of the modern nation-state.

Twenty-first century scholars argue that race is a constructed social identity that began to coalesce around the seventeenth century. But were they right? In this course, we will look to the Middle Ages to challenge the consensus that racial constructions were a byproduct of modernity. Does race function differently between the world of Latin Christendom and that of the dar al-Islam? What are the advantages and dangers of using the prism of race to analyze ethnic, cultural and religious differences in this medieval period?

Were the Renaissance and Reformation something new and modern, or a continuation of medieval trends? Topics include the Black Death, Europe as a persecuting society, the emergence of humanism, the fragmentation of religious unity across Europe, Witch Trials, the intersection of politics and science, and the beginnings of the Age of Exploration and European Imperialism.

Topics course: Histories of social conflict, protest, and revolution in early modern and modern Japan. In the early modern period (1600–1867), peasant resistance and protest, urban uprisings, popular culture, “world-renewal” movements, and the restorationist activism of the Tokugawa period.

The career and conquests of Alexander the Great (d. 323 B.C.) wrought far-reaching consequences for many in Europe, Asia and Africa. In the ensuing Hellenistic (Greek-oriented) commonwealth that spanned the Mediterranean, Middle East, Central Asia and India, Greco-Macedonians interacted with Egyptians, Babylonians, Jews, Iranians, Indians and Romans in ways that galvanized ideas and institutions such as the classical city as ideal community, cult of divine kings and queens, “fusion” literatures, mythologies and artistic canons and also provoked nativist responses such as the Maccabean revolt.

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?

Examines the longevity of the U.S. Civil War in historical memory, as a pivotal period in the development of American racism and African American activism. Explores cutting-edge histories, primary source materials, documentaries, popular films, and visual and political culture. Explores the Civil War as a mass slave insurrection and studies the myriad meanings of Emancipation. Looks at the impact of slavery on race and racism on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The N-word is the great symbol of white supremacy in the United States. When spoken by African Americans, it emerges as a powerful symbol of anti-racist politics, verbal protest and artistic expression. What does the N-word really mean? How does it create a firestorm in certain contexts, but not others? In this interdisciplinary course, students explore history, film, literature, music and political debate to look closely at the histories of race and racism in the U.S.