Introduces critical analysis of science and technology by tracing the historiography of the Scientific Revolution. The significance of this extended intellectual episode has been assessed in radically different ways throughout the intervening centuries. As such, it provides a fertile ground on which to pose and answer important questions about science and its role in society. What does it mean to regard science as 'revolutionary'? How are scientific developments shaped by, and how do they shape, the social, economic, and political worlds in which they are embedded?

This course surveys Native American history from ancient times through the U.S. Civil War, tracing the ways that tribal communities have shaped North America. Beginning with the diverse indigenous societies that inhabited the Americas millennia before Columbus's arrival, it discusses the cultural complexity of Native peoples, nations, and worldviews rooted in particular ecosystems and homelands.

African cities demonstrate the failure of models of development with the aim and ideal of industrialization. This course examines the empty promises of modernity through the lens of African urban history using fiction, film, and city archives. Beginning with Timbuctu and Cairo, the course explores the emergence and decline of trade entrepots, the rise of colonial cities, and the dilemmas of postcolonial economies and polities. Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Kampala, Kinshasa, Harare, Johannesburg, Lagos, Accra, and Dakar are among the cities studied.

Examines the confrontation, assimilation, and transformation of Amerindian, African, and European cultures in Latin America from the sixteenth century to the present. Focuses on the processes in which distinctive self-images emerged in the region and how these images have been challenged and changed over time. Uses films, literature, and folk traditions to complement scholarly analysis of the emergence of a New World mentality.

This course introduces the history of the United States from Reconstruction to the present. Our themes include the nation's relationship to the world; the evolution of racial, gendered, and class hierarchies; the transformation of the federal government; and the changing forms of domestic life, work, consumer capitalism, politics, social protest, and cultural expression. How have the people of the United States struggled over such values as freedom, equality, prosperity, and progress?

Surveys the major movements and developments in Europe during the era of European expansion and dominance--from the devastations of the Thirty Years War to the Second World War--and up to the current era of European Union. Topics include: the French Revolution and the birth of nationalism; the scientific and industrial revolutions; the modern history of international relations; imperialism, fascism, the Holocaust, the two World Wars, and the present and potential roles of Europe at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

A survey of the social, political, and cultural world of premodern China. Emphasis will be placed on the evolution and contrasts of elite and popular culture and the nature of change in an agrarian state. Readings will be drawn from Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions, classical poetry and fiction, and the history of social and political movements.

This course explores the relationship between law and religion through a comparative study of eight countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, and India. It focuses on the role of religion in the constitutional law of these countries, both in the text of constitutional documents and in judicial interpretation of these texts. Starting with an analysis of the religion clauses in the First Amendment of the U.S.

Surveys the constants and variables in U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and the Arabs since the end of World War II to the present. Analysis of domestic determinants of U.S. policy, including lobbies, ideology, and the international system. Consideration of U.S. policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict, intra-Arab disputes, and the Gulf War.

Develops students' skills in writing expository essays and introduces basic quantitative and qualitative research methods used in the social sciences and history. The course provides a foundation for writing research papers in advanced courses, as well as an honors thesis.