In a series of seven lectures, writers—creative nonfiction authors, playwrights, novelists, screenwriters, documentarians and short story writers—provide an overview of the practice of creating narratives from specific disciplinary perspectives. Editors, publishers, agents and producers reflect on the publication and production process. Speakers discuss researching, revising, publishing and producing texts and read from their work to provide examples. They also explore questions of style, voice and genre. S/U only. Only meets during the first half of the semester (Jan. 30–Mar. 13).

This course will focus on examining children’s social and moral development through the use of narrative methodology. We will examine how the uses of cultural tools such as narratives and social media allow us investigate how contexts, such as schools and youth organizations, influence children’s understanding of and response to (in)justice. In particular, we will focus on the role of teachers and peers as agents of socialization by examining children’s stories about their experiences in classrooms. Enrollment limit of 15. (E)

Comprehensive grammar review through practice in writing and reading. Literary texts and cultural material constitutes the base for in-class discussions and compositions. Students taking ITL 220 are also strongly encouraged to take a conversation course. Taking both courses strengthens students’ confidence and ability to become proficient in Italian. Prerequisite: ITL 110Y or ITL 111 or permission of the department.

Italian culture is internationally renowned for its attention to quality and craftsmanship. The course covers different time periods in modern and contemporary Italian history (Unification, Fascism, post-war economic reconstruction, counter-cultural movements, up to the present day) and students learn how Italian traditional artistic and craft excellence was negotiated with technological modernization and the creation of a mass-consumer society.

The French word renaissance means “rebirth”; when capitalized, it defines both a chronological period (ca. 1300–1600) in European history and an impactful engagement with the legacy of Greco-Roman antiquity. The descriptor was devised, importantly, at the time, not retrospectively. This course describes events, activities and innovations widely understood as a defining and indispensable foundation of the modern world’s global turn.

Topics course.: How did women imagine their place in a war defined as quintessentially masculine?  That is a central question in this seminar, which surveys women’s varied contributions to the war effort.  Then students undertake archival research in the papers of the Smith College Relief Unit (SCRU), a unit comprised of Smith alumnae who led reconstruction efforts in one of the regions of France most devastated by the war.

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 into the twentieth century.

Topics course.: This colloquium introduces major themes, debates and works in Latin American environmental history within the larger context of global environmental historiography. The course is organized chronologically, historiographically and geographically, tracing the changing human-environment relationship over time from pre-conquest to the present, the changing ways historians have approached this issue, and how historical and historiographical dynamics played out in different regions of Latin America.

Cultural and social interpretations of the fundamental event in modern history. The staging of politics from the tribune to the guillotine. History as a literary art in prose, poetry, drama and film. Focus on Paris 1787–95. Enrollment limited to 18.

Topics course.: How the Communist rulers of the Soviet Union and Stalin in particular, mobilized national identities to maintain control over the diverse populations of the USSR. World War I and the Revolution of 1917 opened a window of opportunities for the nationalities of the former Russian Empire. Soviet policies of creating, developing and supporting new national and social identities among diverse Soviet ethnic groups in light of collectivization, industrialization, expansion of education and Stalin’s Terror.