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.

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.

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.

Joseph Stalin created a particular type of society in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. Stalinism became a phenomenon that influenced the development of the former Soviet Union and the Communist movement worldwide. This course covers the period on the eve of and during the Russian Revolution, Stalinist transformation of the USSR in the 1930s, WWII and the onset of the Cold War. We consider several questions about Stalinism: Was it a result of Communist ideology or a deviation? Did it enjoy any social support?

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.

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.

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. The dramatic transformation in gender relations is a key feature of Japan's premodern history. How Japanese women and men have constructed norms of behavior in different historical periods, how gender differences were institutionalized in social structures and practices, and how these norms and institutions changed over time. The gendered experiences of women and men from different classes from approximately the seventh through the 19th centuries.

Topics course. Development of discourses on gender as well as lived experiences of women from the rise of Islam to the present. Topics include the politics of marriage, divorce, and reproduction; women's political and economic participation; masculinity; sexuality; impact of Islamist movements. Provides introduction to main themes, and nuanced historical understanding of approaches to the study of gender in the region.

This course is designed as an introduction to the modern history of the Middle East with a focus on the 18th century to the present. The main political, economic, social and cultural institutions and forces that have most profoundly affected events in the region. Identifying how specific events and long-term processes have informed social and political realities in the Middle East.