The aim of this course is to introduce students to some of the many intangible issues surrounding museum and historic site interpretation. We will also be addressing some of these challenges through on-the-ground and digital collaborations with museums in Massachusetts and beyond. Seminar discussion will explore readings, including both theoretical and practical works. Writing assignments will be both practical (writing exhibit labels, digital history websites) and theoretical (analyzing meaning-making in museum exhibits and at historic sites).

The foundations of modern science and scientific method were laid in the Scientific Revolution of the late sixteenth and seventeenth century. This period would be seen as a golden age by the philosophers of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and the founders of the history of science in the twentieth century.

This course will examine the nexus of science, technology, and war in the 20th century United States and Europe. This course will cover topics such as the development and use of chemical and biological warfare; scientific, political, medical, and philosophical implications of nuclear technology; the Manhattan Project and Big Science; Nazi science; Soviet agriculture; Cold War technology and the Space Race; missile technology; and psychological research and the military.

This course examines the ongoing struggles of indigenous communities in the Northeast with a focus on what we can learn from individuals who have been active during their own lifetimes (although not all of them accept the label of "activist"). We expand the popular image of Red Power with examples of indigenous activism from the 1600s to the present.

This course explores the concept and practice of slavery in the Muslim World from the time of the Prophet Mohammed up to the 20th century. We will begin by examining how the Qur'an and Islamic jurisprudence altered pre-Islamic forms of slavery. The course will proceed chronologically, exploring the evolution of slavery through the early Islamic empires, the slave dynasties in Egypt and Delhi, the "gunpowder" empires of the Early Modern era, and the abolition of slavery in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Lecture and discussion course examining the creation of modern Latin America, concentrating on the struggles over land and labor, the creation of nation-states, and the conflicts within those states over issues of citizenship and social justice. The course also addresses the contentious role the United States has played in the region. (Gen.Ed. HS, G)

An exploration of some of the most ancient cultures of the world: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, and Meso-America through ancient primary sources and artifacts. (Gen.Ed. HS, G)

An exploration of some of the most ancient cultures of the world: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, and Meso-America through ancient primary sources and artifacts. (Gen.Ed. HS, G)

An exploration of some of the most ancient cultures of the world: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, and Meso-America through ancient primary sources and artifacts. (Gen.Ed. HS, G)

An exploration of some of the most ancient cultures of the world: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, and Meso-America through ancient primary sources and artifacts. (Gen.Ed. HS, G)