This course provides an introductory survey of African history since 1800. In doing so, the course offers students a framework for understanding the political, social and economic history of Modern Africa by foregrounding the strategies African peoples employed as they made sense of, accommodated themselves to and confronted their changing historical landscapes. Key subjects include the construction of ethnic identities, abolition and enslavement, African experiences with colonial rule, the dilemmas of decolonization and life in an independent Africa.

Rethinking individual and community in the wake of the French and industrial revolutions. Readings from de Maistre, Saint-Simon, Comte, Durkheim, Fourier, Goethe, Schopenhauer, Burckhardt, Nietzsche, Marx and Mill. Also considered are their views on art, religion, science and women. Enrollment by permission of the instructor.

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 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.

From the High Middle Ages through the 15th century. Topics include cathedrals and universities, struggles between popes and emperors, pilgrimage and popular religion, the Crusades and Crusader kingdoms, heresy and the Inquisition, chivalry and Arthurian romance, the expansion and consolidation of Europe, and the Black Death and its aftermath.

From the High Middle Ages through the 15th century. Topics include cathedrals and universities, struggles between popes and emperors, pilgrimage and popular religion, the Crusades and Crusader kingdoms, heresy and the Inquisition, chivalry and Arthurian romance, the expansion and consolidation of Europe, and the Black Death and its aftermath.

From the High Middle Ages through the 15th century. Topics include cathedrals and universities, struggles between popes and emperors, pilgrimage and popular religion, the Crusades and Crusader kingdoms, heresy and the Inquisition, chivalry and Arthurian romance, the expansion and consolidation of Europe, and the Black Death and its aftermath.

As their nations struggled to find their places in a new world order dominated by the West, East Asians saw the variety, visibility and impacts of religion explode in their everyday lives. From European Jesuits in China to American Protestants in Japan to Japanese Buddhists in Korea to the place of religion in racial and national identity formation and state building, religion has been a powerful factor in modern East Asia over the past five centuries.

Topics course. Readings from the major schools of Chinese thought, such as Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism and Buddhism. Consideration is also given to the relevance of these traditional teachings in contemporary China. As China moves away from Marxism-Leninist ideology, is there a place for a renewed Confucianism? As the Chinese become more ecologically concerned, will they draw on the concepts and vocabulary of Daoism and Buddhism? How do views of the relationship between body and cosmos in traditional teachings influence medical practices in China today?

A survey of the history and culture of the Roman Empire from the principate of Augustus to the rise of Christianity in the fourth century. The role of the emperor in the Roman world, Rome and its relationship with local cities, the maintenance of an imperial system; rich and poor, free and slave, Roman and barbarian; the family, law and society; military monarchy; persecution of Christians; pagans, Christians and Jews in late antiquity.

The premodern contacts, imagined and real, between East and West. Cultural, religious and technological exchanges between China, India and Rome. The interactions between these sedentary societies and their nomadic neighbors. The rise and fall of nomadic empires such as that of the Mongols. Trade, exploration and conquest on the Eurasian continent. We sample pertinent travel accounts as a form of ethnographical knowledge that reproduces notions of cultural identity and civilization.