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.

Frustrated by historical models focused upon the modern nation-state, historians have increasingly sought to explore the complex networks of identities, loyalties, and attachments forged by diverse groups of peoples in their attempts to transcend the real and metaphoric boundaries of the territorial nation-state.

Topics course. The Holy Office of the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic church proved an effective instrument for controlling religious and political orthodoxy from the Middle Ages through the early modern era. Its range of activity spanned from investigations into doctrinal purity, clandestine assemblies, Jewish and Muslim converts to the Christian faith, scientific discoveries, witchcraft, cunning folk, the dark arts, to popular dissent and questions of doubt. Punishments for crimes of heresy were severe, often carrying penalties of mutilation, life imprisonment, and death.

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 7th through the 19th centuries.

Chinese society and civilization from c. 1000 B.C. to A.D. 750. Topics include neolithic cultures of China, Bronze Age, formation of a Chinese state, Golden Age of Chinese philosophy, creation of a centralized empire, relations with non-Chinese, family structure, roles of women, and introduction of Buddhism.

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.

The emergence of the Greek world from the Dark Age to Philip II of Macedon, c. 800-336 B.C.E., focusing on the politics, society, and culture of late archaic and classical Greece. Main topics include: colonization, tyranny, hoplites and city-state society; the Persian Wars; Sparta and Athens; Athenian empire and democracy; the rise of Macedon.

This will ordinarily be an enriched version of the 300-level course currently offered.

Admission by permission of the department, for majors and honors students who have had four advanced courses in Greek.

Authors read in GRK 310 vary from year to year, but they are generally chosen from a list including Plato, Homer, Aristophanes, lyric poets, tragedians, historians and orators, depending on the interests and needs of the students. GRK 310 may be repeated for credit, provided that the topic is not the same. Prerequisite: GRK 213 or permission of the instructor. Attention to literary, philosophical, and cultural aspects.