Twenty-first century scholars argue that race is a constructed social identity that began to coalesce around the seventeenth century. But were they right? In this course, we will look to the Middle Ages to challenge the consensus that racial constructions were a byproduct of modernity. Does race function differently between the world of Latin Christendom and that of the dar al-Islam? What are the advantages and dangers of using the prism of race to analyze ethnic, cultural and religious differences in this medieval period?

Did radical societal shifts really take place in Europe between 1300 and 1600, as the terms “Renaissance” and “Reformation” imply? Students will use this question to frame their learning in this survey course, studying the period that saw the aftermath of the Black Death, the fragmentation of Christianity, the growing power of monarchs, the advent of the printing press, and the beginnings of the age of European Imperialism. Students will examine and discuss humanism, witch hunts, popular piety and heresy, the advent of the Italian city-state, and the intersection of politics and science.

Examination of the factors leading to the war in Asia, the nature of the conflict and the legacy of the war for all those involved. Topics include Japan’s seizure of Korea, the invasion of China, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the war in the Pacific, the racial dimensions of the Japanese empire, the comfort women, biological warfare, the dropping of the atomic bombs and the complicated relationship between history and memory.

This course examines the history of China, primarily from the 18th century until today. The course covers topics ranging from the expansion of the Qing, the transition from empire to nation, and economic development and environmental disasters in the PRC. The readings and lectures establish a framework of critical analysis for issues of both historical and contemporary importance.

The career and conquests of Alexander the Great (d. 323 B.C.) wrought far-reaching consequences for many in Europe, Asia and Africa. In the ensuing Hellenistic (Greek-oriented) commonwealth that spanned the Mediterranean, Middle East, Central Asia and India, Greco-Macedonians interacted with Egyptians, Babylonians, Jews, Iranians, Indians and Romans in ways that galvanized ideas and institutions such as the classical city as ideal community, cult of divine kings and queens, "fusion" literatures, mythologies and artistic canons and also provoked nativist responses such as the Maccabean revolt.

An introduction to major developments and interactions among people in Europe and Asia before modernity. The Silk Roads, long distance networks that allowed people, goods, technology, religious beliefs and other ideas to travel between China, India and Rome/Mediterranean, and the many points in between, developed against the backdrop of the rise and fall of steppe nomadic empires in Inner Asia. We examine these as interrelated phenomena that shaped Eurasian encounters to the rise of the world-conquering Mongols and the journey of Marco Polo.

This course serves as an introduction to the study of History and to what historians do. It is a requirement for the History major. At the root of this course is the question of what is history and what it means to study history. Key questions driving the course are: Is history simply the study of the past? What is the past’s connection to the present? Is it even necessary to make such connections to the present and what is lost and gained in making such connections?

An introduction to different genres of prose and poetry in the Classical period, with attention to linguistic differences over time and region. Readings will be chosen from works such as Herodotus' History of the Persian War, the poetry of Solon the wise Athenian lawmaker, the philosophical dialogues of Plato, the Athenian courtroom speeches of Lysias, the tragedies of Euripides. Prerequisite: three semesters of Greek or equivalent.

A yearlong introduction to ancient Greek through the language of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the two 8th-century epics that represent the culmination of a long and rich tradition of oral poetry. The ancients regarded these poems as unparalleled masterpieces; the great tragedian Aeschylus called his own plays "crumbs from Homer's table," and both epics have endured over the millennia and are still alive and relevant. Identity, love, seduction, loyalty, the tension between individualism and community, between home and adventure -- these are some of the very human issues the Odyssey explores.

What is the political significance of nature? In this seminar we shall engage this question through a critical analysis of readings in classic and contemporary environmental political thought with special emphasis on the political relationship between human beings and nature. Topics to be considered include wilderness conservation, political ecology, environmental justice, and more. The question which emerges through these readings, which is in the background of the entire course, is whether we might find a democratic and just response to the challenges of the climate crisis.