Academics

Department of History > Course Descriptions

110 World Civilizations to 1650
Origins and development of civilization from 3000 BCE to 1650 CE. Emphasis on Western civilization from its Judaic and Greco-Roman foundations through the Reformation, also with discussions of Islam, China, and India. (Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

120 Foundations of the American Republic
The origins of American society and the development of the United States from an under-developed new nation into a powerful national entity. Emphasis on the reading and analysis of documentary materials. (Cross-listed as American Studies 120. Meets GEC First-Year Writing Requirement.)

121 Modern America
America’s response to industrialism and its changing role in foreign affairs. Emphasis on the techniques of research and paper writing. (Cross-listed as American Studies 121. Meets GEC First-Year Writing Requirement.)

200 Origins of East Asia
Introduction to the great civilizations of China and Japan, with emphasis on development of their fundamental characteristics. Highlights both shared traditions and significant differences between the two countries. (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 200. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

201 Modern East Asia
Study of China, Japan, and Korea as each moved toward modern nationhood over the last 200 years. Attention to the difficulties each has  confronted, including Japan’s vision of empire shattered by World War II, China’s civil war, and Korea’s transformation through foreign interventions. (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 201. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

202  South Asia from Earliest Times to 1750
A survey of civilization in south Asia over five millennia, focusing on core themes such as society, culture, political economy, administrative institutions, religious practices, and the impact of foreign invasions and cultures.  Utilizing archaeological evidence as well as written sources, we study the peoples and civilizations of the subcontinent (including the Harappan civilization, the Aryans, technology and society from the Iron Age to the era of Buddha, the Mauryas and other north Indian polities, and the Gupta era and the kingdoms of south India). Then we discuss the Indo-Islamic heritage and the impact of Turkish rule, ending with the Mughal Empire.  (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 202.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

203  South Asia Since 1750
Survey of South Asia – today the countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – from 1750 to the present, a period that includes more than a century and a half of British colonial rule. The course is designed to offer a critical study of the issues that shaped the region: the transition to colonialism in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and its impact on the Indian economy, culminating in revolt against the British in 1857; the rise of Indian nationalist movements, the anti-colonial struggle, and events leading to independence and partition of the subcontinent in1947 and the aftermath; political developments in the post-colonial states of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Theories about caste, class, gender, and the role of religion are explored in detail to illuminate the post-colonial problems of the subcontinent.  (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 203.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

204 Medieval History
Western European society from the end of Roman rule to the eve of the Renaissance. Intellectual, material, and institutional developments, with emphasis on the creation of a continually progressive and creative civilization from unlikely roots in late Roman society and Germanic tribal chiefdoms.

205 Sub-Saharan Africa
Survey from earliest times to the present. Topics and themes include trade and state-building in precolonial Africa, European conquest and African resistance to colonialism, and independence and the postcolonial era. (Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

207  Introduction to Islamic Cultures and Civilizations
Survey of the historical development of Islamic civilization from the seventh through the twentieth century, covering social, cultural and religious developments as well as political history. Topics include: 1) the inception of Islam in the Arabian environment, the rise of Shiism, and assimilation of foreign cultures during Muslim conquests of the seventh and eighth centuries; 2) evolution of religious and judicial institutions, and intellectual and philosophical movements, as well as achievements in science, technology, and art and architecture in the Classical period and during the Gunpowder empires; 3) mysticism or Sufism, studied to understand the diversity and complexity of Islam as a cultural tradition; 4) the challenges of modernity and effects of colonialism on Muslim states, as well as contemporary debates about democracy, women rights and bioethics. (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 207, Islamic Studies 207, and Religion 207.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

208 The European Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution
The breakdown of the medieval synthesis under the tensions of intellectual audacity, individual spirituality, and the progress of the scientific attitude to nature. Italian and Northern humanism, Luther and the end of Christian unity, voyages of discovery, and Europe’s capture of world commerce driven by technological innovation by land and sea.

210 Ancient Greece
Greek civilization from the first awakening of reason in Homeric poetry and early philosophy to the spread throughout the Mediterranean world of a civilization of headlong, revolutionary innovation in every department of life and thought. Key episodes of the intellectual, political, and military history of the Greeks examined through examples of their literature and thought. (Cross-listed as Classical Studies 210.)

211 Roman History
Roman civilization studied as the evolution from a predatory conquest state led by a military aristocracy to a world empire that enforced universal peace and preserved Classical civilization under a sacred monarchy, whose breakdown gave birth to Christian Europe and the papacy in the West and Byzantium in the East. (Cross-listed as Classical Studies 211.)

212 Europe from the Old Regime to the 1890s
Socio-economic, political, and intellectual and cultural development of Europe from 1715 to 1890. The crisis of the old order in the age of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Industrialization, democratization, and modernization in the nineteenth century. The emergence of nation-states, consumer societies, and modern ideologies.

213 Europe in the Twentieth Century
European politics, culture, and society from 1890s to 1990s. The course pursues three major themes: the origins of the modern era from 1890 to 1918; the rise of the authoritarian state from 1917 to 1945; and the Cold War from the 1940s to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

214 History of Russia
Survey of the political, social, and intellectual history of Russia from the early medieval period to the post-Soviet era. Emphasis on the people and the state, efforts at modernization from above (particularly those of Peter the Great and Stalin), revolutionary ideas and movements, the disintegration of the Communist system and the Soviet empire, and the difficulties faced by Russia and other post-Soviet states. (Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

221 British History to 1688
The history of Britain from Roman times to  the Revolution of 1688. Topics include Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon England, the Norman invasion, the development of English political institutions, the consolidation of monarchy under the Tudors, the growth of English literature and culture, and the social and political struggles of the seventeenth century.

222 Modern British History
The history of Britain since 1688. Topics include aristocracy and society in the eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution, Liberalism and Conservatism in nineteenth-century politics, the consolidation of British culture, the rise of the welfare state, and contemporary British life.

230 History of Science
An overview of the history of science from ancient to modern times. Explores the philosophical question, “What is Science?” Introduces the ideas of major figures within the history  of science, such as Aristotle, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, and Einstein, as well as general developments in the physical and biological sciences. Examines how these ideas were influenced within their own historical context by both internal (scientific) and external (cultural, religious, sociological, psychological) factors, and how these ideas are central to our world today.

231 Western Thought: Renaissance to Scientific Revolution
Survey of Western intellectual history ca. 1400-1700, emphasizing Italian and northern humanism, the Protestant Reformation and its consequences, the European encounter with other civilizations, and the first scientific revolution, with attention to American thought in the  seventeenth century. Major ideas about religion, nature and science, human nature, society and its governance and analysis, and history.

233 Eastern Europe in  the Twentieth Century
Exploration of key developments in the region during the twentieth century: the impact on the region of World War I and the peace settlement, economic and political difficulties in the interwar period, World War II, postwar Soviet domination, and the emergence of greater diversity after Stalin’s death. Examination of how the collapse of the Soviet empire led to ethnic tensions and conflict, widely divergent efforts at  reform, and efforts to reintegrate the region into the European system. (Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

235 World War II: The European Experience
Origins of the European war; Hitler’s reorganization of East Central Europe in 1938–39; the war itself, from the 1939 Blitzkrieg against Poland to the fall of Berlin in 1945; the peace settlement and its failures; the onset of the Cold War.

240 History and Film
An exploration of history on film and film as history. After a discussion of recent methodologies, both in history and film studies, the course examines historical epics, documentaries, propaganda, literary adaptations, and biographies. The course also studies films that reveal important assumptions about their day.

245 Foods, Diets, and Cultures
Explores history of food production and  consumption, with focus on the United States. Emphasizes broad themes: production of food, from farm to factory and in the kitchen; the role food has played in shaping gender, racial, and ethnic identities in society; food and environmental development; and the relationship of food to political, cultural, and economic power. (Cross-listed as Women’s and Gender Studies 245.)

248 Crusade and Holy War in Medieval Europe
Medieval Europe experienced widespread debate about the use of violence by Christians. The course considers early definitions of Just War and the attempts by the church to control violence around the year 1000. Detailed examination of the origin of the idea of crusade and the history of the First Crusade (1095–99) from Christian, Jewish, Greek, and Muslim perspectives. Examines the later medieval phenomenon of crusade against other Christians. (Cross-listed as Religion 248.)

250 The American Civil War
The origins of the war in the antagonistic development of the free North and slave South; Lincoln and the Republican Party; Black activity in the North and South; the war; the transforming and gendered aspects of fighting the war; Reconstruction; the impact of the war on American development. (Cross-listed as American Studies 250.)

254 African American History
A survey of African American history from the sixteenth century to the present, with attention to  important themes and events: the African heritage; slavery and the response to bondage; emancipation and reconstruction; African American society under Jim Crow; the northern migrations and the making of the urban ghettos; African American debates on freedom and models of Black leadership in the twentieth century; aspects of contemporary African American America. (Cross-listed as African American Studies 254 and American Studies 254. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

255 African American Autobiography
An examination of the African American experience through an exploration of autobiographies, including works by Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. DuBois, Richard Wright, Anne Moody, and Malcolm X. (Cross-listed as African American Studies 255 and American Studies 255. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

256 Race and Racism in America
An examination of race and racism as subjects of controversy in American history from the interdisciplinary perspective of American Studies. How did the experience of slavery shape American attitudes toward race? What was the legacy of slavery in the postemancipation years? How has our political and judicial system dealt with race and racism?

257 History of Mexico
This course broadly surveys Mexican history from the pre-Conquest period to the Chiapas revolt in 1994. The meaning of progress, the sacred and indigenous culture, imperialism’s impact, and popular mobilization are among its recurring themes. (Cross-listed as Latin American Studies 257. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

263 American Cities
The changing functions, scale, and quality of urban society from the seventeenth century to the present. A historical framework for studying modern American metropolitan problems. Some fieldwork in Chicago. (Cross-listed as American Studies 263 and Environmental Studies 263.) 

267 United States and World History
This course examines US history from various perspectives to show not only that it has been both similar to and different than that of other nations, but also that it cannot be separated from world developments.  Examples of perspectives to be used include the following: a comparative viewpoint that looks at key moments and developments, i.e., the abolition of slavery, as they occurred throughout the world; a transnational approach that embeds US history at every significant moment, e.g., industrialization, in its connections to ongoing global events and processes; a diasporic standpoint that puts the voluntary and forced movement of peoples at the center of the evolution of US society; a political-economic critique that places the origins and development of capitalism at the center of world history since the fourteenth century. (Cross-listed as American Studies 267.)  

270 History of Education in American Society and Thought
Historical role of education in American society; education as a panacea and as a practical solution; schooling vs. education. Emphasis is on the twentieth century. (Cross-listed as American Studies 270 and Education 270.)

271 Women in Modern History: Europe  and America
This course examines women’s lives, activities, and cultures in the United States and Europe from the late eighteenth century to the present. Among the issues examined are birth control; equality vs. difference (the essentialism debate); race and class; and gender as an analytical concept. (Cross-listed as Women’s and Gender Studies 271. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

275 Popular Music and American Society
The origins and evolution of rock and roll and its permutations from Delta blues and country music to rap and “riot grrrl”; the intertwining of race, sexuality, gender, and class in this  commercial art form. (Cross-listed as American Studies 275.)

282 Modern China
Relying as much as possible on Chinese texts (in translation), this course will examine such topics as China’s response to Western imperialism in the nineteenth century; the 1911 Revolution; the May Fourth Movement; the birth of the People’s Republic of China; the Cultural Revolution; and the Democracy Movement of the 1980s. (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 282. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

286 Modern Japan
From the founding of the last shogunate, the Tokugawa, in 1603 to its present status as an economic giant among the nations of the Pacific. Attention to the achievements as well as the undeniable sufferings and costs incurred during Japan’s drive toward great power. (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 286. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

300 Theory and Methods
How can we know what actually happened in the past? This course examines the bases of  historical knowledge and interpretation, and studies methods used for understanding and writing about the past. Emphases include the use of documentary evidence, the analysis of conflicting historical interpretations, and the use of the Web as a research tool. Prerequisite: an introductory history course. Required of all history majors.

302 Greek and Roman Religion
Issues in the social and intellectual forms of religion in the Greek and Roman worlds, from the Homeric age to the early Christian era: primitive beliefs; warrior religion; women’s cults and women’s roles; mystery religions and magic; ruler worship; pagan philosophies; pagan background of early Gentile Christianity.  Prerequisite: History 201 or 211 or permission of the instructor.  (Cross-listed as Classical Studies 302 and Religion 311.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

304 Roman and Medieval Christianity
This course will consider topics in the history of Christianity from its origins to the fifteenth century, including the lives of Christ and Paul; the influence of Roman, Germanic, and Celtic religion on early Christianity; doctrinal disputes and heresy; monasticism; the cult of saints;  conflicts of church and state; mysticism; reform movements. The course will include regular consideration of medieval Christian art, including images in painting, sculpture, and manuscripts. (Cross-listed as Religion 307. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

305  Identity, Body, and Persecution in Medieval Europe
Medieval men and women discussed many of the same questions of identity that we do: What makes an individual unique?  How does group affiliation affect identity?  What is the relationship between identity and change?  This course considers the following topics: medieval conceptions of the individual in autobiography; the role of the body and gender in determining identity; how medieval Europeans defined their own identity by persecuting the “other,” including Jews and lepers; how change affects identity in medieval texts such as werewolf stories.  (Cross-listed as Women’s and Gender Studies 305).

307 Topics in East Asian History: China’s Cultural Revolution
This course examines the origins and development of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 to 1976.  Initiated by Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution was responsible for the most sever setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Chinese state and people since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.  (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 307.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

307 Topics in East Asian History: World War II in Asia, 1931-1945
Americans generally view the war as a military conflict which began with Pearl Harbor and was ended by the Atomic Bomb, but for Japan and China the conflict began long before, involved a clash of cultures, and transformed national identity.  So our course looks at a wide range of topics: Japan’s development from imperial democracy to domination of Asia; the Rape of Nanking and other war crimes; Pearl Harbor; leadership, tactics, and logistics in battle, such as the Philippines, Midway, and Okinawa; race and culture in the war; China and the birth of Mao’s revolution; the atomic bomb and the decision to surrender.  We also ask how memory of the war is shaped by present day politics and how “history” is created in fiction, films, and popular culture.  We will read works of history, fiction, and journalism, as well as viewing documentary and feature films.  The course combines lecture, discussion, and individual conferences.  Prerequisite: One course in Asian history or permission of the instructor.  (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 307.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

307 Topics in East Asian History: Law and Society in China
This course examines the role of law in Chinese society from early China to the present.  Topics include Chinese views on the nature and origins of law;  crime and punishment;  customs and codes;  legal institutions and processes;  and China’s encounters with foreign law.  What does Chinese law reveal about the nature of the Chinese state and local society? Current debates about rule of law, human rights, and law reform will be placed in historical perspective.  Readings and discussions emphasize primary sources in translation.  Prerequisite:  one course covering Asian history, philosophy, or society, or a course in law or legal systems, or permission of the instructor.  (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 307.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

309 Problems in Modern Chinese History: Film and Reality
What are the enduring problems of modern China? How have different Chinese governments confronted them? We will study twentieth-century transformations in Chinese society, politics, and culture on the mainland and Taiwan in the light of modern Chinese and international history through film and discussion of the major issues addressed by Western scholarship. Basic topics to be covered include Sino-Western relations; tradition and modernization; peasant rebellions; revolution and reforms; religion; culture and society; modern science; and intellectuals and the state. (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 309. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

310 East Asia and the West
This course explores the complex and evolving interrelationships among Eastern and Western cultures. It focuses on how various traditions and discourses encounter, resist, assimilate, and transform outside global influences. The course is strongly interdisciplinary and includes history, politics, philosophy, film, and opera. Prerequisite: History 110 or permission of instructor. (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 310.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

314 Charlemagne and His World (700-900 AD)
Since his death, Charlemagne has remained one of the most revered and evocative figures of the early Middle Ages. He and his family built a formidable empire, revolutionized thinking about kingship and government, and presided over reforms in religion, scholarship, and art. This course considers the achievements of the Carolingian period, the consequences of the collapse of their power, and the development  of the legend of Charlemagne.

315 Rise and Fall of Soviet Russia
The end of the tsarist empire, the revolutions of 1917, development of Soviet society and institutions under Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev, the aging of the Soviet system under Brezhnev, the failure of Gorbachev’s efforts at reform, the disintegration of the Soviet empire, and the demise of the USSR in 1991. Emphasis on political and social conflicts, ideological debates, and cultural developments. Prerequisite: History 213 or 214 or permission of the instructor. (Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

317  Islamic Culture(s) in South Asia
This seminar focuses upon the shared history and cultural heritage of Muslims in the Indian sub-continent.  It will cover the Muslim experience from the conquest of Sindh (750 CE), through the medieval and early modern empires, to the events leading to the partition of the Indian subcontinent (1947), bringing the story to the present.  Questions of identity/assimilation and integrative processes will be examined through an exploration of political, administrative, intellectual history.  The experiences, thoughts, and perspectives of mystics, poets, and women will be highlighted to investigate the role of Indian Muslims in shaping and enriching the culture, society, and religious traditions of the sub-continent.  Prerequisite: History 207 or permission of instructor.  (Cross-listed as Asian Studies 317, Islamic Studies 317, and Religion 317.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

320 The European Reformations: 1200-1600
The Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation were a major turning-point in the political, social and religious history of the West.  This course will examine:  the background to the Reformations in Pauline and Augustinian theology and medieval reform movements; the writings of key figures including Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Loyola; the political and social ramifications of the Reformations, particularly in France, England, and the German Empire; the tradition of historiography on the Reformations.  (Cross-listed as Religion 319.)

325 Science, Religion, and Modernity
Western science from the late Middle Ages to 1900, explored through the lens of its developing relationship with religion and connection to modernity. Themes of the course involve the laws of nature, measurement, scientific methods, promotional and oversight organizations, and materialism. Case studies include Roger Bacon’s science, Galileo’s travails, Francis Bacon’s vision, physico-theology, Newton versus Leibniz, Enlightenment scientific societies, physiological psychology around 1750, Genesis and geology, the reception of Darwin, and the warfare between science and religion.

331 The Enlightenment
Readings and discussions of the central ideas of Europe in the eighteenth century, with emphasis on Britain and France. Topics include the social and political context of the Enlightenment, the impact of science, and the development of notions of tolerance, freedom, and rationality. (Cross-listed as English 331.)

332 European Romanticism
Intellectual and social origins of Romanticism, with emphasis on Germany and England; impact of the French Revolution; individualism in poetry and art; and the rise of historicism. Works discussed will include those by Goethe, Wordsworth, Keats, Hugo, Constable, and Schleiermacher.

335 Twentieth-Century British Culture
British culture since 1900. Topics include the impact of World War I; the Bloomsbury circle; documentary writing and film; working-class realism in the 1950s; youth culture; the New Left; postimperial culture; and postmodernism.

342 History and Literature: Tudor-Stuart England, 1485-1660
An interdisciplinary opportunity to investigate one seminal era. Topics include the “lost” world of early modern family and social life; the English Reformation; the aristocracy and the rise of the gentry; Renaissance heroism and “self-fashioning”; women’s lives and literature; early modern biography and lyric subjectivity; Tudor and Stuart monarchy; the causes of the English Civil War; and the emergence of the scientific worldview. Prerequisite: either one English or one history course at the 200 level or above. (Cross-listed as English 342.)

343 Literature and Society in Russia
Aspects of the social and intellectual history of tsarist and Soviet Russia through the prism of nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, mostly novels. Readings will include major works by such authors as Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky, Pasternak, Akhmatova, Babel, Kataev, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Yevtushenko, and Tolstoya. Films will also be used. (Cross-listed as Women’s and Gender Studies 343.  Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

347 Topics in Gender and History
A seminar that examines in depth one aspect of gender and history. Topics vary from year to year. (Cross-listed as Women’s and Gender Studies 347. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

348 Public History: Museums  and Exhibitions
History is an academic discipline but it also has a public face. “Public history,” through museum exhibitions, historical sites, the Internet, and other venues, is a growing career field. Students in this class will learn the communication tools necessary to produce an engaging and intellectually sound exhibit, including the techniques of oral history. The class will develop a concept, research in local archives, write label copy, and design and install an exhibit. We may use audio, video, photography, and the web to tell our story. The exhibition will be presented in the Sonnenschein Gallery or a local history museum, such as the Lake County Museum. The course will include field studies to Chicago-area history museums. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing, or permission of the instructor. (Cross-listed as American Studies 348.)

355 American Social History
Conducted as a seminar. Topics include family, class, gender, race, ethnicity, and work. Prerequisite: History 120 or 121, or permission of the instructor. (Cross-listed as American Studies 355.)

360 Colonial America
Origins of European colonialism; Indian-European relations; Puritanism and society in New England; slavery and politics in Virginia; English imperial regulations; the Glorious Revolution; and the Great Awakening. Prerequisite: History 120. (Cross-listed as American Studies 360.)

361 Advanced Topics in African American History:  The Modern American Civil Rights Movement
This course focuses on the origins, development, and accomplishments of the civil rights movement in post-World War II America. Particular emphasis will be given to the differences between the struggle for black equality in the south and its northern counterpart. Taught in a seminar format, the class will be both reading- and writing-intensive. Course readings and paper assignments are designed to help students develop a comparative analytical framework and to illuminate the following lines of inquiry:  What caused and what sustained the civil rights movement? What changes took place within the movement over time, particularly at the level of leadership? What underlay the radicalization of the movement and what were the consequences? To what extent did the civil rights movement succeed and how do we measure that success today? Finally, how did the black civil rights movement inspire other groups and minorities in American society to organize?  (Cross-listed as African American Studies 361 and American Studies 361. Meets GEC Cultural Diversity Requirement.)

363 Chicago: History and Public Memory
This course examines the development of metropolitan Chicago in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the sites, landmarks, and institutions which preserve and interpret aspects of that past.  Students will become familiar with urban history and heritage preservation scholarship and will utilize these perspectives to analyze existing historic sites and identify, research, and create interpretive plans for sites not currently included in the metropolitan repertoire of public remembrance.  Substantial field study.  Prerequisite: one course in American history, politics, African American Studies or American Studies, or permission of the instructor. (Cross-listed as American Studies 363.)

365 American Thought
An examination of major currents of American thought with special emphasis on the ways Americans have thought about their relationship with their environment: Puritanism, Jefferson and nature, Emerson and Thoreau’s romanticism, Darwinism, and the modern environmental movement. Prerequisites: History 120, 121, an introductory course in American literature, or permission of the instructor. (Cross-listed as American Studies 365.)

380 The Past: History, Philosophy, Literature, Film
This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to issues surrounding the representations of the past.  Drawing upon the works of historians, philosophers, writers, and filmmakers, discussion will focus on two major questions.  First, how does the past affect both collective and individual identity?  Collectively, nation-states create foundation myths to create the imagined communities of patriotism.  Individually, writers compose autobiographies that draw upon the past selectively to provide cogent narratives of personal identity.  Such works relate strongly to the second question of the course: how and in what ways does the past come to be explained?  Historians recreate the past both chronologically and thematically.  The grand narratives of political ideology such as Liberalism and Marxism offer encompassing explanations of historical progress.  Hermeneutics explores the connections between past and present. Postmodernists deconstruct historical discourse to undermine its veracity. The past remains a foreign country elusive to describe.  (Cross-listed as Philosophy 380.)

420 Senior Seminar: Religion and History
Selected advanced topics in history, with attention to the methods and problems of historical research.  Each student will write a major research paper.  Required of all history majors in their junior or senior year except those doing independent study research projects.  Open to non-majors with appropriate preparation and permission of the instructor.  The seminar for 2008-2009 will give close examination to the ways in which developments in religious belief and practice affect political history.  Areas of focus may include: the interaction between Christianity and the government of the Roman Empire; the interplay of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths in medieval Spain; the political ramifications of the embrace of Protestantism in Europe and the Americas; or possibly the conflicts with religion brought on by secularization of state and society since the Enlightenment.  Students may choose appropriate research topics from all periods and all parts of the world.  The course will also wrestle with the particular challenges faced by historians attempting to reconstruct faith and belief from written evidence.