103 Seminars

This is an intensive reading seminar designed to interrogate the intersections of sex, gender, and law in the formation of modern American culture. Centering our conversations on a series of spectacular trials, we will explore a range of questions arising from this nexus in overlapping chronological order, seeking to draw parallels and contrasts between and among these and thematically related events. Integral throughout will be the evolving role of the mass media, not only in sensationalizing, but also in reflecting, modeling, and shaping popular attitudes and behaviors. Over the course of the semester we will consider such problems as the gendered nature of sexual transgression; the practical and theoretical ramifications of the conjunction of sex and violence; the relevance of gender inequality in assessing the meaning and signification of the resulting harms; the evaluation and use of evidence by juridical actors, media commentators, and their audiences; the social, political, and cultural factors that inform both public sexual preoccupations as well as their manifestation within the criminal and civil justice systems; and the insights that may be gained from these spectacles when broached as one of many sites in which sexual meanings, identities, and practices are refracted and ultimately constructed. Our inquiry will be facilitated through close examination of secondary readings, complemented by exemplary primary sources, intended to afford seminar members an opportunity to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of different textual genres, experiment with alternative methods of fashioning historical interpretations, and contemplate the ways history might be productively employed to illuminate contemporary issues. 

Using four case studies, this course will examine the variety of ways in which medieval and early modern authors shaped the self-image of Europe by casting foreign cultures as Òother.Ó  We will begin in the 8th century and examine interactions between the Carolingian Empire and the Scandinavian raiders and traders commonly known as Vikings.  From there we will jump forward to the Crusades to look at some of the most well-known encounters between the Latin West and its eastern neighbors.  Moving back to Europe we will examine the complicated relationships between Christians and Jews and the practice of 'othering' which occurred as Europeans turned their gaze upon their own societies.  Finally we will follow the path of European explorers in the Early Modern period and look at their encounters with worlds and peoples undreamed of 200 years before. 

As we engage with these four encounters we will discuss how we can use the texts of the past to understand not just the cultures and peoples they describe, but the hidden world of the author and the changing face of Europe across the centuries and into the modern world.

Each case study will take approximately 3 weeks and involve readings from both primary and secondary sources.  In addition to short weekly or bi-weekly journal assignments there will be 1 book review assignment due after Spring break and a final assignment which will involve creating a prospectus for an independent research project in line with the History Department 101.

“For every thousand pages published on the causes of war,” the Australian historian Geoffrey Blaney has written, “there is less than one published on the causes of peace.  And the causes of war and peace, logically, should dovetail into one another. A week explanation of why Europe was at peace will lead to a weak explanation of why Europe was at war. A valid diagnosis of war will be reflected in a valid diagnosis of peace.”  One obstacle to understanding peace is perhaps the widespread assumption that it is the normal state of affairs.  This assumption, however. is inaccurate. Wars sometimes just happen. Peace is artificial and is always caused.  This course will examine how nine wars ended and the dramatically different ways in which they did: those of the French Revolution and Napoleon; the five wars in the middle of the nineteenth century (the Crimean War, the war of Italian unification, and the three wars of German unification); WWI, WW II, and the Cold War. It will demonstrate how ending a war on the battlefield can sometimes be one thing, signing a peace treaty, something quite other.  Weekly book summaries, two papers, one 5-7, the second 10-12 pages.

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See details under Medieval.

This seminar will consider the ancient Greco-Roman city as a dynamic form of settlement, from its origins in archaic Greece to its demise (or transformation) in the late antique West.  Our readings - all in translation - will include ancient discussions of the political and economic roles of cities (Aristotle), urban architecture and design (Vitruvius, Pausanias), as well as depictions in prose and poetry of everyday life in imperial Rome and classical Athens.  We will also examine the material remains of these two ancient Òmega-citiesÓ and of the smaller but well-preserved cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.  We will attempt to formulate our own definition(s) of the ancient city, and we will trace changes in the organization and uses of urban space, and in ancient writers' conceptions of the political, social, economic, and religious roles of cities, over the course of classical antiquity.

This seminar will examine the shifting relationship between national security and science and technology in the United States and Soviet Union following the Second World War. The importance of science-based technologies in fighting and winning the war led to new opportunities for scientists, such as increased funding, prestige, and sometimes political influence. Science took on new importance in diplomacy, espionage, and military planning. However, perception as a valuable national security asset also led to new challenges and dangers for scientists, including conflicts between 'classified science' and ideals of openness, persecution for 'disloyalty' as judged in the ideological context of the Cold War, and popular backlashes at the heightened authority of scientists in cases such as the anti-nuclear movement. How these developments shaped science, and how science and technology shaped the Cold War, are the major themes addressed by the assigned readings.

This course will address the historical background of both the resurgent nationalism in China today and the ethnic classification system that underpins the Chinese nation.  We begin by placing Chinese nationalism and notions of ethnicity in the context of their long historical development spanning the course of the twentieth century.  We will then spend the second half of the semester examining ethnicity and nation-like ideas in pre-twentieth century China.  Readings will include secondary scholarship and monographs, as well as some primary source material in translation.  Requirements: diligent reading of all assigned texts (no more than 200 pages per week), active class participation, several short presentations, and brief written assignments completed in preparation for a final paper.  In order to train students in the construction of historical arguments, when discussing readings, we will pay careful attention to conceptualization, methodology, and sources.