Graduate Course Descriptions
Spring 2011
This page last updated:
2012-01-31 16:25:24
Course Schedules and Locations are subject to change! Please check this site often for updated information.
Ancient |
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| 280A/285A - Intro to Byzantine History | Mavroudi | |
| Tu 2-4p 2231 Dwinelle | ||
| Updated November 12, 2010 | ||
| Note New Room. | ||
| 280A.002 - CCN: 39759 285A.002 - CCN: 39864 | ||
| This seminar will offer both a general introduction to and an investigation of special topics within Byzantine studies. The weekly seminar discussions will be organized as follows: weeks 1-9 covered the period from the 7th until the 15th centuries in chronological sequence. Students will be expected to become familiar with the sequence of events in Byzantine history through reading G. Ostrogorsky, History of the Byzantine State; at the same time, through reading additional secondary bibliography, they will be expected to think about particular problems that modern historians face in their attempt to study and interpret these events. Weeks 10-15 will be dedicated to particular aspects of Byzantine studies: the survival of Byzantine culture after the political end of the empire in 1453; Byzantium and the Slavs; Byzantine economy; Byzantine learned and vernacular literature; Byzantine epic poetry and the expression of collective identity, in the Middle Ages and now; the study of Byzantine art; Byzantine studies as a modern discipline. Students taking this seminar as 285 will be required to identify a research topic early in the semester, on which they will present a research report and produce a final paper. | ||
| 280A/285A - ARMIES AND TAXES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE | Norena | |
| Th 2-5P 2303 Dwinelle | ||
| 280A.001 - CCN: 39756 285A.001 - CCN: 39861 | ||
| The Roman empire was held together, in large part, by armed force, which in turn depended on the capacity of the central state to extract sufficient resources, in the form of taxes, to sustain an enormous army. This seminar will investigate the configuration and operations of this “military-tributary” complex, from its haphazard development in the middle and late Republic, through its rationalization under Augustus and his successors, to its radical restructuring in the Tetrarchic and Constaninian periods. Central topics include the geographical distribution of legions and auxiliary forces; the military and security “strategy” of the Roman state, including expansion, frontier defense, and internal policing; the logistics of supply to the troops; changing patterns in the composition of the army; the nature of the Roman fiscal regime; the mechanisms of tax collection (including the personnel involved); the provincial census; and the changing balance between revenues and expenditures. Throughout the seminar, which will draw on comparative material from other large, premodern empires, emphasis will be placed on the interplay between the instruments of coercion, accounting, and communications in underpinning the Roman imperial state’s control over the persons and resources in the territory under its rule. | ||
Asia |
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| 275F - Historiography of Tang-Song China | Tackett | |
| W 2-4 104 GPB | CCN: 39744 | |
| Updated January 23, 2011 | ||
| New Time and Room. | ||
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This course will review influential and/or recent English-language scholarship on Tang-Song China. We will survey a broad selection of topics in preparation for the Ph.D. oral exams. Students should expect to read one or two books a week, write weekly reports, and complete a final seminar paper. |
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| 280F/285F - Approaches to the modern history of the Middle East | Doumani | |
| W 2-4P 115 Barrows | ||
| 280F.002 - CCN: 39813 285F.002 - CCN: 39915 | ||
| This reading course introduces students to canonical and recent works that have shaped the field of modern Middle East history broadly defined to include Ottoman and Islamic Studies. We begin with neo-Orientalist and Modernization-theory writings that ruled largely unchallenged until the 1970s. We then consider two critical responses often in tension with each other: A materialist Marxist/Weberian-inspired critique that leads tenuously to social history via political economy; and a discursive Saidian/Foucauldian-inspired critique that leads to cultural and post-colonial studies. Both are wary of essentializing categories, of Euro-centric narrative structures, and of nationalist constructions of the past. Beyond these basic similarities, however, each critique leads to different questions, sources, methodologies, and points of focus (temporal, spacial, and social). | ||
| 280F - Received and Excavated Texts from Early China | Nylan | |
| Thurs 3:30-6:30 Room 630, 2225 Fulton | CCN: 39816 | |
| This course meets at the Numata Room at the Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS). | ||
| This course will examine the issues surrounding the comparison of received and excavated texts (including the issue of comparative value and the issue of recent forgeries). The texts to be studied include omen, medical, philosophical, and historical texts, which have exact or proximate copies in both received and excavated versions. This course is designed for graduate students with a working knowledge of classical Chinese, as well as modern Chinese. | ||
| 280F.004 - South Asian Women’s History in Comparative Context, c. 1500 to the present | Wells | |
| M 10-12P 204 Wheeler | CCN: 39819 | |
| This course is targeted at students who intend to specialize in South Asian history as well as those interested in women’s history in other regions of the world. We will acquaint ourselves with the vibrant historiography of women in South Asia (the region of contemporary India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) from 1500 to the present. We will explore the evolution of institutions and practices shaping women’s lives such as the family, religious traditions, and legal traditions. We will then examine the impact of colonial rule, nationalism, and decolonization upon South Asian women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While a significant proportion of the readings will be focused on South Asia, we will also read key works on women in North Africa, the Middle East, and East and Southeast Asia. This will enable us to place and evaluate the South Asianist historiography within the broader field of women’s history. Assignments will include leading class discussions, a 6–8 page (double-spaced) midterm paper, and a 15–20 page final paper. | ||
| 280F.005 - Travel, Print, Nation, in premodern Japan | Franks | |
| W 4-6 2303 Dwinelle | CCN: 39822 | |
| This seminar will be an introduction to scholarship on premodern Japan, with a special emphasis on recent trends in the historiography of the early modern period. During the first few weeks, readings will familiarize students with the growing body of English-language scholarship on pilgrimage in the ancient, medieval, and early modern periods. In the second half of the semester, we shall focus more narrowly on the early modern period, when the emergence of mass tourism redefined the ends and the experience of travel and pilgrimage, which now became available to commoners as well as elites. In particular, we shall examine the recent scholarly attention to the links between travel and the emerging publishing industry in the development of a proto-national Japanese identity; we shall consider how recent works have challenged the long-established, one-dimensional view of the Tokugawa period as conservative and dominated by an oppressive regime bent on "freezing" the social order and quashing commoner initiative and mobility. | ||
| 280G - Late Imperial and Modern China: Guide to Historical Documents in Chinese | Yeh | |
| Th 4-6P 2231 Dwinelle | CCN: 39825 | |
| This seminar offers an overview of major types of historical documents foundational to research projects in late imperial and modern Chinese history. It also presents the institutional contexts within which these materials were produced. Topics will include Qing memorials, veritable records, local gazetteers, essay compilations, biographies, miscellaneous writings, stele inscriptions, Republican periodicals, and personal diaries and correspondence. Special attention, with guided readings, will be paid to palace memorials, local gazetteers, Qing county archives, Republican periodicals and Nationalist Party materials held at the Hoover Institution. Students are encouraged to make frequent library visits and to familiarize themselves with database collections. They are to lead readings in seminar meetings and to complete translation exercises. They are also to complete a term project that demonstrates archival and bibliographic research skills. Advanced level of Chinese is required for participation in this seminar. | ||
Britain |
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| 285C - Modern Imperial Britain: A Research Seminar | Vernon | |
| Tu 10A-12P 2227 Dwinelle | CCN: 39891 | |
| Updated January 26, 2011 | ||
| Note New Room. | ||
| Last meeting in 104 Dwinelle is on 1/25. | ||
| The purpose of this course is to enable you to write a research paper on a topic of your choice on an area of British or imperial history. Accordingly the focus is not on a particular thematic or problem but on the process of research and writing itself. We will also use the class to discuss more general matters of professional development - looking forward to your doctoral work, publishing and getting a job. | ||
Comparative |
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| 280U.001 - Humanitarianism | Laqueur | |
| W 2-5P 2505 Tolman | CCN: 39843 | |
| This course is co-taught by Professor Seth Koven, Rutgers University. | ||
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The course will ask the general question "what is humanitarianism?" It will develop answers by engaging primary as well as secondary sources, both contemporary and historical, mostly but not entirely European and north American, that address two distinct but related domains. The first of a public nature: the relationship of humanitarianism to culturally specific understanding of "'human;'" the development of humanitarianism with respect to human rights and the specific legal obligations of the modern human rights regime; the purported status of humanitarianism as being above politics, for example. All of these issues and more we will study in specific contexts and crisis: anti-slavery, the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and so on. The second domain is more intimate: we will examine humanitarianism as an aspect of the making of the ethical subject from the eighteenth to the twenty first century by examining both general theoretical works and specific case studies of individuals and groups. In addition to weekly readings and active seminar participation each student or group of students will be asked to develop an research dossier on a particular group or cause and present findings to the seminar. |
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Europe |
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| 275B - Europe in the Twentieth Century | Connelly | |
| W 4-6P 2303 Dwinelle | CCN: 39723 | |
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This course is not meant to cover the history of 20th century Europe. Its goal rather is to stimulate conversation on a series of provocative questions relating to the history of the continent in this period. Course readings touch upon following issues: Revolutionary era: 1917 and beyond Enemies of democracy and their programs Leninist and fascist "civilizations" Submersion of the world wars in European collective memory collaboration: "Victims" as collaborators. Collaborators as "democrats." Intellectuals and the Cold War The dialectics of German unity in a divided Europe Revolutionary era: 1989 and beyond Europe unified and divided: the Bosnian crisis Throughout the emphasis is on readability and new questions, rather than on panoramic view or systematic geographic and thematic coverage. Students will write one twenty page paper on a subject of their choice, as well as a number of short reviews. |
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| 280B.003 - Introduction to Soviet Historiography | Slezkine | |
| Tu 2-4P 2227 Dwinelle | CCN: 39765 | |
| The landmarks of Soviet historiography from Leon Trotsky to the latest academic fad, in loose chronological order. Weekly book reviews, no papers. | ||
| 280B.004 - Reason and Critique | Jay | |
| F 2-4P 201 Wheeler | CCN: 39768 | |
| This seminar will explore the interaction between critique and rationality since the Enlightenment. Among the topics we will address are the theological origins of modern thought and the relation between religion and critique, the legacy of German Idealism, the Frankfurt School’s distinction between traditional and critical theory, the hermeneutic and phenomenological critique of reason, the feminist response to the communicative rationalism of Habermas, and relationship between philosophical rationalism and social rationalization. In addition to a number of secondary sources, we will read primary texts by Kant, Hegel, Weber, Horkheimer, Heidegger, Habermas and Gadamer. | ||
| 280B.006 - The Problem of Enlightenment | Sheehan | |
| W 4-6P 2231 Dwinelle | CCN: 39771 | |
| Arguably, in the past 25 years, the Enlightenment has effectively collapsed as a set of philosophical, political, and social prescriptions. It has, at the same time, become far more various, plural, and local in its historical character. This course proposes to take up the problem of Enlightenment as a topic of historical research in this post-national moment, and aims both to survey recent historiography and to identify directions for promising future work. | ||
| 285B - Animals in European History, 1300-1900 | Sahlins | |
| Th 2-4P 2231 Dwinelle | CCN: 39867 | |
| This course samples some of the recent literature on human-animal relations and the field of “Animal Studies,” specifically the histories (cultural, economic, philosophical) of animals in early modern Europe – from the late medieval period through the nineteenth century. We will consider a series of case studies about animals – medieval bestiaries, criminal trials of animals, animals in literature, the history of zoos, animal portraiture, anatomy and dissection, colonial beasts, the history of animal welfare legislation, animals in the Cartesian and other traditions – through a series of monographs and articles written over the last 20 years, and considering a selected number of primary texts. The course is interdisciplinary within the social sciences and humanities, treating animals as “good to think” (Levi-Strauss) in relation to the broad transformations of European society during this period. Interested students are encouraged to contact the instructor (sahlins@berkeley.edu) before the end of the fall semester. | ||
Latin America |
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| 285E.001 - Research Seminar in Latin American History | Healey | |
| F 1000 A 1200 P 2307 DWINELLE | CCN: 39906 | |
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This is a research seminar: over the course of a semester, each of you will be working on an article-length piece of original research in Latin American history, based on a significant collection of primary sources. This course will be rewarding if you make a strong, early, and steady effort in bringing together sources, posing questions, and starting writing. Delays, blockages, and diversions are sure to come, but the way to overcome them is to start promptly and work steadily. It is essential to gather an adequate body of sources to work with, and this needs to happen at the outset of your project. Therefore, the first month is often the most important time in this course. You will be working on your own for much of this semester, but keeping in close contact with me, and also with others in the workshop. It is essential that you keep me posted on your progress; I expect to have an email update from you every week (at least two paragraphs), and I expect to meet with you in office hours every other week, if not more often. A sign up sheet for times will be posted. We will not meet often as a group, and when we do meet, it will be in a workshop format, to discuss and critique each other’s drafts. You will be graded on your own research and writing, and also on your participation in these workshop sessions. |
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Methodology |
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| 283 - History and Theory | Klein | |
| Th 10A-12P 2227 Dwinelle | CCN: 39855 | |
| Updated January 26, 2011 | ||
| Note New Room. | ||
| History 283 is a readings course in history and theory. | ||
Science |
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| 285S - Research Seminar: Modern Science | Carson | |
| W 12-2P 202 Wheeler | CCN: 39930 | |
| Research seminar on the history of science, 19th century to the present. All approaches and topics are fair game; one broad theme will be the ways science has been understood as a distinctively modern enterprise. Students in science studies fields are welcome but should be prepared to write a historical paper. Along with producing an original piece of research, students will be expected to critique each others' papers and to give a final presentation. | ||
United States |
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| 280D/285D - U.S. Cultural and Intellectual History: Global Contexts | Candida-Smith | |
| M 4-6P 202 Wheeler | ||
| 280D.001 - CCN: 39789 285D.002 - CCN: 39897 | ||
| This course explores transnational dimensions of United States cultural and intellectual history. Among the topics to be considered are the role of empire in shaping U.S. culture and institutions; the role of the United States in the formation of global cultural markets; the interaction of political, social, and intellectual movements across borders; efforts within the U.S. to build or resist regional and global organizations; institutional, political, and cultural differences within the United States that shaped attitudes and actions in other parts of the world; the relation of what Joseph Nye has called “soft power” to U.S. military and economic expansion. The course introduces students to a range of dynamic writing on this aspect of U.S. history. The course can provide the foundation for a field in comparative cultural/intellectual history. | ||
| 285D.001 - Politics and Culture in American History | Peterson | |
| Tu 12-2P 211 Dwinelle | CCN: 39894 | |
| This course will be co-taught by Professor Robin Einhorn | ||
| This graduate research seminar is designed to encourage original investigation of topics in American history, from the colonial period through the 20th century, especially those exploring relationships between the structures and assumptions of lived experience (culture) and struggles for power within and among those structures (politics). The range of interests and topics that might fall under this rubric is very wide. The early weeks of the seminar will be devoted to reading and discussion of exemplary and provocative works in this vein, but the primary aim of the course will be the production of individual article-length research essays of publishable quality. | ||
Related Interest |
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| 200X.001 - The Bancroft Library Press Room Course: "The Hand Printed Book in its Historical Context" | Ferriss | |
| W 1-5P Bancroft Library | ||
| This course does not count for History major course credit. | ||
| A one-semester, two-unit course open to both graduate and undergraduate students. There are no prerequisites but enrollment is limited to six and by consent of the instructor. Two sections are offered, Wednesday and Friday. Interested students should contact Les Ferriss at lesferriss@earthlink.net. Under the guidance of the instructor, students will examine and discuss original printed books from the Bancroft collections, ranging from 15th century to the present. The class will also hand-set and print a small book on the Bancroft’s iron handpresses. The texts are drawn from the Bancroft’s manuscript collections. | ||
| 200X.002 - The Bancroft Library Press Room Course: "The Hand Printed Book in its Historical Context" | Ferriss | |
| F 1-5P Bancroft Library | ||
| This course does not count for History major course credit. | ||
| A one-semester, two-unit course open to both graduate and undergraduate students. There are no prerequisites but enrollment is limited to six and by consent of the instructor. Two sections are offered, Wednesday and Friday. Interested students should contact Les Ferriss at lesferriss@earthlink.net. Under the guidance of the instructor, students will examine and discuss original printed books from the Bancroft collections, ranging from 15th century to the present. The class will also hand-set and print a small book on the Bancroft’s iron handpresses. The texts are drawn from the Bancroft’s manuscript collections. | ||
| 200Y - The Book as Object: Lectures on Connoisseurship and the Printed Book | Koch | |
| Tues 1-4 375 Bancroft Library | CCN: 39719 | |
| NEW COURSE for Spring 2011! This course does not count for History major course credit. | ||
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A one-semester, two-unit course open to both graduate and undergraduate students. For 2500 years the codex has dominated world culture as the primary material linguistic object. From the invention of printing until today the role of the physical book has remained essentially unchanged. Digital electronic text transmission and high definition imaging is changing everything. What of the physical book is worth saving and why? What is not? and finally—What is worth advancing? These are among the most important questions facing the civilizations of the book today. This seminar addresses these very questions while advancing the concept of the book as a deeply rich medium soaked in cultural history and now, for the first time in millennia, subject to radical change. Lectures and demonstrations will center around examining exemplary and rare books in the Bancroft Library’s magnificent collections: focusing on the material culture of papermaking, bookbinding, typography, printing history, the illustrated book, the book as a work of art, contemporary book arts and fine printing. Guest lectures, demonstrations, and field trips are included. Textbooks: A Short History of the Printed Word, Bringhurst/Chapple. Vancouver (latest edition) The Elements of Typographic Style, Robert Bringhurst. Vancouver, (latest edition) Sample seminar topics and lectures 1) The legend and legacy of Gutenberg : the invention of printing from moveable type and an introduction to typographic language. 2) From Manuscript to Artist’s Book : A introduction to the physical support of texts . 3) An introduction to paper and papermaking. The influence of paper design and manufacture on printing and the book from the age of the hand press to digital piezoelectric imaging. 4) The birth and perfection of Roman and Italic typefaces and the role of the Renaissance scholar / printer : Examining “the most beautiful book in the world” and the continuing influence of Venetian printing on the contemporary book. 5) The Illustrated Book : art and information in book format from incunabula to the invention of photography 6) The Book as a Work of Art : from noble editions for collectors to contemporary book arts on a global scale. |
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Research and Teaching Credit |
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| 290 - Historical Colloquium: History of Science | Mazzotti | |
| M 4-6P 470 Stephens | CCN: 39936 | |
| This is a 1-credit S/U graduate course in history of science, accompanying the history of science colloquium and the brownbag series. It meets every Monday, 4-6 pm. Meetings consist of: invited lecture on a special topics, followed by an extended session of questions and answers; informal discussions over the work of affiliated scholars; and roundtable sessions on broader methodological issues in the history of science and technology. The course brings you up to the research front in these topics, interacting with historians on subjects that currently engage their scholarship. Attendance is compulsory. | ||
| 296 - Dissertation Research and Writing | ||
| CCN: 39942 | ||
| 298 - Employment Credits | ||
| CCN: 39945 | ||
| 601 - M.A. Preparation | ||
| CCN: 40041 | ||
| 602 - PhD Orals Prep | ||
| CCN: 40044 | ||