History

The two German political regimes of the era from 1918 to 1945 - the Weimar Republic born out of the Great War and the Nazi dictatorship that destroyed it - exemplified and contributed directly to the reshaping of European (and non-European) life in the twentieth century. This research seminar for senior history majors and minors will examine some of the approaches scholars have taken to understanding social, intellectual, cultural, and political aspects of life under these two governments as well as their effects on our understanding and experience of the "modern" world.

In this 300-level seminar we will study narratives that blend personal stories with historical events in various times and places. We'll also examine local, national, and global events and other historical aspects of the recent era in which students have lived. Each student will develop a multi-media research project to create a narrative of her/his/their own experiences, opportunities, and challenges in historical context. Pre-Requisite: One 100- or 200-level HIST course Fulfills HU Distribution.

This course uses the stories of people's lives - memoirs, biographies, and oral histories - to study the history of the African continent. Some historians assume that the only "legitimate' sources for historical knowledge are archival documents. In contrast, this course insists that history is fundamentally a craft of story tellers. Through this lens, we will study the craft of writing a life story in the African context. What's in a life? What does it mean to record and narrate the story of someone else's life?

Exploration and analysis of American society, culture, domestic politics, and foreign relations since World War II.

This course examines the Asian region from 1650 to the present. We discuss the creation, dismantling, and continuing remnants of colonialism, World Wars I and II in the Asian context, the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and recent economic development. The course begins with an overview of Asian geography, culture, and history. It is designed to introduce students to major events and issues of modern Asia and also to improve students’ skills in critical reading, writing, use of primary and secondary sources, and oral communication.

This course covers three revolutions in modern Chinese history: 1) the rise of the Communist Party; 2) the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976, using memoirs of Chinese who lived through that decade; 3) the “economic revolution” of the 1980s and 1990s in the context of the Pacific Rim region. Fulfills HU requirement. Also offered through Asian Studies and Peace Studies.