Introductory Surveys

This history explores concepts of citizenship and belonging in the United States through the Civil War. The course begins with pre-colonial indigenous history and moves through colonization, nation-forming, slavery, and abolitionism. Students learn about inclusion, exclusion, and belonging, particularly as related to race, gender, and diversity in the physical and metaphorical space that is/becomes "America".

This history explores concepts of citizenship and belonging in the United States from the end of the Civil War through the twentieth century. The course begins with the end of slavery, moves through Reconstruction, racial segregation, imperialism, and civil rights movements. Students learn about inclusion, exclusion, and belonging, particularly as related to race, gender, and diversity in the physical and metaphorical space that is "America".

Through an examination of canonical texts that span three continents and two millennia (500 BCE- 1600 CE), students will learn how ancient, medieval, and early modern ideas of justice and the common good have played a crucial role in shaping modern societies, institutions, and values. Students will also explore how notions of diversity, gender, and belonging have evolved since antiquity.  

Development of Western civilization from the sixteenth century to the present and its impact on the non-Western world.

This course examines East Asia from about 1400 to the present, analyzing the region’s early modernity and its violent transformations in the modern era. Students will learn how empires and nations used ethnicity, race, and distinct views of civilizations to legitimate themselves from ca. 1400 to the present. Students will also explore the connections between history and contemporary affairs.

The "discovery" of the Americas is one of the most important historical events. The collision between "old" and "new" worlds brought about the creation of several multi-ethnic societies that comprise Latin America. This course will examine Latin America from pre-Colombian period, conquest, and three hundred years of European rule.

From the Wars of Independence in the nineteenth century to the various revolutions, dictatorships, and social movements of the twentieth century. Latin American societies have gone through upheavals and changes. This course will examine how these 200 years of transformations have worked to form modern Latin America.