Winter 2024 Undergraduate Courses

Format: Remote

This is not your high school history class. We won’t ignore presidents and generals but we will also push beyond them to look at ordinary people, popular culture, and the unexpected ideas that shaped American history from Native American settlement to the aftermath of the Civil War. We will pay particular attention to the interaction among Europeans Africans and the Native Peoples of the New World. We will also explore historical methodologies, practice critical thinking, and discuss how this history has shaped the country we know today. We will use film, music, and compelling stories to show that history is not just a list of names and dates; it is a gripping drama of individuals and groups from foot soldiers to farmers striving to create a new nation. USH

Format: Remote

Introduction to major themes and events in the histories of China, Korea, Japan, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia in recent centuries. Considers the impacts of colonialism and imperialism, the emergence of nationalist and revolutionary movements, decolonization and the Cold War. Our goal is to understand the historical forces and transformations shaping contemporary Asia, the common experiences that different areas of Asia have shared in the recent past, and what distinguishes the histories of particular Asian nations within a comparative perspective. This course is the same as AS 182 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements. AAL

Format: Remote

This course explores the history of the Old South from the colonial period until the Civil War (1600-1860). Topics to be covered include: the development of the chattel slavery, the creation of sectional identity and the idea of the southern exceptionalism, the rise of “King Cotton,” southern cultural and religious practices, the plantation community, and proslavery ideology. This class considers the construction of southern identity though the experiences of white and black southerners, both slaves and free, as well as experiences particular to women. The class will combine both lecture and small group discussion. USH

Format: Remote

This research seminar explores the many ways Americans have remembered and commemorated war in their history. From colonial wars of settlement in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to our current “war on terror,” we will examine the formal and informal ways Americans have memorialized their martial experiences, and how those memorial strategies have shaped American society. And we will debate the profound ways that the experience of war, both for soldiers and civilians, have transformed lives for better and for worse. Students will engage with the topic though a variety of primary and secondary sources, including works of literature, visual images, and film. Students will conduct primary source research on a topic of their choosing in relation to the themes and questions of the course. USH