View all with day/time information
ALST 282, The Making of Modern Africa
Surveys the history of Africa from 1880s to the contemporary period. Major themes will include: the imperial scramble and partition of Africa; African resistances; colonial rule in Africa; independence and problems of independence; socio-economic developments in independent Africa; ethnic conflicts; crises and contemporary issues.
CORE 171C, Mexico
An interdisciplinary introduction to the history, people, art and cultures of Mexico, a country of diverse ethnic, sexual, gendered, class, and political identities that shares a 2,000-mile border with the United States. How does Mexico’s colonial past inform the present? On what terms has a Mexican national identity been defined and who is included or excluded from rights and citizenship? Objectives are to examine Mexico’s complex history and social fabric; to study Mexican identities, politics, and cultural expressions with relation to this history; and to gain a general understanding of contemporary Mexico in the context of current events and Mexico’s relationship to the United States.
CORE 173C, Ethiopia
Surveys the culture, religion, communities, history, and socio-economic developments of Ethiopia from the ancient times to the modern period. Ethiopia is home to over 80 ethnic groups with striking cultures that are distinct from Western traditions. Major themes include peoples and languages; traditional customs and beliefs; Christianity and Islam; marriages; community service organizations; literature, novels; education; ethnic relations; traditional art and music; colonial resistance; sports; socio-economic developments; natural resources usage; Ethiopia and Europe; the Ethiopian revolution; Ethiopian immigrants in the United States; traditional harmful practices; and politics. Emphasis is also given to contemporary issues. Lectures are supplemented by discussions, film presentation, group activity, and coffee ceremony.
CORE 177C, Peru
The Latin American country Peru evokes dramatic and conflicting images of spectacular natural settings, ancient ruins, cosmopolitan cities, shantytowns, street children, poverty and more. It is a country of extremes. This course offers an interdisciplinary inquiry into this ecologically and culturally diverse land. The course begins by exploring the distinct geography and ecology of the central Andean region (rainforest, mountains, desert, and ocean) in order to understand how these features have shaped the societies that inhabit the region of present-day Peru. This involves analyzing the evolution and organization of Pre-Columbian societies, paying special attention to the Inca civilization. It also examines the ideologies, institutions and practices introduced with the Spanish conquest and era of colonialism in order to understand their impact on indigenous society and their relevance to the state of underdevelopment that characterizes contemporary Peru. Study of present-day Peru juxtaposes rural and urban life, the ties between the two spheres, and the crisis conditions that enveloped both ways of life until recently. Specific issues include the internal armed conflict, the coca culture and cocaine economy, shantytowns and land invasions, oil extraction and indigenous resistance, among other compelling issues. Throughout the term, this course emphasizes the many paradoxes of this intriguing land.
CORE 180C, French Caribbean
Martinique, a 400 square-mile island, is an official part of France today despite being 4200 miles away from mainland France. French is the official language but most Martinicans freely express themselves in Creole. The majority of Martinicans will declare that they are, first and foremost, citizens of the French Republic, but will also readily admit that they are Martinican by culture. What is striking about Martinique is the dizzying array of cultural signifiers that seem to coexist in a veritable braided community, in which it can be genuinely difficult to tell where one cultural identity strand ends and another begins. Martinique is thus a fabulous lens through which this process of negotiating and renegotiating of cultures, languages, and identities can be viewed, and can be considered a precursor to modern-day globalization.
CORE 190C, South Africa
Aims to provide students with an overview of the social, cultural, political, and economic dynamics that have shaped life in South Africa. Students and faculty work together to better understand the way in which the country of South Africa came into being, how that national identity has been a site of struggle and contestation, particularly in the case of the struggle to overcome Apartheid, and how South Africans are working to overcome the legacy of racism and oppression that has marked much of the social and cultural experience of South Africa. In doing so, students investigate the changing dynamics of race, gender, and culture in South Africa, with a particular focus on understanding the ways South Africans are actively reshaping and unsettling existing social identities and distinctions.
CORE 198C, Cuba
Examines the complex geographic, historic, social, racial, literary, political, and artistic fabric of Cuba. Historical readings explore major themes of Cuban history, while literary and personal narratives provide insight into social and political realities. These themes are complemented by a study of Cuban film, dance and music as agents of identity formation.
HIST 103, American History to 1877
A broad survey of key patterns, events, and the history of peoples in America from ca. 1500 to 1877. Covers the breadth of Native American life and the effects of European settlement, the colonial and constitutional periods through the age of reform, the crisis of union, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. Prepares students for upper-level courses in early American history. (US)
HIST 106, The Making of Modern Africa
Surveys the history of Africa from 1880s to the contemporary period. Major themes will include: the imperial scramble and partition of Africa; African resistances; colonial rule in Africa; independence and problems of independence; socio-economic developments in independent Africa; ethnic conflicts; crises and contemporary issues. (AF)
HIST 209, Atlantic World, 1492-1800
The events that followed Columbus' accidental arrival in the New World in 1492 shaped the world in which we live today. This course explores the formation of the Atlantic communities as the result of interactions between European, African, and Native American peoples as well as the circulation of diseases, natural products, labor systems, imperial designs, economic policies, and frontier zones in the Atlantic world. Many of the consequences of this process of interaction were unintended. Students explore the configuration of European, African, and Native American societies before contact and the configuration of new communities in the New World; the slave trade and the establishment of the plantation complex from Brazil to South Carolina; the spread of Christianity in the New World; the development of scientific practices in the service of imperial and national states; the establishment of labor systems; and the different strategies of accommodation, resistance, and rebellion of the different actors trying to find/protect their place in the Atlantic world. This course intends to provide a regional framework for the study of colonial societies in the western hemisphere as well as for the study of emerging empires and states in Europe. (LAC)
HIST 218, African Amer Struggle-Freedom
Surveys the presence of African Americans in the United States and their struggle for freedom under the concept of democracy. Examines African origins, the Middle Passage, the creation of an African American culture in slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the growth of black communities in the face of hostility, the African American impact on American culture, the Civil Rights movement, and the continuing struggle by African Americans to make democracy real. (US)
POSC 216, Comparative Pol: Latin America
Today Latin America is one of the most democratic regions of the developing world, although it faces problems of inequality, gridlock, and economic growth. Latin America's 20th-century experiences of coups, revolutions, and instability also present important lessons for comparative politics. This course introduces students to the countries of Latin America and the important patterns of similarity and difference that can help them understand political development and elucidate comparative trends. Regime type is one prism through which students examine the region's countries, including democracy, semi-democracy, and various authoritarian regimes, especially bureaucratic authoritarianism. Another important topic is the United States' relationship with the region's polities, on issues like the Cold War, drug wars, and economic policies. In addition to big countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, the course also focuses on countries of particular student interest. (CO)