History (HIST)

A survey of important historical developments from prehistoric times to 1500. Emphasis is given to the rise and decline of great world civilizations and their lasting contributions to humanity. May be used for general education credit.

A survey of important historical developments from 1500 to the present. Emphasis is given to the growth of nationalism, the development of colonialism, and to world events, problems, and conflicts of the present century. May be used for general education credit.

This course examines issues in recent history as a means to introduce, develop and enhance critical thinking skills and to supplement writing, oral communication, library and computing skills objectives for General Education Madison Foundations. A seminar format allows for careful examination of issues in both oral and written formats. The course emphasizes the development and articulation of well-reasoned arguments in organized and grammatically acceptable prose. May be used for general education credit. May not be used for major credit.

A survey of U.S. history from the Colonial period to the present, emphasizing the development of American civic life, the involvement of the U.S. in world affairs and the cultural richness of the American people. This course stresses the analysis and interpretation of primary sources. May be used for general education credit.

The study of selected topics in history at the introductory level.

Emphasis is placed on the social and cultural aspects, as well as the emerging role the continent plays in contemporary world history.

This course is an introduction to modern historical experiences of East Asia, particularly China, Japan and Korea. In addition to overviews of each of these countries, the course will focus on several topics illustrating both the unity and diversity of East Asia: perceptions of each other, the philosophical tradition of Confucianism, the role of imperialism and nationalism, revolution, reform and the future of the region in the twenty-first century.

This course is aimed at helping our majors transition to careers using history. Students will learn about where to look for a job, how to get it and how to thrive in it. Students will hear about the career paths of history majors. Students will produce a job-market oriented product such as a cover letter, a resume or other product that would help them in searching for a post-college job.

A seminar that introduces students to the methodological questions central to the discipline of history. Students learn how to recognize and appreciate the diversity of historical interpretation; how to identify, locate and interrogate secondary and primary sources; how to integrate critical analysis of evidence into writing; and how to employ different modes to present historical knowledge. Open to all students but required of history majors.

There is no group of people in the world more urban-minded than Latin Americans. Historically, cities in this region played an all-encompassing role that included administration as well as the reproduction of capital and responsibility for virtually all cultural activities. This class explores that history alongside plans for further urban development, cultural activities and architectural design.

This course will examine the history of early America from the colonial to the early national period. Topics will include the clash of African, European and Native American cultures, the regionalization of the American colonies, the growth of American slavery, and the creation of an American character and politics.

A survey of the experiences of Native Peoples, including Native Hawaiians and Native Alaskans, from the pre-contact period to the present, with emphasis on traditional lifeways, impact of Anglo Americans, cultural persistence and revivals, activism, and contemporary challenges to Native communities and identities.

Over the last 2000 years, there have been recurring controversies over the proper relationship between science and Christianity. This class uses case studies such as Galileo, Darwin and creationism to explore the larger cultural context that gave life to the controversies. In the process, we'll examine changing ideas of what counts as science, how to interpret the Bible, and who gets to decide.

This course views the human body as a historical artifact whose physical appearance and social, cultural and political meanings reflect the historical contexts of specific times and places. The emphasis is on the perspectives of Europeans and their descendants, inside Europe and beyond it.

This course explores the origins, processes and outcomes of the infamous trade. By studying participants' lives in Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America, the course helps students understand people's inhumanity to each other and the ways in which slavery and the trade in slaves forever altered the development of the Atlantic world.

A study of Italian society, economics, politics and the arts from 1814 to the present.

A survey of important historical developments in France from 1648 to the present. It explores how complex historical legacies in French society define and shape the experience of "being French" and how different groups and citizens work with and against each other in a collective effort to define the early modern and modern French experience. Points of focus include economy, society, culture and religion, state, politics, and borders.

A survey of Chinese history from its earliest origins to the fall of the Ming Empire in the 17th century. The course incorporates translated primary materials and modern scholarship to provide a general picture of Chinese state formation, socio-economic changes, and literature and arts during the three millennia. It will also discuss the teachings and intellectual impacts of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in East Asia through the ages.

A survey of Japanese history from the end of the Warring States Period to the present. It first introduces Tokugawa society in the 17th and 18th centuries and then examines the Meiji period in detail, focusing on political and cultural changes, the rise of ultra-nationalism, the military expansion before WWII, and the course of the war. The last part of the course will discuss the American occupation, postwar developments, and the last two decades in Japan.

Currently the largest minority group in the U.S., Latinos have diverse sociological and historical origins, yet today in the U.S. are thought of as a monolithic racial and ethnic group. Starting with the Spanish and Portuguese colonial enterprise and continuing through current debates, this class will provide an introduction to and overview of the broad scholarship on Latino and Hispanic identity in the United States, examining issues of coercion, migration, refugees, labor, family networks, religion, war, economics, state building, politics, racialization, international disputes and globalization.

This course will look at themes and patterns in world history before 1500. Topics will include practical issues, such as ways to feed people and develop trading networks; different ways to run increasingly complicated societies, from small nomadic groups to cities to empires; patterns of disease and epidemics and environmental changes; the changing roles of ideas and religions and education; varying ideas about gender roles and class structures; and many ways people tried to integrate different peoples, cultures and ideas into a unified society.

An interpretive study of the role of sports globally. Time periods and specific nations will vary depending on the faculty member teaching the course, but all will consider sport across time and place.

An overview of the major political, philosophical, social and literary events that helped shape the world of the founders. James Madison's life will provide the framework for the course and emphasis will be given to his important role during this era.

Epidemics captivate and terrify us. Americans and others around the world are obsessed with epidemic diseases and their social, cultural, political and economic effects. But why are we so fascinated by epidemics? How have humans responded to epidemics historically, and have those responses varied by place or evolved over time? This course seeks to answer these questions and others by examining the history of epidemic diseases in modern world history, using selected case studies to investigate the social, cultural, political and economic effects of disease outbreaks.

An interdisciplinary and comparative exploration of human violence. The course uses theoretical studies and empirical research to address big questions about the kinds, causes and consequences of violence in human societies from the deep past to the present. Students examine everyday and extraordinary forms of violence, debate if and how violence has declined across time, and learn to use historical methodologies to better understand conflict and coercion in today's world.

This course examines the experiences of women employed in a variety of industries and workplaces in twentieth-century U.S. history. Topics include women's employment opportunities, experiences of sexism and other biases, collective action to change working conditions, innovation and entrepreneurship of women, and popular culture portrayals of gender in workplaces.

PeopleSoft Course ID 005864 Grading Basis GRD A survey of the role of women in the United States from the Colonial period to the present. Attention is given to contributions of the ordinary women, the Women's Rights movements, the impact of women on reform and political movements, and the changing status of women in society.

This class examines categories of gender, masculinity and femininity, as well as patriarchy and sexuality in the context of Modern Europe. The course will cover the significance of Republican Motherhood, the birth of feminism, the effects of empire, war and dictatorship on gender and sexuality, and the contradictions of sexuality and morality in Europe from the 18th to 20th centuries. With an emphasis on transnationalism, the course gives special attention to issues of gender and sexuality in England, France, Germany and the former Soviet Union. These same topics will be discussed in the context of European Empire.

During the era of Jim Crow-a period that spanned the years from the 1890s to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s-state laws, municipal ordinances and social customs racially segregated public and private life across the American South. Jim Crow, as both legal framework and social practice, shaped the everyday lives of three generations of Southerners, both black and white. This class examines the complexities of segregation-its legal boundaries, its social and cultural peculiarities, and its violent enforcement. It especially focuses on the political actions that challenged and eventually dismantled it.

Economic, cultural and social history of the antebellum South, 1790-1860. The region's political history will serve as a supporting part of the course.

This course focuses on the history and politics of racial violence in the United States since Emancipation. It explores what it means to bear witness to these difficult, disturbing, suppressed, and yet critical events that continue to define the present world that we inhabit. The course thus asks that we encounter disturbing, violent and racially sensitive material. But we do so out of a sincere conviction that we cannot find a path to restitution, reconciliation and repair without first acknowledging, confronting and reckoning with the crimes of the past.

This course is an introduction to the history of Roman imperialism and the Roman Empire (ca. 60 BCE - ca. 600 CE). Students will approach the past both chronologically and thematically, with an emphasis on cultural, social, military and political history, and on daily life and lived experiences throughout the Roman empire. Students will study ancient texts and artifacts and become familiar with major scholarly views and debates about the Roman empire.

This course uses the automobile as a window into 20th century American life. It examines the influence of automobility on patterns of work and leisure; on struggles over gender, race and ethnicity; on individualism, consumerism and government regulation. It also surveys mass automobility's effects on our physical and natural environments and looks at future prospects of automobility in the information age.

Americans -individuals and groups- have used technology to do many things; some good, some bad. Never has it been neutral. This course explores the complex and changing relationship between technology and American society from Native American canoes in the 17th century to Facebook trolling in the early 21st Century, paying particular attention to technology's role in America's dynamic gender, race and workplace relationships along the way.

This course traces the intellectual, technical, mechanical and scientific developments that had a profound effect on the ways people saw and understood their world from 1880-1914. The course explores peoples' relationships to the environment; state structures; and turn-of-the-century revolutionary political, economic and cultural ideas with a focus on Europe, the US and the impact of "western" technological change on the world.

The Civil War and Reconstruction are arguably the central events in United States History. But in the last several decades, the ways in which historians and other Americans interpret and remember the Civil War era have radically changed. This course critically examines these developments through the eyes of Frederick Douglass, a radical abolitionist and self-proclaimed "woman's rights man," who profoundly shaped Americans' views on slavery, abolition and civil rights for Black and female Americans.

The course introduces students to the purposes, subject matter, methodology and historical background of the discipline of historical archaeology. Building on research issues and methodologies of anthropological archaeology and history, the multidisciplinary aspects of this field are introduced through field trips, projects, guest lectures, readings and classroom presentations.

This course will trace the twentieth-century political and social history of Spain including the Second Republic, the Spanish Civil War, the Franco regime, and the transition to democracy in 1975. The course will pay special attention to Franco's dictatorship, the role of women, the Catholic Church, as well as Spain's relationship to the rest of Europe.

This is an interdisciplinary class designed to integrate perspectives from various disciplines, especially history, geography and economics, into a coherent account of an increasingly globalized world. Particular attention will be paid to map construction and use (both historical and contemporary) and the relationship between economic ideas and world events. The class will focus on a variety of case studies over the last millennium.

This course examines the modern origins of nationalism, its historical development as a political and economic theory, and its consequences, including ethnic cleansing and genocide, in a variety of case studies in order to answer these and other questions. The course will consider questions such as: What is nationalism? Do nations create nationalism or does nationalism create nations? Why does the modern world vest sovereignty in the nation? This course is intended to fulfill requirements for the International Affairs major.

This course guides students in applying historical thinking and the use of evidence outside the classroom. The course meets the Applying History requirement. Topics and approaches will vary by instructor. Course can be repeated for credit with different instructors and themes.

This course will advance understanding of the political, economic, social, cultural and intellectual history of the events that led to the formation of the United States as an independent democratic republic. This dynamic course considers the causes and consequences of the American Revolution, and examines questions such as: How high were taxes really? Why was throwing tea in the harbor the height of political intrigue? Why does every politician claim they are doing what the Founding Fathers would have wanted - and are all those other folks just wrong?

This course examines the intellectual and political negotiations that produced the United States Constitution. It explores the contemporary understandings of the pressing political crisis that confronted the U.S. in the period immediately following the Revolution and that demanded the prompt revision of the continental government. The bulk of the semester is devoted to a simulation of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, utilizing an innovative pedagogy known as Reacting to the Past.

In this course students explore the history of urban spaces in the United States by investigating American cities using a broad chronological, geographical, and thematic framework. Drawing from an array of primary and secondary sources, students will become familiar with the central themes of urban history, and also have the opportunity to produce their own narratives.

Selected themes are studied in depth. See MyMadison for current classes. Course may be repeated when content changes.

Provides students with practical experience in using historical skills in a public or private entity. Periodic student reports and seminar meetings required. This course may be repeated with permission of department head.

Selected themes are studied in depth. Course may be repeated when content changes. Only courses with significant content outside of Europe will count toward the world history requirement. See MyMadison and the history department website for information on current classes.

Selected themes are studied in depth. See MyMadison and the history department website for information on current classes. Course may be repeated when content changes.

In this course, students will use history to help understand the present. Whether it's applying historical questions to contemporary settings, leveraging historical skills to analyze current events or offering historical context to divisive issues, history can aid in thinking through the problems of today and even the possibilities of tomorrow.

This course examines the history of British India during the 19th and 20th centuries in relation to how the British colonial state interacted with India's natural environment. Students will learn how the British attempted to understand and control India's hilltops, forests and wildlife in effort to govern more efficiently, profitably and effectively. They will learn that this was not without challenges, however, as colonized subjects spoke up and acted out against British authority.

This course explores the history of attempts to heal Americans from disease over four centuries. The course will consider the complex interplay of scientific ideas about disease with the social and cultural contexts that shaped the experiences of people in accessing health care. Students will consider the increasing success with which medicine has healed the body, and the development of the medical professions from the late eighteenth century to the present. The course will also consider issues of public health as opposed to individual medical practice. Governments' and corporations' inevitable influence on public health measures, as the example of cigarettes shows, will be addressed. The influence of race, class and sex on how bodies are viewed and healthcare is received will be discussed.

This course covers the new British criminal code that redefined what constituted a crime and identified who was a criminal in the 19th century. Students will examine the nature of elite classes and the character of their relationship with subordinate classes. In addition, students will examine crime statistics and crime reports that provide information about behavior and experiences of people at the bottom of colonial society.

This course provides an analysis of advertising's roles in U.S. society from the late nineteenth century through the present. The course uses advertisements and other primary sources to consider how the advertising industry has shaped and reflected social norms, including ideas about gender, race, class, religion, sexuality and age. It will also consider the influence of advertising on art, entertainment and politics.

Islam arose out of established patterns of commercial mobility and cultural exchange, but it also produced new local and global movements and circulations that are a primary concern of this course. The annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, pastoral and nomadic seasonal migrations, inland and port city market relations, imperial capital supply systems, and Islamic travel literature anchor the mobility pillars of the course. While Islam generated new kinds of migrations and interactions, it also produced new cartographic structures and sensibilities built around new geographies, sciences and world views. European colonialism and nationalist movements in the Islamic world generated additional historical layers of mapping pressures, possibilities and realities. Islamic, European and national maps in the Muslim world form the cartographic pillars of the course.

This course explores the interplay between memory, history and place. Through readings, research projects and discussion, this course explores how recent trends are shaping the way we approach place and historical memory.

An interpretive survey of the history of Virginia from its Colonial beginnings to the present time.

This course offers critical perspectives on war in Afghanistan from historical and contemporary local and global perspectives. This course considers the philosophy of war and the Anglo-Afghan Wars (1839-1919). The course then deals with U.S.-Afghan relations during the Cold War, and covers the post-9/11 period. In the context of war in Afghanistan, the course provides critical analyses of democracy, inequality, neoliberalism, power and race.

A thematic introduction to the premodern Middle East, the course emphasizes the political, social and religious developments that have shaped the region's diverse communities and connected them to world history.

This course positions the Middle East in global cultural processes since the rise of Islam. It focuses on linguistic, commercial, religious, imperial and national development and interaction in the region between the Nile and Indus Rivers. The first part of the course considers Arab, Persian and Turkish cultural and historical contributions to the rise and expansion of Islam from roughly 600-1500. The second part of the course examines the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires with an emphasis on literary and artistic developments until about 1800. The third part examines European colonialism and nationalist activity in Palestine and Iran, and projections of American interests through educational exchange and development programs from the Cold War through the present.

A survey of the experience and changing status of African Americans in the United States from Reconstruction to the present, emphasizing the strengthening of social and cultural institutions; Afro-American leadership; the impact of segregation; the Great Migration; labor, protest and cultural movements; pan-Africanism; the Civil Rights Movement; and contemporary issues.

Fates of Empire looks at several different historical empires to gain an interdisciplinary perspective on what makes empires succeed or fall apart. The course will apply a variety of theoretical approaches from history, political science, economics and geography to consider each case study and the broader concept of empire. This class is particularly aimed at students in the social studies teacher licensure programs, to help them learn how to apply the history in middle and high school classrooms.

This course examines selected critical themes in the history of modern Africa. It explores historical transitions and challenges in making societies, economies and states. The thematic focus transcends traditional chronological boundaries to enable students to understand continuities and disruptions, the historical trajectories of Africa's complex situation, and its position in the world.

History provides a powerful way to think through complicated dilemmas common for policy analysts, practitioners and advocates. This course will consider how history can shape approaches to current U.S. and global policy problems. No previous experience in history is required.

Provides students with advanced research and writing opportunities. Student learning contract must be approved before a student can enroll. Periodic student reports and seminars required. Open to history majors only.

This course explores material religion in the history of the United States. Building on the insight that religions are embodied, material forms of practice, the course investigates the place of food, clothing, objects, buildings and landscapes in an array of religions throughout U.S. history.

The Connected History requirement offers classes that think historically about big-picture issues in a global context. Classes might consider regions or the globe. Topics and areas of the world will change with each instructor. Students may repeat this class for credit with different themes and instructors.

This course course is organized around a particular public history subject, theme or approach. Topics will vary by instructor. The course can be repeated for credit when the topic changes.

This course explores the political, social and diplomatic relations between the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. In each of these regions, Europeans, Africans and indigenous peoples came together in unequal colonial systems after 1492. The course will analyze cultural expressions such as theater, literature, music, film, poetry, essays and diplomatic correspondence to examine the interconnectedness of these regions and explore how the identities of these territories are shaped in connection to one another.

This course introduces students to the cultural, political, military, social, economic and intellectual history of the ancient Greek world by centering discussions and explorations of major controversies and theories that have shaped modern understandings of the history of the Greek world and its neighbors. Students will survey the broader history of ancient Greece, ca. 3000-30 BCE as the background to a focus on narrower themes like, but not limited to, civil war, environmental history, gender, identity and colonization. The course is a mixture of lectures, discussions, and collaborations in class. Students will read primary sources and modern scholarship.

A survey of the political, economic, military and religious history of the Byzantine Empire, 330-1453.

A survey of the history of the Indian subcontinent from antiquity to the present. The course stresses the arrival of Islam, the impact of Western colonization, the struggle for independence, and the problems and achievements of nationhood in the post-Colonial era.

This course addresses how the geographical space defined by the Hindu Kush section of Himalayan Mountain range and bordered by the Amu Darya or Oxus River in the north and Indus River in the east-southeast became known as Afghanistan. It examines repeated attempted imperial transformations of this decentralized frontier space to a bordered, centralized territorial state format from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries. It explores successive Mughal, Safavid, British, Russian and American policies, wars and occupations, as well as local adaptation, collaboration and resistance to those repeated imperial initiatives and agendas. Thematically, it engages questions about empire, state formation, social change, cultural resilience, warfare, technology and the environment.

This course surveys the history of the Ottoman Empire from its roots in medieval Anatolia through its demise in World War One. We will examine the persons, events, institutions, and ideas associated with imperial state formation, military expansion, cultural elaboration, political reformism, and the evolution of modern identities.

This course explores the plantations of the American South, both physical and imagined spaces. It challenges students to consider the spatial boundaries of the plantation, offering an examination of African trading posts, American slave markets and small courthouse towns along with the dwellings, outbuildings, fields and gardens of antebellum commercial slave agriculture. This broader spatial history framework uses a number of historical subfields, particularly architectural, environmental and public history, exposing students to a variety of scholarly perspectives. The class incorporates a wealth of primary material from diverse authors and points of view, including slave narratives, government records, travel accounts, letters, novels, paintings and architectural drawings, in order to demonstrate that the same physical landscape can be perceived differently depending on the viewer's perspective and experience. The course also includes on-site visits to two historic plantations.

A survey of Korean history from its earliest times to the present day. It is designed to develop an understanding in Korea, its historical tradition and the place of Korea in the larger narrative of East Asia and world history.

This course is an exploration of China's encounters with the modern world and the ways in which China has, and has not, changed as consequence of those encounters. Topics include the impacts of both Western and Japanese imperialisms; participation in international systems; adaptations of Christianity, democracy and communism; and the resulting upheavals in Chinese society.

This course is a survey of European history covering the late-imperial era, the world wars, the Cold War and the dynamics of European integration. Emphasis will be given to political, social, economic and cultural developments. Upon completing the course, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of major movements, figures and events in twentieth-century European history.

A survey of English history from the earliest times to the late 17th century. Particular attention is given to the rise of Parliament and the growth of limited monarchy.

This course examines the history of Russia as a world power under tsarist rule, including the development of the autocracy, the adoption of Orthodoxy, and the establishment and abolition of serfdom. It explores attempts to reform Russia from above and below and investigates the relationships between state, society and the masses. It also considers the impact of gender, empire and revolution on imperial Russian history.

In 1917, a party of revolutionaries established the world's first socialist state. Although inspired by the goals and lessons of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, the lived experience of Soviet socialism was characterized by enormous suffering, violence and death. Yet during the more than 70 years of its existence, the Soviet Union also accomplished much that was good, even extraordinary. This course examines the main features, successes and failures of the Soviet socialist experiment from its revolutionary origins in the 1860s through its collapse in 1991.

This course will examine the history of ideas from a range of disciplines in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and how they have affected Western and global political, social and cultural trends. Instead of merely surveying ideas, the course will trace specific schools of thought over time, emphasizing the close analysis and contextualization of thinkers and ideas.

A survey of German history during the Second Reich, World War I, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the post-World War II periods of Cold War and Detente. Emphasis is given to political, diplomatic and military affairs, although social, economic and cultural developments are included.

This course covers the turbulent history of revolution and radical political change in modern Europe, beginning with the French Revolution of 1789 and ending with the overthrow of the communist dictatorships in Central-Eastern Europe near the end of the twentieth century. Students will gain in-depth knowledge of the causes, chronologies and outcomes of modern Europe's many political revolutions. We will also examine how revolutions have-at times-generated tremendous social, economic and/or cultural change.

This course is designed to give capable students in history an opportunity to complete independent study under faculty supervision.

Designed to encourage the student to augment the regular academic program through independent investigation including organized travel-study. Prearrangements must be made with a designated faculty member who will direct the study with preparatory instructions and final requirements.

A study of the philosophy and practice of museum work including the areas of exhibit design, conservation registration, education and administration. Subject is taught from the perspective of the museum profession and is applicable to diverse disciplines and types of collections.

This course introduces the interdisciplinary subfield of public history as it is practiced today. The course examines the various branches of public history through readings, class discussion, exercises, and occasional guest speakers and field trips, when possible.

This course surveys war and armed conflicts in U.S. history from the colonial period to the post-9/11 era, emphasizing the impact of war on American society, politics and culture as well as the development of military institutions.

A survey of European military history (including Russia/Soviet Union) from the Hellenistic period through the 1982 Falklands-Malvinas War. The evolution of strategic doctrine and military institutions, their effect upon European society and their role in European imperialism will be emphasized.

The 400-level history capstones provide students with an integrative intellectual experience building on the skills and habits of mind that have been cultivated during their program. These capstones focus on a culminating project (e.g., a research paper, historiography paper, museum exhibit, website, teaching unit, podcast, briefing paper, op-ed, etc.). Students immerse themselves in a topic and make it their own. Topics and research projects will change with each instructor. Students may repeat the course for credit if taken with different instructors.

A comparative study of life in colonial and Revolutionary America. Required field trips may include Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, Philadelphia, Charleston and Lancaster County, PA. Published sources, lectures, films and two multi-day field trips are used. Supplemental fee required.

This workshop examines the impact of the Civil War upon Virginia and its citizens. It explores the secession crisis, the revolution in firepower that forced changes in battlefield tactics and war aims, and the development of "hard war." A four-day battlefield tour will reinforce ideas discussed in the classroom. Supplemental fee required.

Examines the connections between knowledge of the natural world and other aspects of European societies between 1500 and 1700. Topics may include the scientific revolution (Copernicus, Galileo and Newton); medicine, anatomy, and ideas of disease; exploration, commerce and natural history; technology and empire; alchemy, astrology, and the boundaries of science; and comparisons between science in Europe and in other areas of the world.

This class is about travel and exploration in world history, using specific episodes to examine motives, consequences and the experience of travel. In studying long-distance trade, pilgrimages, voyages of exploration and discovery, and even tourism, we will look at the logistics of travel, attempts to map the world, and the difficulties people had in interpreting what they found.

A seminar on the architecture and material culture of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. The course will examine the house's design, artwork, decorative arts, mechanical devices, landscape/garden design and Mulberry Row. Topics will include African American artisans at the Monticello joinery, Jefferson's Indian Hall and European and African American domestic life in the Federal Period. Required field trips.

This course will provide an introduction to digital history. It explores some of the ways in which digital technologies can change how we research, write, document, exhibit, produce, and think about history. Students should not expect to become an expert in any single technology, but will develop a familiarity with a wide range of tools and applications and will have the chance to create their own digital history project.

This seminar centers on art museums in the United States. Topics include the historical development of museums, related cultures of display, recent debates on institutional mission and responsibility, and contemporary artists who employ the museum as medium, subject matter or site. Required field trips.

This course focuses on the history of the North and South American Atlantic World from the "Age of Exploration" to the "Age of Democratic Revolutions." It traces European exploration of and expansion into the South and later North Atlantic beginning in the fourteenth century, and concludes with the assertion of sovereignty and independence by European colonies throughout the extended Atlantic littoral.

This course focuses on how to turn sources from the historical record into stories people want to read. Students will learn how to conceptualize their research into a well-framed story with a plot, narrative arc and controlling idea. We will work on strategies for creating suspense and narrative tension. We will learn some of the key elements of character development, including how to build a cast of protagonists, antagonists, witnesses and supporting players. Throughout the course, we will read the works of historians who excel as storytellers. Significant class time will be devoted to workshopping drafts of our own stories. By the end of the semester, students will complete their own work of creative nonfiction.

This seminar explores the history of North America from the 16th through the 18th centuries. Thematic emphasis will vary from semester to semester.

This course will consider the experiences of peoples of early North America through the lens of cultural history. Topics may include: how people ate, dressed, bathed (or didn't) and thought about politics, consumption, health and manners. These seemingly routine life practices are a window into fundamental ways of understanding the world.

This course surveys Anglo-American political and constitutional traditions. Emphasizes the evolution of 17th- and 18th-century British constitutionalism, its transferal to the British North American colonies, and the development of the first national and state constitutions in the United States.

An interpretive study of the political, economic, social and cultural history of the United States from the French and Indian War through the Federalist period.

This seminar explores the history of the early United States from the Constitution to the Civil War through original primary source research and scholarly studies that illuminate the organization, meaning and influence of its spaces and places.

A study of the background, development, personalities and aftermath of the Civil War. Special attention is given to the coming of the war and different explanations of its causes and to the policies and significance of Reconstruction, with varying interpretations thereof.

Although African Americans had been leaving the South since the days of slavery, it was not until the twentieth century that they migrated on a massive scale to begin new lives in the urban North. From about 1910 to 1970, millions of African American migrants embarked on millions of individual journeys that resulted in a dramatic redistribution of the African American population. This Great Black Migration, as it came to be called, shifted the center of African American social, economic, political and cultural life from the rural South to the urban North and West. Students will explore the Great Migration and its wide impact on African American life, culture and politics, through a variety of sources, including historical scholarship, literature, film, oral history, memoir, journalism and other sources contemporary to the period.

An interpretive study of the development of environmental thought in the United States. Emphasis is given to philosophies of nature, land and resource usage and conservation, the environmental movement and organizations, environmental activism and radicalism, landscape restoration, and environmental mitigation and protection.

The United States is a land populated by migrants. Most residents of the U.S. today trace their ancestry to Latin America, Europe, Asia or Africa. The U.S. has been both the largest receiving destination of immigrants in the last two hundred years and the inventor of modern border restrictions. This course surveys patterns of migration and immigrant experience from colonial times to the present. Students will consider migration to the United States as part of the evolving global labor market and colonial expansion in the modern world. Students will learn about the relationship of immigration to nation-building, national expansion, war, and the production and reproduction of national identity. Students will also learn about the history of the legal regulation of immigration, the political debates surrounding the role of immigration in society and the experience of immigrants in settling and negotiating life in a new society. Students will explore immigration history by exploring a rich array of primary source material: fiction, memoirs, government documents, oral history interviews, films, maps and more.

Latin America and the Caribbean were the first and largest parts of the Western Hemisphere to be populated by Africans. Afro-Latin America examines cultural formations Africans brought to these regions. Beginning with an overview of the slave trade, it examines the histories of Africans and African-descent people throughout Latin America, as well as contemporary Afro-Latin American culture(s).

This course will provide students with the tools they need to be skilled visual readers as well as to link national and international representations of Latin America to their appropriate historical, social, cultural and political contexts.

Selected historical topics relating to the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding region are studied in depth. Students will undertake primary research and collaborate on final project. See MyMadison for current classes.

Selected topics are studied in depth. See MyMadison for current topic. Course may be repeated for credit when content changes.

An exploration of the history, evolution, and function of history museums. Readings and discussions cover the history and genealogy of the modern museum; exhibits and the influence of other forms of display such as world's fairs and department stores; ethics, mission, and administration; collections management and conservation; education and interpretation; emerging technologies; historical memory and controversy in museums; the role of the community; and museums on a global stage.

This course will explore the theory and practice of oral history. Through a series of readings, students will consider the many promises and challenges of the discipline, including issues related to memory, objectivity, ethics, the law, and technology. Students will also engage in an experiential learning exercise in which they collaborate to produce an oral history project.

Selected topics are studied in depth. See MyMadison for current topic. Course may be repeated for credit when content changes.

This seminar examines the sociotechnical history of twentieth century America. It employs several analytical frameworks to examine the complex relationship between social and technological change, casting particular attention on the mass production ethos, the social meanings of everyday household technologies, the nuclear age, the space age, countercultural technology and the high tech age.

This seminar will explore why revolutions were a major feature of the Latin American landscape throughout the modern era and how they contributed to changes in society. In a typical semester the course will explore the lives of leaders such as Che and Emiliano Zapata and investigate the causes and consequences of revolutionary actions in Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Students will focus on historical research and writing skills through the thematic study of American culture and politics in and around the year 2000. Students will read, listen, watch and analyze turn-of-the-century sources, engage in a series of practical exercises to explore a variety of historical methods and complete a semester-long research project.

An examination of nineteenth and twentieth-century South America by emphasizing recent historiographies of the region. The class draws from social and cultural history to explore themes such as gender, race and ethnicity, nation-building, and historical memory.

This course is designed to introduce students to critical issues, theories and methods of gender history through the study of the history of Latin America and the broader Iberian world. Students will study select peoples and cultures of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula exploring how they lived and understood gender and sexuality during the pre-colonial, colonial and/or modern eras.

This course offers a comparative understanding of fascism and women with a focus on Europe, including Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Francoist Spain. We will also discuss fascist movements and right-wing women in other European countries and in Latin America. The course will uncover the origins of fascism and the rise of the fascist party and the women's branch.

Who defines crime? Who decides punishment? Who is punished? What does punishment look like? What happens to those who are punished after they have been punished? This course discusses these questions and more from a historical perspective, using examples from around the world. Students will learn soon enough that few forms of "crime" were that unique or particular, since economic, social, cultural and political trends produced similar patterns across national boundaries.

What are national parks? Why were they formed? How were they formed? Were people living in areas that became national parks? What happened to them? Who visits these parks? This course discusses these questions and more from a historical perspective, turning to works on national parks from around the world. Students will explore how national parks are best understood as "transnational parks," established through processes of learning, support, exchange and even pressure that transcended national boundaries.

This course introduces students to the literature, concepts, themes and methodology of global history, a subfield of history that seeks to compare experiences across regional, area, cultural and temporal boundaries, to look at cross-cultural interactions and to examine large-scale patterns that have shaped history on a global scale.

This course will consider the influence of ideas about chronological age and the way these expectations have shaped life and public policy throughout American history. Come discover how American ideas about childhood, adulthood and old age have changed over four centuries. The course will investigate the wide variety of ideas about what chronological age tells us about who people are and what they are capable of. Boy kings, child brides, protected and idealized pastoral childhoods - all have been possible and promoted at times in American life. So, too, have both respect for old age and revulsion at the old existed. The course will consider how society decided how old is old enough to drink and how old is old enough to be drafted. This course will examine questions such as: What makes an adult anyway? Why were teenagers once considered adults? Why is 65 now retirement age?

This upper-level seminar considers important thinkers and major trends in philosophical, social, and aesthetic thought in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe. Instead of merely surveying a series of ideas and thinkers, the course will trace the development of ideas across times and cultures by undertaking careful readings of key texts.

This course evaluates the history of U.S. popular culture as a force shaping and reflecting gender norms. It will analyze creators' and consumers' use of popular culture to promote stereotypes and to challenge them, with attention to ways that messages about gender, race, class, religion, sexuality and age intertwined. Students' original research will focus on the creation and reception of media including magazines, film and television.

A study of the most significant ideas concerning politics, society, economics and philosophy which shaped Communism and Marxist varieties of Socialism.

This seminar examines key themes in the history of human trafficking in the entire sweep of African history: the trans-Saharan slave trade, the Indian Ocean slave trade, the Atlantic slave trade, systems of African slavery and slave trade, and religions and slave trade. Students will recognize that the history of human trafficking as a significant global economic factor defies racial boundaries, connecting water bodies and continents, and develop familiarity with competing historiographical interpretations, debates and theories. Students will have opportunities to appreciate the historical roles of human trafficking in transforming societies, cultures, polities, religions, and people's perceptions and worldviews.

This course explores the histories of epidemics and pandemics over the entire sweep of African history using a continent-wide perspective from the earliest recorded pestilence to the rise and expansion of successive Ebola epidemics. The course offers students the opportunity to understand how human interaction with the African environment - one of the major themes in African history - affected pandemics unfolding and how pandemics shaped African demography and settlement patterns, economies, societies, cultures and politics.

In this course, students will investigate the history of the Roman Republic (ca. 500 - 90 BCE), with an emphasis on society and culture during the wars with Carthage (3rd to late 2nd century BCE). Topics studied include the formation of Roman identities and the processes of cultural change during the critical transitional period of Rome from city to imperial power. Students will consider archaeological evidence from Italy and beyond and will read against the ancient sources to find the voices of ancient non-Romans, women and enslaved people.

This seminar considers major trends in the history of international development since World War II, focusing on American development theories, institutions, and programs but also considering case studies of aid programs worldwide. The course will trace the history of international development by undertaking careful readings and discussions of primary and secondary texts from a variety of disciplines, including history, economics, sociology, anthropology and political science.

A historical analysis of the major themes in modern African history since the colonial era.

This course examines the socio-historical, political, cultural, and philosophical dimensions of public art in American society, from the Early Republic to the present day. Topics may include: the nature of public art, its uses and functions, as well as civic and official attitudes towards art in the public sphere. Issues of censorship, propaganda, and the "culture wars" of the 1980s and 90s will be highlighted.

This seminar course examines the historical role of the military, militarism and warfare in shaping African politics, economies, states, societies and cultures. The course will be organized thematically recognizing significant turning points in the history of Africa. Key themes of scholarly debate about the role of the military, militarism and warfare in the history of Africa, emphasizing developments since the beginning of the nineteenth century, will inform class discussions and assignments.

This seminar surveys and compares Islamic imperial formations from the 14th Century through World War I, focusing on the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires that flourished in the global age of early modernity.

This course will examine the lived experience of Stalinism from a variety of perspectives. Its goals are to question the applicability of the concept of totalitarianism to Stalin's Soviet Union and to explore the ways that different approaches to the study of history (political, social, cultural) have shaped our understanding of Soviet socialism under Stalin.

A study of Russia from the 1917 Revolution to the present. Readings and discussion will emphasize significant political, economic, social and cultural developments.

This course examines the causes, key events and consequences of the Russian revolutionary movement that culminated in the overthrow of the autocracy and establishment of the world's first socialist state in 1917. It explores both Western and Soviet historians' interpretations of the revolution and compares revolutionary experiences across classes, genders and nationalities in different parts of the Russian empire.

A study of the lands between Germany and Russia, from the Baltic to the Balkans. Emphasis is on the Hapsburg Empire and its successor states, the origins of the World Wars, the post-World War II communist governments, and the cultural and intellectual contributions of the Eastern European people.

Environmental history cultivates critical thinking beyond the confines of single-nation states and their respective geographies and chronologies to consider longer stretches of time and wider territorial scales of analysis. This course is organized around the study of the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and other mountain ranges including the Zagros, Taurus and Atlas where forests and forest products are the primary foci. In addition to Nile and Indus river histories, the course also considers the history of water more generally from the perspective of ancient hydraulic technologies in Mesopotamia to the geopolitics of mega-dams along the Mekong River. The course will address animal histories and cultures, primarily those associated with camels, horses and elephants while paying lesser attention to donkeys, mules, goats, sheep, dogs and yak. The general concern throughout will be human interaction with the natural world.

Broad introduction to a particular aspect of early modern, revolutionary or modern French history that is characterized by extensive historical debate. See instructor for thematic focus. Students develop knowledge of historical content and of the historiography/methodological approaches, conduct independent research and present findings in writing and in formal research colloquia. Students may repeat seminar for credit if topics differ.

This course examines modern colonialism and imperialism, particularly their cultural, intellectual and scientific dimensions. Thematic foci include systems of imperial representation including Orientalism, and linguistic, cartographic, archaeological, urban, rural and social scientific transformations under colonial regimes of knowledge and power. Colonial and imperial relationships in nineteenth-century British India and Egypt, twentieth-century Palestine and Israel, and the twenty first-century US and Afghanistan will be examined.

An interpretive study of European history from World War I to the post-Cold War era, with special emphasis on the revolutions of 1917-19, the rise of totalitarianism, the origins of the Second World War, the Cold War and the continuing crisis of values.

An examination of the origins, conduct and immediate aftermath of World War II in Europe and Asia. Attention is given to Japan's Pacific War, Hitler's war in Europe and the ultimate victory of the allies. The major military campaigns are discussed as are collaboration, resistance, and the War Crimes Trials.

Introduces students to the most significant accomplishments and debates of recent Holocaust scholarship, emphasizing how historical memory of the Holocaust has been created and has evolved over time. Analyzes the historical causes and development of the Holocaust, as well as its cultural, political, and scholarly resonance in the post-1945 world.

Selected topics are studied in depth. Course may be repeated when content changes. Only courses with significant content outside of Europe will count toward the world history requirement. See MyMadison and the history department website for information on current classes.

This course explores the multidisciplinary "field" of material culture studies and the ways of looking at and learning from objects, things, or "stuff," ranging from furniture and teapots to houses and farmyards. It examines how scholars from a variety of disciplines have used material culture in their work. Readings draw from multiple sources, approaches and methodologies, reflecting the interdisciplinarity of the field.

An introduction to the philosophy and techniques of historic preservation, guidelines for restoration, state and National Register forms and procedures, historic architecture, structural analysis, restoration techniques as well as the business aspects of historic preservation projects. Field trips are a major component of the course.

Students will gather, analyze and interpret archaeological/historical data over two semesters. Students will work on a project that demonstrates theory, research design, data gathering and analysis, culminating in a written thesis. The course meets the capstone requirement for the historical archaeology minor but is also available to students in history and anthropology.

The purpose of the 1-credit HIST499A honors capstone course - to be taken during the spring of a student's junior year - is to select a committee consisting of a director and two readers, develop a project proposal in consultation with the director, and submit the application and proposal with the completed signature page to the Honors College by the deadline.

An original research project for History majors who want to graduate with distinction.

HIST 499C is the final segment of the 3-semester sequence of HIST499A, HIST499B, and HIST499C. In HIST499C, students complete their History Honors Capstone Project.

This workshop is a study of life in colonial Virginia. Through the use of primary and secondary sources, the students research an aspect of Virginia culture and society. A week of the course is in Williamsburg, Virginia. Graduate students are expected to lead research groups and demonstrate knowledge of secondary literature of the period.

This workshop examines the impact of the Civil War upon Virginia and her citizens. It explores the secession crisis, tactical and technological developments, and the evolution into "hard war." A four-day battlefield tour will reinforce ideas discussed in the classroom. Students must demonstrate command of the historiography and key primary sources.

An interpretative survey of England's mainland colonies from 1558-1776, with special attention to the evolution of the first British empire, historiography and important primary sources.

An interpretive study of the political, economic, social and cultural history of the United States from the French and Indian War through the Federalist period. Particular emphasis is placed upon historiography and analysis of primary sources as reflected through class discussion, oral presentations and writing assignments.

An interpretative study of the political, economic, social, intellectual and cultural history of the United States from the ratification of the Constitution through the Mexican-American War. Particular emphasis placed upon historiography and analysis of primary sources as reflected through class discussion, oral presentations and writing assignments.

A study of the background, development, personalities and aftermath of the Civil War. Special attention is given to the coming of the war and different explanations of its causes and to the policies and significance of Reconstruction. Students must demonstrate command of the historiography and key primary sources.

This course undertakes a critical examination of the impact of industrialization, race and gender, consumerism, the New Deal, and two world wars on the lives of American workers and their unions. Students will learn the major historiographical problems in American labor history and develop a mastery of the secondary literature.

An interpretative study of U.S. history from the conclusion of the Civil War until the assassination of William McKinley, with special emphasis on industrialization, urbanization, western and overseas expansion, early reform movements and politics. Students will address historiography and examine primary sources.

An interpretative study of U.S. history from the rise of Theodore Roosevelt through the 1920s, with a focus on the progressive reform movement and the problems and issues generated by the Nation's emergence as a world power and an industrial urban society. Emphasis is placed on command of historiography and analysis of primary source material.

An interpretive study of US history from the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, through the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. The analysis of historical texts, historiography of major figures and seminal events, and interpretation of major debates and historiographical trends will be emphasized in this seminar.

An interpretive study of US history from the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961 through the present. The analysis of historical texts, historiography of major figures and seminal events, and interpretation of major debates and historiographical trends will be emphasized in this seminar.

An exploration of the history, evolution, and function of history museums. Readings and discussions cover the history and genealogy of the modern museum; exhibits and the influence of other forms of display such as world's fairs and department stores; ethics, mission, and administration; collections management and conservation; education and interpretation; emerging technologies; historical memory and controversy in museums; the role of the community; and museums on a global stage.

This graduate seminar focuses on the historiographical issues in the broader field of the history of technology as well as the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used by historians to examine the interplay between technology and culture. Topically, this course examines the major events, themes, individuals, groups and issues associated with, and influenced by, the rapid technological changes in the United States from the 1870s to the present.

A study of the economic, intellectual, political and religious development of the English people from 1485-1714 with particular focus on the constitutional struggles of the period. The analysis of historical texts, historiography of major figures and events, and interpretation of major debates and historiographical trends will be emphasized.

A study of high medieval civilization as an introduction to the history of modern Europe. Attention is given to the Italian and northern renaissance, the fragmentation of western Christendom, the intellectual impact of Luther and Calvin on western thought, and the structure of Tudor despotism in England.

Detailed analysis of the bibliography, methods, substance and interpretations of family history in Europe and America. Emphasis will be on sources, structure, patterns of change and continuity, and stages of family life to the Industrial Revolution.

Africa in the 20th century, with emphasis on Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Zaire. Special attention is given to the legacy of the slave trade and the effects of colonization on independent Africa.

This seminar covers the period from the Russian Revolution in 1917 to the present. Topics include pre-revolutionary Russia, the revolutions of 1917, civil war, the 1920s Stalinism, World War II, the Cold War, the disintegration, the current situation in the former Soviet states, and the historiographical literature.

Attention is focused on Europe in the middle ages, with a concentration on social and intellectual aspects and on the development of parliamentary institutions. Students must demonstrate command of the historiographical sources.

An advanced study of the lands between Germany and Russia from the Baltic to the Balkans. The course covers the collapse of the Central European empires, the birth of independent East European states between the wars, the World War II occupation of the region, the communist era, and the post-communist world. Students will consider primary and secondary sources and must demonstrate command of the historiography.

Selected topics are studied in depth. Topic and professor offering the course will change with each offering. This course may be repeated when content is different.

Focused readings on material culture studies. Readings explore approaches, theories and methods of various disciplines that utilize material culture as evidence. Emphasis is on persistent themes in material culture studies including regional variation and cultural transfer, identity formation and class issues, consumerism, and ethnicity and acculturation.

An introduction to the philosophy and technique of historic preservation. Course examines the Secretary of the Interior's guidelines for restoration, state and national register forms and procedures, historic architecture, structural analysis, restoration techniques as well as the business aspects of historic preservation projects. Students undertake leadership assignments for architectural field assessments and national register nominations.

A study of the varying philosophical and practical perspectives related to archives and manuscripts processing and administration. Through targeted readings in the professional literature, field trips, and leadership roles in discussions, students will explore topics such as appraisal, acquisition, preservation, access, and contemporary ethical, legal and technological issues. Students will undertake a manuscript processing or administrative project.

A seminar on the theory and methodology of genealogical research, including the critical evaluation of sources, incisive documentation, online resources and the critical analysis of research findings. The course will require extensive utilization of local and state repositories and engagement with local research topics as well as with personal data. Personal genealogical information should be collected and secured at home before the start of the semester.

This course is an intensive reading and writing seminar that covers aspects of the politics, economics and culture of the United States. This course may be repeated if the topic varies.

This course is organized around a particular theme determined by each instructor. Topics may include oral history, digital history, history and memory, historic preservation, history museums, material culture, controversies in public history, etc. Courses involve an examination of the history, background and particular issues pertaining to the topic as well as a focused study of the related methods, approaches, formats and audiences. Regardless of topic, students will develop practical skills and knowledge through hands-on, project-based learning experiences.

A topical approach to the study of recent U.S. history. Topics might include American science and technology, industrialism, 20th-century diplomacy, black nationalist thought, 20th-century American military history, or any pertinent topic falling within the post-1865 period.

A topical approach to the study of early European history. Topics might include ancient history, medieval Europe, Tudor-Stuart England, renaissance and reformation, the era of the French revolution, or any pertinent topic falling within the pre-1815 period. Topic and professor offering the course will change with each offering. This course may be repeated when content is different. See MyMadison for topic and professor.

This course provides students with practical experience in using historical skills in a public or private agency. It typically requires completion of a major project and periodic progress reports.

This course involves the creation of a substantial public history project informed by previous research and is intended to be taken in the final semester. Examples include creating a website, museum exhibit, documentary film, grant proposal or National Register nomination. Students will present their work in a public format.

This course is an intensive reading and writing seminar that covers aspects of the politics, economics and culture of a region or regions outside the U.S.

This course introduces students to the literature, concepts, themes and methodology of world history, a sub-field of history that seeks to compare experiences across regional, area, cultural and temporal boundaries, to look at the cross-cultural interactions and to examine large-scale patterns that have shaped history on a global scale.

The course examines the growth of the global economy since the 14th century. Concentrating on world systems/dependency theory approaches, it investigates the emergence of capitalism, its relationship to modern nationalism, and the role that the concept of development has played in the contemporary organization of nation-states.

This course provides a systematic presentation of the theories and approaches to historical research, including detailed analysis of historiography past and present and introduction to research methods. It is required of all first-year graduate students.

This course is an intensive research and writing seminar focused on the process of conceptualizing, researching, writing and refining historical research papers grounded in primary sources. Emphasis will be on evaluation of primary and secondary sources, interpretation of evidence, refinement of presentation and development of professional standards of criticism. It is required of all second-year graduate students.

The course introduces the interdisciplinary "field" of public history, its theories, methods and major forms, such as community/local history, historic preservation, archives, historical archaeology, museum studies, oral history or digital history. Guest experts, field trips and hands-on exercises supplement readings and discussions.

Continued preparation in anticipation of the comprehensive examination. Course may be repeated as needed.

Continued study, research and writing in the area of thesis concentration. Course may be repeated as needed.

This course is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis.