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History
H367 Europe in the Era of World War 1914-1945 3 credits
This course is an introduction to Europe’s “thirty year crisis,” from the outbreak of World War I in 1914 to
the end of World War II in 1945. Europe’s period of progress and optimism was shattered by the “Great
War” in 1914. Four years of violence created the crucible out of which the monster of fascism arose. This
led to an even larger war only twenty years later. During WWII, mass slaughter became commonplace,
from the Nazi Holocaust to the Allies’ strategic bombing campaigns, which targeted civilian populations.
Using a variety of sources, the course examines the big picture of great power confrontations, but also
how the wars were experienced by individuals.
H368 Contemporary Europe 3 credits
This course is an introduction to the history of both Western and Eastern Europe since 1945, starting
with the post-war recovery, and ending with the paradox of Europe in recent years, during which
Europeans have been moving toward integration (the European Union) while at the same time
experiencing inter-ethnic warfare (the Balkan wars). The course studies such major trends as the Cold
War, decolonization, and the collapse of communism. Among a variety of primary sources, the course
uses some of the popular culture of post-war Europe, especially film and rock music.
H370 Research and Writing 3 credits
This is a junior-level course required for those intending to major in history or history/social science. It is
also recommended but not required for those intending to minor in history, and for those who are social
science education majors. It serves as an introduction to the critical thinking skills and dispositions
used by historians as well as some of the basic research techniques employed by historians in research
papers. The course requires students engage in their own research and writing, but focus on a broad
topic of the instructor’s choosing that will enable the instructor to introduce students to various source
bases, research methods, argument strategies, and theories/epistemologies that may inform their senior
theses. Students are encouraged to start developing their senior thesis projects, especially as a way of
transferring the knowledge gained from studying the course’s topic to a topic of their own choosing so
it can dovetail with the senior thesis course. Prerequisite: H270.
H380 Imperial Russia 3 credits
This course is an introduction to the political, social, economic and cultural history of the Russian Empire
from its origins to the fall of the Romanovs. The course emphasizes the crisis of the old regime between
the period of the Great Reforms of the 1860s and the revolution of 1917. In addition to works by
historians, this course uses a variety of primary sources, including memoirs, manifestos, letters, and also
works of literature by such authors as Aksakov, Turgenev and Tolstoy. The course seeks to lay a basis for
understanding the Bolshevik experiment of the 20th century, as well as Russia’s contemporary struggle
to define its identity after the collapse of the Soviet state.
H381 Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Russia 3 credits
The Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 new states, the largest of which is Russia, in 1991. This event
was widely heralded in the West as a turn to democratic capitalism; a decade later this was no longer
so clear. This course lays the basis for an informed understanding of today’s Russia by introducing its
history in this century. The course highlights the revolutionary period including the Bolshevik seizure
of power and Stalin’s “second revolution,” and also the recent past, including the periods dominated
by Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. In addition to works by historians, the course uses a variety of
primary sources, including speeches, manifestos, eyewitness accounts, novels, and a series of influential
Soviet films.
H390 Modern China 3 credits
This is a survey of Chinese history from the rise of the Qing Dynasty in the mid-17th century to the
protest and repression of 1989. It discusses some of the main social, economic, cultural, political, and
intellectual features of the “traditional” Chinese world the first Qing emperors ruled. It also covers the
way this world changed as China experienced a series of convulsive events, including both threats from
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