Global Arc

History of Eastern Europe from 1800 to the present. In this course, we analyze the concept of and historical trajectories of Eastern Europe during the modern era. The focus is upon political history, but we will also discuss how modern politics affected culture and the arts. Themes and topics include (but not limited to): empire, statehood and nationalism in East-European history; Marxism, radicalism, fascism, communism; the revolutions of 1848, 1917, 1989, and 2014. The class ends with discussion of the wars on the Balkans during the 1990s, the crisis in today's Ukraine, and the historical roots for both.

The principal themes of Iberian imperialism and colonial society from preconquest to the eve of independence. The main issues to be covered will be: Amerindian civilization, the conquest of the Americas, social and cultural change, and evolving economic relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A survey of Latin America from the wars of independence to recent struggles for democracy. The focus will be on state formation in the 19th century, relations with the world economy, and changing patterns of social and political life in the 20th century. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

The course follows the major themes and issues surrounding the history of Mexican Americans in the United States. It seeks to explain the historical origins of the continuing debates over land ownership, assimilation expectations, discrimination, immigration regulation, and labor disputes. The course focuses primarily on the US citizens created after the Mexican American War and Mexican immigrants to the US. It looks transnationally at Mexico's history to explain US shifts in public opinion and domestic policies. While the course examines the impact of Mexican Americans in many regions of the country, it will focus on those in the Southwest.

A survey course that begins with an overview of the continent at the end of the third century A.D. and ends with the death of Moshoeshoe in the 19th century. Focuses on several great themes of African history: long-distance trade, state formation, migration, religious conversion to either Islam or Christianity, forms of domestic slavery, and the impact of the slave trade. Two 90-minute classes.

The impact of European colonial rule on the traditional societies of Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the dominant themes will be the emergence of the intelligentsia in colonial areas as proponents of nationalism. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Beginning with a brief precolonial regional overview, the course examines European occupation following 1652; explores slavery, the frontier, intergroup relations, the growth of nationalism, the Boer War and unification, African resistance movements, the structure of politics, constitutional developments, and debates over race and class; and ends with the 1980s constitutional crisis. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An exploration of three major themes in the history of India's emergence as a nation-state: colonial socio-economic and cultural transformations, the growth of modern collective identities and conflicts, and nationalism. Topics covered include: trade, empire, and capitalism; class, gender, and religion; Gandhi, national independence, and partition; and postcolonial state and society. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An analysis of change and continuity in modern Japanese society, with emphasis on industrialization, social discontent, parliamentary democracy, war, defeat, the "economic miracle," and Japanese preoccupation with national identity in a Western-dominated world. Divided between the prewar and postwar periods. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

China between the 1570s and the 1860s, from its early involvement in the new world economy to the crises of the Opium War era. Emphasis on the history and culture of the Qing empire, its success and challenges, with attention to family and society, religion, art, and literature. Two lectures, one preceptorial.