History
237 Hall of Graduate Studies, 432.1366
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Chair
Jon Butler
Director of Graduate Studies
Valerie Hansen (236 HGS, 432.1361)
Professors
Jean-Christophe Agnew (American Studies), Abbas Amanat, Ivo
Banac, Beatrice Bartlett, David Blight, Paul Bushkovitch,
Jon Butler, John Demos, Carlos Eire, Laura Engelstein, John
Mack Faragher, Paul Freedman, Joanne Freeman, Ute Frevert,
John Gaddis, Glenda Gilmore, Robert Gordon (Law), Timothy
Guinnane (Economics), Valerie Hansen, Robert Harms, John Heilbron
(Visiting), Paula Hyman, Matthew Jacobson, Gilbert Joseph,
Donald Kagan, Paul Kennedy, Daniel Kevles, Benedict
Kiernan, Bentley Layton (Religious Studies), Ivan Marcus,
John Matthews (Classics), John Merriman, Cynthia Russett,
Lamin Sanneh (Divinity School), Stuart Schwartz, Frank Snowden,
Jonathan Spence, Harry Stout, Frank Turner, John Harley Warner
(History of Medicine & Science), Jay Winter, Keith Wrightson
Associate Professors
Mary Habeck, Jonathan Holloway, Susan Lederer, Stephen Pitti,
Kevin Repp, Steven Stoll, Anders Winroth
Assistant Professors
Michael Auslin, Jennifer Baszile, Brian Cowan, Seth Fein,
Andrew Gregory (Classics), Jennifer Klein, Mary Lui, Michael
Mahoney, Carolyn Moehling, Carlos Noreña (Classics),
Laila Parsons, Mridu Rai, Ronald Rittgers (Divinity School),
Naomi Rogers (History of Medicine & Science), Celia Schultz
(Classics), Timothy Snyder, Francesca Trivellato, Kariann
Yokota
Fields of Study
Fields include ancient, medieval, early modern, and
modern Europe (including Britain, Russia, and Eastern Europe),
United States, Latin America, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Jewish
history; and diplomatic, environmental, ethnic, intellectual,
labor, military, political, religious, social, and women’s
history.
Special Admissions Requirements
The department requires a short book review to accompany
the application. It should cover the book that has most shaped
the applicant’s understanding of the kind of work he
or she would like to do as a historian.
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
All students must pass examinations in at least two
foreign languages, one by the end of the first year. Students
are urged to do everything in their power to acquire adequate
linguistic training before they enter Yale and should at a
minimum be prepared to be examined in at least one language
upon arrival. Typical language requirements for major subfields
are as follows:
African: Either (1) French and German or Portuguese or Dutch-Afrikaans;
or (2) French or German or Portuguese and Arabic; or (3) French
or German or Portuguese or Dutch-Afrikaans and an African
language approved by the department.
American: Two languages relevant to the student’s
research interests, or a high level of proficiency in one
language; competence in statistics may substitute for a natural
language under appropriate circumstances.
Ancient: French, German, Greek, and Latin.
Chinese: Chinese and French; additional languages like Japanese,
Russian, or German may be necessary for certain dissertation
topics.
East European: The language of the student’s concentration
plus two of the following: French, German, Russian, or an
approved substitution.
Japanese: Japanese and French or German; Chinese may be
necessary for some fields of study.
Latin American: Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
Medieval: French, German, and Latin.
Modern Western European (including British): French and
German; substitutions are permitted as appropriate.
Russian: Russian plus French or German with other languages
as required.
During the first two years of study, students normally take twelve term courses,
at least eight of which shall be chosen from those offered
by the department, and must achieve Honors in at least one
course in the first year. Three of the twelve courses must
be research seminars in which the student produces an original
research paper from primary sources. One of the second-year
courses will be a tutorial resulting in a prospectus for the
dissertation. When this has been discussed in a dissertation
colloquium and approved by the student’s committee,
and after any further language requirements have been met,
the student takes an oral examination, normally in the third
year. The examination will cover three chosen fields of concentration:
a major field and two minor fields, one of which is comparative
or theoretical, or on a continent different from the student’s
ordinary field of specialization. U.S. historians must offer
a minor field that addresses historiography outside the United
States. If these do not include one field dealing with premodern
history, then a year’s work in that earlier period must
have been included among the twelve required courses. Completion
of these requirements will qualify a student for admission
to candidacy for the Ph.D., which must take place by the end
of the third year of study.
Teaching is an important part of the professional preparation of graduate students in History. The department expects students to teach, usually in the third and fourth years of study. Students are also encouraged to participate in the teaching programs offered by the Graduate School.
Combined Ph.D. Programs
History and African American Studies
The Department of History also offers, in conjunction with
African American Studies, a combined Ph.D. in History and
African American Studies. For further details, see African
American Studies.
History and Renaissance Studies
The Department of History also offers, in conjunction with
the Renaissance Studies program, a combined Ph.D. in History
and Renaissance Studies. For further details, see Renaissance
Studies.
Master's Degrees
M.Phil. Students who have completed all requirements
for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. may receive the M.Phil.
degree. Alternatively, the Department of History offers, in
conjunction with the Medieval Studies program, a joint M.Phil.
degree. For further details, see Medieval
Studies.
M.A. (en route to the Ph.D.). Students enrolled in
the Ph.D. program may qualify for the M.A. degree upon completion
of a minimum of six graduate term courses at Yale, of which
one must be an Honors grade and the other five courses must
average High Pass. Students must also pass an examination
in one foreign language. A student in the American Studies
program who wishes to obtain an M.A. in History, rather than
an M.A. in American Studies, must include in the courses completed
at least two research seminars in the History department.
Master's Degree Program. For this terminal master's
degree students must pass six term courses, four of which
must be in History; substantial written work must be submitted
in conjunction with at least two of these courses, and Honors
grades are expected in two courses, with a High Pass average
overall. All students in this program must pass an examination
in one foreign language.
Program materials are available upon request from the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History, Yale University, PO Box 208324, New Haven CT 06520-8324.
Courses
HIST 514bu, The Athenian Imperial Democracy. Donald
Kagan. T 1.30–3.20
A history of Greece in the years between the Persian
invasion and the Peloponnesian War, with emphasis on Athens.
HIST 517b, Thucydides. Donald Kagan. Th 1.30–3.20
Select problems in Thucydides’ aims and methods.
Ancient Greek required. German, French, and Italian also helpful.
Also CLSS 831b.
HIST 518au, The Spartan Hegemony. Donald
Kagan. T 2.30–4.20
A history of Greece during the period 404–362 B.C.
The focus is on the relationship between domestic constitutions
and politics and diplomacy and war.
HIST 525b, Topics in Roman History and Culture. John
Matthews. F 4–6
A weekly program of research papers on various topics,
given by faculty members, graduate students, and visitors
to Yale, followed by formal and informal discussion. Graduate
students may acquire a course credit by presenting a paper
to the seminar or by writing a term paper on one of the topics
chosen, together with regular participation and contributions
to discussion. Suggestions for and offers of papers are welcome.
Also CLSS 850b.
HIST 532au, Jews in Muslim Lands from the Seventh to
the Sixteenth Century. Ivan Marcus. TTh 11.30–12.45
Introduction to Jewish culture and society in Muslim
lands from the Prophet Muhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent.
Topics to be discussed include Islam and Judaism; Jerusalem
as a holy site; rabbinic leadership and literature in Baghdad;
Jewish courtiers, poets, and philosophers in Muslim Spain;
the Jews in the Ottoman Empire. Also RLST 777au.
HIST 541a, Jews in Christian and Muslim Lands from the
Fourth to the Sixteenth Century. Ivan Marcus. T
1.30–3.20
Research seminar that focuses on a comparison of the
two medieval Jewish sub/cultures of Ashkenaz (northern Christian
Europe) and Sefarad (mainly Muslim and Christian Spain). Issues
in historiography and comparative methodology complement discussions
about the symbols and reality of literary, political, and
economic features of each society. Also RLST 776a.
HIST 548b, Trade and Travel in the Middle Ages. Paul
Freedman, Valerie Hansen. T 1.30–3.20
An introduction to the different types of source materials—travel
narratives (such as Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta), maps, archaeological
excavation, contracts and legal documents, language textbooks—useful
for analyzing contacts between China, Europe, and the Islamic
world before 1500.
HIST 551a, Readings in Medieval European History: Church
History. Anders Winroth. F 1.30–3.20
Discussions of topics in medieval church history focusing
on the period of reform.
HIST 556a, Popular Religion in Europe, 1300–1700. Carlos
Eire. T 1.30–3.20
Readings in primary texts from the period 1300–1700
which focus on definitions of the relationship between the
natural and supernatural realms, both Catholic and Protestant.
Among the topics to be covered: mystical ecstasy, visions,
apparitions, miracles, and demonic possession. All assigned
readings in English translation. Also RLST 680a.
HIST 576b, The English Reformation Revisited. Ronald
Rittgers. W 1.30–3.20
This seminar is designed to introduce students to critical
skill of historical interpretation by way of examining current
historiographical debates in Reformation scholarship. In the
spring of 2004 the seminar topic will be the revisionist historiography
of the English Reformation. Over the last twenty years, scholars
have successfully challenged the traditional view of the English
Reformation as a largely popular movement analogous to the
Reformation on the continent. However, the revisionist scholarship
on the English Reformation is not without its problems. It
is the task of this seminar to determine where the revisionists
have raised legitimate objections to traditional views and
where they are susceptible of revision themselves. There are
no prerequisites, but a basic grasp of the chronology of the
English Reformation is helpful.
HIST 577b, Sin, Penance, and Forgiveness in Early Modern
Christianity. Ronald Rittgers. M 1.30–3.20
This course examines the revolutionary changes that took
place in Christian penitential thought and practice during
the early modern period (1400–1700). It stresses close
reading of select primary sources and critical interaction
with key works in the secondary literature. The seminar discusses
the theological, political, and social dimensions of the early
modern transformation of penance, as well as the impact on
popular piety. There are no specific prerequisites, but a
good grasp of western church history is essential.
HIST 602a, Microhistories. Keith Wrightson. Th 10.30–12.20
Research seminar. The first weeks are devoted to reading
and discussing a number of outstanding microhistorical studies
of individuals, families, communities, incidents, and processes,
principally drawn from the literature on early modern England.
Particular attention is paid to questions of sources and their
use. Thereafter, members of the class undertake research exercises
on edited primary sources. Particular use can be made of the
records of Earls Colne, Essex (available in their entirety
in microfiche and online).
HIST 605b, Early Modern Media and Politics. Brian
Cowan. T 10.30–12.20
This course examines the various ways in which people
communicated with each other in the early modern world. We
look at a wide variety of early modern media, including print,
manuscript, images, as well as oral and ritual communication
as a means of studying the social construction of knowledge
and credibility in early modern societies. Armed with this
understanding of their context, we read a variety of different
early modern texts including poetry, plays, pictures, newspapers,
diaries, and correspondence. While the primary focus of our
readings is early modern England, students may write a reseach
paper in a field of their own choice. The seminar includes
research orientation sessions at the Beinecke Library and
the British Art Center.
HIST 609a, English Royal Courts, Sixteenth and Seventeenth
Centuries. Maija Jansson. M 3.30–5.20
Taking into account the “personal style”
of the monarch, the course examines the structure and political
function of English (and some continental) courts of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. Attention focuses on the governmental
responsibilities and the economic organization of the court
and Household offices during the long period of personal monarchy,
as well as on the social and symbolic aspects of court entertainments
and masques. This includes a close look at the changing nature
of the Privy Chamber and its subsidiary offices from the time
of Henry VII through Anne, the last Stuart. Research paper.
HIST 618bu, The Scientific Revolution. John
Heilbron. TTh 1.30–2.45
A survey of the natural science that developed between
the Age of Discovery and the French Revolution. The course
covers the background in Aristotelian philosophy; the shift
from geocentric to heliocentric astronomy; the replacement
of scholastic natural philosophy by the ideas of Galileo,
Descartes, and Newton; the roles of the Catholic and Protestant
churches, universities, and learned academies; the invention
and improvement of scientific instruments; and the science
of the Enlightenment. Also HSHM 679bu.
HIST 628b, The Citizen and Social Policy in Modern Britain. Frank
Prochaska. T 1.30–3.20
Readings in the history of social reform and social policy
from the late eighteenth century to the present. Topics include
the Poor Laws, charitable provision, the condition of England
and the industrial novel, the rise of collective provision,
challenges to the state, and social policy and democratic
values.
HIST 634a, Cultural and Intellectual History of European
Modernism. Kevin Repp. Th 1.30–3.20
Reading and discussion. Explore recent methodological
approaches to intellectual and cultural history while also
learning something about the state of historical research
on twentieth-century European modernism. Topics include media,
markets, and modernism; modernism and the First World War;
“fascist modernism”; and “postmodernism.”
Authors include Peter Fritzsche, Paul Fussel, Mark Antliff,
Raymond Williams, Jürgen Habermas, Michel Foucault, and
Pierre Bourdieu.
HIST 638a, The Emergence of Modern Paris. John
Merriman. T 10–12
This reading and discussion seminar considers themes
in the social, political, and cultural history of Paris from
the seventeenth century to the present. It emphasizes the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A knowledge of French
is required.
HIST 655a, Relations of the Great Powers since 1890. Paul
Kennedy. W eve
Reading and discussion. Among the topics covered are
the “New Imperialism,” the military and naval
arms race prior to 1914, the relationship between domestic
politics and foreign affairs, the First World War and the
alteration of the Great Power order, the “new diplomacy,”
appeasement, and the rise of the dictator states. There is
a heavy emphasis on historiography, and an encouragement to
relate economic and strategical trends to diplomatic.
HIST 657a, Germany in Europe: A Transnational Approach
to Modern History. Ute Frevert. Th 3.30–5.20
Reading and discussion.
HIST 666b, Russia to 1725. Paul Bushkovitch. W 10.30–12.20
The major phases of Russian history from the tenth century,
covering the major historiographical controversies and sources.
Russian or German helpful but not required.
HIST 670b, Self, Society, and the State in Soviet Russia:
New Approaches. Laura Engelstein. T 1.30–3.20
Focus on the relationship between individuals, society,
and the apparatus of power (state and Party) in the Soviet
period. Themes include mass psychology and collective identity;
private lives and everyday experience; consumerism; violence—responsibility
and vulnerability; cult of personality; testimony and myth.
Readings draw on recently published archival documents, as
well as personal accounts. The goal is to revisit some of
the major interpretations of the Soviet system, while also
addressing methodological issues connected with the use of
historical sources.
HIST 672a, Imperial Russia and the Challenge of Modernity. Laura
Engelstein. M 1.30–3.20
Selected themes in the late imperial period relating
to the problem of modernity as a social and cultural concept.
Focus on issues of ideology, representation, and political
culture. Readings include primary sources, as well as material
from the recent scholarly literature. Most reading in English,
some in Russian.
HIST 700a, Introduction to the Historiography of the
United States. Jon Butler. TTh 10.30–12.20
Readings and discussion of scholarly work on U.S. history
from the settlement era to the pres-ent. Members of the department
faculty visit the class on a rotating basis. Also AMST
700a.
HIST 715a, Readings in Nineteenth-Century American History,
1820–1877. David Blight. W 1.30–3.20
This course explores recent trends and historiography
on several problems through the middle of the nineteenth century:
sectionalism; expansion; slavery and the Old South; northern
society and reform movements; Civil War causation; the meaning
of the Confederacy; why the North won the Civil War; the political,
constitutional, and social meanings of emancipation and Reconstruction;
violence in Reconstruction society; the relationships between
social/cultural and military/political history; problems in
historical memory; the tension between narrative and analytical
history writing; and the ways in which race and gender have
reshaped research and interpretive agendas. Also AMST
715a.
HIST 722b, Research Seminar in United States History. David
Blight. W 1.30–3.20
Some class sessions focus on matters of craft: research
techniques, styles of writing narrative and analysis; judging
scholarly work; and philosophical dimensions of doing history
in the early twenty-first century. Primary focus of the course
is for each student to complete his/her own major research
paper. Students in any field of American history are welcome.
Also AMST 722b.
HIST 726b, The Culture of the Gilded Age. Cynthia
Russett. Th 1.30–3.20
Although the politics of the Gilded Age may seem somewhat
jejune (who today has lively memories of Chester A. Arthur
or James Garfield?), its society and culture were undergoing
dramatic and challenging developments. Industrialization and
urbanization brought new immigrants to our shores; labor unions
grew and flexed their muscle in a series of major strikes.
In the world of thought the impact of Darwinism was still
being absorbed, especially in the new academic disciplines
of the social sciences: sociology, economics, and psychology.
Some important names from the period: William James, Charlotte
Perkins Gilman, Henry George, Andrew Carnegie, W. E. B. Du
Bois, Jane Addams, Edward Bellamy, Samuel Gompers (and, of
course, many more).
HIST 735a, Readings in Twentieth-Century American Political
and Social History. Jennifer Klein. Th 1.30–3.20
Readings in American social and political history from
the late nineteenth century to the present, with an emphasis
on political economy. Major topics include changing relationships
between the state, economy, and communities over time; the
role of social movements of the Left and Right in political,
social, and economic transformations; definitions and boundaries
of citizenship; development of social policy, labor policy
and politics, and the “New Deal Order”; America’s
rural and urban economies in regional, national, and international
context. Also AMST 717a.
HIST 738b, Reading and Research in Western and Frontier
History. John Mack Faragher. T 10.30–12.20
An introduction to recent work on the history of North
American frontiers and the region of the American West, and
original work in primary materials. Held in the Beinecke Library,
the seminar examines documents from Yale’s outstanding
collections of Western Americana. Students elect to produce
a substantial research essay or a dissertation prospectus.
Also AMST 738b.
HIST 751a, Race and Races in American Studies. Matthew
Jacobson. W 10.30–12.20
This reading-intensive seminar examines influential scholarship
across the disciplines on “race” and racialized
relations in American culture and society. Major topics include
the cultural construction of race; race as both an instrument
of oppression and an idiom of resistance in American politics;
the centrality of race in literary, anthropological, and legal
discourse; the racialization of U.S. foreign policy; “race
mixing”; vicissitudes of “whiteness” in
American political culture; and “race” in the
realm of popular cultural representation. A lengthy review
essay due at the end of the term gives students a chance to
explore in depth the themes, periods, and methods which most
interest them. Also AFAM 687a, AMST 701a.
HIST 754b, Race Politics in the Twentieth-Century United
States. Stephen Pitti, Jonathan Holloway. Th 10.30–12.20
This course examines a range of civil rights movements
as they have been developed and articulated since 1919. Readings
in the course pay particular attention to the contested nature
of such movements, their multifaceted nature, and the deep
social fissures they reveal along lines of race, class, gender,
and sexuality. Primary and secondary sources cover a range
of methodological perspectives. Readings and discussion. Also
AFAM 714b, AMST 713b.
HIST 757a, Culture in U.S. International and Transnational
Histories. Seth Fein. M 11.30–1.20
Reading seminar that examines interdisciplinary approaches
to the study of “culture” in relations between,
within, and among the United States and other nations (mainly
since 1900). Discussions and papers focus on comparing methodologies,
using theory, doing research, writing history. Topics include
globalization, Americanization, transnationalism, and hybridity;
gender, national identity, international relations, and state
formation; imperialism, postcolonialism, hegemony, and resistance;
mass culture, political economy, foreign policy, and postmodernity.
Also AMST 775a.
HIST 760b, American Legal History, 1880–1980. Robert
Gordon. MW 2.10–3.25
Selected topics in the modern history of American law,
legal thought, legal institutions, and the legal profession.
Examination, with an option (open to a limited number of students)
to write a research paper based on primary sources. Also
AFAM 760b, AMST 780b, Law 21063.
HIST 782a, History of Western Canada. Gerald
Friesen. W 1.30–3.20
This is an advanced reading and research seminar in western
Canadian history. Twelve meetings are devoted to discussion
of reports on some of the latest and most important writings
in the field. The topics range from Aboriginal and Métis
culture to gender, capitalist, class, cultural, and regional
approaches. Each student also writes a major research paper
and presents both a summary of this paper and a commentary
on another student’s paper.
HIST 783b, Material Culture in Historical Research. Kariann
Yokota. W 3.30–5.20
The material objects people produce and consume provide
rich texts for historical analysis. This seminar explores
how the cultural meanings of objects have been analyzed and
understood from various perspectives. Readings are interdisciplinary,
including works by historians, anthropologists, cultural theorists,
sociologists, postcolonial scholars, writers, museum curators,
and archaeologists. Topics of discussion include the role
of material culture in the formation of national, ethnic,
gender, and class identities. Also AMST 732b.
HIST 785a, Science and Technology in American Society. Daniel
Kevles. T 1.30–3.20
This course deals with both the growth of science and
technology in the United States and their integration into
the overall national narrative. Topics include the American
scientific community and its roles in exploration, agriculture,
industry, national defense, religion, culture, the environmental
movement, and social change. Also HSHM 785a.
HIST 790a, Narrative, and Other, Histories. John
Demos. W 3.30–5.20
An exploration, through readings and discussion, of the
recent “literary turn” in historical study. Readings
include history, fiction, and some theory. In addition, a
month-long “practicum” focuses on writings by
course participants. Also AMST 790a.
HIST 796b, Interdisciplinary Approaches to the History
of Capitalism and Culture. Jean-Christophe Agnew. W 10.30–12.20
A reading-intensive seminar that explores the historical
intersections between capitalism and culture in the United
States and elsewhere. Subjects range from the cultural construction
of credit and risk, to cultural capital and class formation,
gift and commodity exchange, law and the corporation, gender
and the “invisible economy,” virtualism and the
“experience economy.” Readings include both canonical
treatments of capitalism and culture and more recent contributions
by scholars associated with feminist criticism, the New Economic
Criticism, and economic anthropology and sociology. Also
AMST 796b.
HIST 805a, Social and Cultural History of Colonial Latin
America. Stuart Schwartz. M 1.30–3.20
Introduction to the basic themes and literatures of colonial
history with emphasis on changing methods and approaches in
Latin American, European, and U.S. scholarship.
HIST 807a, Resistance, Rebellion, and Survival Strategies
in Modern Latin America. Gilbert Joseph, Patricia
Pessar. T 1.30–3.20
An interdisciplinary examination of new conceptual and
methodological approaches to such phenomena as peasants in
revolution, millenarianism, “banditry,” refugee
movements, and transnational migration.
HIST 810b, Introduction to Brazilian History. Stuart
Schwartz. M 1.30–3.20
Designed to introduce graduate students to the historical
problems and historiography of Brazil. Course consists of
readings of basic books in the field and discussion of the
historiographical traditions. Basic readings are in English
but students are encouraged to use Portuguese.
HIST 829au, The History of the Islamic Near East from
Mohammad to the Mongol Invasion. Adel Allouche.
TTh 11.30–12.45
An examination of the shaping of society and polity
from the rise of Islam to the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in
1258. The origins of Islamic society; conquests, and social
and political assimilation under the Ummayyads and Abbasids;
the changing nature of political legitimacy and sovereignty
under the caliphate; provincial decentralization; and new
sources of social and religious power. Also ARBC 570au.
HIST 833b, Readings in Imperialism in the Nineteenth-
and Twentieth-Century Middle East. Laila Parsons. W 3.30–5.30
An examination of classic as well as more recent histories
of the complex relationship between British and French imperialism
and political, social, economic, and cultural change in the
nineteenth- and twentieth-century Middle East. The emerging
literature on the question of U.S. imperialism and its role
in the Middle East are also discussed.
HIST 837a, Becoming the Middle East. Abbas
Amanat. W 3.30–5.20
An inquiry into the emergence of the modern Middle East
from the heterogeneous peoples and cultures of Western Asia
and North Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
with emphasis on Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Topics include Western imperial strategies and Ottoman and
Qajar responses, new readings of Islam and secularism, historical
memories and national identities, dilemmas of modernity, nation-states’
sovereignty and popular revolutions.
HIST 839b, Environmental History of Africa. Robert
Harms. Th 1.30–3.20
An examination of the interaction between people and
their environments in Africa, and the ways in which this interaction
has affected or shaped the course of African history. Also
AFST 839b.
HIST 860b, Basic Texts of Confucianism. Annping
Chin. Th 1.30–3.20
A close study of some basic Confucian texts in translation.
We consider these texts both as sources on moral cultivation
and political thought. The readings include Confucius’
Analect, the Book of Mencius, the Book of Hsun Tzu,
and the works of three Neo-Confucian thinkers, Chu Hsi, Wang
Yang-ming, and Huang Tsung-hsi. Knowledge of Chinese is not
required. There is an additional section for students who
read classical Chinese.
HIST 861a, Issues in Tang, Song, and Yuan History. Valerie
Hansen. Th 1.30–3.20
An introduction to the secondary literature in English
about the major issues in Chinese history, 600–1400.
Permission of instructor required.
HIST 866a, China and the Wider World, 1830–1979. Jonathan
Spence. M 3.30–5.20
This course gives a broad view of Chinese relations with
the world at large, from the period of the first opium war
to the collapse of the Guomindang on the mainland. Some of
the focus is on the wars with Britain, France, and Japan,
but attention is also given to the impact of foreign missionaries,
the translation of texts, the development of press and other
media, the role of foreign ideologies, the growth of international
business, the varying patterns of Chinese travel abroad (both
in diplomacy and for study), the Korean war, and the idolization
of the Cultural Revolution. Reading and discussion. Chinese
not required.
HIST 869a, Qing Communications, Archives, Official Historical
Writing, and Reading Documents. Beatrice Bartlett. F 1.30–3.20
Qing documents and communications systems (including
the institutional background for understanding them), the
use of primary sources and archives in particular, and reading
Qing documents. Prerequisites: advanced Chinese (with at least
one course in literary Chinese), HIST 868.
HIST 894a, Making Colonial Subjects in British India. Mridu
Rai. W 3.30–5.20
This course investigates how British colonialism established
itself in India through cultural technologies of rule. It
explores how legal, political, and social categories such
as those of race, caste, class, religion, and gender were
deployed to make Indians available for imperial control. It
also examines how these categories may in turn have shaped
anti-colonial resistance.
HIST 929b, Science Around 1900. John Heilbron. W 1.30–3.20
At the turn of the twentieth century many scientists and fellow
travelers took stock of the accomplishments of the “Century
of Science” and tried to forecast its future. The seminar
takes this literature as its point of departure. After some
collaborative investigation of the situation around 1900,
each student picks a topic for further study. The main product
of our work will be a set of publishable papers. Also
HSHM 712b.
HIST 932a, Readings in the History of American Medicine. John
Harley Warner. M 1.30–3.20
An examination of the variety of approaches to the social
and cultural history of medicine and public health, taking
as a focus nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. Readings
are drawn from recent literature, sampling writings on health
care, illness, experiences, and medical cultures in the United
States. Topics include the role of gender, class, ethnicity,
race, region, and religion, in the experience of sickness
and health care: the multiple meanings of science in medicine,
the intersection of lay and professional understandings of
the body, and the role of the marketplace in shaping professional
identities and patient expectations. Also AMST 877a, HSHM
719a.
HIST 934b, Medicine, Public Health, and Colonialism,
1750–1950. Naomi Rogers. Th 1.30–3.20
A reading seminar on recent historical works dealing
with medicine, healing, public health, and body politics in
various colonial settings from 1750 to 1950, including Hong
Kong, India, the Philippines, Mali, South Africa, Brazil,
Mexico, and regions in North America. Also HSHM 726b.
HIST 935b, Introduction to the Historiography of Science. John
Heilbron. W 1.30–3.20
An introduction to the literature of the scientific revolution
through analyses of texts by Galileo, Descartes, and Newton,
and some of their modern commentators.
HIST 938au, The Engineering and Ownership of Life. Daniel
Kevles. W 1.30–3.20
The development of biological knowledge and control in
relation to intellectual property rights in living organisms.
Topics include agribusiness, medicine, biotechnology, and
patent law. Also HSHM 676au, LAW 20332.
HIST 941a, Making the Modern Body. Susan
Lederer. T 9.30–11.20
An examination of the ways in which the human body in
the twentieth century has become both a site for medical and
surgical practices and a source of tissue and tools for research
and industry. Topics include the body in biomedicine; the
development and social impact of such technologies as cosmetic
and plastic surgery, organ transplantation, assisted reproduction,
and cloning; and the intersections of gender, race, and nation
in biomedicine. Also HSHM 723a.
HIST 954a, Diplomacy, Power, and Culture: The Cold War
as International History. Stephen Remy. M 1.30–3.20
This course examines the international history of the
Cold War. Our emphases are on the intersection of diplomacy
and domestic political cultures worldwide; and the ways in
which post-1989 archival research and revelations have expanded
our knowledge of this conflict. The course is reading, writing,
and discussion intensive, with reading assignments combining
recent scholarship and primary-source materials. (Note: First
class will meet on September 15.) Also INRL 554a.
HIST 965a, Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History,
and Development. Robert Harms, James Scott, Michael
Dove, Paul Freedman. M 1.30–5.20
An interdisciplinary examination of agrarian societies,
contemporary and historical, Western and non-Western. Major
analytical perspectives from anthropology, economics, history,
political science, and environmental studies are used to develop
a meaning-centered and historically grounded account of the
transformations of rural society. Team taught. Also ANTH
541a, F&ES 753a, PLSC 779a.
HIST 970a, When Was Europe? The Whitney Seminar on European
Identities. Paul Freedman, Paula Hyman, Jay Winter.
Sem. W 4–6, Lect. W 7
This seminar examines the idea of Europe from the Middle
Ages until now. Topics include European identity in relation
to Christian and Roman foundations, the mythology of nationalism
and the misuse of history (romantic and nationalist theories
of historical origins), the rhetoric of Enlightenment and
Progress, the impact of Marxism and liberalism on notions
of Europe, unification and Balkanization in the late twentieth
century. This seminar examines the notion that “Europe”
was as much a shifting discursive field as it was a shifting
territorial one. The boundaries of both discourse and territory
remain contested and fluid to this day. Also WHIT 970a.
HIST 971b, History and Memory: The Whitney Seminar on
European Identities. Jay Winter. Sem. W 4–6,
Lect. W 7
This seminar explores facets of the historical literature
surrounding issues of individual memory, collective memory,
and commemoration. The focus is on modern Europe, though the
literature surveyed addresses issues beyond the confines of
Europe. After a survey of interdisciplinary approaches to
the field, focusing on social agency, representation, trauma
studies, and cognitive psychological research, two different
kinds of evidence are examined. The first relates to historical
sites (monuments, ruins, battlefields, landscapes) as well
as social spaces (families, trials, museums); the second to
representations and languages of remembrance, through the
narratives of trauma, fiction, memoir, testimonial literature,
photography, and film. The focus is on civil society rather
than primarily on the state and the manipulation of commemorative
forms. Also WHIT 971b.
HIST 975a, Cold War International History. John
Gaddis. T 1.30–3.20
Examines major issues and sources for the “new”
Cold War history. Readings and discussions, with short analytical
essays.
HIST 978b, The Theory and History of Toleration. Daniel
Markovits, Timothy Snyder. T 10.10–12
This course addresses the philosophical problems posed
by political toleration in conjunction with several expressions
that political toleration has received in historical practice.
The philosophical component considers the merits of contemporary
arguments in favor of toleration, set against the worrisome
possibility that some degree of intolerance may be rationally
required. The historical component presents examples of toleration
(and intoleration) and investigates the relationship between
toleration and other historically potent ideologies, for example
nationalism. Finally the course joins these two themes together,
considering to what extent the contemporary philosophical
approach to toleration is itself historically contingent and
the consequences that such contingency has for the approach’s
philosophical merit. Also Law 21414.
HIST 979au, Historical Perspectives in the Study of
the Holocaust. Paula Hyman. MW 10.30–11.20,
1 HTBA
A survey of the major historical issues raised by the
Holocaust, including the roots of Nazism; different theoretical
perspectives and ways of accounting for genocide; the behavior
of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders; and problems of
representation. Also RLST 768au.
HIST 980b Genocide: History and Theory. Ben
Kiernan. W 2.30–4.20
Description and analysis of modern genocide; theories
and case studies; an interregional, interdisciplinary perspective.
Reading and discussion.
HIST 985a, Studies in Grand Strategy, Part II. John
Gaddis, Paul Kennedy. M 1.30–3.20
This two-term course begins in January with readings in
classical works from Sun Tzu to Clausewitz to Kissinger. Students
identify principles of strategy and examine the extent to
which these were or were not applied in historical case studies
from the Peloponnesian War to the post-Cold War period. During
the summer, students undertake research projects or internships
designed to apply resulting insights to the detailed analysis
of a particular strategic problem or aspect of strategy, whether
of a historical or contemporary character. Written reports
on these projects are presented and critically discussed early
in the fall term. The seminar then turns its attention to
strategic dilemmas currently facing governments, corporations,
and nongovernmental organizations. Students must take both
terms, fulfill the summer research/internship requirement,
and attend additional lectures on grand strategy to be scheduled
throughout the spring and fall terms. For the first term,
students from the Graduate School receive a grade of FY (full
year), which converts to a final grade for both terms upon
completion of the course. Other students receive grades in
accordance with the grading systems of their respective schools.
In both semesters the seminar meets during reading week and
holds a total of fourteen weekly sessions. Admission is by
competitive application only; forms are available at International
Security Studies. Also PLSC 715a.
HIST 995a/b, Prospectus Tutorial. Faculty.
HIST 998a/b, Directed Readings. Faculty.
Offered by permission of instructor and DGS to meet special
requirements not met by regular courses.
HIST 999a/b, Directed Research. Faculty.
Offered by arrangement with instructor and permission
of DGS to meet special requirements.
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