Fall 2024 Special Topic Courses
HIST 100C: Century of Conflict
It goes without an argument, that the 20th century has been the most brutal and destructive one in human history. In this course, we are going to survey some of main as well as lesser known yet equally significant cases of human suffering and violence in the past 100 years. Additionally, we want to ponder on the questions of what roles modernity, the state (e.g. government) and the individual played in instigating and/or carrying out violence and causing devastation. Conflict shaped the 20th Century, provoked by potent ideologies like nationalism, militarism and communism and reactions thereto such as decolonizing forces. These modern conflicts carried out by states and individuals shaped the modern world and their legacies are still felt today.
Wednesday, 16:00-18:50pm
Instructor: Scott Sheffield
CRN: 90653
HIST 100H: Secrets of World War II
Eighty-years on, interest in the history of the Second World War remains strong. From coffeehouse literature by hobby historians to professionally-made documentaries on streaming platforms, perhaps no other event in History has attracted a larger output of work. This introductory-level course invites students to develop an interest in History and look at some of the enduring legacies, myths and secrets of the Second World War in Europe.
Monday, 14:30-17:20pm
Thursday (December 5), 14:30-17:20pm
Instructor: Sebastian Huebel
CRN: 91271
Note: This course meets on Mondays throughout the term. Only the final class will be held on Thursday, December 5th.
HIST 399G: Personal Pasts: Biography and History
History 399G Personal Pasts: Biography and History will use biography as a vehicle for exploring history. The course will offer the opportunity to study figures in history whose lives can offer wider insights, and will also explore theoretical approaches to biography. Students will have the opportunity to study and write about historical figures of their choice. The course content will be international.
Online
Instructor: Barbara Messamore
CRN: 90674
HIST 399M: A City in History: From Constantinople to Istanbul
In this course, students explore the social, cultural, political, economic, architectural, and military history of Constantinople, that is Istanbul, as well as the empires centered around it. Starting with the foundation of the city by Ancient Greek colonists in the 8th century BCE, we embark on our journey following the rise and fall of the city’s fortunes. The main focus rests in the city’s imperial history, from the inauguration of Constantinople as the capital of the Roman Empire to its becoming the centre of the Islamicate Ottoman Empire. We conclude the story by looking at how the two imperial legacies influence the social and cultural fabric of modern-day cosmopolitan Istanbul, the only city in the world that stretches over two continents: Europe and Asia. As the meeting place of distinct civilizations––European and Asian, Western and Eastern, Christian and Muslim––the city of Istanbul serves as an excellent vehicle in examining the centuries-long peaceful coexistence between these cultures that we nowadays tend to perceive as fundamentally different.
Thursday, 13:00-16:40pm
Instructor: Aleks Jovanovic
CRN: 90675
Winter 2025 Special Topic Courses
HIST 100D: Ten Days That Changed History
This course will focus on ten days or events, across diverse time periods, cultures, and geographic places that proved transformative in their impact on human history; some of them obviously dramatic, some seemingly mundane at the time. Topics might include the rise or fall of states, empires, or religions, technological innovations, as well as economically, socially or culturally revolutionary movements. In examining these important events, students will be introduced to the practice of thinking historically and to the centrality of context, perspective and evidence in understanding the past and how it interacts with the present.
HIST 299F: Religion in American History
This course offers an overview of United States religious experiences from historical, social, and cultural perspectives. The interaction of U.S. religions and cultures are examined in three, roughly chronological eras: 1) Colonial 1400s-1800 2) Nineteenth Century, and 3) Twentieth and early 21st Century.
HIST 397E: The Social History of Disease from Antiquity to the Present
Course description - check back soon
HIST 398E: Samurai: The Warriors in Japanese History
In this course, students explore the history of the warriors aka samurai in Japanese history. The focus will be placed on their representations and roles in the medieval era (roughly the 12th to 16th centuries) and how their values and practices were carried on or disrupted into the early modern era (roughly the 17th to 19th centuries). Students use primary sources such as stories and institutional documents as well as secondary sources in the form of historians’ accounts of the past to explore the historical lives and experiences of the warriors and the interpretations thereof.
HIST 399O: Capitalism: A History
Course description - check back soon