Summer 2014 Course Descriptions

Transcription

1 Summer 2014 Course Descriptions Attention: This schedule is subject to change. Before registering for classes, check the on-line schedule of classes to confirm course numbers, times, and availability. The History Department does enforce prerequisite requirements. Please take note that many upper-level history courses have prerequisites. If you have not met the prerequisite, you may be dropped from the course. HIST106: American Jewish Experience J. Furman June 2, July 13, 2014 MTuWThF 9:00am - 10:20am History of the Jews in America from colonial times to the present. Emphasis on the waves of migration from Germany and Eastern Europe; the changing nature of the American Jewish community and its participation in American social, economic, and political life. HIST137: Pursuits of Happiness: Ordinary Lives in the American Revolution R. Bell Credit only granted for: HIST289E or HIST137. Formerly: HIST289E. Investigates the search for personal fulfillment unleashed by the American Revolution; explores the many different meanings ascribed to the notion of the "pursuit of happiness" by Americans in the revolutionary and early national periods. HIST200: Interpreting American History: Beginnings to 1877 C. Larocco July 14, August 24, 2014 MTuWThF 9:00am - 10:20am The United States from colonial times to the end of the Civil War. Establishment and development of American institutions. HIST201: Interpreting American History: From 1865 to the Present H. Smead June 2, July 13, 2014 MTuWThF 11:00am - 12:20pm July 14, August 24, 2014 MTuWThF 11:00am - 12:20pm This course surveys the history of America from the end of the Civil War through the 1970s and beyond. We explore the forces that shaped modern-day America, including the role of industrialization, technology, the impact of race and ethnicity, and the changing role of the federal government in the lives of American citizens. The goal is to figure out why we are the way we are. HIST213: History of Sexuality in America C. Lyons July 14, August 24, 2014(online) This is an introductory survey course on the history of sexuality in the United States. The course explores the social construction of sexualities from the first colonial settlement to the modern era. It focuses on the historical meanings given to sexuality and the political uses of sexuality in the past. The course will focus on the United States, but will begin with the history of sexuality in early modern Europe to facilitate our understanding of sexuality in colonial North America. Then we will proceed through the chronological development of the history of sexuality in the North American territory that becomes the United States. We will explore the dominant and alternative

2 constructions of sexuality; trace the changing and contested meanings of sexuality; and explore the implications of these understandings of sexuality for power relations in U.S. history. HIST219Y: Special Topics in History; America's Baddest Decade and Its Cinematic Imagination: Cinema and Society in the 1970s S. Giovacchini...the Watergate scandal, the end of Vietnam War, economic, social, and political upheaval -- and all of that fueled by skyrocketing gas prices... The 1970s were all these things -- and, of course, much more. They were also a decade of exciting innovations in American cinema, a period when a new generation of filmmakers rebuilt a new Hollywood on the ashes of the classic studio system. This online course will use some of the iconic American films of this decade to analyze the changes in American society and the American film industry. HIST251: Latin America since Independence J. Walker July 14, August 24, 2014 MTuWThF 11:00am - 12:20pm For over two hundred years, the region we know as Latin America was controlled by European powers. How did these colonies of Spain, Portugal, France, and England change into the nationstates we know today? How did the people in these places develop independent governments and identities? History 251 will explore these questions and others. Daily meetings will feature group writing workshops, videos, student-led presentations, and discussion of historical sources. Short lectures will provide historical background and introductions to common scholarly questions. Quizzes and low-stakes exams will test for familiarity of content, but most of the grade will be based on students' work in analyzing primary sources in writing. HIST306: History of Religion in America M. Bradbury A history of religion, religious movements, and churches in America from the early Colonial period to the present, with special attention to the relation between church and society. Also offered as RELS346. HIST319A: Special Topics in History; Radical Regimes in the Arab World I. Ali July 14, August 24, 2014 MW 6:00pm - 9:15pm HIST319B: Special Topics in History; Arab Cold War H. Guthorn June 2, July 13, 2014 MW 6:00pm - 9:15pm The Cold War played a large role in shaping world politics in the 20th century. The hegemonic clash between the United States and the Soviet Union had an effect on every part of the world for 45 years. This is particularly true when we look at the history of the Middle East during this period. This course will explore the immense impact that the Cold War had on the development of the Middle East as a whole. Throughout the semester we will discuss the mandate system in

3 the Middle East, the 1948 Israeli war of independence, the Baghdad Pact, Operation AJAX, the Suez Crisis, the 1967 war, 1973 war, Iran- Iraq war and the Afghan-Soviet wars. Beyond these armed conflicts we will also discuss how the Cold War influenced the development of Arab Nationalism, Islamism, intra-regional and international economics, and regional power dynamics. Although the Cold War officially ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, this course will illustrate how policies and opinions concocted during this 45 year conflict continue to dictate Middle Eastern policy until today. HIST319D: Special Topics in History; America in the Movies: Major Themes in 20th century American History S. Malka June 2, July 13, 2014 MW 1:00pm - 4:45pm Hollywood has been lionized and vilified as the great creator of myths and dreams while revealing American values, beliefs, fears, hatreds and passions. We focus on the major events and social movements of the 20th century and examine Hollywood's influence in shaping both American history and identity. We explore how movies have reflected and influenced American society from political issues to the complex role of race and gender while molding our own visions of reality. HIST319M: Special Topics in History; Cultural History of Latin America: Music, Movies & Revolution D. Richter August 4, August 22, 2014 MTuWThF 1:00pm - 4:15pm This course will explore the intertwined histories of movies, music, and revolution in modern Latin American history. By engaging with films about the Mexican Revolution, the Cuban Revolution, and the Chilean Road to Socialism under the Allende government and its dramatic end with the Pinochet coup, we will study how films have both represented and shaped popular understandings of important and tumultuous moments in twentieth-century Latin America. After concentrating on the relationship between Latin American history and films, we will examine the connections among Latin American popular music and revolution. We will study the historical significance of Latin American s musical performers including Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Silvio Rodriguez, Charly Garcia, Violeta Parra, and Victor Jara. By critically examining movies and music, we will try to understand the impact of politics on culture and vice versa from the early twentieth-century to the present day in Latin America. The course requires discussion and writing assignments, while singing and dancing when we listen to music are both optional! HIST319Q: Special Topics in History; The Civil War Era: America's Fiery Trial M. Ross June 2, July 13, 2014 MW 6:00pm - 9:20pm The Civil War era was the central epoch in American history. It was a crucial era because so many fundamental issues were at stake: the position of African-Americans in American society; the very survival of the United States as a nation; and the destiny of southern whites who tried to save their slave-based society by seceding from the Union and establishing a new slavebased nation. Slavery had divided Americans since the beginning of the Republic, for it seemed incompatible with the ideals of the Declaration of Independence upon which the nation was

4 based that all men are created equal and endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Many white Americans from Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln understood that slavery in enlightened America was a profound moral contradiction. Yet for two generations Americans were unable or unwilling to remove such a contradiction; indeed, slavery became so entrenched in the South, and so embedded in the American political system, that the United States stood in the 1850s as the world s largest slaveholding country. We are going to talk a great deal about how this happened. Moreover, we will examine the responses and solutions of various Americans to the inflammable slavery problem, from Thomas Jefferson to Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, George Fitzhugh, Abraham Lincoln, and John Brown. My hope is that this will humanize the slavery issue and the terrible sectional and racial divisions that it caused. Incapable of removing bondage and ending sectional hostilities, Americans at last plunged into a disastrous civil war whose repercussions are still being felt in our time. The second part of the course will cover the war itself, on the home fronts and battle fronts, with special attention given to slavery as a war issue. As we shall see, northern and southern attitudes about slavery profoundly influenced the direction the war took. True, the North did not initially fight for emancipation. But as the fighting ground on with no end in sight, Lincoln and Congress embraced a harsh war policy and made the liberation of Confederate slaves a Union war objective. This course is dedicated to the view that people make history: they respond to events according to their perception of reality, and their responses help shape the course of succeeding events. Thus, our focus will be on the people, men and women, blacks and whites, northerners and southerners, who lived through this tragic and traumatic time. HIST319V: Special Topics in History; America in the 1960s K. Keane June 2, July 13, 2014 TuTh 6:00pm - 9:20pm Celebrated and vilified, the years between 1960 and 1970 represented a watershed in twentiethcentury American history. Although history rarely falls neatly within 10-year divisions, the 1960s as both historical era and historical idea witnessed enormous political, social, and cultural changes. This course will examine the seminal events, actors, and movements that continue to shape our nation. HIST319W Special Topics in History; Middle East in Film: Historical Identity in Arab Movie Making P. Wien June 23, July 11, 2014(online) This course will introduce students to the History of the Modern Middle East, using Arab film as a vehicle to understand the complexities of identity formation in the twentieth century world. We will start from the premise that film as a primary medium of popular culture is a useful source to trace the ways people give shape to historical narratives to reflect contemporary concerns and build identities based on collective perceptions of the past. The choice of films we will watch, discuss, and contextualize includes historical epics about a distant Arab past as well as classics that were made at certain point in time dealing with events contemporary to the time of making. Students will assess these films collectively online, based on short online lectures by the

5 instructor and readings that will provide background, and will submit several papers answering to specific questions about the films and their significance in a historical context. HIST327: The Roman Empire W. Burghart June 2, July 13, 2014 MTuWThF 9:30am - 10:50am The history of the establishment and transformation of the Roman Principate, better known as the Roman Empire, in the first six hundred years of the current era. HIST 328 The Roman Empire begins with the establishment of one man rule over the Mediterranean by Augustus and traces the history of the Mediterranean world up to the Arab conquests of the early seventh century CE. It focuses on the creation of an imperial ideology, life in the Roman Empire, the exportation of Roman culture into the provinces, and how the nature of the empire changed throughout the centuries in response to both internal and external stimuli. Roman history from Augustus to Heraclius, 44BC-641AD: The Imperial court and government; the diversity of culture in provinces and cities and the progress of Romanization; Roman religion and its transformation in late antiquity; the Roman army and defense of the frontiers. HIST328K: Selected Topics in History; Napoleon and His Empire D. Sutherland HIST329K: Special Topics in History; History of Rock 'n Roll, A. Kellett July 14, August 1, 2014 (online) This course will trace the development of American rock n roll and other forms of popular music from the post-second World War period through the end of the twentieth century. Popular music will be studied both as a cultural product (How is it made? What does it sound like?) and as a social text (What can it tell us about the individuals who made it, and the society in which it was made?). Special attention will be paid to the role of African-American cultural influences in the development of predominantly white rock music, as well as the ways in which European (especially British) performers have made contributions to the genre over the years. The course will consist of lectures, class discussions and listening exercises. HIST330: Europe in the Making: The Early Medieval West (A.D ) J. Bianchini July 14, August 24, 2014 (online) Also offered as: RELS340. Credit only granted for: HIST330 or RELS340. The Middle Ages began with the decline of the Roman Empire. During the subsequent centuries, European thinkers and rulers sought to restore, or to continue, the imperial tradition. But the concept and practice of empire both changed as time passed. In this course, we will explore the ways in which new challenges and new priorities shaped early medieval people s attempts to recover Roman imperial glory, and consider the innovations they introduced as a result. HIST357: Recent America: 1945-Present H. Smead

6 June 23, July 11, 2014 (online) This course examines the major trends and events that have shaped America since World War II. Focus is on the consequences of the Cold War on domestic America and the causes and implications of the cultural and political upheavals that characterized and followed the Sixties Era. Specific attention will be paid to Civil Rights, certain presidencies, liberalism, conservatism, and the Vietnam War. HIST360: Women and the Civil Rights Movement E. Barkley Brown July 14, August 1, 2014 (online) This course examines the twentieth century U.S. civil rights movement from the vantage point of women, considering both women's involvement in the legal campaigns and political protests and the impact of civil rights struggles on women's condition, status, and identity. Surveying events, organizations, and personalities through the twentieth century, we will consider issues which have preoccupied social movement theorists and political activists alike: developing and sustaining social commitment, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of formal organization, raising money, maximizing political influence, and securing long-range objectives. We will also examine competing definitions of leadership; class, race, and gender dynamics within the movement; and the cultural dynamics of political organizing and social change. This course is taught entirely online. Please make sure your address is listed correctly in Testudo. You may contact the instructor with questions at barkleyb@umd.edu.