History Courses

Semester specific course descriptions

100-Level Courses

Courses at the 100 level, designed specifically for first-year students and sophomores, provide a broad introduction to African, American, Asian, Caribbean and Latin American and European history.

101. The Rise of Europe: From the Greeks to the Age of Revolution.
This course surveys the development of Western civilization from the beginnings of Greek civilization to the democratic and industrial revolutions of the late 18th century. Principal themes include the ideal of freedom and the realities of slavery and serfdom; the progress of technology and its environmental consequences; the interaction, both creative and destructive, of Europe with non-Western cultures. We shall also pay considerable attention to changing relationships between the genders. Readings will include selections from classic works of the western tradition, as well as other primary source materials. Also offered through European Studies.

102. The 20th-Century World.
This course is designed as a historical introduction to the contemporary world and its many baffling and dangerous problems. Among the themes to be considered are the impact of Western civilization on the non-Western world, the causes and consequences of the two World Wars and the rise and fall of Communism, the revolution in gender relations and the environmental crisis. Readings include novels, memoirs and other primary source materials from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

103. Development of the United States (1607-1877).
The purpose of this class is to study the development of American society from the beginning of the colonial period through the Civil War and Reconstruction. While the course will follow the chronological development and changes in American society, it will also consider in some depth the major institutions, ideas and social movements that gave shape to the nation through the use of both primary and interpretive readings. Some of the topics that will be covered are Puritanism, mercantilism and capitalism, revolutionary era, federalism, the two-party system, nationalism and sectionalism, slavery, manifest destiny and the Civil War and Reconstruction. Also offered through Native American Studies.

104. Development of the United States (1877-Present).
The purpose of this class is to study the development of American society from the end of Reconstruction to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the institutions, ideas and movements that have shaped modern American society. Using both primary and secondary material, the course will discuss the chronological development and changes in American society as well as such topics as industrialization, urbanization, consumption and popular culture, rise of mass society and mass politics, America as a world power, civil rights and women’s movements, Vietnam and Watergate. Also offered through U.S. Cultural and Ethnic Studies.

105. Early East Asian Civilization.
This course is designed to introduce students to the early history of East Asia from the 4th century BCE to the late 17th century CE. The course is chronological but not comprehensive. It focuses on several themes, all turning around how cultures and societies evolve and develop in interaction with each other. In this course we will explore cultural encounters through trade, war and diplomacy, personal encounters between individuals of different cultures and the processes of cultural diffusion. We will pay attention to geography and the critical use of primary documents. This is a core course for the Asian studies interdisciplinary major and the Asian studies minor. Also offered through Global Studies.

106. Modern East Asia.
This course examines the East Asian region from approximately 1650 to the present. We will discuss the creation, dismantling and continuing remnants of colonialism, World Wars I and II in the East Asian context, the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars and recent economic development, especially as it affects  women and the environment. The course begins with an overview of East Asian geography, culture and history. The course is designed to introduce students to major events and issues of modern East Asia and also to improve students’ skills in critical reading, writing, use of primary and secondary sources and oral communication. Also offered through Asian Studies.

108. Introduction to African Studies: History and Development.
This course aims to build a fundamental awareness of Africa and its peoples, their struggles and achievements over time. It focuses on African responses and reactions to numerous challenges over the centuries. Specific themes include technological change and diffusion, demographic growth and migration, cultural and linguistic diversity, the impact of the slave trades, inclusion of Africa into an international economy, the colonial experience, the rise of nationalism and the challenges of development since independence. In addition to a number of published materials, the course draws upon some of the best films available. Also offered as African Studies 101.

110. The Scientific Revolution.
This course covers the development of scientific thought in the period 1500-1725. It examines changing views of nature in the fields of anatomy and physiology, astronomy and physics and requires more writing and student oral participation. Although the primary focus is on specific scientific developments, they are discussed within the context of concurrent social, economic and religious changes. This course fulfills the humanities distribution requirement. Also offered as Physics 110 and through European Studies.

115. Survey of Caribbean and Latin American Studies.
This is an interdisciplinary core course designed to introduce students to the richness and diversity of Caribbean and Latin American cultures, the regions’ turbulent history of conquest and colonization and the problems of their development. We will use many different kinds of materials — primary and secondary texts, fiction and poetry, art and music — to familiarize ourselves with the vitality of Caribbean and Latin American artistic expression, history, life and culture. Our final objective is to relate Latin American and Caribbean cultures with the cultures of migrants from these areas in the United States. The course provides a framework for more advanced studies on Caribbean and Latin American themes. This course satisfies both the humanities and the diversity distribution requirements. Also offered as Caribbean and Latin American Studies 104.

200-Level Courses

Courses at the 200 level are primarily intended for sophomores and upper-class students, but are open to interested first-year students as well. These courses generally combine lectures and classroom discussions. They are more advanced than the introductory surveys, but broader in their treatment than most courses at the 300 level or above.

203. Early Canada, 1534-1867.
After first laying eyes upon the eastern coast of Canada in May 1534, the French explorer Jacques Cartier remarked that it resembled the “land that God gave to Cain.” Despite Cartier’s initial misgivings, Canada presented numerous opportunities to Europeans, as it had for the First Nations before them. During the next three centuries, the northern half of North America evolved into an imperial domain of the French, and then of the British. In 1867, through a political union known as Confederation, the Dominion of Canada was created, and the first steps toward the contemporary Canada that we know today were taken. In this course we will explore the political, economic, social and cultural life of Early Canada, from the age of European contact to Confederation.

205. 19th-Century Europe, 1815-1914.
An examination of major persons and events that shaped the economic, political and social developments of 19th-century Europe. Using both the works of contemporaries such as Karl Marx, George Sand, John Stuart and Harriet Taylor Mill and Charles Darwin, and of historians, the course explores the issues and individuals of the period. Also offered through European Studies.

206. 20th-Century Europe, 1914 to the Present.
An examination of the major persons and events that shaped the economic, political and social developments of 20th-century Europe. Using both the works of contemporaries such as Erich Maria Remarque, Virginia Woolf, Primo Levi, Albert Camus and Vaclav Havel, and of historians, the course explores the issues and individuals of the period. Also offered through European Studies.

209. Medieval World.
An exploration of the culture of Europe from the fall of Rome to the dawn of the Renaissance (roughly 450-1350 CE), designed to demonstrate that medieval civilization is intrinsically fascinating and the source of many of our contemporary institutions, values and problems. The approach is thematic rather than strictly chronological, emphasizing social experience and cultural achievement. The bulk of the reading is drawn from primary sources: epics, romances, chronicles and philosophy. This course is particularly recommended to students interested in literature and art and to those contemplating a semester in Europe. Also offered through European Studies.

210. Renaissance World.
An examination of the society and culture of Europe from the Black Death to the Scientific Revolution (roughly 1350-1650). During this period medieval society was transformed, often painfully, into something recognizably “modern”— a civilization characterized by science, capitalism, imperialism and faith in material progress. This course emphasizes social experiences and cultural achievement and provides a background for study in Europe. Also offered through European Studies.

211. Women in Modern Europe, 1750 to the Present.
This course surveys the roles of women in the political, economic and social history of modern Europe. Beginning with the 18th century, the course traces the public and private activities of women and the changing cultural definitions of those activities up to the present. Topics to be examined include the Enlightenment, industrialization, revolutionary and wartime activities, the feminist movements and the rise of the welfare state. Also offered through European Studies.

215. History of Imperial Russia.
The history of the Russian state from the earliest times to the 19th century. Emphasis is placed on political history.

216. Russia in the 20th Century.
This course is an introduction to Russian history from the late Imperial period to and the Soviet Union to the Commonwealth of Independent States. We will focus on political events and developments (like the Russian Revolution, Stalinism and the GULAGS, World War II, the Cold War, Perestroika and Chechnya) as well as on the impact of Marxist ideology on social and cultural issues. Also offered through European Studies.

229. Introduction to Native American History.
With the abandonment of earlier perspectives grounded in romantic and evolutionary stereotypes, Native American history represents today one of the most exciting, dynamic and contentious fields of inquiry into America’s past. This course introduces students to the key themes and trends of the history of North America’s indigenous peoples by taking an issues-oriented approach. We will cover material ranging from the debate over the Native American population at the time of first European contact to contemporary social and political struggles over casino gambling and land claims. The course stresses the ongoing complexity and change in Native American societies and will emphasize the theme of Native peoples’ creative adaptations to historical change. Also offered through Native American Studies and U.S. Cultural and Ethnic Studies.

233. Colonial Latin America.
This course is designed as a survey of the formation and historical development of colonial Latin America. We will begin with the initial encounters between some of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Iberians in the 15th century and end with Spain’s final loss of its colonial holdings in the Americas in 1898. We will devote considerable attention to the processes of conquest and colonization in the main theaters of the Iberian empires (the Caribbean, Mexico, Peru and Brazil) and how these processes affected all the peoples and societies involved. We will explore how the colonizers sought to extract wealth from their new colonies, how social and political relationships evolved in this new and hybrid cultural setting, and how both Iberians and Amerindians experienced Christianization. Part of our task will be to understand the dynamics of race, class and gender in the colonial societies that developed from the violent collision of cultures during the conquest. The last part of the course will focus on the forces that finally destroyed the American colonial bonds with Spain and Portugal and the colonial legacies that endured after independence. This course satisfies both the humanities and the diversity distribution requirements. Also offered through Caribbean and Latin American Studies.

234. Modern Latin America.
This course is designed as a survey of modern Latin America and the Caribbean. We will begin with a brief overview of the colonial era and the early national period, but the main focus of the course will be from about 1870 to the present. We will examine the historical roots of the tremendous human and cultural diversity of Latin America and the Caribbean and how this diversity has affected the evolution of societies in the region. Some of the issues that will concern us include the region’s relationships to a changing world economy, politics and human rights, and migration and diasporic cultures. Most of our attention will be focused on Ibero-America, but we will touch on Anglo- and Francophone areas in the Caribbean as well. This course satisfies both the humanities and the diversity distribution requirements. Also offered through Caribbean and Latin American Studies.

239. Imperial Spain.
This course is framed by the notion that Spain as a nation has been both an agent and an object of colonization. To investigate this notion our chronological sweep will be broad, from ancient times to the nineteenth century. Most of our focus, however, will be on the period known as the Golden Age from the mid-1400s to 1700. We will begin by examining Spain’s complex Mediterranean history and culture to help understand the roots of Spain’s impulse to Atlantic empire in the 15th century. The central portion of the course will focus on Spain at the height of its imperial power from the mid-16th to the mid-17th centuries. Our main text here will be Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quijote (in a modern English translation). Some of the themes we will take up include Spain’s experience with religious, cultural and racial diversity on the peninsula and in the empire; the complex relationship between Spain’s European empire (dependencies in the Netherlands and Italy for instance) and its overseas empire; and the price of empire for Spanish development. The last quarter of the course will focus on the shrinking and reconfigured empire after 1700. We will end with Spain’s loss of its last colonies in 1898 and the painful process of critique and reflection this loss engendered.

243. Origins of American Foreign Policy.
Since its creation, the United States has been connected with the wider world through trade, immigration, territorial expansion and war. This course examines the roots and characteristics of American foreign policy and foreign relations from colonial times through the 19th century, while giving attention to how domestic politics, public opinion, society and culture responded to and shaped government policies and international relations. We also consider how ideas about race and gender influenced policies and relations with other nations; how the territorial expansion of the United States affected Native Americans; and how the peoples of other nations responded to U.S. policies.

244. 20th-Century American Foreign Policy.
A history of the development and prosecution of American foreign policy following the emergence of the United States as a world power. Particular attention is focused on the effort to rationalize traditional democratic ideals with the expanding role of the United States as an imperialist world power. Much of the latter half of the course is devoted to an examination of the causes and consequences of the rivalry between the United States and the USSR and the post-Cold War era. HIST 243 or HIST 104 is recommended but not required.

253. Colonial British America.
In this course we will examine the lives of the Native American, European and African inhabitants of Colonial British America. The history of colonial British America includes more than stereotypes of Puritans, Plymouth Rock, Thanksgiving and witches. By focusing on the social, economic and intellectual factors that comprised the colonial world, we will come to understand the influences that reach beyond this era into the present day.

254. History of Modern France, 1815 to the Present.
This course provides an upper-level survey of French history from the Restoration through the Fifth Republic. The legacy of the 1789 Revolution, the origins of the Dreyfus Affair, the Vichy Regime and the Resistance, de Beauvoir’s feminism, de Gaulle’s and Mitterand’s presidencies, the rise of the National Front and the confrontation between Islam and republicanism are among the many topics explored. The course includes cultural and social history as well as politics and foreign policy.  Also offered through European Studies.

256. Slavery and Freedom in the Americas.
This course surveys the topic of the genesis, development and dissolution of the transatlantic slave trade and the slave societies that created the demand for this trade in both North and South America and the Caribbean. The perspective is Atlantic in scope, trying to understand the impact of this forced migration on Africa and Africans and on American (defined as all of the Americas, not just the U.S.) societies. We will discuss the interactions of Africans and their descendants with the indigenous peoples of the Americas and with Europeans. We will tap into some of the wide array of materials now available to study the slave system and the cultures of slave societies in the Americas — memoirs and other primary materials, Web-based materials, film and secondary sources. Our concluding work will survey some of the movements to abolish the slave trade and slavery itself, examining how the people involved defined freedom. We will end by discussing some of the contemporary debates about the legacies of slavery in the Americas. This course satisfies both the humanities and the diversity distribution requirements. Also offered through Caribbean and Latin American Studies.

260. Modern Middle East Since 1914.
A survey of the history of the Middle East from 1914 to the present, set in the context of the region’s internal politics. Starting with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the rise of Zionism and the rise of Arab nationalism, the course focuses on the development of modern Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Also offered as Religious Studies 266.

261. History of Islamic Civilization.
This course is a broad introduction to Islamic civilization from its origins on the Arabian peninsula to its diverse contemporary settings. Though the course will roughly follow the history of the Islamic states, it will be organized around themes including the development of Islamic law, theology and mysticism (Sufism), as well as around the social, cultural and political dimensions of Islam.

263. African American History to 1865.
This course offers a survey of the social, political, cultural and economic history of African Americans from the 1600s to the end of the Civil War. Topics of the course include the Atlantic slave trade, colonial and antebellum slavery, family life, resistance to slavery and African Americans' participation in the Civil War and contributions to the building of the nation. Also offered through U.S. Cultural and Ethnic Studies.

264. African American History 1865-Present.
This course offers a survey of the social, political, cultural and economic history of African-Americans from 1865 to the present day. Topics of the course include Reconstruction, the implementation of segregation, the Harlem Renaissance, African-Americans’ participation in both World Wars and Vietnam, the civil rights movement, the black power movement and activism in the 1980s and 1990s. Also offered through U.S. Cultural and Ethnic Studies.

265. West Africa and the Diaspora.
West Africans were building complex social systems from approximately 1000 to 1800. This was also a time of unprecedented strain when millions of Africans were uprooted from their homelands and spread across the world as a result of the Atlantic and trans-Saharan slave trades. Scholarly research in the last decade has attempted to explain both slavery and the slave trade and to assess their impact on Africa, the Americas and the West. An understanding of these processes and their legacy is crucial to a fuller comprehension of human struggles and conflicts during the past 200 years. Also offered through African Studies and Global Studies.

266. The History of West Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
This course is designed to achieve an understanding of the complexity and diversity of West African societies, of the numerous ways Africans reacted to external demands and challenges, of the major costs and consequences of colonialism, of the magnitude of efforts to achieve independence and of some of the most significant strategies to achieve development. Failures and achievements in West Africa during this period are relevant to an understanding of similar processes in many other parts of Africa and the Third World. Also offered through African Studies.

267. The Holocaust.
A study of the Holocaust, the events leading up to it and its theological implications for Judaism and Christianity. The course looks for possible causes in German culture and Christian preaching and examines other recent genocides for common factors and common lessons to be learned. Also offered as Religious Studies 267 and through European Studies.

272. The New South.
This course is a survey of the history of the region known as the Southern United States from Reconstruction to the present. The primary focus of the course is on the political, economic and social history of the South, although attention is paid to its cultural history, especially through an examination of stereotypes about the South. A major theme of the course is the interrogation of the notion of Southern “distinctiveness,” how that notion has served the needs of the nation outside the South and whether the South is still a culturally distinct region. The course ends with a consideration of the consequences of the powerful political and cultural influence the South exerts on the nation.

273. Civil Rights Movement.
This course examines the civil rights movement in the United States from the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision to the battles over Affirmative Action at the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities 50 years later. The course traces the ideological developments and struggles in the movement, especially as major protest activities spread outside the South to the North and West. The course not only focuses on the events of the movement but also on the disagreements over strategies, tactics and goals of various civil rights organizations and leaders. Additionally, the course is contextualized historically. It traces the various ways Africans and African Americans have worked for civil, political and economic rights since the introduction of slavery into the colonies that would become the United States of America. The course uses a variety of sources to explore the movement, including memoirs, scholarly articles and monographs, Hollywood feature films and documentaries. Also offered through U.S. Cultural and Ethnic Studies.

292. Revolutionary China.
This course will have three sections, all turning around the central theme of revolution. First, we will examine the rise of the Communist Party after 1920 and the civil war that ended with the victory of the Communists in 1949. Second, we will analyze the causes, processes and effects of the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976, using memoirs of Chinese who lived through that decade. Finally, we will consider the “economic revolution” of the 1980s and 1990s in the context of the Pacific Rim region, including a unit on the situation in Hong Kong, which returned to China in July 1997. In this section we will research and debate questions dealing with current U.S. policy toward China, using primary documents such as current newspapers and journals. Also offered through Asian Studies.

299. Pro-Seminar.
This course, required for the major and the minor in history, is designed to offer students an opportunity to learn about and practice the tools of the historian’s craft while examining a particular topic in detail. While topics vary, the course is held in seminar fashion and entails extensive reading and writing assignments. Prerequisite is a 100- or 200-level history course.

300-Level Courses

Students registering for 300-level courses must have at least one 100- or 200-level history course or permission of the instructor.

308. European Empires.
This course explores the development, transformations and decline of European imperialism with an emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. We will focus in particular on the ways that European constructions of gender and race influenced and were in turn influenced by the encounters between colonizer and colonized. A partial list of topics to be covered includes the French in North and West Africa and Southeast Asia, the Dutch in the East Indies and Southern Africa, and the British in Ireland and India. Also offered through European Studies.

311. 19th- and 20th-Century Science.
This course examines a few of the major developments of the 19th and 20th centuries in some detail. Topics include evolution, genetics and a synthesis of the two; the wave theory of light and special relativity; the discovery of the atomic and nuclear structure of matter; and the Manhattan Project. Also considered are the various ways historians of science go about constructing the stories they write as well as some of the historiographic issues they face. This course satisfies the humanities distribution requirement. Also offered as Physics 311 and through European Studies.

330. New World Encounters, 1500-1800.
The discovery of the Americas, wrote Francisco Lopez de Gomara in 1552, was the greatest event since the creation of the world, excepting the Incarnation and Death of Him who created it. Five centuries have not diminished either the overwhelming importance or the strangeness of the early encounter between Europeans and the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Taking a comparative approach, this course will conceptualize early American history as the product of reciprocal cultural encounters by assessing the various experiences of Spanish, French and English newcomers in different regions of the Americas. Critical interpretation of primary source material will be emphasized in the course, as will the development of students’ ability to reflect critically on these documents, taking into account the perspective of both the colonizers and the colonized. Also offered through Global Studies.

333. The Age of the American Revolution.
An in-depth examination of the causes, progress and consequences of the American Revolution. Included is a summary of the constitutional, economic and social development of the colonies to 1763; the alteration of British colonial policy after 1763 and the American response; internal unrest within the colonies; the development of a revolutionary movement culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the war to secure independence; and the Constitution of 1787.  Also offered through Native American Studies.

337. Immigration in American History.
“Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered the immigrants are American history.” This course examines the immigrants’ expansion in America. Why did people from Europe emigrate to America? What happened to these people upon arrival? What happened to them after several generations? What is the fate of immigrants in America today?

350. Native Peoples of the Northeast: From Contact to Casinos.
After an initial, hostile series of economic and military exchanges with Europeans beginning off the coast of Maine in 1524, the Native peoples of northeastern North America have undergone a fascinating and dramatic series of transformations. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, this course will analyze the history of Native Americans in the Northeast from a variety of perspectives. Key themes to be covered will include: warfare, changes in gender roles and relations, land claims, the reassertion of tribal identity, land claims and casino gaming. Readings and discussions will be drawn from a wide range of secondary and primary sources, including historical documents, traditional narratives, archaeological reports, the Internet and museum exhibits of material culture. Also offered through Native American Studies.

351. Iroquois History.
This course will explore the history and culture of the Iroquois people from the era prior to their first contact with European peoples, through their diaspora following the American Revolution to their present-day struggles and achievements in Canada and the United States. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, students will be exposed to a variety of methodologies and approaches to reconstructing the Iroquois past. Readings and discussions will be drawn from a range of sources, including historical documents, traditional narratives, archaeological reports, ethnography, contemporary Iroquois literature, the Internet and museum exhibits of material culture. Students will have the opportunity to compose their own interpretation of some aspect of Iroquois history in a significant research essay. Also offered through Native American Studies.

358. Jihad Movements in Islamic History.
The first part of the course will investigate the Islamic theological and juridical interpretations of Jihad. A study of the relevant passages of the Quran will reveal how contradictory the Islamic concept of jihad is, with many verses containing a strong limitation of fighting against non-Muslims. The second and third parts will study several important movements of political Islam, Islamic Reformism and jihad, taken mainly from the Colonial Period of the 18th and 19th centuries (Nigeria, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Caucasus) as well as the 20th and 21st centuries (Iran, Afghanistan, al-Qaida). Prerequisite: History 261 (History of Islamic Civilization) or similar introductions into Islam.

362. Topics in American Economic History.
This course provides an overview of the economic development of America from the colonial period to the present and examines in detail several of the classic controversies of the “new economic history.” Emphasis is placed on the role economic theory can play in understanding pivotal events of the American experience. Pre­-requisites: Economics 251 and 252. Also offered as Economics 362.

363. Topics in African History.
Topics vary, but have included transformations in African agrarian history; southern Africa: internal dynamics and international relations; and economic change in east, central and southern Africa. Consult the history department course guide for current offerings. Also offered through African Studies.

365. Colloquium in American History.
Topics vary. Consult the department course guide for current offerings.

369. Pan-Africanism: Past, Present and Future Prospects.
Pan-Africanism is a set of fascinating, albeit diverse and often conflicting, ideas as well as a movement that has deep connections to the African continent and to many other regions of the world. This course will explore these dimensions within a historical and theoretical context. Major issues of community and identity, and changes within both, particularly within a diaspora framework, will be a significant focus of this course. Particular attention will be centered on the seven Pan-African congresses during the 20th century where Africans and persons of African descent outside the continent of Africa have explored their commonalities as well as their differences, as they have debated ways to meet an array of challenges within colonial, national and international settings. The course will conclude with a broad attempt to identify the prospects for Pan-Africanism as the world community moves into the 21st century. Also offered through African Studies and Global Studies.

370. Recent America.
Examines American history from 1945 to the present. In this period, the United States emerged as a nuclear superpower. Americans discovered the hula-hoop and sugar-free, caffeine-free cola drinks, a president was almost impeached and the nation struggled with a protracted and undeclared war. This course explores the political, social and economic changes of the recent past and examines the many ways American society has been reshaped within two generations.

371. 18th-Century Europe and the French Revolution.
This course examines the origins of the French Revolution in 18th-century Europe and the revolution itself. Topics include social, economic and cultural as well as political questions; the consequences of the revolution for France, Europe and the world up to 1815 are considered. The ever-changing historiography of the revolution provides the organizing principle for the course. Also offered through European Studies.

372. European Identities, 1700-2000.
This seminar examines the construction and transformation of European identity in the 19th and 20th centuries. The impact of the encounters between Europeans and non-Europeans on the culture and society of both old and new Europe is a particular focus. Beginning with the debates on national identity in the early 19th century and continuing with inter-European migration and colonial expansion, the course examines the developing relationship between European and colonial peoples that led to the establishment of significant immigrant communities in the West. The course concludes with an assessment of topics relevant to current European social and political concerns.

373. Japan and the United States in World War II, 1931-1952.
In this course we examine the relationship between Japan and the United States in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. We will discuss anti-war political activism in the U.S. and Japan, the internment of Japanese-Americans, the role of propaganda in both countries, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Allied occupation of Japan after the war. This is a writing-intensive course. We will work on writing and oral communication skills and discuss such concerns as how cultures understand and misunderstand each other.

375. Colloquium in European History.
Topics vary; consult the department course guide for current offerings. Also offered through European Studies .

376. Colloquium in African History.
Topics vary; consult the department course guide for current offerings.

377. Colloquium in Asian History.
Topics vary; consult the department course guide for current offerings. Also offered through Asian Studies

378. Colloquium in Caribbean and Latin American History.
Topics vary; consult the department course guide for current offerings.

471-480. SYE: Senior Seminars
Seminars, restricted to senior majors and minors, are normally limited to 15 students and require the production of a substantial research paper. Successful completion of at least one seminar course is required for the major. Odd-numbered topics are taught in the fall, even-numbered courses in the spring. Topics vary; consult the current department course guide for details. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

471-472. SYE: Seminars in European History.
Also offered through European Studies.

473-474. SYE: Seminars in American History.

475-476. SYE: Seminars in Asian History.
Also offered through Asian Studies.

477-478. SYE: Seminars in Comparative History.

479-480. SYE: Seminars in African History.
Also offered through African Studies.

483-484. SYE: Seminars in Central Eurasian History.

481,482. Internships.
These courses provide an opportunity for qualified juniors and seniors to obtain one credit during the fall or spring semester for work at local, state or national historical agencies, archives or museums. Supervision of the intern is provided by the host agency. Responsibility for evaluating the experience rests with the history department faculty coordinator. The internship must be set up in the prior semester at the initiative of the student in consultation with one faculty member and the chair. Prerequisite: permission of instructor and chair of the department.

489,490. SYE: Independent Studies.
To qualify, students must have a 3.2 GPA in the history department. Normally, students should have junior or senior standing with a major or minor in history. Applicants must demonstrate that the study they wish to pursue has serious intellectual merit and that their objectives cannot be accomplished within the framework of existing course offerings. This course must be set up in the prior semester. Prerequisite: permission of instructor and chair of the department.

498,499. SYE: Honors Thesis.
See the description of the history honors program above. Completion of an honors thesis fulfills the seminar requirement. Students should consult the department chair for complete details on pursuing an honors thesis.