HIST E-1661 The United States During the New Deal (Fall)
HIST E-1669/W History of American International Relations (Fall)
HIST E-1825 China: Traditions and Transformations (Fall)
HIST E-1837 Rebels with a Cause: Tiananmen in History and Memory (Spring)
HIST E-1852 Japan in the Twentieth Century (Spring)
HIST E-1890/W World War II through Film and Literature (Spring)
HIST E-1895 The Origins of the Cold War: The Yalta Conference, 1945 (Spring)
HIST E-1915 Africa and Africans: The Making of a Continent in the Modern World (Spring)
HIST E-1010 History of Western Christianity, 100-1100
Fall term (13303)
*** HIST E-1010 Fall term (13303) has been CANCELED. ***
This course focuses on the church and society in Western Europe from the second through the twelfth centuries. Early and high medieval Christianity in social and cultural context is explored, with attention to popular religious belief and behavior as well as to the institutional church and its leaders.
HIST E-1015 History of Western Christianity, 1100-1500
Spring term (23161)
*** HIST E-1015 Spring term (23161) has been CANCELED. ***
This course examines the church and society in Western Europe during the high and late Middle Ages. We pay particular attention to theological and institutional change and continuity and to popular religious movements.
HIST E-1224 Britain Since 1760: Island, Europe, Empire
Fall term (13821)
Maya Jasanoff, PhD, Professor of History, Harvard University.
This course is a survey history of Great Britain from the reign of George III to the administration of Tony Blair. These centuries witnessed Britain's spectacular emergence as the world's leading industrial and imperial power; and its dramatic decline in influence after World War II. How did Britons experience domestic and global change? Themes include political reform, social class, national identity, popular culture, the rise and fall of empire, and relations with Europe. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences course History 1224. (4 credits)
HIST E-1557/W History of Russian Culture Through Film and Literature
Fall term (13727)
Donald Ostrowski, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Wednesdays beginning Aug. 31, 5:30-7:30 pm. Optional sections to be arranged.
This course provides an overview of the historical development of Russian culture, both artistic and material. We examine the major movements in Russian art, music, literature, film, and dance within their historical context. Among the topics discussed are saints lives, icons, chronicles, the writings of Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoi, Pasternak, and Bulgakov; the music of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich; the art of serf artists, Repin, Shishkin, Kandinsky, Mayakovsky, and Socialist Realism; and the films of Eisenstein and Mikhalkov. (4 credits)
HIST E-1572 The Holocaust in History, Literature, and Film
Spring term (23693)
Kevin Madigan, PhD, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Harvard Divinity School.
This seminar approaches the Nazi persecution of European Jewry from several disciplinary perspectives. Initially it explores the topic historically using a variety of historical materials dealing with the history of European antisemitism, German history from Bismarck to the accession of Hitler, the evolution of anti-Jewish persecution in the Third Reich, and the history of the Holocaust itself. Sources include primary sources produced by the German government between 1933 and 1945 and by Jewish victims-to-be or survivors, documentary films, and secondary interpretations. The aims of this part of the seminar are to understand the basic background and narrative of the Holocaust, to introduce students to the use of primary historical sources, and to familiarize them with some of the major historiographical debates. Students then ponder religious and theological reactions to the Holocaust, using literary and cinematic resources as well as discursive theological ones. They consider the historical question of the role played by the Protestant and Catholic churches and theologies in the Holocaust. The course concludes with an assessment of the role played by the Holocaust in today's world, specifically in the United States. Prerequisite: some work in European history is desirable but not required. (4 credits)
HIST E-1607b The American Revolution in Boston
January session (23307)
Robert J. Allison, PhD, Professor and Chair of History, Suffolk University.
Why did the American Revolution begin in Boston? This course takes an in-depth look at the political and social climate in Boston in the 1760s and 1770s, and the events that transformed resistance into revolution: the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Massacre, and the destruction of the tea. The course meets in the classroom for the first session; subsequently, it meets at historical sites (including Bunker Hill) and the Massachusetts Historical Society. (2 credits)
HIST E-1632/W The History of Boston
Spring term (22211)
Robert J. Allison, PhD, Professor and Chair of History, Suffolk University.
This course examines the history of Boston from the 1620s to the Big Dig. We discover the people who built, rebuilt, and transformed the city, from the days of the Puritans through the era of the American Revolution, nineteenth-century immigration and industrialization, and twentieth-century decline and revival. (4 credits)
HIST E-1661 The United States During the New Deal
Fall term (13815)
*** HIST E-1661 Fall term (13815) has been CANCELED. ***
The New Deal wrought fundamental changes in American life, transforming citizen-state relations and creating the basis for the welfare state we know today. Looking at the United States from 1929 to 1945, this research seminar offers students an opportunity to explore the historical literature on this significant period of social, economic, political, and cultural change with an eye toward conducting their own investigation into one aspect of the New Deal. Each student chooses a topic on some aspect of New Deal reform, or the broader social, economic, and cultural changes of the period, formulates a historical question, becomes familiar with the secondary literature on the subject, and engages with a body of primary sources with the goal of writing a research paper of 20-25 pages.
HIST E-1669/W History of American International Relations
Fall term (13737)
Robert J. Allison, PhD, Professor and Chair of History, Suffolk University.
This course explores the role of the United States in the wider world, from the time of the American Revolution to the present. We discuss the tension between idealism and self-interest as American international policy evolved, from the first alliance with France, through the Monroe Doctrine, westward expansion, imperialism, the rise of Asia, colonialism and the challenges of the Cold War, to engagement with Islamic societies. How has the United States defined itself and its role in a changing world? How has the world responded to American ideas, policies, and power? (4 credits)
HIST E-1825 China: Traditions and Transformations
Fall term (13785)
Peter K. Bol, PhD, Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University.
William C. Kirby, PhD, T.M. Chang Professor of China Studies, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor.
Modern China presents a dual image: a society transforming itself through economic development and social revolution; and the world's largest and oldest bureaucratic state, coping with longstanding problems of economic and political management. Whatever form of modern society and state emerges in China will bear the indelible imprint of China's historical experience, of its patterns of philosophy and religion, and of its social and political thought. These themes are discussed in order to understand China in the modern world and as a great world civilization that developed along lines different from those of the Mediterranean. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences course Societies of the World 12. (4 credits)
HIST E-1837 Rebels with a Cause: Tiananmen in History and Memory
Spring term (23551)
Rowena Xiaoqing He, PhD, Lecturer on East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University.
In the spring of 1989, millions of Chinese people took to the street calling for political reform. The nationwide demonstrations and a hunger strike by college students in Tiananmen Square ended with the People's Liberation Army firing on unarmed civilians. Student leaders and intellectuals were purged, imprisoned, or exiled. "Tiananmen" remains a political taboo in China today, despite the Tiananmen mothers' struggle to keep its memory alive. This course explores the Tiananmen movement in history and memory. (4 credits)
HIST E-1852 Japan in the Twentieth Century
Spring term (23587)
Andrew Gordon, PhD, Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Professor of History, Harvard University.
This course covers Japan's emergence as a world power and the Japanese experience of modernity. Topics include politics, social movements, and the culture of the imperial era; the experience of World War II and postwar occupation; the economic miracle and postwar political economy; and social and cultural transformation.The course considers modern Japan from the 1980s boom to the 1990s bust and its current place in the world. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences course History 1623. (4 credits)
HIST E-1890/W World War II through Film and Literature
Spring term (23595)
Donald Ostrowski, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Wednesdays beginning Jan. 25, 5:30-7:30 pm. Optional sections to be arranged.
This course is a thematic exploration of the war and its time through feature films, primary sources, and scholarly interpretations. It seeks to provide a means for analyzing and evaluating what one reads or sees about World War II in terms of historical accuracy and for gaining a broader understanding of different perspectives. Themes include the impact of war on soldiers and civilians, on the home front, women in war, the Japanese and German viewpoints, and postwar issues. Films include Mrs. Miniver, The Pianist, The Winter War, So Proudly We Hail, Taking Sides, The Hiding Place, and The Cranes Are Flying. Students may view films on their own or at the after-lecture film showings. (4 credits)
HIST E-1895 The Origins of the Cold War: The Yalta Conference, 1945
Spring term (23682)
Serhii Plokhii, PhD, Mykhailo S. Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History, Harvard University.
This course takes a close look at the Yalta Conference between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin to answer the question about possible alternatives to the cold war. The preparations for the conference, its work and outcome are put in the context of the long term geostrategic goals of the United States, United Kingdom, and the USSR, as well as their immediate objectives at the end of the war. (4 credits)
HIST E-1915 Africa and Africans: The Making of a Continent in the Modern World
Spring term (23612)
Caroline Elkins, PhD, Professor of History, Harvard University.
Understanding Africa as it exists today requires an understanding of the broader historical trends that have dominated the continent's past. This course provides a historical context for understanding issues and problems as they exist in contemporary Africa. It offers an integrated interpretation of sub-Saharan African history from the middle of the nineteenth century and the dawn of formal colonial rule through the period of independence until the present time. Particular emphasis is given to the continent's major historical themes during this period. Selected case studies are offered from throughout the continent to provide illustrative examples of the historical trends. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences course Societies of the World 26. (4 credits)