History

Between 1688 and 1832, Britain emerged from a period of chronic instability to become a global power and the world’s first industrial nation. This course examines some of these transformations, exploring the political, social and economic changes of the period and considering the impact of change on the everyday lives of the men, women and children who lived through it. Most aspects of Britain’s evolution towards ‘modernity’ are contested by historians and a core aspect of the course covers the development of critical skills in relation to these debates. The course considers, for example, the appropriateness of the term ‘revolution’ with regards to industrial developments; the validity of the ‘moral economy’ with regards to popular protest, and the significance of the ‘bloody code’ as a tool of social discipline and control. The course also examines ideological developments in the period and their broader social and cultural significance, focusing on issues such as the growth of ‘politeness’ and new concepts of male and female behavior.

This course introduces major themes and approaches from the field of global intellectual history in 17th-20th century history. It looks at early modern "connected history" approaches, the history of enlightenment-era travel and travelogues, the history of colonial-era cultural and textual knowledge (orientalism, ethnography), the traditions of thought emanating from Atlantic slavery, the rise of humanitarianism and of international law, the political thought of empire, (multi-)cultural identity and hybridity, and postcolonial and decolonial theory. The course offers orientation on how global history has shaped thought, and on how the different forms of globality or globalization that can be observed throughout modern history have been understood.

Through close readings of works of political, economic and religious thought produced by African intellectuals, this course provides a grounding in some of the major debates around identity, sovereignty, and racial, gender and sexual equality as they have played out on the African continent. First, the course starts with the time when Africans became African: when they began to think of themselves as “African” in a sense different from other human beings they encountered from other continents. Second, while African intellectual history is related to political, economic, social and cultural histories of Africa, it is not the same thing. African thought influenced all of these histories, but the course focuses on the non-material, ideational, and ideological influences on these histories and their material results. In the end, the course develops a better understanding of how Africans in the past made sense of their world and how that understanding has affected the present.

King Arthur and the legends surrounding him are known from medieval times throughout Western Europe, but his origin is as a Welsh folk hero. This course traces the earliest development of the Arthurian legend from its Welsh beginnings. The Celtic origin of the theme of the Holy Grail is examined also, as well as the Welsh origin of the character of Merlin. Original sources in translation form the basis of study for all these topics. Apart from one essential book, the necessary study resources are provided in class.

Public administration in Hong Kong is shaped by its colonial legacies and by the Hong Kong government’s position as a local government of the People’s Republic of China. Since 2020, authorities have centralized power over Hong Kong and within Hong Kong to implement executive-led government. Political appointees and civil servants play critical roles in the policy process, but they co-produce most policy with civil society. This course examines the role of civic engagement and elite cooptation in the policy process. The course combines extensive reviews of scholarly research on Hong Kong with lectures (including guest lectures), discussion, and a group project that helps expand the collection of articles about public 102 administration in Hong Kong on Wikipedia.

In the aftermath of the Act of Union with Great Britain, Irish society and its political system was transformed. Change was not immediate however, transformation came slowly. Beginning with Catholic Emancipation and the Ordnance Survey (both dating to 1829) and ending with the onset of the Plan of Campaign (1886) this module explores the relationship between the people and the land on which they lived and labored, and the ways in which they were subject to, and interacted with, the British state. Rural unrest, the tithe war and periodic crises of famine and disease foreshadowed the catastrophe that took place during the Great Famine (1845-52) when the population of the country dropped by over a quarter, from around 8 million to around 6 million. Death and emigration became drivers of change that saw a rise in living standards in the two decades after the Famine ended. Despite this, conflict in the form of the ‘Land War’ (1879-81) erupted, and thus began the decline of landlordism in Ireland. These decades are crucial in understanding the development of Irish society and politics in the period up until independence in 1921.

Crime has been readily associated with London's metropolis, from loveable rogues, spivs, and celebrity criminals such as Jack Sheppard to panics caused by the "London Monster" and "Jack the Ripper." Criminals have been the focus of both fascination and horror in the city's past. In tandem, the city developed efforts to control crime, from Beadles and Bobbies to slum clearances and the ultimate sanctions of Tyburn Tree and Newgate Prison. This course analyzes thematic aspects of crime and punishment in London, with particular attention to race, gender, and queer history. By recovering marginalized voices, students chart transitions in societal reactions, policing, legislation, and culture across the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Through analyzing primary materials and site visits linked to key cases from London's past, this course provides glimpses into the shifting criminal and judicial landscape of London.

This course examines the main cultural manifestations of the United Kingdom and the United States, focusing on the principal geographical and social features, as well as the events and processes that have shaped the social and cultural development of both these English-speaking countries since 1945.

Political leaders use architecture to convey power, to express political ideas, and to influence how people think and act. In twentieth-century Europe, political ideologies including fascism, communism, colonialism, and democracy influenced the creation of new buildings and cities. This course explores those ideologies through the spaces that they produced, and a selection of examples spanning between Hitler’s plans to transform Berlin to public swimming pools in post-war Britain. Under the banner of democracy, it also explores how forces within Irish politics impacted the Dublin cityscape. This is a history of modern Europe told through the mark left by political actors upon architecture and cities. This same course exists as a 5-credit option - UCEAP Course 133A.

The course consists of two parts: General and Thematic. The general part, will answer the question "What is global history?" and will critically discuss the methodological approaches that belong to the realm of global history. Specific topics will be examined from this perspective, including labor, social and women's movements, migration, empires, cities and global events such as the First and Second World Wars but also the 1968 and 1989. The thematic party, focuses on part on the global history of genocide, mass crimes, and war crimes in order to understand the dynamics, differences and complexities of mass violence in the 20th century. The first section of this part will be devoted to the “invention” of the concept of genocide, its difference with war crimes and mass crimes, while the second section will be devoted to an in-depth study of some case studies.