History

This course explores, giving them voice, how aboriginal Americans (also named First Nations, Tribal groups, Indigenous People, or Native-Americans) relentlessly attempted to “unsettle” their land and exposed the connectedness between violence to the earth and violence towards them. Far from feeding the trope of the “Indians in harmony with nature,” this course examines how their demand to preserve the ecological integrity of the land has been an act of political resistance. It develops a historical perspective on the specificity of Indigenous environmentalism in the United States, for the “healing” of land, non-human life and natural resources has been inherently tied to the ongoing land grabbing and exploitation of their territories. Ranging from History to Anthropology, Native-American Studies and Environmental History, this class historicize indigenous vulnerabilities to extreme weather, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and pollution from manufacturing and resource extraction. It engages in weekly conversations to unpack the ongoing struggle that indigenous and black communities have fought for the preservation of the right to bury their dead, breathe, and survive.

Revolutions, revolts, social unrest, strikes, modern street demonstrations and violent episodes are commonplace in the French historical landscape. On the other hand, the French political “laboratory” is remarkable by the number and the diversity of its institutional experiments through political regimes as opposed as Monarchy, Parliamentary Republic, Presidential Republic and even “Empire”' (under the Bonaparte). What is the most relevant feature: Revolution or Reform? People's Power in the streets or Elected assemblies? Popular voice or a sense of compromise driven by official institutions? Where Democracy ought to be situated: on the top of Barricades or within the routine of State-run policies? This course offers an historical journey through the multiple episodes of the French “instability”, from the Revolution of 1789 to our time. The course is open to all students and does not require prior knowledge with French political history.

This course provides a general overview of indigenous groups during the Postclassic period, prior to the first Hispanic expeditions in the territory.  The course offers a series of basic methodological and monographic tools for the study of the Indigenous past, which is considered the foundation of Mexican History. The course aims to provide a general overview of the Epiclassical period, and the Postclassic in Mesoamerica; provide the tools and basic concepts for the study of ancient México, and to bring one closer closer to the documentary corpus written during the New Spain period, through which Mesoamerican cultures can be studied.

This course provides a transnational and comparative overview of Jewish life in postwar France and the United States. These two countries emerged as home to the largest Jewish populations in the world outside of the State of Israel after 1945. Despite important differences between them, both France and the United States are built on a rational, voluntaristic and ethnically neutral concept of citizenship. In the postwar years, both countries have also become more diverse in real social terms and also more open to the idea that heritage communities should claim their rightful place in the public sphere. Throughout, the course examines the various ways in which multiculturalism in the larger sense and Jewish difference in particular have been conceptualized and experienced in these two national settings, considering both similarities and differences between the United States and France.

This course considers the issues of the contemporary world, in the light of the historical experiences of the last century and the current century. It is based on political history in the broadest sense, including economic, social, and cultural issues, and informed by the work of other social sciences. The privileged angle for approaching these two centuries is that of modernities, the discussions that this concept brings with it, and the issues that it covers: around the nation, violence, democracy, the welfare state, the environment, for example. Particular attention is paid to the conflicts that have arisen between different conceptions of modernity throughout the century. The approach is global, with particular attention to colonial and post-colonial contexts. 

This course explores the counter-revolutionary movements, ideas and actions that shaped European history from the Enlightenment to the end of World War II. It reflects on the political, social, and intellectual history of the counter-revolution, examining the forces resisting revolutionary change — monarchies, religious institutions, conservative thinkers, rural communities — and their response to key upheavals, including, of course, the French Revolution, the rise of socialism, and the emergence of authoritarian nationalism in the first half of the 20th century. The course engages with methodological and historiographical debates surrounding the counter-revolution. It critically assesses how the concept of counter-revolution interrogates the notions of conservative and far-right politics and explores how counter-revolutionary movements contributed to the construction of political modernity in Europe.

This course examines ideas, concepts, traditions, and authors that shaped critical thinking in Latin America during the twentieth century, in close relation to the socio-political and economic processes of the region.

This course examines Anglo-American relations from 1939-1991 and analyses the nature of the special relationship from historical and political perspectives. Set within the rich historiography of this subject, the course considers how US and UK governments responded to major events in world history from 1939 to 1991. Throughout, particular reference are made to Anglo-American relations in the political, diplomatic, economic, defense, and intelligence arenas and to the importance of personalities in strengthening and weakening the alliance. Students reflect on UK and US social, cultural, and political values in the context of international relations, and develop an understanding of ethical and political issues arising from modes of representation.

This course focuses on French cities in the modern era. It explores in greater depth how, in concrete terms, French towns revealed the workings of modern France. Themes such as demography, society, economy, and cultural life, are covered.

This course examines how environmental challenges have been, and continue to be, shaped by empire. These impacts affect how Earth's history, the biosphere, and the climate are known, and extend to both extractive technologies and financial relationships that enable extraction. But the effects of empire run deeper, to the very way the environment is understood. Using London as a launchpad for field trips and firsthand encounters, this course challenges students to rethink how ideas of the planet’s past, present, and future are shaped by empire. Students examine how empire has shaped, and continues to shape, environmental knowledge; explore sites and spaces of empire, such as where the material markers of scientific knowledge persist in advancing ways of knowing and relating to the environment today; investigate how contemporary modes of extraction maintain links to the legacies of empire, such as in and through financial activities; are provided with concrete analytical skills for situating contemporary challenges in historical context; and are encouraged to engage critically and thoughtfully with how environmental thought, and baselines for assessing environmental impacts, have been influenced by the data collected through empire.