History

This course covers 600 years of Seoul history, the Chosun (1394-1897), Taehan Empire (1897-1919), and the Japanese Colonial Period (1910-1945). As of 2020, Seoul has a population of 9.97 million and is considered one of the top ten metropolitan economies in the world. By exploring the history of Seoul, students gain an understanding of the history of one of the oldest cities in the world and also the dynamic history of modern Korea.  By the end of the course students should be able to understand early modern Korean history and its significant events. In addition, students will understand how modern-day Seoul was established via its 600 year history.

This course explores the different ways in which Germany has confronted, and continues to address, the historical legacy of the twentieth century, with an emphasis on sites of remembrance in Berlin related to the National Socialist era and the Holocaust. Individual historical and commemorative sites will be considered within the broader context of German history after 1945—and how those sites provide valuable insights into the successes and controversial failures of coming to terms with a complex and burdensome past. From the general silence and continuities of the Adenauer years, as well as the first criminal trials of the 1960s, to the citizens' initiatives of the 1970s and the institutional memorials of the 1990s, students will familiarize themselves with different approaches to confronting the past (Vergangenheitsbewältigung) and the German culture of remembrance (Erinnerungskultur).

This course introduces some of the major questions and historical debates that continue to surround the origins, implementation, and aftermath of the Holocaust—the systematic, industrialized mass murder of an estimated six million European Jews, as well as homosexuals, communists, Roma and Sinti, handicapped, and other victims by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during WWII. The first part of the course focuses on the historical context, planning, and execution of the Holocaust. The second part of the course introduces the major historiographical debates in the post-war period. The third part of the course focuses on memorialization and the politics of memory in contemporary Germany. Special attention is given to issues in Holocaust studies that are peculiar to Germany as the country of the perpetrators. The course examines domestic German controversies about Holocaust memorialization, the place of the Holocaust in German national self-understanding, and more broadly the concept of "coming to terms with the past" (Vergangenheitsbewältigung).

This course examines the city of Rome itself, its turbulent history, its empire and its vibrant culture. 

This course has two main objectives. The first is to provide introduction to some of the central themes and periods in economic history, ranging from the neolithic agricultural revolution in the Middle East to worldwide economic growth in the 20th and 21st centuries. The second is to introduce some of the main analytical debates in the field. The course provides a broad sense of the major epochs and revolutions in economic history, and demonstrates how economic theory and statistical evidence can help us to understand the real world. It also indicates some of the potential pitfalls, as well as advantages, of explaining the past through the lens of social science.

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This course examines social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of Spain during the 20th century, contextualizing the historical evolution that took place and shaped Spanish society during that period. It starts with the crisis of 1898 and the consequences of defeat during the early 1900s on Spanish social transformation, the oligarchic monarchy of Alfonso XIII, from 1902 through 1914, and the parliamentary collapse from 1914 through 1923. The course also covers the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-30), the Second Spanish Republic (1931-36), and the cultural Silver Age of that ran from 1898 though 1936. It finally looks at the impact of the civil war (1936-39), the resulting Franco dictatorship (1939-75), and the restoration of democracy in Spain following Franco's death in 1975.

This course covers American historical and cultural developments from European colonization to the end of the 20th century. It studies both the internal developments in the United States and its growing importance in international politics. It offers a range of social, economic, and political perspectives on the American experience and develops students' understanding of the dominance of the United States in contemporary world history and culture. 

This course examines Pacific history from the Indigenous occupation of the Pacific to the late 1900s. It introduces the major narratives of the Pacific, using historical examples from all over the Pacific to highlight keys events and trends in Pacific history. It also focuses on the ways in which this history has been constructed and seeks to analyze Indigenous Pacific ways of telling history.