History

Classical music is the only art form that goes directly to the human spirit, states Pierre Bourdieu. More than any other genre, classical music has been stated to divide society by race and class. Orchestras base their business model typically on a visions of a white middle-class (and middle-age) audiences.. At the same time, even modern pop musical forms often presume but rarely do cross racial lines. Why is that so and where does the racial divide in music stem from? This course examines the interplay of music and race in North American history. We will examine different genres of music across time and space with a particular eye on agency and target audience, sound and word. We will look at mostly classical musicians of the African-American diaspora and North America, including their their experiences, their art and politics, and their receptions. Through an interdisciplinary approach using history, critical race theory, and cultural sociology, we will discuss and define racism, bias, inequality, and scripts of exclusion and inclusion in both pop and classical music. Moreover, we will examine to what extent and how shared empathy through sound may have the potential to influence, perhaps even change racial conscience, decreasing discrimination and exclusion in and outside stages ranging from street gigs to the concert hall. The seminar seeks to fulfill two objectives: first, we will spend a significant amount of time considering some of the most recent literature dedicated to the history and present experience of music and race. Both historians and musicologists have identified peculiar factors informing the interplay of music and politics. These include specific music genres, minstrelsy, jazz clubs, the music industry, and the interplay of music and civil rights. What cocktail, we’ll ask eventually, does it take to activate music as an instrument of both power and suppression and how do race and music interplay? Second, we will try to understand the mechanism of sound in the name of identity, discrimination, political action and discuss whether there are particular lessons for the impending future.

This course focuses on the rise of dictators between 1915-1945: Mussolini, Franco, and Hitler and the demise of old liberal governments during the interwar period in Europe. Topics include historical analysis of these events and the rise of Bolshevism and of various Fascist regimes. 

As a global conflict impacting society and culture, the Cold War poses a unique challenge for Musical historiography. While historians concentrate on the „superpowers“, the USA and the Soviet Union, the developing field of Cold War studies is emphasising the importance of smaller countries caught between west and east governments. With this expansion and new focus of our perspective, we are revising and pluralising our historiographical methods to make the dynamic national/historical borders of the Cold War more visible. The course uses the approach of political musical history to conceptualise the era. At the same time we also study broader Cold War history and new perspectives on national/international musical historiography.

This is a course in the history of ideas that introduces students to important shifts in the ways in which history, society, and politics have been thought about from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The course covers key figures in the history of political thought and philosophy, including Niccolo Machiavelli, Mary Wollstonecraft, Karl Marx, Mohandas Gandhi, and Hannah Arendt, and addresses influential debates about such issues as the relationship between politics and morality, the justification for violence, the nature and causes of inequality, the rise of capitalism, imperialism, and the rights of women. Attention throughout is focused on a careful scrutiny of primary sources. By the end of the course, students have deepened their understanding of some of the critical issues that have dominated modern history.

This course explores the city of Barcelona from a historic, artistic, literary, and cinematographic perspective. Topics include: the roman city; the Gothic Quarter; a bohemian and modernist city; a global city-- Universal Exposition, Olympic Games, and Universal Forum of Cultures.

This course examines the major developments in United States history from the end of the Second World War to Watergate. The issues to be covered include the onset of the Cold War, McCarthyism, civil rights, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam, 1960s culture, Watergate, and the institution of the presidency. The roles played by key individuals, such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Richard Nixon, are explored. Declassified documents are used in analyzing some of these topics. The course develops students' basic knowledge of this era in American history, to hone their analytical skills, to develop their ability to examine documentation, and to heighten their ability to respond to historiographical debates. Students develop an understanding of the global impact of American politics, from the Vietnam War to the Civil Rights Movement, and compare international perspectives.

This course explores the history of early modern Japan, approximately from the 16th to the 19th century. It studies examples to understand the views and mentalities of ordinary people during the Edo period as well as discusses whether their way of thinking changed during the late Edo era and early Meiji period. Please note that this course will not always examine topics in chronological order; it will move back and forth between the 16th and 19th centuries, depending on the topics.

This course examines female scientists in history from antiquity to present day. It also discusses Nobel prizes won by women, Spanish women in science, and the current roles of women in science. 

This course surveys the history of modern Japan from the late‐Tokugawa period to the present. The course gives an understanding of major events and analyzes the modern history of Japan in transnational and comparative contexts. It explores a number of common themes of modern global history: nation building, colonialism, total war, and various transformations and social conflicts in the postwar period. Students think critically about diverse historical interpretations and controversies. The course includes a broad range of historical debates and viewpoints.