History

The roots of the modern world can be found in ancient Greece and Rome. This course addresses some of the defining and formative aspects of the cultures of modernity (from c.1800 to the present) by comparing them with their ancient origins and equivalents. This comparative model provides the essential structure throughout the module; in each week, a major theme of modern culture/s is considered in relation to its classical equivalent/s, through a combination of lectures, case-studies, screenings and debates, involving teaching staff from a range of Schools. A variety of themes are addressed, such as racism, gender, political discourse, religion, Empires, sexism, high art, war and peace, expertise and education, and popular cultures. No particular previous experience is required for the module which is designed to appeal to students on any degree program.

This course introduces students to key themes and debates in early modern history (c. 1500-1800), using selected case studies from Britain, Europe and the wider world. Particular attention is paid to the usefulness (or otherwise) of the concept of "early modernity," and the extent to which it can be applied to the world beyond Europe.

The course covers inter-religious relations between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from a variety of thematic and interdisciplinary perspectives. The content provides an understanding of the historical roots and contemporary effects of the relations between the three religions. The basics of inter-religious relations are learned and analyzed. Themes covered include gender and sexuality, eschatology and apocalypticism, the intersection of religious and civil law in Western societies, and the challenges of maintaining individual and community identity in a shifting cultural, social, and political landscape.

The course is based on a religious studies perspective to discuss the concepts of antisemitism and islamophobia concept which refers to fears and prejudices relating to Jews, Judaism, Muslims, and Islam. By focusing on the historical, theological/ideological, political, and cultural aspects of antisemitism and islamophobia, the historical roots and the contemporary forms of these fears and prejudices are explored. The course starts by problematizing the concepts of antisemitism and islamophobia and continues by analyzing how these concepts have been used to designate "the enemy" and in processes of religious, cultural, and political "alienation". Thereafter, the historical roots and ideological contexts in which antisemitism and islamophobia arise and develop are studied. The course concludes by focusing on modern and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and islamophobia, such as, how conspiracy theories are used to heighten hostility towards Jews and Muslims today.

The course reviews the inception of present-day complex societies of West Africa, how they evolved, and their vicissitudes in the period 500 B.C. to A.D. 1950. Themes include general characteristics of West African societies in the Iron Age, origins of copper and iron technology and their effects on local societies, megalith and tumuli sites of the Western Sudan, urbanism, and trade networks and contacts in West Africa.

This course introduces students to global history, transcending the traditional focus on single states, regions, and culture. After an introduction to concepts and methodologies the course focuses on mobility, using commodities, people, and empires over the period from c. 1500 to the present to explore some of the ways in which the connected modern world came into being. 

This course examines the turbulent and exciting history of the Roman Republic from its humble beginnings around 500 BCE to the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March 44 BCE. The first part of this course celebrating this formative period in world history discusses early Rome; the social, political and religious institutions of the Republic as they gradually emerged from 509 to 264 BCE; and the Roman conquest of Italy and its significance. The second part concerns the high point of the Roman Republic, approximately the period from 264 to 133 BCE, including discussions of the Punic Wars and the conquest of the Mediterranean, and its tremendous consequences for the Republic. The third and final part deals with the Republic’s troubled last century and surveys the ill-fated Gracchan reforms; the first full-fledged breakdown of the Republican system and the Sullan reaction; the social, economic and cultural life of this period; the rise of the great dynasts; and Caesar’s temerarious attempt to establish a New Order.

In 1000 BCE, the Mediterranean and Near East were barely urbanized; in the centuries that followed, a dense network of interconnected cities spanning the region developed. This course explores this transformation by examining changing physical as well as social relations between people, as well as between people and their environments. Students study the rise and fall of the ancient city, including its ecology and domestic politics, and modern debates over ancient urbanism. What existed before cities? Why do cities appear and why do they decline? How do cities relate to the natural world? Is urbanism necessarily linked to inequality? How do cities change when they are integrated into imperial systems? Students explore these questions through a variety of case studies, from tiny trading outposts to megacities like Rome and Alexandria, and a range of types of evidence, such as written histories, inscribed law codes, and the physical remains of the cities themselves.

The course provides the opportunity to engage with an issue that is of vital importance to the discipline of history as we know it, particularly at a time when regimes and practices of establishing and communicating truth based on evidence and objectivity are contested. Philosophers and anthropologists have argued that archives inherently select and organize their materials in ways that necessarily obscure fundamental elements of historical experience, with special reference to empire, colonialism, race, and slavery. The challenge that this radical critique poses to contemporary historians is carefully discussed. At the same time, special attention is given to the work of a growing number of historians, who have transformed the archive into a subject of historical research. 

The course provides an introduction to the modern German polity. In the first part students survey the historical and cultural contexts in which German politics is embedded. The second part turns to the institutions and policy-making processes in the Federal Republic, including the Europeanization of German governance. The third part focuses on policy content by discussing important issues and policy fields in greater depth. This course is about key debates and arguments relating to German politics and society. It is assumed that students familiarize themselves with the basic elements of the German polity.