History

This course provides an overview of notable historical dates, events, trends, and individuals in China, Korea, and Japan from approximately the 3rd century BCE until the early 17th century.

The German-speaking region was essential for the development of modern antisemitism. While many forms of early Christian and medieval persecution of Jews existed all over Europe, the Protestant reformation in Central Europe, contributed greatly to the proliferation and adaptation of medieval anti-Jewish sentiments into the early modern era. During the Enlightenment and the romantic period, the first major steps towards modernizing anti-Jewish sentiments happened. The class will address important social (middle-class), political (parties), intellectual (race theory) as well as cultural (visual culture) dimensions of the modern antisemitism, primarily during the 19th and early 20th century. Since the 18th century, Jewish Activists and intellectuals engaged in fighting antisemitism which the class will also address. The specific form of Nazi antisemitism will be discussed in its relation to the comprehensive discriminatory policy of the Nazi regime and, later on, the extermination policy during the Holocaust. With the almost complete annihilation of European Jewry, the history of modern antisemitism did not end, but, instead, it caused further fundamental changes in its structure. The final meetings will be devoted to these changes after 1945 and in the contemporary German-speaking world. While the class will insist on studying the specifically German-speaking forms of anti-Judaism and antisemitism, it will also place the ‘German case’ into the wider European context.

This course is an introduction to the social and political dynamics that shape the lives of Muslim minorities in Western Europe and North America. The first part of the course situates Islam and Muslims within the larger European and American histories, by comparing how church-State relations, colonial history, immigration and racial inequalities have affected their representations. The second part unpacks a series of public controversies over Islam and Muslims and explores what they reveal about Euro-American societies. Finally, the course investigates how Islam is lived among ordinary European and American Muslims. This course takes a comparative stance by covering a plurality of national contexts to become familiar with the various public and academic debates surrounding European and American Muslims.

This course examines society’s continuing fascination with competitive sports and explore their role in European societies from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War through the lenses of empire, nation, class, race, and gender.

This course examines myths and rituals associated with the ancient world. It focuses on topics in the literature and material culture of antiquity including the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the myths of Homer, Greek tragedy, Roman epic, epitaphs commemorating the deceased, and archaeological evidence from funerary and other ritual contexts.

This course offers a study of Catalan language, culture, and society. Topics include: symbols of Catalunya-- flag, anthem, emblem; Catalan food; basic phrases; writers; artists; music; Pompeu Fabra; celebrations and legends.

This course examines the history of European cultures, with a special focus on Spain, from pre-history to the present day. Topics include: the Renaissance; Reformation; Enlightenment; Industrial Revolution; Russian revolution and formation of the USSR; WWI; WWII; Spanish republics; dictatorship; Cold War; de-colonization; democracy; the European Union.

This course examines conceptions and experiences of the body, health, illness and healing from the ancient world to the early modern period. It will focus on the historical development of western medicine in relation to religion, politics, science and culture. Topics covered include changing views of male and female bodies; the meanings of health, illness, disease, and disability; the evolving status of healers and medical practitioners; the role of religion, magic and natural philosophy in this world; and the rise of medical institutions such as hospitals, asylums, pharmacies, universities and anatomy theaters. 

This course will introduce students to important concepts, processes, and debates in World History (and Global History) from ancient times to the end of the 15th century. A fundamental goal of this course is to recognize that the premodern global past was not a Eurocentric phenomenon. It will de-center Europe in it's study of the past and will pursue a greater plurality of perspectives than what historians have often traditionally examined. Students will be introduced to the practice of history: our goal is not to absorb random historical “facts” but to learn how to think historically and to strive to understand how past people understood the world around them. Throughout the course, students will reflect on the enduring relevance of the premodern past to their own lives and society in the 21st century.