History

The course is an introduction to early Irish society and culture. The period covered was one of great change for Irish society: the arrival of Christianity with a new language, the rise of new, forceful power groupings, and the opportunities and challenges posed by the intrusion of the Vikings. Underlying these transformations there was continuity and we examine the evidence for the survival of earlier belief, specifically in burial records and the role of women in the administration of associated rituals. We look at the institution of kingship, with rituals & taboos grounded in Paganism.  We consider the position of slaves in Irish society, their role in the running  the household, in labor, and intensive agricultural economy. Students engage with myth and saga literature of the time to deepen the their understanding of early Irish culture and society.

This course offers a survey of Southeast Asian history from the second half of the early modern period to the early twentieth century. The course is centered on a key problem that characterizes the region — the tension between the region's distinctiveness on one hand and its well-known openness to “external” influences on the other. Using updated historical scholarship on the region, the course situates Southeast Asia in the context of developments in world history. The following key themes in Southeast Asian history are presented: (1) indigenous social, cultural and religious systems and their interaction with “extra-regional” influences (2) intra-regional, Asian trade systems and mercantilism (3) “state” and imperial formations (4) European colonization and its effects on local societies (5) local responses to colonialism during the early twentieth century.

This course discusses social and political conflicts in contemporary history. It examines the repertoires of collective mobilization and revolutionary processes.

This course provides an overview of the history of law in Europe. The course sketches the history of a common civilization, to which people contributed coming from different and faraway lands, cities, kingdoms, and towns. A special focus is on the sources of law: legislation, legal doctrine, and legal practice. The relevance of each of these sources varied over time. In order to shed light on the common features throughout the history of Europe, the course focuses on a selection of the institutions of private and public law which are most representative of each epoch and each country. A special emphasis is on the correlation between the laws and the role played by professional jurists. All topics in the course are dealt with particular attention to the exchange of normative bodies, legislations, doctrines, judicial decisions, and customs within Europe, including English Common Law. Overall, the course introduces students to the complexities of European legal history through in-depth analysis of the sources of the law, from the middle ages to the present time. The course recommends students have background knowledge with the fundamentals of Private Law and Public Law.

This course explores the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of Spain during the 19th century, contextualizing the historical evolution that took place and shaped Spanish society during that period.

This course examines how international law was an instrument used by the European colonial enterprise under the name "International Law of Civilized Nations." It then considers how it can be used today to repair the crimes linked to past colonizations.