FALL 2012
HISTORY DEPARTMENT
UNDERGRADUATE COURSE GUIDE
Mexico, 1900, Mexico http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=maps
FALL 2012
(History Major Requirements)
Courses that will satisfy the non-western requirement:
HIST 110 World History to 1500
HIST 120 Latin America: The Colonial Period
HIST 121H Latin America: National Period
HIST 130 Middle East History I
HIST 161 History of Africa
HIST 247 Empire, Race & the Philippines
HIST 260 Power and Violence in S Africa
HIST 291E Introduction to South Asian History & Culture
HIST391MR Histories of Slavery in Muslim World
HIST 343H Modern Middle East History
HIST 352 Topic: Latin American History (Latin America: Landscape and Geographical Imaginations)
HIST 354 History of Mexico
Courses the will satisfy the pre-1500 requirement:
HIST 100 Western Thought to 1600
HIST 110 World History to 1500
HIST 130 Middle East History I
HIST 180 History of Science and Technology in the Western World Part I
100 Western Thought to 1600
(HS) A. Taylor
Civilization is not the normal state for the human species. We will consider some questions about why and how we
became civilized and the implications of our choices. What does it mean to be civilized? Why do we study civilization?
Can that do us any good? What do we need, what do we want, and how do we go about getting it? What makes us happy?
(And should we try to seek happiness?) How do we find meaning? What do we fear? How do we deal with mortality? To
what extent are our values, fears and desires universal and to what extent are they a product of our culture? How do our
technologies and means of communication affect the way our brains work? We’ll ask these questions (and many others)
from the point of view of people from past cultures, and in doing so consider them for ourselves. I expect you to read,
think, attend and participate. There is a major experiential learning component to the class – you won’t just be reading
about people from the past, but trying to recreate a little bit of their reality in your life to get inside their heads. In
addition to tests and participation, homework related to the experiential learning projects will form a large part of your
assessment.
101 Western Thought Since 1600
(HS) J. Heuer
This course is devoted to the history of the Western world from the seventeenth century to the present. The course has two
main goals: first to provide students the broad scope of western history and second, to introduce you to the methods and
skills of the discipline of history. Using lecture, discussion and primary source readings we will explore such topics as
political ideologies, industrialization, nationalism and imperialism, war, gender and popular culture. It is impossible to
cover everything thoroughly, but the class offers a variety of subjects and approaches so that at the end of the semester
you should have both a general knowledge of western history as well as the ways historians interpret the
past. Assignments may include exams, quizzes and multiple short writing assignments.
110 World History to 1500
(HS G) B. Bunk
This course is devoted to the history of the human experience across the globe from the earliest civilizations up to
approximately 1550 CE. The course is organized into four distinct sections, each representing a major approach to
studying global history. The readings of the course include a variety of primary and secondary sources in order to better
analyze and understand the diversity of global norms and values and the way they change over time. The course work
will emphasize the development of critical thinking and writing skills. This class fulfills the following requirements: pre1500 and Non-Western requirements for the history major as well as the historical studies in global perspective (HSG)
portion of the General Education program. This course is taught using a Team-Based-Learning classroom.
120 Latin America: The Colonial Period
(HS G) H. Scott
The purpose of this course is to survey the history of colonial Latin America by examining the encounters between
Europeans and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas over the course of three centuries. The class will consider the
reciprocal effects of this contact. What were the effects of three hundred years of contact, conflict, and colonialism on
European civilization? What impact did the conquest have on the peoples, landscapes, geographies, and demography of
the Americas? We will examine the role of the Catholic Church, the nature of colonial and global economies, the
formation of "race" and racialized caste systems, family life and gender roles, and subaltern resistance, among other
themes. The course will run chronologically but may also take some contemporary liberties when appropriate. Opposing
viewpoints and historiographical debates will set the tone for many of our discussions and a number of themes will guide
our semester together. These themes include the role of Indigenous peoples, the characteristics of colonial rule in Latin
America, the nature of colonial relations, and historiographical interpretations of the past. Primary source materials will be
used alongside secondary literature. The final grade will consist of short written assignments, a midterm exam, a final
exam, and active participation. The active participation component is composed of attendance at lectures and
contributions to discussion sections.
121H Latin America: National Period (Honors)
(HSG) J.Capo
This lecture and discussion course examines the creation of modern Latin America, concentrating on the formation of
nation-states and the conflicts within those states over issues of citizenship and social justice. In particular, the course will
address how nation-making intersected with issues of gender, race, and class. The course also introduces students to the
contentious role the United States has played in the region’s history. As an honors course, this reading and writing
intensive class requires both independent research and oral presentations. As such, students will have substantial
additional reading under the guidance of the instructor. (Open to Honors Students first)
130 Middle East History I
(HS G) A. Broadbridge
This course is a survey of Middle Eastern History from 650-1300. Students will gain an understanding of the history of
the Islamic Middle East from the birth of the Prophet Muhammad until the advent of the Mongols. They will study the
chronological narrative of Islamic history, and the major themes, issues, complexities and contradictions that make this
history interesting. Grades based on three exams, four response papers, a short outside assignment, several map exercises
and attendance and participation. Students will be required to take part in class discussions.
150 U.S. History to 1876
(HS) B. Krauthamer
Lecture with discussion sections. This course will look at the construction of the American nation from the early colonial
period through the era of Reconstruction with emphasis on social and cultural developments. Readings include primary
documents and secondary sources. Midterm and final exams.
151 U.S. History since 1876
(HS) D. Glassberg
Lecture and discussion. This course will provide students with an understanding of the contours of American history from
the period of Reconstruction through the late twentieth century. The course explores the politics and culture of the period,
as well as the interactions of race, class, and gender in U.S. history. Particular attention will be paid to African American
history and women’s history. Primary source readings will be emphasized. Students will take several short written, essaystyle quizzes on reading material, a midterm, and a final (both of which will feature essay questions).
161 History of Africa Since 1500
(HS G) J. Bowman
Topics to be covered include African and European imperialism, colonialism, nationalism, and independence. The main
objective of the course is to assess how these developments have changed the lives and cultures of African people.
Requirements include: three exams, short essays, weekly reading and participation. No pre-requisites.
170 Indigenous Peoples of North America
(HS U) A. Nash
Lecture with discussion sections. This course is an overview of the historical experiences of indigenous peoples in North
America from the early contact period to the present day. While we can only cover a few culture groups in depth (the
indigenous peoples of North America spoke over 500 different languages before European contact), the major themes
relate to all groups: pre-contact histories and the writing of academic history; colonization and resistance; subsistence and
dependency; Native religions and Christianity; changing family and gender relations; the impact of the American
Revolution and Manifest Destiny; scientific racism; education and (non)assimilation; Red Power; and current issues
including struggles over land, sovereignty and treaty rights. With so much to cover it is essential that you attend lectures
and discussion sections without fail.
180 The History of Science and Technology in the Western World, Part I
(HS) B. Ogilvie
Hist 180 and its companion Hist 181 have two goals: first, to explore the ways in which science and technology have
helped various Western societies make sense of, and manipulate, their worlds and themselves; and second, to appreciate
how science and technology reflect their historical periods and contexts. Part I explores the Greek fascination with
modeling the cosmos and with the nature of formal scientific explanation; the roots of Western technological dynamism in
the Middle Ages; the role of Scholasticism and the medieval university in the institutionalization of scientific thought; and
the creation of a new quantitative framework of experience by Renaissance explorers, engineers, merchants, and astronomers. Part II covers the centuries from the Scientific Revolution to the Space Age. Both parts are designed to meet the
University’s requirements for General Education and Historical Studies by introducing you to subjects and perspectives
you might not otherwise encounter, and by offering opportunities for the exercise of skills of reading, writing, and
analysis. They should also open up a fascinating past and help us all become critically informed participants in and
consumers of modern technoscience. There are no prerequisites, although some background in Western Civilization is a
great help.
247 Empire, Race & the Philippines
(HS G) R. Chu
Is the United States an “empire”? Today, US political, military, and economic involvement in many parts of the world
such as Iraq and Afghanistan makes this an urgent and important question. This course addresses the issue of American
imperial power by examining the history of U.S. presence in the Pacific, particularly in the Philippine Islands, during the
first half of the twentieth-century. We will also examine the history of the Philippines when it was colonized by two other
imperial powers; namely, Spain and Japan. Furthermore, we will investigate how indigenous peoples negotiated,
manipulated, resisted, or thwarted attempts by colonial and post-colonial dominant groups to control their minds, bodies,
and resources, especially through racial and gendered classifications. Themes to be discussed include religion, ethnicity,
gender, imperialism, colonialism, orientalism, post-colonialism, neo-colonialism, and nationalism. Requirements: a
midterm and a final exam, occasional quizzes, and an individual or group research project.
254 Black Freedom Struggle since 1945
(HS U) R. Martin
Scholars and activists have begun questioning the standard story of the Civil Rights Movement, which focuses on the
protests that occurred in the American South between 1956 and 1968. In this class, we will consider what happens when
we broaden the struggle. First, we will nationalize the fight for racial equality, looking at how African Americans fought
against inequality in the urban North, the Southwest and elsewhere. Second, our timeline will begin with World War II
and continue through today. During the class, we will pan over the landscape of the struggle, dipping down periodically to
consider specific case studies that are illustrative of the evolving nature of the fight for educational, economic, social,
political, medicinal and cultural equality. Along the way, we will ask whether recentering our narrative both
geographically and chronologically changes our understanding of the past, and we will consider what the new story of the
past reveals about the contemporary state of racial (in)equality in America today.
260 Power and Violence in South Africa
(HS G) J. Higginson
Lecture with discussion sections. Power and violence have played an integral part in shaping the lives and expectations
of people in South Africa for well over two centuries. After protracted periods of state terror and mass civil disobedience,
South Africa is now struggling to make popular elections and the drafting of new laws and constitutions, the only
legitimate means of political contest. But as the recent bombings in the northern Cape and Rustenburg suggest, violent
forms of contest can, on occasion, assume renewed vigor. This course is designed to help students better understand the
social origins and the historic evolution of South Africa’s present circumstances. While there is evidence that the most
glaring features of South Africa apartheid are receding, a great deal of confusion remains about whether South Africa’s
form of hyper segregation was a coincidental misfortune or a deliberate instance of social engineering. This
misunderstanding turns largely on misconceptions about the role of violence in maintaining the social system. The refusal
of former presidents P.W. Botha and F.W. DeKlerk and the Afrikaner Nationalist Party to continue to cooperate with
South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an exquisite illustration of the kind of selective amnesia that
continues to feed confusion about past events. Given the complex nature of much of the material we will be covering, it is
imperative for students to attend lectures and discussions. All students will write a midterm, final and synoptic essays of
two to three pages every other week on the required readings.
269 American War in Vietnam
(HS) C. Appy
Lecture with discussion sections. This multidisciplinary course examines the longest ware in United States history –a
twenty-one year failed attempt to defeat communist-led revolutionary nationalism in Vietnam. Through novels, memoirs,
films, and histories we will explore the reasons for U.S. intervention in Vietnam, the key political and military decisions,
the experiences of combatants and civilians on all sides, the war’s divisive political and moral controversies, the rise of an
American antiwar movement, and the myths and legacies that have shaped postwar public memory.
291E Introduction to South Asian History and Culture
P. Srivastava
This lecture and discussion-based course is designed to introduce students to the history of South Asia from the earliest
periods of recorded history to the present. In addition to tracing major political events, this course will explore special
topics such as the institution of caste, the emergence of various religious traditions, the development of early-centralized
empires, and the expansion of Mughal power in the subcontinent. We will then investigate the expansion and working of
the British colonial state and the transformations affected in administrative, political, economic, and cultural spheres due
to colonialism. Simultaneously, we will examine themes and issues that informed the anti-colonial Indian nationalist
movement and the communal, caste, and gender dimensions of politics. We will then discuss the attainment of freedom
from colonial rule in 1947, the partition of the subcontinent and the development of the independent nation states of India,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
297E Immigration & Migration in US History 1877-present
J. Fronc
This course will examine the movement of people throughout the United States from the period of Reconstruction to the
current immigration debates. Special attention will be paid to the movement of African Americans from South to North,
and the movement of immigrants from Europe, Asia, and South America throughout the twentieth century. The course
will also consider immigration law and policy. Focus will be on primary and secondary source readings. Students can
expect to write several short papers over the course of the semester.
297K Europe in the 20th Century
J. Olsen
A survey of twentieth century European history with a special emphasis on political and cultural history. Topics covered
include the birth of modernism, the rise of Communism, Fascism, and Nazism, two world wars, the Holocaust, the Cold
War, European integration and contemporary Europe. This course is taught using a Team-Based-Learning classroom and
will involve both individual and group-based assignments, including several short writing assignments, in-class
presentations, and a final project.
298/UMASS 298 – INTERNSHIPS!!!!
For inquiries, email internships@history.umass.edu or visit the Internships office at Herter 603
Practicum, mandatory pass/fail credits. Are you interested in exploring history related work, gaining job experience,
establishing career contacts, building your resume, and developing professional confidence? Through an internship you
can do all this while earning academic credit. Internships can be conducted locally, regionally, or nationally, and some
paid positions are available. You can hold an internship in history or other fields, and the department’s internship advisor
can help you find one that works with your interest and schedule. 1-9 credits depending on number of hours worked
305 Renaissance & Reformation Europe
B. Ogilvie
This course examines the history of Europe from the Black Death to the end of the Thirty Years War. We will focus on
cultural, intellectual, and religious history, including the Renaissance in arts and literature, the Protestant and Catholic
Reformations, and philosophical and scientific innovations. But we will also consider the political and social contexts of
these developments, including the developing territorial state, the communications revolution brought about by printing,
changes in patterns of manufacture and trade, and the beginnings of European overseas empires. Assessment: two formal
papers, two exams, short response papers, and occasional quizzes.
315 Tsarist Russia
A. Altstadt
Lecture. A survey of Russian History from its origins to the revolution of February 1917. Major themes: Russia's growth
and centralization; cultural and political interaction with its neighbors including the Byzantine Empire, Tatars, Poland,
and Western Europe; Russia's identity as an empire and the identities of major nationalities in the empire: and the rise,
success, and decline of absolute, centralized monarchy. We will read primary sources as well as a major textbook and
shorter scholarly works. Grading will be based on participation, exams and a short paper.
323 Modern German History
(HS) A. Donson
Lecture. A social, cultural, and political history of the German-speaking countries from the mid-eighteenth century to the
present. The course covers great social and political transformations, including the Enlightenment, rise of the modern
state, the unifications and divisions of Germany, the emergence of modern urban culture, the role of women, the influence
of Social Democracy, the course of National Socialism and the Holocaust, and Germany's place in postwar Europe.
Emphasis is on reading primary sources and writing historical arguments based them. This course is taught using a TeamBased-Learning classroom.
343H Modern Middle East History (Honors)
M. Wilson
Lecture. This honors course concentrates on the growing interdependence between the Middle East and the West after
World War I. It will cover social, political, cultural and economic history. I also make an effort to bring the course up to
the present and to include a lot of student participation.
349H Sex & Society in Modern Europe (Honors)
J. Heuer
This seminar examines the social organization and cultural construction of gender and sexuality. We will look at how
women and men experienced the dramatic changes that have affected Europe since
1789 and consider how much such developments were themselves influenced by ideas about masculinity and femininity.
We will explore topics such as revolutionary definitions of citizenship; changing patterns of work and family life; fin-desiècle links between crime, madness, and sexual perversion; the fascist cult of the body; battle grounds and home fronts
during the world wars; gendered aspects of nationalism and European colonialism, and the sexual revolution of the postwar era. As an honors course, the class will include considerable reading, independent research, and oral presentations.
352 Topics: Latin American History (Latin America: Landscape and Geographical Imaginations)
H. Scott
This course offers students the opportunity to explore through the conceptual prism of landscape the varied histories and
geographies of Latin America from the era of European conquest to the present day. We will focus on the interrelated
themes of landscape and geographical imaginations and consider what their study can reveal about the forging of (post)
colonial cultures, identities and power relations in the region. Making use of in-depth case studies, the course introduces
students to theoretical approaches to landscape, and examines how particular landscapes and geographical imaginations
have been shaped by discursive and material practices. Individual themes include the significance of landscape experience
in conquest narratives, colonial struggles over sacred landscapes in the Andes, the connections between Spanish American
patriotism and the production of geographical knowledge, photographic portrayals of Latin America in the early twentieth
century, and the politics of mapping and cartography in contemporary Latin America. Although we will discuss case
studies from across Latin America, particular emphasis will be placed on Spanish-speaking South America. The course
provides students with an opportunity to analyze, discuss and write about primary sources from the colonial and postcolonial eras as well as to gain familiarity with a wide range of secondary literatures. Assessment will include short papers
on assigned readings, class discussion, and a research paper.
354 History of Mexico
J. Hernandez
The purpose of this course is to survey the history of Mexico by examining the encounters between Europeans and the
Indigenous peoples of this geographical space over the course of three centuries. The class will consider the reciprocal
effects of this contact with respect to European civilization; three hundred years of contact, conflict, and colonialism. We
will explore in detail the impact of the conquest on the peoples, landscape, geography, and demography of Mexico; the
role of the Catholic Church; colonial and global economies; the formation of "race" and racialized caste systems; and
subaltern resistance among other themes. The course will run chronologically but will also take some contemporary
liberties
when
appropriate.
Opposing viewpoints and historiographical debates will set the tone for most of our discussions and a number of themes
will guide our semester together: the centrality of Indigenous peoples; problems with Spanish colonization and failed
efforts to conquer; historiographical interpretations of the past by both insiders and outsiders; and the process and
problems of nation-building. Final grades will be composed of a map quiz, midterm, final, review essay, class attendance
and active class participation.
360 Early America to 1763
B. Levy
This course focuses on the history of the Amerindians, Africans, and British in North America and the Caribbean from c.
1600-1765. Thematic emphasis will be on the development of diverse political economies and labor systems within the
emerging British Empire. A methodological emphasis will be on the use of primary sources to arrive at, and construct
compelling historical arguments. About five paperbacks will be assigned as required reading in addition to handouts.
Students will need to write three or four papers from four to six pages based on primary sources. Topics will be assigned
and include trauma, religion, and labor in New England; the development of slave regimes; diverse beliefs about the
empire c. 1760. The topic of one short paper will be of the student's own devising. No final.
373 American Thought and Culture II
(HS) J. Fronc
This course examines aspects of American social, cultural, and intellectual history from the post-Civil War period to the
recent past. Particular attention will be paid to the history of radicalism and repression, movements for social justice, and
activism. In addition to the assigned readings, this course will explore popular culture (films, television shows, music,
stand-up comedy) as a venue for political and social commentary. Students can expect to write approximately 3 short
papers and produce a final research project for their grade. All students must also enroll in a discussion section. Note:
Although this course fulfills a General Education requirement, it is a 300-level U.S. history class. As such, students
should have a working knowledge of modern U.S. history, such as having passed History 151 (U.S. History from 1876 to
the present) or its equivalent.
388 U.S. Women’s History: Colonial Era to 1890 (also offered as Honors)
(HS U) J. Berkman
Lecture and discussion. This course examines the major political, social, economic and cultural patterns of change and
continuity that characterize the lives of American women from the colonial era to 1890. Topics covered include:
European, African, and Native American women's experiences; religious conformity and dissent; the gendered nature and
consequences of the American Revolution; developments in women’s education, the impact of ruling scientific and
medical ideas on views of women's bodies and sexuality; women's movements for social reform and the abolition of
slavery, women's rights advocacy and issues of citizenship and the impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on
women's experience. Course requirements: (Please note: this is a four credit course.) class visit to Emily Dickinson home,
a variety of readings, including biographies, fiction, scholarly essays and primary sources; reflection papers, a
comparative biography paper and one position paper, active participation in discussion sections. This course is offered as
an Honors class as well. Please see SPIRE (History H388).
391AH Rise and Fall of the Rocket State (Honors)
L. Owens
America's rocket ride to the moon was based on the cannonball physics of Galileo and Newton, foreshadowed by Verne's
vision of the Baltimore Gun Club, and driven by the needs of the cold war. The Rocket State was an
extraordinary amalgam of fact, fantasy, and the fear of Armageddon that had profound consequences for American
politics and culture in the years after World War Two. We'll explore its rise and fall, focusing on four of its characteristic
technologies that emerged from WWII - the atomic bomb, the rocket, the computer, and an organizing social vision based
on the secret laboratories of the Manhattan Project. In addition to some first-rate scholarship, we'll read quite of lot of
science fiction - the defining literature of the cold war Rocket State. In short, this course is about a time in American
history
when
the
country
learned
how
to
build
rockets
and
sought to redefine itself and its culture in their image. You'll do several in-class reports (depending on enrolment) and a
final paper of 8-10 pages. THE DRAFT OF THE PAPER WILL BE DUE THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE END OF
CLASSES! Grades will be based on these assignments, classroom participation, and your success in dealing with various
necessary deadlines.
391CH Comparative Scientific Traditions (Honors)
L. Owens
Modern science is largely the product of the European Scientific Revolution and the subsequent rise of an industrialized
West. What shouldn't be forgotten, however, is that "science" has flourished earlier and elsewhere; but, while, European
science expanded dramatically over the last three centuries, other scientific traditions went into decline. What allows
"science" to develop in the first place, what permits it to endure, and what accounts for the various trajectories that science
follows in different times and cultures? We'll explore those questions by investigating the intellectual, economic, and
institutional factors that mediate science and culture - in ancient Greece, early Islam, Europe, China, and in a variety of
places less familiar such as Micronesia. There'll be a large amount of reading, a number of shorter papers and in-class
presentations, and finally, and hopefully, a healthy uncertainty about what constitutes good "science" and why
391F Women and Slavery in the Americas
B. Krauthamer
Seminar. This class examines the history of African and African American women’s enslavement in the United States and
the West Indies in the 18th and 19th centuries. Readings and lectures examine women’s experiences in the Trans-Atlantic
slave trade; women's labor patterns; reproduction and family life; resistance and rebellion; abolitionist movements; and
slave narratives written by African American women. Course requirements include: exams, short papers, class
participation and presentations.
391MC Modern Central Europe
D. Perez
This course examines the states and societies of Central Europe from 1848 through the fall of communism. It will analyze
the forces which brought the transformation of the region from a constellation of multi-national, dynastic states to that of
nation-states. Among the modern political ideas to be covered are imperialism, nationalism, liberalism, fascism, and
communism. The focus will be on Poland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and parts of
Romania and the former Yugoslavia. Grading is based on two map quizzes, a take-home exam, and in-class essays.
391MR Histories of Slavery in the Muslim World
J. Mathew
This course explores the concept and practice of slavery in the Muslim World from the time of the Prophet Mohammed up
to the 20th century. We will begin by examining how the Quran and Islamic jurisprudence altered pre-Islamic forms of
slavery. The course will proceed chronologically, exploring the evolution of slavery through the early Islamic empires,
the slave dynasties in Egypt and Delhi, the “gunpowder” empires of the Early Modern era, and the abolition of slavery in
the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of the themes that we will discuss are manumission, rebellion, notions of property and
labor in Islam, the role of slaves as concubines, soldiers and rulers, and the slave trades in the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic,
the Black Sea and the Sahara. The course will compare Islamic forms of slavery to those that existed in Africa and the
New World. You will also engage with the incredible diversity of slavery in the Muslim World and will be pushed to
think about whether we can sustain a concept of Islamic slavery despite these differences. Discussions are an important
component of the class, and participation will be an important component of your grade. Graded assignments will include
papers, a map quiz, and a final exam.
393CP Caribbean-U.S. Cultural and Political History
J. Capo
This course explores the political and cultural history of the Caribbean’s tumultuous relationship with the United States.
The course begins with the United States? refusal to officially recognize Haiti’s independence from France in 1804 and
concludes with the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, a law that propagated Washington’s embargo on Cuba. We will focus on
key historical moments in the Caribbean particularly those occurring in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican
Republic, and Jamaica to better understand how these nations negotiated concepts of sovereignty, economic
independence, and self-determination. Over the course of the semester, we will explore recurring themes, movements,
and phenomena in Caribbean-U.S. relations, including paternalism, informal and formal imperialism, Pan-Americanism,
Pan-Africanism, dollar and gunboat diplomacy, the Good Neighbor policy, and leftist radicalism. The course will also
introduce students to some of the major thinkers and political actors engaged with these debates, such as Anténor Firmin,
José Martí, Frederick Douglass, Ramón Emeterio Betances, Evangelina Cisneros, Isabel González, Rafael Trujillo, Fidel
Castro, and François and Jean-Claude Duvalier. These topics encourage new understandings of (trans)nationality, gender,
sexuality, ethnicity, and race. In addition to completing the weekly readings and participating in class discussions,
students will take a midterm exam, write an analytical essay based on one of the course-assigned novels, and write a
research paper on a pre-approved topic in Caribbean-U.S. relations.
393I Histories of Indigenous Women
A. Nash
Lecture. This course examines the lives and struggles of indigenous women in North America through variety of sources
and conceptual frameworks. We will consider both the ways in which indigenous women defined and understood
themselves, and the ways in which they have been defined and (mis)understood by others, from before the arrival to
Europeans through the present day. Coursework includes heavy reading, a research paper, and several shorter
assignments.
394CI Ideas that Changed History
(IE) D. Gordon
This class is about
1. Ideas that have changed the discipline of history.
2. Ideas that have changed the larger flow of history.
3. Ideas that have changed you, the student, and your relationship to history.
4. Ideas that have changed your personal history.
This is an in Integrative Experience Gen Ed class and will combine academic, personal, and professional goals. Readings
will come from the philosophy of history but students will also be challenged to integrate reading they have done in
previous Gen Ed and history classes into their work. Students will also develop a portfolio of their work in the history
major that will be useful for them after graduation
397U History of Youth in America Since 1865
L. Lovett
This course will explore the history of childhood and youth from the late nineteenth century to the present. We will
examine the changing experiences of childhood and youth especially in light of industrialization, the rise of consumerism,
and changes in the educational system. Special consideration will be given to youth movements and the role of children
and youth in the civil rights movement and other forms of political activity. Reading will be drawn from primary and
secondary sources. Student evaluation will be based upon participation and several short papers.
397Z ST-Introduction to Public History
M. Miller
What is Public history? Public historians-whether they work in museums, archives, historic sites, federal agencies or any
one of a number of other possibilities-aim to take the insights of the discipline as they are cultivated in traditional
academic arenas and methods and apply them in a wide range of public settings. Public historians are accomplished
social, cultural and political historians who are often conversant in related humanities fields; they are also diplomats,
fundraisers, managers and mediators. This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of public history.
Students will learn not only where and how historians work beyond the conventional classroom, but the many ways
history operates in American public life.
Not a Junior Year Writing!
597GH Public History Workshop: Exhibiting Guantanamo (Honors)
D. Glassberg
Several public history programs from across the USA are collaborating on the creation of a traveling exhibit on the history
of Guantanamo, Cuba, a site that has served as a U.S. naval base and detention center over the past 113 years, most
recently for America's "war on terror." Students in this honors class will be preparing UMass Amherst's part of the
exhibit, which is scheduled to open in New York City in spring 2013. Along the way, students will learn the
fundamentals of museum work and American foreign policy history. Not a Junior Year Writing!
JUNIOR YEAR WRITING SEMINARS
(591-595)
591AE American Empire
C. Appy
Writing Seminar. Through common readings and films this course explores the modern history of U.S. global power.
How might we understand and define America’s empire? What were the causes, costs, and consequences of the quest for
supremacy? What were the relationships between various forms of power - military, economic, political, and cultural?
The major course work is a research paper.
Students will choose their own topics in collaboration with the instructor.
591K Race & Sport in the 20t Century
B. Bunk
This course examines the interactions between race and sport in the twentieth century. Using a variety of different media,
including both primary and secondary sources, we will investigate the topic by utilizing the sport of boxing as a case
study. Among other topics we will examine the careers of various fighters including Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe
Louis, Muhammad Ali and Oscar de la Hoya to help illustrate the changing ways that race and sport interact. Significant
course content will enable students to formulate, research and write a major research paper. Although the course employs
boxing as a case study, students are encouraged to use their research paper to exam issues of race as they pertain to other
sports. Other assignments include different types of short writings, class discussion, an oral presentation and participation
in peer reviews of written work. This course fulfills the Junior Writing Seminar requirement for history majors.
592E Lenin
A. Altstadt
Seminar. This seminar will focus on political life and works of V.I. Lenin. In first weeks, we will write short evaluations
and in-class writing exercises as we read Adam Ulam's The Bolsheviks and E.H Carr's What Is
History? Thereafter, we will focus on primary sources (in English) and scholarly secondary sources. Students will work
on a research paper, the main component of the course grade.