History
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CAS HI 350: Atlantic History
Examines the various interactions that shaped the Atlantic World, connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas between 1400 and 1820. Begins by defining the political interaction, then emphasizes cultural exchange, religious conversion, and the revolutionary era. -
CAS HI 352: Power, Leadership, and Governance in Africa and the Caribbean
Haitian Revolution; British Caribbean, leadership, governance, and power in Africa during the period of legitimate trade; visionaries, dictators, and nationalist politics in the Caribbean; chiefs, western elites, and nationalism in colonial Africa; road to governance in post-colonial Caribbean and Africa. Also offered as CAS AA 395 and IR 394. -
CAS HI 353: Atlantic Africa and the Slave Trade
Examines--both by region and across the larger Atlantic area--the ways that overseas commerce, in particular the slave trade, interacted with and was shaped by African politics and economic variables. Also offered as CAS AA 396. -
CAS HI 355: Fashion and Beauty Under War and Empire
How can clothing reveal histories of US war and empire from the mid-nineteenth century to today? We examine case studies like Philippine lingerie production and the bikini's invention during the Atomic Age to investigate how fashion illuminates violence and power. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation, Historical Consciousness. -
CAS HI 358: Twentieth-Century European Thought and Culture
This course treats artistic, musical, literary, political, and philosophical works historically. Among its large themes are modernism and the discovery of the unconscious, the cultural effects of both World Wars, democracy and its critics, totalitarian culture, existentialism, and postmodernism. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Historical Consciousness. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Writing-Intensive Course. -
CAS HI 360: European Dimensions of the Black Diaspora
Explores writings about the Black experience in Europe since the 1800s through examinations of historical and literary works, artistic and folkloric depictions, as well as politics and sports in England, France, Germany, Russia, and the Netherlands. Also offered as CAS AA 380. -
CAS HI 363: Early Chinese History
From the Bronze Age to the seventeenth century, China changed dramatically yet maintained political and cultural cohesion, unlike any other civilization. This course explores both diversity and unity in early Chinese society as well as their historical legacies. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. -
CAS HI 364: Modern Chinese History
A hodgepodge of lands and seas between the Pamir and the Pacific, China is ten thousand worlds folded into one. We trace the people who animated those worlds: Manchus, Maoists, and the many. Featuring fun stories and deep thinking. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. -
CAS HI 367: The Odd Couple: China and the USA, 1776 to the present
The USA, a bastion of capitalism, and China, the largest communist state on earth, are the two major global powers today. It was not always this way, and the course will map three centuries of this complex historical relationship, filled with mutual admiration and misunderstanding. Effective Spring 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation. -
CAS HI 369: Empires and Modernities in Motion: Modern Japan and the Asian World
Modern Japan is a story of miracles and tragedies, both to the extreme. This course explores the rise of the Japanese empire, the fall of its Pan-Asian intrigues, and the reconstitution of a nation on the ruins of empire. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry I. -
CAS HI 370: Samurai, Ships, and Soil: Japan Among the Empires of Asia, 1600-1950
Exotic as it may seem, Japan was never an isolated island country floating off the coast of Asia. This course offers a new narrative about the history of Japan in relation to the imperial orders and transnational spaces of Asia. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry I, Creativity/Innovation. -
CAS HI 372: Power and Pleasure in Asian America
How have Asians and Asian Americans endured and survived US empire, war, and anti-Asian discrimination? Ranging across law, politics, and culture, this course reveals the complicated position of Asian Americans in the US racial order since the nineteenth century. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CAS HI 376: The Israeli Settlement Project: History, and the Dynamics of Power
First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120). - This course explores the Israeli settlement movement's evolution, focusing on the religious rights ideological, political, and societal impact from the 1970s to today. Students will analyze its historical roots, legal structures, and implications for Israeli-Palestinian conflict and dynamics. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry 1, Writing-Intensive Course. -
CAS HI 377: The Sword, the Cross, and the Crescent: Byzantium and the Near East
Examines Byzantine society and culture, focusing on conflicts and cooperation with the Islamic East until 1453, when Muslim Ottomans captured Constantinople and radically altered life and politics in the eastern Mediterranean. Explores lessons from Byzantine-Muslim relations for the twenty-first century. -
CAS HI 379: Modern Armenian History and Literature
Introduction to modern Armenian history and literature from the nineteenth-century "cultural renaissance" to the upheavals of the twentieth century--genocide, independence, and Sovietization--and the literatures of Soviet Armenia and the diaspora. -
CAS HI 383: Modern History and Geopolitics of the Caucasus
Surveys history of the Caucasus with a focus on Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, from the early nineteenth century to the post-Soviet period. Explores advantages and problems of modernization, nationalism, and major power geopolitics within the context of international political economy. -
CAS HI 384: History of Genocide
History and comparative analysis of genocidal mass murder with focus on the twentieth century. Hereros, Armenians, holomodor, Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur. Attention to political leaders, state ideology, dehumanization of victim groups, geopolitical competition, war, empire building and decline. Effective Fall 2026, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness. -
CAS HI 389: Americans and the Middle East
Examines the intersecting histories of America and the Middle East from the late eighteenth century to the present, focusing first on American missionary and educational efforts in the region and then on American political and military involvement after World War II. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. -
CAS HI 390: Cities in the Middle East: Mecca to Dubai
Examines Middle Eastern history through the lens of its cities because cities have always been pivotal sites of governance, religious life, cultural development, architectural legacies, and political protest. Today, they are the epicenter of neoliberal globalization. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. -
CAS HI 392: Israel: History, Politics, Culture, Identity
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Using a broad array of readings, popular music, documentaries, film and art, this course explores Israel's political system, culture, and society, including the status of minorities in the Jewish state; post-1967 Israeli settlement projects; and the struggle for Israel's identity. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
