History (HIST)

HIST 1000. History at Northeastern. (1 Hour)

Intended for first-year students in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Seeks to introduce first-year students to the liberal arts in general, to familiarize them with their history major, to provide grounding in the culture and values of the university community, and to help them develop interpersonal skills.

HIST 1100. Law and History. (4 Hours)

Introduces the role of law in shaping human society. Explores how laws have evolved over the past two millennia in different contexts under the influence of different religious systems and political, economic, and social theories. Studies key legal texts and analyzes legal traditions in several regions of the world. Considers how laws have affected the everyday lives of subjects, slaves, and citizens.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1105. Introduction to Trans Studies. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of transgender studies by focusing on the emergence of the field, key concepts, and pivotal debates.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1120. Public History, Public Memory. (4 Hours)

Explores the politics surrounding the creation and consumption of history outside the classroom. Draws on contemporary debates over memorials, museum displays, television and film, and other popular sources of historical information to answer the questions: How does memory become history? How, where, and why do people encounter and interpret history outside of the classroom? Why are certain versions of the past so controversial? Through readings, discussion, field trips, and assignments, offers students an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of public history’s challenges and opportunities and to develop more informed opinions about its philosophical, ethical, and practical aspects.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1130. Introduction to the History of the United States. (4 Hours)

Engages with the major issues in U.S. history. Topics include the interaction of native populations with European settlers, the American Revolution and the Constitution, slavery, the Civil War, industrialization and migration, the growth of government and rise of the welfare state, media and mass culture, struggles for civil rights and liberation, and America’s role in the world from independence to the Iraq wars.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1150. East Asian Studies. (4 Hours)

Seeks to provide an understanding of the constituent characteristics that originally linked East Asia as a region and the nature of the transformations that have occurred in the region over the last two thousand years. Concentrates on China and Japan, and addresses Korea and Vietnam where possible. Also seeks to provide students with effective interdisciplinary analytical skills as well as historical, ethical, cultural diversity, and aesthetic perspectives. ASNS 1150 and HIST 1150 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1170. Europe: Empires, Revolutions, Wars, and Their Aftermath. (4 Hours)

Examines how empires, wars, and revolutions have influenced the development of the modern world, focusing on Europe and Europe’s connections with the non–European world. Explores how wars and revolutions led to the emergence of modern concepts of sovereignty, the state, and citizenship and how global competition between states led to the emergence of empires. Traces the promise of allegedly liberating ideologies and the political and economic revolutions they fostered, repeated wars and their aftermaths, and the challenges of recent world developments viewed from the perspective of history. Explores how human diversity and difference have shaped modern societies through history and how human difference and multiculturalism have both fostered and posed challenges to civic sustainability. Interrogates the meanings of “modernity,” democracy and totalitarianism, capitalism and socialism, and globalization.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1180. African History. (4 Hours)

Explores the history of the African continent from 1000 C.E. to the present era. Topics include medieval kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Zimbabwe, the city-states of East Africa, and the Kongo kingdom); slave trades (Indian Ocean, trans-Saharan, and transatlantic); the partition of Africa and European colonization; and the decolonization process. Emphasizes the interactions of African peoples with the rest of the world, particularly the relations between Africa and Europe after 1500 C.E.

HIST 1185. Introduction to Middle Eastern History. (4 Hours)

Relies on historical and literary sources, as well as such other cultural artifacts as architecture and photography, and focuses on interaction and changing relations and perceptions between Europe and the Middle East. Surveys the major political and economic events that have linked the trajectory of both civilizations, as well as broad patterns of human activity, such as migrations, conversions, and, cultural exchange. Emphasizes the commonality of encounters, and analyzes the construction of an “other” and its enduring legacy in modern times.

HIST 1187. Introduction to Latin American History. (4 Hours)

Surveys major themes in Latin American history from the arrival of the first human inhabitants until the present through a diversity of primary and secondary sources. Examines the social, cultural, political, and economic transformations that shaped Latin America during this period. Emphasizes how concepts of race, class, gender, and sexuality informed these changes and the people’s experiences of them. Topics include migration, colonialism and postcolonialism, war and revolution, slavery and abolition, nationalism and nation building, democracy and despotism, urbanization, modernization, religion, imperialism and underdevelopment, human rights, drug policy and international relations, labor, the arts, popular culture, and the environment.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1190. Picturing Modernity: The Photographic Image in Culture and Society. (4 Hours)

Explores the role of the photographic image in culture and society from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Examines how the photographic image has altered cultural and perceptual patterns across the globe and investigates how cultural and social power have been influenced by photographs. Offers students an opportunity to read a cross-section of criticism, theory, and history and to study images and exhibitions to analyze how culture and history have been affected by and reflected in photographic images.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1200. Historical Research and Writing. (1 Hour)

Offered in conjunction with HIST 1201. Introduces incoming history freshmen to the history major in the context of other disciplines within the college and University. Offers students an opportunity to learn and to practice methods and conventions of research and historical writing.

Corequisite(s): HIST 1201

HIST 1201. First-Year Seminar. (4 Hours)

Provides an introduction to historical methods, research, writing, and argument in which all students produce a substantial research project that passes through at least two revisions, and that is presented publicly to other members of the colloquium.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1111 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C

Corequisite(s): HIST 1200

Attribute(s): NUpath Writing Intensive

HIST 1206. Drug Trade and Drug War: History, Security, Culture. (4 Hours)

Analyzes the role of drugs in world history. From the early use of stimulants such as coca and sugar to the “war on drugs” and narco-terrorism, the course examines drugs as commodities in the world economy. Focuses primarily on opiates, stimulants, and hallucinogens from the nineteenth century to the present, considering how changing social and cultural mores led different drugs to be coded as licit and illicit. Topics include traditional uses, early medical use, trade networks, prohibition, black market, and drug cultures, as well as the role of drugs in the histories of industrialization, imperialism, and cold war geopolitics. Sources include historical scholarship, declassified intelligence reports, documentaries, novels, movies, songs, and art.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1215. Origins of Today: Historical Roots of Contemporary Issues. (4 Hours)

Focuses on the historical roots of four pressing contemporary issues with global implications. Our world has grown increasingly complex and interconnected, and the planet’s diverse peoples are facing common problems that have tremendous impact on the immediate future. They are (1) globalization, from its origins in the sixteenth century to the present; (2) the potential for global pandemics to alter the course of history, from bubonic plague in the fifth century to H1N1; (3) racial inequality, from religious interpretations in the early modern period to science in the modern era; and (4) gender inequality, from the agricultural revolution forward. For each issue, studies cases and locations spread across the world, examines the links between past and present, and attempts to identify ways forward.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1218. Pirates, Planters, and Patriots: Making the Americas, 1492–1804. (4 Hours)

Seeks to challenge students to understand more than the outlines of American history—Pilgrims, patriots, plantations— in the broader contexts of events that unfolded in and around the Atlantic Ocean in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. Covers Columbus’s first landing in the Caribbean to the Haitian declaration of independence in 1804 and includes the Atlantic trade, piracy, slavery and other forms of labor, cultural and ecological exchange, and independence and emancipation.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1219. History of Global Pandemics. (4 Hours)

Explores epidemics and pandemics as a feature of human life for millennia. Charts the history of major pandemics, such as bubonic plague, smallpox, cholera, or the H1N1 influenza of 1918–19. Focuses on the causes and events of each pandemic and also how they shaped the future. Students read multiple primary sources documenting individuals’ experience of each pandemic and produce a research project on a pandemic of their choice.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1225. Gender, Race, and Medicine. (4 Hours)

Examines the basic tenets of “scientific objectivity” and foundational scientific ideas about race, sex, and gender and what these have meant for marginalized groups in society, particularly when they seek medical care. Introduces feminist science theories ranging from linguistic metaphors of the immune system, to the medicalization of race, to critiques of the sexual binary. Emphasizes contemporary as well as historical moments to trace the evolution of “scientific truth” and its impact on the U.S. cultural landscape. Offers students an opportunity to develop the skills to critically question what they “know” about science and the scientific process and revisit their disciplinary training as a site for critical analysis. AFAM 1225, HIST 1225, and WMNS 1225 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity

HIST 1232. History of Boston. (4 Hours)

Explores the history of Boston from colonial times to the present, with attention to the topographical growth and the ethnic composition of the city. Includes visits to historical sites, museums, and archives in the area.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1246. World War II in the Pacific. (4 Hours)

Studies World War II, the most devastating war in history, which began in Asia and had a great long-term impact there. Using historical and literary texts, examines the causes, decisive battles, and lingering significance of the conflict on both sides of the Pacific.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1252. Japanese Literature and Culture. (4 Hours)

Explores major works of Japanese fiction and poetry in historical and cultural context. All readings are in English translation.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1253. History of Vietnam Wars. (4 Hours)

Presents a history of military conflicts on the Indochinese Peninsula from its precolonial settlement; internal developments and divisions; its stormy relationship with China; French colonization and the resistance to it; the rise of the Vietminh during World War II; the postwar struggle against the French; the impact of the cold war; and the involvement of the United States after 1950 in the creation of two Vietnams and in the conflict that engulfed it and its neighbors, Laos and Cambodia, in the decades that followed. Emphasizes the roles of nationalism and communism in the 20th-century conflicts and the motives for U.S. intervention. Films revealing the reactions of Americans to the escalating conflict are shown and evaluated.

HIST 1272. Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1500. (4 Hours)

Examines the history of medieval Europe in a period of tremendous fluidity, migration, and flux. Studies the experiences of men and women in European societies before clearly defined nation-states had emerged. Topics include forms of political and cultural integration; the contacts between Europeans and non-Europeans in the Mediterranean and beyond; and the place of religion, art, and ideology, with attention to how Europeans’ experiences varied according to their gender, class, and race.

HIST 1285. Introduction to Russian Civilization. (4 Hours)

Examines the origins of Russian culture in Eastern Orthodoxy and relations with the Byzantine Empire, and the subsequent evolution of Kiev, Moscow, and St. Petersburg as cultural/political centers, up to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Includes readings in medieval Russian literature and nineteenth-century fiction, with consideration of the development of music and the visual arts. Conducted in English.

HIST 1286. History of the Soviet Union. (4 Hours)

Examines Russia and the Soviet Union in the 20th century focusing on empires and revolutions: the Russian empire’s dissolution, the Russian Revolution and civil war, building the Soviet Union, World War II, the cold war and Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe and Asia, the breakup of the Soviet Union and its newly independent states, and Russian efforts to maintain influence in the post-Soviet space. Assesses the construction of Soviet identity by interpreting Soviet culture in the form of film, literature, art, and music. Evaluates explanatory theories of revolution and empire and the evolution of Marxism in the context of revolution and state building.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1290. Modern Middle East. (4 Hours)

Examines the political, social, and cultural history of the Arab countries of the modern Middle East, as well as Iran, Israel, and Turkey. Covers the period from the early 19th century through the late 20th century. Offers students an opportunity to obtain a basis for understanding the politics, social movements, and cultural expressions of the region in the late 20th century. Major themes include imperialism and colonialism; the creation and transformation of the modern states and their political systems since World War I; the transformation of Middle Eastern societies during this same period under the impact of colonialism, independence, regional wars, and oil; women's and labor movements; and revolutions. Uses a variety of sources including memoirs, photography, literature, and political speeches.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1294. History of the Jews in the Modern World. (4 Hours)

Surveys the history of the Jews in the modern world, with an emphasis on global cultural exchange. Examines Jewish interaction with non-Jewish society from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, Israel, and the United States; and explores this relationship’s creative and destructive consequences. Focuses on how Jewish society, culture, religious practice, and political definition changed in relation to a variety of processes now associated with modernity, such as urbanization, industrialization, state centralization, and the development of nationalism and secularism.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1300. Introduction to Health and Humanities. (4 Hours)

Explores the ways in which narrative and other forms of creative and cultural expression help shape conceptions of illness, healing, and the body. Offers students opportunities to consider the health and humanities through a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives and genres. Includes small-group and classwide experiential field outings. Culminates in the composition of reflective responses, a medical ethics/medical journalism piece, and a team-based experiential e-portfolio project. Course objectives include differentiating between healing and curing; knowing how to elicit, listen to, and analyze stories to determine how participants in the healthcare system experience illness and healing; being able to articulate the ways health is a cultural construct; and using this analysis to identify an empathic response as a future professional.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 1357. History of Information in the United States: Media, Technology, Law. (4 Hours)

Explores the history of information in the United States—how and why conceptions, technologies, and politics of information have evolved, as well as the various ways Americans have confronted information-related crises at various moments in time. Offers students an opportunity to develop more sophisticated understandings of historical and ongoing controversies over the history, politics, technologies, and ethics of information, as well as to be able to bring valuable historical context as they evaluate and address the challenges posed by today’s rapidly shifting information ecosystem. In an age of clickbait and media bots, deepfakes and data surveillance, information is a fraught category—resulting in weakened trust in expertise, institutions, and democracy—but Americans have long struggled with the ethics and politics of information.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1389. History of Espionage 1: Antiquity to World War II. (4 Hours)

Explores the history of espionage through a series of case studies from ancient Rome, Greece, and China; the Reformation; the Age of Discovery; the French Revolution; the American Civil War; World War I and the Russian Revolution; and World War II. Commonly referred to as the world’s “second oldest profession,” espionage is an intrinsic part of the relationships between communities, institutions, and states. Draws from a wide variety of published and unpublished primary and secondary sources, supplemented by modern theoretical and social science perspectives, literature, and films.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1390. History of Espionage 2: Cold War Spies. (4 Hours)

Explores the history of espionage during the Cold War era (1943–1991) through a series of case studies. Draws from a wide variety of published and unpublished primary and secondary sources, supplemented by modern theoretical and social science perspectives, literature, and films. Students work individually and in teams to explore the history of covert operations, including the following subthemes: the origins of the Cold War in World War II, the postwar battle for German scientists, containment and rollback, Venona and code breaking, nuclear spies, defectors, proxy wars, insurgencies and counterinsurgencies, terrorism, and technology.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1500. Modern Chinese History and Culture. (4 Hours)

Introduces modern Chinese history and culture through literary works, films, and historical texts. Examines political, social, and cultural changes in China since 1800: the decline of empire; the New Culture Movement of the 1920s; the rise of nationalism and rural revolution; the changing roles of women; the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s; and China’s cinematic, literary, and economic engagement with the world since 1978. Taught in English and open to all undergraduates. CLTR 1500 and HIST 1500 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 1990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 2000. Native American Resistance: Past and Present. (4 Hours)

Introduces the Indigenous peoples of North America and the academic field of Native American and Indigenous studies. Combines public history and public art, field trips, and original research to focus on the ongoing resistance to colonization and erasure and the resilience of Indian nations in New England and beyond. Covers particular themes, including the present-day impact of historical treaties and policies including land allotment, relocation, termination, boarding schools, and natural resource extraction.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2011. Capitalism and Business: A Global History. (4 Hours)

Analyzes the emergence of capitalism as a global system, from the emergence of early modern market societies to today’s globalization and its discontents. Considers how technological and geopolitical developments changed the economic lives of people around the world and how those people responded. Examines historical debates about ethics of redistribution and economic justice. Topics include empire and slavery, industrialization and deindustrialization, moral economy and market societies, and finance and speculation, as well as the histories of money, commodities, and consumer cultures. Sources include historical scholarship, archive documents, economic philosophy, and cultural production such as novels, music, and art.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2025. Latin American History through Film. (4 Hours)

Uses films to analyze major questions in Latin American history. Topics include conquest, slavery, and revolution. The films are works of fiction, but most of them relate to real events. Course readings include "traditional" primary sources about the events (such as letters and espionage reports). Studies the history represented in the films and the assumptions and ideological perspectives and how these are conveyed through narrative and visual techniques. More broadly, considers how history is presented and represented by different sources. Offers students an opportunity to obtain a deeper appreciation for the complexity of Latin America.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2101. Law and Religion in Israel. (4 Hours)

Examines how religious diversity features in Israeli life, society, and laws. Israel maintains a unique form of legal pluralism in regulating its official religious communities and their courts. Considers how Israeli society, its religious and civil courts, and its government navigate the challenges that Israel faces as a self-defined “Jewish and democratic state” with a legal commitment to the religious autonomy of its officially recognized religious communities. Explores the complex interplay between religion and law in the daily life of Israel’s citizens.

HIST 2211. The World Since 1945. (4 Hours)

Examines the political, economic, social, and cultural relationship between the developed and developing world since the end of World War II. Topics include the Cold War, independence and national movements in developing countries, the globalization of the world economy, scientific and technological innovations, wealth and poverty, the eradication of some diseases and the spread of others, the fall of the Soviet Union, Middle East turmoil, and the enduring conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2217. The Global Far-Right since 1945: Politics, Culture, Violence. (4 Hours)

Explores the emergence of far-right activism globally since the end of World War II. Emphasizes how radical far-right ideology developed and shifted over the course of the last 75 years by focusing on how it globalized through written culture, music, and the internet. Examines a number of case studies in which far-right cultures developed and then spread, which can include South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia, as well as related movements such as radical Hindu nationalism and Hindutva. Explores each case study in terms of culture, politics, and ideologies of violence.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2220. History of Technology. (4 Hours)

Offers an interdisciplinary survey of the global history of science and technology. Explores how scientific and technical knowledge, processes, and innovations developed and circulated. Examines how science and technology both shaped and responded to society, culture, ethics, and thought.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2233. The History of Medicine in North America. (4 Hours)

Surveys the history of medicine in what is now the United States between the arrival of European explorers in the 16th century and the end of the Second World War. Introduces exemplary moments in the history of medicine as it is practiced today and examines how these histories connect to the experience of the dispossessed, the enslaved, and the economically and culturally marginalized in American history. Encourages students to consider how the history of medicine has been written both by historians and practitioners. Explores the history of medicine both as a series of events, places, and people and as a method for opening up American history more broadly.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2280. Hitler, Germany, and the Holocaust. (4 Hours)

Studies historical developments from Germany’s defeat in World War I to the end of World War II. Topics include the failure of Weimar democracy; Weimar culture; the rise to power of Hitler and National Socialism; Nazi culture and racial wars against alleged “degenerates”; the roles of party leaders, business and cultural elites, and ordinary Germans in supporting and legitimizing the Nazi dictatorship.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2282. The Holocaust and Comparative Genocide. (4 Hours)

Examines the origins of the Holocaust, perpetrators and victims, and changing efforts to come to terms with this genocide. The Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews by Germans in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, is one of the crucial events of modern history. Investigates the uniqueness of the Holocaust relative to other acts of ethnic cleansing or genocide, including mass death in the New World and mass murder in Armenia, Bosnia, and Rwanda.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2285. America and the Holocaust. (4 Hours)

Examines the American response to the Holocaust, in terms of both contemporaneous knowledge and actions and the lasting impact on policy and culture. Starts with early twentieth-century events, such as the Armenian genocide, that shaped later attitudes. Explores the prewar period, particularly U.S. immigration and isolationist policies. Assesses Americans’ knowledge of European events as the extermination campaign unfolded and fights ensued over rescue possibilities. Examines changing depictions of the Holocaust that emerged in the postwar period as a result of critical events such as the Eichmann trial and popular television and film portrayals. Finally, considers how perceptions of the Holocaust have shaped subsequent U.S. responses to genocide. HIST 2285, JRNL 2285, and JWSS 2285 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2299. Uses and Abuses of History: Historical Reasoning in U.S. Global and Domestic Policy. (4 Hours)

Studies how historical information influenced decision making in the United States during four policymaking episodes of the post–World War II era: the confrontation with the Soviet Union during the Cold War; the expansion of the welfare state during the 1960s; the war in Vietnam; and the Reagan “revolution.” Focuses on decisions made by policymakers as these four episodes evolved. Analyzes why decision makers did what they did; what extent they were guided by their understanding of history; how accurate their historical information was; and how usefully they applied their historical understanding to the situation at hand.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2301. The History Seminar. (4 Hours)

Introduces history majors to advanced techniques of historical practice in research and writing. Offers students an opportunity to conduct original research and write an original research paper. Seminar themes vary; students should check with the Department of History for a list of each year’s seminar offerings. May be repeated without limit.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 1201 with a minimum grade of D-

Corequisite(s): HIST 2302

HIST 2302. Historical Writing. (1 Hour)

Covers learning and practicing methods and conventions of historical writing for publication. Adjuncted to a Seminar in History, which fulfills the Advanced Writing in the Disciplines requirement.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 1201 with a minimum grade of D-

Corequisite(s): HIST 2301

HIST 2303. Gender and Reproductive Justice. (4 Hours)

Introduces the social, legal, and economic barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare domestically and internationally. Draws on various theoretical and analytic tools including critical race theory, critical legal theory, sociology of science, human rights, feminist theory, and a range of public health methods. Access to reproductive health services, including abortion, is one of the most contested political, social, cultural, and religious issues today. Covers domestic, regional, and international legal and regulatory frameworks on sexual reproductive health. HIST 2303, SOCL 2303, and WMNS 2303 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2306. The World in a Decade: The 1990s. (4 Hours)

Examines the political, economic, and social dynamics of the first post–Cold War decade. Topics include the geopolitical aftermath of the Cold War, democracy and development in developing countries, the globalization of the world economy and its impacts, the rise of nationalism, genocide, the rise of China as an economic power, and the varieties of Islamic movements.

HIST 2308. Law, Justice, and Society in Modern China. (4 Hours)

Offers an overview of the historical development and function of law in Chinese society from the late imperial era to today and in comparison with other bodies of jurisprudence. Reading a wide range of scholarly articles and monographs, the course looks at “law” beyond jurisprudence and legal codes to examine its changing relationship with social customs, political institutions, religious traditions, popular culture, family and gender relations, and economic exchanges.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Societies/Institutions, NUpath Writing Intensive

HIST 2311. Colonialism/Imperialism. (4 Hours)

Examines the military, economic, political, and cultural expansion of world powers since the fifteenth century, and the ways in which colonized peoples were ruled. Why did colonialist countries feel the need to conquer and dominate, how did they do it, and why did they retreat on some fronts? How did people resist and cooperate with colonialism? How did colonialism affect national and cultural identities? Colonialism is examined as a global phenomenon and from a comparative perspective that looks at particular case studies. Also examines decolonization in the twentieth century.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2318. New England Stories: Storytelling and the African American Experience. (4 Hours)

Delves into the fascinating stories of African Americans who have called New England home, from the seventeenth century up to the present. Discusses themes such as freedom and slavery, migration, and civil rights. Introduces an interdisciplinary framework for understanding Black identity formation, activism, and cultural as well as intellectual traditions amid the long struggle for justice.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1102 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2325. African-American Women. (4 Hours)

Examines themes and topics in the history of African-American women using an interdisciplinary approach. Includes women’s lives in precolonial Africa, their role in the transatlantic slave trade, women and American slavery, community and institution building after emancipation, black women and labor, stereotypes of black women, black women and civil rights, and black women today.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1102 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C

HIST 2330. Colonial and Revolutionary America. (4 Hours)

Covers the discovery and exploration of the New World, the settlement of the English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, and Russian colonies on the North American mainland, their development to 1763, the origins of their clashes with England, and the American Revolution.

HIST 2337. African American History Before 1900. (4 Hours)

Traces the presenceofAfrican-descended people in North America.Emphasizesthe historicaland culturallinks between Africaand NorthAmerica that have shaped theBlack experience in the United States.Explores and analyzes the institution of slavery, the role of free Black communities, the Civil War and emancipation, and Black leadership and protest during the Reconstruction era.Introduces students to the historian’s craft, theoretical debates concerning race and gender, and the persistence of the past in the present.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1102 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2351. Modern Japan. (4 Hours)

Examines state formation, economic growth, imperialism and colonialism, war and defeat, and contemporary culture.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2360. History of Capitalism in East Asia. (4 Hours)

Traces capitalism’s transformation of economic life in East Asia from the early modern era to the contemporary world. Explores changes in the human participation of production, exchange, and consumption. Reading a wide range of scholarly articles and monographs, the course examines key topics, including the great divergence debate, commodification of labor, consumer cultures, birth of industrialization, resilience of family enterprises, gender and the economy, and the role of the developmental state.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2370. Renaissance to Enlightenment. (4 Hours)

Covers the social, economic, political, and cultural transformations of Europe from the Renaissance to the French Revolution. Traces the rebirth of Catholic Europe from 1300; the Reformation; the religious wars; struggles over religious and scientific beliefs; advances in technology, science, and warfare; overseas expansion; the scientific revolution; and the Enlightenment.

HIST 2373. Gender and Sexuality in World History. (4 Hours)

Introduces key concepts in the fields of gender and identity studies as they apply to world history since about 1800. Offers students an opportunity to understand the critical significance of gender, sex, sexuality, and identity to world events and how these contentious subjects influence the contemporary world. Surveys a series of major movements in geopolitics, labor, economics, culture, and society in order to analyze how individual and group identities, as well as mass assumptions about behavior and performance, have shaped these events. Gender, sex, and sexuality are integral to class discussions of work, welfare, art, culture, violence, war, and activism. HIST 2373 and WMNS 2373 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2375. The Tudors, the Stuarts, and the Birth of Modern Britain. (4 Hours)

Examines the history of early modern England as well as Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Follows the development of England from a small backwater to one of the most powerful European nations by the end of the seventeenth century. Analyzes the constantly shifting relationships between the various cultural identities within Britain. Concentrates on British history not only from the perspective of the elites but also the ordinary people whose names have often been lost to history. Key themes include the growth of the British Empire, issues of gender, the interactions between England and the Celtic fringes, and participation in the political franchise.

HIST 2390. Africa and the World in Early Times. (4 Hours)

Examines the place of Africa in the world from 1000 C.E. to the mid-19th century. Investigates the histories of ancient Egypt, the savannah and forest regions of West Africa, coastal and interior East Africa, and southern Africa. Explores the rise of medieval city-states and empires, the activities of the Atlantic slave trade and the trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean slave trades, debates over mass migration and the spread of language groups, the rise of agriculture, the development of nonstate political structures, the growth of trading societies, and the development of new cultural forms. Links Africa’s early histories to current debates about the role of history in contemporary politics and to present understandings of Africa’s historical place in world affairs.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

HIST 2430. Digital Histories of Ethnic Boston. (4 Hours)

Integrates history of ethnic groups in Boston with methods from the digital humanities (DH) through a semester-long collaborative student project focused on one particular ethnic group. Combines learning how to use DH technology (as well as its possible misuses) with learning about the history of particular ethnic groups in Boston, such as Jews, the Irish, African-Americans, etc. Uses hands-on approaches to study ethnic migration and history to and within Boston by touring neighborhoods and sites. Examines DH technologies through workshops introducing tools such as Omeka, Story Maps, and Tableau, among other possibilities. Also examines different techniques for data visualization, relationship mapping, network analysis, and text analysis.

Attribute(s): NUpath Analyzing/Using Data

HIST 2431. Immigration and Identity in the American Jewish Experience. (4 Hours)

Examines Jewish political, social, and cultural history from the arrival of the first group of Jews at New Amsterdam in 1654 to the present. Themes include immigration, adaptation, family life, religion, anti-Semitism, Zionism, the Holocaust, and American-Israeli relations.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 2990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 2991. Research Practicum. (2-4 Hours)

Involves students in collaborative research under the supervision of a faculty member. Offers students an opportunity to learn basic research methods in the discipline. Open to students with freshman standing with permission of instructor. May be repeated once for up to 4 total credits.

HIST 3305. Beyond the Binary: Race, Sex, and Science. (4 Hours)

Considers how gender, race, and sexuality have been treated in science, focusing primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries. Examines the history of ideas about gender, race, and sexuality as reflected in fields such as biology, psychology, endocrinology, and neuroscience. Discusses contraceptive and reproductive technologies, pharmaceutical trials, the gendering of scientific professions, and recent studies that use algorithmic predictions of sex or sexual orientation. Uses close reading techniques and discussions to advance student expertise.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 3330. The Global Cold War. (4 Hours)

Examines the Cold War, emphasizing how the Soviet-American struggle for global preeminence intersected with decolonization and the rise of the “Third World.” Uses primary sources, monographs, and scholarly articles to trace the major events and developments of the Cold War—ideological differences between the capitalist and socialist systems, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam War—while also exploring how and why the Cold War came to pervade economic, cultural, and social relations globally. Examines how unexpected actors—Cuban doctors and Peace Corps volunteers—responded to and shaped superpower rivalry. Considers how the Cold War continues to shape the world today.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions, NUpath Writing Intensive

HIST 3334. Assassinations in World History. (4 Hours)

Explores the historical antecedents to the unprecedented use of assassination and targeted killing as state policy in the current war on terror: the theory, strategic use, ethics, and legality of assassination. Using film, literature, and primary and secondary readings, explores case studies in the world history of assassination, from ancient times to the current day, including case studies from the Roman Empire, early modern Europe, revolutionary Europe, and the 20th century.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 3335. History of Modern Terrorism. (4 Hours)

Surveys the history of modern terrorism via film, literature, art, social science theory, and historical documents and engages the history of terrorism from 19th-century Europe to the present day. Explores the roots of this global phenomenon via weekly readings and requires students to conduct independent research and create individual or group presentations on selected themes.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 3344. The History of Western Public Health. (4 Hours)

Examines the rise of public health as a discipline and as an institution dedicated to monitoring and improving the health of specific populations. Studies key historical texts in the history of public health and medicine from Europe, Canada, and the United States, as well as European and American empires and colonies throughout the world. Emphasizes the importance of new techniques of state data gathering and analysis, including statistical methods, epidemiology, and state censuses. Considers how public health has increased state intervention in the daily lives of citizens and subjects and where and why resistance to these measures arose.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 with a minimum grade of C

HIST 3350. Leaders and Leadership in History. (4 Hours)

Explores the classic historical question of whether leaders make history or history makes leaders. Some leaders are considered unquestionable successes, while others are deemed partial or abject failures. Examines how certain men and women arrived at leadership positions, considering personal charisma and historical contingency. Studies the choices leaders made in difficult situations, and analyzes leaders' successes and failures through historical notions of ethics and justice. Also examines the question of legacy, to understand why some leaders stand out (for better or worse) and other leaders recede from historical narratives. Case studies from around the world include national leaders and unsung heroes, from the early modern period through the present. Sources include historical scholarship, archive documents, and cultural renderings.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 3973. Topics in History. (4 Hours)

Covers special topics in history, selected by the instructor. May be repeated twice.

HIST 3990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 4701. Capstone Seminar. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to make use of advanced techniques of historical methodology to conduct original research and write a major, original research paper as the culmination of their work toward the history degree. This is a capstone research and writing seminar for history majors.

Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience, NUpath Writing Intensive

HIST 4970. Junior/Senior Honors Project 1. (4 Hours)

Focuses on in-depth project in which a student conducts research or produces a product related to the student’s major field. Combined with Junior/Senior Project 2 or college-defined equivalent for 8-credit honors project. May be repeated without limit.

Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience, NUpath Writing Intensive

HIST 4971. Junior/Senior Honors Project 2. (4 Hours)

Focuses on second semester of in-depth project in which a student conducts research or produces a product related to the student’s major field. May be repeated without limit.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 4970 with a minimum grade of D-

Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience, NUpath Writing Intensive

HIST 4990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 4991. Research. (4 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct research under faculty supervision.

Attribute(s): NUpath Integration Experience

HIST 4992. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 4994. Internship in World History. (4 Hours)

Offers a formal internship at the World History Resource Center for preservice teachers of history during the fall semester of the fourth year. Students read curriculum units prepared by other teachers and develop at least one substantial, multilesson unit of world history curriculum, under supervision of a history faculty member and in consultation with a practicing teacher. Fulfills experiential education requirement. May be repeated without limit.

Attribute(s): NUpath Integration Experience

HIST 5101. Theory and Methodology 1. (4 Hours)

Examines the following questions in the context of major issues in current historical research and debate. Where do historical questions come from, and how do we answer them? How do we produce knowledge about historical events and processes? What theoretical models guide historians work? Emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches as well as concrete techniques in historical research. Required of all first-year graduate students.

HIST 5102. Theory and Methodology 2. (4 Hours)

Continues HIST 5101. Offers an advanced exploration of the theories and methods used by historians to develop students’ ability to understand and critique the work of other historians. Emphasis is on theories and methods in world history, such as comparative models, systemic approaches, and focus on interconnections. Explores what it means to have a local, national, or global perspective, and how world history fits in with other fields of historical scholarship. Required of all PhD students.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 5101 with a minimum grade of C- or HIST 5101 with a minimum grade of D-

HIST 5237. Issues and Methods in Public History. (4 Hours)

Examines and analyzes major issues and methods in public history in the United States and the world. Topics include the nature and meaning of national memory and myth, the theory and practice of historic preservation, rural and land preservation and the organizational structures and activities associated with those efforts, the interrelationship of historical museums and popular culture, the history and organization of historic house museums, historical documentary filmmaking, historical archaeology in world perspective, interpreting “ordinary” landscapes, and the impact of politics on public history.

HIST 5240. Feminist Resistance. (4 Hours)

Engages students in the study of a variety of forms of feminist resistance in recent history, emphasizing the United States in the context of cross-cultural examples. Examines key feminist texts and manifestos and studies feminist activism in coalition with other social movements. Students identify and analyze unique features of gender-based activism in itself and in its intersections with other social movements, including movements and activism focused on race, class, sexuality, and physical ability.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

HIST 5241. Exhibits and Museums. (4 Hours)

Considers the history of museums and exhibitions from a transnational perspective in order to examine the various roles museums have played in historical and contemporary global culture. Explores museums as cultural institutions and institutional cultures through historical and theoretical readings, museum visits, and the development of students’ own exhibitions. Currently among the world’s most popular sites of education and leisure, museums have held a wide range of social, political, and cultural roles over the past 500 years. Offers students an opportunity to develop more acute insight into the ways museums and their exhibitions have made and reflected ideas about history, science, art, identity, and culture.

HIST 6954. Co-op Work Experience - Half-Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 6955. Co-op Work Experience Abroad – Half-Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience abroad. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 6962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 6964. Co-op Work Experience. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

Corequisite(s): INSH 6864

HIST 6965. Co-op Work Experience Abroad. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience abroad. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 7219. Topics in Cultural History. (4 Hours)

Offers special topics in cultural history. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 7221. Topics in World History. (4 Hours)

Offers readings on selected themes and issues in world history. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 7228. Atlantic Connections. (4 Hours)

Explores the interactions of Europe, the Americas, and Africa from the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries. With background on societies in each region, the course proceeds through study of the developing concepts and practices of power, race, and gender as these emerged out of the initial encounters and early colonization, and as they led to reshaping of life in each region.

HIST 7239. Space and Place. (4 Hours)

Examines the role of space and place in the constitution of society and culture through a set of key readings. Themes include the geographical production of class, gender, and race/ethnicity in modernity and postmodernity as well as the role of space and place in debates around postcolonialism. The ways in which space and place are implicated in the practice of power and resistance are key to the course.

HIST 7250. Topics in Public History. (4 Hours)

Offers readings, class work, and projects on selected themes and issues in public history.

HIST 7251. Topics in American History. (4 Hours)

Focuses on one or more topics in the history of the United States. May be repeated up to two times.

HIST 7314. Research Seminar in World History. (4 Hours)

Gives students the opportunity to do research and write a paper that addresses historical issues and processes significant at a global scale. Discussions focus on what it means to be significant on a global scale, how to find and utilize relevant source material, and on previous scholarship relevant in helping shape questions and issues in our own work. Students also read and critique one another’s work. May be repeated up to four times.

HIST 7320. Research Seminar in Cultural History of the United States. (4 Hours)

Requires students to conduct research and write an original paper that addresses historical issues in the cultural history—in particular the material culture—of North America.

HIST 7370. Texts, Maps, and Networks: Readings and Methods for Digital History. (4 Hours)

Introduces the methods and practice of history in a digital age. Offers students an opportunity to see the wide variety of work being done computationally by historians and other humanists today and to obtain the background to be creative producers of new work and critical consumers of existing projects. The rise of computing technology and the Internet has the potential to reshape all parts of historical practice, from curation to research to dissemination. Examines the historian’s craft in three primary domains: the creation of digital sources, the algorithmic transformations that computers can enact on cultural materials like texts, and the new ecologies of publishing and scholarly communication made possible by new media.

HIST 7962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 7976. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on chosen topics. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 8409. Practicum in Teaching. (1 Hour)

Offers students the opportunity to teach individual college-level courses within the Department of History under the general supervision of a senior faculty member. Open to doctoral students.

HIST 8410. Fieldwork in History 1. (2 Hours)

Offers students the opportunity to get practical experience in historical agencies including historical societies, archives, museums, exhibits, restorations, preservation projects, and the like. Requires students to work in the agency ten hours a week for one semester under the direction of an agency supervisor and departmental adviser.

HIST 8411. Fieldwork in History 2. (4 Hours)

Gives students a second opportunity to acquire practical experience in an historical agency. Requires ten hours a week for one semester under the direction of an agency supervisor and a departmental adviser.

HIST 8960. Exam Preparation—Doctoral. (0 Hours)

Intended to show full-time status during the semester of the PhD qualifying exam. Students are expected to carry a full load of research and/or teaching responsibilities in addition to this course.

HIST 8982. Readings. (1-4 Hours)

Offers selected readings under the supervision of a faculty member. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 8984. Research. (1-4 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 8986. Research. (0 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct full-time research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.

HIST 9000. PhD Candidacy Achieved. (0 Hours)

Indicates successful completion of the doctoral comprehensive exam.

HIST 9990. Dissertation Term 1. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 9000 with a minimum grade of S

HIST 9991. Dissertation Term 2. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 9990 with a minimum grade of S

HIST 9996. Dissertation Continuation. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 9991 with a minimum grade of S or Dissertation Check with a score of REQ