Department of History
Christopher J. Phillips, Department Head
Location: Baker Hall 240
Phone: 412-268-2880
Fax: 412-268-1019
https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/
Undergraduate Degree Options in the Department of History
The B.A./B.S. in Social & Political History
The B.A. in Global Studies
The B.A./B.S. in Ethics, History, and Public Policy
The Department of History offers undergraduates a choice of three majors: Social & Political History, Global Studies, and Ethics, History, and Public Policy. Specific requirements and courses for each major are detailed below.
All three History majors are grounded firmly in the liberal arts. Each has a strong interdisciplinary bent and an equally strong commitment to using knowledge of the past to illuminate present-day social, cultural, and political affairs.
In different ways, all three majors emphasize empirical research methods and conceptual analysis, and cultivate reading, research, and writing abilities central to a variety of professions. Our students develop strong analytic and writing skills; choose among diverse U.S., global, and thematic courses; learn experientially through internships and/or study abroad; and benefit from small class sizes and easy access to faculty who are internationally known for innovative historical, anthropological, and other social science approaches to investigating the past. The study of history necessarily includes diverse societies and controversial public policy issues, usefully blending liberal education with professional development.
History is also excellent preparation for leadership positions in law, business, journalism, politics, education, and government service (e.g., U.S. Foreign Service, Health & Human Services, Federal Trade Commission). The resumes of innumerable CEOS and government statesmen show how effectively the study of history serves as a foundation for preparing leaders both at home and abroad.
Having been trained to analyze subtle and complex issues, to develop breadth of understanding, to dig out information and make sense of it, and to present their findings effectively, graduates of the History Department do extremely well in many types of for-profit, non-profit, governmental, and non-governmental organizations. Because history training combines research and writing skills with analysis of social and policy trends, it also prepares graduates for journalism and other writing careers in the modern media age.
All three History degree programs combine easily with majors in Business, Economics, English, Information Systems, Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics, Philosophy, Professional Writing, Social and Decision Sciences, and Statistics.
Additional Majors
The majors in Social & Political History, Global Studies, and Ethics, History, and Public Policy may be declared as additional majors in consultation with the Academic Program Manager, Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra. You can reach Dr. Garnhart-Bushakra in the History Department, Baker Hall 240G to schedule a meeting with her directly.
Interdepartmental Majors
In addition to the Ethics, History, and Public Policy major, History faculty are also integral participants in interdepartmental majors described elsewhere in this catalog: International Relations and Politics in the Institute for Politics and Strategy, and the Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics Department.
Minors
Options for pursuing a minor in Social & Political History or Anthropology are discussed below, following the sub-section on Ethics, History, and Public Policy.
Several other minors with strong History content, detailed elsewhere in the Undergraduate Catalog, can be linked with any degree. Students should contact the relevant History faculty members listed below:
- African and African American Studies: Professor Edda Fields-Black (fieldsblack@cmu.edu)
- Environmental and Sustainability Studies: Professor Abigail E. Owen (aeown@cmu.edu)
- Gender Studies: Professor Lisa M. Tetrault (tetrault@andrew.cmu.edu)
- Religious Studies: Professor Allyson F. Creasman (allysonc@andrew.cmu.edu)
- Russian Studies: Professor Wendy Goldman (goldman@andrew.cmu.edu), Professor Tatyana Gershkovich (tgershko@andrew.cmu.edu)
- Science, Technology, and Society: Professor Christopher J. Phillips (cjp1@cmu.edu)
Research and Outreach Centers
History Department faculty members lead three research and outreach centers that advance new interdisciplinary knowledge and help translate knowledge into public policies that further the pursuit of social, economic, and political justice.
- CAUSE (Center for African American Urban Studies and the Economy), Joe W. Trotter, Director
- The Bajaj [India] Rural Development Lab, Nico Slate, Director
- The Center for Human Rights Science, Jay D. Aronson, Director
The Major in Global Studies
Professor Ricky Law, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Global Studies, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 238B, 412-268-2880, rlaw@andrew.cmu.edu
Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, Academic Program Manager, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 240G, 412-268-1260, agarnhar@andrew.cmu.edu
The B.A. in Global Studies is an interdepartmental major designed for students interested in humanistic approaches to past and present processes of globalization. The rigorous yet flexible Global Studies curriculum combines courses in anthropology, history, cultural studies, and language training that enable students to gain a nuanced understanding of both global processes and regional histories and cultures. Graduates of the program have pursued careers in a wide range of fields, including law, the private and non-governmental sectors, and graduate work in psychology, business, health and medicine, and international studies.
Faculty affiliated with the program come from the departments of History, Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics, English, and Philosophy, and draw on their international expertise to help students gain a rich, multidisciplinary understanding of global issues and concerns (such as, climate change and the environment; migration; social and political movements; imperial legacies and contemporary politics; art, language, culture, and globalization.)
Students should consult with the Global Studies Academic Program Manager about new courses and study abroad courses that may be approved for the Global Studies major.
Global Studies may be elected as a primary or an additional major; the requirements for each are the same.
Curriculum
(102 units plus completion of language requirement)
There are three required courses for the major: Introduction to Global Studies (79-275), Global Studies Research Seminar (79-400) and one of the following general education courses: Introduction to Anthropology (79-201, 9 units), Introduction to African American History: Black Americans and the World (79-120, 9 units), Genocide and Weapons of Mass Destruction (79-145, 9 units), Introduction to the History of Science (79-160, 9 units)), Democracy and History: Thinking Beyond the Self (79-189, 9 units), Technology and Society (79-234, 9 units), or How Do We Remember? The Politics and Cultures of Memory (79-314, 9 units). In addition to these three courses, majors must also complete 72 units of electives and demonstrate proficiency in a modern language other than English. Students may double count a maximum of four courses taken for the Global Studies major that are also being used to fulfill the requirements of other majors and programs. Students should consult with the Global Studies Academic Program Manager about new courses and study abroad courses that may be approved for students pursuing the major in Global Studies.
I. Required General Education Course (9 units)
| 79-201 | Introduction to Anthropology | 9 |
| 79-120 | Introduction to African American History: Black Americans and the World | 9 |
| 79-145 | Genocide and Weapons of Mass Destruction | 9 |
| 79-160 | Introduction to the History of Science | 9 |
| 79-189 | Democracy and History: Thinking Beyond the Self | 9 |
| 79-234 | Technology and Society | 9 |
| 79-314 | How Do We Remember? The Politics and Cultures of Memory | 9 |
II. Global Studies Introductory Course (9 units)
Students must earn a final grade of "C" or better for the course to count toward the major.
| 79-275 | Introduction to Global Studies | 9 |
III. Language Requirement
Demonstrating intermediate to advanced level proficiency in a language other than English is a crucial component of the major in Global Studies. Normally this requirement can be satisfied by successfully completing a course conducted in the second language at the 300 level or above for French, German, Italian, or Spanish, or the fourth semester (Intermediate II) level or above for Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian. Comparable proficiency for other languages can be considered. Additional advanced cultural, historical, and literary study in the second language is strongly recommended. Courses in a language other than English may also be counted as Global Studies transnational, global, or regional courses or Global Studies electives as appropriate.
Studying abroad for one semester, in a foreign country whose language is not English, is an alternative way to fulfill the language requirement.
Please see the Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics section of the schedule of classes.
IV. Theoretical and Topical Core Courses (18 units)
To gain a solid foundation in the theories and analytical topics underpinning the B.A. in Global Studies, students select 18 units (typically two courses). Students must earn a final grade of "C" or better in these courses to fulfill the theoretical and topical core course requirement.
| 79-211 | Modern Southeast Asia: Colonialism, Capitalism, and Cultural Exchange | 9 |
| 79-278 | How (Not) to Change the World | 9 |
| 79-280 | Coffee and Capitalism | 9 |
| 79-289 | Animal Planet: An Environmental History of People and Animals | 9 |
| 79-314 | How Do We Remember? The Politics and Cultures of Memory | 9 |
| 79-315 | The Politics of Water in Global Perspective | 9 |
| 79-317 | Art, Anthropology, and Empire | 9 |
| 79-318 | Sustainable Social Change: History and Practice | 9 |
| 79-377 | Food, Culture, and Power: A History of Eating | 9 |
| 79-379 | Extreme Ethnography | 9 |
| 79-380 | Hostile Environments: The Politics of Pollution in Global Perspective | 9 |
| 79-383 | The History of Capitalism | 9 |
V. Transnational, Global, and Regional Courses (27 units)
To gain insight into how complex transnational and global processes shape and are affected by local, national, and regional dynamics, students will select 27 units (typically three courses).
Transnational and Global Courses
| 76-337 | Intersectional Feminism | 9 |
| 76-353 | Transnational Feminisms: Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-384 | Race, Nation, and the Enemy | 9 |
| 76-440 | Postcolonial Theory: Diaspora and Transnationalism | 9 |
| 79-149 | Ancient Rome: What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us? | 9 |
| 79-237 | Comparative Slavery | 9 |
| 79-273 | Jews and Muslims in History | 9 |
| 79-270 | Anti-Semitism Then and Now: Perspectives from the Middle Ages to the Present | 9 |
| 79-276 | Beyond the Border | 9 |
| 79-280 | Coffee and Capitalism | 9 |
| 79-282 | Europe and the World Since 1800 | 9 |
| 79-283 | Hungry World: Food and Famine in Global Perspective | 9 |
| 79-288 | Bananas, Baseball, and Borders: Latin America and the United States | 9 |
| 79-313 | "Unwanted": Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Patterns of Global Migration | 6 |
| 79-333 | African Americans, Race, and the Fight for Reparations | 9 |
| 79-350 | Early Christianity | 9 |
| 79-368 | Un-natural Disasters: Societies and Environmental Hazards in Global Perspective | 6 |
| 79-385 | Out of Africa: The Making of the African Diaspora | 9 |
| 79-510 | Global Studies Guided Reading | 3 |
| 80-348 | Health, Human Rights, and International Development | 9 |
| 80-447 | Global Justice | 9 |
| 82-283 | Language Diversity & Cultural Identity | 9 |
| 82-304 | French & Francophone Sociolinguistics | 9 |
| 82-345 | Using Spanish in Social Contexts | 9 |
| 84-226 | International Relations | 9 |
| 84-322 | Nonviolent Conflict and Revolution | 9 |
| 84-370 | Nuclear Security & Arms Control | 9 |
| 84-389 | Terrorism and Insurgency | 9 |
Regional Courses
| Africa: | ||
| 79-225 | West African History in Film | 9 |
| 79-226 | African History: Earliest Times to 1780 | 9 |
| 79-227 | Modern Africa: The Slave Trade to the End of Apartheid | 9 |
| 79-290 | The Slave Passage: From West Africa to the Americas | 9 |
| Eastern and Southern Asia and the Pacific: | ||
| 79-207 | Asian American History through the Novel | 9 |
| 79-210 | Identity, Ethnicity, and Place in Modern China | 9 |
| 79-211 | Modern Southeast Asia: Colonialism, Capitalism, and Cultural Exchange | 9 |
| 79-264 | Tibet and China: History and Propaganda | 9 |
| 88-411 | Rise of the Asian Economies | 9 |
| Europe: | ||
| 79-202 | Flesh and Spirit: Early Modern Europe, 1400-1750 | 9 |
| 79-203 | The Other Europe: The Habsburgs, Communism, & Central/Eastern Europe, 1740-1990 | 9 |
| 79-205 | 20th Century Europe | 9 |
| 79-208 | Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting | 9 |
| 79-268 | World War I: The Twentieth Century's First Catastrophe | 9 |
| 79-270 | Anti-Semitism Then and Now: Perspectives from the Middle Ages to the Present | 9 |
| 79-272 | Coexistence and Conflict: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Spain and Portugal | 9 |
| 82-320 | Contemporary Society in Germany, Austria and Switzerland | 9 |
| 82-415 | Topics in French and Francophone Studies | 9 |
| 82-441 | Studies in Peninsular Literature and Culture | 9 |
| The Middle East: | ||
| 79-229 | The Origins of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, 1880-1948 | 9 |
| 79-230 | The Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace Process Through 1948 to Present | 9 |
| 82-215 | Arab Culture Through Dialogues, Film, and Literature | 9 |
| 84-323 | War and Peace in the Contemporary Middle East | 9 |
| The Americas: | ||
| 79-223 | Mexico: From the Aztec Empire to the Drug War | 9 |
| 82-245 | New Directions in Hispanic Studies | 9 |
| 82-343 | Latin America Language and Culture | 9 |
| 82-451 | Studies in Latin American Literature and Culture | 9 |
| 82-455 | Topics in Hispanic Studies | 9 |
| 82-456 | Topics in Hispanic Studies | 9 |
VI. Elective Courses (27 units)
Please schedule an appointment with the academic program manager for guidance in selecting appropriate Thematic and region-based courses that satisfy Global Studies degree requirements.
Students are required to take an additional 27 units of elective courses, selected from one or both of the subcategories below. Any History course (79-xxx) not listed above at the 200 level or higher will count as an elective. In addition, Category IV and V courses listed above that are not used to fulfill those requirements may be counted as electives in addition to the courses listed below.
Students should consult each semester with the Global Studies Academic Program Manager, Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, about new courses approved for the Global Studies major. Students may “double-count” a maximum of four courses for the Global Studies major that are used to fulfill the requirements of other majors and programs. (Note that some of the courses may have prerequisites established by the departments offering them. Students should consult with the academic advisor about how such prerequisites may affect their course of study.)
Please visit the Department of History’s Current Courses webpage to see what is available. You can also see a list of electives in the Undergraduate Course Catalog.
Thematic Elective Courses
| 57-306 | World Music | 9 |
| 70-365 | International Trade and International Law | 9 |
| 76-241 | Introduction to Gender Studies | 9 |
| 76-386 | Language & Culture | 9 |
| 76-450 | Law, Culture, and the Humanities | 9 |
| 76-468 | Space and Mobilities | 9 |
| 79-101 | Making History: How to Think About the Past (and Present) | 9 |
| 79-204 | American Environmental History | 9 |
| 79-281 | Introduction to Religion | 9 |
| 79-316 | Photography, the First 100 Years, 1839-1939 | 9 |
| 79-324 | #MeToo: Naming and Resisting Gender Violence | 6 |
| 79-330 | Medicine and Society: Health, Healers, and Hospitals | 9 |
| 79-343 | Education, Democracy, and Civil Rights | 9 |
| 80-244 | Environmental Ethics | 9 |
| 80-335 | Social and Political Philosophy | 9 |
| 82-215 | Arab Culture Through Dialogues, Film, and Literature | 9 |
| 82-541 | Special Topics in Hispanic Studies | Var. |
| 84-275 | Comparative Politics | 9 |
| 84-310 | Policy in a Global Economy 1: International Trade and Trade Policy | 6 |
| 84-318 | Politics of Developing Nations | 9 |
| 84-362 | Diplomacy and Statecraft | 9 |
| 88-234 | Negotiation: International Focus | 9 |
Area–based Elective Courses
| 79-216 | Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire | 3 |
| 79-256 | Sex, Guns, Rock, and Skinheads: Youth Rebellion in Europe, 1960-1990 | 9 |
| 79-257 | Germany and the Second World War | 9 |
| 79-261 | The Last Emperors: Chinese History and Society, 1600-1900 | 9 |
| 79-262 | Modern China: From the Birth of Mao ... to Now | 9 |
| 79-263 | Mao and the Chinese Cultural Revolution | 9 |
| 79-265 | Russian History: Game of Thrones | 9 |
| 79-266 | Russian History and Revolutionary Socialism | 9 |
| 79-267 | The Soviet Union in World War II: Military, Political, and Social History | 9 |
| 79-269 | Russian History: From Socialism to Capitalism | 9 |
| 79-309 | The Chinese Revolution Through Film (1949-2000) | 9 |
| 79-319 | India Through Film | 6 |
| 79-320 | Women, Politics, and Protest | 9 |
| 79-322 | Stalin and the Great Terror | 9 |
| 79-326 | Shall We Dance? Culture, Politics, and Movement in the 20th Century | 6 |
| 79-331 | Body Politics: Women and Health in America | 9 |
| 82-253 | Korean Culture Through Film | 9 |
| 82-254 | World of Korea, Then and Now | 9 |
| 82-273 | Introduction to Japanese Language and Culture | 9 |
| 82-278 | Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling | 9 |
| 82-293 | Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia | 9 |
| 82-294 | 19th Century Russian Masterpieces | Var. |
| 82-295 | 20th Century Russian Masterpieces | Var. |
| 82-303 | French & Francophone Cultures | 9 |
| 82-305 | French in its Social Contexts | 9 |
| 82-333 | Introduction to Chinese Language and Culture | Var. |
| 82-342 | Spain: Language and Culture | 9 |
| 82-344 | U.S. Latine Cultures | 9 |
| 82-361 | Italian Language and Culture I | 9 |
| 82-420 | The Crucible of Modernity:Vienna 1900 | 9 |
| 82-425 | Topics in German Literature and Culture | Var. |
| 82-427 | Nazi and Resistance Culture | 9 |
| 82-428 | History of German Film | 9 |
| 82-433 | Topics in Contemporary Culture of China | 9 |
| 82-434 | Studies in Chinese Traditions | 9 |
| 82-440 | Studies in Chinese Literature & Culture | 9 |
| 82-473 | Topics in Japanese Studies | 9 |
VII. Senior Capstone Course (12 units)
The research seminar is the capstone course for Global Studies majors and is designed to give students the chance to define and carry out a research project of personal interest. Students are strongly encouraged to incorporate their prior coursework (including foreign language training), study abroad, or internships into their research. Students must earn a final grade of "C" or better for the course to count toward the major.
| 79-400 | Global Studies Research Seminar | 12 |
Global Studies Major — Sample Curriculum
This sample curriculum presents a course of study for completing the requirements for the Global Studies major that includes an optional study abroad semester. Students may declare the Global Studies major and take required courses as early as the second semester of the freshman year and as late as the junior year.
| First-Year | Second-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| 79-201 Introduction to Anthropology or 79-145, Genocide and Weapons of Mass Destruction or 79-189, Democracy and History: Thinking Beyond the Self | 79-275 Introduction to Global Studies | GS Theoretical & Topical Core Course | GS Theoretical & Topical Core Course |
| First-Year Writing Requirement | Language Course or Gen Ed | GS Transnational, Global, Regional Course | GS Transnational, Global, Regional Course |
| Grand Challenge Seminar | 36-200 Reasoning with Data | Language Course or Gen Ed | Language Course or Gen Ed |
| Language Course or Elective | Fourth Course (open) | General Education Course | General Education Course |
| Fifth Course (open) | Fifth Course (open) | Fifth Course (open) | Fifth Course (open) |
| 99-101 Core@CMU | |||
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GS Transnational, Global, Regional Course | STUDY ABROAD* | 79-400 Global Studies Research Seminar | Language Course or Elective |
| GS Elective | GS Elective | Language Course or Elective | Elective** |
| Language Course or Gen Ed | GS Elective | Elective** | Third Course (open) |
| Fourth Course (open) | Language Course or Gen Ed | Fourth Course (open) | Fourth Course (open) |
| Fifth Course (open) | Fourth Course (open) | Fifth Course (open) | Fifth Course (open) |
| Fifth Course (open) | |||
*Spring semester of the junior year is a popular semester for study abroad. However, Global Studies majors may instead choose to study abroad in spring of sophomore year, or fall of junior year. Students should discuss study abroad and curricular planning with the Academic Program Manager, Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, History Department, Baker Hall 240. Study Abroad in a summer program is also an option.
**Many Global Studies majors choose to apply for the senior honors thesis program. The department strongly encourages students to take advantage of this option.
VIII. Additional Major
Global Studies may be elected as a primary or an additional major; the requirements for each are the same. Contact the Academic Program Manager, Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, History Department, Baker Hall 240G, to elect the additional major.
The Major in Ethics, History, and Public Policy
Professor Steven Schlossman, Director of Ethics, History, and Public Policy, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 236A, 412-268-2880
sls@andrew.cmu.edu
Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, Academic Program Manager, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 240, 412-268-2880
agarnhar@andrew.cmu.edu
https://go.oncehub.com/AlexGarnhartBushakra
Patrick Doyle, Academic Program Manager, Philosophy Department
Location: Baker Hall 161G, 412-268-3704
pdoyle2@andrew.cmu.edu
https://go.oncehub.com/PatDoyle
The B.A./B.S. in Ethics, History, and Public Policy (EHPP) is an interdepartmental major offered jointly by the Departments of History and Philosophy.
Preparing students to be leaders is a vital goal of colleges and universities in every democratic society. The intellectual challenges facing public and private sector leaders have expanded dramatically since the pioneering EHPP program began in 1996, but the need remains as great as ever for broadly educated, ethically sensitive, and technically skilled leaders.
EHPP prepares students to demonstrate sophistication and flexibility in their command of interdisciplinary knowledge; deep historical understanding of how modern-day policy problems have emerged and evolved; and clear, rational criteria for ethical and socially just decision making. The curriculum provides students with a strong humanistic foundation for developing such high-level, historically grounded, and ethically attuned leadership capacities. It also offers ample room for specialization in a wide range of policy areas in which the History and Philosophy departments have special expertise, e.g., medicine and public health, criminal justice, environment, technology, artificial intelligence (AI), gender, civil rights, immigration, and education.
Curriculum
Students seeking a primary major in Ethics, History, and Public Policy may elect to receive either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree (additional requirements apply; see below). Basic requirements include 120 units encompassing 45 units in History, 45 units in Philosophy, 18 units in Law and Social Science, and a 12-unit EHPP Capstone Course. This program may also be taken as an additional (i.e., second) major. All courses toward the major must be taken for a letter grade and must be passed with a grade of "C" or better. Students can double count any course for the major with another major or minor, with the exception of Social and Political History, for which a student can double count a maximum of two courses.
I. Foundation Courses in History and Philosophy18 units
Choose one of the following two courses:
| 79-189 | Democracy and History: Thinking Beyond the Self | 9 |
| 79-248 | U.S. Constitution & the Presidency | 9 |
Choose one of the following two courses:
| 80-130 | Introduction to Ethics | 9 |
| 80-330 | Ethical Theory | 9 |
II. Ethics and Policy Core36 units
Choose four of the courses below:
No more than one course may be taken at the 100 level and at least one course must be taken at the 300 level or above.
| 80-135 | Introduction to Political Philosophy | 9 |
| 80-136 | Social Structure, Public Policy & Ethics | 9 |
| 80-208 | Critical Thinking | 9 |
| 80-221 | Philosophy of Social Science | 9 |
| 80-234 | Race, Gender, and Justice | 9 |
| 80-244 | Environmental Ethics | 9 |
| 80-245 | Medical Ethics | 9 |
| 80-249 | AI, Society, and Humanity | 9 |
| 80-305 | Game Theory | 9 |
| 80-306 | Decision Theory | 9 |
| 80-324 | Philosophy of Economics | 9 |
| 80-330 | Ethical Theory | 9 |
| 80-335 | Social and Political Philosophy | 9 |
| 80-336 | Philosophy of Law | 9 |
| 80-348 | Health, Human Rights, and International Development | 9 |
| 80-447 | Global Justice | 9 |
III. History and Policy Core36 units
Choose four of the courses below:
| 79-175 | Moneyball Nation: Data in American Life | 9 |
| 79-204 | American Environmental History | 9 |
| 79-212 | Jim Crow America | 9 |
| 79-215 | Environmental Justice from Conservation to Climate Change | 9 |
| 79-234 | Technology and Society | 9 |
| 79-242 | African American History: Reconstruction to the Present | 9 |
| 79-248 | U.S. Constitution & the Presidency | 9 |
| 79-250 | Voting Rights: An Introduction | 9 |
| 79-278 | How (Not) to Change the World | 9 |
| 79-300 | Controversial Topics in the History of American Public Policy | 9 |
| 79-320 | Women, Politics, and Protest | 9 |
| 79-321 | Documenting Human Rights | 9 |
| 79-330 | Medicine and Society: Health, Healers, and Hospitals | 9 |
| 79-343 | Education, Democracy, and Civil Rights | 9 |
| 79-360 | Crime, Policing, and the Law: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives | 9 |
| 79-370 | Technology in the United States | 9 |
| 79-380 | Hostile Environments: The Politics of Pollution in Global Perspective | 9 |
IV. Foundation Courses in Law and Social Science18 units
Choose two of the courses below:
| 17-200 | Ethics and Policy Issues in Computing | 9 |
| 19-101 | Introduction to Engineering and Public Policy | 12 |
| 70-332 | Business, Society and Ethics | 9 |
| 73-102 | Principles of Microeconomics | 9 |
| 73-103 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 9 |
| 84-104 | Decision Processes in American Political Institutions | 9 |
| 84-110 | The Economics of Politics, Policy, and Technology | 9 |
| 84-352 | Representation and Voting Rights | 9 |
| 84-393 | Legislative Decision Making: US Congress | 9 |
| 84-402 | Judicial Politics and Behavior | 9 |
| 88-281 | Topics in Law: 1st Amendment | 9 |
| 88-284 | Topics of Law: The Bill of Rights | 9 |
EHPP students will also be able to complete the Foundations of Law and Social Science category by participating in the Washington Semester Program. Students are encouraged to pursue additional policy-relevant courses in law and social science, along lines consistent with their career ambitions.
V. EHPP Capstone Course12 units
In Fall semester of senior year, EHPP students will participate in an interdisciplinary capstone course that asks students to integrate their studies in Ethics and History by addressing a policy topic of contemporary national urgency (e.g., climate change, immigration, infrastructure, abortion, hate speech, reparations, law enforcement and policing, charter schools, affirmative action, vaccination, taxation, voting rights, global justice). The Departments of History and Philosophy will alternate teaching the EHPP Capstone Course.
| 79-449 | EHPP Capstone Course [cross-listed] | 12 |
| 80-449 | EHPP Capstone Course [cross-listed] | 12 |
VI. Bachelor of Science Option
Students may elect to earn a Bachelor of Science rather than a Bachelor of Arts degree by completing two courses from the list below, or by petitioning the Director of EHPP to accept equivalent courses as substitutions.
| 21-257 | Models and Methods for Optimization | 9 |
| 36-202 | Methods for Statistics & Data Science | 9 |
| or 70-208 | Regression Analysis | |
| 36-303 | Sampling, Survey and Society | 9 |
| 36-309 | Experimental Design for Behavioral & Social Sciences | 9 |
| 70-257 | Optimization for Business | 9 |
| 80-305 | Game Theory | 9 |
| 80-306 | Decision Theory | 9 |
| 88-221 | Markets, Democracy, and Public Policy | 9 |
| 88-223 | Decision Analysis | 12 |
| 88-251 | Empirical Research Methods | 9 |
| 88-300 | Programming and Data Analysis for Social Scientists | 9 |
Additional Major
The B.A./B.S. in Ethics, History, and Public Policy may be scheduled as an additional major in consultation with the Director of Ethics, History, and Public Policy.
Ethics, History, and Public Policy Sample Curriculum
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| Foundations Course in History | Foundations Course in Law and Social Sciences | EHPP Capstone Course | Ethics and Policy Core Course |
| Foundations Course in Philosophy | Foundations Course in Law and Social Sciences | Ethics and Policy Core Course | History and Policy Core Course |
| Ethics and Policy Core Course | Ethics and Policy Core Course | History and Policy Core Course | Third Course (open) |
| History and Policy Core Course | History and Policy Core Course | Fourth Course (open) | Fourth Course (open) |
| Fifth Course Open | Fifth Course (open) | Fifth Course (open) | Fifth Course (open) |
The above sample program is presented as a two-year (junior-senior year) plan for completing EHPP major requirements. Its purpose is to show that this program can be completed in as few as two years; not that it must be.
Students may enter the EHPP major, and begin major course requirements, as early as they wish. Students should consult their advisor when planning their program.
The Minor in Social & Political History (SPH)
Professor Ricky Law, Director of Undergraduate Studies, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 238B, 412-268-2880, rlaw@andrew.cmu.edu
Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, Academic Program Manager, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 240G, 412-268-1260, agarnhar@andrew.cmu.edu
www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/undergraduate/minors/sph.html
The minor in Social & Political History involves a minimum of 54 units of History course work.
Curriculum (54 units)
I. Required History Survey Courses (choose two -- 18 units)
Students must complete 18 units (typically 2 courses) from the following list of survey courses:
| 79-120 | Introduction to African American History: Black Americans and the World | 9 |
| 79-160 | Introduction to the History of Science | 9 |
| 79-202 | Flesh and Spirit: Early Modern Europe, 1400-1750 | 9 |
| 79-203 | The Other Europe: The Habsburgs, Communism, & Central/Eastern Europe, 1740-1990 | 9 |
| 79-204 | American Environmental History | 9 |
| 79-205 | 20th Century Europe | 9 |
| 79-206 | Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Europe | 9 |
| 79-211 | Modern Southeast Asia: Colonialism, Capitalism, and Cultural Exchange | 9 |
| 79-212 | Jim Crow America | 9 |
| 79-223 | Mexico: From the Aztec Empire to the Drug War | 9 |
| 79-225 | West African History in Film | 9 |
| 79-226 | African History: Earliest Times to 1780 | 9 |
| 79-227 | Modern Africa: The Slave Trade to the End of Apartheid | 9 |
| 79-229 | The Origins of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, 1880-1948 | 9 |
| 79-230 | The Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace Process Through 1948 to Present | 9 |
| 79-240 | Development of American Culture | 9 |
| 79-242 | African American History: Reconstruction to the Present | 9 |
| 79-244 | Women in American History | 9 |
| 79-245 | Capitalism and Individualism in American Culture | 9 |
| 79-248 | U.S. Constitution & the Presidency | 9 |
| 79-249 | 20th Century U.S. History | 9 |
| 79-250 | Voting Rights: An Introduction | 9 |
| 79-255 | Modern Ireland: Politics and Culture from the Famine (1847) to Today | 9 |
| 79-260 | Nazi Germany | 9 |
| 79-261 | The Last Emperors: Chinese History and Society, 1600-1900 | 9 |
| 79-262 | Modern China: From the Birth of Mao ... to Now | 9 |
| 79-265 | Russian History: Game of Thrones | 9 |
| 79-266 | Russian History and Revolutionary Socialism | 9 |
| 79-269 | Russian History: From Socialism to Capitalism | 9 |
| 79-272 | Coexistence and Conflict: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Spain and Portugal | 9 |
| 79-282 | Europe and the World Since 1800 | 9 |
| 79-288 | Bananas, Baseball, and Borders: Latin America and the United States | 9 |
| 79-320 | Women, Politics, and Protest | 9 |
II. Elective courses for the Minor in Social & Political History (36 units)
Students must complete 36 elective History units (typically 4 courses). Social & Political History minors have considerable flexibility in choosing their elective courses, but should feel free to consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in making their selections.
The Minor in Anthropology
Professor Noah Theriault, Faculty Advisor, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 240C, noaht@andrew.cmu.edu
Dr. Alexandra Garnhart-Bushakra, Academic Program Manager, History Department
Location: Baker Hall 240G, 412-268-1260, agarnhar@andrew.cmu.edu
www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/undergraduate/minors/anthropology.html
The Minor in Anthropology exposes students to the methods and theories that anthropologists use to study cultural variation and change. Courses in the minor explore the history and practice of ethnography, apply anthropological approaches to global problems, and examine how cultural differences interact with a range of other social, political, and environmental forces. Students also gain a deeper understanding of how cultural differences shape (and are shaped by) the arts, technology, economics, politics, and ecology. The minor, which may be combined with any major, equips students with a sophisticated understanding of human diversity in a rapidly changing world.
The Minor in Anthropology requires that students complete two "Methods" courses (18 units) and four "Anthropological Perspectives" courses (36 units). In addition, 79-201 Introduction to Anthropology is required (9 units), but it may be taken at any time during the student's coursework. Including this course, the Minor in Anthropology totals 63 units.
Curriculum (63 units)
I. General Education Course, Disciplinary Perspectives: Social Sciences (9 units)
This requirement need not be satisfied before beginning the minor.
| 79-201 | Introduction to Anthropology | 9 |
II. Methods (18 units)
Students must complete 18 units (typically 2 courses) in Methods, selecting from the list below. (Other courses may fulfill these requirements, with permission of the Faculty Advisor.)
| 79-275 | Introduction to Global Studies | 9 |
| 79-314 | How Do We Remember? The Politics and Cultures of Memory | 9 |
| 79-317 | Art, Anthropology, and Empire | 9 |
| 79-379 | Extreme Ethnography | 9 |
| 79-380 | Hostile Environments: The Politics of Pollution in Global Perspective | 9 |
III. Anthropological Perspectives (36 units)
Students must complete 36 units (typically 4 courses) in Anthropological Perspectives, selecting from the list below. (Other courses may fulfill these requirements, with permission of the Faculty Advisor.)
| 57-306 | World Music | 9 |
| 79-170 | Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society | 9 |
| 79-203 | The Other Europe: The Habsburgs, Communism, & Central/Eastern Europe, 1740-1990 | 9 |
| 79-208 | Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting | 9 |
| 79-210 | Identity, Ethnicity, and Place in Modern China | 9 |
| 79-211 | Modern Southeast Asia: Colonialism, Capitalism, and Cultural Exchange | 9 |
| 79-215 | Environmental Justice from Conservation to Climate Change | 9 |
| 79-223 | Mexico: From the Aztec Empire to the Drug War | 9 |
| 79-227 | Modern Africa: The Slave Trade to the End of Apartheid | 9 |
| 79-234 | Technology and Society | 9 |
| 79-261 | The Last Emperors: Chinese History and Society, 1600-1900 | 9 |
| 79-262 | Modern China: From the Birth of Mao ... to Now | 9 |
| 79-264 | Tibet and China: History and Propaganda | 9 |
| 79-275 | Introduction to Global Studies | 9 |
| 79-276 | Beyond the Border | 9 |
| 79-278 | How (Not) to Change the World | 9 |
| 79-280 | Coffee and Capitalism | 9 |
| 79-313 | "Unwanted": Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Patterns of Global Migration | 6 |
| 79-314 | How Do We Remember? The Politics and Cultures of Memory | 9 |
| 79-315 | The Politics of Water in Global Perspective | 9 |
| 79-317 | Art, Anthropology, and Empire | 9 |
| 79-368 | Un-natural Disasters: Societies and Environmental Hazards in Global Perspective | 6 |
| 79-331 | Body Politics: Women and Health in America | 9 |
| 79-371 | African American Urban History | 9 |
| 79-377 | Food, Culture, and Power: A History of Eating | 9 |
| 79-379 | Extreme Ethnography | 9 |
| 79-380 | Hostile Environments: The Politics of Pollution in Global Perspective | 9 |
Relevant Anthropology courses may be taken at another university (for instance, study abroad, the University of Pittsburgh, or other Pittsburgh institutions) with permission of the Anthropology Minor's Faculty Advisor.
Senior Honors
Senior Honors Thesis: Dietrich College
The Dietrich College Honors Program may be undertaken by students completing the major in Social & Political History, the major in Global Studies, or the interdepartmental major in Ethics, History, and Public Policy. An Honors Thesis requires two semesters of work. Eligibility requirements are set by the College; contact the Associate Dean of Dietrich College for details.
Study Abroad
Study abroad is especially encouraged for all students in the History Department; this experience can help students better understand the relationship between cultural heritage and modern political processes in a host country. To make study abroad successful and determine how specific study abroad programs fit into History Department graduation requirements, History majors should consult with a relevant faculty member and/or with the Academic Advisor.
Course Descriptions
About Course Numbers:
Each Carnegie Mellon course number begins with a two-digit prefix that designates the department offering the course (i.e., 76-xxx courses are offered by the Department of English). Although each department maintains its own course numbering practices, typically, the first digit after the prefix indicates the class level: xx-1xx courses are freshmen-level, xx-2xx courses are sophomore level, etc. Depending on the department, xx-6xx courses may be either undergraduate senior-level or graduate-level, and xx-7xx courses and higher are graduate-level. Consult the Schedule of Classes each semester for course offerings and for any necessary pre-requisites or co-requisites.
- 79-101 Making History: How to Think About the Past (and Present)
- Intermittent: 9 units
Who makes history? This apparently straightforward question is at the heart of studying the past, but it is also an important question to answer if we are to understand the world around us. Being able to answer the question "Who and what caused changes to political, cultural, economic, and environmental systems?" is fundamental to thinking about the past, but it is also essential to analyzing current issues as widespread and yet connected as economic inequality, social justice, and climate change. "Making History" is an introductory course ideal for students who are curious about the past and want to learn how to become better critical thinkers by applying its lessons to the present. The course explores how history is made on two levels: both the historical events themselves and how those events are documented, interpreted, and remembered. In other words, making history is not just about understanding what happened, but what it meant to different groups of people then and what it means to different groups of people now. We'll visit some famous (and not-so-famous) historical events and actors to learn about how individual choices combine with deeper structural factors, like gender, race, environment, and class to "make history." Along the way, we'll also encounter different ways to interpret the past, drawing upon the latest scholarship to understand how historians think about the past and #8212; and present. Students will be encouraged to synthesize what they learn in class to develop their own critical perspectives on their lives and the world around them. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.
- 79-104 Global Histories
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Human activity transcends political, geographical, and cultural boundaries. From wars to social movements, technological innovations to environmental changes, our world has long been an interconnected one. Acquiring the ability to understand such transnational and even worldwide processes is an indispensable part of any college education. This course provides students with an opportunity to develop the skills and perspectives needed to understand the contemporary world through investigating its global history. All sections are comparable in their composition of lectures and recitations, required amounts of reading, and emphasis on written assignments as the central medium of assessment. The sections all aim to help students: (1) master knowledge through interaction with the instructors, reading material, and other students, (2) think critically about the context and purpose of any given information, (3) craft effective verbal and written arguments by combining evidence, logic, and creativity, and (4) appreciate the relevance of the past in the present and future.
- 79-112 Introduction to Asian American History
- Intermittent: 9 units
This introductory course surveys the histories of Asian Americans from the early nineteenth century to the present. We will cover major themes such as migration and diaspora, race, labor, citizenship, and identity and community formation as we examine the continuities and discontinuities between the Asian American past and present. Special attention will also be paid to both local and global aspects of Asian American history (in the United States, in other countries of the Americas, and in Asia) as we work to build a more robust understanding of what it means to be "Asian American" and how such social categorizations fit into broader patterns of construction and re-articulation according to varying historical contexts. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.
- 79-120 Introduction to African American History: Black Americans and the World
- All Semesters: 9 units
Exploring the history of Black Americans requires a global perspective. Beginning with early modern African civilizations, the transatlantic slave trade, the global age of revolutions, the implementation of transnational regimes of racial segregation, to the growth of transnational movements for civil and human rights, this course surveys the history of Black Americans from a global perspective. It analyzes how Black Americans conceived of their social position in relation to others in the world. It also explores how perspectives from across the world made sense of Black Americans. This course will follow African-descended people as they theorized, moved, migrated, and traveled throughout the world. From this perspective, students will learn about the diasporic dimensions of Black American identity. Students will also trace the historical circulation of African-descended people, knowledge, culture, and technologies. Students will analyze the important themes of freedom, movement, and migration from a global perspective. Through this course, students will learn that Black American historical actors have and continue to understand their position not only within the domestic social and political spheres of the United States but also in the global order of states and societies. From their marginalized social position, Black Americans, therefore, have articulated alternative frameworks for understanding the United States, the West, and the world. This is an introductory survey course. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" general education requirement.
- 79-145 Genocide and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
"Genocide" and "weapons of mass destruction" have been getting a lot of exposure lately - in the news, in popular culture, and even on the Fence on campus. What do they mean? Why was it necessary to invent them? How do we know when we are being confronted with them? What should we do then? This course surveys the history of genocide, weapons of mass destruction, and related phenomena. Can you imagine being responsible for the deaths of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people? No? Almost everyone who ended up committing unspeakable atrocities had not been able to either. In fact, many of them still would not face their responsibility even after their complicity has been proven beyond doubt. Some convinced themselves, often sincerely, that there was no choice or that someone else was actually responsible. Others found reasons to justify, in their minds at least, taking many lives. Still others managed to forget that they had blood on their hands. How could anyone do such terrible things? More important, can you be sure that you would not act like them under similar circumstances? This course will teach you to look out for factors that turn ordinary people into mass killers. You will explore why conflicts break out and potential solutions. You will also learn to see from multiple perspectives and to be humble before history. Our exploration will begin with the European encounter with the Western Hemisphere and continue to 19th-century imperialism, the Holocaust, the atomic bombings of Japan, the Cold War, and decolonization and independence. By the end, you will have grasped the historical facts and contemporary concepts of genocide and weapons of mass destruction. You will also come to appreciate the significance of unintended consequences and the ambiguity of human progress, a realization that will guide you in life. This course meets the Dietrich Gen Ed "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" requirement.
- 79-149 Ancient Rome: What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
- Intermittent: 9 units
The Romans are nowhere and everywhere in our world. Hundreds of years after anyone could plausibly claim to be Roman, the influence of ancient Rome is still palpable in our political institutions, religions, languages, geography, art, law, architecture, technology, and so much more. And not just in Europe. The legacy of ancient Rome can be felt in the Americas and elsewhere in the world. It affects how we think about the tension between West and East, the definitions of civilization and barbarism, and citizenship and belongingness in a multiethnic society. How did ancient Rome rise and how did it fall? Did it fall at all? How can a people who flourished about two thousand years ago still play a role now? If ancient Rome's impact is still so broad and deep, what lessons can or should we draw from the Romans? This course will explore these questions by tracing the history of Rome from its mythical and actual foundations to its expansion, gradual decline, and repeated renewals. At the end of the course, students will be able to answer that memorable question in Monty Python's Life of Brian: What have the Romans ever done for us?
- 79-160 Introduction to the History of Science
- All Semesters: 9 units
This course provides an introduction to the history of modern science in Europe and North America, from the Enlightenment to the mid-twentieth century. Our goal is to understand scientific theories and practices on their own terms and as products of their own contexts, rather than as a progression of developments moving inevitably toward the present. The course seeks to explore both how and why science has become the dominant way of knowing about the natural world, as well as how scientific activity intersects with the history of religion, war, commerce, and the state. The course also introduces students to the history of science as a standalone discipline, and in particular to the similarities and differences with other objects of historical inquiry (art, politics, etc.). This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.
- 79-170 Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society
- Intermittent: 9 units
Science and technology are among the most powerful transformative forces in today's global society. They shape the way we think about ourselves, the world around us, and even what is possible in the future. This course provides an introduction to Science and Technology Studies, a vibrant interdisciplinary field that examines the ways that science and technology interact with contemporary politics, culture, and society. Using theories and methods from history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and public policy, we will examine: the nature of scientific and technical knowledge; how facts are produced both inside and outside the laboratory; how politics and societal values impact scientific inquiry and the development of new technologies; whether objectivity is possible; what expertise is and the role that experts play in the world today; how our understanding of science and technology has been enhanced by focusing on issues of race, sex, gender, sexuality, and class; as well as the imperative to make science and technology more equitable and just than they have been in the past. Specific topics covered will include the development of military technologies like radar and the atomic bomb, genetic engineering and cloning, artificial intelligence, social media, transportation infrastructure, racial classification, gender identity, and the Covid-19 pandemic, among others. This course is meant to serve as a foundation for the new Science, Technology, and Society major, but it is open to anyone concerned with the social and political dimensions of science and technology.
- 79-175 Moneyball Nation: Data in American Life
- Intermittent: 9 units
From conducting clinical trials and evaluating prisoners' parole cases to drafting professional ballplayers, we increasingly make decisions using mathematical concepts and models. This course surveys the development of and #8212;and resistance to and #8212;such tools by grounding them in the recent cultural history of the United States. Focusing on baseball, medicine, and the law, we'll explore how and why Americans have come to believe mathematical and computational methods can solve complicated problems, even in seemingly unrelated moral, political, and social domains. The course encourages students to think critically about the wider implications of these transformations by situating their development historically. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Logic/Mathematical Reasoning" general education requirement.
- 79-189 Democracy and History: Thinking Beyond the Self
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Voters face a momentous decision. A fascist demagogue is running for president. He has already tried to seize power through an insurrection. It failed, but he mostly escaped punishment thanks to sympathetic or feckless judges. He mixes braggadocio, lies, flattery, empty promises, and a victimhood narrative to depict himself as the country's savior and to attract millions to his personality cult. If elected, he vows to make future elections unnecessary, rule as a dictator, stop outsiders from poisoning the nation's blood, and rid the country of leftist vermin. He fearmongers about who deserves membership in the nation, the country's international obligations, crime, the economy, and a faraway war to divide the people. The last person standing between him and his goal is an octogenarian president running for reelection. How will the voters decide? In addition to experiencing what happens to this country, we will examine democracy in ancient Rome, France, Japan, China, and Iran. Living in a democracy means thinking beyond the self and from others' perspectives. It means looking for facts but being open to different interpretations. And it means taking responsibility to think critically. These traits are also essential for understanding history. This course will train you in the historian's skillset and mindset so you can act democratically. You will learn to tell facts from opinions and to see from various angles. The course will push you to think for yourself and to argue effectively for your own position. These skills of thinking historically are useful not just for school or work, but they are indispensable to a democratic society. Democracy is chosen as the course theme because it is a feature that sets humans apart from other organisms. Knowing the history of democracy is knowing what it means to be human, which is the soul of the humanities. This course meets the Dietrich Gen Ed "Humanities" requirement.
- 79-198 Research Training: History
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This course is part of a set of 100-level courses offered by Dietrich College departments as independent studies for second-semester freshmen and first- or second-semester sophomores in the College. In general, these courses are designed to give students some real research experience through work on a faculty project in ways that might stimulate and nurture subsequent interest in research participation. Faculty and students devise a personal and regularized meeting and task schedule. Each Research Training course is worth 9 units, which generally means a minimum for students of about 9 work-hours per week. Prerequisites/restrictions: For Dietrich College students only; minimum cumulative QPA of 3.0 (at the time of registration) required for approved entry; additional prerequisites (e.g., language proficiency) may arise out of the particular demands of the research project in question. By permission of the relevant professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students sign up for these courses through both the History Department and the Dean's Office. Section A: The Right to Vote: An Unexpected History, L. Tetrault Section B: The History of Biostatistics, C. Phillips Section C: From "Banana Republic" to "Cup of Excellence:" Explaining the rise of Honduras in the Global Coffee Business, J. Soluri Section D: Mapping Segregated Medicine, E. Sanford
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/students/undergraduate/programs/research-training-program.html
- 79-200 Introduction to Historical Research & Writing
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Introduction to Historical Research acquaints students with how historians practice their craft in interpreting events from the past. As a class, we will work together through a variety of tools in the historian's toolbox, using episodes from American history as case studies. By the second half of the semester, students will have identified their own topics, in any time period or field of history, and will write research papers incorporating the analytical techniques covered earlier. The goal is for students to learn the skills required to identify a research topic, find and work with many kinds of sources, create a strong thesis statement, design a persuasive paper, and produce a properly formatted and well written research paper.
- 79-201 Introduction to Anthropology
- Intermittent: 9 units
Anthropologist Ruth Benedict claimed that anthropology's mission is truly to "make the world safe for human difference." Cultural anthropologists "make the strange familiar and the familiar strange," attempting to understand the internal logic of cultures which might, at first glance, seem bizarre to us. At the same time, anthropologists probe those aspects of our own society which might appear equally bizarre to outsiders. The goal of this course is to raise questions basic to the study of culture and social relationships in a multitude of contexts. We will also discuss the particular research methods informing anthropology, as well as anthropologists' relationship to the people they study, and the responsibilities informing those relationships. The readings focus on topics that have long captured anthropologists' attention and that continue to be intensely debated: social inequality, race, colonialism, body, kinship, religion, gender, social lives of things, globalization and migration. Through written work, including ethnographic readings and a novel, films, and in-class discussions, we will examine how anthropology makes us more aware of our own culturally ingrained assumptions, while broadening our understanding of human experiences. This course is structured as a combination of lectures and seminar discussions. In the first part of the course, I will give a lecture every week, followed by a class session that will focus solely on discussing the readings and key concepts. In the second part of the course, I will introduce the readings by placing them within larger debates, but the course will become more discussion oriented. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Social Sciences" general education requirement. This class also satisfies one of the core requirements for the Anthropology minor.
- 79-202 Flesh and Spirit: Early Modern Europe, 1400-1750
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines European history from the Black Death to the French Revolution, a period known to history as the "early modern" period. That is, it marks a period in European history that was not quite medieval, and yet not quite modern. Many features of modern society, such as the nation-state, free-trade economies, religious pluralism, scientific rationalism, and secular culture trace their origins to the early modern era, yet the period was also marked by important continuities with the Middle Ages. During this course, we will explore how Europeans re-imagined their world in its transition from the medieval to the modern. Topics to be considered will include the "renaissance" of the arts, the problems of religious reform, exploration and colonialism, the rise of science, and the expansion of the state. Through these developments, we will focus on Europeans' changing notions of the human body, the body politic, and the natural world, as well as their re-interpretations of the proper relation between the human and the divine, the individual and the community, and the present and the past.
- 79-203 The Other Europe: The Habsburgs, Communism, & Central/Eastern Europe, 1740-1990
- Intermittent: 9 units
During the last two centuries, Central and Eastern Europe has been a political laboratory and #8212;a region in which various political actors had attempted to launch and develop radical political and social experiments, from imperial reforms meant to strengthen and modernize the Habsburg empire, to the ethnic cleansing promoted by Nazi Germany and their acolytes in the region, to the attempts at establishing of a new social order under the post-WWII communist regimes. An understanding of the profound and rapid political and social changes that have occurred in this region will enable you to see global politics in a new light, and better understand the modern era. This course is a survey of the history of modern Central and Eastern Europe, from late 18th to late 20th century. It begins with a focus on modern Habsburg empire, the rise of nationalism in mid 19th century, and the demise of the Austro-Hungarian empire following the First World War. It continues with an examination of the rise of illiberal politics during the interwar era, the Second World War, and the establishment of the communist regimes and the Soviet sphere of influence during the Cold War. Course materials include secondary historical analyses, primary sources, memoirs, and documentaries. The course will rely heavily on the format of interactive lectures, a combination of lecture and discussion, which will productively challenge the students to engage with the material in a critical manner, and will help them contextualize and enrich the knowledge they gain from the course readings. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.
- 79-204 American Environmental History
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines how people in North America have interacted with their surroundings from the end of the last ice age to the present. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement.
- 79-205 20th Century Europe
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course surveys the history of Europe from 1900 through the present. We shall examine some of the major political trends and social/economic changes of the last century, including: the collapse of Europe's multiethnic empires and the rise of the modern nation-state; the extraordinary violence and impact of WWI and the rise of ethno-nationalism and fascism during the inter-war period; The Spanish Civil War, WWII and the War in the Balkans in the 1990s. We will also examine Communism and its collapse; colonial resistance and the process of decolonization; and the creation of the European Union. In addressing contemporary Europe, we shall discuss: the re-emergence of ethno-nationalism and rising anti-immigrant sentiment and antisemitism over the last decades; cultural and political debates surrounding Islam and Muslims; contemporary debates over the memory of the Holocaust, and Russia's brutal war against Ukraine. Primary sources, academic articles, memoir and film will be used in the classroom to explore these topics. Classes will combine lecture, discussion and group work.
- 79-206 Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Europe
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine European legal and social institutions and their role in defining and punishing crime in the early modern era (c. 1400-1800). European society was fundamentally transformed in this period of transition between the medieval and the modern eras, and the laws and legal systems that exist in the Western world today reflect those influences at the deepest levels. This course will focus on how shifting definitions of "crime" and "punishment" reflected prevailing societal attitudes and anxieties toward perceived acts of deviance and persons on the margins of society. Assigned readings will examine the evolution of early modern European criminal court systems and the investigation and punishment of crime, focusing in particular on the historical debates concerning the use of torture and capital punishment and the evolution of modern policing and prisons. It will also address the criminalization of social deviance (witches, religious minorities, and other outcasts) and the legal enforcement of sexual norms and gender roles. The course concludes with an examination of current debates concerning criminal justice reform, policing, torture, and criminal punishment.
- 79-207 Asian American History through the Novel
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines the interwoven histories of migration, language, and identity formation and re-formation in Asian American experience. How have migrant and diasporic identities been represented in fictional (or quasi-fictional) terms? How have factors such as race, religion, class, gender, and sexuality shaped everyday Asian American life? And how can literary sources enrich our understanding of such historical experiences? Course readings consist primarily of novels, representing a variety of Asian ethnicities and experiences, by authors including Gaiutra Bahadur, Carlos Bulosan, Maxine Hong Kingston, Joy Kogawa, Chang-Rae Lee, and John Okada. These works are supplemented by selected historical documents and short lectures to shed additional light onto the sociohistorical contexts and issues under study.
- 79-208 Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting
- Intermittent: 9 units
Between the late 15th and the early 18th centuries, many Europeans became convinced that their society was threatened by a conspiracy of diabolic witches. Although Western beliefs in witchcraft and "devil worship" dated back to antiquity, the 16th and 17th centuries witnessed the most intense campaign of witch-hunting in all of Europe's history. Before it was over, the "Great European Witch-Hunt" of the early modern era cost the lives of thousands across Europe and in its colonies. And although the witch-hunts in early modern Europe and its colonies gradually came to an end, beliefs in witchcraft persist into the modern era and, in many parts of the world today, continue to generate campaigns of popular violence against alleged perpetrators. This course examines witchcraft beliefs and witch-hunting in historical perspective in both their European and colonial contexts. In addition to the early modern witch-hunts, it will address modern witchcraft beliefs and consider witch-hunting as a global problem today. It will focus on the origin and rationale of witch beliefs, the factors driving the timing and intensity of witch-hunts, and the patterns of accusations. Throughout, we will examine the many historical and regional variations in witch beliefs and prosecutions and explore how they reflect major social and cultural issues such as the relationship between "popular" and "elite" culture; religious change; state formation; gender and patriarchy; and the rationalization of law, medicine, and science. This course satisfies one of the elective requirements for the Religious Studies minor.
- 79-210 Identity, Ethnicity, and Place in Modern China
- Intermittent: 9 units
Within popular imagination, China is often considered to be the world's oldest nation. As a result, concepts such as "China" and "Chinese" have become so embedded in our consciousness that we often fail to consider how, like all identities, ideas of Chinese-ness have been constructed hand-in-hand with the invention of the modern Chinese nation-state. This course examines nation-making in China from the outside in. We privilege avenues of inquiry that challenge state-sponsored narratives, complicate the hegemonic notion of "Han" as a majority identity, and consider ways in which processes of state consolidation and majoritization have subjected various ethnic, subethnic, diasporic, linguistic, gender, and religious communities to discrimination, marginalization, exclusion, and in some cases state and majoritarian violence. Rather than uncritically accepting the notion that China is a uniquely "historical nation," we instead consider the possibility that the Chinese state and nation are products of the same transglobal currentssuch as imperialism, settler colonialism, assimilation, minoritization, and exclusion that has made our modern world. Whenever possible, we employ historical texts, short stories, novels, memoirs, and film produced by members of disadvantaged, marginalized, and/or targeted communities in order to demonstrate how and why historical experiences and memories for example among "ethnic minorities" differ from the Han majority and from state orthodoxy, and why these differing perspectives matter. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Perspectives on Justice and Injustice" general education requirement.
- 79-211 Modern Southeast Asia: Colonialism, Capitalism, and Cultural Exchange
- Intermittent: 9 units
When you hear the term "Southeast Asia," what comes to mind? The US War in Vietnam? The ruins of the Angkor civilization? Rich culinary traditions? Or perhaps your own heritage? However you imagine it, Southeast Asia is an incredibly diverse and dynamic region that has long been integral to world affairs and whose importance continues to grow. This course offers a wide-ranging survey of Southeast Asia's peoples, their histories, and some of the issues they face today. Together we will explore the region as a "global crossroads," where the world's religions, economies, cultures, and politics come together in generative, sometimes traumatic, and often surprising ways. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement.
- 79-212 Jim Crow America
- Intermittent: 9 units
Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow (The New Pres 2010) has drawn attention to the ways that American institutions and social systems continue to produce racial inequalities. The recent failure of federal voting rights bills in the United States Congress and the proliferation of state-led efforts to constrain voting rights have led activists to claim "Jim Crow 2.0." Using these present-day assessments as a point of departure, this course introduces students to the Jim Crow period of American history spanning the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. From the 1890s to the 1950s, Black freedoms were limited by the policies and practices of racial segregation in the Jim Crow system of American apartheid. This course critically examines Black life in Jim Crow America, from the halls of federal power, to the every-day practices of racial subjugation and resistance. It examines cross-cutting themes: how racial segregation structured the legal, social, economic, and political sectors of American life; the role of national, state, and local policy mandating racial segregation; African American modes of resistance;vigilante and state racial violence. This course will also endeavor to make connections between the consequences of anti-Black racism and the social life of other American minoritized populations. Throughout the course, as an exercise in historical Interpretation and periodization, students will consider the question: Is this current moment "Jim Crow 2.0.?" This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement.
- 79-215 Environmental Justice from Conservation to Climate Change
- Intermittent: 9 units
What is environmental justice? Who are environmental justice activists, what do they believe, and how do they act? This course will explore these questions by reading, discussing, and comparing the biographies of famous activists (e.g. Rachel Carson, Chico Mendes, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Wen Bo, Berta C and #225;ceres, and Greta Thunberg) and not-so-famous, "everyday" people in order to understand how and why they have struggled against disproportionate exposure to pollution, government or corporate usurpation of life sustaining resources, or the loss of a home due to climate change. Course readings and discussions will use historical examples to understand connections between "social" problems such as racism and "environmental" problems such as climate change. We will evaluate how social identities, political ideologies, and ecological contexts have influenced the ideas and actions of environmental justice activists. Class discussions, short, written responses to readings, and a final project will encourage students to engage in critical analysis of environmental justice and self-reflect on their individual and collective responsibilities. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Perspectives on Justice and Injustice" general education requirement.
- 79-216 Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire
- Intermittent: 3 units
This course examines the rise, rule, and impact of the Mongol Empire on global history. In the 13th century, Eurasia was shaken by a force contemporary chroniclers likened to an apocalypse. Within a few decades, horsemen under the command of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan swept out of the northeastern steppe to establish the largest land empire the world would ever know. Few events in world history have inspired such fear and awe. However, the Mongol period also ushered in the so-called pax Mongolica, the first period of sustained contact and exchange across Eurasia as people, technologies, arts, biodiversity, and ideas spread throughout the Mongol domains and beyond. Questions to be examined include: Who was Genghis Khan and how did he lead a little known nomadic people to conquer much of the known world? What cultural and technological innovations aided the Mongols rise and conquest? How did Genghis's successors rule their vast, diverse domains? What role did religion play in Mongol Eurasia? Why did a unified Mongol empire fall apart in such a relatively short period of time? And how did the Mongols and their empire help shape the world we live in today?
- 79-218 Tiananmen Square and Popular Protest in Modern China
- Intermittent: 6 units
On June 4, 1989, the world watched as tanks rolled into Beijing's Tiananmen Square ending what had been six weeks of student-led protest calling for reform of the Chinese Communist Party and its policies. This was not the first time students had gathered at Tiananmen to demand political change. Exactly seventy earlier, student-led protests launched the May 4th Movement, a social and intellectual revolution that fundamentally changed China and helped birth both the Nationalist Party of Chiang Kaishek and Communist Party of Mao Zedong. This class examines the causes and consequences of popular protest in modern China. While the focus is on the protests of 1919 and 1989, we will also look at other popular protests, including the Cultural Revolution (1966-1969), Democracy Wall Movement (1979), post-Tiananmen protests among workers, farmers, and ethnic minorities (especially Tibetans and Uyghurs), and the current protests in Hong Kong.
- 79-219 Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Idea of "China"
- Intermittent: 6 units
Starting with the core question, "What is China?", this mini-course explores the recent histories of Hong Kong and Taiwan to investigate questions of identity, nationalism, ethnicity, exceptionalism, colonialism, and historical memory in "Greater China." While both Hong Kong and Taiwan are generally considered to be "Chinese," neither ever has been fully included in the modern Chinese nation-state. The agreement that transferred Hong Kong from British rule to PRC control in 1997 enshrined the idea of "One Country, Two Systems," a guarantee that Hong Kong's political, legal, and economic systems would not be altered for fifty years. One Country, Two Systems has also been offered as a blueprint for "reunifying" Taiwan with Mainland China. However, in recent years publics in both Hong Kong and Taiwan not only increasingly resist political reunification with the PRC, but more and more identify themselves as citizens of either Hong Kong or Taiwan rather than members of a singular Chinese nation. This has led to mass protests in Hong Kong and calls for true independence in Taiwan. Other topics that may be discussed include subethnic identity and ethnic minorities in modern China and the Chinese diaspora.
- 79-220 Screening Mexico: Mexican Cinema, 1898 to Present
- Intermittent: 6 units
This mini-course is a survey of Mexican cinema from its origins in silent film to the present. Some areas of focus will include documentary footage and films of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), films of the Mexican "Golden Age" (1930-1960), and "New Mexican Cinema" from the 1990s forward. We will explore cinema as a window on Mexico's changing social, cultural and political dynamics, and as a way to probe such topics as: changing conceptions of Mexican identity; political critique and revolutionary movements; and urbanization, migration and the "drug war" in contemporary Mexico.
- 79-222 China and the Second World War
- Intermittent: 6 units
This course is an introduction to China's experiences during the Second World War. Although China's involvement in the war is often considered to be of secondary importance, it was in China that the war began (1937) and China was occupied longer than any other allied country. Throughout, sustained Chinese resistance ensured that 1.5 million Japanese troops could not be transferred to other war theaters. However, it came at great cost. Only the Soviet Union suffered more casualties during World War II, perhaps as many as 20 million lives lost. In this class we explore the roots of the Second World War in both China and Japan, trace the political and military history of the war, contemplate the terrible levels of violence that were inflicated upon the Chinese population, including violence committed by Chinese forces, seek to understand the social impact of the war, and think about the consequences of the war for China and the world, including the rise of Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party. We also explore the manner in which the war is commemorated in China and Japan and the role communal memory plays in galvanizing nationalism among both the Chinese and Japanese publics.
- 79-223 Mexico: From the Aztec Empire to the Drug War
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course provides a survey of Mexican history and culture over avariety of periods, from the rise of the Aztec empire, to Spanish conquest and colonization, to national independence, to the Mexican Revolution and contemporary Mexico. A wide range of topics will be addressed, such as: race, ethnicity, and indigeneity; state formation and politics; national identity and the politics of memory; the border, migration, and the deportation regime; and the drug war. Students will discuss historical and anthropological scholarship on Mexico, but will also consider cultural documents of various kinds, like Mexican music, art, cinema and food. This course is interdisciplinary, bringing together the perspectives of both history and anthropology. A majority of readings for the course are primary documents-historical, but also cultural texts-and hence a good amount of time is spent considering issues around primary source interpretation in historical and cultural terms.This course stresses the importance of taking account of difference (social, cultural, historical) as we consider large questions about history, politics, and in some cases, policy.
- 79-225 West African History in Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
West Africa is a vibrant, diverse, and rich region, which has had the largest influence demographically, culturally, socially, and linguistically on the Americas. This course will examine West Africa's history from the pre-colonial to the independence period. It will cover such topics as states vs. stateless societies, urbanization, trans-Saharan trade, Islamization, European interaction, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism, cash crops, missionaries, nationalism, and independence. Students will understand how this dynamic region changed over time as a result of internal factors, such as state formation, as well as external factors, interaction with Muslim and European traders. Students will also be exposed to the variety of sources used by historians to reconstruct West Africa's rich history. The course will use historical films by some of West Africa's most famous filmmakers, such as Ousman Sembene, to illustrate the diversity of the region and its historical change over time. Course includes two class meetings and mandatory film screenings on Wednesdays from 6:40-9:30pm. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement. Note to CFA Students: If the film-showing portion of this class conflicts with a theatre/stage placement, please know that alternative screening times can be arranged on a case-by-case basis. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the instructor directly.
- 79-226 African History: Earliest Times to 1780
- Intermittent: 9 units
A beginning point for this course will be the question: how do historians reconstruct history when few written sources are available? Breaking disciplinary boundaries, the course will draw on linguistics, "climateology," archaeology, and anthropology to reconstruct dynamic social, cultural, political, and economic processes in Africa before the arrival of Europeans and before the availability of written source materials. When written sources are available, the course will interrogate them to illuminate the changes that occurred in African societies during the early period of contact with Europeans. Lastly, by focusing on long-term processes, such as economic specialization, urbanization, and Islamization, the course will begin to put the slave trade in an African-centered perspective.
- 79-227 Modern Africa: The Slave Trade to the End of Apartheid
- Intermittent: 9 units
The course is designed to give students an understanding and appreciation of African history and culture from the "inside out." Though it deals with the period of European expansion in Africa, it is centered on African language/ethnic groups, villages, and individuals as historical actors who daily make collective and personal decisions to pass down, innovate, and borrow practices, technology, spiritual systems, etc. in the face of social, political, and economic realities. The course is also designed to get students thinking critically about how historians select and interpret sources to construct and reconstruct history at these different levels. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" general education requirement. It also satisfies one of the core requirements for the African and African American Studies minor.
- 79-229 The Origins of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, 1880-1948
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course considers the historical origins of the contemporary Arab-Israeli conflict, beginning with the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Arab nationalism and Zionism in the late 19th century and emphasizing the period of the British Mandate over Palestine (1920-1948). Students will move beyond textbooks to explore primary source documents, maps, photographs, biographies and historical testimony. For five weeks in the middle of the semester, students will immerse themselves in an extended role-playing exercise, "The Struggle for Palestine, 1936," an elaborate simulation game linked to Barnard College's "Reacting to the Past" program. Students portraying British examiners, specific Arab and Zionist characters and journalists will recreate the activities of the 1936 Royal Commission that came to Palestine to investigate the causes of an Arab rebellion and Arab-Jewish strife. This historical reenactment experience constitutes an exciting pedagogical opportunity for delving deeper into the topic material than regular coursework allows. All the role-playing will take place during regular class time, but students should be aware that they will need to devote outside time for preparation and research. Outstanding attendance is also a requirement. Regular classroom activity resumes at the end of the five weeks. The goal of the course is for students to develop a nuanced understanding of the varying goals and priorities of all the actors in Mandate Palestine. Running throughout the course is the question, was peace ever possible?
- 79-230 The Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace Process Through 1948 to Present
- Intermittent: 9 units
The course begins with the origins of both Zionism as an intellectual, European movement and of Arab and then Palestinian Arab claims for sovereignty in the early 20th century. The course interrogates not only the histories of ideologies that led to revolution and violence in the modern history of Palestine and Palestinians and of Zionism and Israel, but also the very notions of 'conflict' and 'peace.' It examines ideas of state and nation as well as practices of Ottoman and then British imperialism and Zionist settler colonialism in the territory that became Palestine, then Eretz Israel, and now Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Throughout the semester, students will explore how these ideas and practices are linked to the development of violence, armed struggle and a myriad of nationalist and religious-nationalist ideologies as they came to be understood by Palestinian Arabs, Zionist settlers, Palestinian citizens of Israel, Islamists, and Israeli religious/national groups. Students are tasked with considering the historical social, political, cultural, and religious implications of these discourses and practices. We will make use of documentary and other primary sources and texts, including poems, excerpts from literature, memoirs, film footage, posters, and other forms of media. By the end of the semester, students will be able to analyze and discuss the historical significance of the multi-faceted ideologies and motivations held by actors involved in the armed struggle movement(s) in Palestine and Israel, and the shifting nature of nationalisms as dependent upon locations, time periods, and understandings of history and politics. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" general education requirement.
- 79-232 Arabian Peninsula Environmental History
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is ONLY offered at Carnegie Mellon in Qatar. This course will look at the history of the Arabian Peninsula from a fresh perspective, examining human/environmental interactions over a long stretch of time. In contrast to the way that Arabian history is typically taught in academia, this course will take the pre-Islamic period of Arabian history (al-jahiliyya) as seriously as the post-Islamic period, and will focus on continuities between the two periods as much as discontinuities. What is more, while conventional histories of the Arabian Peninsula focus on political and religious affairs, this course will try to understand Arabian history on a deeper level by focusing on the lifeways of the Arabian people, including pastoralism, oasis "bustan garden" agriculture, fishing and pearling, and shifting patterns of long-distance trade. What is more this course will draw heavily from material from other disciplines, especially medical sciences, to better understand patterns of change over time. Finally, this course will examine to what degree these older patterns of human/landscape interactions are still valid for the Arabian Peninsula today, which has undergone a transformation almost unparalleled in world history due to the discovery natural gas and oil.
- 79-234 Technology and Society
- Intermittent: 9 units
How has technology shaped human society? And how have human beings shaped technology in return? This course investigates these questions across history-from stone tools, agriculture, and ancient cities to windmills, cathedrals, and the printing press; from railroads, electricity, and airplanes to atom bombs, the internet, and the dishwasher. In analyzing these tools, we will explore the dynamic relationships between technological systems and the social, political, religious, artistic, and economic worlds in which they emerged. We will also pay particular attention to technology's effects, asking both who benefited from and who was harmed by technological change. By the end of the course, students will be able to reflect critically on how humanity chooses which technologies to exploit and how human societies have been transformed by these choices. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.
- 79-237 Comparative Slavery
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examines the pervasive, world-spanning institution of human slavery. Although the time frame this course deals with is broad - from the rise of complex societies in the ancient world to slavery-like labor systems in the modern era - this class will focus more thoroughly on a few case studies, especially slavery in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, the US, and the Caribbean. These disparate examples will be related to a number of core themes, including race, class, family, gender, religion, national identity and underdevelopment.
- 79-238 Modern African American Film: History and Resistance
- Intermittent: 6 units
This course explores the historical and contemporary impact of resistance on and in African American film during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We will consider how filmmakers use narrative and aesthetics to represent, address, and combat anti-blackness, attend to filmmaking itself as a potential act of resistance, and cultivate our own "oppositional gazes" as spectators and critics. The five films we will watch are: · Within Our Gates (dir. Oscar Micheaux, 1920) · Do the Right Thing (dir. Spike Lee, 1989) · Daughters of the Dust (dir. Julie Dash, 1993) · The Watermelon Woman (dir. Cheryl Dunye, 1996) · Moonlight (dir. Barry Jenkins, 2016) Access to the films and any supplemental readings will be provided; unless otherwise stated on the syllabus, students will be expected to carefully study this material prior to each class. Though there will be brief lectures contextualizing each film's production and reception history, the majority of our meeting times will be spent on student-led discussion. Assignments include weekly written responses, a final project, and classroom participation. Because of the nature of the course topic and the content of the films, participation requires extended engagement with fictional depictions of issues including, but not limited to, lynching, sexual violence, police brutality, homophobia, and intraracial antagonism. Students are free to contact me at any point in the term if this becomes an issue.
- 79-239 History of the American Working Class
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine the transformation of the American working class from its preindustrial origins to the recent period of deindustrialization, gentrification, and the onset of the Corona Virus. It will emphasize the changing relationship between owners, managers, and workers, the role of the state, and the impact of gender, race, and ethnicity. More specifically, this course will not only analyze the factors that facilitated and/or impeded working class solidarity, but assess the impact of the working class upon the development of American history, including the recent recognition of previously maligned human service workers as "essential workers" during the upheaval of COVID-19.
- 79-240 Development of American Culture
- Intermittent: 9 units
This is an introductory survey of American history from colonial times to the present. The course focuses on cultural history instead of the more traditional emphasis on presidents, wars, and memorizing facts or timelines. The major theme of the course is the changing meaning of freedom over three centuries. Required readings include several short books and historical documents, which will be paired with class lectures to provide students with context needed to think about and understand America's cultural history. Assignments will include three short essays and a final research project on a form of popular culture of the student's choosing, developed over the course of the semester through three short blog posts.
- 79-242 African American History: Reconstruction to the Present
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course explores changes in the African American experience from the end of the Civil War to the emerging era of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Through an examination of a wide range of scholarly and popular debates in African American life and history, this course will emphasize transformations in both inter- and intra-race relations; economic mobility as well as economic inequality; and forms of political engagement and grassroots movements for social change. We will explore these developments under the impact of the segregationist regime; the Great Migration; the rise of the urban-industrial working class; increasing residential segregation; growth and expansion of the middle class; and the fluorescence of the Modern Black Liberation Movement. Students will compare the dynamics of the contemporary Black Lives Matter Movement with earlier 20th century grassroots social and political movements in African American and U.S. history. Finally, based upon a mix of primary and secondary sources and lectures, students will write a series of short analytical essays; and establish their own unique interpretation of key issues in Black History.
- 79-243 The Civil War in American Memory
- Intermittent: 6 units
The American Civil War remains among the most venerated and fought over stories in American history. This class explores those debates. Why was the war fought? Was the Confederate cause noble? Did the North oppose slavery? What did freedom mean? How does a nation erect racial justice? What does it mean to fly the Confederate flag or confront a Confederate monument today? Tackling these ongoing debates (and more) from the war (1861-65) itself until today, this course grapples with why the war continues to be one of the most defining moments in U.S. history - 150 years later - and what that means for our past and present as a bi-racial democracy. This course is open to all students.
- 79-244 Women in American History
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is a survey. It examines U.S. history through the eyes of women and gender. It begins in the colonial era (1600s) and runs chronologically to the present. It covers topics such as witchcraft, the story of Pocahontas, women's work, motherhood, slavery, and much more. We will look at the lives of individual women, as well as trends among women, paying attention to questions of race and class. At the same time, we will explore changing concepts of gender, meaning ideas about what women are or should be. Finally, the course asks: how different does American history look when we factor in women and gender?
- 79-245 Capitalism and Individualism in American Culture
- Intermittent: 9 units
This small discussion course traces ideas about individualism and capitalism in the U.S., from colonial times to the present. We will focus on three main themes: 1) the relationship between capitalism, work, and identity; 2) changing definitions of success and failure; and 3) the historical origins of students' attitudes toward 1 and amp; 2. In short, we will study the economics and emotions of the American dream: how class, race, gender, occupation, and ambition shape our identities. Readings include "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," poems by the enslaved writer Phillis Wheatley, studies by Alexis de Tocqueville and Max Weber, writings of Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Andrew Carnegie's classic essay "Gospel of Wealth," an essay by Malcolm Gladwell, Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," and Sarah Lewis's "The Rise," a book about failure and ambition. Grading is based upon a readings journal, participation in discussion, three short essays and a longer final paper.
- 79-246 Industrial America
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines the transformation of America into an urban industrial society during the 19th and 20th centuries. The transformation of work, culture, and politics will receive close attention, but the course will primarily focus around how workers defined their own labor and changes in the culture of work over time. This course will investigate how race, class, and gender informed workplace relations as well as how immigration and migration changed the nature of American work. Through lecture, discussion, and three short writing assignments we will uncover how workers defined America.
- 79-247 African Americans, Imprisonment, and the Carceral State
- Intermittent: 9 units
The mass incarceration of people of African descent has emerged as one of the most daunting issues in contemporary U.S. society and politics. But too often discussions of this important phenomenon proceeds without sufficient historical perspective. Thus, this course explores the history of African Americans in the nation's prison system from the emancipation of some four million enslaved people following the Civil War through recent times. Specifically, we examine the process by which the nation's prison population shifted from predominantly white inmates during the mid-19th century through the inter-World War years to majority African Americans and other people of color by the closing years of the 20th century. In addition to examining the role of law, policing, and racist social policies and practices, students explore the lived experiences of imprisoned people, with an emphasis on the impact of class and gender as well as racial considerations. Along with selected primary documents, assigned readings include a series of scholarly case studies on the carceral experiences of black men and women in the North and South during the industrial and emerging postindustrial eras in African American and U.S. history. Finally, students will write a series of short essays on particular facets of African American life in the American prison system.
- 79-248 U.S. Constitution & the Presidency
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course explores the changing role and powers of the American Presidency under the Constitution, from the founding era through the twentieth century. After absorbing drafting and ratification debates, we will focus on how particular presidents (Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Nixon) established or expanded the executive power and how particular conflicts (the Civil War, the "Court Packing" plan, Watergate) restructured or restricted the presidency. Readings will include the U.S. Constitution (of course), selections from The Federalist Papers, and short books including Daniel Farber's "Lincoln's Constitution" and Cass Sunstein's "Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide." Grades will be based on three short papers, a final paper, and daily preparedness and participation in group discussion. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement.
- 79-249 20th Century U.S. History
- Intermittent: 9 units
This survey course covers the history of the United States from Reconstruction to today through by focusing on migration, race and ethnicity, and citizenship or national belonging. Chronologically organized, the course centers key themes and issues of social, economic, and political importance in both past and present. We will also explore how historical events and their documentation change in meaning and importance over time, and what forces and influences shape these realities. Overall, we will consider the causes, processes, and experiences shaping the arrival of different immigrant groups to the United States at different historical moments. More specifically, we will follow migrations of different groups of people, like African Americans, north and westward; European immigrants into coastal port cities and beyond; Mexican bracero workers into agricultural industries; Chinese laborers work experiences in diverse economic settings; and more. We will apply critical lenses toward movements like Americanization and try to understand different groups of citizens' divergent experiences with national belonging. We will also interrogate the logics, values, and symbols that shaped ideas regarding ethnic, racial, class, and gender difference, particularly as they were used to characterize difference regarding citizenship.
- 79-250 Voting Rights: An Introduction
- Intermittent: 9 units
Did you know that American citizens have no right to vote? None. The United States is one of the only constitutional democracies in the world that does not enshrine this right in its founding charter. Not only did the nation's founders punt on creating one, social movements have also never succeeded in creating one. What, then, have voting rights activists won over the centuries? And how and why has an affirmative right to vote never been achieved? Starting with the U.S. Constitution and working forward to the present, this course will help you make sense of all the accusations swirling in the news about voter fraud, voter suppression, voter theft, voting rights, and all the other things no one ever taught you about the world's oldest democracy. This course is open to all students.
- 79-251 COVID-19: What History Can Teach Us
- Intermittent: 3 units
For many, the COVID-19 Pandemic feels like a rupture in time - a disaster unprecedented in scale and impact. Yet one-hundred years ago, the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 killed between 17 million and 50 million people. That virus infected approximately a third of all human beings on the planet and #8212; some 500 million people. Since then, humanity has faced a series of influenza epidemics and other global catastrophes, from world wars to HIV-AIDS. Like COVID-19, those crises were shaped by pre-existing forms of inequality and discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, and other forms of identity. Pandemics affect everyone, but not equally. For many of the world's poorest and most oppressed people, the COVID-19 pandemic feels less like a rupture than an escalation of long-standing inequalities. In the United States, the racial disparities of the pandemic reflect the long history of systemic racism. What can we learn from the past about how to cope with our current crisis? How can we confront the inequities and injustices of the world in the midst of such a crisis? This course will offer a historical lens on many of the most urgent and difficult questions that we face as a result of COVID-19.
- 79-252 "Harriet": Harriet Tubman, Slavery, and the Underground Railroad
- Intermittent: 6 units
Most Americans who know and love Harriet Tubman know she escaped enslavement, led herself and more than 60 people out of bondage via the Underground Railroad, gave instructions on getting to freedom to 50 or 60 more people, and became a suffragist. However, the many biographies, children's books, and even the biopic "Harriet" about Tubman are all virtually silent on a very important chapter of her life: during the US Civil War, Harriet Tubman worked as a nurse, cook, spy, and scout for the US Army Department of the South. This course will look at two parts of Tubman's life, her enslavement in the Maryland Eastern Shore and freedom via the Underground Railroad, as well as her military service in coastal South Carolina and participation in the Combahee River Raid, which freed 756 blacks enslaved on nine rice plantations six months after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. We will watch the biopic "Harriet" and discusses where it does and does not accord with historical sources about Tubman's life. And, we will tour the "From Slavery to Freedom" exhibit at the Senator John Heinz History Center to learn more about the Underground Railroad, particularly in Western Pennsylvania.
- 79-253 Imperialism and Decolonization in South Asia
- Intermittent: 9 units
Home to a diversity of cultures, languages, and histories, the population of South Asia is linked through a common experience of European colonialism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Virtually all of the contemporary nation-states of South Asia achieved independence from European colonial powers in the middle of the twentieth century, most between the 1940s and 1960s. With a focus on South Asian history, this course will include introductory sessions on pre-colonial interaction and the early modern world. The bulk of the course will focus on colonialism, nationalism, and decolonization from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. In addition to assessing the legacies of colonialism in the present day, the course will interrogate the differences between colonial and postcolonial experiences across the South Asian world. It will further examine the challenges and trials confronting the new states "after" decolonization, in particular, their search not only for new political frameworks to replace the colonial structures they had discarded, but also for solutions to mitigate the issues of social integration, inter-state conflict and regional co-operation.
- 79-255 Modern Ireland: Politics and Culture from the Famine (1847) to Today
- Intermittent: 9 units
[Note: students who have already taken this course under its former number 79-255 and former titles, Irish History, or Politics, Religion, and Conflict in the 19th and 20th Century Ireland, may not enroll.] This course studies the political, economic and social development of Ireland across its long nineteenth century. Beginning with the social and economic effects of the Famine of the 1840s, it studies Ireland's growing incorporation into the British-centric global economy, the growing role of Catholicism in Irish politics, the cultural ferment of the late nineteenth century and the events leading up to formal independence in 1922. Following on from this, the course reviews the development of the two Irelands (the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), the rise to hegemony of Fianna F and #225;il and the Ulster Unionist Party, the politics of gender and sexuality in two of western Europe's most conservative societies, violence in Northern Ireland, and rapid economic, social and political changes since the 1990s. Ultimately, this course seeks to use Ireland as a case study for understanding the history of small nations and modern European nationalism as well as economic and political development on the periphery of Europe. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.
- 79-256 Sex, Guns, Rock, and Skinheads: Youth Rebellion in Europe, 1960-1990
- Intermittent: 9 units
Between 1960 and 1990, young Europeans rebelled against the conservatism of their parents and politicians. In 1968, they exploded into the streets in capitalist Paris and socialist Prague. In West Germany and Italy, a minority of left-wing radicals took up the gun to bring former Nazis and Fascists to "justice." Young people demanded and practiced sexual liberation. Young women marched for their emancipation and led the struggle to legalize abortion. Young Europeans also contributed to the liberalization of anti-homosexual laws. The British Beat revolution rocked the world with its innovative music, anti-establishment lyrics, shocking fashions, and wild lifestyles. By the 1980s, youth rebellion had taken on disturbing trends with the emergence of right-wing Skinheads and a surge in drug addiction. The course combines lecture and discussion of readings and films. Students will write three essays (1000 words each) based on class assignments. They will write a final essay (1500-1700 words) based on their own research into the press, fanzines, films, etc. (in place of a final exam).
- 79-257 Germany and the Second World War
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course, taught in Somerset prison, covers many aspects of the war unleashed by the Third Reich: its origins; Hitler's ideology and war plans; the course of the war; major military operations; the Holocaust; Nazi occupation of Europe; resistance to Nazism; and life inside Germany. It concentrates on the Wehrmacht's strategies, decisions, and its relationship with Hitler and Nazi organizations. (The Wehrmacht was the Third Reich's "defense/armed forces" but the term is generally used to refer to its army.) We will investigate the role of the Wehrmacht in Nazi/SS crimes against humanity, including genocide, fighting partisans, killing civilians, and the treatment of Soviet POWs. We aim to understand how, where, why, and when the Wehrmacht came to have "dirty hands." Course readings; chapters from Ben H. Shepherd, Hitler's Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich; chapters from Nicholas Stargardt, The German War: A Nation under Arms, 1939-1945; primary documents. Written assignments (10 in total): weekly 500-600 word responses to questions based on course readings. The course combines lecture, discussion, in-class group exercises, and a debate. To all students registering for this PEP course, please fill out this brief questionnaire so that the instructor may address your questions/concerns in advance: https://forms.gle/j4kjshSrRzSaNFbu6.
- 79-259 Black Rice
- Intermittent: 6 units
Rice originates in only two places in the world: Africa and amp; Asia. Most historians agree that West African rice and its cultivation and amp; processing technology were transmitted to colonial SC and amp; GA via the trans-Atlantic slave trade, laying the foundation for the commercial rice industry and making South Carolina rice planters the richest planters in British North America before the American Revolution. Though some historians don't agree.... In "Black Rice," we'll learn about how rice technology in West Africa's Upper Guinea Coast for subsistence, how it was transferred to the antebellum US South, and why technology in precolonial West Africa and enslaved people as skilled, not just brute labor are so, so controversial! In addition, we will watch the March 3, 2023 performance of "Unburied; Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice" by the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center and discuss the libretto on which the project was based.
- 79-260 Nazi Germany
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course covers Nazism in Germany from its beginnings as a small movement after the First World War through its rise to power in 1933 to its fiery destruction and defeat in 1945. What were the sources of its appeal as a political party? How did the Nazi regime suppress the political opposition in 1933? Why did so many ordinary Germans collaborate with the regime in its hunt against political, religious, sexual, and racial enemies? Why did they support the regime to the bloody end of the most murderous war in history?
- 79-261 The Last Emperors: Chinese History and Society, 1600-1900
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is an introduction to late-imperial "Chinese" history and society with a focus on the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). We begin by examining the Qing not just as the last of China's imperial dynasties but also as an early-modern, multi-ethnic empire that included Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang. In fact, China's "last emperors" were actually Manchus from northeast Asia. Secondly we investigate the social, economic, intellectual and demographic developments that transformed late-imperial China prior to the coming of the West. Thirdly, we examine Qing responses to a string of nineteenth-century disruptions, including but not limited to western imperialism, that threatened to not only end the dynasty but also challenged the very tenants of Chinese civilization. Lastly, we will look at the fall of China's imperial system, the end of empire, and the post-imperial struggle to reformulate the state and re-imagine society for the twentieth century. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.
- 79-262 Modern China: From the Birth of Mao ... to Now
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is an introduction to major themes in twentieth-century Chinese history, including the transition from empire to nation, revolution, social change and modernization, western and Japanese imperialism, the rise of the party-state, Chinese socialism, economic liberalization and the so-called "Chinese Dream." The first half of the class is devoted to the period between the fall of the imperial system and the founding of the People's Republic of China (1911-1949). If the victory of the Chinese Communist Party and development of the socialist state are to be considered in historical context, it is necessary to first understand the political, cultural, economic and intellectual currents that immediately preceded them. During the second half of the course, we will examine the Maoist period (1949-1976). We will investigate the Chinese Communist Party as both a state-building institution and an engine of social transformation, and consider the tensions these dual roles produced. Finally, we will look at the Reform Period (1978-present), and reflect on a newly robust China's attempts to come to terms with its own recent past and what the consequences might be for both China and the world.
- 79-263 Mao and the Chinese Cultural Revolution
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is an in-depth examination of China's "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976), one of the most impactful and bewildering events of the twentieth century. It started when Mao Zedong announced that enemies had infiltrated the Communist Party that he led. Soon students were attacking their teachers, teenagers in army uniforms were raiding homes and destroying remnants of "feudal" and "bourgeois" culture, and armed fighting had erupted among factions of ordinary Chinese people. Why? What were the political and social dynamics of Maoist China that propelled it along this violent trajectory? What was everyday life like during the Cultural Revolution, an event that could be both terrifying and empowering for those that lived through it? What were the social, political and cultural consequences? How has the Cultural Revolution been judged in China and the west, and are their other possible interpretations? This class will explore these questions from a variety of perspectives and sources, including documents, literature, memoir, film, academic writings, visual arts and performing arts.
- 79-264 Tibet and China: History and Propaganda
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is an introduction to the "Tibet Question," the dispute over whether Tibet should be part of China, an independent nation-state, or, as the current Dalai Lama now advocates, something in between. "History" often serves as the battleground on which competing visions of the nation are fought - who should be included and excluded, where "natural" boundaries begin and end. This almost always requires a process of simplification in which inconvenient details are forgotten or repurposed in the service of national agendas. The "Tibet Question" is a telling example. In this class, we investigate the historical relationship between "China" and "Tibet" from the 13th century through the present, and note the ways advocates on both sides of the "Tibet Question" have constructed historical narratives (propaganda) in support of their political positions. We will also discuss the prospects for a political solution and consider the lessons the "Tibet Question" may hold for understanding other outstanding "historical" disputes.
- 79-265 Russian History: Game of Thrones
- Intermittent: 9 units
How are states built? How are empires forged? This course, beginning with the first settlements of tribal nomads in the ninth century and ending with the abolition of serfdom in 1861, surveys the grand 'game of thrones' in Russian history. It explores the building of a Russian Empire from the first princely kingdoms at murderous war with each other to the emergence of a strong state, headed by a tsar and centered in Moscow. Over the centuries, we make the acquaintance of Mongol marauders, greedy princes, and brave peasant rebels, as well as Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and the long succession of reformers and reactionaries who occupied the Russian throne. Students will be challenged to think critically about social injustice and resistance, and the relationship between ethnicity, serfdom, land ownership, and empire. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement.
- 79-266 Russian History and Revolutionary Socialism
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course covers an epic set of events in Russian history beginning with the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 and ending with the death of Stalin in 1953. Spanning almost a century of upheaval and transformation, it examines the terrorist and populist movements against the tsar, the growth of urbanization and a new working class, the great general strike and revolution of 1905, the Russian revolution in 1917, and the Communist Party and amp;#39;s attempt to build a new socialist society amid the wreckage of the old. We will discuss the struggle for power within the Party in the 1920s, Stalin's triumph over his opponents, the wrenching processes of collectivization and industrialization, and the "Great Terror." The course will explore the Soviet role in World War II, the shattering losses, and the death of Stalin in 1953. This course meets the Gen Ed requirement for "Humanities"
- 79-267 The Soviet Union in World War II: Military, Political, and Social History
- Intermittent: 9 units
On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. German troops surrounded Leningrad in the longest running siege in modern history, reached the outskirts of Moscow, and slaughtered millions of Soviet civilians. Of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, almost 2 million were killed on Soviet soil. Over 26 million Soviet citizens died in the war. Eventually, the Red Army came back from defeat to free the occupied territories and drive Hitler and amp;#39;s army back to Berlin. Using history, film, poetry, veterans' accounts, documentaries, and journalism, this course surveys the great military battles as well as life in the occupied territories and on the home front. It highlights the rise of fascism, the Stalinist purges of the Red Army, and the Nazi massacres of the civilian population.Occasional film screenings may be required.
- 79-268 World War I: The Twentieth Century's First Catastrophe
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course offers a comprehensive retrospective of the First World War in Europe. Guiding questions will be: How did a containable crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia become the most murderous war Europe had ever experienced? How did the war spill over into the Middle East? Why did the US enter the war? Why did every General Staff follow unimaginative military strategies that turned the war into a bloody horror for soldiers? How did the war affect women's situation and rights? How did the war become a Total War that fomented social and political revolution and led to the downfall of four Empires?
- 79-269 Russian History: From Socialism to Capitalism
- Intermittent: 9 units
Beginning with Stalin's death in 1953, this course focuses on the efforts of a new group of Soviet leaders to eliminate the repression of the Stalin years and to create a more democratic socialism. It will examine the reforms of Khrushchev and the reaction against them, the long period of Brezhnev's rule, and the hopeful plans of Gorbachev. Finally, it will survey Gorbachev's loss of control, the collapse of socialism and the Soviet Union, and the growth of "wild west" or "gangster" capitalism. We will look at the rise of the oligarchs and the impact of the capitalist transition on ordinary people. The course provides essential background for anyone interested in understanding Russia's place in the world today and its relationship with the West. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" general education requirement.
- 79-270 Anti-Semitism Then and Now: Perspectives from the Middle Ages to the Present
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine the history of anti-Jewish hatred and violence from the Middle Ages through the present. The course will focus on representative case studies, texts, and films. These will include pre-modern incidents of "fake news" such as the medieval rumor of "blood libel" that unleashed massacres and mass expulsions of Jews from countless communities. In examining the rise of modern anti-Semitism, we shall focus on debates over Jewish assimilation and citizenship and consider the popular impact of the print media's dissemination of conspiracy theories of Jewish world domination, including the infamous forgery, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." We will also examine cases of mass anti-Jewish violence, known as pogroms, in Eastern Europe and Russia, and the genocidal onslaught against European Jewry by the National Socialist regime. Finally, we will discuss the contemporary global resurgence of anti-Semitism.
- 79-272 Coexistence and Conflict: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Spain and Portugal
- Intermittent: 9 units
In Medieval Spain and Portugal, Islam, Judaism and Christianity coexisted in a situation distinguished by cooperation and exchange, as well as by friction, rivalry and violence. In this course, we shall explore the complexity of this unique historical encounter, as well as its role in shaping debates over modern Iberian and global identities, and historical memory. We shall discuss topics such as: Inter-ethnic collaboration and violence; Jewish-Christian disputations; the exclusion and expulsion of religious and ethnic minorities; as well as Muslim and Jewish presence in present day Spain and Portugal. Historical documents, literary texts, film, musical traditions, as well as contemporary political and cultural debates will be discussed to enhance familiarity with the topic.
- 79-273 Jews and Muslims in History
- Intermittent: 9 units
What is the history of Muslim-Jewish interaction beyond the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the images of violence in the Middle East that permeate the media? The overarching goal of this course is to explore this question through close study of the history of Jews and Muslims who lived as neighbors, in cooperation as well as in conflict in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, from the rise of Islam in the seventh century to the present day. Our sources will include works of scholarship, primary source texts such as religious queries and government documents, journalistic materials, memoirs, and films.
- 79-275 Introduction to Global Studies
- Spring: 9 units
We live in an increasingly interconnected world, one in which our everyday actions have repercussions across vast distances. To understand this ever-denser web of connections, we must think beyond simplistic accounts of globalization as a uniformly positive, negative, or homogenizing process. Economic crisis, impoverishment, rising inequality, environmental degradation, pandemic disease, and irredentist movements are just as much a part of the story as are technological innovation, digital communication, global supply chains, cultural exchange, the promotion of human rights, and the rise of cosmopolitan values. This course aims to equip you with an interdisciplinary toolkit for thinking critically about the many dimensions of globalization (economic, social, political, cultural) and for engaging thoughtfully with differing experiences of them. By examining how globalization connects and shapes the everyday lives of people around the world, including our own, we will establish a foundation both for your advanced coursework in Global Studies and for your lifelong education as a globally aware professional and citizen. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" general education requirement.
- 79-276 Beyond the Border
- Intermittent: 9 units
In this course we will consider the historical emergence and transformation of the U.S.-Mexico border, as much as an idea as a physical boundary. Our explorations will be far-ranging: from the initial encounters of Christopher Columbus and Hern and #225;n Cort and #233;s with indigenous populations, to social, cultural and political dynamics of the borderlands in subsequent centuries; from the experiences and practices of cross border migrants, to contemporary immigration debates and policies surrounding migration, border control and walling, and the deportation of unauthorized migrants. In addition to course readings, we will screen several Mexican films that are centrally concerned with the dynamics of bordering and border-crossing. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Perspectives on Justice and Injustice" general education requirement.
- 79-278 How (Not) to Change the World
- Intermittent: 9 units
It's often said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. What, then, can we learn by excavating some of those pavers and interrogating the theories of change that underlie them? And what can we learn from more successful attempts to enact social change? In this course, we will use the tools of history, anthropology, and critical theory to examine various efforts to 'change the world'. From top-down social engineering to neoliberal 'market citizenship' to grassroots organizing, case studies will challenge us to detect theories of change (even when they are concealed) and evaluate their consequences (intended and otherwise). With those lessons in mind, we will then apply our tools to the theories of change that we enact, often unwittingly, as members of a university. Which roads are we paving and where do they lead?
- 79-280 Coffee and Capitalism
- Intermittent: 9 units
What role has coffee played in connecting people and places to capitalist markets and consumer cultures? What are the economic, social, and environmental consequences of these connections? How did espresso change from an "ethnic drink" to something served at McDonalds? Why do college students (and professors!) hang out in coffee shops? This course will answer these questions and more by using coffee to learn about the history of capitalism, and capitalism to understand the history of coffee. We will follow the spread of coffee and capitalism across the globe, with excursions to places where people grow coffee (Ethiopia, Yemen, Indonesia, Brazil, and Costa Rica), and also where they drink coffee (Seattle, Tokyo, Seoul, New York, and Berlin). In the process, we will confront global problems linked to economic inequality, trade, gender relations, and environmental degradation. Course meetings will combine interactive lecture, group discussions, and mini-presentations. Assignments will include journal responses, ethnographic observations, and writing a short script that tells a story about coffee and capitalism.
- 79-281 Introduction to Religion
- Intermittent: 9 units
Religion can be understood from the "outside," through the academic lenses of history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, etc., and from the "inside," listening to the experiences and reflections of those who practice various faiths. The course will examine major religious traditions from several perspectives and begin to explore such topics as the relationship between religion and science, faith and reason, religion and moral values, and religion in public life. This introduction is designed for students with a general interest in religion, as well as those contemplating a Religious Studies minor.
- 79-282 Europe and the World Since 1800
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will introduce students to topics of historical and contemporary relevance in European society and culture from the nineteenth century to the present. We shall focus especially on Europe's place in shaping debates of major international importance and #8212;both new and old and #8212;about topics such as: colonialism; migration; religious, ethnic, and national identity; Islamophobia; and antisemitism. Throughout we will pay special attention to the situation of inhabitants. past and the present, who have been considered outsiders or "others" in European society. In addition to class lectures, students will view films and listen to music related to the main themes of the course, in addition to reading and discussing historical texts.
- 79-283 Hungry World: Food and Famine in Global Perspective
- Intermittent: 9 units
The science and technology of the Green Revolution in the second half of the 20th century were heralded as a miracle. Agricultural science promised seeds, peasants, companies, governments, scientists, economists, exporters, and planners would work together to support growing populations, especially in the post-colonial world. The human population on Earth reached 6 billion by the year 2000; 7.6 billion were estimated around 2017. The United Nations predicts 8.6 billion by 2030. Awareness of living in this unique period of human history brought new debates among scholars, practitioners, and planners thinking about the critical role of agriculture and development on Earth. How can we conceptualize, hope, and plan for best possible outcomes for a human population that depends on agriculture and development? How has the legacy of the Green Revolution encouraged (or betrayed) public enthusiasm for innovative fixes? This interdisciplinary course will use methods and case studies drawing on History, Historical Demography, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Regional Studies, Geosciences and Agricultural Sciences, and International Economic Development. If students wish to pursue a particular thematic or regional interest, there will be room in this course to explore particular cases in depth.
- 79-288 Bananas, Baseball, and Borders: Latin America and the United States
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine the tumultuous and paradoxical relationship between Latin America and the United States from the time of independence to the present, with an emphasis on Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean during the Cold War (1945-1989) and its aftermath (1990s-present). We will literally talk about bananas, baseball and borders; the title also alludes to the key dimensions of the relationship we will study: economic, cultural, and geopolitical. We will learn about the actions of U.S. and Latin American government leaders and diplomats along with many other kinds of people including activists, artists, and journalists; athletes, movie stars, and scientists; and migrant workers, tourists, and drug traffickers. Mondays and Wednesdays will feature interactive lectures, videos and in-class activities; Fridays will be entirely devoted to student-driven discussion. Evaluation will be based on participation; two written analysis of historical documents, and a final reflection. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" general education requirement.
- 79-289 Animal Planet: An Environmental History of People and Animals
- Intermittent: 9 units
Why do modern societies go to great lengths to protect some animals and slaughter others? Why do some cultures make pets of animals that other cultures turn into a meal? What are the environmental ramifications of hunting, domestication, and trading animals? Is there a connection between human pandemics like COVID-19 and animals? Why are there so many cute animals inhabiting social media? These are some of the questions that we will seek to answer as we trace changes in human and #8212;animal relationships over time. We will explore these themes through both texts and visual representations (art, film, photography) of animals. Evaluation will be based on active participation in class discussions, submission of weekly field notes, and a final curated exhibit of images of people and animals.
- 79-290 The Slave Passage: From West Africa to the Americas
- Intermittent: 9 units
"The Slave Passage" begins among flourishing, technologically advanced, and globally connected regions of Western Africa before the advent of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It tells the painful story of African captives during the Middle Passage, piecing together the historical record to recognize their suffering aboard the slaving vessels and their multiple strategies of resistance. Students will study slave narratives, slave ship logs, and autobiographies of former enslaved people, as well as analyze films depicting the Middle Passage and New World enslavement.
- 79-291 Innovation and Entertainment: A Business History of American Popular Culture
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine one topic in popular culture and entertainment per week, from newspapers to streaming services. The course will consider these industries through the lens of business history, documenting innovation and the development of entertainment as commodities. While we will trace many changes over the years, we will primarily focus on the birth of new industries. Guiding questions will be: How did the country's economy, society, and politics structure the development of popular culture? How did performers and entrepreneurs develop industries around new innovations in popular culture? And how did popular culture shape the country's economy, society, and politics?
- 79-292 China and the West
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines the global history of China from the time of Marco Polo to the era of Xi Jinping, with particular emphasis on the political, social, and economic dimensions of how "China" and "the West" have interacted over the past three centuries. How have European and American writers, travelers, and political figures thought about China over time? How have their Chinese counterparts thought about the West? What have been the dominant narratives about Sino-Western relations, and how do these compare with how China and the West actually interacted? We will cover major topics such as the Opium Wars and Cold War geopolitics as well as more mundane issues, including the everyday lives of foreigners in China and the experiences of Chinese abroad. Using government documents, trade records, memoirs, and other sources, students will come to situate Sino-Western relations in a new historical perspective as they examine the dynamics of transnational interaction and reflect critically on how the present informs the construction of narratives about the past. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Intercultural and Global Inquiry" general education requirement.
- 79-293 Inward Odyssey
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is ONLY offered at Carnegie Mellon in Qatar. Inward Odyssey will explore world history by examining it through the outward-looking eyes of travel writers, on the assumption that travelogues, though supposedly written about the "other," in fact provide crucial insights about the mindset of the culture that produced them, and often serve as a vehicle for cultural self-exploration or even self-criticism. In terms of content, this course is intended to overlap with World History, Islam and the European World, and US-Arab Encounters. However, this course is intended to be a skills course, designed not to teach students about specific historical periods, but rather to give students the tools they need to conduct their own critical explorations into the historical past.
- 79-295 Legacies of Fascism and Anti-Fascism:From 1930s Spain to Russia's War on Ukraine
- Intermittent: 3 units
Russia's war on Ukraine has elicited divergent responses from different political and civil actors and scholars around the globe. Many of these responses are steeped in the history of the 1930s and World War II, including around questions of fascism and anti-fascism. In this course we will inquire whether the history of fascism and anti-fascism might provide us with any useful tools to address the current war in Ukraine. We will start by examining the history of the rise of fascism and of antifascist response, beginning with Mussolini's march on Rome in 1922 and the impact of Italian fascism on Spanish fascism and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The final part of the course will focus on the origins of the war in Ukraine. We will hear from guest speakers, including relatives of volunteers and experts on the Spanish Civil War, as well as experts on the history of Ukraine, including Ukrainian scholars and refugees. Monday, 10/31 from 4:40pm-7:00pm-HH B131 Tuesday, 11/1 from 4:40pm-7:00pm-HH B131 Wednesday, 11/2 from 4:40pm-7:00pm-HH B131 Thursday, 11/3 from 4:40pm-7:00pm-HH B131 Saturday, 11/5 from 11:30am-5:00pm-BH A36
- 79-296 Religion in American Politics
- Intermittent: 6 units
Religion figures prominently in American politics, especially in congressional election years. A common view, reinforced by some media and polling organizations, holds that "religiosity" correlates with conservative politics, but that's highly misleading, as religious people are in fact all over the political map - even on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, and what is taught in public schools. Thomas Jefferson's mention of a "wall of separation" between church and state indicates that religious institutions are generally kept separate from government in America, but religious motivations have always played an important part in our politics. This course will provide a historical perspective on religion in public life down to the present day, including religion's influence on political parties and public policies, and the boundaries set by the Constitution on such activity. This course satisfies one of the elective requirements for the Religious Studies minor.
- 79-297 Technology and Work
- Intermittent: 9 units
In recent years, conversations about the relationship between technology and work seem to have been conducted with particular fervor: claims of revolutionary ease and freedom sit side-by-side with dystopian visions of exploitation, surveillance, and alienation. Will technological development lead to a new "sharing economy" or widespread deskilling? Will it bring general prosperity or enrich the few at the expense of the many? These concerns - though especially apparent today - are by no means new. In this course, we will examine their history, focusing in particular on North America and Europe in the past two centuries. We will examine the ways in which new technologies - from the assembly line to the washing machine to the personal computer - transformed what it meant to work, and how workers, their families, and the companies who employed them reacted to these changes. Our historical actors will include famous figures like Henry Ford, but also unnamed women, children, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities. Throughout, we will pay attention to who benefitted, who was harmed, and what broader economic, cultural, or social purposes these technologies were designed to serve.
- 79-298 Guns, Gun Cultures, and Gun Violence in American History
- Intermittent: 6 units
This course traces the development of gun cultures and gun-related policy and law in the United States from the colonial era to the present. Students will be expected to synthesize perspectives from social history, ethnography, public health, criminology, policy analysis, and legal scholarship. They will also engage the critical examination of popular culture and media representations of guns and gun violence. Particular emphasis will be placed on changing views about the authority of the government to intervene in the manufacture, ownership, and use of guns, as well as the best way to balance individual and collective interests in a pluralistic society.
- 79-300 Controversial Topics in the History of American Public Policy
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course traces the development of US domestic public policy, the growth of the federal government, and the changing relationship among citizens, states, and the federal government over time. We begin with an examination of the current policy landscape and then go back in time to understand how we got to where we are today. We very quickly discover that our current political predicaments are not accidental. Particular people or groups across the political spectrum have worked hard to shape public policy at various critical points in history and have reaped tremendous benefit, even if their influence makes the overall system unstable or unworkable today. We identify critical moments of crisis or change in American politics, examine the imaginaries and policy levers available to people at that time, and explain how policy decisions were made. Students will gain a clear understanding of how interests and political will have been cultivated and mobilized in the past, which can offer them useful models for advancing their own priorities and those of their generation. Topics covered currently include health care and health insurance, abortion, and immigration. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement.
- 79-301 History of Surveillance: From the Plantation to Data Capitalism
- Intermittent: 6 units
Our awareness of surveillance has been dramatically heightened over the past few years. From Edward Snowden's revelations about the U.S. National Security Agency's data collection infrastructure to the extent to which companies like Facebook and Google monetize our personal information, surveillance has become one of the most controversial political issues of our time. In this course, we will place these developments in context, examining the long history of surveillance in the United States. We will begin with the 18th-century plantation "overseer," who was charged with ensuring the productivity and obedience of slaves under his watch. We will then move on to explore the emergence of commercial surveillance in the 19th century, which sought to gather intelligence on the credit worthiness and moral worthiness of businessmen in a rapidly growing, and increasingly impersonal, economy. Next, we will examine the shifting focus of surveillance from the late 19th century to the present, as it expanded from immigrants and criminals to include industrial workers, political radicals, civil rights activists (most notably Martin Luther King), the poor, and ultimately, all of us. Today, anyone who has a cell phone in their pocket, surfs the Internet, keeps up with friends through social networks, makes purchases with a credit card, uses membership cards, travels, or even just spends time in public spaces ought to assume that their movements, purchasing habits, communication metadata, social connections, and Internet browsing histories are being recorded, stored and analyzed for a variety of governmental and commercial purposes. In the final week of the course, we will debate the implications of these incursions into our public and private lives.
- 79-302 Killer Robots? The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Drones and A.I. in War
- Intermittent: 9 units
Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have become a central feature of the United States' global counterterrorism strategy since September 11, 2001, and autonomous weapons systems (often called "killer robots" by critics) are increasingly being integrated into military arsenals around the world. According to proponents, drones and autonomous weapons systems are much safer than manned systems, so accurate that they can be used to target individuals and detect threats in real time, and efficient and inexpensive enough to be used for long-term surveillance and protection missions around the globe. According to critics, the use of lethal autonomous weapons systems is problematic because of the obfuscation of historically and legally accepted chains of accountability and responsibility, as well as the difficulty of translating complex decision-making processes including ethical and moral ones into computer code. This course will evaluate these issues through the lenses of law, politics, morality, history, and military strategy.
- 79-303 Pittsburgh and the Transformation of Modern Urban America
- Intermittent: 6 units
[Note: students who have already taken this mini course under its previous number 79-303 and title may not enroll.] This course will focus on the transformations, both positive and negative, of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh region in the period from 1945 through the present. It will explore the following themes: the rise of industrial Pittsburgh, the redevelopment of the city in the Pittsburgh Renaissance; urban renewal and its consequences; the collapse of the steel industry and its impacts; the development of an Eds/Meds service economy; air, land and water environmental issues; and the city's changing demography.
- 79-306 Fact into Film: Translating History into Cinema
- Intermittent: 9 units
From the very beginning, film has provided a window into the past. But how useful are the images we see through that window? For every person who reads a work of history, thousands will see a film on the same subject. But who will learn more? Can written history and filmed history perform the same tasks? Should we expect them to do so? How are these two historical forms related? How can they complement each other? This course will draw examples from across the history of film in order to examine how the medium of film impacts our understanding of facts and events, the ways that film transfers those facts to the screen, and how that process affects the creation of historical discourse. Films may include such titles as The Fall of the Roman Empire, The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Saving Private Ryan, World Trade Center, Enemy at the Gates, Lagaan and Hero.
- 79-308 Crime and Justice in American Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
Films dealing with criminal activities and criminal justice have always been popular at the box office. From the gangsters of the Thirties and the film noir of the Fifties to the more recent vigilante avenger films of Liam Neeson, the film industry has profited from films about crime and its consequences. How those subjects are portrayed, however, tells us a great deal about larger trends in American history and society. Every imaginable type of criminal activity has been depicted on screen, as have the legal ramifications of those acts. But these films raise profound questions. What is the nature of crime? What makes a criminal? Are there circumstances in which crime is justified? How do socioeconomic conditions affect the consequences? How fair and impartial is our justice system? Perhaps most importantly, how do depictions of crime and justice in popular media influence our answers to these questions? This class will utilize a variety of films to discuss the ways in which popular media portrays the sources of crime, the nature of criminals, the court and prison systems, and particular kinds of criminal acts. Films to be screened may include such titles as The Ox-Bow Incident, Out of the Past, 12 Angry Men, Young Mr. Lincoln, Brute Force, The Equalizer, Jack Reacher and Minority Report. By thoroughly discussing these films and related readings we will be able to trace the various changes in attitude towards crime and justice in America over the last century.
- 79-309 The Chinese Revolution Through Film (1949-2000)
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is about both film and history. It is not a detailed history of film, but rather introduces some key issues of modern Chinese history and examines how that history is treated in film. Most of the films are made in China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong) but some are produced in the west. Topics that may be explored include the rise of the Communist Party, life in Maoist China, the Cultural Revolution, the Cold War/anti-imperialism, depictions of China's minority peoples, and the Reform-era under Mao's successors. Along with feature movies, we may view documentaries, propaganda films, TV shows and even music videos. In addition to providing a general history of the period, accompanying readings and assignments explore the social context and methodology of the films while developing critical skills in writing, analysis, and historical imagination.
- 79-312 War and Peace: A History of Peace Movements
- Intermittent: 9 units
We generally assume war is a constant in our history and in the modern world. However, in every era there have been voices attempting to understand, explain and ultimately prevent it. In the modern world there has been a great deal of debate about the relationship of violence, capitalism, colonialism, empire, and racism to war. We will examine some of these debates among peace activists. Advocates for peace have attempted to build movements addressing the factors leading to war. What kinds of efforts have been made for a more peaceful world and how have they fared? We will examine how world leaders, business people, civil rights, and other peace activists have thought about war and peace. We will examine case studies of select wars and select peace movements.
- 79-313 "Unwanted": Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Patterns of Global Migration
- Intermittent: 6 units
What is home? What does it mean to belong? What does it mean to be mobile? Is mobility a privilege or a curse? How do experiences of migration, exile, and displacement shift one's understanding of home? This course examines the modern patterns of mobility and displacement, with a focus on the US and Europe at particular moments during the 19th,the 20th, and 21st centuries. We will focus on several case studies to illustrate broader concepts: the connection between the formation of nation-states and the rise of exclusionary citizenship; the emergence of 20th-century modern legal concepts such as "refugee" and "asylum"; the influence of the Cold War on the immigration policies in the US; and the criminalization of border-crossing.
- 79-314 How Do We Remember? The Politics and Cultures of Memory
- Intermittent: 9 units
What is the relationship between an individual person and collective memories? How do societies "remember"? This course proposes an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between memory and history. It explores various ways in which societies have mobilized their remembrances of the past for political and economic ends in the present; how and whose memory began to matter in a global 20th century; and how individual testimonies have highlighted the role of body, experience, trauma, and nostalgia for writing new, more inclusive and heterogenous histories. In the first part of the course, we will read excerpts from works by historians, sociologists, and anthropologists about cultural and collective memory. In the second part of the course, we will analyze how the politics of memory intermesh at a local and global scale, via a set of case studies that focus on: the memory of the Shoah (the Holocaust) in post-1945 Western and Central Europe; political violence, civil war, and reconciliation in post-1990 Guatemala; and the role of remembrance and testimony for claims of moral retribution in the aftermaths of colonialism (the Mau Mau revolt in colonial Kenya and the long-term efforts of the British government to conceal their violent repression of the anticolonial struggles). This class will follow the format of a seminar. The professor will give short lectures each week in order to introduce the readings and place them within larger debates, but the course will mainly be discussion-oriented. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Contextual Thinking" general education requirement.
- 79-315 The Politics of Water in Global Perspective
- Intermittent: 9 units
Water is necessary for all forms of life on Earth. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to social and political aspects of water, using in-depth case studies that draw on a variety of perspectives. Examples of regional water projects we'll study include traditional tank irrigation in South India; international negotiations along the Nile River; and the U.S. Government in negotiation with native activists and fisheries on the Columbia River. In addition to regional variety, readings will explore a variety of themes, for example, water and gender; water and armed conflict; and water and private companies versus public management. By the end of this course, students should be able to articulate their own answers to these questions: How have global organizations and participants characterized, enacted, and addressed problems of water supply and delivery for those who need it most? How do particular regions reflect global trends in water resource development, and how might these diverge from global trends? How have social and environmental studies in the literature of development come to understand the problem of water? One set of readings is assigned each week. Students should be prepared to discuss each week's readings in a thoughtful way during class meeting time.
- 79-316 Photography, the First 100 Years, 1839-1939
- Intermittent: 9 units
Photography was announced to the world almost simultaneously in 1839, first in France and then a few months later in England. Accurate "likenesses" of people were available to the masses, and soon reproducible images of faraway places were intriguing to all. This course will explore the earliest image-makers Daguerre and Fox Talbot, the Civil War photographs organized by Mathew Brady, the introduction in 1888 of the Kodak by George Eastman, the critically important social documentary photography of Jacob Riis and his successor, Lewis Hine, the Photo-Secession of Alfred Stieglitz, the Harlem Renaissance of James VanDerZee, the precisionist f64 photographers Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and Edward Weston, and other important photographers who came before World War II. The class will be introduced to 19th century processes, such as the daguerreotype, tintype, and ambrotype, as well as albumen prints, cyanotypes, and more.
- 79-317 Art, Anthropology, and Empire
- Intermittent: 9 units
This seminar will explore the anthropology and history of aesthetic objects, as they travel from people and places sometimes labeled "primitive" or "exotic" to others, whose inhabitants deem themselves "civilized," "modern," or Western. First, we will consider twentieth-century anthropological attempts to develop ways of appreciating and understanding objects from other cultures and in the process to reconsider the meaning of such terms as "art" and "aesthetics." Then we will discuss several topics in the history of empire and exoticism. Finally, we will consider attempts by formerly colonized populations to reclaim objects from museums, and to organize new museums, aesthetic styles, and forms of artistic production that challenge imperialism's persistent legacies.
- 79-318 Sustainable Social Change: History and Practice
- Intermittent: 9 units
If you wanted to change the world, who would you ask for guidance? Mahatma Gandhi? Rachel Carson? Nelson Mandela? In this interdisciplinary course, we will examine the history of efforts to create sustainable social change. Through a series of targeted case studies, we will examine the successes and failures of notable leaders, past and present, who strove to address social problems nonviolently and to create lasting improvements in fields such as education, healthcare, and human rights. In keeping with the example of the people we will be studying, we will bring our questions and our findings out of the classroom through a variety of creative, student-driven experiments in sustainable social change.
- 79-319 India Through Film
- Intermittent: 6 units
Bollywood films attract hundreds of millions of viewers, not just in India but throughout the world. The name "Bollywood" makes it seem that the Indian film industry is a junior partner, merely an echo of Hollywood. But more films are made in Mumbai every year than in Los Angeles. And Mumbai is only one of many film hubs in India. The rich diversity of Indian cinema speaks to the equally rich history of India itself. This course uses Indian movies to examine several key themes in India's history. We will focus on the twentieth century and on questions of democracy, diversity, and development. This course includes a mandatory film screening on Wednesday evenings beginning at 6:30pm.
- 79-320 Women, Politics, and Protest
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines the history of women's rights agitation in the United States from the early nineteenth-century to the present. It investigates both well-known struggles for women's equality and #8212;including the battles for women's voting rights, an Equal Rights Amendment, and access to birth control and #8212;and also explores the history of lesser-known struggles for economic and racial justice. Because women often differed about what the most important issues facing their sex were, this course explores not only the issues that have united women, but also those that have divided them, keeping intersectionality and women's diversity at the center of the course. This course is open to all students.
- 79-321 Documenting Human Rights
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will teach students about the origins of modern human rights and the evolution of methods to document the extent to which these rights are being upheld or violated. The need to understand and document human rights issues is at the center of the most pressing current events. From threats to democracy and civil rights to work holding perpetrators of mass harm accountable in legal proceedings to efforts to quantify and advance economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights, making human rights violations visible is fundamental to achieving a more just world. We will begin with an overview of the history of human rights, the main philosophical and political debates in the field, and the most relevant organizations, institutions, and agreements. We will then delve into specific cases that highlight methodological opportunities and challenges, including: the identification of mass atrocity victims, the disappeared, and missing migrants; efforts to estimate civilian casualties in war; the documentation of police brutality and other human rights violations with smartphones; as well as the use of satellite imagery and drone footage for the documentation of genocide, environmental rights, and war crimes. We will critically assess the technical challenges that arise in each context and how the human rights and scientific communities have responded. After reviewing these cases, we will conclude by reflection on why the documentation of human rights actually matters and what happens to evidence once it is gathered. Students will then take what they've learned and do two multidisciplinary group projects, one involving the document of a rights violation in Western Pennsylvania and the other involving an international situation. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Perspectives on Justice and Injustice" general education requirement.
- 79-322 Stalin and the Great Terror
- Intermittent: 9 units
Joseph Stalin has been vilified and praised, damned and worshipped. He left behind a mixed and complex legacy. He created an industrialized modern economy in the Soviet Union and won a great and painful victory over the Nazis. At the same time, he built a police state, sent millions to labor camps, and destroyed the possibilities for socialist democracy. When he died, thousands of Soviet citizens wept at his funeral and the prisoners in the camps toasted his death. This course will examine Stalin, the man, and Stalinism, the phenomenon. Using history and film, we will explore one of the most complicated and influential dictatorships of the 20th century.
- 79-323 Making Modern Cities
- Intermittent: 9 units
Cities have been a feature in the landscapes of human settlement for nearly 6000 years. This course will examine the origins and evolution of cities by examining the role of urban areas in the economic, cultural, political, and environmental history of the world. The main line of inquiry for this course emphasizes the culture of cities and the processes of urbanization that give rise to them. Students will explore why and how cities form, the functions they serve, the ways of life they support, and the problems and opportunities to which they give rise. Cities are socially and politically contested spaces, and observers of urban life have long-sought to understand the process of urbanization and the consequences of living in cities. Some argue that cities represent the crowning achievement of modernity; others suggest that cities are isolating and alienating, fostering discord, rather than social cohesion. The course integrates work by historians, urban planners, architects, political scientists, geographers, and sociologists to provide a comprehensive set of tools to understand and analyze modern urban life.
- 79-324 #MeToo: Naming and Resisting Gender Violence
- Intermittent: 6 units
#metoo represents a sea change in society's response to gender-based violence. This course addresses gender-based violence as a public health and amp; human rights issue, focusing on the U.S. and asking where we are, and how we got here. It will delineate the legal and social definitions of gender violence, explore how those definitions function both positively and negatively, and examine the long history of protest that has culminated in this moment. Come join the conversation! This course is open to all students.
- 79-325 U.S. Gay and Lesbian History
- Intermittent: 6 units
US Gay and Lesbian History offers an overview of the changing context and circumstances of sexual minorities in American culture. From early constructions of moral opprobrium, criminal deviance or medical pathology, the LGBT community emerged in the twentieth and twenty-first century as a political constituency and a vital part of contemporary society. Students should be aware that this course will necessarily address issues of intimate relations and sexuality as well as broader historical issues.
- 79-326 Shall We Dance? Culture, Politics, and Movement in the 20th Century
- Intermittent: 6 units
Waltzes and flash mobs, hula and swing, disco and breakdance: this course will examine the history and practice of these and other popular dance movements across the course of the twentieth century. In doing so, we will pay particular attention to the ways in which dance both shaped and reflected major moments of political, cultural, and social change. Dancing bodies were used to justify imperial ambitions, explore new kinds of gender relations, and both uphold and upend racial hierarchies, making dancers key - if underappreciated - participants in the century's tumultuous history. The course will include a mix of lecture and discussion, drawing on scholarly analyses, archival sources, films, literature, images, and live performances. Students will also be asked to explore at least one new dance form for themselves and reflect on the experience.
- 79-328 Photographers and Photography Since World War II
- Intermittent: 9 units
Invented in 1839, photography was a form of visual expression that immediately attracted a large public following. Starting around 1900, photography was practiced with two dominant strands. One of these firmly believed in the power of photographs to provide a window on the world, and was led by Lewis Hine, whose documentary photographs for the National Child Labor Committee helped to ameliorate living and working conditions for thousands of immigrant children. The other strand adhered to the philosophy of Alfred Stieglitz who adamantly affirmed that photographs were first and foremost reflections of the soul and were art objects, equal to painting, drawing and sculpture. These two schools of thought guided photographers throughout the twentieth century. This course explores in depth the tremendous range of photographic expression since World War II and examines in particular the contributions of significant image-makers such as Helen Levitt, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, Charles "Teenie" Harris, Cindy Sherman, Carrie Mae Weems, Nan Goldin, James Nachtwey, and many others. Classes include a slide lecture, student presentation, and video segments that introduce a focused selection of images by major photographers in an attempt to understand their intentions, styles, and influences. As available, students will be expected to make one or more visits to photography exhibitions on view in Pittsburgh (locations to be announced at the first class.)
- 79-329 LGBTQ+ History
- Intermittent: 9 units
This class introduces and discusses LGBTQ history over time, drawing cases and readings from a number of cultures and timeframes. It introduces students to the concept of sexuality as an area of historical inquiry as well as introducing students to the methods and the questions that have engaged historians in this area. This introductory course is designed for all interested students and non-majors alike, as well as those contemplating a Gender Studies minor.
- 79-330 Medicine and Society: Health, Healers, and Hospitals
- Intermittent: 9 units
How have notions of health and healing changed over time in the United States? Why are doctors seen as professional "heroes"? Why are hospitals so central to patient care and professional training? How has American healthcare developed into its present form? This course explores the history of American medicine and its relationship to American society. By exploring major developments in the history of American medicine and public health, students will examine the voices of historical actors, including physicians, patients, activists, policymakers, and researchers. In analyzing these voices, students will learn what was at stake as Americans confronted diseases and struggled to explain and cure them. Students will also examine medical research, education, disease patterns, patient experiences, and technologies from the colonial period to the present day. Readings include a range of primary accounts and secondary sources of medicine and health in America.
- 79-331 Body Politics: Women and Health in America
- Intermittent: 9 units
[Note: Students who have taken 66-121, First Year Seminar: Body Politics: Women and Health in America, may not enroll.] This course takes a topical, intersectional approach to the history of U.S. women's health in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is less about governmental politics, although we do some of that. Rather, it sees bodies as cultural texts through which power is built and contested. The course covers topics such as the history of anatomy, menstruation, reproductive rights, body image, mental health, sexuality, violence, childbirth, and menopause. We explore how science and American culture both have constructed these issues over time (some of it is super whacky!), while also examining women's organizing around them. This course is open to all students and majors alike, and it also satisfies one of the core requirements for the Gender Studies minor.
- 79-333 African Americans, Race, and the Fight for Reparations
- Intermittent: 9 units
By the onset of the 21st century, African American history and interdisciplinary programs in Black studies had emerged at the center of our reinterpretation of the American experience. And with this new understanding of the nation's history there has been a growing interest in the relationship of history to public policy, race, human injustice, and resulting redress movements in comparative and historical perspective. Accordingly, this course will not only explore the case for reparations by analyzing the inequities of enslavement, Jim Crow, and post-industrial capitalism. It will examine the ongoing fight for reparations among people of African descent from the early postbellum years after the Civil War through the Black Lives Matter Movement in recent times. In addition to examining the experiences of Blacks in the United States, however, this course will consider other experiences around the globe: Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and Japanese Americans within the United States; the Holocaust in Germany; Japan's so-called "comfort women" system of sexual exploitation; and South Africa's movement toward reconciliation and reparations since the fall of apartheid.
- 79-337 Educational Policy and "School Choice": Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
- Intermittent: 6 units
Fierce battles have been fought over education policy throughout American history. Parents, teachers, students, and everyday Americans have sought to position schools to meet often conflicting goals. This course introduces students to historical and contemporary perspectives on the rise of charter schools and school privatization, debates over religion in the classroom, legal questions surrounding segregation and forced bussing, as well as fundamental political shifts in who controls and funds public schools.
- 79-338 History of Education in America
- Intermittent: 9 units
Americans have long understood schools both as mechanisms for inculcating communal values and as instruments for social reform. Schools have been alternatively described as pillars of democratic society and as authoritarian institutions for managing deviance. Institutions of education - whether schools, colleges, or universities - figure prominently in discussions of inequality and discrimination, opportunity and meritocracy. This course provides an introductory historical survey of American educational ideas and institutions. From debates in the 17th and 18th centuries over the proper balance of religious and secular education to fierce battles today over the role of the federal government, citizens have been politically mobilized through their concerns about education. By understanding the complicated history of American educational ideas and institutions, this course prepares students to engage critically with ongoing debates about the curriculum, vouchers, charter schools, and national standards.
- 79-339 History of Juvenile Delinquency & Juvenile Justice
- Intermittent: 9 units
Course description to be added soon.
- 79-340 Juvenile Delinquency & Film: From "Boyz N the Hood"(1991) to "The Wire"(2002-08)
- Intermittent: 6 units
How have American films portrayed juvenile crime, drug use, gang violence, and law enforcement responses (especially police and prisons) to juvenile crime and violence? How have American films portrayed individual juvenile delinquents, their families, and the communities in which they live? Do films vividly capture or distort the "realities" of juvenile crime and the operations of law enforcement? This course uses feature films from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, as well as social science and historical readings, to explore these issues. The course is run as a colloquium, with students playing central leadership roles in launching and guiding class discussions.
- 79-342 Age of Crusading, 1000-1800
- Intermittent: 9 units
What does it mean to become a crusader and #8212;or be crusaded? How did a pope's sermon galvanize over 100,000 people to leave their homes and undertake a perilous journey across Europe to a place many had never seen? Why did one military campaign in 1096 initiate a seismic shift in the articulation (and acceptance) of Christian holy war? What started as a series of expeditions to Jerusalem and #8212;which we now call the "crusades and #8212;later extended to the cities of Constantinople and Cairo, to the regions of Southern France and Italy, and even to the Baltic Sea and the Americas. In this course, we will trace crusading ideology and knighthood from their roots to their fullest expressions throughout the Middle Ages and into modernity. These individuals who "took up the cross" and #8212;or encouraged others to do likewise and #8212;radically shaped the ideas of identity and piety in Latin Christendom. Perceiving themselves as God's agents in an apocalyptic age, crusaders came to fight Muslims, Jews, pagans, heretics, and even their fellow Christians. They also served as heroic inspiration in bardic song and courtly literature across Spain, France, and England. As scholars we will explore the perspectives of the invaders and those who were invaded, thereby (re)imagining how people responded to the crusaders' presence and their accompanying violence. Our sources will include prophecies, sermons, scripture, poetry, art and archeological remains, and film. Together, we will approach this challenging topic critically, yet respectfully, while completing short analytical papers and a set of reflective quizzes. This course is open to all students, requires no prerequisites, and may be used to fulfill the Religious Studies minor.
- 79-343 Education, Democracy, and Civil Rights
- Intermittent: 9 units
What is the relationship between education and democracy? By examining a series of case studies at the intersection of education and the civil rights movement, this course will prepare students to approach contemporary educational debates as historically-informed critical thinkers. The controversy surrounding charter schools, vouchers, the common core, and the role of standardized testing cannot be understood outside the long history of debates regarding the relationship between education and democracy. Are schools meant to perpetuate the status quo? How did both traditional and more radical forms of education advance the struggle for civil rights? What role have students played in advancing civil rights and democracy? While exploring these questions, we will also partner with local high school students and teachers to bring our learning beyond the classroom.
- 79-345 Roots of Rock & Roll
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is about open source, collaborative innovation and the impact of social and technological change on American music. We will spend the first half on early "remix" music (slave songs, Anglo-Appalachian ballads, ragtime, and Depression era blues and country). After studying Bessie Smith, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Hank Williams, and other early artists, we'll spend the second half on revolutionaries like Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. The format is informal lecture and discussion. Assignments include reading two books plus some articles, listening to short Spotify playlists, and writing three short essays. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "The Arts" general education requirement.
- 79-346 U.S. Political Films and Satire
- Intermittent: 9 units
A longtime course taught in election years, this version focuses on Hollywood satires of the presidency. Satire means critique as much as humor, often more funny-strange than funny ha-ha. We will watch films attentively (no devices allowed during screenings) and communally, hence the class meets Tuesday evenings. We will study each film for two weeks; one session discussing readings/learning the history of the time it was made, then watching/discussing the whole film the following week. Attendance will be required and essential. Students will learn how (and why) to take notes during screenings, sometimes working together in class to shape their notes and discussions into individual papers. Screenings include 1930s classics "Gabriel Over the White House" and the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup," Cold War thrillers "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Seven Days in May," and the dark comedies "Dr. Strangelove" and "Being There." One final film will be chosen by the students. Readings include short books and PDF articles. Grading emphasizes attendance and attentive participation, notetaking, and short essays. No prior knowledge of history or film is needed, and there are no prerequisites.
- 79-350 Early Christianity
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines the origins of Christianity in historical perspective. Using both Christian and non-Christian sources from the period, we will examine how and why Christianity assumed the form that it did by analyzing its background in the Jewish community of Palestine, its place in the classical world, and its relationship to other religious and philosophical traditions of the time. We will also examine historically how the earliest Christians understood the life and message of Jesus, the debates about belief and practice that arose among them, and the factors influencing the extraordinary spread of the movement in its earliest centuries. This course satisfies one of the elective requirements for the Religious Studies minor.
- 79-352 Christianity Divided: The Protestant and Catholic Reformations, 1450-1650
- Intermittent: 9 units
At the dawn of the sixteenth century, most western Europeans shared a common religious identity as members of the Roman Catholic Church. Within less than two decades, this consensus began to crumble, and the very fabric of western culture was irrevocably altered. By 1550, Europe was splintered into various conflicting churches, confessions, sects, and factions, each with its own set of truths and its own plan for reforming the church and society at large. This period of rapid and unprecedented change in western history is commonly known as the Reformation. Though this term has traditionally referred to the birth of Protestantism, it also encompasses the simultaneous renewal and reform that occurred within Roman Catholicism. This course will survey the Reformations of the sixteenth century, both Protestant and Catholic, examining the causes of the Reformation, the dynamics of reform, and its significance for western society and culture. In the process, we will analyze such on-going problems as religious persecution and the accommodation of dissent, the relationship between religion and politics, and the interactions between ideology and political, social, and economic factors in the process of historical change.
- 79-353 Lock 'em up! Imprisoning Delinquent Youth, 1820s to the Present
- Intermittent: 6 units
[Note: students who have already taken this course under its former number 79-353 and former title, Imprisoning Kids: Legal, Historical, and Moral Perspectives, may not enroll.]Can young lawbreakers be rehabilitated, or should they be removed from society to prevent them endangering others? Since the 1820s, reformers, philanthropists, and state officials in the Western world have wrestled with the question of how to reduce juvenile crime and turn delinquents into good citizens. The institutions and policies they created reflected their conceptions of young criminals, their backgrounds and families, their gender and their race. How did experts develop a body of knowledge about at-risk youth, what practices did they put into place, and what spaces did they build to house and contain the children? How have the children themselves responded, developing a sense of their own identity through compliance with or resistance to reformers' intent? In this course, we will explore ideas, practices, and institutions created to save juvenile delinquents, presented in reports and studies as well as fiction and film. Students will read and view a variety of primary and secondary sources from North America and Europe from the early nineteenth to the late twentieth centuries. Assessment will include participation in class discussion, short written assignments, and a final project.
- 79-355 Fake News: "Truth" in the History of American Journalism
- Intermittent: 6 units
Scandal, conspiracy, and partisan propaganda have been among the stuff of media ever since newspapers first appeared in America, and now they figure prominently in electronic media as well. The question "What is truth" is not just a matter of philosophical speculation, but a critical issue in contemporary life, from elections to pandemics to climate change and war. Officials at the highest levels make dubious claims, and find media outlets to support them - all driven by motivations other than a commitment to truth. This course is literally "ripped from the headlines" examining conflicts over credibility in print and online in the context of historical experience. We'll explore ways of determining when news really is "fake" and when it's more likely to be "an inconvenient truth."
- 79-357 Science and the Body
- Intermittent: 6 units
The human body has been always an object of fascination. Across time and space, people have wondered what lurks beneath the skin, why we get sick or remain well, and how to explain human variation. The methods used to investigate these questions have, however, varied widely. In this course, we will explore that diversity - from the dissection of medieval corpses to 19th century phrenology to contemporary biohacking - examining how different communities have sought to study, control, and change their bodies over the past several hundred years. In doing so, we will focus on how these scientific efforts were shaped by the political, cultural, and economic values of their times. We will also pay attention to the profound and often ongoing effects of these experiments, particularly on the people who served - both willingly and unwillingly - as their "human subjects."
- 79-359 Truth, Lies, and Propaganda: A Historical Inquiry
- Intermittent: 9 units
For many commentators, the election of Donald Trump in November 2016 marks the beginning of the "post-truth" era, in which reality is no longer knowable, or even relevant. While this narrative certainly captures the unease that many Americans feel, it is historically inaccurate. There never was a time in the past when we could readily discern truth from falsehood without difficulty. The goal of this course is to examine the social history of truth. We will explore the concept of truth in philosophy and science; the evolution of methods for discovering facts about the world; the centrality of trust in knowledge production; and the innumerable ways that facts have been questioned, manipulated, discredited, purposefully ignored, and fabricated over the past several centuries. The course will include case studies from science, law, politics, war, art, journalism, and history.
- 79-360 Crime, Policing, and the Law: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
- Intermittent: 9 units
This seminar will critically explore the development of the American criminal legal system from the colonial era to the present. Students will learn how the present system took shape and what they can do to make it fairer and more effective in the future. Students will analyze the role of race, class, and gender in policy decisions that have created the American criminal legal system; how these factors play into the differential enforcement of laws in various communities; and how they affect outcomes in the legal system. Students will understand the history of social movements that have emerged to advocate for changes in our criminal legal system, including an analysis of when they have been successful and when they have not. Topics covered will include slave patrols, the 19th century origins of modern policing and incarceration, the factors leading to the emergence of urban police departments, changing understandings of crime and criminals, surveillance, the wars on crime and drugs (and their racial implications), mass incarceration, deaths in custody, police corruption, police oversight, and the portrayal of law in popular culture. The course is discussion-based and includes many opportunities to engage directly with people whose lives have been impacted by crime and the criminal legal system.
- 79-363 The Rise of American Modern Golf, 1895 to the Present
- Intermittent: 9 units
Aristocratic pastime or the people's game? Gender inclusive or overwhelmingly male? Race inclusive or overwhelmingly white? This course will examine the emergence of golf as both an amateur game and professional sport during the past century-plus. We will focus primarily on the 20th century U.S. but pay some attention to the game's earlier growth in the United Kingdom and its spread, in more recent years, throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, and even Africa. Students will read and discuss historical, sociological, and literary texts, view documentary and feature films, and even get a taste of how to do research on golf using primary historical documents and #8212;spanning the eras from (1910s to1950s) Bobby Jones and Glenna Collett Vare to Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Mickey Wright, and Patty Berg; and from (1960s to present) Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino to Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie, and Lydia Ko. And Tiger Woods, too. The course will have a mid-term essay exam, a final essay exam, a mini-research assignment, and periodic oral presentations by students linked to shared readings and their individual research topics. I will lecture only occasionally; most classes will be centered on group discussion (often student-led) of assigned readings, films, and primary historical documents.
- 79-366 Power & Politics: A Global History of Food
- Intermittent: 9 units
The course will investigate the history of food from prehistory to the present day, and will consider examples from every corner of the world. We will begin with the science of food and taste, consider origins of agriculture and industry, and the implications of society and culture.
- 79-367 Disastrous Encounters
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is ONLY offered at Carnegie Mellon in Qatar. Disastrous Encounters explores the complex interaction between human beings and their environment by examining incidents in which those disasters have proven destructive or fatal to humankind. By the end of the class students will be able to: Explain the scientific principles behind "natural" disasters, including cyclonic weather, global climate change, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, river flooding, famines, and diseases. Analyze to what extent a given disaster is in fact "natural" at all, but rather was either caused by or exacerbated by human actions. Draw connections between different types of disasters, recognizing that major disasters often produce predictable secondary disaster effects. Read documents critically, especially in terms of the author's agenda and the author's likely biases. Write strong analytical essays.
- 79-368 Un-natural Disasters: Societies and Environmental Hazards in Global Perspective
- Intermittent: 6 units
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Neil Smith famously observed that "there is no such thing as a natural disaster." This course takes a cue from Smith by examining the social production of disasters in the past and present, from acute environmental events like typhoons and earthquakes to disasters of "slow violence" like chronic exposure to toxic pollution and food insecurity. Examining case studies from around the world, we will explore how these different forms of disaster collide with inequalities of race, class, and gender - and in the process challenge us to rethink the relationship between nature and society.
- 79-370 Technology in the United States
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines the ways in which technology and society have shaped each other in the United States from the colonial era to the present. Topics include Native Americans and technologies, farming, industrialization, transportation, automobiles, aerospace, information technology, drugs, and biotechnology. Students will read a textbook, write brief essays about technologies of their choice, and discuss their essays and the text in class. The course welcomes students from any major.
- 79-371 African American Urban History
- Intermittent: 9 units
As the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic gradually lifts, the plight of poor and working-class people of African descent will continue to occupy a prominent place in discussions of today's urban community. Effective contemporary public policies, movement strategies, educational programs, media campaigns, and sensitive philanthropic decisions will require deeper and more thoughtful perspectives on the history of urban race and class relations in the past. Focusing on the development of African American urban history from its colonial beginnings through today's "Black Lives Matter Movement," this course will emphasize the many ways that African Americans shaped American urban life through their roles as workers, community-builders, and social justice activists. In addition to weekly classroom discussions of assigned readings, students will write a series of short essays (based upon a mix of secondary and primary sources) on selected topics/themes in the development of African American urban life, culture, and politics. This course satisfies one of the elective requirements for the African and African American Studies minor.
- 79-372 The Rise and Fall of Pittsburgh Steel
- Intermittent: 6 units
For over 150 years, the Pittsburgh region was world-renowned for the scale and intensity of its iron and steel manufacturing complex. This mini course will trace the origins, explosive growth, stagnation and ultimate collapse of this remarkable industrial complex. Students will gain an understanding of Pittsburgh's rich industrial history - what makes it "The Steel City," understand the emergence and evolution of iron and steel making technology, appreciate the impact of Pittsburgh's iron and steel industrialization on living and working conditions for workers, and analyze the factors that drove the emergence of Pittsburgh steel then to its decline and collapse. The course is structured loosely around a set of periods in Pittsburgh's history through which key themes are drawn.
- 79-373 Culture and Revolution: The Socialist Experiment in Soviet Russia
- Intermittent: 6 units
In 1917, revolutionaries took power in Russia to create the world's first socialist society. In a series of radical and unprecedented experiments, they attempted to remake every phase of social and cultural life, from sexual relations to art to education. How could life be lived in a new way and better way? What values should replace the old traditions based on patriarchy and class hierarchy? How could ordinary people be empowered to create a new culture? In this course, we will study the 1920s, a riotous decade of experimentation in cultural, social, and political life.
- 79-375 Science & Religion
- Intermittent: 6 units
A widely held notion is that science and religion are perennially at "war" with one another. Debates over evolution, and more recently climate change, are cited as examples, while predictions that science will eventually make religion obsolete are at least as old as the Enlightenment. Nevertheless, both science and religion continue to thrive in the 21st century, which raises the question of whether these two ways of seeing the world might, for some people at least, be more complementary than conflictual. We'll explore the history of the relationship between science and religion and the different "ways of knowing" employed by each. Some common assumptions will be critically examined as we consider questions of fact and value, and the competency of science and religion to address the major challenges of our day.
- 79-377 Food, Culture, and Power: A History of Eating
- Intermittent: 9 units
How can human societies ensure that 8 billion people have enough good food to eat without exploiting people or the planet? This course will start with the assumption that the answer to that question requires not only technological innovations, but also an understanding of the cultural and political dimensions of food. For the first half of the course, we will explore the history of human eating, starting in deep time and then moving toward the present, considering along the way the historical evolution of food production and consumption, paying attention to both cultural diversity and cultural exchanges of foods and cuisine. Students will pursue individual research projects focused on a topic of their choose related to major course themes during the second half of the semester. Evaluation based on in-class participation, analytical reflections on weekly readings, and the research paper.
- 79-378 Gender in South Asia
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course introduces students to women's position and gender relations in South Asia from a historical perspective. Using gender as a lens of examining the past, we will examine how politics of race, class, caste and religion affected and continue to impact women in South Asian countries, primarily in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Attention is drawn to the processes by which gender is socially constructed, the prevalent forms of gender disparity and discrimination, as well as the factors of change to which these are subject. These themes are situated in the broader context of the region's history, society, and culture. We will reflect upon current debates within South Asian women's history in order to examine some of the issues and problems that arise in re-writing the past from a gendered perspective. The chronological focus of this course is on the condition of women in the subcontinent from the ancient times till the present day. Students are encouraged to make comparisons between women's position and gender relations in South Asia with the corresponding situations in their societies. Analysis and appreciation of the cross-cultural aspects of women's position and gender disparity constitute integral elements of the envisaged learning outcomes of this course. It would be of general interest to all students concerned about women's position and gender issues, as well those interested in South Asia. To help us evaluate the different historical and temporal experiences of South Asian women, this course will extensively use primary documents, secondary readings, films, and contemporary newspaper and Internet articles. Students will be required to actively engage and participate in class discussions and group debates, which will form a substantial part of individual evaluations. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Perspectives on Justice and Injustice" general education requirement.
- 79-379 Extreme Ethnography
- Intermittent: 9 units
Observation, participation and direct experience of "the field" are hallmarks of anthropological ways of knowing, and their representation has played a foundational role in ethnographic writing both past and present. Yet reflexive and postmodernist explorations of these topics have triggered contentious debates over the nature of anthropology as a scientific or humanistic enterprise, and over its ethical, political and epistemological value. In this seminar, we will approach such questions through an exploration of the extremes of ethnographic fieldwork and writing. We will consider such topics as: the colonial history and politics of explorers and ethnographers; liminality and the place of extreme experience and #8212;such as cultural dislocation, violence, derangement, intoxication, sex, possession, and dreaming-in fieldwork and writing; field-notes as an ethnographic genre, and their relationship to "official" published ethnography; ethnographic surrealism and surrealist ethnography; the dimensions of sensory experience (visual, auditory, olfactory, etc.) in fieldwork and ethnography; collecting and the powers of "exotic" objects; inter-subjectivity and its implications; and experimentation with alternate ethnographic forms, such as autobiography, film, diary, and poetry.
- 79-380 Hostile Environments: The Politics of Pollution in Global Perspective
- Intermittent: 9 units
Earth is an increasingly toxic planet. Fossil-fueled industrialization, chemical engineering, and resource-intensive consumerism have generated immense wealth, but they have also left long-term, cumulative legacies of toxic pollution and ecological harm. While these legacies affect everyone, their impacts are by no means evenly distributed. In this course, we will use the tools of anthropology, political ecology, and history to examine experiences of toxic exposure in different parts of the world, including Pittsburgh. Our analyses will ask how inequalities of race, class, gender, and ability shape exposure as well as how cultural differences create divergent understandings of ecology, health, and their interrelationship. We will consider, moreover, how these disparities shape what people know about pollution and whether/how they demand accountability for it. Cases we explore will range from acute industrial disasters (and their aftermath) to the harms experienced by other-than-human beings to the gradual, often invisible exposures that affect all of us to varying degrees.
- 79-383 The History of Capitalism
- Intermittent: 9 units
What is capitalism? How does it differ from systems that preceded it, and how did it come to revolutionize the globe? This course will cover the global development of capitalism from the 16th century to the present. We will examine the theories of Karl Marx and Adam Smith, who both attempted to theorize the new system of labor organization. We will look at how the transition from feudalism to capitalism took place, including the role of new world slavery, commodity production, dispossession of the peasantry, and changes in the household and gender relations. We will examine "globalization," the latest dynamic phase of capitalism and its impact on people. Finally, we will discuss the advent of robotization, the loss of industrial jobs, and the potential impact of casual labor, low wages, and unemployment on democracy and the rise of a technocratic elite.
- 79-385 Out of Africa: The Making of the African Diaspora
- Intermittent: 9 units
The trans-Atlantic slave trade dispersed Africans in the New World and the Old, creating the African Diaspora. Generations of scholars have disputed whether descendants of enslaved Africans could have retained any of their African culture and/ or fully assimilated into New World societies. This course will combine a chronological, geographical, and a thematic approach to the creation of new Africa-inspired cultures in both Africa and the African Diaspora. It will explore societies in the Caribbean, the US South, Latin America, and Africa and address themes, such as Africanisms, African survivals, African retentions, Creole languages, and religion.
- 79-387 General Francisco Franco: Fascism and its Legacies in Spain
- Intermittent: 6 units
Francisco Franco was Europe's longest-ruling dictator. He ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975. This course will examine the social and cultural context of the rise of Fascism in Spain. We will focus especially on the colonial legacy of Spanish fascism, the violent overthrow of the democratic II Spanish Republic and Franco's seizure of power during the bloody Spanish Civil War. We will have the opportunity to learn about the international volunteers, including from the United States, who joined the fight against fascism and how the Spanish Civil War was decisive in shaping WWII. We will also discuss the decades of Franco's lengthy dictatorship, the social and cultural politics in transitioning Spain to democracy after his death and the legacy of Spanish Fascism in contemporary Spain. In addition to class lectures, students will become familiar with these themes through the reading and analysis of historical texts and memoirs, participation in a workshop with the director of the Abraham Lincoln Brigades Archives, the viewing of documentary film, and by engaging with the current volatile debates in Spain about the historical memory of fascism.
- 79-388 Sports in American Culture
- Intermittent: 9 units
[Note: students who have taken course number 79-388, with former titles, Race, Gender, and the Politics of Sports in America since 1900 or 79-388, History of Sports in the United States, may not enroll.] In this course, we will survey the history of sport in the United States from the late nineteenth-century into the twenty-first century. While we will discuss star athletes, famous games, and popular teams, we will focus more so on evaluating the significance of sport in American history. Specifically, we will analyze sports through four themes: westernization/globalization; the emergence and development of Capitalism; industrialization and technological change; and democratization. By doing so, we will examine the changing power relationship between the athletes, owners, and consumers (fans). We will pay particular attention to athletes' changing role in American society and the public's growing expectation that these men and women speak or act on social and political issues. By semester's end, students will look beyond box scores and critically assess how sports has reflected larger trends in our society as well as its continued influence on American life.
- 79-391 Nations and Nationalisms in South Asia
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course examines the role which nationalism has played in the formation and political development of the nations and states of South Asia. It, therefore, examines nationalist forces in anti-colonial struggles, in post-colonial state formation and in contemporary political developments. It will be of relevance to students with an interest in political developments in Asia, with particular reference to forms of nationalism and nation-building.
- 79-392 Europe and the Islamic World
- Intermittent: 9 units
Europe and the Islamic World explores the complex relationship between (Christian) Europe and Islamic civilization, from the conquest of the Byzantine Levant to modern-day Islamic immigration into Europe. The course will focus on a few landmark events in European/Islamic relations, such as the crusades, as well as various intellectual models describing European/Islamic relations over time. The course will also focus on developing research, writing, and documentary analysis skills relevant to the study of history.
- 79-393 Institutions of the Roman Church
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is only offered at Carnegie Mellon's campus in Qatar. This course will explore the history of the Catholic Church, with a particular focus on the church as an evolving European institution. Although we will have to deal with theological arguments at times, abstract theology will not be the focus of the course. Instead, the course will be centered on two main questions. First, how did the Catholic Church manage to persist, for nearly two millennium, as a stable institutional entity within an ever-changing European milieu? Secondly, to what degree did the Catholic Church influence and/or reflect developments within Western European culture?
- 79-394 Exploring History through Geography
- Intermittent: 6 units
For studying the past, space can be as important as time. Digital mapping and GeoLocation technologies influence our everyday interactions and perceptions of the world around us. Historians are thinking about how these technologies can change their fields of study, too. Through the "spatial turn" in the Humanities and Social Sciences, historians are using spatial experience to think more deeply about the meaning of place and space. Visualizing spatial relationships via new technologies can offer meaningful new ways to approach historical questions. This course will consider viewpoints from the discipline of Geography and explore the impact of new methods in the Digital Humanities, including the impact of digital tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
- 79-395 The Arts in Pittsburgh
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine the arts in Pittsburgh, both historically and in the present. We will pay special attention to musical events and art exhibits scheduled by the city's concert halls and art museums, several of which we will attend as a group. Our "curriculum," in other words, will derive partly from the city's artistic presentations themselves, which will provide a springboard for reading assignments, discussions, a small research project (which I will work out individually with each of you), and one or two essay exams. The History Department will pay for students' admission to all museums. However, students will be charged a supplemental fee (at discounted prices) to help subsidize the considerable expense of purchasing tickets for performances by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet, Chamber Music Pittsburgh, or other musical organizations. Attendance at all musical events and art exhibits is required.
- 79-396 Music, Art, and Society in 19th and 20th Century Europe and the U.S.
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will explore the interrelations between society, classical and popular music, and art in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Europe and the United States. We will examine the importance of different musical forms in the life of society and how music and art reflected changing political and cultural consciousness in several national settings. We will also analyze trends in artistic expression by examining the collections and historical development of several notable European and American art museums. The "curriculum" in other words, will derive from the artistic presentations themselves and #8212; symphonies, operas, chamber music, ballet, and art exhibits and #8212; which will provide a springboard for reading assignments, discussions, a personal artistic journal, and written assignments that will help you synthesize your diverse forays into the history of music and art. In addition to visiting Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, students will be taking to the performances of the CMU School of Drama, Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, chamber music concerts, performances of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. A supplemental fee of $170 will be charged to help subsidize the considerable expense of purchasing tickets for concerts and performances.
- 79-400 Global Studies Research Seminar
- Fall: 12 units
This research seminar is the capstone course for Global Studies majors. The course is designed to give you a chance to define and carry out a research project of personal interest. The first few weeks of the course will be devoted to developing a research topic and locating sources. We will then work on how to interpret and synthesize sources into a coherent and compelling thesis before you begin drafting your paper. Your research may be based on in-depth reading of a body of scholarly work, field notes from ethnographic observations, archival research, analysis of literary or visual media, or some combination of these sources. Incorporation of some non-English language sources is strongly encouraged where possible. Independent work, self-initiative, participation in discussion, and peer evaluations are required. There are several interim deadlines that will be strictly enforced in order to ensure successful completion of the course.
- 79-420 Historical Research Seminar
- Fall: 12 units
The purpose of this research seminar is to help students conceptualize, design, organize, and execute a substantial research project that embodies and extends the knowledge and skill set they have been developing as History majors at Carnegie Mellon. The identification, collection and interpretation of relevant primary source data are integral parts of this intellectual task. Students will hone written and oral presentation skills, deepen their command of research methodologies and strategies, and sharpen their abilities as a constructive critic of others' research. The seminar seeks to develop these intellectual skills through a combination of in-class, student-led discussions of everyone's research-in-progress, and regular individual consultations with the instructor.
Prerequisite: 79-200 Min. grade C
- 79-449 EHPP Capstone Course
- Fall: 12 units
In this Fall 2023 capstone course, Ethics, History, and Public Policy majors will carry out a collaborative or individual research project that examines a compelling current policy issue that can be illuminated with historical research and philosophical and policy analysis. Students will develop an original research report based on both archival and contemporary data and present their results in a public forum at the end of the semester. Please note: this semester we are experimenting with a more flexible set of research options for EHPP students, rather than a single project topic that all students are required to work on. Collaborative projects in groups of 2-3 students are encouraged, but individual projects that integrate historical, ethical, and policy perspectives are permissible too.
- 79-452 Women's Bodies and Cultural Politics
- Intermittent: 3 units
This course explores the fraught, often shameful, often triumphant, and sometimes deadly cultural ideas and expectations around cis-gendered women's bodies. We want to explore what the stories we attach to female bodies mean, who they serve, and whether they are changeable. Are our ideas derived from science or culture? And why might it matter? Built from a popular U.S. based-course on the Pittsburgh campus, this course aims to bring feminist analysis around American cis-gendered women's bodies to an audience in Doha, and asks you to build, through class discussion and assignments, your own analyses of how these ideas and concepts work in your own culture. You will no doubt come to different conclusions, which is the goal: for you to think independently and analytically, to build your own ideas. The course is organized topically. We will learn some reproductive anatomy and biology (including the menstrual cycle), and also survey reproductive politics, sexuality, gender-based violence, and a topic of your choice. It will be heavily discussion based. No prerequisites or prior experience with this material needed and #8212;open to all.
- 79-453 Global Water and Development
- Intermittent: 3 units
Water is necessary for all forms of life on Earth. An estimated 1 billion humans do not have satisfactory drinking water; an estimated 2 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities for human health, safety, and dignity. For more than a hundred years, to address social inequalities in access to water, international organizations and scholars have created their own theories and ideas about providing water. This international community points out the social and cultural implications of technical provision of water resources. These debates about "development" showcase diverse theories, recommendations, and contradictions. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to critical studies of water and development. We will consider complex stories of social change, including unintended consequences; human and environmental impacts; and debates among experts.
- 79-454 The TransOceanic Railway
- Intermittent: 3 units
This course is an introduction to railway restructuring and privatization, which arguably began in exactly 1990 with the privatization of Argentina's railways. The Argentine model has been replicated on other continents and in many settings and is modeled on the successful USA model of private ownership and operation of freight rail, which is generally considered a model for the world. Conversely, passenger rail in the USA almost disappeared while in the UK it has enjoyed a spectacular run with a doubling of ridership since the privatization of its railways in roughly the same era, i.e., the Thatcher years. The UK's model has been replicated in various forms throughout Europe and beyond.
- 79-465 The Arts in Qatar
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine the arts in Qatar, both historically and in the present. We will focus especially on art exhibits and musical events scheduled by the city's museums and concert halls during the Spring 2020 semester. The "curriculum" will derive from the artistic presentations themselves, which will provide a springboard for reading assignments and research papers in the history of music and art. We will also examine the historical development of cultural institutions in Qatar.
- 79-470 Simulating Conflict Resolution
- Intermittent: 3 units
This course is only offered at Carnegie Mellon's campus in Qatar. This pass-fail, 3-credit course for the Qatar campus is designed to prepare students for a capstone event: an international conflict resolution exercise, to be held in the 2018 Spring semester, that simulates a current Middle Eastern crisis. The course will consist of two parts. First, students will meet weekly with an instructor for 1 hour/week to discuss the historical and modern Middle East, so that they will be prepared to participate meaningfully in the simulation. For these classes, students will be expected to complete and discuss readings prepared by the instructor. Secondly, students will participate in the simulation exercise in late spring, taking the role of one of the Middle Eastern actors (these will be decided ahead of time) and role-playing their nation's response to the specific crisis scenario. Finally, after the simulation, students will submit to the instructor a reflection paper on what they learned from participating in the event. Suggested pre- or co-req: Conflict Resolution (80-242 or 70-321).
- 79-491 Independent Study
- Intermittent
An Independent Study is meant for students with a special interest in an area not covered by a formal history course. Readings and other work are negotiated between the student and an individual faculty member.
- 79-505 Internship: Social & Political History
- All Semesters
The Social and amp; Political History program strongly encourages students to locate internship opportunities in Pittsburgh or elsewhere that complement their historical interests (as, for example, in a museum or historical society) or in areas of policy research that complement their historical interests (as, for example, in a government agency or non-profit organization). To earn academic credit for their internship, students will be required to maintain a weekly journal; write a short critical reflection on how the internship connects to their academic interests; and share their experience with other Social and amp; Political History majors. The Academic Advisor will assist students with matching their interests to local organizations. SPH students can earn up to 9 units in each internship. Please note, however, that internship credits (students may complete up to three internships) do not count toward fulfillment of course requirements for the SPH major (though the units do count toward graduation).
- 79-506 Global Studies Internship
- Fall and Spring
This course provides Global Studies majors with a chance to explore global connections in Pittsburgh. Majors, working in close consultation with the Global Studies director and advisor, will arrange an internship with a non-governmental organization (usually in Pittsburgh) whose mission has a global reach. This could include an organization that supports projects in other countries, works with immigrants in the Pittsburgh area, or participates in international policy making/governance. We strongly encourage students to seek out opportunities that require use of a second language. Students will be required to maintain a weekly journal; write a short critical reflection on how the internship connects to academic work; and share their experience with other Global Studies majors. Global Studies advisor and director will assist students with matching their interests to local organizations and identifying an on-site supervisor available to collaborate in the ongoing and final evaluation of the student's work. Prerequisite: Students must be Global Studies majors and obtain permission for the proposed internship from the Global Studies advisor.
- 79-510 Global Studies Guided Reading
- All Semesters: 3 units
Global Studies Guided Reading (Fall 2023: The Environment and Climate Change) The main goal of this seminar is to encourage students to engage deeply with four books on a distinct topic, and discuss them under the guidance of the professor. You could think of this seminar as a more academically-oriented monthly book club! The small size of the seminar allows for a deep immersion in the readings, and for the development of critical thinking among students. The four books are selected by the professor, and the selection is based on several criteria, including the books' impact, current relevance, regional foci, as well as diversity and inclusivity reflected by the authors' different social, racial, and geographical backgrounds. The topics of the seminars each semester will vary, but all will have global relevance. (For instance, the Fall '22 seminar will focus on the environment and climate change, and the Spring '23 seminar will deal with the topic of cultural and historical memory). Important: In order to encourage all of the students' constant participation and their deep engagement with the books, as well as foster a sense of intellectual community, this seminar will be strategically small. For these reasons, only the GS majors will be allowed to register for this monthly guided reading. Meets monthly on Fridays.
Faculty
JAY D. ARONSON, Professor of History – Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Carnegie Mellon, 2004–
ALLYSON F. CREASMAN, Associate Professor of History; Interim Head – Ph.D., University of Virginia; Carnegie Mellon, 2005–
ERIN DEAN, Associate Professor of Anthropology and History – Ph.D., University of Arizona; Carnegie Mellon, 2024–
PAUL K. EISS, Associate Professor of Anthropology and History – Ph.D., University of Michigan; Carnegie Mellon, 2000–
EDDA L. FIELDS-BLACK, Professor of History – Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; Carnegie Mellon, 2001–
MICHAL R. FRIEDMAN, Assistant Teaching Professor of History and Jack Buncher Professor of Jewish Studies – Ph.D., Columbia University; Carnegie Mellon, 2012–
WENDY Z. GOLDMAN, Paul Mellon Distinguished Professor of History – Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; Carnegie Mellon, 1988–
EMANUELA GRAMA, Associate Professor of Anthropology and History; Associate Head – Ph.D., University of Michigan; Carnegie Mellon, 2013–
CARL KUBLER, Assistant Professor of History – Ph.D., University of Chicago; Carnegie Mellon, 2023–
RICKY W. LAW, Associate Professor of History; Director of Undergraduate Studies – Ph.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Carnegie Mellon, 2013–
DEEPA NAIR, Assistant Teaching Professor of History, Carnegie Mellon-Qatar – Ph.D., National University of Singapore; Carnegie Mellon, 2019–
ABIGAIL E. OWEN, Assistant Teaching Professor of History; Director of Education, Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education & Research – Ph.D., Columbia University; Carnegie Mellon, 2016–
CHRISTOPHER J. PHILLIPS, Professor of History; Department Head – Ph.D., Harvard University; Carnegie Mellon, 2014–
BENJAMIN REILLY, Teaching Professor of History, Carnegie Mellon-Qatar – Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; Carnegie Mellon, 2004–
EDMUND RUSSELL, David M. Roderick Professor of Technology and Social Change and Professor of History – Ph.D., University of Michigan; Carnegie Mellon, 2019–
SCOTT A. SANDAGE, Associate Professor of History – Ph.D., Rutgers University; Carnegie Mellon, 1995–
EZELLE SANFORD III, Assistant Professor of History – Ph.D., Princeton University; Carnegie Mellon, 2021–
STEVEN SCHLOSSMAN, Professor of History; Director of Ethics, History, and Public Policy – Ph.D., Columbia University; Carnegie Mellon, 1988–
NICO SLATE, Professor of History – Ph.D., Harvard University; Carnegie Mellon, 2009–
JOHN SOLURI, Professor of History – Ph.D., University of Michigan; Carnegie Mellon, 1999–
LISA M. TETRAULT, Associate Professor of History – Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison; Carnegie Mellon, 2005–
NOAH THERIAULT, Associate Professor of Anthropology and History – Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison; Carnegie Mellon, 2017–
JOE WILLIAM TROTTER JR., Giant Eagle University Professor of History and Social Justice – Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Carnegie Mellon, 1985–
BENNO R. WEINER, Associate Professor of History; Director of Graduate Studies – Ph.D., Columbia University; Carnegie Mellon, 2015–
Affiliated Faculty
AIDAN BEATTY, Graduate Academic Advisor and Lecturer – Ph.D., University of Chicago; Carnegie Mellon, 2023–
STEPHEN BROCKMANN, Professor of German with Courtesy Appointments in English and History – Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison; Carnegie Mellon, 1993–
JOSEPH E. DEVINE, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences – D.A., Carnegie Mellon University; Carnegie Mellon, 1979–
ALEXANDRA S. GARNHART-BUSHAKRA, Academic Program Manager and Lecturer – Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Carnegie Mellon, 2023–
TIMOTHY HAGGERTY, Principal Lecturer – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University; Carnegie Mellon, 2000–
JEFFREY HINKELMAN, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Film & Visual Media Program, English Department – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University; Carnegie Mellon, 2016–
JASON HOSTUTLER, Humanities Advisor, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences – Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison; Carnegie Mellon, 2023–
ANDREW S. RAMEY, Director of Advising, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University; Carnegie Mellon, 2017–
CHRISTOPHER WARREN, Professor of English and Associate Department Head with a Courtesy Appointment in History – D. Phil., University of Oxford;
Emeriti
CAROLINE JEAN ACKER, Associate Professor Emeritus of History – Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco; Carnegie Mellon, 1993–
LAURIE Z. EISENBERG, Teaching Professor Emeritus of History – Ph.D., University of Michigan; Carnegie Mellon, 1992–
DONNA HARSCH, Professor Emeritus of History – Ph.D., Yale University; Carnegie Mellon, 1990–
KATHERINE A. LYNCH, Professor Emeritus of History – Ph.D., Harvard University; Carnegie Mellon, 1980–
RICHARD MADDOX, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and History – Ph.D., Stanford University; Carnegie Mellon, 1993–
JOHN MODELL, Professor Emeritus of History – Ph.D., Columbia University; Carnegie Mellon, 1982–
DANIEL P. RESNICK, Professor Emeritus of History – Ph.D., Harvard University; Carnegie Mellon, 1966–
JUDITH SCHACHTER, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and History – Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Carnegie Mellon, 1984–
DONALD S. SUTTON, Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology – Ph.D., Cambridge University, England; Carnegie Mellon, 1969–
JOEL A. TARR, Richard S. Caliguiri University Professor of History and Policy – Ph.D., Northwestern University; Carnegie Mellon, 1967–