Historical Study


The common aim of courses in Historical Study is to develop students’ comprehension of history as a form of inquiry and understanding. The courses fall into two groups representing two emphases in historical study.

Historical Study A

Courses in Historical Study A are designed to help the student understand, through historical study, the background and development of major issues of the contemporary world. These courses illustrate the way in which historical study helps make sense of some of the great issues—often problematic policy issues—of our own world. The courses focus on the sequential development of issues whose origins may be quite distant from the present but whose significance is still profound in the world in which students live today.

Historical Study B

Courses in Historical Study B focus closely on the documented details of some transforming event or group of events. They aim to develop an understanding of the complexity of human affairs, of the way in which a variety of forces—economic, cultural, religious, political—have interacted with individual aspirations and with the deliberate efforts of individuals to control and shape events in specific contexts and historical moments. They are sufficiently delimited in time to allow concentrated study of primary source materials.

Historical Study A

Historical Study A-12. International Conflict and Cooperation in the Modern World
Catalog Number: 5129
Andrew Moravcsik and Stanley Hoffmann
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30, and a 90-minute weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Why do states wage war? Why do they cooperate? Have the answers changed historically? Are economic globalization, ecological interdependence, and global civil society eroding traditional state sovereignty? Or do nationalism, protectionism, and power politics firmly limit the spread of world order? The course begins with the Peloponnesian War, the European state system, imperialism, the spread of free trade, and the two World Wars. It continues after 1945 with the spread of democracy and human rights, trade liberalization, international law, and ecological cooperation, as well as enduring sources of conflicts like the Cold War, nuclear weapons, civil strife, and rogue states.

[Historical Study A-13. China: Tradition and Transformation ]
Catalog Number: 5243
Peter K. Bol and William C. Kirby
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Modern China presents a dual image: a society transforming itself through economic development and social revolution; and the world’s largest and oldest bureaucratic state, coping with longstanding problems of economic and political management. Whatever form of modern society and state emerges in China will bear the indelible imprint of China’s historical experience, of its patterns of philosophy and religion, and of its social and political thought. These themes are discussed in order to understand China in the modern world, and as a great world civilization that developed along lines different from those of the Mediterranean.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study A or Foreign Cultures, but not both.

Historical Study A-14. Japan: Tradition and Transformation
Catalog Number: 5373
Mikael Adolphson and Andrew Gordon
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
The history of Japan from earliest settlements to the present. Japan’s pre-modern history presents the challenge of understanding distinctive forms of political activity and social relations, from court noblemen and women to samurai warriors, as well as religious traditions of great depth and literatures of unusual range and power. Japan’s modern history presents one of the most striking transformations in world history. For better and sometimes for worse, people in Japan since the mid-19th century have come to share in the dilemmas of modernity that challenge us all. The course examines the pre-modern and modern history of both institutions and ideas, with emphasis on reading selected literary documents as well as historical writings.
Note: For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study A or Foreign Cultures, but not both.

Historical Study A-15. Politics and Society in the Making of Modern India
Catalog Number: 8301
Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Devesh Kapur
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12
This course examines the complex dynamics of India’s emergence and continuation as a vibrant if contentious democracy. It examines the ways in which the Indian democratic experience has shaped and been shaped by its society and economy by asking questions such as: how do India’s “traditional” institutions adapt or fail to adapt to modern circumstances? How does it weave itself together as a nation? What is the relationship between its politics and economic outcomes? What are the strengths and vulnerabilities of its institutions?
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02. For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study A or Foreign Cultures, but not both.

[Historical Study A-17. Modern Political Ideologies]
Catalog Number: 2692
Stanley Hoffmann and Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Examines those ideas that moved large numbers of people in Europe and America to organized political action in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as democracy, liberty, nationalism, populism, socialism, authoritarian and totalitarian ideas.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.

Historical Study A-18. Science and Society in the 20th Century
Catalog Number: 5693
Everett I. Mendelsohn
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 5
Case studies focus on the atom, the gene, the environment, and the computer. The changing nature of the scientific enterprise, its intellectual structures, and its social relations are examined. Aspects of science and war, science and the state, science and totalitarianism, and science and industry are treated. Additional topics include science and inequality; race and gender; and the competition for human and material resources.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-23. Democracy, Equality, and Development in Mexico]
Catalog Number: 6861
John H. Coatsworth
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 6
Mexico has achieved high levels of democratic participation, social equality, and economic growth in the past, but has never managed to achieve all three at the same time. This course explores how history as a mode of inquiry and understanding can illuminate Mexico’s contemporary challenge, that of overcoming underdevelopment, inequality, and authoritarianism all at the same time. The course also addresses Mexico’s complex and ambivalent relationship to external powers, particularly the United States, but only to the extent that doing so can contribute to understanding these three contemporary problems.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03. For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study A or Foreign Cultures, but not both.

Historical Study A-27. Reason and Faith in the West
Catalog Number: 8149
Ann M. Blair
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 5
Examines from a historical perspective one of the central themes in the Western intellectual tradition: the desire to reconcile rational philosophy with religious and biblical authority. Discusses the transformations in conceptions of reason, science, biblical interpretation, and divine intervention (among other themes) in the context of the long period of change from medieval to modern. Readings emphasize primary sources—for example: Aquinas, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Spinoza, and Darwin—but also pay some attention to the historiography on “science and religion.”
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-33. Women, Feminism, and History]
Catalog Number: 3555
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
From Christine de Pisan in the 14th century to Virginia Woolf in the 20th, women writers have used history to question seemingly unchangeable differences between the sexes. This course examines classic works in Western feminism in the light of contemporary scholarship in women’s history. It emphasizes the range and variety of feminist appropriations of the past, from storytelling to legal briefs, and considers the strengths and pitfalls of historical argumentation. Discussion will focus on close analysis of primary materials.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-34. Medicine and Society in America]
Catalog Number: 1552
Allan M. Brandt
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Surveys major developments in the history of American medicine since the discovery of the New World. Emphasis placed upon setting the practice of medicine as well as the experience of health and disease into broad social, cultural, and political contexts. Topics include the social and cultural impact of epidemic disease; the nature of demographic and epidemiological change; the development of medical therapeutics and technologies; the growth of health care institutions; the rise of the medical profession; and debates about the allocation of health care resources. Evaluates the role of medicine in addressing social needs as well as the social and economic determinants of patterns of health and disease.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study A-35. Democracy in America and Europe
Catalog Number: 9060
James T. Kloppenberg
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
For most of Western history democracy was reviled as mob rule, yet it now commands almost universal approbration.What happened? We will seek to understand that transformation by examining the history of democracy in theory and practice from the 16th century to the present. Readings will include classic European and American texts that explain, defend, and criticize democracy as a political system and as an ethical ideal. Lectures will examine the various contexts—biographical, national, and cultural—surrounding debates over the desirability of democracy and explore the shifting meanings of the democratic ideals of freedom and equality in relation to changing attitudes and practices concerning social hierarchy, race, and gender.

[Historical Study A-40. The Middle East and Europe since the Crusades: Relations and Perceptions]
Catalog Number: 5423
Cemal Kafadar
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 14
Nine centuries of interaction between two neighboring world civilizations centered around the Mediterranean basin. Examines the transformation of the terms of coexistence and competition over time from an asymmetry in favor of the Islamic world to one favoring Europe in terms of power and prestige. Surveys major events and broad patterns of human activity (wars, migrations, conversions, trade, cultural exchange); compares institutions and worldviews; studies the variety of ways in which the two civilizations perceived and imagined each other. Focus on common roots and mutual influences. Analysis of (mis)perceptions as historically constructed cultural categories and of their legacy in the modern world.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study A-51. The Modern World Economy, 1873–2000
Catalog Number: 1263
Jeffry Frieden
Half course (fall term). M., W., 2–3:30, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
The past 125 years have seen more rapid economic growth, and more global economic integration, than ever before. Yet the gap between rich and poor countries has widened, and “globalization” has alternated with attempts at national self-sufficiency under fascist, communist, and other banners. The course explores the impact of technological, economic, social, and political trends, at both global and national levels, on the development of the world economy since 1873. Topics include free trade and the gold standard in the 19th century, European colonialism, the depressions of 1873–1896 and 1929–1939, and the postwar economic order.

[Historical Study A-53. The Chinese Revolutionary Tradition]
Catalog Number: 1667
Elizabeth J. Perry
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
The Chinese revolutionary tradition began with peasant uprisings in the mid-19th century and continues to this day. From late imperial times to the present, a steady stream of dramatic revolutionary efforts have exerted a major impact on the direction of Chinese politics. This course examines continuities and changes across successive phases of the process: the quasi-Christian Taipings, the anti-Christian Boxers, the 1911 Revolution, the rise of Communism, Mao’s Cultural Revolution, the 1989 Tiananmen Uprising, contemporary tax riots and labor strikes, etc. It focuses on ways in which earlier repertoires of contentious politics have influenced the aspirations and actions of later generations of protesters.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-70. International History: The Last Century]
Catalog Number: 2517
Akira Iriye
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
Examines the contemporary world against the background of international relations since the 1890s. Topics include European imperialism and decolonization, the origins and consequences of the two World Wars, the Americanization of the globe, and the rise of a multicultural world. Stresses the interplay of states and non-state actors.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-73. The Political Development of Western Europe]
Catalog Number: 8261
Peter A. Hall
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of the creation of modern politics in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy from the feudal period to the 20th century, focusing on the causes and consequences of crucial developments such as the English and French Revolutions, the Industrial Revolution, 19th-century democratization, and the appearance of fascism. Emphasizes the usefulness of comparative, historical analysis for understanding the origins of contemporary politics and competing approaches to understanding the processes of change associated with the development of the modern state.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-74. Continuity and Change in Contemporary China: The People’s Republic and Taiwan in the Modern World]
Catalog Number: 0893
William C. Kirby
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 14
What are the enduring problems of modern China? How do different Chinese governments confront them? This course assumes that the basic question of the 20th-century China remains unanswered: what kind of government, society, and economy will ultimately replace the old imperial system? Part I defines basic themes: quests for national unity and international importance; population and ecological pressures; competition between capitalism and socialism; problems of democracy in Chinese political culture. Part II contrasts the revolutionary experiments of two “new Chinas” after 1950. Part III discusses contemporary reforms in the P.R.C. and Taiwan, and explores the future of “Greater China,” in the light of its past.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study A or Foreign Cultures, but not both.

[Historical Study A-76. Germany 1871–1990: From Unification to Reunification]
Catalog Number: 3594
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
Examines the forces that have shaped modern German history from the Empire created in 1871, through the Weimar Republic and Third Reich, to division and reunification. The continuities as well as discontinuities of this history provide a major theme, particularly the roots of the Nazi period and the question of how far the two postwar Germanys broke with the past. The course is built around three interrelated themes: politics, economy and society, and culture. The principal focus is domestic affairs, but the nature of the “German question” means that attention is given to the international dimension where appropriate.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study A-77. The Emergence of Modern China, ca. 1600-2000
Catalog Number: 0541
Philip A. Kuhn
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
China’s development from empire to nation has provoked Chinese in many walks of life to ask, “How much of our old culture must we give up to become a strong modern state?” This course will explore not only what has been lost since the 17th century, but also what has been retained or transformed. We shall examine how, over four centuries of history, Chinese struggled to cope with the modern world and learned to address old problems in modern terms. To introduce the people who lived through these transformations, readings will emphasize primary sources in translation.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

Historical Study A-80. The Cold War
Catalog Number: 5222
Ernest R. May
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
The East-West Cold War that followed World War II forms the background for all thinking about current and future international relations. This course surveys the Cold War’s origins and development, the crises at its climax, and the course of events from the subsequent détente down to the present.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-81. Chinese Emigration in Modern Times]
Catalog Number: 0303
Philip A. Kuhn
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
Explores one of the great historic migrations, from the 16th century to the present. Topics include: how migration was related to conditions of late imperial Chinese society; how Chinese interacted with European empires in Southeast Asia and with native peoples; how they developed their economic roles in host societies; and how acculturation and conflict shaped their identities. The experience of Chinese migrants to North America is placed in a world context. Readings emphasize the analysis of primary sources in English.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study A-83. Civic Engagement in American Democracy]
Catalog Number: 2361
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Are Americans withdrawing from public life, or just engaging shared concerns in new ways? Changes in U.S. civil society and democracy are lively topics of debate, with attention usually restricted to the period since the 1960s. A longer-term perspective can sharpen our sense of what is changing and why. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, this course considers how America became a “nation of joiners” and the world’s first mass democracy. The course surveys voluntary associations and political changes from the 19th century through the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, culminating in a reexamination of the health of American democracy today.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study B

Historical Study B-04. Ancient Greek Democracy
Catalog Number: 6791
Eric W. Robinson
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
This course examines the origin, essential nature, and importance of ancient Greek democracy, which first took shape in the city-states of Greece over 2500 years ago. The first part of the course looks at the development of democracy, beginning with the earliest signs of pan-Hellenic egalitarianism and ending with the appearance of fully democratic governments in Athens and elsewhere. The second part considers the ideals and institutions of ancient democracy in the context of Greek society as a whole. Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristotle, and other ancient sources will be read in translation along with modern scholarly interpretations.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

Historical Study B-09. The Christian Revolution
Catalog Number: 6389
Christopher P. Jones
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
The course studies the formative period of Christianity as a historical phenomenon. The course begins with the social and political background, and then considers the person of Jesus of Nazareth, how his teaching was developed by his followers, how they built up a “church” of believers, and how Judaism and Christianity were intertwined not only in the person of Jesus but in the history of the two faiths in the decades following the destruction of the Temple. The overall aim is to see how historical methods can be used to explain phenomena which, viewed on their own terms, transcend explanation.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-11. The Crusades]
Catalog Number: 0434
Angeliki E. Laiou
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Examines the decision to launch the First Crusade (1095); Pope Urban II’s motivations; the condition of the church in the Western world and the development of the idea of holy war. Studies the consequences of the First Crusade; expansion of Western Europeans into the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans; the development of the crusading movement through the Fourth Crusade (1204); and the permanent transformation of East-West relations resulting from the conflict and coexistence of various peoples whom the Crusades brought together. Considers the relations among political, economic, and religious factors and the consequences in cultural and material spheres. Readings focus on sources in translation.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study B-13. Charlemagne and the Birth of Medieval Civilization
Catalog Number: 2567
Michael McCormick
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged.
For 200 years, the family of Charlemagne welded together the disparate fragments of a fallen Roman Empire and free Germania. The result was a new civilization, called Europe; a new cultural movement, called Renaissance. “Charlemagne” investigates how a new civilization arose in the countryside and in the conquests of the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. with consequences that endure down to our own time. But “Charlemagne” is also about historical analysis: the techniques by which today’s historians wrest new data and insights from manuscripts, memorandums, and mud to rediscover the lives of the men and women who created the first European civilization.

[Historical Study B-18. The Protestant Reformation]
Catalog Number: 0623
Steven Ozment
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
In the 16th century, hundreds of thousands of people surrendered religious beliefs, practices, and institutions that had organized daily life and given it meaning for the greater part of a millennium. “The Protestant Reformation” attempts to explain why this happened and how it changed the course of history. Lectures and readings concentrate on seven major areas: (1) the “causes” of the Reformation; (2) its inception and development in representative cities and lands; (3) competing theologies and social philosophies; (4) the variety of linguistic and visual propaganda; (5) the impact on contemporary society and culture; (6) the Catholic response; (7) the Reformation’s legacy to the modern world.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-19. The Renaissance in Florence]
Catalog Number: 4631
James Hankins
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 6
The Renaissance has been described by historians as a revival of antiquity, as a revolt against the Middle Ages, and as the beginning of the modern world. This course examines these claims in the context of a detailed examination of the society and culture of Florence, the most important Renaissance center, from the time of Dante to the time of Machiavelli.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study B or Literature and Arts C, but not both.

[Historical Study B-27. The English Revolution]
Catalog Number: 5234
Mark A. Kishlansky
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Explores the causes, development, and consequences of the English Revolution of the 17th century. The English Revolution is one of the pivotal events in Anglo-American and European history. It marks the first constitutional challenge to an absolute monarch and is the crucial forerunner to the American and French Revolutions. Studies the origins of a revolutionary crisis, the dynamics of revolutionary change, and the actions and aspirations of revolutionaries within the context of 17th-century English society. Readings, drawn from contemporary and historical literature, include works by Milton, Hobbes, Clarendon, and Pepys. Discussion sections focus on reading primary materials.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study B-35. The French Revolution: Causes, Processes, and Consequences
Catalog Number: 0525
Patrice Higonnet
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12
The cultural, social, and political life of France before 1789; the rise of a public sphere; the Revolution in its development from the decentralized “consensus” of 1789 to Jacobin terrorism in 1793–94; the structures of Jacobin thought; the ideological, social, and administrative effects of the Revolution in France. The roles of Mirabeau, the Montagnards, the Girondins, Robespierre, Babeuf, and Napoleon are considered, as well as more general themes such as the effect of public opinion and the redefinition of gender roles.

Historical Study B-40. Pursuits of Happiness: Ordinary Lives in Revolutionary America
Catalog Number: 2264
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
When Thomas Jefferson listed the “pursuit of happiness” as one of the inalienable rights of humankind, he offered future generations an evocative but elusive vision of the good society. This course explores the competing visions of “happiness” that animated political and social life in the half century surrounding the American Revolution. Was happiness best achieved through collective commitment to public good? Through submission to God? Or in the possession of property and the cultivation of private affections? And what happened when happiness became misery or its pursuit provoked political rebellion, riot, scandal, and crime?
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-42. The American Civil War, 1861–1865]
Catalog Number: 3386
William E. Gienapp
Half course (spring term). M., W., F., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
An examination of the experiences of both the North and the South during the Civil War and the legacy of the war for the United States. Topics include the origins of the war, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis as war leaders, Union war aims and emancipation, dissent and opposition to the war in the Union and the Confederacy, the Confederate transformation of the South, the northern and southern home fronts, race, the spiritual and economic costs of the war, and the imprint of the war on American politics, society, and values. This is not a course in military history.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-46. The Darwinian Revolution]
Catalog Number: 5988
Everett I. Mendelsohn
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 5
An examination of the intellectual structure and social context of ideas of evolution as they developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include the backgrounds to various forms of evolutionary thought; Darwin’s methodology; the relations between biological and social evolutionary thought; the comparative reception of Darwinian evolutionary theory in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the U.S.; social Darwinism, eugenics, biological determinism, race, religion, conflict and cooperation.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study B-52. Slavery and Slave Trade in Africa and the Americas
Catalog Number: 3834
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 14
This course begins with the question of terminological precision and the definition of slavery and other forms of servile labor—especially in Africa. The course then examines the institution of slavery in Africa and the Americas within this wider historical context, analyzing the political-economies and ideologies that underpin slavery and the crucial role of slave trade in reproducing slave communities that were barely able to reproduce themselves naturally. The course explores the impact of slavery on political, economic, social, and cultural life in Africa and the Americas and ends with a discussion of the legacy of slavery and the global nature of the African diaspora.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-53. World War and Society in the 20th Century: World War I]
Catalog Number: 4388
Charles S. Maier
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
Viewed together, the two world wars shattered Germany’s bid for European domination, revolutionized Russia and extended her influence over Eastern Europe for over 40 years, helped dissolve the colonial empires and create the modern welfare state, and made the United States the world’s preeminent power. Historical Study B-53 and B-54 examine the problem of war origins; grand strategies of the combatants and the actual nature of fighting; organization of war economies; response of writers and intellectuals; and the nature of the peace settlements and legacies for postwar culture and politics. This course also focuses on the issue of inevitability; the static trench combat; transformation of the state; demographic effects; literary perception and political radicalization of Left and Right; postwar bitterness and disillusion.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Historical Study B-54. World War and Society in the 20th Century: World War II
Catalog Number: 6497
Charles S. Maier
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
Examines the failure of the Versailles system, the Pacific conflict after 1937, the continental European war of 1939–41, the vast coalition struggle of 1941–45, and the bipolar postwar settlement. Topics include the strategic demands of multifront warfare; the role of city bombing, intelligence, and partisan warfare; occupation regimes, collaboration and resistance; America’s “good war” —the politics and culture of the home fronts; war costs, including the civilian toll; postwar purges, liberation movements, and commemoration.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-57. The Second British Empire]
Catalog Number: 6756
Susan Pedersen
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course explores the course and nature of the British empire from the late 18th century until the period after World War II. Three main issues are addressed: the character and causes of imperial expansion; the nature and impact of imperial rule; and the process of decolonization. Using essays, diaries, letters, fiction, artistic representations and film, students seek to understand both the imperial experiences of particular colonies (especially India, Ireland, New Zealand, and Kenya) and the creation of an “imperial culture” within Britain itself.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-60. France’s Decline and Renovation (1934–1946)]
Catalog Number: 5393
Stanley Hoffmann
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 2–3:30, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
The decadence and rebirth of France in the 20th century. The decline and destruction of the Third Republic confronted with the Great Depression, the social, political, and intellectual divisions around the Popular Front, and Nazi Germany. The Vichy regime’s attempts at domestic counterrevolution and external collaboration with Germany. The liberation of France by the Resistance movements and General de Gaulle. Successes and limits of post-Liberation political, economic, and social transformations, and of France’s intellectual and diplomatic adaptation to a world dominated by the Cold War and the revolt against colonialism. Special emphasis on historical controversies and on the moral dilemmas faced by the French. Readings include memoirs and literary works.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study B or Foreign Cultures, but not both.

[Historical Study B-61. The Warren Court and the Pursuit of Justice, 1953–1969]
Catalog Number: 6840
Morton J. Horwitz (Law School)
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 5
Examines the significance of the Supreme Court during the Chief Justiceship of Earl Warren in the broader context of the development of American thought and society. Explores the basic premise that the Warren Era represented not only a major constitutional revolution but that it produced a fundamental transformation in the conception of the role of law in American society. Subjects to be studied are Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Movement, and the history of race relations; McCarthyism and civil liberties; the emergence of a right to privacy in Griswold v. Connecticut; and the “rights” revolution in jurisprudence.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[Historical Study B-64. The Cuban Revolution, 1956–1971: A Self-Debate]
Catalog Number: 6974
Jorge I. Domínguez
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
Focus on the insurrectionary war, the consolidation of power, Fidel Castro’s role, the role of organized labor and the peasantry, the U.S.-Cuban conflict, the alliance with the Soviet Union, the choice of economic strategy, the “remaking of human beings,” the role of intellectuals, the support for revolutions in Africa and Latin America, and the change toward “orthodox” policies. The instructor will debate himself, presenting two or more views on each issue. Readings include original documents in translation.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. For students under the Core requirement, counts as either Historical Study B or Foreign Cultures, but not both.

Historical Study B-67. Japan’s Modern Revolution
Catalog Number: 4164
Daniel V. Botsman
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 15
Examines the causes and consequences of one of the most important events in modern world history —Japan’s transformation from feudal state to imperialist power. The class begins with a consideration of samurai rule during the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) and the social changes that resulted from over two centuries without war. We then examine the impact of Japan’s forcible incorporation into a “modern world system” in the mid-19th century, the radical reforms implemented in the wake of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and the beginning of Japanese imperialism in Asia. Discussion sections focus on a broad array of primary documents in translation.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

Historical Study B-68. America and Vietnam: 1945–1975
Catalog Number: 3447
Hue-Tam Ho Tai and Ernest R. May
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12
Examines modern conflicts in Vietnam and their implications for the United States from 1945–1975, from both Vietnamese and American perspectives. Seeks to provide an understanding of the complexity of the war and the ethical dilemmas it raised by examining issues ranging from the power-politics assumptions of decision makers to the personal experiences of those caught in the war. Covers both background and consequences of the war, but the main focus is on the 30-year period during which the fortunes of America and Vietnam became intertwined.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2001–02.

Cross-listed Core courses that satisfy the Historical Study B requirement

The following course fully listed in the Foreign Cultures area of the Core Curriculum may be taken to meet the Core requirement in Historical Study B or in Foreign Cultures, but not both.
Foreign Cultures 48. The Cultural Revolution
The following courses fully listed in the Literature and Arts C area of the Core Curriculum may be taken to meet the Core requirement in Historical Study B or in Literature and Arts C, but not both.
Literature and Arts C-42. Constructing the Samurai
[Literature and Arts C-61. The Rome of Augustus]

Departmental courses that satisfy the Historical Study B requirement.

The following departmental course may be taken to meet the Historical Study B requirement. This course is not necessarily designed for a general audience; it may assume prior experience or more than could be expected of students seeing the subject for the first time.
History 10a. Western Societies, Politics, and Cultures: From Antiquity to 1650