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HistorySocial Sciences Division FacultyChristopher D. Barth Jeffrey A. Bowman Reed S. Browning Clifton C. Crais Ruth W. Dunnell Michael J. Evans Bruce L. Kinzer Matthew W. Maguire Patrick Mbajekwe Glenn M. McNair Peter M. Rutkoff Kai P. Schoenhals William B. Scott Wendy F. Singer Roy T. Wortman As historians we look for and examine what women and men of the past have left behind, what they have created, and what marks they have left on the world. We listen to the stories others have told, look at the pictures others have painted of those pasts. We shape and articulate our own narratives and understandings of historical evidence. We discern and analyze varieties of and connections among human experiences. Through departmental course offerings, the major, and participation in interdisciplinary studies, we teach students to join us in exploring the world’s past. We encourage off-campus study and foreign language study, sponsor diverse speakers, and arrange formal and informal gatherings to encourage students to reflect on the human past as a way to understand their world. Courses numbered between 100 and 199 are designed as introductory courses, suitable both for those who plan further work in the field and for those who intend to enroll in only one history course during their college career. The department recommends them as appropriate first courses. Nevertheless, unless otherwise noted, all courses numbered below 300 are open to any interested student. Courses numbered from 300 to 499 are seminars. Enrollment in seminars is limited and, except in unusual circumstances, first-year students will not be admitted to them. Look for the Principles of the MajorThe department believes that a sound history curriculum presents the following seven elements: (1) authentic research and writing opportunities; (2) a variety of classroom interactions; (3) a blend of studies focusing on breadth with studies focusing on depth; (4) opportunities to learn about different world cultures; (5) engagement with events that occurred well before recent times; (6) an introduction to the ways historians do their work and the theoretical considerations that undergird that work; and (7) an obligation to integrate the various discrete courses that the curriculum offers. The requirements for the major are designed to assure that all history majors experience these elements. Requirements for the MajorHistory majors at Kenyon must receive credit for at least 5 1/2 units of work in courses taught by the history department or in extra-departmental courses approved by the history department. (No more than 1 unit may be earned outside the department. For information on nondepartmental courses that count for history credit, see the department chair.) The 5 1/2 required units must include: 1 1/2 units of work in foundation courses; 2 units of work in a concentration within the major; the 1/2-unit course on the Practice and Theory of History (HIST 387 or 388; or HIST 397 or 398, the Junior Honors seminar on Practice and Theory of History); and (except for honors majors) the Senior Research Seminar. While taking the courses that meet the requirements in the previous sentence, history majors must make sure to meet the following three distribution requirements: at least 1 unit in Asia and/or Africa; at least 1 unit in Europe and/or the Americas; at least 1 unit in pre-modern courses. The student majoring in history must also, while pursuing the program outlined above, complete at least one advanced seminar (i.e., any seminar except the foundation seminars, HIST 387, 388, 397, 398, and HIST 490, 497, 498). In addition to course requirements, majors must meet the collegiate requirement of passing the Senior Exercise, usually conducted in the spring semester. The history Senior Exercise consists of: (1) a newly prepared and significantly revised version of the research paper completed in the Senior Seminar; (2) an essay related to the student’s area of concentration within the major; and (3) a forty-five minute oral examination. For details, contact the history department in Seitz House. The Foundation Courses (1 1/2 units) Ordinarily students meet this requirement by taking 1 unit of study in survey courses and 1/2 unit of study in introductory seminars. The 1-unit requirement in survey courses must be met by taking 1/2 unit in Africa/Asia and 1/2 unit in Americas/Europe. The 1/2-unit requirement in introductory seminars must be met by taking either a first-year or a sophomore seminar. (Students with advanced-placement credit have alternatives. They should consult the advanced placement section below.) It is advisable that the foundation requirement be met by the end of the sophomore year. The Concentration within the Major (2 units) The purpose of the concentration is to give students the opportunity to organize their history courses into a coherent thematic or geographic area of specialization within the major. When students declare a major, they will submit to the department chair and their department advisor a brief proposal that defines their anticipated field of concentration. The concentration proposal should identify: (1) the geographic area(s) or theme(s) or issue(s) that the student will explore; (2) the courses that the student proposes to take to complete the concentration; (3) the reasons for these choices; and (4) the role, if any, that off-campus study will play in the concentration. Students may select their field of concentration from the recommended fields below: Africa Advanced PlacementStudents who have received Advanced Placement (AP) scores of 4 or 5 in American and/or European history have the following opportunities: (1) they are exempt from the relevant survey foundation requirement—indeed, they may not enroll in it; (2) they may enroll directly in courses in their AP field above the foundation-course level; (3) they may enroll in sophomore seminars in their first year to fulfill the foundation seminar requirement; (4) they may apply 1/2 unit of AP credit toward the distribution requirements. Off-Campus and Foreign Language StudyFaculty members in the department believe that study in another country strengthens academic work in history. Students may meet the above requirements with courses taken off campus, but only with departmental approval. If you contemplate off-campus study, either in the summer or during the regular academic year, you should consult with your advisor to clarify whether or not you may receive departmental credit for off-campus work. History majors should give serious consideration to foreign-language study. Up to 1/2 unit of advanced foreign-language study may count toward a concentration in the major. Foreign-language competence not only enriches study abroad, it enhances opportunities for historical research at Kenyon. HonorsPrior to their senior year, honors candidates should have completed HIST 397 or 398. In their senior year, honors candidates enroll in HIST 497 and 498. Students interested in writing for honors in history should speak with their advisor or the department chair. Honors seminars can be used to meet general major requirements. Senior Honors fulfills the senior research seminar requirement. Year CourseNorth by South: The Great African-American Migration, 1900-1960 North by South will examine the diverse urban African-American culture that emerged in the twentieth century in the wake of the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to cities, first in the South and then in the North and West. The seminar will be organized around two one-week, on-site workshops. The 2002-2003 seminar will visit New Orleans, Louisiana, during the last week of winter break and Chicago, Illinois, the second week of spring break. In preparation for the on-site workshops, the seminar will meet as a regularly scheduled colloquium at Kenyon to read and discuss scholarship of the Great Migration. Students will look at art and artists, listen to and analyze music, read the work of writers and intellectuals, and examine the black communities in New Orleans and Chicago. Each year’s seminar will create a collaborative public presentation of its work and discoveries. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Enrollment limited. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.) Note: This course is cross-listed as AMST 381-382. First-Semester CoursesFoundation Surveys United States History, 1492-1865 This course presents a thematic survey of American history from European colonization to the end of the Civil War. Lectures and discussions will examine the nation’s colonial origin, the impact of European conquest of the native peoples, independence and the shaping of American political culture and institutions, the establishment of a free-market economy, slavery, early industrialization and urbanization, the rise of egalitarianism, the transformation of the American family, the beginnings of the women’s movement, and the defeat of southern secession and the formation of the American nation. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) History of the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 300-1100 This course introduces the history of the early Middle Ages. Using a wide range of primary sources, it traces the broad outlines of 800 years of European and Mediterranean history. The course covers the gradual merging of Roman and Germanic cultures, the survival of Roman ideas during the Middle Ages, the slow Christianization of Europe, Norse society and the Viking invasions, the Carolingian Empire, and feudalism as a historical and historiographic problem. Readings include Augustine’s Confessions, the poetry of Prudentius commemorating the gory deaths of Christian martyrs, Procopius’s Secret History, the rule of Saint Benedict, and two biographies of the emperor Charlemagne. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey and premodern requirements.) Early Modern Europe, 1500-1815 Through lectures and discussions, this course will introduce the student to early modern Europe, with special attention to Austria, Britain, France, Prussia, and Russia. It will treat such topics as the Reformation, the emergence of the French challenge to the European equilibrium, Britain’s eccentric constitutional course, the pattern of European contacts with the non-European world, the character of daily life in premodern Europe, the Enlightenment, the appearance of Russia on the European scene, the origins of German dualism, and the impact of the French Revolution on Europe. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey and premodern requirements.) Early African History We will explore the history of Sub-Saharan Africa from about the ninth century through the late eighteenth century. Using films, books, articles, and primary sources, we will learn about the great empires of West Africa, the stateless societies on the coast, the Kingdom of Kongo in West Central Africa, the Swahili coast of East Africa, and early colonialism in South Africa. Ongoing themes in the course will include analysis of debates about the origins of the transatlantic slave trade and its effect on Africa, and the role of oral histories and oral traditions in the reconstruction of the precolonial past. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey and premodern requirements.) History of India India is the world’s largest democracy! It has a middle class larger than the population of France and produces one-half to one-third of the software that we all use in our computers. It contains some of the most beautiful mountains, forests, deserts, and jungles in the world. Not only does it defy simple categorization, but the stereotypes and cliches readily placed on it are grossly misleading. This course is an introduction to both the study of India and the process through which Indian history has been written. Using films, literature, art, and a surprising breadth of primary and secondary sources, we will explore the history of one of the most diverse regions in the world. The course begins with Muslim conquest and immigration in the fifteenth century and continues to the present. We will examine the diversity of South Asia, where Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and others have lived side by side, usually peacefully, for hundreds of years. A key theme in the course will be the process through which people define their own culture and the cultures of others around them. There are no prerequisites. Not open to seniors. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) Modern East Asia East Asia began its violent transformation to modernity in the nineteenth century. The press of European traders and travelers in the waters off the coast of China and Japan along with the eastward expansion of the Russian empire lent urgency to developments throughout the region that produced consequences still being acted out today. This course will look comparatively at the histories of Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam, which all shared to significant if varying degrees in the rich traditions of Confucian civilization. We will examine the legacy of that civilization in the struggles of these four polities to preserve or regain their independence, to refashion (or create) a modern national identity, and to articulate often contradictory needs and perceptions of a rapidly changing world. Memoirs, biography, fiction, and film will supplement more conventional historical accounts and documentary readings. No prerequisites. Not open to senior history majors. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) African-American History: This introductory lecture and discussion course will trace the development of the slave community, the evolution of African-American cultures, the social construction of racial ideologies, the “free people of color” in slave societies, and the destruction of slavery in the United States. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) Foundation Seminars First-Year Seminar:
Pittsburgh: African-American Culture in the Steel City The glittering contributions of African Americans August Wilson, Romare Bearden, Billy Strayhorn, Lena Horne, John Edgar Weidman, Gus Greenlee, Erroll Garner, Josh Gibson, and Satchel Paige transformed Pittsburgh from a city of work into one of great creativity. Wylie Avenue, which still runs from downtown Pittsburgh to the Hill, defined, along with Homewood and Homestead, the variety of Black Pittsburgh. This seminar will explore the development of African-American culture in Pittsburgh during the twentieth century. Students will do primary and secondary reading as well as conduct hands-on fieldwork in the city during October break. (Fulfills foundation seminar requirement.) First-Year Seminar: Revolutions of the Twentieth Century In this seminar, we will examine not only the major European revolutions of the twentieth century (the Russian revolutions of 1917, the Nazi revolution in Germany, etc.) but also the important anti-imperialist revolutions after World War II. We will read works of such revolutionary leaders as Lenin, Mao Tse-Tung, Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro, “Che” Guevara, and Nasser as well as essays by such theoreticians of revolution as Brinton, Hobsbawm, Keddie, and Berenson. No prerequisites. (Fulfills history major foundation seminar requirement.) Mid-level Survey Courses (200-288)History of the South This course presents a thematic examination of the American South from the settlement of Jamestown through the present. Lectures will focus on the biracial character of southern history and culture, the events that shaped the region, its distinct character, the variety of people and cultures within the South, and how the region changed over the centuries. The format is lecture and discussion. North American Indian History This course analyzes the history of North American Indian people from the precontact era through the twentieth century. Special attention is given to the ethnohistory of Indian groups and to the cultural contact and conflict between Indian and European peoples in the United States and Canada. The course will also examine the persistence of tradition in Indian peoples of North America. The latter part of the course emphasizes twentieth-century Indian/Metis history in Canada and the United States as well as urban trends. Prerequisite: at least 1 unit in history, anthropology, or literature. Not recommended for first-year students. The British Empire Painting in broad strokes on a huge canvas, this course will examine the history of the British Empire from its origin in the sixteenth century through its dissolution in the twentieth. The British Empire, whose beginnings were modest, would by the close of the nineteenth century encompass something like thirteen million square miles and a population of nearly four hundred million. Well before the end of the twentieth century, this empire, the largest the world had ever seen, virtually ceased to exist. Its story, from inception to extinction, is a remarkable one. The forces shaping the British imperial experience were both endogenous and exogenous. Internal imperatives, global imperial competition, and developments on the periphery impelled the empire forward and ultimately brought about its demise. This course will seek to elucidate the evolving characteristics of the British Empire and endeavor to explain the dynamics responsible for its rise and fall. Studies in Russian and Soviet History This course will center on a number of key problems: the influence of Byzantium upon the Eastern Slavs, the impact of the Mongol invasion, the role of Peter the Great in Russian history, the problems of a multinational empire in an age of nationalism, the role of women in nineteenth-century revolutionary movements in Russia, the relationship of Marxism to Leninism and Stalinism, the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union under Gorbachev, and the rise of Russian criminal groups under Yeltsin. The format is lecture and discussion. Advanced Seminars (300-490) Seminars numbered 300-490 are designed primarily as advanced courses for those majoring in history but are open to anyone of at least sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. African Americans in the Age of Jim Crow One historian has described the years between 1880 and 1920 as the “nadir of black life.” During this period African Americans were politically disfranchised, forced into debt peonage, excluded from social life through Jim Crow segregation, and subjected to historically unprecedented levels of extralegal violence. This course will examine how African America was affected by these efforts at racial subjugation and how the community responded socially, politically, economically, intellectually, and culturally. Topics will include the rise of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois as political leaders, the founding of the NAACP, the birth of jazz and the blues, the impact of the Great Migration, racial ideologies, lynching, and class, gender, and political relations within the African-American community. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.) Modern Germany This seminar will examine the origin of the German Empire in the nineteenth century, the adjustment of Germany to democracy after World War I, the rise of Hitler and the Nazi defeat, the postwar division of Germany, and the difficult process of reunification after 1989-90. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.) Imagined Histories: India in Film and Fiction People make sense of their past by telling stories about it. This course focuses on the rich and exciting traditions of literature in India as a way of studying its past, and as a way of studying history itself. Some Indian writers, such as Salman Rushdie, Arundati Roy, and Anita Desai, have, in fact, brought India’s history to the world through their fiction. But what different visions of India do they choose to portray? This course will examine their work, but also the work of lesser known Indian writers and film makers, as a way of seeing how Indian intellectuals themselves have defined and described India, on the one hand, and “history,” on the other. How have these images changed over time? Among the recent films we may see are Earth, Train to Pakistan, East is East, and Hyderabad Blues. Each challenges viewers’ notions of the past as its characters confront it. This course requires some previous knowledge of South Asia or permission of instructor. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.) Practice and Theory of History This course focuses on the conceptual frameworks used by historians and on debates within the profession about the nature of the past and the best way to write about it. The seminar prepares students of history to be productive researchers, insightful readers, and effective writers. The seminar is required for history majors, who should take it before their senior year, and it is open to all students who have taken at least one history course. Rising seniors must have the instructor’s permission to enroll. (Fulfills history major practice and theory requirement.) Practice and Theory of History See description of 387.01, above. Junior Honors: Practice and Theory of History See description for HIST 387, above. Radical Movements in United States History, 1865-1960 This seminar analyzes the origins and development of anarchism, socialism in its various forms, and the Communist Party U.S.A. These movements were not isolated solely to an American context; thus the seminar will also pay attention to their broader historical contexts in the Western world. Depending on the availability of paperback books, the seminar will also assess the twentieth-century political conversion from radical movements on the left to conservatism and mainstream liberalism. Enrollment limited to twelve juniors and seniors with at least 1 unit in history or political science. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.) History of Ireland This seminar will introduce students to the history of Ireland. Through readings, reports, and discussions, the seminar will examine major topics and themes in Irish history from the pre-Christian origins of Celtic society on the island to the present. Enrollment limited to fifteen. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.) Senior Research Seminar The goal of the course is to give each history major the experience of a sustained, independent research project, including: formulating a historical question, considering methods, devising a research strategy, locating and critically evaluating primary and secondary sources, placing evidence in context, shaping an interpretation, and presenting documented results. Research topics will be selected by students in consultation with the instructor. Classes will involve student presentations on various stages of their work and mutual critiques, as well as discussions of issues of common interest, such as methods and bibliography. This seminar is open only to senior history majors. (Fulfills history major senior research seminar requirement.) Several sections of the senior seminar will be offered fall semester each year. The sections for fall 2002 are as follows: Senior Seminar: Open Topics The seminar will be devoted mainly to formulating ideas about, identifying sources for, and pursuing individual research projects. Students will report on their work to one another and assist one another at every stage of their projects. We will take advantage of the variety of topics by appreciating and profiting from the expertise of each student and by constituting a receptive and constructive general audience for one another’s work. The seminar ends with presentation and discussion of the research projects. Senior Seminar: United States Political History This senior research seminar will enable students to explore and analyze politics in its various manifestations from the colonial era through 1960. Students will select a research topic in consultation with the instructor, will make in-class presentations and progress reports, and will offer the seminar a final report on their topics. Limited to senior history majors. Senior Seminar: Open Topics See course description for HIST 490.01 (Open Topics) above. Senior Honors The honors candidates enrolled in this course will devote their time to the research and writing of their honors theses under the direct supervision of a history faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. (Fulfills history major senior research seminar requirement.) Individual Study This is a special study course, generally given as a tutorial, for a student majoring in history who desires to study some topic in depth. The choice of subject will be made by the student with the approval of the instructor who is to direct his or her work. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair. History Research Laboratory This course offers the opportunity for supervised student research projects at all levels, from the first through senior year. Students may apply to take the course individually or in groups; faculty members may organize laboratories on specific subjects. The projects will involve focused, extensive research on a particular topic. Subjects may emerge from a student’s interests within or beyond the regular history curriculum. The lab may be taken independently of, or in conjunction with, a course. If taken in conjunction with a course, the student’s plan must be specifically designed to exceed regular course requirements: the lab is intended to permit a student to explore a new subject, develop a subject in depth, or treat a subject at a more advanced level. Students wishing to enroll in the research laboratory must develop a research plan with special attention to the primary sources available in the Kenyon library. Prerequisites: permission of the supervising faculty member and department chair. Second-Semester CoursesFoundation SurveysUnited States History, 1865 to Present This course presents a thematic survey of American history from Reconstruction to the present. Lectures and discussions will examine the transformation of the United States from a rural, largely Protestant society into a powerful and diverse, urban-industrial state. Topics will include constitutional developments, formation of the industrial economy, urbanization, immigration, political reform, the secularization of public culture, the formation of the Welfare State, the impacts of World War I and World War II, the Cold War and the Vietnam War, suburbanization, the civil rights and women’s movements, and the resurgence of conservative politics. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) The Later Middle Ages:
Europe and the Mediterranean, 1100-1500 This course surveys the history of the later Middle Ages in Europe and the Mediterranean. Relying mainly on primary sources, the course covers the renaissance of the twelfth century, mendicant and monastic spiritualities, scholasticism, the rise of universities, and the devastation of the Black Death. Readings include the mystical writings of a fourteenth-century English woman, Christian and Muslim histories of several Crusades, an account of the murder of the Count of Flanders in the twelfth century, and a set of laws from Spain governing the interaction of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey and premodern requirements.) Modern Europe, 1815-Present The course analyzes major themes and issues that shaped contemporary Europe from the end of the Napoleonic era to the present. The format is lecture and discussion. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) Modern Africa This introductory course examines the colonial and postcolonial history of Sub-Saharan Africa. We will be using novels, films, and secondary readings to explore issues of resistance, identity, and culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This period witnessed the European conquest of the African continent, the dissolution of empire, and the coming of independence. We will read works such as Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, discuss in detail spirit possession through a viewing of The Mad Masters, and explore contemporary issues such as the ending of apartheid in South Africa. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) Imperial China This course examines the development of society and state in China from the tenth to early nineteenth centuries, looking at 1) cycles of economic and demographic expansion, which from the sixteenth century brought China increasingly into global exchange networks; 2) efforts of the state to channel or contain that growth as it defined its vision of the proper world order (tianxia, or “all under Heaven”); and 3) relationships between the individual and society. In addition to such key institutions as the imperial state (throne and bureaucracy), the agrarian economy (farmer, artisan, and merchant), and the family/ancestral lineage, we will explore other social forms and cultural activity that emerged as adaptations to a changing political and ecological environment. Using a variety of literary and documentary source materials, we will try to analyze the patterns of social process and state-building in China on the eve of the world’s modern age. No prior knowledge of China is assumed. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement and premodern requirement). Not open to senior history majors. Contemporary African-American History This is an introductory lecture and discussion course in the history of African Americans in the United States. Beginning with the emancipation of the slaves, the course traces the evolution of black culture and identity, the construction and destruction of racial segregation, and the continuing struggle for “freedom.” There are no prerequisites, but familiarity with the materials covered in HIST 175 is assumed. (Fulfills portion of history major foundation survey requirement.) First-Year Foundation Seminars Origins of the First World War The First World War (1914-1918) shaped the history of Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. The Great War transformed the European continent almost beyond recognition, and the long shadow it cast had much to do with the coming of the Second World War. Historians have failed to reach a consensus on the causes principally responsible for the monumental struggle that engulfed Europe between 1914 and 1918. Indeed, the historiography of the subject remains highly contentious. Did the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914 make the war inevitable? Or did this event merely trigger the outbreak of a conflict that had been in the making for decades? To what degree did nationalism, the alliance system, the formulation of joint military plans, the rising tide of imperialism, and domestic social, political, and economic strife contribute to the coming of war in August 1914? What role did individual diplomats and statesmen play? Did a strain of irrationalism present in prewar European culture predispose European societies to welcome the prospect of a major conflagration? This first-year seminar will seek to come to grips with these questions through a collective exploration of both primary documents and secondary works. (Fulfills history major foundation seminar requirement.) Note: Several additional foundation seminars will be offered during the second semester. The topics are to be arranged. Mid-level Survey Courses (200-288) United States Civilization: History through Literature This course examines major themes in U.S. civilization through classics in American letters in the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. Students will explore the broader meanings of industrialism, urbanization, political dissent, the formation of new social thought, and the impact of war, and their relationship to political ideas. Readings will include works by Edward Bellamy, John Dos Passos, James Farrell, Norman Mailer, Mary Gordon, and Ralph Ellison. The list is neither exhaustive nor absolute and is subject to modification pending availability of paperbound editions. Additionally, we will assess primary source materials—Randolph Bourne, Margaret Sanger, Thorstein Veblen, and Reinhold Niebuhr, among others—distributed in class. Other materials include film sources, as available. British History, 1485-2000 This course will survey British history from the accession of the Tudors until the present day. Topics to be considered include the Reformation, the unification of Britain, the civil wars, the rise of parliament, the origins of empire, the industrial revolution, the political response to urbanization, Britain as a great power, the secularization of Britain, the end of empire, and the adjustment to diminished global status. Student responsibilities include regular attendance, attentive reading of the texts, at least one research paper, and at least two examinations. The Expansion of International Society This course will explore the development of the modern international society of nation-states, from its beginnings in Western Europe in the sixteenth century, through the two major waves of European colonization of other areas of the world, to the decolonization following the Second World War. Students will examine the roles of economic change, the spread of individualist ideas and attitudes, and power politics in promoting the expansion of the state system, capitalism, and aspects of Western culture from Europe to the rest of the world. The political and cultural resistance of colonized peoples to European expansion and the incorporation of colonial economies into the world economy will also be examined. Chronologically, topics to be considered include the rivalry between emerging European empires and Islamic empires at the beginning of Western expansion; the conquest of the New World; nineteenth-century imperialism—explanations for the new wave of imperialism and consequences of it; and the rapid growth of independent states due to decolonization in the postwar period. Finally, the political, economic, and cultural/religious consequences of imperialism and decolonization will be explored. Students may take this course for credit in either history or international studies (INST 201). History of Spain: Pliny to the Guggenheim This course surveys two thousand years in the history of the Iberian peninsula, paying close attention to the intimate and always-shifting relations (political, economic, and cultural) between the peninsula and other parts of the world (Europe, north Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Americas). We move from Spain’s important place in the Roman Empire to the recent opening of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. Along the way, we examine the Visigothic kingdom; the interaction of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Middles Ages; Spanish and Portuguese colonialism in the Americas, Africa, and Asia; the art of El Greco, Goya, and Velázquez; Catalan and Basque separatism; the Spanish Civil War, and the films of Pedro Almodóvar. Sophomore Foundation SeminarSlavery in the African-American Experience African Americans are generally thought to have arrived on the shores of what became America in 1619—probably as slaves. For the next 246 years, the experience of blacks and whites, in both the North and South, was shaped by human bondage. This course will examine how slavery shaped the cultural, political, social, and economic lives of African Americans. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which slavery determined relations between blacks and whites and the identities of both groups, as well as how slavery played an integral part in the growth and expansion of America. Topics will include the slave trade, the origins of racism in America, the different varieties of slave experience, slave religion, the treatment of free blacks in slave states, slavery and the Constitution, slavery and the U.S. economy, and the role of slavery in the coming of the Civil War. Advanced Seminars (300-490) Seminars numbered 300-490 are designed primarily as advanced courses for those majoring in history but are open to anyone of at least sophomore standing. Enrollment limited. The History of Kenyon College This course will explore the history of Kenyon College and the Village of Gambier from 1824 to the present. The course will include theoretical and practical instruction on archival research methods. Research tools will include primary source material such as print and photographic archival collections, oral histories, and historical artifacts. The capstone of the course will be a collaborative research project focusing on one aspect of the College’s history. This project will include: (1) researching, preparing, and installing an archival exhibit; and (2) preparing a parallel multimedia virtual exhibit to be published online. The class format will be seminar discussion. Enrollment limited to ten students. The Practice and Theory of History See first-semester course description for HIST 387. American Revolution This seminar will illumine the creation of a novus ordo saeclorum by examining the events that occurred along the North American Atlantic seaboard in the quarter century after 1763 as the settlers in thirteen British colonies turned against the authority of the crown and established a new republic. Readings, discussions, and reports will explore the political and ideological foundations of the break from Britain, the military and social course of the War of Independence, and the postwar struggles to find a constitutional order that would preserve republican liberties. Special attention will be paid to the discoveries, directions, and implications of recent scholarship. Enrollment limited to fifteen. Prerequisite: HIST 101 or permission of instructor. (Fulfills history major premodern and advanced seminar requirement.) North American Indian Life and Culture through Canadian and United States Indian Autobiography and Literature This seminar will examine Canadian and United States Indian and Metis life and culture by using autobiographical and literary works to illuminate major themes in the history of native peoples. We will begin the seminar by critically examining the nature of autobiography as a way of interpreting individual and collective experiences in history. We will also examine aspects of oral and written traditions as vehicles for understanding the past. Although the precontact era will be considered, the bulk of the seminar will deal with the period since Indian-European contact. Seminar participants will analyze both change and persistence in cultural values, family life, gender, residential schools, urbanization, religion, and racial tension, among other issues. Prerequisite: 1 unit of work in history, political science, literature, or anthropology, and permission of instructor. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement.) Late Antiquity:
The Mediterranean World
from Augustus to Muhammad This course examines the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages. We concentrate on life and thought on the shores of the Mediterranean between the pax romana and the rise of Islam (roughly 0 c.e. to 700 c.e.). This period witnessed dramatic transformations in the social, political, intellectual, and spiritual life of those who lived near the Mediterranean. We will explore the gradual metamorphosis of Roman institutions, divisions between east and west as well as Roman and Greek, city life, early Christian communities, gladiatorial games, the cult of martyrs, and the swift spread of Islam in the seventh century. (Fulfills history major premodern and advanced seminar requirement.) Religion, Rebellion, and Resistance in China, Eighteenth Century to the Present Why does the Chinese government so relentlessly seek to destroy every vestige of a seemingly harmless qigong healing sect? In this seminar, we examine the society-state relationship in late imperial and modern China from the perspective of popular or sectarian protest and resistance to state impositions, in order to clarify the dynamics of political and social change in contemporary China. The class will explore the imperial, republican, and Communist governments’ definitions of dangerous cults and other nonstate social organizations that engaged in significant acts of resistance or rebellion, focusing on three case studies: Muslim rebellions in Gansu in the nineteenth century, Boxers at the turn of the twentieth century, and Falungong (1999-present). Students will research a fourth case to present to the class and submit as an independent paper. Coursework will emphasize research in secondary and primary sources, and analysis of patterns of state-society interaction and the importance of historical context in understanding emerging trends in China. Prerequisite: HIST 160 (Modern East Asia) or a course in modern Chinese history. (Fulfills history major advanced seminar requirement). Asians in Diaspora There are so many Tibetans in Dharamsala, India, that people call it Little Lhasa. Ramayana celebrations—based on the Hindu epic—in Southeast Asia reflect more ancient migrations of Indians, who carried their languages and cultures with them as they migrated. Chinese communities thrive throughout Asia, where Chinese traders once settled in the course of commercial enterprise. This course will examine old and new patterns of Asian migration and the diaspora of various Asian ethnic communities. We will use a lot of cultural artifacts and products of popular culture that reflect the transit of people from one part of Asia to another. There are also, however, some important theoretical questions we have to tackle. What is the relationship between diaspora and assimilation? What does it mean for a community to settle in a place and make it home? The converse of this question is: Who is indigenous? What effect does colonialism have on the changing meanings of migration and diaspora? The transmission of cultures and religions across Asia raises other complicated questions. For example, the “spread of Buddhism” from India eastward is usually seen through the transmission of texts and ideas—what about people? We are more apt to consider the importance of people in the spread of Islam. But surely in India, if not Malaysia too, most Muslims within a few centuries were converts, not immigrants. So how do we separate the diaspora of people from the diaspora of ideas? This course is the senior seminar for the Asian Studies Concentration (ASIA 490). It is also a history course and will fulfill the history major advanced seminar requirement and the premodern requirement. Individual Study This course is a special study, generally given as a tutorial, for a student majoring in history who desires to study some topic in depth. The choice of subject will be made by the student with the approval of the instructor who is to direct his or her work. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair. History Research Laboratory See first-semester course description of HIST 293.01. Senior Honors Seminar The candidates for honors enrolled in this course will devote their time to the research and writing of their honors theses under the direct supervision of a history faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Additional courses available another year include the following:HIST 162 Japan to 1800 Other courses that meet Department of History requirementsHistory faculty members have determined that certain courses taught in other departments may be counted as meeting various history department requirements for the major. The following are examples of such courses. Course titles and numbers may change from year to year. History majors should see the department chair regarding how this may apply. AMST 108 Introduction to American Studies
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symbol, which designates those courses particularly appropriate for first-year students or upperclass students new to the history department curriculum.