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Winter 2024▲
See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.
European History, 1789 to the Present
HIST 102 - Horowitz, Sarah
The French Revolution and Napoleon, the era of nationalism, the rise of socialism, imperialism, World Wars I and II, the Cold War, and European Union.
Japan: Origins to Atomic Aftermath
HIST 104 - Bello, David A.
This course traces the span of Japan's historical development from its origins through the Cold War, with a special, but not exclusive, emphasis on an environmental perspective. The first half of the course covers the emergence of indigenous Japanese society and its adaptation to cultural and political influences from mainland East Asia, including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese concepts of empire. The second half covers Japan's successful transition from a declining Tokugawa Shogunate to a modern imperial nation to a reluctant U.S. Cold War ally from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.
History of the United States Since 1876
HIST 108 - Michelmore, Mary (Molly)
A survey of United States History from Reconstruction to the present with emphasis on industrialization, urbanization, domestic and international developments, wars, and social and cultural movements.
Modern Latin America: Independence to Today
HIST 131 - Green, Romina A.
This course surveys Latin American history from the 1791 Haitian Revolution to the present. It covers important cultural, political, economic, and social developments in conversation with topics such as class, race, gender, sexuality, religion, and governance. We will examine an array of secondary and primary sources including podcasts, documentaries, and poetry/music lyrics to understand localized experiences within the context of regional historical developments such as the Cold War.
African History Since 1800
HIST 176 - Ballah, Henryatta L.
Examination of the history and historiography of Africa from the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present. Topics include precolonial states and societies, European colonial intrusions and African responses, development of modern political and social movements, decolonization, and the history of independent African nation-states during the Cold War and into the 21st century.
France in the 19th and 20th Centuries
HIST 209 - Horowitz, Sarah
Historical study of France from the Revolution through the present, tracing France's revolutionary tradition and the continuing Franco-French war it spawned, and the construction of and challenges to French national identity. Topics include the successive revolutions of the 19th century, the acquisition and loss of two empires, and the transformations in French society brought by wars, industrialization, and immigration.
Soviet Russia, 1917 to 1991
HIST 221 - Bidlack, Richard H. (Rich)
The revolutions of 1917, the emergence of the Soviet system, the Stalinist period, Stalin's successors, and the eventual collapse of the USSR.
Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union and the Resurgence of Russia
HIST 222 - Bidlack, Richard H. (Rich)
This course analyzes the reasons for the decline of the Soviet Union commencing in the latter part of the Brezhnev era and its collapse under the weight of the failed reforms of Gorbachev. It further traces the fragmentation of the USSR into 15 republics and the simultaneous devolution of authority within the Russian Republic under Yeltsin. The course concludes with the remarkable reassertion of state power under Putin up to the present. Substantial attention will be devoted to Russia’s war against Ukraine over the past year.
Topics in European History: History of Poverty in Britain
HIST 229E - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)
Popular Culture in Latin America
HIST 232 - Green, Romina A.
This course explores Latin America's diversity in cultures, focusing on the everyday expressions and experiences of working-class, Indigenous, Black, and Asian descent peoples. The course will first examine how economic and social relationships related to class, race, gender, and religion are experienced through labor, dance, dress, and forms of worship. The second half of the course examines the culturalexpressions of those relationships by scrutinizing themes such as music, sports, beauty, film, protest culture, and the internet. We will analyze the syncretic reality of cultural mixing, as well as the tension between the desire to maintain an authentic popular culture and the pressure to conform to the global culture industry.
The Indigenous South
HIST 236 - Sammons, Franklin
This course is about the history of Indigenous people and nations in the Southeast from the pre-contact period to the present. Comprised of diverse peoples, speaking different languages, and with a range of customs and beliefs, the people of the Native South nevertheless share common cultural traditions, social systems, and histories. In this course, we will cover the Mississippian mound building civilizations; Native southerners encounters with Europeans; the American Revolution, Civil War, and Jim Crow as experienced in the Native Southeast; and contemporary struggles over for Native sovereignty and identity. Students will be introduced to the methodologies used by archeologists, historians, ethnohistorians and those working in the discipline of Native American and Indigenous Studies, to recover Indigenous perspectives and history. Students will develop a research project of their choosing about the Native Southeast that examines issues of Indigenous sovereignty, representation, erasure, resistance, cultural adaptation, and resilience.
HIST239-01/SOAN239-01 Collective Memory: Society, Culture, Identity and Power
HIST 239 - Bell, Alison K.
Why do some places, events, objects, symbols, and individuals become central to understandings of heritage, while others seem ignored or forgotten? How do people use material objects - including landscapes, monuments and artifacts - in negotiations of memory and history, identity and belonging, or debates about good and evil? This course examines cultural, social, political, and economic processes of shared remembrance through case studies from regional, national, and global contexts. We aim to expand understandings of ways that our own society as well as those distant from us in time and space have selectively incorporated their past into the present with an eye to the future. This exploration of collective, contested memory considers heritage tourism, dark tourism, memorialization as witnessing, ethics of remembrance, and relationships between memorialization and power.
Empire of Liberty? Revolutionary America 1763-1830
HIST 241 - Sammons, Franklin
Thomas Jefferson famously referred to the fledgling United States as an "empire of liberty," a seemingly contradictory characterization. But was it? To explore this question and many others, this course examines the causes, character, and consequences of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. We will focus on the key events, people, documents, and interpretations of the Revolutionary era but also on the experiences and perspectives of those who sometimes appear only at the margins of this story: loyalists, women, African Americans, Indigenous nations, artisans, and others. In addition to reading historical scholarship, each week we will scrutinize a variety of primary sources, not only to improve your understanding of the history of Revolutionary America but to develop your own ability to interpret the past.
The Evolution of American Warfare
HIST 243 - Myers, Barton A.
This course examines U.S. military history from the colonial period to the post-9/11 American military experience. Since this is a period of more than four hundred years, the course limits its focus to major topics and central questions facing the men and women who have fought in American wars. We trace the course of American military history by focusing on three themes: the early development of American military institutions, the evolution of military policy toward civilian populations, and the changing face of battle in which Americans have fought. All three of these themes relate to the central goal of this course, which is to gain a better understanding of how America's military developed in conjunction with and sometimes in conflict with American democracy.
England in the Age of Shakespeare
HIST 255 - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)
"This class uses the dates of Shakespeare's life (1564-1616) as our chronological frame to explore the history of England during the profoundly important reigns of Elizabeth I and James VI and I. Together we examine the era of personal monarchy and the growing resistance of parliament, the encounters with "others" beyond England's shores, the relationship between gender and power, the spread of religious convictions and contradictions, colonialism and the beginnings of the British Empire, and the great literary and artistic figures of the day. We also investigate what life was like for the average men and women who lived and died during England's "golden age." "
Women and Slavery in the Black Atlantic
HIST 261 - Dennie, Nneka D.
From the 16th century to the 19th century, over 12 million Africans were shipped to the New World. Of those who survived the Middle Passage, fewer than 500,000 arrived in the United States; the vast majority were dispersed throughout the Caribbean and South America. The experiences of enslaved women, as well as the relationships between free and enslaved women, are as diverse as the African diaspora. Given the broad geographical scope of Africans' arrivals in the New World, this course offers a comparative examination of women and slavery in the Black Atlantic. Topics for consideration include black women's gendered experiences of slavery, white women's roles in slave societies, and women abolitionists. Students also examine how African and European conceptions of gender shaped the institution of slavery in the New World. Particular attention is devoted to slavery in West Africa, Barbados, Cuba, Brazil, and the United States.
HIST271-01/REL271-01 Islam in America: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
HIST 271 - Atanasova, Kameliya N.
Same as HIST 271. From the discourse on the War on Terror, to debates about Muslim women's dress, Islam in America has attracted the attention of journalists, activists, government officials, and scholars of religion. This course takes a critical-historical approach to the topic by examining key themes in the history of Islam in America: the lives of enslaved African Muslims in the Antebellum period and the Founding Fathers' visions of Islam; the immigrant experience of Arab Muslims at the turn of the 20th century; the role of Muslim organizations in the Civil Rights movement; and, the changing representations of American Muslims after the Gulf War and post-9/11. In interrogating the history of Islam in America, we specifically pay attention to the ways in which religion, gender, class, race, and citizenship continue to inform representations of Muslims in the U.S.
Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: Liberia and the American South: The Making of a Black Settlers' Colony, 1816-1900
HIST 289C - Ballah, Henryatta L.
In 1822, the first group of emancipated slaves from the United States arrived on the Malaquette Coast, which they renamed Liberia in 1824. Between 1822 and 1892, over sixteen thousand predominantly emancipated slaves from the U.S and some from the Caribbean settled in Liberia. Their settlement was orchestrated by the American Colonization Society—A Christian based organization whose membership included many slave –owners, including senators, congressmen, and other prominent government officials such as Thomas Jefferson. Confederate General and former Washington and Lee University president, Robert E. Lee also supported colonization and his wife sold paintings to raise funds for the ACS. Although freed slaves and free blacks who settled in Liberia came from across the United States, most came from the American South. While the course will examine ACS initiatives, it will allow for more specificity—focusing primarily on the southern states of VA, NC, and GA. For example, over half of the emigrants who settled in Liberia came from the state of Georgia. And settlers from various parts of Virginia, including Rockbridge County and Loudon County, also settled there. Thus, the course begins with the following questions: Why was the ACS founded? What were the goals and objectives of the organization in removing blacks from the U.S. to Liberia? What views did settlers and blacks in general have about emigration to Liberia? To address these questions and others, the course will analyze primary sources, including newspapers, the annual reports of the ACS from 1817 to 1892, personal correspondence between missionaries, as well as personal correspondence between formerly enslaved persons residing in Liberia to their former owners, friends, and families in the U.S. The Mars and Jesse Lucas Letters from Liberia, 1820-1836, which contains eight letters between formerly enslaved Mars and Jesse with the Heaton Family in Loudon County, VA and The Hugh Adams Papers 1857-1860 about the Adams estate and the forced emigration of nineteen enslaved individuals from Rockbridge County, VA to Liberia are few of the sources we will examine.
Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: Mongols, Manchus & Muslims: China's Frontier History
HIST 289F - Bello, David A.
The unprecedented expansionism of China’s last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), produced an ethnically and geographically diverse empire whose legacy is the current map and multiethnic society of today’s People’s Republic of China. The Qing Empire’s establishment, extension and consolidation were inextricably bound up with the ethnic identity of its Manchu progenitors. The Manchu attempt to unify diversity resulted in a unique imperial project linking East, Inner and Southeast Asia. This course explores the multiethnic nature and limits of this unification, as well as its 20th-century transformations.
Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: History of Empires in the Middle East
HIST 289G - Chalmers, Matthew J.
One of the most decisive forces to shape what we call “the Middle East” is the operation of empire. But too often we limit our analysis of the region to European powers without a fuller grasp on the geopolitics or deep history involved. What does it mean to be an empire in the Middle East? How does that change over time? What is the role of religion? What about foreign powers? In this course, we explore foundational claims about legitimate rule, legislation, identity, and popular politics in the region. We do so via case studies that stretch from the origins of known civilization to current affairs.
Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: Israel: History, Politics, Society
HIST 289H - Chalmers, Matthew J.
Israel is everywhere in America. From campus politics to Capitol Hill, it matters what you say. And there’s good reasons why people debate it. The politics of Israel (domestic and foreign) are complicated; it occupies a strategic geopolitical position in the Middle East; it is a new nation-state with ancient claims to identity. This course equips students with the necessary historical knowledge and methodological skillset to understand recent events in the region, as well as a thorough grasp on its long history, social dynamics, and political complexity.
Seminar: Topics in History: Science & Religion from Galileo til Today
HIST 295J - Rupke, Nicolaas A.
The focal point of our presentations/essays/discussions is the encounter of science and Christian belief in the Western tradition during the period stretching from the time of the Renaissance to the present day. With respect to historiographical approaches, the so-called warfare model will not be used – in fact we deconstruct the warfare thesis – and instead we look at the relationship between science & religion in terms of several parallel discourses, only one of which is to be understood as conflict.
Seminar: Speech and Censorship in the Middle Ages
HIST 310 - Vise, Melissa E.
What is censorship, where does it happen, and why? To most U.S. Americans, the Middle Ages is an era known for Inquisition, book burning, and the brutal silencing of political and religious dissent. Yet, compared to more modern censoring institutions, the institutions of medieval Europe held much weaker powers of enforcement, different motives for censoring, and ambiguous technologies to do so. What and who could censor (or be censored) in a society without the printing press? Among other topics, we cover the public vs. private spheres; artistic liberty; religious vs. political concerns; gender; and the role of and limitations upon the modern historian investigating a censored past.
Seminar: Sectionalism & Secession, 1840-1861
HIST 344 - Myers, Barton A.
An intensive examination of the sectional conflict: the Mexican War, Manifest Destiny, slavery and the territories, the abolition movement, the failure of compromise, and secession. Emphasis on the study of primary sources and class discussion of assigned reading.
Seminar: Managing Mongols, Manchus, and Muslims: China's Frontier History (16th-20th Centuries)
HIST 386 - Bello, David A.
The unprecedented expansionism of China's last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), produced an ethnically and geographically diverse empire whose legacy is the current map and multiethnic society of today's People's Republic of China. The Qing Empire's establishment, extension and consolidation were inextricably bound up with the ethnic identity of its Manchu progenitors. The Manchu attempt to unify diversity resulted in a unique imperial project linking East, Inner and Southeast Asia. This course explores the multiethnic nature and limits of this unification, as well as its 20th-century transformations.
Honors Thesis
HIST 493 - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)
Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .
Fall 2023▲
See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.
European History, 325-1517
HIST 100 - Vise, Melissa E.
An introductory survey, featuring lectures and discussions of European culture, politics, religion and social life, and of Europe's relations with neighboring societies, from the rise of Christianity in Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance, to the beginnings of the 16th-century Protestant and Catholic Reformations.
China: Origins to 20th-Century Reforms
HIST 103 - Bello, David A.
China's history embodies the full range of experience -as domain of imperial dynasties, target of imperial aggression, dissident member of the cold war Communist bloc, and current regional superpower in East Asia. This course tracks these transitions in political and social organization that, among other things, terminated history's longest lasting monarchical system, ignited two of its largest revolutions, began World War II and produced the most populous nation on earth. A wide range of cultural, political and intellectual stereotypes of China are challenged in the process of exploring its particular historical experience.
History of the United States to 1876
HIST 107 - Sammons, Franklin
A survey of United States history from the colonial period through Reconstruction with emphasis on the American Revolution, the formation of the Constitution, the rise of parties, western expansion, the slavery controversy, sectionalism, secession, Civil War and Reconstruction.
History of the United States to 1876
HIST 107 - Myers, Barton A.
A survey of United States history from the colonial period through Reconstruction with emphasis on the American Revolution, the formation of the Constitution, the rise of parties, western expansion, the slavery controversy, sectionalism, secession, Civil War and Reconstruction.
Latin America: Incas/Aztecs to Independence
HIST 130 - Green, Romina A.
An introduction to the Indian and Iberian people active from Florida to California through Central and South America between 1450 and 1750.
History of Africa to 1800
HIST 175 - Ballah, Henryatta L.
Examination of the history and historiography of Africa from the origins of humankind to the abolition of the trans- Atlantic slave trade. Topics include human evolution in Africa, development of agriculture and pastoralism, ancient civilizations of the Nile, African participation in the spread of Christianity and Islam, empires of West Africa, Swahili city-states, and African participation in the economic and biological exchanges that transformed the Atlantic world.
First-Year Seminar: Salem Witch Trials
HIST 180C - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)
First-year seminar. This class introduces students to one of the most fascinating, disturbing, and complex episodes in American History: the Salem Witch Trials. Between early 1692 and mid-1693, colonial Massachusetts witnessed the largest witch panic on North American shores. Over the course of a year, more than 150 individuals from 2 dozen towns, most of them women, were formally tried for the crime of witchcraft. In the end, 19 people were hanged, several more died in prison awaiting trial, and one man was famously crushed under the weight of dozens of heavy stones. This class asks how this tragedy happened, why it matters, and what it tells us about Atlantic and American history. Together we explore the issues of religion, gender, race, social status, politics, and power that shaped the events in Salem. We end the course by considering the long afterlife of the witch trials in the popular imagination, from literature like The Crucible to movies such as Hocus Pocus to the rise of tourism in modern Salem.
First-Year Seminar: Youth and Social Movements in Africa
HIST 180D - Ballah, Henryatta L.
First-Year seminar. While Africa is always represented as a place of “backwardness” and “barbarity,” rarely do media reports focus on the life and lived experiences of African youth. When the youth are discussed, they are often presented from the dominant trope of victimhood, thus neglecting the complexities and diversity of their lived experience, as well as their contribution to democratization efforts on the continent. Thus, the aim of this course is to provide a critical analysis and discussion of Sub-Saharan African youth activism and social movements in the context of globalization and the crisis of “post” colonial authoritarianism, from the 1960s into the twenty-first century.
Gender & Sexuality in Modern Europe
HIST 206 - Horowitz, Sarah
This course investigates the history of Europe from the late 18th century to the present day through the lens of women's lives, gender roles, and changing notions of sexuality. We examine how historical events and movements (industrialization, the world wars, etc.) had an impact on women, we look at how ideas about gender shaped historical phenomena, such as imperialism and totalitarianism. We also consider the rise of new ideas about sexuality and the challenge of feminism.
France: Old Regime and Revolution
HIST 208 - Horowitz, Sarah
Historical study of France from the reign of Louis XIV to the Revolution, tracing the changes to French society, culture and politics in the 17th and 18th centuries. Topics include absolutism under Louis XIV, the Enlightenment, socioeconomic changes during the 18th century, and the Revolution.
The Making of Modern Scotland: Braveheart to Brexit
HIST 216 - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)
A surveys of the history of the Scottish people from the medieval period up to the current debates surrounding the possibility of Scottish Independence and the future of Great Britain. Along the way, we examine the Wars of Independence, the Renaissance and Reformation, the Scottish Enlightenment, the Highland clearances, emigration to North America, involvement in the British Empire, and the development of Scottish nationalism. Students confront two interrelated questions: How has the history of Scotland been made, manipulated, and romanticized over the last seven centuries, and why do we remain fascinated by this small country across the Atlantic? This class, then, is both an introduction to Scottish history, and an exploration of the thin lines between history, myth, and reality.
Darwin and His Critics: The Theory of Evolution from 1755 Till Today
HIST 231 - Rupke, Nicolaas A.
One of the most influential scientific theories is the theory of organic evolution. Its history has largely been written by Darwin and his followers. In this course, we look at the "Darwin industry" but then additionally explore a revisionist history that incorporates the non-Darwinian approach to the origin of life and species. Giving close attention to the scientific facts and the different theories, we also raise the questions "Where were these theories situated?" "What socio-political purposes did they serve?" and "Which religious connotations did they have?" We will end by bringing the historical perspective to bear on today's ongoing controversies about evolution theory.
The American Civil War
HIST 245 - Myers, Barton A.
The sectional crisis. The election of 1860 and the secession of the southern states. Military strategy and tactics. Weapons, battles, leaders. Life of the common soldier. The politics of war. The economics of growth and destruction. Emancipation. Life behind the lines. Victory and defeat.
Introduction to African American History from 1877
HIST 260 - Dennie, Nneka D.
An intensive study of the African-American experience from 1877 to the present. Special emphasis is given to the development of black intellectual and cultural traditions, development of urban communities, emergence of the black middle class, black nationalism, the civil rights era, and the persistence of racism in American society.
African Women in Comparative Perspective
HIST 275 - Ballah, Henryatta L.
In this course, we will widen our appreciation of African Women's experiences, including history, legal and socio-economic status, religious and political roles, productive and reproductive roles, and the impact of colonialism and post-independence development and representation issues. The course will move across time and space to examine the aforementioned in pre-colonial, colonial and 'post'-colonial Africa. We will begin with the question: What common beliefs/images about African women did/do Euro-Americans share?
HIST282-01/REL282-01 Picturing Muhammad? Perceptions of the Prophet from the Hijra to Hip-Hop
HIST 282 - Atanasova, Kameliya N.
Same as REL 282. To Muslims, Muhammad is a prophetic figure whose model life is to be emulated; to non-Muslims, a controversial figure that has stirred the imagination for centuries. Through an analysis of the earliest non-Muslim sources on Muhammad, to insider Muslim narratives of the prophet's miraculous life, to polemical medieval Christian stories about him, to Deepak Chopra and Muhammad in hip-hop, this course explores the various historical, literary, and media representations of Muhammad. We will pay special attention to recent controversies on visual depictions of Muhammad, as well as contemporary ritual practices surrounding the embodiment of Islam's most important prophet.
Seminar: Topics in History: Doomsday Science Then and Now
HIST 295I - Rupke, Nicolaas A.
In recent years, scientific doomsday literature has surged, along with popular publications on the topic. The threat of major impacts by comets or asteroids, and indications of climate change, global warming and sea level rise have deepened anxiety about a possible end to civilization-as-we-know-it. This increase in doomsday concern, in part founded on new scientific observations and insights, also receives input from politics and religion as well as from its historical place in the discourse of human destiny. A preoccupation with global catastrophes, past and future, and related to the study of contemporary local and regional floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the like, has a long history in Western culture. Bringing that history to bear on current concerns may deepen our understanding of the forces that drive the doomsday discussions in today’s society.
African American Intellectual History
HIST 359 - Dennie, Nneka D.
Since their earliest arrivals in the New World, African Americans crafted liberatory ideas as they articulated a desire for equality, justice, and self-determination. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, black intellectual thought took shape against the backdrop of processes of enslavement, emancipation, racial violence, and state-sanctioned oppression. Indeed, the discursive spaces that black political thinkers created became major sites of knowledge production and provided momentum for black mobilization. Beginning with David Walker's Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829), this course will probe landmark texts by and about African American thinkers including Maria Stewart, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Malcolm X., and Angela Davis. Students will evaluate historical perspectives on topics including racial uplift, feminism, black nationalism, and Pan-Africanism. They will also identify major debates that shaped the development of African American intellectual history.
Advanced Seminar: Educating Otherness
HIST 395E - Green, Romina A.
This seminar will examine how the modern school constructed Indianness or indigeneity in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The course takes a comparative approach to identify education policy patterns and shared perspectives across nations, placing nation-state territorial consolidation influenced by the globalization of colonial ideology. The first part of the course offers background on native mission schools in the Spanish and British colonial empires and the pedagogical questions that formed the modern school. The second part scrutinizes case studies of state and religious mission/residential schools in North America, Latin America, Australia, Sweden, and Japan. The last part of the course examines recent reconciliation moves by state and church institutions in response to Indigenous activism demanding apologies and reparations in addition to civil and land rights as material compensation.
Senior Thesis
HIST 473 - Horowitz, Sarah
This course serves as an alternative for HIST 493. Please consult the department head for more details.
Honors Thesis
HIST 493 - Michelmore, Mary (Molly)
Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .
Honors Thesis
HIST 493 - Myers, Barton A.
Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .
Honors Thesis
HIST 493 - Horowitz, Sarah
Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .
Honors Thesis
HIST 493 - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)
Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .
Spring 2023▲
See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.
Scenes from Chinese History
HIST 105 - Bello, David A.
Film is one of the 20th century's most influential forms of mass communication and, consequently, has been one medium for the creation and maintenance of nation-states. In this sense, no film can be considered as mere entertainment entirely divorced from the social, political, economic and, ultimately, historical context in which it was produced. This is particularly true of modern nation-states invented during the 20th century like the People's Republic of China (PRC). This course is intended to explore how contemporary PRC cinema has interpreted Chinese history, as represented by some of that history's pre-PRC milestones of conflict in the Qin and Qing dynasties as well as the Republican period. Students evaluate the films critically as historical products of their own times as well as current historical narratives of the past by examining each event through a pair of films produced at different times in PRC history. Students also examine post-1949 changes in China and its interpretation of its pre-1949 history, and so, by seeing how a country interprets its history at a given time.
Muslims in the Movies
HIST 172 - Atanasova, Kameliya N.
Same as REL 172. An examination of the history of visual representation of Islam and Muslims in classical and modern cinema. We approach movies produced by both Muslims and non-Muslims over the last century as historical sources: visual monuments that have captured the specific cultural and political context in which they were produced. We examine a selection of these movies through the lens of critical theory and the study of religion in order to pay attention to how questions surrounding identity and representation, race and gender, Orientalism and perceptions of difference have historically influenced and continue to influence cinematic images of Islam.
Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union and the Resurgence of Russia
HIST 222 - Bidlack, Richard H. (Rich)
This course analyzes the reasons for the decline of the Soviet Union commencing in the latter part of the Brezhnev era and its collapse under the weight of the failed reforms of Gorbachev. It further traces the fragmentation of the USSR into 15 republics and the simultaneous devolution of authority within the Russian Republic under Yeltsin. The course concludes with the remarkable reassertion of state power under Putin up to the present. Substantial attention will be devoted to Russia’s war against Ukraine over the past year.
Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: Queer History and Media
HIST 269H - Reeves, Jacob A. (Jake) / Horowitz, Sarah
This class examines the history of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States as well as representations in various forms of media, including film, television, books, and videogames, from the late 19th century to the present. Topics include the origins of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, shifting cultural representations of LGBTQ+ people, queer fan culture, and debates over representation.
Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: Reacting to the Past: Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution in NYC, 1775-1776
HIST 269I - Sammons, Franklin
In this class you will explore a moment in the history of the American Revolution – as well as some of the broader political, ideological, social, and economic dimensions of the conflict – in an unusual way: by participating in role-playing simulations through which you will reenact the debates and conflicts that engaged the participants in these historical events. This was a moment when the political and social conflicts provoked by Britain’s imperial crisis assumed a ferocious intensity. It was also a moment of deep historical contingency, when the fate of colonial resistance and rebellion remained undetermined. By reading a range of primary source documents and assuming the roles of historical characters, students will develop their historical thinking, primary source analysis, and argumentation, both in written and spoken form. The course also aims to cultivate a sense of historical empathy by trying to understand the foreignness of the past on its own terms.
Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History: True Crime Narrative in US History
HIST 269J - Brett, Mia
This class will examine the American public's sensationalized true crime fascination from the 19th century until present day. The class will explore both the media coverage of a case as well as the historical record of famous cases. We will read murder pamphlets, newspaper articles, watch true crime documentaries, and read primary sources. The majority of the cases this class will focus on will deal with narratives of murdered women so conversations about race and gender and crime victims will also be part of this class. For a final project students will choose a case not thoroughly covered in the class and analyze the media coverage and public perception alongside the legal and factual record of a case.
Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: History of West African Food
HIST 289D - Ballah, Henryatta L.
Across the continent of Africa, food serves a greater purpose than simply providing nutritional needs. This course explores the socio-economic, religious and political significance of various West African dishes in their specific locales. Some of the countries under study include, Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. Employing an interdisciplinary approach including culinary arts, students will learn first hand how to cook dishes for naming ceremonies, community festivals, birthdays, weddings and much more.
Topics in History: History of Ghosts
HIST 295F - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)
This course explores the history of ghosts within their wider historical, social, and cultural contexts and asks why the belief in ghosts continues to be vibrant, socially relevant, and historically illuminating. Through our readings, discussions, and collaborative projects, we consider how ghost beliefs and ensuing legends serve as vehicles for exploring and expressing historical memory, and the ways in which our continued fascination with ghosts shapes history in the public imagination. We begin with a survey of the history of ghosts from medieval Europe to modern America, and the course culminates with student-led oral history projects about the ghost legends and lore right here in Rockbridge County
Topics in History: The Dark Ages and Other Myths
HIST 295G - Chalmers, Matthew J.
Why do people think such weird things about history? What makes myths, errors, or conspiracies so durable? From the outliers – aliens building the pyramids or the lost city of Atlantis – to the mundane – the continued belief in a “Dark Ages” that never happened – both scholars and the broader public are fascinated by the past. But we don’t always ask how we get to reliable knowledge about it. How do “myths” about history emerge? Who makes what counts as “correct” historical knowledge? Our courses rethinks myth, legend, empire, and politics, considering postcolonial thought and ideas about the premodern past in particular.
Topics in History: Animal Behavior & Human Morality in Historical Perspective
HIST 295H - Rupke, Nicolaas A.
We trace the history of the study of animal behavior in its bearing on human morality, from the beginning of the professionalization of the subject around 1800 till the present day. Often, tentative connections have been and are being made between the ways animals behave and how humans conduct themselves, thus conferring legitimacy on shared traits. The line of argument in making these linkages is simple and straightforward: if animals behave in certain ways, these ways are natural and therefore beyond reproach; if humans share these traits, they, too, must be considered free of blame. Issues of gender and sexuality traditionally have been at the forefront of these considerations, but also the institutions of marriage, family, slavery, systems of government – monarchy, republic, etc. – as well as war, aggression, altruism and more have been argued for or against on the basis of animal examples.