History courses strive to build an understanding of and an appreciation for civilizations of the past and present.
We create a sense of what it must have been like to think, feel, and act in those civilizations; and to develop the student’s ability to analyze and to think critically about the social, cultural, economic, and political threads woven into the fabric of a civilization.
Courses combine lectures and discussions; requirements include essays, research papers, oral reports and group projects.
Three year-long history courses are required for graduation. These courses are World Civilizations, Western Civilization, and United States History, normally taken in the freshman, sophomore, and junior years respectively. In addition, the History Department offers a number of history and humanities electives for juniors and seniors.
World Civilizations
World Civilizations serves as the department’s introductory course and, as such, trains students in certain skills basic to the study of history. These include taking lecture notes; outlining, researching and writing a term paper; writing essays; and making effective oral presentations. The course content focuses upon the current condition, the culture, the geography, and the historic evolution of representative countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Western Civilization
This course studies the evolution of Western civilization from the ancient Mediterranean to the present. It focuses upon the major trends and themes of political, economic, social, and cultural development. Classes consist of lectures and group discussions. Readings include primary sources as well as texts.
To allow students to pursue in-depth study in areas of their own chosen interests, the department offers a series of semester-long seminars in historical and interdisciplinary topics. The subjects of these seminars change from year to year, responding to the evolving interests of the faculty and students and to the events of the world.
Drugs and Substances
This seminar will cover the discovery, usage, trade,
prohibition, and treatment of a variety of world substances ranging from sugar
to coca. The idea of the course is to allow students to see the life of a substance
from producer to user, as well as the factors that lead to its trade. The
course will also ask students to examine the effects that these substances have
on the communities that predominantly produce them, and the communities that
predominantly consume them. As part of this final component, we will
discuss the different approaches to treating drug addiction. Please
note that this course is not yet UC-approved.(1/2 unit)
Economics
Economics is an inescapable part of our everyday lives. Will a rise in oil prices affect your plans for a cross-country road trip this summer? Will the economy recover in time for you to get a good job after graduating from college? This yearlong course will explore topics such as how prices are determined, the impact of government policies on the economy, unemployment, inflation, and international trade, and the causes of the “Great Recession.” This course also includes an in-depth analysis of the Stock Market. In the place of a traditional term paper, students will manage a $100,000 virtual portfolio. Will you become a titan of Wall Street or will you lose it all?
Globalization and Modern China
China is huge, complex, always changing -
impossible to fully understand even for those who live there. But does that
mean we should despair of ever understanding anything about the world’s oldest
and largest civilization? This course will seek to explore the key role of
tradition and transformation within the context of Modern China’s engagement
with the economic, political and environmental phenomena commonly referred to
as globalization. This seminar class will adopt a multidisciplinary approach
spanning the fields of history, politics, environmental science and economics.
Given the interdisciplinary approach, the course will utilize a wide variety of
phenomena for analysis, including sports (the Olympics), architecture, film,
and literature. Students will be required to make presentations and to hand in
written work. These test the students’ capacities to: understand concepts and
arguments in the literature; to develop their own independent arguments; to
demonstrate knowledge of class material and to present it in a coherent manner.
(1/2 unit)
The Age of the Civil
War: 1820-1876
2013
marks the sesquicentennial of the turning point year of the American Civil War,
when the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg began the long road to Union
victory. The U.S. has changed dramatically in the 150 years since that
defining conflict, and this course will look to the prelude to the Civil War,
the war itself and the Reconstruction Period for the seeds of some those
changes. The struggle itself changed how wars were fought. The fight over
slavery and states' rights between 1820 and 1860 came close to dividing the
country several times, and the war and its aftermath set the U.S. on a new
course for its Constitution, politics, and economics. It recast social
relationships, especially with respect to race. Studied and described like no
other event in American history, this period offers a wealth of resources to
review and discuss. We will look at battle maps and love letters, economic
data and daguerreotypes, acts of Congress and acts of heroism. Michael Shaara’s
historical fiction The Killer Angels and Ken Burns’ groundbreaking
documentary The Civil War will help us bring the period to life, as will
the simulations and a museum project that comprise our major assignments.
Before the Civil War, people said, "The United States are...";
afterwards they said, "The United States is..." Come find out how we
became a singular nation. Please note that this course is not yet
UC-approved.(1/2 unit)