Approaching Historical Truth: Methods and Evidence in History Writing What counts as an accurate representation of the past? What differentiates historical narratives from fictional ones? In this seminar we will learn about how historians have approached problems of evidence and explanation. In the first part of the course, we will learn about methodologies that historians have adapted from other disciplines including the natural and social sciences as well as literary and cultural studies. In the second, we will consider the politics of archives and how they affect our understanding of historical veracity. In the final part of the course, we will read a historical novel to better understand the boundaries between fiction and history.

History of Pakistan This course is a political and cultural history of Pakistan. Topics to be discussed include: the pre-independence demand for Pakistan; the partitioning of India in 1947; literary and cultural traditions; the power of the army in politics; the civil war that created Bangladesh; the wars with India; the wars in Afghanistan; the rise of Islamist parties and militant groups; the significance of the Taliban and al Qaeda; and Pakistan's relations with the US, China and India. Readings will include histories, autobiographies, novels, and newspaper and magazine accounts. Several documentary films will also be shown.

Police Aesthetics in Japanese Film In this course students will consider theories of police power in modern society while analyzing its representation in Japanese cinema. Each week we will begin with readings about one aspect of police power, and will then consider this aspect when analyzing a set of Japanese films. The objectives of the course are for students: (1) to gain a more multifaceted understanding of the police function in modern society, (2) to learn the general history of the Japanese police system, and (3) to cultivate an appreciation of Japanese film and its possibilities for critical reflection.

Readings in Chinese History: China's Historical Minorities China is often reflexively visualized as an ethnically homogeneous nation-state. However, this conception fails to account for the minority populations that have for centuries resided in China and contributed greatly to its socio-cultural identity. Throughout the imperial age, the four groups called Manchu, Mongol, Hui, and Tibetan surpassed all other non-Chinese ethnicities in influencing the direction of Chinese history and shaping the contours of China's developmental experience. In this reading seminar we will examine the imprint of the collective legacy of these particular minorities as well as those of certain related groups, such as the ancestors of the Uyghurs of modern Xinjiang. Pre-1800

Readings in African History: Women and Gender in Africa This course takes up the challenge of understanding women's experiences and the role of gender in Africa's past. We will read from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives and literary forms, including ethnographies, life histories, and fiction, in order to explore different methodological and interpretive approaches to these subjects. Themes will include: changes in the structure of patriarchy and women's status in the pre-colonial period, the gendered impact of colonial rule on African economies and ecologies, historical identities of masculinity and femininity, and gendered experience of postcolonial "development." Prior experience in African history is not required.

Medieval Warfare In this course we will examine in detail the development of warfare between the late Roman Empire and the Early Modern world (c. 400-1500), and we will concentrate in particular on Western Europe and on the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The only departure from this scheme will involve the Mongols, a people of Far Eastern origin, whose quick territorial expansion in the 12-13th centuries reached the West. We will read scholarly articles, learning and discussing together about political and social background material to better understand military developments. All classes will be conducted as a seminar, with also short lectures and student presentations, and evaluations will be based on active participation, one essay, one quiz, and a final project.  Federico Canaccini ‘74 has a PhD in Medieval History at University of Florence and has published monographs and articles about various aspects of medieval history such as warfare, factionalism and papacy and empire.

Vermont Life’s Vermont: A Collaborative Web Project Students in this course will work collaboratively to build an online history project aimed at a wide audience.  Since 1946, Vermont Life magazine has created particular images of the landscape, culture, and recreational possibilities in the state.  Our goal will be to construct a website that examines the evolution of these images and the meaning of the state over time, paying particular attention to consumerism, the environment, tourism, urban-rural contrasts, local food movements, and the ways that race, class, and gender influence all of these.  The course is open to all students and requires collaborative work but not any pre-existing technological expertise.

History of Modern Europe: 1900-1989 Revolution in Eastern Europe and unification in Western Europe have reshaped the contours of the 20th century. This course will move from turn-of-the-century developments in mass culture and politics through World War I and II, the rise and fall of fascism, and on into the postwar era. This century has seen a series of radically new ideas, catastrophes, and then renewed searches for stability. But we will also investigate century-long movements, including de-colonization, the creation of sophisticated consumer cultures, and the battles among ideas of nationalism, ethnicity, and international interdependency.

Practicing Oral History In this intensive, hands-on workshop, students will prepare for, conduct, and process their own oral histories. We will decide collectively on an overarching theme to investigate through the interviews, such as work, friendship, or mental illness. The first week will be introductory and theoretical. We will explore what oral history is, why historians do it, how the interview fits as an historical source among other sources, and the problem of memory. During the second week, students will focus on preparing for and conducting the interview. This will include conducting background research, developing consent forms, and refining interview techniques. The third week will be about making sense of the interview and exploring different ways to process it (indexing, abstracting, transcribing, storyboarding). Students will also write a reflective paper on the interview process. The fourth week will consist of historical presentations in which the interview is supplemented with other historical sources. The workshop will be grounded in the methodological concerns and questions of the discipline of history. It may also be of special interest to those interested in journalism, sociology, and anthropology (among other fields!). Students from any discipline, with prior oral history experience or none at all, are all welcome. This course is part of the Public Humanities Labs Initiative administered by the Axinn Center for the Humanities.*

Slavery and Freedom in the American North In this course we will study how the “American North,” constituted by New England, New York,  New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, became a place of enslavement. Although often treated as a cradle  of freedom, we will explore how the region’s colonists imported African slaves and enslaved and  exported Native Americans. Through lecture, discussion, and primary sources, we will examine the transatlantic slave trade of Africans and Native Americans, the communities built by enslaved  and free people, the impact of the American Revolution, the creation of gradual abolition statues,  and the perpetuation of enslavement until the Civil War. We will also grapple with the role of  memory in history, as the region’s slaveholding past is often ignored by its inhabitants. This course fulfills the Pre-1800 History requirement./.

The Mediterranean World, 400-1600 The Mediterranean has long been a crossroads between East and West and North and South, a meeting point of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Southern Europe. Merchants and armies have plied the seaways carrying with them their religions and cultures. The pre-modern Mediterranean offered an exhilarating but, at times uncomfortable, mix of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures. Starting from Fernand Braudel's conceit, we will consider the Mediterranean itself as an important character in the narrative of history. We will study the geography of the Mediterranean as well as its religious, economic, environmental, and cultural history with a view to bringing together different understandings of Mare Nostrum (our sea). Pre-1800. 2 hrs lect./1 hr. disc.

Saints, Heathens and Heretics: Belief and Unbelief in Imperial Russia Though Orthodox Christianity is often viewed as synonymous with Russian culture, the Russian Empire was home to a dizzying array of religious faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and varying forms of Christianity. Through primary and secondary source analysis (including textual, visual and aural sources), we will explore the challenges and opportunities this multi-confessional reality posed to Russia’s rulers and the official Orthodox Church. We will also probe the question of what religious faith (in its multiple iterations) meant for subjects from across the social strata and geographic expanse of the empire. How did one lead a spiritually fulfilled life? How did members of different religious faiths interact? What was the relationship between religious and ethnic identities? 3 hrs sem.

African American History In this course we will examine the history of African Americans from the rise of the transatlantic slave trade  to the present. The course will reveal how African Americans actively shaped their history and the history  of the United States as an American nation. We will explore topics such as the Middle passage, African American slave cultures, enslaved resistance, emancipation, the rise of legalized segregation, mass migrations, and the  continuing struggles for equality. We will approach the subject matter using a variety of primary and secondary sources that focus on the experiences of individuals such as enslaved narratives, autobiographies, documentaries, and oral histories.

South Asian Migrations In this course we will learn about the history of migration from, within, and to South Asia. Topics to be discussed include colonial-era migrations of indentured laborers, traders, and soldiers; the refugee crisis at the partitioning of India in 1947; the return of Indians from Burma; the flight of Indians from Uganda; and the large-scale migrations of South Asians to Britain, the Gulf states, and the US. In addition to reading compelling histories, novels, and memoirs, students will write essays, deliver a presentation, learn digital humanities skills, and complete a public-facing research project. This course is part of the Axinn Center for the Humanities’ Mellon Foundation Public Humanities Initiative.

The History of Medicine: 1700 to Present In this course we will examine how conceptions of sickness, its causes, and its treatment have 	developed over time.  In particular, the emphasis will be on considering not only how advances in 	science and technology have spurred changes in thought and practice but also how larger societal 	factors like religion, economics, and politics have influenced the course of medicine.  We will 	focus on Europe from the eighteenth century onwards, but important comparisons will be drawn to 	earlier periods and other geographic areas including the United States.

Animals in Middle Eastern History In this course we will examine attitudes towards animals in Middle Eastern history, with an emphasis on Muslim settings. We will survey the law and ethics of human-animal relations in religious sources and engage with issues such as how humans differ from non-human “animals,” how they should treat animals, and the overall place and roles of animals in divine creation as reflected within different historical periods. We will also consider the impact of the modern animal liberation movement in the Middle East and examine a variety of religious and secular positions formulated by Muslims that have recently prioritized animal welfare and promoted environmental consciousness. (Counts for HSMT credit) Pre-1800.

A History of “American Freedom” From the Progressive Era to 9/11 The goal of “freedom” has commanded the attention of the most elite Americans as well as the most  oppressed, eliciting a range of strategies for achieving it and an array of visions about how it should  look. In what contexts have Americans sought the “freedom to,” as opposed to “freedom from”? We  will explore the valences of “freedom” starting in the Progressive Era, at the conclusion of the nineteenth  century, and end with the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. We will use primary and secondary  sources to examine this history across the political spectrum.

The Scientific Revolution: Fact or Fiction? In this course we will explore the major changes in understanding the cosmos, body, and natural world across Western Europe between roughly 1500 and 1800. Encounters with new lands and ideas fueled a significant shift in how the universe was perceived. While traditionally called the "Scientific Revolution," this concept is now debated. We will meet key figures, both well-known like Copernicus and lesser-known like Aldrovandi, who adopted new approaches and incorporated novel ideas into their work. Through lectures and discussions of primary and secondary sources, we will examine how these individuals and European society rethought their fundamental knowledge. Each week we will delve into topics such as astronomy, natural history, dissection, and electricity. By investigating these histories, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of early modern studies within various intellectual, religious, and socio-cultural contexts. By the end of this course students will understand the complexities of the Scientific Revolution and its lasting influence on contemporary scientific thought. Counts for HSMT credit.

Clinics and Cures In this course we will study the global circulation of psychiatric ideas and practices in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the first part of the course, we will study the rise of psychiatry and psychoanalysis in the context of European colonial expansion. In the second, we will trace how these ideas and practices intersected with prevailing conceptions of health, disease, mind, and body in East Asia. We will learn about the transformative effects of Euro-American and Japanese imperialisms and the new roles of political organizing and state welfare systems in shaping approaches to treatment and care. Topics include individual versus social cures and challenges of translating mental health discourses across socio-cultural contexts.

History of the American West This is a survey of the history of the trans-Mississippi West from colonial contact through the 1980s. It explores how that region became known and understood as the West, and its role and meaning in United States history as a whole. The central themes of this course are conquest and its legacy, especially with regard to the role of the U.S. federal government in the West; human interactions with and perceptions of landscape and environment; social contests among different groups for a right to western resources and over the meanings of western identity; and the role of the West in American popular culture.

South Africa in the World Despite the unique trajectory of the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa, scholars have increasingly moved away from viewing the country’s past as exceptional or isolated from broader world historical developments.  Taking up this challenge, our course will explore some of the significant global and transnational dimensions of the making of modern South Africa over the past few centuries.  Some of the major topics will include: the expansion of different strands of European colonialism and missionary work; Africans’ engagement with transnational imperial networks; the wider international influences behind the state’s creation and implementation of apartheid; and popular resistance against apartheid and how it intersected with global activist movements.

Writing History In this course students discuss historical methods and writing strategies to create convincing historical narratives. With the approval and guidance of the professor, students complete a 20-25-page research paper based on primary and secondary sources. Students take this course in the fall of their junior year or with permission in the spring.  If students are away for the entire junior year, they can take the course in the fall of their senior year. 3 hr. sem. Restricted to HIST, ESHI, HSMT majors and HIST minors.

American Conservatism after 1932: Ideology, Politics, History “Let’s grow up, conservatives!” was Sen. Barry Goldwater’s dictum at the 1960 Republican convention. Once dismissed as practically extinct, American conservatism became the most enduring political movement of the 20th century. In this seminar we will trace conservative thought and politics from the New Deal era through the contemporary moment, highlighting both domestic and international developments that shaped the modern American right. Students will closely engage with recent scholarly works as well as primary sources such as speeches, magazines, campaign texts, and visual media to effectively understand conservatism’s historical evolution. 3 hrs. sem

Universities and Slavery in America In this seminar we will explore and compare the different histories of enslavement at schools across the  country from colonial times to the present. Some of the questions we will answer include: what was the  importance of slavery in the development of higher education? How did people experience enslavement in  schools? How did universities perpetuate slavery culture? The class will also consider the emerging debates  over reparations and restorative justice and the role of students in these developments across the country. Using our knowledge of other institutions, students will research Middlebury’s place in this history. 3hrs  sem. This course is part of the Public Humanities Labs Initiative administered by the Axinn Center for the Humanities./

Magic and the Occult in Early Modern Europe Magical and occult thinking have played central roles in Western European culture, a point often overlooked or downplayed by historians who have concentrated on the development of rational thought and the decline of “superstition.”  Belief in the ability of human beings to interpret or manipulate supernatural powers shaped popular practices aimed at dealing with everyday problems as well as intellectual theories designed to explain the world.  We will examine both the popular and intellectual sides of magic, and how they came together with brutal force in the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. Pre-1800

History of US Food Politics In this course we will use U.S. food politics as a lens for understanding developments in political economy, changes in the role of the state, and evolving attitudes toward gender, race, labor, childhood, citizenship, health, and the body during the twentieth century. How have government, corporations, and scientists shaped U.S. foodways? How have people been affected by broad trends in food politics, and how have they resisted, as consumers, citizens, and activists? To answer these questions, we will use methods of social and cultural history to explore food politics from the top down and the bottom up.

The Soviet Experiment In this course we will explore the Soviet attempt to forge a fundamentally new form of human life. Starting with the revolutionary movement of the early 20th century, we will examine the development and ultimate downfall of the USSR. What was Soviet communism (both in idea and in practice)? How did its implementation and development transform local identities (religious, ethnic/national, social)? How did internal and external factors (political, social, economic) transform Soviet policy and life? Was the collapse of the USSR inevitable? Special attention will be paid both to political leaders and ordinary people (believers, collaborators, victims, dissidents, outcasts). 3 hrs lect./disc.

Black and Jewish Feminist Perspectives Feminism has a rich history in the United States. In this course we will study feminism from the perspectives of two distinct, sometimes intersecting groups: Black Americans and Jewish Americans. We will explore major feminist texts, writers, and collectives, from Angela Davis, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and the Combahee River Collective to Shulamith Firestone, Judith Plaskow, B’Not Esh, and Di Vilde Chayes. Through their work and activism, we will study in this reading-intensive course how race, class, spirituality, and sexuality have shaped and reshaped feminist concerns.

The Burning Times: Heresy & Inquisition Burning at the stake was the ultimate punishment for heretics and witches in the European Middle Ages. In this college writing class we will examine the repression of heresy and witchcraft, concentrating on the fascinating but controversial primary sources that are our chief source of knowledge. What was heresy? Who was a heretic and why did inquisitors persecute them? In addition to writing about heresy and inquisition, we also examine the use of the medium of film to portray historical subjects. Students will also pursue short research projects regarding one aspect of medieval heresy and inquisition.

History of Modern Japan, 1850-1945 This course reviews the major events and enduring questions of modern Japanese history beginning with the Meiji Restoration (1868) up to Japan’s defeat in World War II (1945). Through a variety of materials, including novels, philosophy, historical essays, and films, we will explore the formation of the modern Japanese nation-state, the “invention of tradition” in constructing a modern national identity, Japan’s colonial incursions into East Asia, 1920s mass culture, the consolidation of fascism in the 1930s, and the transwar legacies of early postwar Japan. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between transformations within Japan and larger global trends.

The Civilization of Early Modern Europe In this course we will gain a broad understanding of early modern European history, focusing on the period from c. 1350 to 1800. Through lectures and discussions, we will examine how modern European society’s foundations were established. We will critically engage with primary and secondary sources to explore significant changes and key continuities in Europe’s political, social, economic, intellectual, religious, and cultural spheres. Topics include the revival of classical ideals and their impact on art, education, politics, law, science, and gender relations. We will also investigate how new ideas sparked knowledge production, fueled conflicts, and shaped the modern state and therefore gain insight into the forces that continue to influence contemporary European identity. There are no prerequisites. Pre-1800 3 hr lect/disc.

Liberal Arts in Greco-Roman, Medieval, Renaissance History & Philosophy In this intensive reading course, we will explore the origins of liberal arts education in ancient Greek, Roman, medieval and Renaissance traditions. What sources and subjects have informed the evolution of liberal arts as an ideal for free citizens? What were the original meanings of artes liberales? What were the medieval liberal arts of trivium and quadrivium? How do these histories influence contemporary debates on education? Readings from Greco-Roman authors include the Pythagoreans, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Seneca. Readings from medieval and Renaissance Europe include Boethius, Isidore of Seville, Herrad of Landsberg, the Scholastics, Leonardo Bruni, and Pier Paolo Vergerio.

Violence, Trauma and Historical Memory in the South Caucasus In 1991, independent Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia emerged from the dissolution of the USSR. Despite optimistic hopes, all three countries were riven by war. In 2022, a new wave of Russian emigres fleeing conscription reawakened memories of colonial oppression. This course examines social, cultural and political attempts to overcome the violent legacies inherited from colonial, Soviet and post-Soviet conflicts. We will engage in reading first-hand memoir accounts and interviews, official government documents, and theoretical work in memory studies and conflict transformation and assess both the causes for conflict as well as its long-term impacts. We will focus on the questions: how should a society heal from its traumatic past? Is healing even possible? What role does historical truth and reconciliation play in building contemporary reality?

Blood & Money: History of Early US Capitalism In this course, we will examine how capitalism emerged, expanded, and enveloped everyday life in the early United States, from colonial times to the Civil War. Our topics will range from the influence of capitalism in the US constitution, how markets shaped gender ideas and human rights, war, and its effects on economic development, the creation of US currency and national banks, and the impact of slavery on the American economy. Ultimately, students will gain an understanding of the forces that shaped the early us economy and the history of current instruments such as credit, currency, financial markets, life insurance, and mortgages. Sources will include financial records, scholarly monographs, state documents, and primary sources. 2 hrs lect. 1 hr disc.

The Holocaust Why did the Holocaust happen? How could the Holocaust happen? In this course we will consider several aspects of the Holocaust, including the long-term conditions and events leading up to it, the measures employed in undertaking it, and the aftermath of the atrocities. Beyond a general survey, this course introduces students to the many varying interpretations and historical arguments scholars of the Holocaust have proposed and invites them to discuss and debate these issues in class.

Medieval Science, Technology and Magic Modern understanding may link science with technology, but leaves magic out as a world apart. In the Medieval West, where alchemy and the astrolabe comfortably shared a workroom, intellectuals pursued both with equal fervor and respectability. In this course we will explore the medieval meanings and context of “science” and “magic,” developments in technology, and the relationship of authority and religion to all three through readings in primary sources, critical essays and monographs, and Umberto Eco's historical novel, The Name of the Rose. Students will contribute to class understanding with frequent individual research, including a final research paper. Pre-1800

Race, Medicine, and Health in U.S. History In this course we will explore the historical relationships between race, medicine, and public health in  the United States from colonial times to the present. Through a series of case studies that include  epidemics such as smallpox, yellow fever, and COVID-19, we will trace the origins of racial  classification and its impact on medical care. Our topics include the management of illness in colonial  times, the relationship between medical schools and slavery, the eugenics movement, immigration restrictions, the use of minorities as experimentation subjects, the fight against medical discrimination, and the current struggles for health care access. We will approach these subjects through sources such  as scholarly publications, diaries, documentaries, medical journals, oral histories, and print media. 2  hrs lect./1 hr. disc.

Readings in the Philosophy of History Even before the appearance of Georg W. F. Hegel's classic study The Philosophy of History, a heated debate was being waged concerning the nature and substance of history. Is history, like science, expressible in predictable patterns or subject to irrevocable laws? What factors distinguish true history from the mere random succession of events? What should we assume to be the fundamental nature of historical truth, and are we to determine it objectively or subjectively? Is it possible to be human and yet be somehow "outside of" history? These are among the questions we will examine as we read and deliberate on a variety of philosophies of history, while concentrating on the most influential versions developed by Hegel and Karl Marx.

Nietzsche on Art, Poetry, Music: Origins and Influences In this intensive reading course we will examine the widespread influences of Nietzsche’s philosophy of art, poetry, and music on European and Eurasian philosophy and culture. We will explore both Nietzsche’s inheritances from ancient Greek thought and contested legacies for culture and politics across Europe and Eurasia in the Twentieth Century. Readings will be selected from Nietzsche’s primary works (The Birth of Tragedy, Thus Spoke Zarathustra and others) as well as the creative output of his intellectual disciples and detractors. We will begin with an analysis of selected works from ancient Greek tragedy and philosophy that most influenced the philosopher, and then turn to a close study of Nietzsche’s own writings. We will conclude by exploring philosophical, musical, and artistic works inspired by Nietzsche’s ideas.

Jewish Oral History In this weekly seminar students will learn the basics of oral history—research, interview skills, processing, archiving, and presentation—by conducting interviews with members of Kolot Chayeinu, a Brooklyn-based Jewish congregation. Students will work with congregants to create an oral history archive. Depending on student interests and abilities, additional outcomes may include films, audiowalks, social media presence, listening parties, or podcasts. Students will also study oral history theory, the evolution of American Jewish spirituality, and New York City social movements. An oral history of Kolot encompasses Jewish histories of feminism, LGBTQ and AIDS activism, peace and human rights work, death and dying, childhood and adult education, antiracism, theatre, art, music, nonprofit development, politics, rabbinical training, coalition work, and more.

Struggles for Change in Southern Africa In this course we will examine the tumultuous period of social struggle in southern Africa in the decades following World War II. Major topics to be covered include: the rise of apartheid and the mobilization of anti-apartheid resistance in South Africa; the liberation struggle against white settler rule and its legacies in post-colonial Zimbabwe; the fight for freedom from Portuguese colonialism in Mozambique; and Mozambique’s protracted civil war following independence. A central purpose of the course is to explore how these different arenas of struggle transformed individual lives and social relations in complex and diverse ways, generating enduring impacts and challenges within the region. (formerly HIST/BLST 0375)

Archaic and Classical Greece A survey of Greek history from Homer to the Hellenistic period, based primarily on a close reading of ancient sources in translation. The course covers the emergence of the polis in the Dark Age, colonization and tyranny, the birth of democracy, the Persian Wars, the interdependence of democracy and Athenian imperialism, the Peloponnesian War, and the rise of Macedon. Authors read include Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plutarch, Xenophon, and the Greek orators.

The 1940s The 1940s saw enormous and often violent change: a global, destructive war; ongoing privation after the formal end of hostilities; the intensification of national liberation movements; the founding of the United Nations and the establishment of a new global economic order; the beginnings of the Cold War; new artistic expressions; and the reconfiguration of sexual and cultural mores. In this course we will begin with an overview of the global scale of the second world war and, using a comparative approach, focus on examples of individual suffering. We will then study the war’s effects in select countries around the world.

Oil, Opium, and Oligarchs: Modern Asian Empires In this course we will examine dynamics and legacies of imperialism in East and Southeast Asia from the nineteenth century through the present. We will consider the role of opium in securing British influence, the rise of Japan as an imperialist power, struggles to control regional markets and natural resources, and China’s expansionist efforts past and present. By engaging with novels, films, treaties, and historical scholarship, class participants will gain a broad understanding of empires and imperialism, and how this heritage continues to inform Pacific-regional relations.  Not open to students who have taken IGST/HIST 0475.

“Mad Men and Mad Women” Are you a Don, a Roger, or a Pete? A Betty, a Peggy or a Joan? Using AMC's Mad Men as a visual and narrative foundation, we will examine masculinity and femininity in mid-20th century America. We will focus specifically on the connections between postwar mass communication and formation of gender roles, consumption, and cultural expectations. Our inquiry will then extend to recent discussions regarding the politics of historical representation. In addition to the television series, we will use a variety of both primary and secondary sources—including novels, magazines, sociological studies, and scholarly monographs—to achieve a multi-dimensional perspective.

Cold War America This course examines the history of the United States during the Cold War (1945-1991). From the immediate post-WWII period through the Reagan era, we will investigate widely varied manifestations of anti-communism, paying special attention to how international affairs shaped Americans’ engagement with domestic developments, and vice versa. Topics include the social welfare state, Eisenhower’s New Look and Kennedy’s New Frontier, suburbanization, the Vietnam War, civil rights activism, the conservative movement, feminism, and the politics of globalization. Our goal is to reconsider these transformative changes in context with the Cold War’s geopolitical and ideological conflict. We will use many tools to do so: primary sources like state documents, essays, visual texts, and political tracts, as well scholarly monographs, documentaries, and discussion.

Colonial Commodities & Slavery in the Americas In this course, we will examine the development of extractive economies and the relationship between colonialism, consumption, and forced labor in colonial north and South America. Using a comparative approach, we will survey how commodities such as cacao, cotton, coffee, gold, silver, sugar, and tobacco shaped African and Native slavery across the continent. Our topics will include the development of price systems for enslaved people and goods in the world economy, the emergence of ideas regarding racial differences and their relationship with forced labor, how enslaved people resisted their enslavement, and the abolition of slavery across the Americas. Students will examine primary sources such as financial records, slave narratives, historical price indexes, and scholarly monographs. Pre-1800. 3 hr sem.

Police Power: Theory and History As Egon Bittner once stated, the police are “at once the best known and the least understood” of the institutions of modern government.  In this seminar students begin by reading introductions to theories of modern state power, and then turn to exploring how the police manifest this power at the local level. In the second half of the semester, we will read histories of police forces with special emphasis on the formation of the police in East Asia. We conclude by reviewing recent theories of the police for the twenty-first century.

Music, Power, and Resistance in World History This class examines the conflicting relationship between music, power and resistance in world history. Beginning with ancient Greece, we will discuss the relationship between music and power in a wide range of cultural and historical contexts, including music’s relation to religious power (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), political power (China, Europe, North and South America, Africa), and social power (gender, ethnicity, class). Questions of state censorship, propaganda and musical expressions of dissent will be highlighted, as well as the interconnection between aesthetic choices, social status and political views. Musical sources will range from classical to popular forms. No prior musical training required. (formally HIST 0116) 3 hrs sem.

Readings in Modern European History:  Enlightenment, Revolution, and Terror* The French Revolution provided a model for democratic political reform throughout the world, spreading new ideas about equality, national identity, and rights for minorities.  Although informed by the Enlightenment and progressive social thought, it led to the Terror, a period of violence and repression in the name of revolutionary change.   We will examine this attempt to create a just society and the corresponding violence against internal and external enemies.  We will also consider the Revolution’s origins, the events in France, the shock tremors throughout the world, and the long-term repercussions of change.

The Making of Europe This course covers the history of Western Europe from the death of Caesar in 44 B.C. to the Peace of Westphalia in A.D. 1648. We will examine three interrelated themes: political authority within European society, the development of the religious culture of the West and the challenges to that culture, and the ways in which the development of a European economy contributed to the making of Europe itself. While examining these questions from the Roman Empire to early modern Europe, students will focus on the use of original sources, and on how historians interpret the past. Pre-1800. Not open to seniors.

Modern South Asia This course is an introduction to the history of South Asia. We will examine such events as the remarkable rise and fall of the Mughal empire (1526-1700s), the transformation of the once-humble English East India Company into a formidable colonial state (1700s-1858), the emergence of nationalist and anti-imperialist movements led by people such as Mahatma Gandhi and M.A. Jinnah (1858-1947), and the establishment and recent histories of the new nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Readings will include primary sources, history textbooks, historical novels, and newspaper articles. We will also watch at least one historical film. Pre-1800.

History of American Women: 1869-1999 This course will examine women's social, political, cultural, and economic position in American society from 1869 through the late 20th century. We will explore the shifting ideological basis for gender roles, as well as the effects of race, class, ethnicity, and region on women's lives. Topics covered will include: women's political identity, women's work, sexuality, access to education, the limits of "sisterhood" across racial and economic boundaries, and the opportunities women used to expand their sphere of influence. 3 hrs lect./disc.

Modern East Asia In this course we will examine East Asian history from 1800 to the present. We will study the “Chinese World Order,” the patterns of European imperialism that led to this order’s demise, the rise of Japan as an imperialist power, and 20th century wars and revolutions. We will concentrate on the emergence of Japan, China, and Korea as distinct national entities and on the socio-historical forces that have bound them together and pried them apart. We will seek a broader understanding of imperialism, patterns of nationalism and revolution, and Cold War configurations of power in East Asia.

With Friends Like These: A History of Modern US-China Relations Present-day dynamics between the United States and China appear particularly consequential, yet trans-Pacific relations have long shaped global affairs. In this seminar we will examine the history of China-US relations from the late 19th century into the 21st. Topics will include imperialism, American orientalism, the Cold War, trade wars, and shifting perceptions of hegemony. Through critical reading and discussion we will pay particular attention to how their “special” relationship has shaped China and the United States’ respective evolutions. Students who have taken HIST 479 should not register for this course. Course materials include memoirs, political tracts, Hollywood and Shanghai films, oral histories, and a variety of visual works in complement with scholarly texts. Seminar

Migration and Difference at the Crossroads of the Middle East and African Continent In this course we will explore histories of migration within, across, and beyond the African continent and Middle East. Engaging an array of primary and secondary sources, including maps, travelogues, and fiction, we will consider how narratives of migration –– voluntary and forced –– demonstrate the rich, entangled histories of the Middle East and African continent. Topics to be considered include Mediterranean-Indian Ocean merchant networks, pilgrimage journeys, and human trafficking between central Sudan and northern Africa. We will also ask how categories of social difference, particularly race and gender, have shaped people’s lived experiences of migration in the past and its resonances in the present. Scaffolded assignments will culminate in digital mapping and storytelling projects.

Europe in the High Middle Ages This course covers the development and expansion of Western European civilization from approximately 1050 to 1300. This period witnessed the rise of towns, commerce, universities, and cathedrals, as well as important developments in the areas of politics, philosophy, and Western culture. Together, these achievements represent a fundamental shift in Western Europe from an impoverished, besieged society to a dynamic civilization that established the institutions and assumptions on which the modern West is based. The goal of this class is to view these achievements of medieval Europe in their own context, with appreciation of the methodological problems presented by medieval sources. Pre-1800.

History of Pre-Modern Japan In this course we will explore the social, cultural, and institutional history of Japan from the eighth century up through the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 17th century. The course is organized thematically to illuminate the different periods of Japanese history, including the imperial origin myth and Heian culture, the frontier and the rise of samurai government, localism and the warring states period, and finally the Tokugawa settlement and the paradoxes of centralized feudalism.  Pre-1800.

History of Rome This course is an introductory survey of Roman history, from the emergence of the Republic to the influence of Rome on the western world. In the first half of the course we will study the origins of Rome's rise to dominance, the conquest of the Mediterranean and its effect on Roman society, and the crumbling of political structures under the weight of imperial expansion.  In the second half, we will study the empire more broadly, starting with the emperors and moving out to the daily lives of people around the Mediterranean.  The course will end with the importance of Rome for the Founding Fathers.  We will read from authors including Polybius, Plutarch, Appian, Caesar, Suetonius, Tacitus, Juvenal, and Pliny.

Nuclear Cold War: Americans, Soviets and the Fate of the World Fears of nuclear Armageddon gripped the world after 1945. How is it that nuclear war never broke out by the time the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991? This course traces the complex relationship between nuclear security, international relations, and domestic politics through the initial development of nuclear weapons, Cold War arms race, emergence of independent Russia, and contemporary tensions. How did shifting social and political environments shape nuclear security concerns? Why, despite the end of the ideological Cold War, did the early 21st century witness the collapse of bilateral arms control and nonproliferation cooperation between Russia and the USA? This course is part of the Public Humanities Labs Initiative administered by the Axinn Center for the Humanities.

Modern American Jewish History What characterizes the modern American Jewish experience? Is it the effort to assimilate into the American mainstream? Is it about the struggle to preserve Jewish distinctiveness? Drawing on historical scholarship and primary sources (films, art, cartoons, newspapers, literature), we will consider the many meanings of American Jewish identity, particularly its religious, racial, ethnic, and national connotations. We will begin in the 1880s, during the largest wave of Jewish immigration to the U.S. Topics will include “Americanization,” labor, political activism, religious reform, World War II and the Holocaust, “Jewish continuity,” gender roles, race relations, urbanization, suburbanization, and the relationship of Jews to white flight, Zionism, anti-Semitism, and philanthropy.

Roman Law The Romans' codification of civil law is often considered their greatest intellectual achievement and most original and influential contribution to the world. This course treats the four main divisions of Roman law (persons, property, obligations, and succession). Great emphasis is placed on the role of law in Roman society. How did the law influence the lives of Roman citizens living under it? How did ordinary Roman citizens shape the law? Students will come to understand the principles of Roman law through actual cases. Designed for students with some background in Roman history and/or literature.

The East India Company In this course you will be introduced to the English East India Company, from the 17th-century until its dissolution in 1858. Much of our focus will be on the Company’s presence in India, and we will pay particular attention to its transformation from a maritime trading company into a territorial colonial state. We will read a number of controversial texts from the period, immerse ourselves in the worlds of Company and Indian politics, and do guided research using holdings in Middlebury’s Special Collections. Topics will include the rise of the Company as a trading concern, its aggressive competition with other European trading monopolies and South Asian kingdoms, and the importance of opium in its dealings with China. We will end with a discussion of the Indian rebellion of 1857. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1308 or HIST 1009) Pre-1800

Refugee and Forced Migration Studies * Taught in English This course is an introduction to the foundational aspects of refugee and forced migration studies. Students will develop an understanding of the framework that forms the bedrock of the modern global refugee regime. They will look at root causes of displacement, the historical context of the system currently in place, and various international and domestic instruments that govern the rights and obligations of refugees and host states. Class discussions will call on students to understand and analyze concepts such as persecution, the protected grounds, non-refoulement, and durable solutions. Students will also look at the stories of real asylees and refugees, with a focus on those from the Middle East, including Palestinian refugees, and those who have fled to Jordan.

Everyday Life in South Africa, Apartheid and Beyond In this course we will explore some of the social worlds of South Africans amid the country’s recent decades of turbulent and dramatic change. We will look at how different groups within the nation’s diverse population have understood and experienced the rise of the apartheid system, its demise, and its legacies in their “everyday” lives and interactions. The course will draw from various sources – non-fiction, fiction, film, and other forms of popular culture -- to interpret these social dynamics and their ongoing significance in a post-apartheid society.

Modern China In this course we will examine the history of China from the early 19th century through the end of the Maoist period. Readings, lectures, and discussions will familiarize students with the cultural and social structures of the late Qing Empire, patterns of semi-colonialism, the rise of nationalist, feminist, and Marxist movements, and key events in the People’s Republic of China. Students will emerge from the class with a broader understanding of forms of empire and imperialism, anti-colonial nationalism, non-Western Marxism, and the tendencies of a post-socialist state.

Medieval Cities This course will examine the economic, social, topographical and cultural history of the medieval city. We will study the transformation of urban life from the Roman period through the dark years of the early Middle Ages in the West into the flourishing of a new type of European city life in the High Middle Ages. The development of urban institutions, the building of cathedrals, universities and fortifications, and the growth of trade will all be considered, as will the experience of groups such as Jews, women and intellectuals. Although the class will focus on the medieval European city, we will also draw comparisons with cities of the Muslim East. Pre-1800. 3 hrs lect/disc.

Food in the Middle East: History, Culture, and Identity In this course we will examine the rich culinary history of the Middle East from the time of major Islamic Empires, such as the Abbasids and Ottomans, until the modern period. Using an array of primary and secondary sources, we will explore the social, religious, literary, and economic place of food in the region. We will study the consumption of and attitudes toward specific foodstuffs, gauging the relevance of items like spices and coffee in the pre-modern period and of various dishes within modern nationalist constructions. We will also investigate how Middle Eastern peoples from different ethnic, geographic, and religious backgrounds have historically used food to express their distinct cultural, national, and gendered identities.

America and the Pacific If the 20th century was "America's Century," then it could also be deemed "America's Pacific Century" as interaction with Asia fundamentally shaped the United States' political, social, and diplomatic development. In this course we will examine American foreign relations on the Pacific Rim from the Philippine-American War to the Los Angeles riots of 1992. Topics to be covered include: America's imperial project in Asia, the annexation of Hawaii, Wilsonian diplomacy, the reconstruction of Japan after World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Richard Nixon's visit to Communist China, and the immigrant experience. 3 hrs sem.

Catastrophic Memories How do people remember traumatic events? How do those memories impact American politics and priorities in the present? How might they guide goals for the future? And what roles can History play in that process? In this course we will examine how two great catastrophes—the American Civil War and the Second World War—have been remembered over time and space. We will consider what roles those historical memories play in American society, how our collective memories are formed, and what makes them change. To do so, we will consider a broad range of sources—major films, historical fiction, popular non-fiction, and historical scholarship. Students end by examining one facet or feature of these historical memories of their choosing. (Not open to students who have already completed FYSE 1095.)  Connor Williams (Middlebury '08.5) is a historian, speaker, writer, and consultant.  In 2021 and 2022 he served the United States Congress as Lead Historian for its Naming Commission, removing Confederate honors from all Army Forts and Department of Defense assets, while leading nationwide discussions on the historic roles that the American Civil War has played, could play, and perhaps should play in our historic memory. As a consultant, he has worked with many organizations on how to ethically and effectively reconcile and repair their difficult and complex institutional legacies of enslavement, white supremacy, and historical violence, including at Yale University and Sewanee: The University of the South.  He is currently writing two books of popular history, both under contract with St. Martin’s Press in New York.

History of Modern Africa We begin looking at revolutions in the early 19th century and the transformations surrounding the slave trade. Next we examine the European colonization of the continent, exploring how diverse interventions into Africans' lives had complex effects on political authority, class and generational dynamics, gender relations, ethnic and cultural identities, and rural and urban livelihoods. After exploring Africans' struggles against colonial rule in day-to-day practices and mass political movements, the last few weeks cover Africa's transition to independence and the postcolonial era, including the experience of neo-colonialism, ethnic conflict, poverty, and demographic crisis.

Insurgent Literacy in Europe, 1300-1800 Texts were an integral part of European life long before widespread literacy or the printing press. Reading and using documents was conducted communally in households, neighborhoods, and other groups. Reading primary sources from western Europe c.1300-1800, we will study how the increased circulation of documents shaped emerging modern institutions like newspapers, archives, bureaucracies – and even the state apparatus itself. After some theoretical groundwork on literacy and power from thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Max Weber and James C. Scott, we will read charters, pamphlets, indulgences, letters, and graffiti that entered the city streets. Against this background we will finally consider whether the printing press was revolutionary in shaping European politics, looking especially at the ideas of Luther, Hobbes, and Rousseau.  Ron Makleff is a historian of Europe focusing on cities and the emergence of the nation-state, as well as the material and intellectual legacies of archives as institutions of power, memory, and forgetting./

History of Postwar Japan, 1945-2000 In this course we will study the important developments in the postwar history of Japan, including: the Allied Occupation, Japan’s place in the Cold War order, high economic growth, radical politics in the 1960s, the 1980s “bubble economy” and the “lost decade” of the 1990s. As we study these different periods, we will also reflect on the contested meaning of “postwar” (sengo) as it transformed over time.  Historiographical texts and lectures will highlight the organizing themes for each week, while primary and cultural sources will provide topics for weekly discussion and paper assignments. Lecture, 2.5 hours

Imperial China China’s is the world’s oldest continuous civilization, and we will survey the history of the Chinese empire from its cultural beginnings until the conflicts with the West in the 1840s and the internal unrest of the 1850s and 1860s. Our study of China’s political progression through successive dynasties will reveal archetypal patterns of historical disruption amidst continuity. We will also examine those perennial social, institutional, and intellectual forces — such as the stratification of the classes, the absolutist tendencies of monarchy, and the civilly-focused yet competitive atmosphere fostered by a state-sponsored examination culture — that proved determinative in shaping China’s traditional development. Pre-1800

Civil War and Reconstruction: 1845-1890 This course explores the era of the American Civil War with an emphasis on the period 1861-1865. It combines lectures, readings, class discussion, and film to address such questions as why the war came, why the Confederacy lost, and how the war affected various elements of society. We will also explore what was left unresolved at the end of the war, how Americans responded to Reconstruction, and how subsequent generations have understood the meaning of the conflict and its legacy. We will make a special effort to tie military and political events to life on the home front.

United States Environmental History: Nature and Inequality In this course we will study the interactions between diverse groups and their physical environments to understand how humans have shaped and in turn been shaped by the material world.  Topics include:  ecological change with European conquest; industrialization and race and class differences in labor, leisure, and ideas of “nature”; African American environments South and North; the capitalist transformation of the American West, rural and urban;  Progressive conservation and its displacement of Native Americans and other rural groups;  chemical- and petroleum-based technologies and their unexpected consequences; and the rise of environmentalism and its transformation by issues of inequality and justice.

Data Science Across Disciplines In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning, large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Biology, Geography, History, Mathematics/Statistics and Sociology. This course will use the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.  BIOL 1230: Students enrolled in Professor Casey’s (Biology) afternoon section will use the tools of data science to investigate the drivers of tick abundance and tick-borne disease risk. To do this students will draw from a nation-wide ecological database.  GEOG 1230: In this section, we will investigate human vulnerability to natural hazards in the United States using location-based text data about hurricane and flood disasters from social media. We will analyze data qualitatively, temporally, and spatially to gain insights into the human experience of previous disasters and disaster response. We will present findings using spatial data visualizations with the aim of informing future disaster preparedness and resilience.  HIST 1230: In U.S. history, racial differences and discrimination have powerfully shaped who benefited from land and farm ownership. How can historians use data to understand the history of race and farming? Students will wrangle county- and state-level data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture from 1840-1912 to create visualizations and apps that allow us to find patterns in the history of race and land, to discover new questions we might not know to ask, and to create tools to better reveal connections between race, land, and farming for a general audience.    STAT 1230: In this course students will dive into the world of data science by focusing on invasive species monitoring data. Early detection is crucial to controlling many invasive species; however, there is a knowledge gap regarding the sampling effort needed to detect the invader early. In this course, we will work with decades of invasive species monitoring data collected across the United States to better understand how environmental variables play a role in the sampling effort required to detect invasive species. Students will gain experience in the entire data science pipeline, but the primary focus will be on data scraping, data visualization, and communication of data-based results to scientists and policymakers.  SOCI 1230:  Do sports fans care about climate change? Can sports communication be used to engage audiences on environmental sustainability? In this section of the course, students will use the tools of data science to examine whether interest in sports is associated with climate change knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, as well as other political opinions. Participants will use survey data to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses about the relationship between sports fandom and attitudes about environmental sustainability.

History of Sexuality in the United States In this course we will explore sexuality in relation to race, class, gender, and religion in US history using primary and secondary sources. We will study indigenous sexualities and the impact of settler colonialism, sex work during the American Revolution, sexuality under slavery, the medicalization and criminalization of homosexuality, urban gay subcultures, Cold War sexuality, the politics of birth control, sex during the AIDS epidemic, and sexuality from transgender and non-binary perspectives.  Beyond learning historiography, we will examine methodological issues with writing histories of sexuality. When relevant, we will study examples from Europe and Canada.

Chinatown, USA From San Francisco to New York, Honolulu to Houston, there are Chinatowns located across the United States. In this seminar we will explore the histories of these communities from the Gold Rush through the 20th century. Our discussions will be founded upon secondary scholarship such as The China-town Trunk Murder Mystery by Mary Ting Yi Lui and Mae Ngai’s The Lucky Ones, as well as primary texts like immigrant accounts, magazines and newspapers, photography, maps, and Hollywood movies. Throughout, we will engage with Chinatowns as spaces shaped by both domestic and transnational contexts, each site and its development illuminating the evolution of a globalized America. Our overarching goal is to understand local/micro history as national and international history.

Musicking Power and Resistance Why has music been considered a threat to power, and thus been censured or banned in various geographic and historical moments? Why and how has it served as a form of resistance and protest that has given the oppressed a voice in others? We will use these questions as guiding frameworks for exploring how music has related with power and resistance in a global context. Engaging with music’s sonic and extra-sonic elements, we will develop skills for analyzing how these elements have shaped spiritual, political, social, and economic forms of power and resistance in a series of case studies drawn from different time periods and geographic locations. Course activities will include reading, writing, music and video analyses, performance-related activities and concert attendance, as well as lectures and discussions. No prior musical training required.

Revolutionary Russia The Russian Revolution was a continuum of violence that, through years of civil war and political, social and cultural revolutions, sought to transform the basis of human existence and usher in a utopian future, imposing “Marxist” values upon diverse local cultures and contexts. We will examine the rise and fall of revolutionary sentiment from late-imperial terrorism through the establishment of Stalin’s dictatorship. Through analysis of primary and secondary sources, students will assess both the manifold ambitions of the revolutionary years and how memory of 1917 has been used to justify, critique and at times repossess aspects of Russian/Soviet history. This course is part of the Public Humanities Labs Initiative administered by the Axinn Center for the Humanities. 3 hrs sem.

Russia: Tsars, Tsarinas, and Terrorists In this course we will follow Russia’s development, expansion and transformation from its earliest beginnings to the revolutionary cataclysms of the early 20th century. How and why did Russia come to dominate a vast Eurasian space? How did Russia’s Tsars and Tsarinas exert control over diverse cultures, languages, religions and peoples? What impact did this have on the lives of their subjects? How was Russian identity defined within the context of a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional empire? Central themes will include political governance, imperial expansion, ethnic relations, religious identity, social upheaval, and the emergence of the radical intelligentsia. Pre-1800 3 hrs lect./disc.

The Long Struggle for Civil Rights and Black Freedom The modern civil rights movement is the central focus of this course, but it offers more than a survey of events from Montgomery to Memphis. It explores the pre-World War II roots of the modern black freedom struggle, the complex array of local, regional, and national initiatives in the 1950s and 1960s, the competing strategies for empowerment offered by Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, and developments since the 1970s, including the rise of Black Lives Matter.  This course employs a "race relations" perspective, stressing the linkages among the experiences of African Americans, whites, and other groups.  2. Hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc.

The Early History of Islam and the Middle East This course is an introduction to the history of Islamic civilizations from the advent of Islam around 610 C.E. to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The principal geographic areas covered are the Middle East and North Africa. Since "Islam" encompasses not simply a religion but an entire cultural complex, this course will trace the development of religious, political, economic, and social institutions in this region. Topics covered include the early Islamic conquests, the rise of religious sectarianism, gender relations, and the expansion of Islamic empires. Pre-1800. 2 hrs lect./1 hr. disc.

History of Modern Europe: 1800-1900 This course will trace several complex threads across the nineteenth century, a period that saw enormous changes in economic structures, political practices, and the experience of daily life. We will look specifically at the construction of nation-states, the industrial revolution and its effects on the lives of the different social classes, the shift from rural to urban life, and the rise of mass culture and its political forms. Taking a cultural perspective, we will consider, for example, the language of working-class politics, the painting of modern urban life, and imperialism in popular culture.

The History of Urban America "The magnification of all the dimensions of life," writes Lewis Mumford, " . . . has been the supreme office of the city in history." Mumford's appraisal of the mission of the city can be debated, but the importance of the city to development of humanity cannot be denied. In this course we will cover the rise of the city in America from the colonial era to the present. We will explore why Americans have huddled in concentrated settlements and the consequences of that clustering. Special attention will be given to the growth of the industrial city of the late 19th century and the modern metropolis of the 20th century.

Health and Healing in African History In this course we will complicate our contemporary perspectives on health and healing in Africa by exploring diverse historical examples from the continent's deep past.  Our readings, discussions, and papers will cover a range of historical contexts and topics, such as the politics of rituals and public healing ceremonies in pre-colonial contexts, state and popular responses to shifting disease landscapes in the colonial era, long-term cultural and economic changes in healer-patient dynamics, the problematic legacies of environmental health hazards in the post-colonial period, and Africans' engagement with global health interventions in recent decades.

Early Modern Bodies: Sex and Gender in Europe Do men and women share the same historical experiences? When do their paths align, and when do they diverge? What accounts for these differences? In this course, we will explore the physical and cultural constructions of gender and sexuality in Europe, c. 1350–1800, through a variety of topics, including the life cycle, midwifery, heterosexual marriage, homoerotic desire, same-sex practice, cross-gender identification and performance, hermaphroditism, and the “monstrous” body. Each week, we will discover how transformations in natural philosophy, religious belief, scientific experimentation, art and literature, and medical practice shaped—and were reshaped by—ideas of the body and sexual difference. We will engage with a variety of sources, ranging from anatomical illustrations and poetry to medical treatises and birth salvers, to uncover how gender norms influenced power structures and personal identity within hierarchical systems. Counts for HSMT credit.

British History: 1603-1815 The medieval pattern of English and Scottish society began to implode in the seventeenth century. The unity of the Church, the relationship between Crown and Parliament, even the social hierarchy, were shaken to their foundations. After generations of civil war, revolution, and party strife, the eighteenth century saw the establishment of a flexible, oligarchic order, able to fight off the challenges of radicalism and the American and French revolutions. By 1815 Britain, at the peak of its power in Europe, was already beginning to experience the tensions incumbent on becoming the first industrial nation. Pre-1800

Monumental Changes in the Culture Wars  An exploration of how monuments and honorifics to controversial figures in American History have (and have not) changed over time, and especially since 2015. After examining historical theory and the philosophy of memory, we will investigate how politics, protests, and culture have shaped the commemorative possibilities of the past and present. We will proceed through a case study of the course and consequences of The Naming Commission, on which the instructor served as Lead Historian. Created by Congress to investigate and end Confederate commemoration across all Department of Defense assets, for two years the Naming Commission confronted and changed controversial monuments throughout the nation. Students complete the course by researching, writing and presenting on a controversial monument of their choosing.  Connor Williams (Middlebury Class of 2008.5) is a historian of United States History and African American Studies. In 2021 and 2022, he was honored to serve the United States Congress as Lead Historian to its Naming Commission, researching the context, consequences, and causes of all Confederate commemorations in the Department of Defense and making plans for their modification or removal. His book on his experiences working for the Naming Commission: A Promise Delivered: The Naming Commission, Nine Army Bases, and Ten True American Heroes is under contract with Macmillan (St. Martin’s Press imprint) and scheduled to be published in the summer of 2024./

Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Reporting Genocide While reports of atrocities and genocides have appeared frequently in the news, little has helped to effectively stop these acts.  Even the basic facts are often poorly understood by the wider public.  We will focus on a variety of atrocities and genocides, considering them from multiple angles and with a particular emphasis on prevention and resolution.  Using our knowledge, we will craft short pieces of public writing, such as op-eds, reviews, and briefings intended to inform and/or influence a general audience.

Europe in the Early Middle Ages This course covers the formative centuries in European history which witnessed the emergence of Western Europe as a distinct civilization. During this period, A. D. 300-1050, the three major building blocks of Western European culture: the classical tradition of Greco-Roman antiquity, the Judeo-Christian tradition, and Germanic tradition, met and fused into an uneasy synthesis that gave Western Europe its cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious foundations. Pre-1800.

Egypt, Iran, and Turkey: Alternative Modernizations The Middle East's struggles with modernization are encapsulated in the history of its three most populous nation-states: Egypt, Iran, and Turkey. The rise of nationalism, European incursions in the Middle East, and internal strife contributed to the gradual fall of the Ottoman and Qajar Empires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From the rubble emerged distinct social, political, economic, and religious responses to modernization, ranging from the establishment of a secular, ultra-nationalist state in Turkey, Arab nationalism in Egypt, monarchism and Islamism in Iran. We will explore and compare these three experiences using an array of sources including primary documents, works of fiction, and film.

Themes in the Atlantic World, 1492-1900 Linking the Americas with Europe and Africa, the Atlantic has been a major conduit for the movement of peoples, ideas, technology, foods, and customs.  This course will explore four themes from the rise of European imperialism and African Slavery to the dawn of national consciousness and minority rights across the Americas. We will study four major themes: (1). Comparative European Colonization and the First Peoples; 2) Comparative Slavery and the Black Experience (3) Decolonization, National Consciousness, and Ideas of Freedom; and (4) Pseudoscience, Migrations and Creolization. We will draw on primary and secondary sources from the Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Hispanophone worlds to give us a broad comparative perspective. Pre-1800. 2hr/disc. with periodic film screenings.

History of the Modern Middle East This course investigates the history of social and political change in the Middle East from 1798 to the present. Within a general political framework, the course will cover the main social, economic, and intellectual currents. Emphasizing political, economic, social and cultural history, the course seeks to examine the impact of outside powers on the region, the responses of the region's peoples to this challenge, colonization, nationalism and identity, religious and ideological trends, gender issues, major "crises" (including the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Lebanese civil war, and the Iranian Revolution), and efforts to reassert Islamic identity in an era of globalization.

Contested Kyiv: Ukranian-Russian Relations in Historical Context Kyiv: capital of the Ukrainian nation? Or Kiev: cradle of Russian civilization? Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2021 claim that “Russians and Ukrainians were one people – a single whole” was a geopolitical maneuver; nonetheless, it highlighted a deeply intertwined and contested history. In this course we will explore the multifaceted history of Kyiv from its founding to the present day in order to better understand the entangled histories of the contemporary Ukrainian and Russian states. Central to our discussions will be primary and secondary sources that offer conflicting dynastic, religious and national histories which have sought to claim Kyiv as their own. We will also probe Kyiv’s Jewish past to better understand the region’s complex multi-confessional and multi-ethnic past. 3 hrs sem.

“The Religious Life”: Buddhist and Christian Monastic Traditions Compared Both Buddhism and Christianity include traditions of monasticism, of men and women leaving home for “the religious life.” In this course, we will study and compare Buddhist and Christian monasticism from historical and religious perspectives. We will read primary sources, from the Life of St. Anthony and the Rule of St. Benedict to the verses  attributed to the first Buddhist nuns and a Zen monastic code. We will examine monastic vocation, the integration of monasteries into society, and the adaptation of monasticism to different cultures. Throughout, we will  highlight the role of gender. We will conclude with attention to contemporary manifestations of monastic culture. This course is equivalent to INTL 0472 and RELI 0472. Pre-1800 3 hr sem.

Sparta and Athens For over 200 years, Athens and Sparta were recognized as the most powerful Greek city-states, and yet one was a democracy (Athens), the other an oligarchy (Sparta). One promoted the free and open exchange of ideas (Athens); one tried to remain closed to outside influence (Sparta). This course studies the two city-states from the myths of their origins through their respective periods of hegemony to their decline as imperial powers. The goal is to understand the interaction between political success and intellectual and cultural development in ancient Greece.

Maggie Clinton

Jim Ralph

Elizabeth Morrison

Alex Lyford

Ian Barrow

Peter Stavros

Paul Monod

Elsa Mendoza

Jacob Tropp

Don Wyatt

Damascus Kafumbe

Darien Davis

Rebecca Bennette

Max Ward

Martha Woodruff

Joyce Mao

Federico Canaccini

Rebecca Mitchell

Jennifer Strtak

Ron Makleff

Louisa Burnham

Jane Chaplin

Connor Williams

Alejandro Herrera

Michael Newbury

Catherine Boyle

Febe Armanios

Tim Spears

Kathryn Morse

Amy Morsman

Lana Povitz

Read 494 reviews for History courses at Middlebury College. Find the best History professors and courses.  Discover your new major today!

She is a very nice and lovely professor. First time learning about history of the U.S and it was very informative and I learned a lot. Every thursdays there are quizzes and all the answers are from the lectures and slides. There is alot of reading and there are lots of discussion. 

Pretty interesting class that always gets a lot of interest. Professor Povitz is clearly very knowledgeable on the topic and she tries to include as much of that as possible. Class is very readings based and 30% of ur grade is from short hw assignments based on those readings

Early Modern European Civilization was a solid course that covered a broad range of topics over a huge time period (10th-17th century). Her lectures were very well thought out and rehearsed, allowing students to take in a large amount of information easily. The discussion sections were less organized, and you could get away with not doing the homework for the whole course. Granted, the homeworks were quite short, and their content was either covered in the lecture or irrelevant for the Final Exam. The papers she assigns are quite short, but she expects people to conform to her writing style, and she can be quite picky. If you attend office hours, you will get a better grade. So, most weeks are work-light, but the weeks with a paper can be much more strenuous. 