A seminar course involving an examination of the origins and course of the Second World War. Primary focus on main campaigns of the war in Europe and Asia, the domestic policies of the belligerent powers, and the social, economic, and political impact of the conflict.

A seminar course involving an examination of the origins and course of the First World War. Primary focus on various campaigns and fronts of the war, and on specific issues such as the nature and impact of trench warfare, the domestic policies of the belligerent powers, and the social, economic, and political impact of the conflict

The study of history relies on the written and oral record of human experience. The use to which words have been put has varied over time ranging from the ancient world's innocent acceptance of recorded inventories and boastful heroic conquests, to the postmodern era where the text is not a bearer of truth but an instrument of power. This course traces the place of the text in the human effort to know and remember the past.

Human interaction with the environment is the most fundamental of all relationships. This course examines the different ways in which societies have defined, understood, and used their nonhuman surroundings and the processes through which the environment influences culture and adapts to human communities. Students explore the historical context of the human-nature interaction in global perspective and compare the ways in which the concepts of politics, nationalism, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc. inform and guide the relationship.

Examines the changing nature of, and approaches to, war and its effect on society from the ancient world to the present, including an assessment of various visions and proposals for peace. The course includes an assessment of historic and relatively recent armed conflicts, exploring the causes of contemporary conflict and some of its distinctive characteristics. It also evaluates the effectiveness of various strategies for preventing, abating and terminating current forms of conflict. Questions discussed include: Why do states go to war? How do they create a lasting peace?

This seminar examines specific topics in the history of gender throughout the period known loosely as the modern world. The course is designed to clarify the process through which ideas of gender evolved and the ways in which masculinity and femininity have been constructed and experienced in a global context. The seminar also examines group interactions across lines of race, class, ethnicity, region, and religion and the influence of groups striving to assert their own identities on ideas of gender.

An examination of special topics or issues in history that are not considered in depth in other courses.

A survey of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The historical roots of the conflict, issues of land ownership and immigration, the development of national consciousness, and the process of state formation within both communities, impacts on the larger international community, and problems of peacemaking.

An examination of some major theses in the history of the Arab Middle East since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. The course examines the role played by issues of identity in the development of national structures in the Arab East (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States).

A study of the history of the Christian church from the turn of the first century to the eve of the sixteenth century Reformation, with attention to the persons, events and issues involved in the major developments of Christianity.