HIST 107 - Special Topics in Global History

This is an introductory-level course on global history, variable in content. Each semester the course is offered, the content will be based on student interest and faculty expertise. The course is repeatable for credit as long as the course content varies; students may take a specific iteration of the course only once.

SPRING 2020 TOPIC: SEC. 01 - ISLAM IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE SINCE 1857

Moving beyond Western-centered visions of Islam, this course examines various expressions of Islam and their evolution in global context since the mid-19th century. Beginning with the foundations of theology, law, imperial rule, and connectivity across regions, it turns toward the framing of an idea of the “Muslim World” after the Indian Mutiny of 1856-1857. Beginning with colonial discourses and the emergence of pan-Islamism, nationalism, and Islamic modernism, the course continues through the First World War and rise of national states. It will address the status of religion within and across these states, as well as the diversity of expressions of the faith in the century that followed. The course engages with changing understandings of law, the impact of colonialism, religious authority, social movements, secularism, and migration in the Islamicate world. As the course progresses, it focuses on specific case studies to illuminate global trends. Attention will be paid to Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia, India, Algeria, Senegal, Egypt, and Western Europe.

SPRING 2020 TOPIC: SEC. 02 - INTRODUCTION TO MODERN RUSSIAN AND SOVIET HISTORY, 1689 - 1991

This course will address the political, intellectual, cultural, and social history of Russia during the Imperial, and Soviet eras, from 1689 - 1964. Beginning with an introduction to the core institutions of early modern Russia, the autocracy and the Church, it moves into complex discussions of social and cultural trends, beginning with the reforms of Peter the Great. Rather than seeking an authoritative version of Russianness (the mythical “Russian soul”), this course will provide nuance by examining thought and writings produced not only by Russian-speaking elites, but Jewish, Muslim, and Ukrainian subjects of the Empire; it also includes traditionally marginalized voices of Russian women and serfs during the 18th and 19th centuries. Its focus embraces all regions of the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union, including areas outside of today’s Russia, with distinct national and cultural identities. Particular attention will be paid to Ukraine. The course continues with the rise of revolutionary activity, the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty, and the emergence of the Soviet Union out of the First World War. It concludes with examinations of Stalinist collectivization, totalitarianism, and the Second World War, before addressing the reforms of the Khrushchev years and causes of Soviet collapse.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Each semester, as needed.