2023-2024 Academic Catalog 
    
    Jul 04, 2025  
2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HIST 239 - Special Topics Course in Global History


The content of this course will vary by instructor.

TOPICS FOR SPRING 2024:

SECTION 01 - EMPIRE TO EMPIRE: LATE OTTOMAN AND BRITISH PALESTINE

This lecture-discussion course examines the history of Palestine from the mid-19th century until the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, covering the final decades of Ottoman rule in the region and the subsequent period of the British mandate. The course weaves together modern Jewish history, Palestinian history, the histories of the Ottoman and British empires, Middle Eastern history, and the history of modern nationalism. The course will emphasize the close reading of primary source texts and will introduce students to new historiography on the region.

SECTION 02 - BODY, GENDER, & SEXUALITY IN CHINESE HISTORY
This pro-seminar introduces the essential scholarly works in the field of gender studies in China. It explores the history of men and women in China from late antiquity to the medieval period and to the early Republic through the lenses of gender, body, and politics. We will question the changing meanings of masculinity and femininity against various social, economic, and political backdrops in Chinese history. We will examine the links between broad political and economic trends and trends in notions about gender: 1) the Confucian orthodoxy in the traditional and late imperial states; 2) the ever-changing gender norms in regulating social and sexual life; 3) the modernizing agendas of the nation-state and the influence of western imperialism. By exploring illuminating scholarship, we will investigate the lived experience of men and women in traditional and modern China and their struggles with the norms of sexuality, gender, and beauty standards during the time of their lives.

This course may be repeated for credit two times.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Every other year