>>
A seminar to engage first-year students in the academic culture of the University. Seminars will promote meaningful academic dialogue between students and faculty in a small class setting that encourages reflective thinking and learning to learn. Varied topics based on faculty scholarship.…
Seminar for first-year students with faculty members in topics of interest pertinent to research, academic life, and higher education at the University of Georgia.
Examination of European history, society, and culture from multiple perspectives, featuring guest speakers from various departments across the college. Themes will include economic crisis, immigration from the south and east, and the role of Islam.
United States history since 1865 from a multicultural and multiethnic perspective. The course will emphasize social, cultural, and political dimensions of the American experience, paying particular attention to issues of race and ethnicity. Highlights the contributions of the many different…
American society, politics, thought, institutions, and economic life from the first settlements to the end of the Civil War.
United States survey at the honors level will deal more thematically than the regular survey with a variety of issues in American history from its founding through the Civil War. Emphasis on primary sources and research and writing, often with a seminar format.
Development of the American nation from 1865 to the present.
Development of the American nation from 1865 to the present. This course is taught online.
The major political, economic, social, and cultural changes in the United States from reconstruction to the present.
Amerindian, Iberoamerican, and Caribbean history and culture from pre-encounter times to 1800.
Latin American and Caribbean history and culture from 1800 to the present.
An introduction to the premodern West that explores the practices and priorities of a succession of different societies, highlighting how these behaviors and ideas manifested themselves in art, economy, ethnic identity, gender, government, philosophy, play, religion, and technology. Along the…
Western society from the Renaissance to the present day, emphasizing ideas, culture, and social change.
The social, political and economic developments in the west to 1500 A.D.
Integrating social, cultural, and political history, this course includes such topics as religion, changing social structures and gender identities, industrialization, revolution and the rise of nationalism, Europe and the world, modern wars and mass political movements.
History of Africa to 1800. Origins of agriculture, rise and growth of complex societies and states, spread and importance of Islam, trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean trade, rise of the Atlantic slave trade, and diaspora issues.
History of Africa from 1800. The European conquest and colonization of Africa and the development of colonial economies, African collaboration and resistance, development of ethnic and African political identities, anti-colonial wars, independence, and post-colonial politics.
The civilizations and cultures of East Asia, from ancient times to the present, focusing on political and cultural interaction with the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds. Emphasis on peoples, processes and change, rather than chronology of events.
To provide students who have no previous background in the subject with a fundamental acquaintance with the historical, religious, political, economic, and social traditions of East Asia, a foundation upon which they can build in future studies. (Honors).
The human community from ancient times to A.D. 1500, focusing on the interrelations of societies and cultures and comparing the experiences of peoples and civilizations with one another.
The human community from A.D. 1500 to the present, focusing on the interrelations of societies and cultures and comparing the experiences of peoples and civilizations with one another.
Human migration is often described as a crisis or problem, but it has been around for millennia. Only the barriers to movement are new. This course considers the rise of restrictions and how various nations deal with issues such as rights, citizenship, and integration.
This introduction to women’s history offers an overview of the methods, themes, and questions of interest to historians of women’s and gender history. It also provides a brief survey of the history of women.
An introduction to the history of immigration in the United States. It will touch on many issues, including citizenship and immigrant rights, immigration policy, refugees, race, ethnicity and acculturation, U.S. borders, immigrant labor, and more.
A survey of American foreign relations since 1914.
The history of Canada from European settlement to the present day. Special attention will be given to political, constitutional, and economic developments.
Explores the impact of colonization on Native Americans to 1840. The course will focus on the creative adaptations of Indians to the great changes unleashed by the meeting of the new and old worlds.
Government policy towards Indians, but more importantly, exploration of how Native Americans themselves constructed their lives over the past 150 years. The readings give voice to Indians while at the same time providing a structured historical background.
Explores the government policy towards Indians, but more importantly, exploration of how Native Americans themselves constructed their lives over the past 150 years. The readings give voice to Indians while at the same time providing a structured historical background. (Honors).
Exploration of the history of North America between 1500 and 1800, paying particular attention to the West, Native Americans, and the settlement and development of Spanish, French, and Russian colonies.
Examines the westward expansion of the United States from the end of the Seven Year War to the Compromise of 1850. Topics include the development of a national Indian policy, Lewis and Clark, the Mormon migration, Manifest Destiny, the California gold rush, and the West in the Civil War.
United States history from a multiracial perspective. Examines the roles American peoples of color and European Americans have played in the making of America. The course focuses on colonial times through the early twentieth century.
Explores the American West from 1850-present. Topics include the building of the trans-continental railroad, the American plains, Indian policy and wars, mining and agriculture, the purchase of Alaska, tourism in the 20th century, and the effects of World War II and the…
Native American, African, and European interactions; warfare, labor systems, cultures, and societies; empire building and colonial political structures; the American Revolution and the formation of the United States.
Economic, social, diplomatic, and political trends in the United States, 1877-1917.
The shifting patterns of political, economic, cultural, and social development in the United States as the nation confronted prosperity, depression, and war.
Social, economic, diplomatic, and political trends in the United States during the post-World War II era.
Selected aspects of United States relations with the world in the twentieth century.
Women's experiences in the United States from the arrival of Europeans on the North American continent to the Civil War. Women's life experiences within the context of larger historical changes in the United States. Women's history as an integral part of American social…
Women's experiences in the United States since the Civil War. Women's live experiences within the context of larger historical changes in the United States. Women's history as an integral part of American social history and as a unique subject of historical investigation…
Major themes and issues in southern history from Jamestown through the l980s. Topics will include colonial settlement, frontier expansion, slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Populism, Jim Crow, the New South, the civil rights movement, and Sunbelt development.…
Provide students a soul-nourishing meal: a deep knowledge of the history of Southern foodways from the first mixtures of Indigenous, African, and European modes of growing, cooking, and eating in the 16th century to the deliciously fragmenting iterations of Southern food (Black, Latinx,…
The African background of African Americans, the institution of slavery, the development of the African American community institutions, and African American participation in and impact on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
The twentieth-century struggle for civil rights, black identity, and self-determination. The response to industrialism and urbanization. The role of black institutions and political organizations. The philosophy and tactics of accommodation, integration, and separatism.…
An examination of the history of African American women from the colonial period through to the present. Topics covered include enslavement, the relationship between Black and white women from the antebellum period through second-wave feminism, and Black women in the civil rights and Black…
Focuses on selected important episodes in American history from the sixteenth century to the present. The instructor introduces the historical period and pertinent texts and then, as gamemaster, assigns individual roles with victory objectives. In order to achieve their objectives, students must…
Examination of the history of American business and entrepreneurship in the United States from the colonial era to the present. Topics covered include the history of the corporation, the evolution of managerial practices, business relations with government and labor, business and…
A survey of the history of the Hispanic/Latinx people of the United States from the Spanish conquest to the present, examining the U.S. occupation of the Southwest and the successive waves of Hispanic immigration through issues of segregation, integration, gender equality, and identity…
The significant developments in American religious history and thought from Puritanism to the present with attention to the social and cultural contexts in which various religious movements arose.
This course will study the history of conspiracy theories in the United States, from the anti-Catholicism of the Puritans to "QAnon." Its aim will not only be to catalog and describe prominent theories, but also to (1) understand why certain Americans accepted conspiracy theories as valid…
The historical interactions between Americans and the natural environment from before European exploration and settlement until the present. The course particularly focuses on how nature has shaped human history, how humans have transformed the natural world, and how…
The history of Americans' interaction with the environment, from the Ice Age to the present day. Topics include native and colonial American land use, the rise of industrial capitalism, nature and the Civil War, Progressive conservation, and the postwar environmental movement.
An examination of the history of how art has been used to enact cultural, social, and political change in the United States. Topics covered include the imagery and history of abolition, WWI, WWII, the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, Vietnam anti-war protests, and the HIV/AIDS…
A history of the planning, development, and growth of American cities. In addition to studying the built environment, this course will examine American attitudes and perceptions of urban spaces from the colonial period to the present. The impact of transportation, technology, and…
Examination of the history of race and slavery in the Americas from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. We analyze the enslaved experience, with an emphasis on outlining similarities and differences among slavery in North American, Caribbean, and Latin American societies, and how…
Examination of the history of women, gender relations, and sexuality in Latin America. It pays particular attention to how gender, race, and class intersected in the formation of historical trends from pre-Colombian societies to the present day. Approximately one-half of the course will…
Mexican history and culture from pre-Columbian times to the present.
Mexican history from pre-Aztec times to the modern era. Pre- Columbian Mexico, the era of Spain's colonial rule (1519-1810), the struggle for independence, and the turbulent years of post- independence chaos will be covered. Also, the Juárez years (1855-1872), the long reign of Porfírio…
Brazilian history and culture from pre-Columbian times to the present.
Brazilian history and culture from pre-Columbian times to the present. How Brazil and its people have been shaped by colonialism, economic cycles of boom and bust, slavery, regional cleavages, shifts from monarchical to republican to dictatorial to democratic forms of government, and…
Exploration of the central nodes of Andean history: the foundation of the Inka empire, the Spanish Conquest, process of modern state formation and the indigenous rights movement in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Perú, analyzing how the Andean village adapted to outside exactions…
The islands and Caribbean periphery from pre-Columbian times to the present. European intrusion and settlement, plantation societies and economies, slavery and slave rebellion, nineteenth- and twentieth-century political and economic developments, and United States policy. Approximately…
Exploration of the history of notable disasters in the Caribbean and Latin America since the heyday of European expansion. The readings focus on earthquakes, hurricanes, and other phenomena, such as epidemics, that human action and inaction have at times transformed into catastrophes.…
A comparative study of contemporary Argentina and Chile, this course surveys the process of state formation and the issues of labor, gender, human rights, and popular culture in those two countries. Special emphasis will be put on the 1970s and 80s dictatorships and the…
An exploration of the world in the year 1000, focusing on the emergence of long-distance trade networks and cultural connections. Topics include the Viking trans-Atlantic voyages, Chinese traders crossing the Indian Ocean, Mayan expansion in Mesoamerica, flows of gold from West Africa, and Islam…
Topics in social and cultural history, such as law, the role of women, slavery, ethnography, masculinity, medicine, the agricultural economy, the origins and meaning of democracy. Begins in the Archaic period with Homer and ends with Alexander the Great.
Focusing on social and cultural history, this course follows Rome's expansion from Neolithic village to Mediterranean empire. Themes include the role and status of women, slavery and social power, political violence, life in the provinces, writing and literacy, ethnic identity and…
The history of women in many of the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and Middle East. The social, religious, and political roles played by women of different classes within the patriarchal framework of these societies. Emphasis will be placed on the reading and…
The ideas about and images of women throughout the medieval period. The issues of political, economic, and social rights of women of different classes. The presence of misogyny will be questioned.
The experiences, challenges, and achievements of women in early modern Europe. Perceptions of women--religious, literary, political, and social. Through such study, we can learn more both about women and about how society functioned and responded to change.
The experiences, challenges, and achievements of women in modern Europe. Perceptions of women--religious, literary, political, and social. Through such study, we can learn more both about women and about how society functioned and responded to change.
A history of the political, economic, intellectual, and environmental changes across Europe and the Mediterranean, from the expansion and contraction of the Roman Empire to the tragedies and transformation of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
A history of how the forms, definitions, and goals of Christianity changed in late antique and medieval societies across Europe and the Mediterranean. Examines how the religion responded to and affected the way these societies understood their government, their wealth,…
The two great intellectual movements of early modern Europe: the Renaissance and the Reformation. The religious and social context in which the developments associated with these movements took place, as well as their impact on European society.
Introduces students to the history of the life sciences, primarily biology and genetics. The development of these disciplines in their larger social and economic context, covering such topics as exploration and empire; evolution and eugenics; and conservation and biotechnology.
Introduces students to the history of psychiatry, from pre-modern treatments and understandings of mental illness to the development of psychiatry, psychology, and relevant developments in allied fields such as neuroscience. Though focused primarily on the United States, this course also…
Although Europe is often seen as exclusively white, it has always been racially diverse. This course contests assumptions of European racial homogeneity while demonstrating that race is a historically specific concept that changes over time. Students will chart the history of race from the…
The rise of the modern European state and its impact on society and culture from 1600 to 1789. Themes include kingship and state formation, popular revolt, aristocratic culture, Enlightenment social thought, and the collapse of the Old Regime.
The history of Europe from 1789 to 1900, emphasizing political and social change, the spread of revolutionary ideas, and the rise of nation states.
The history of Europe from 1789 to 1900, emphasizing political and social change, the spread of revolutionary ideas, and the rise of nation-states.
Major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in twentieth-century Europe.
The history of Europe during the twentieth century. Topics include the First and Second World Wars, the Russian Revolution, Italian Fascism and German Nazism, the Spanish Civil War, the reconstruction of Europe after 1945, and the Cold War.
This course uses a variety of source material, including diaries, letters, memoirs, fiction, and film to examine the experience of living in a dictatorship. The primary cases featured will be the Soviet Union (1917-1991), Fascist Italy (1925-1943), Nazi Germany (1933-1945), and the…
English history in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
English history from the Restoration to the present. Emphasis will be on political and cultural change as well as economic and imperial development.
French history from the sixteenth to the late eighteenth century. Peasant life, social hierarchy, religious conflict, the politics and culture of Absolutism, the Enlightenment, the fall of the Old Regime, and the French Revolution.
French social and political history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Processes of urbanization and industrialization in the nineteenth century and French political and cultural development in the twentieth century.
Germany from 1789 through the Revolutions of 1848, German unification, the Wilhelminian Reich, World War I, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, World War II, division, and reunification.
The eighteenth-century beginnings of the movement for unification to the present, with particular emphasis on the distinctiveness of the Italian experience in culture, society, and politics.
The history of Italy from the eighteenth century to the present. Topics include the Italian Enlightenment, the impact of the French Revolution and Napoleon on Italy, the Risorgimento and Italian unification, Liberal Italy, Italian Fascism, postwar Italian politics, society, economy, and…
Traces rise of Russian state from Kievan Rus through Tsardom of Nicholas I. High points include Mongol legacy, rise of Muscovy, the "Time of Troubles," and creation of modern state structure by Peter I (The Great). Final focus is on nineteenth-century reform beginnings…
The Soviet Union stands alone in modern history for the ambition of its utopia - Soviet communists imagined a world free of exploitation, in which material abundance would foster the self-realization of all individuals and a radical equality of class, gender, and ethnicity. But applying…
A comparative and multi-faceted history of the Cold War, with equal attention to the Soviet and American sides. Without neglecting global and geopolitical topics, this course emphasizes the meaning of the Cold War in the lives of regular people, Soviet and American, as they navigate a…
The history of early science beginning with some major ancient and medieval natural philosophers and historians, and ending with the Scientific Revolution of the 1500s and 1600s, which decisively shaped western civilization.
The history of the engineering profession, from antiquity to the present. Focuses in particular on the development of engineering in the last two centuries in the United States, particularly the central role that engineers have played in technological innovations that define the modern era…
The history of architecture from antiquity to the present focuses on the evolution of building techniques and materials over the centuries. Focuses in particular on developments over the past two hundred years, particularly the role of engineers and engineering in the rise of modern…
A continuation of the survey of the history of science, from the culmination of the Scientific Revolution in the 1600s to the twentieth century, considering science and scientific ideas in relation to broader social, religious, and intellectual issues.
A survey of the history of science, from the culmination of the Scientific Revolution in the 1600s to the twentieth century, considering science and scientific ideas in relation to broader social, religious, and intellectual issues. (Honors).
The history of medicine in Western society. The impact of epidemic disease, concepts of illness, medical therapies, types of practitioners and their education, and public health.
The history of Imperial Spain in the time of Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). Topics of discussion will include the Armada of 1588, heresy and the Inquisition, art and artists, the discovery of the New World, and perspectives on the decline of Spain.
Examines the contested encounter between Europe and the Islamic World, from the medieval period until the present day. Topics will include the origins of Christianity and Islam; conquest and reconquest in the medieval era; the Habsburg-Ottoman rivalry; Orientalism; and the Christian-Muslim…
Social, political, and economic changes in southern African societies (South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique) as they assimilated non-African peoples, their ideas, and material culture. Independent, viable and adaptable, Africans engaged Portuguese,…
Economic, political, and cultural history of East Africa to the nineteenth century. Growth of agricultural systems, forms and functions of states and kingdoms, the world of the Indian Ocean, slavery and rebellion.
Economic and cultural history of East Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Food, trade, commodification, slavery, rage, missionary and colonial interests, nationalisms, independence, art and literature.
Examines decolonization in Africa, particularly the dissolution of the European Empires. Beginning with the post-WWII movement, it explores multiple factors, such as nationalism, the role of the U.N. and the U.S., and postcolonial states, to understand the transition from a world of empire to…
Examines decolonization in Africa, particularly the dissolution of the European Empires. Beginning with the post-WWII movement, it explores multiple factors, such as nationalism, the role of the U.N. and the U.S., and postcolonial states, to understand the transition from a world of empire…
Women's social, economic, spiritual, and political contributions to African history from precolonial to contemporary times. Emphasizing African women, it also addresses European and Asian women immigration. Women's interpretations of their identities, social worlds, and experiences, recognizing…
Examines the history of gender in Africa, that is, how notions of masculinity and femininity changed over time. The origins of gender constructs and how they were used to affect social, political, and economic behavior. Ancient African notions of gender were later affected by economic…
The history and historiography of the African participation in the first and second World Wars. Africans participated in the European, Asian, and African theaters of the wars. Examination of themes such as European imperialism, racism, and African anti-colonial resistance.
Examines the Sahara from the ancient through the medieval and colonial periods. It focuses on issues such as environmental history and camel nomadism, trans-Saharan trade, the rise and spread of Islam, Saharan slavery and racism, the European conquest, and the Saharan anti-colonial struggle.
Exploration of the social, economic, and political life in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka from a historical perspective. Showcases the diversity of the region labeled “South Asia” and explores challenges to its regional identity.
Exploring South Asian migrations in the 19th and 20th centuries to Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore), Africa (Mauritius, Kenya, Uganda), the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas. Includes a module on South Asian diasporas and the United States South.
A survey of the history of the medieval Islamic world from the seventh to fifteenth centuries, covering the major political, religious, and social developments of the period.
The history of the Middle East from 1453 to 1918, focusing on the Ottoman Empire and its provinces.
The history of colonialism and nationalism in the Middle East, from Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt until the decolonization of the Arab Gulf in the 1960s.
History of the Middle East from World War I to the present, focusing on political, religious, cultural, and economic circumstances.
Evolution of religious, nationalist, and cultural identities in the region of the Modern Middle East and their contribution to political revolutions throughout the twentieth century.
The history of modern Iraq, from the late Ottoman Empire to the rise of ISIS. The political, social, and cultural history of Iraq.
Emphasizing social history and archaeological evidence as well as primary written sources, this course traces the evolution of Egypt from the earliest evidence of the first kings through the Roman period.
Political and cultural history of Egypt from the medieval era up to the present. Examining the history of education in Egypt, Egyptian women, the growth of feminism, and Cairo as an international metropolis, with a look at Egypt's experiences with colonialism and relationship with the rest of…
Ancient and medieval Japan, focusing on the institutional and cultural foundations of the Japanese state.
Early modern and modern Japan: the transformation of Japan from an isolationist, agrarian country to a military giant, to a broken and defeated nation, to an economic superpower.
Examination of imperialism in East Asia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Focus on the ideologies and structures of the Japanese empire compared to those of Western empire.
A survey of early, classical, and medieval Chinese history, from the Shang to the Tang dynasty (2000 B.C.E.-800 C.E.). Central themes include state formation, state-society relations, economic foundations, cultural transformations, and intellectual innovations. Emphasis on interpreting primary…
A survey of Chinese history from the late Tang through the early Qing dynasties (800-1600). Topics include the involution of the imperial state, transformations of society and economy, the invention of the "Confucian" tradition, and shifting conceptions of Chinese identity.
From 1600 to the present, focusing on shifts in politics, economy, culture, and thought: the fall of the Ming dynasty, the Qing dynasty as an imperial formation, China's 19th-century crisis in world perspective, the failures of late Qing reform, the abortive 1911 revolution, the birthing pains…
Major sources, ideas, and institutions of Chinese tradition.
A survey of the history of urbanism in East Asia through five cities: Han and Tang Chang’an, Song Kaifeng, Ming-Qing Beijing, and Tokugawa-era Edo, and their transformation into contemporary megacities. Readings will focus on the lives of everyday people, exploring the urban experience…
The extraordinary proliferation of communist states in the twentieth century has few historical parallels, and few people anywhere remained indifferent to communism’s utopian idea. What was communism? How did it move untold millions worldwide? Crucially, what relationship does the communist…
Examination of the shared history of Europe, Africa, and the Americas during the period of colonization and globalization. Between the era of exploration and the age of revolutions, these civilizations interacted through conquest, trade, emigration, and cultural exchange, giving rise to a…
Examination of how slavery changed, grew, and was increasingly challenged during the “Dual Revolutions” that struck the Atlantic world between 1790 and 1860. The Industrial Revolution, and the democratic revolutions that created independent, modern nation-states from France to Brazil, take…
An undergraduate research seminar focusing on topics from a comparative perspective.
Examination of the environmental history of the world from approximately 1500 AD until the present, with a focus on the global processes-- such as colonial and imperial expansion, industrialization and the rise of modern technological systems, agricultural intensification, and population growth…
Introduces students to the history of digital computers, from their nineteenth-century antecedents to the cutting-edge technologies of the twenty-first century. Students will learn about the technologies, personalities, and businesses behind the rise of Silicon Valley, the internet, the…
An investigation of the spectacular and often traumatic historical processes of the twentieth century, including imperialism, the world wars, Communist and fascist revolutions, decolonization, and the Cold War from a global perspective. Students will become conversant in the grand…
Drawing on a series of case studies, students will explore the relationship between deportation and genocide and investigate the perpetrators, the victims, the causes, and the consequences.
An exploration of the juncture between disease and society. The course emphasizes major demographic events: the epidemiological shifts of the Neolithic and Industrial ages, the “Columbian Exchange” of diseases, and the Black Death. It also explores the history and impact of diseases such…
DEATH is a roving, reading-intensive, discussion- and activity-based course that provides a topical tour of the history of death and dying from the Neanderthals to now. Students are expected to participate vividly in class projects and to be less dead at the end of term.
Imagining the future is one of the most consequential things we do as human beings, affecting both how we understand the past and how we act in the present. This course focuses on how science fiction has both reflected and facilitated the historical change from the early modern to the…
The history of American involvement in the Middle East and North Africa from the Revolutionary War until the present moment. Major wars and covert operations, the evolution of diplomacy and foreign aid, and cultural encounters between the United States and Middle East.
The history of warfare in the context of the warring societies from 1500 to the present in world history.
Sports have been a critical aspect of human culture from prehistoric times. Angling contests were held in Ancient Sumer; sports are described in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad. This course focuses on how sports have both reflected and facilitated the historical change from ancient…
A history of racism exploring the ideology’s association with slavery and other forms of oppression. Examination of ethnic and racial representations in ancient Greek, Roman, and Judaic texts, then the medieval and modern periods, ending with nineteenth-century pseudo-scientific racism and…
Centers the lived experiences of different individuals and cultures during infectious disease epidemics in modern global history, particularly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Based on the history of medicine, the course emphasizes both historical context and anthropological,…
Examination of the history of criminal justice in the modern world. Topics of study will include law codes and the legal profession, patterns of criminal activity, and the policing of crime, detention and incarceration, torture and rehabilitation, and the evolution of an international system of…
Put today’s news in historical perspective! Learn the practical skills needed to conduct historical research. Each semester the instructor will choose three or four issues which have made headline news in the past year and lead students on a quest to determine the historical roots of each…
History happens in place as well as time. Experiential, collaborative research projects will allow students to map history, deploying concepts and techniques for thinking spatially about the nature of political, social, economic, and cultural change over time.
A colloquium-style, readings and discussion course exploring the nature and objectives of History as a field and the various approaches historians bring to their crafts. (Honors).
Special topics course focused on cultural, political, and historical relations between the countries of Europe.
A special subject not otherwise offered in the history curriculum. Topics, methodology, and instructors vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include "Women, Private Property, & the State", "Indigenous and Black Athens", and others.
The social, political, and environmental history of food production and consumption in America since the colonial era. Topics include the "beef trust," class/gender/race in rural landscapes, hunters and poachers, the "chicken of tomorrow," convenience and fast foods, the Green Revolution, and…
Exploration of the role of visual culture in American history. How Americans' understanding of historical events has been influenced by visual culture and how images have helped to shape national identity. Both fine art and more popular imagery will be considered.
Special topics in museum studies and the history of collections. Focusing on special topics in museum studies, this course counts as an elective for the museum studies certificate. This class may be taught on campus or as part of a field study or study abroad program.
American material culture from 1650 to 1950. Explores manmade objects and their relationship to United States history. Topics include architecture, gardens, decorative arts, textiles, metalwork, cemeteries, jewelry, painting, sculpture, photographs, and prints.
This experiential introductory course offers an examination of the history and practices of public history in the the nation’s Capital. Students will study the history of major cultural institutions in Washington, DC and interact with public history professionals to better understand…
This experiential course offers an examination of the history and practices of museums, parks, and public monuments in the United States. Making use of the campus and its collections students will investigate the presentation of history at UGA. Students will also create a temporary…
Survey of the cultural and social history of capitalism from initial settlement through Reconstruction. Topics include class formation, religion and capitalism, politics and development, capitalists and con men and women, economic development, money and rise of the financial system, and free…
Survey of the economic, social, and cultural history of capitalism from 1877 to the present. Topics include class formation, industrialization, the currency debates, railroads, mass production, labor unrest and unions, the Great Depression, New Deal, World War II, deindustrialization, and the…
Exploration of the struggles and achievements of the workers, managers, consumers, politicians, intellectuals, and social activists who have defined and redefined the American Dream. Readings investigate the interconnections of American society with global labor migration, corporate expansion…
Examination of the history of African Americans’ relationship to both art and natural history museums. Topics will include protest, institution building, and art collecting. Through a combination of museum sociology, art history, and Black history, students will gain a clearer…
Analyzes racial and gender ideologies in American expansion, 1607-1989: race-based slavery; narratives of captivity among American Indian tribes; literature of the frontier; turn-of-the-century segregation and imperial conquest; Cold War sex panic; understandings of Asia from 1941 through the…
Using fiction and film as well as traditional texts, the history of working-class women and men in the United States. The emphasis will be on the everyday lives of the laborers--what they did at work and at home, in the union hall, and on the picket line.
Biographies and autobiographies to explore a variety of themes and issues in American history. Emphases will differ depending on instructor: focus may be nineteenth century, twentieth century, women, race, southern autobiography, etc.
This course examines representative works of such nineteenth- and twentieth-century social, cultural, and political thinkers as Frederick Douglass, Cornel West, Anna J. Cooper, and Angela Davis among other outstanding women and men who have contributed significantly to the intellectual life of…
An examination of representative works of such nineteenth- and twentieth-century social, cultural, and political thinkers as Frederick Douglass, Cornel West, Anna J. Cooper, and Angela Davis, among other outstanding women and men who have contributed significantly to the intellectual life…
American legal thought, institutions, and education, focusing on the impact of social, political, and economic forces on the legal system. The English background, colonial period, legal foundations of the new nation, and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Medicine in America from the late 1400s to the end of the Civil War. Topics include the exchange of diseases between the Old and New Worlds, medical theories and therapies, medical education and institutions, epidemics and public health, women as patients and practitioners, and medicine on the…
Major transformation in American medicine from the late nineteenth century to the present. Topics include the role of psychiatry in criminal trials, public reactions to epidemic diseases, medical experimentation on human subjects, alternative medical approaches, the economics of health…
Major transformation in American medicine from the late nineteenth century to the present. Topics may include public reactions to epidemic diseases, medical experimentation on human subjects, alternative medical approaches, the economics of health care, technology in medicine, and the…
Social and cultural histories of technology in the United States from the pre-colonial era to the present. Topics include mass communications and entertainment, industrialization, modernism, food production and consumption, national identity, and the environment.
Analysis of the political, military, social, and economic history of British North America and the United States between 1765 and 1815. Emphasis on the origins of the Revolution, the destructive civil war that ensued, and the controversies over the Confederation and the Constitution.
History of the U.S. from the early republic through the antebellum period, with emphasis on territorial expansion, industrialization, the first and second political systems, and the emergence of the sectional crisis.
History of the United States from the early republic through the antebellum period, with emphasis on territorial expansion, industrialization, the first and second political systems, and the emergence of the sectional crisis.
A chronological and thematic history of the South from Spanish exploration and Jamestown's settlement through the secession crisis of l860-1861, with an emphasis on the social, cultural, economic, and political aspects of southern life in the colonial and antebellum periods.
The origin, conduct, and legacy of the war and the impact of the conflict upon peoples and institutions.
The process of reunion, especially in the American South, with emphasis upon the experience of African Americans.
Economic, social, cultural, and political developments in the South since Reconstruction.
The historical, racial, economic, political, musical, and literary dots that constitute the matrix of southern cultural identity. There will be substantial emphasis on readings, and in addition to more traditional historical content, assignments and classroom discussions will also incorporate…
Representations of women's power historically, evaluated critically in terms of gender, race, and class.
American popular music from the 1830s through the late twentieth century, focusing on popular music as an arena for debate about civic identity, involving an extraordinary range of Americans. Course topics and sub-themes include African- American, Euro-American, and Latin-American influences,…
Survey of the intellectual and cultural history of America from its colonial origins to 1865.
American intellectual and cultural history from 1865-1945. Explores ideas and culture in America in the period following the Civil War through the end of World War II.
Selected problems related to United States foreign policy.
The political, diplomatic, military, and social history of the United States during the era of the Cold War (1946-1992).
The political, military, and diplomatic aspects of the Vietnam War, from the French involvement in the 1940s and 1950s to the United States departure in 1973 and the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Course covers Georgia's past from pre-history to the present, emphasizing themes of race, class, and modernization. The course gives special emphasis to the lives of everyday Georgians and coverage of the Georgia Constitution, making particular reference to U.S. history to show how Georgia was…
The history of the state, with an emphasis on its racial, ethnic, religious, gender, and regional diversity, to be examined through historical documents, novels, short stories, folklore, memoirs, music, and film.
This course is designed to introduce students to the racial, ethnic, cultural, and regional diversity of Georgia. We will use both chronological and thematic approaches to explore Native Americans, Spanish explorers, the multi-ethnic origins of Savannah (Moravian, Salzburger, Jewish); black-…
Introduces secondary social studies education students to modern U.S. history, with emphasis on how to teach history content, concepts, and methods to students at the middle school, high school, and introductory college level.
This course is restricted to undergraduate…
Examination of the history of the African-American civil rights movement in the United States during the middle of the twentieth century by focusing on the lives and struggles of ordinary people, black and white, who fought to overcome the legacy of racial and social inequality.
An examination of the history of the African-American civil rights movement in the United States during the middle of the twentieth century by focusing on the lives and struggles of ordinary people, black and white, who fought to overcome the legacy of racial and social inequality.…
An examination of the history of racial disparities within the United States criminal justice system, especially as applied to African Americans, how these disparities have evolved historically, and why they persist into the 21st century.
Exploration of the ways in which American slavery has been conveyed in American popular culture through the juxtaposition of scholarly work, novels and short stories, and film, ranging from the work of Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Faulkner, and Toni Morrison to that of Alex Haley and Steven…
From early film to twenty-first century gaming, innovators have turned to history for inspiration even as historians have looked to harness new media for their interpretive power. This course explores the interplay between spaces of the past and technologies used to present them.…
Special issues or topics in Latin American history not covered in a regular history course. Topics, methodology, and instructor vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include the Latin American revolutionary tradition, the wars of independence in the Americas, and Latin American…
Examination of Cuba's social history from the eighteenth century to the present. Focus on the struggles for freedom from slavery, Spanish colonialism, U.S. imperialism, and other forms of oppression. The class will seek to explain how the various sectors striving for "freedom" in the island--…
Exploration of Cuba's nineteenth- and twentieth-century revolutionary history, emphasizing Afro-Cuban struggles for emancipation and citizenship rights.
An examination of the history of selected Caribbean religions from the European conquest to the twentieth century. Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santer?a, Jamaican Rastafarianism, and Spiritism will receive special attention. An exploration of the cultural processes (creolization, syncretism, etc.) that…
The political, economic, and cultural relations between the United States and Latin America from 1776 to the present. Spanish-American revolutions, the Monroe doctrine, United States expansionism, the Pan American system, United States intervention, the Good Neighbor policy, Latin America in the…
This course goes beyond the history of territorial disputes and diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States to analyze the multiple ways in which the peoples, cultures, and events in each country have been shaping each other for the last two centuries.
The origins of the rationalist tradition in medicine; folk and cult methods of healing; the medical construction of gender differences; attitudes toward the body, including asceticism; and topics in the social history of medicine (such as childbirth, disease, and medical society) will be…
Exploration of the history of popular religions in Latin America since Pre-Columbian times. Readings include issues such as religion in the Andes, witchcraft and cult of the saints, African religions in Brazil, and shamanism in the Amazon. Analysis of the social, political, and gender dimensions…
Focuses on mobility in the early modern world (1500-1800), including the circulation of people, knowledge, and capital. Looking at the edges of empire demonstrates the limits of empire building and state authority. As circulation increased, cosmopolitanism emerged. At least one-half of the…
Examination of struggles surrounding assertions of citizenship rights in Latin America and the Caribbean since the eighteenth century. The readings trace moments in which women, migrants, and indigenous and colonized peoples transformed dominant understandings of the nation-state and…
Exploration of how Latin Americans see themselves through the lens of popular culture. Studying festivals, dances, theater, and a variety of forms of public performance serves the purpose of reflecting on the specific way Latin Americans have constructed race, gender, class, and nation. In…
Topical studies that vary by year and instructor. Topics might include "Art and Society in the Age of the Reformation," "War and Gender in Twentieth-Century Europe," "Society and Culture in the Medieval European City," and "Imperialism and Anti-imperialism in Modern Europe."
A special issue or topic not otherwise offered in the history curriculum. Topics, methodology, and instructors will vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include: "Tribes and States in the Pre-Modern Middle East" and "Marriage and the Family in Medieval Islam."
Law and its functions in ancient society from archaic Greece through the fifth century A.D. Includes discussion of Greek, Roman, and Christian legal codes, legal procedure, and the theory of law; also of law as a source for social history, especially issues of gender, class, crime, and the…
Topical studies of the social structures that shaped medieval European life and thought, and how those structures changed. The focal point changes yearly. (Recent topics: Saints; Economy and Society before Capitalism; Animals in the Middle Ages.)
European society in the context of pivotal social, political, and intellectual moments, from the growth of the Humanist movement to the military revolution. The goal is a better understanding of "turning points" in history, and their creation and definition.
Examination of the shared history of Christians and Muslims in Valencia, Spain, from the eighth to the seventeenth century, including the flourishing of Islamic civilization and the Catholic Reconquest. Studying this period of cultural exchange, evangelization, and persecution will shed light…
Examines the origins of modern consumerism by looking at production and consumption in pre-industrial Europe. Treats the circulation, possession, and meaning of goods such as clothes, food, books, and objects of art. Themes include consumption as a sign of social status, popular and learned…
Examination of the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. The class will analyze the great books of the period, and assess the social, cultural, and political context in which new ideas emerged. Themes will include the book trade, gender and sociability, the luxury debate, the construction of…
Examination of the Enlightenment, emphasizing the social and cultural contexts of the eighteenth-century intellectual movement. (Honors).
The symbols, expressions, and entertainments that all Europeans drew upon from the wealthiest and best educated to the poorest and illiterate. Themes may include material culture, gender identities, folktales, reading practices, religion and worship, music and theatre. Taught as a seminar with…
Examination of microhistory, which uses specific topics and sources to examine larger historical problems. Also, a review of microhistory theoretical and methodological connections to other scholarly disciplines such as cultural anthropology and other genres of history, including local history…
Brains and culture are the big questions of this course: how did they both work in the Middle Ages? Medieval thinkers used their minds in different ways than we do. They treated the brain like a muscle that required conditioning and training in order to improve concentration, memory, and…
The intellectual heritage of early modern Europe. Students will study the works of humanists, theologians, and philosophers, as well as evaluate the social context in which those works were produced.
European thought from 1815-1914, with emphasis on the relationship between ideas and their political and social context.
Major trends and innovations in European intellectual life, from the fin-de-si`ecle revolt against positivism to post-structuralism and its critics. Coverage will include such thinkers as Freud, Weber, and Foucault, as well as such wider cultural movements as futurism, surrealism, and…
Religious, political, and cultural upheavals under the Stuart monarchs, 1603-1704.
Britain in the age of the American War of Independence, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution. Special attention will be paid to political culture, intellectual change, and economic development.
Political culture, intellectual change, and economic/imperial readjustment in twentieth-century Britain and beyond.
The causes and course of Europe's first modern revolution and its reconfiguration by Napoleon Bonaparte. Students will read primary sources and a rich contemporary historiography which illuminate official and popular efforts to reshape government, society, and culture. Taught as a seminar with…
The history of France in the twentieth century, with an emphasis on politics and social change.
On the cultural and economic history of eighteenth-century capitalism, the course draws together accounts of overseas European empires with contemporary discourses of colonialism and political economy, covering virtually the whole century from the 1714 appearance of Bernard Mandeville's "Fable…
On European imperialism in the nineteenth century in relationship to capitalism, industrialization, and the nation- state. Themes include the “scramble for Africa,” race, gender, violence, metropolitan politics and popular culture, and key concepts like “orientalism” and “informal empire…
The origins, course, nature, and consequences of World Wars I and II in Europe, 1870-1950.
Examination of how the public memory of World War II changed in different countries in Asia, Europe, and North America from the immediate aftermath of the war to the present.
A topical seminar in Russian and Soviet history to consider issues of ethnicity and nationality since the nineteenth century. Students read both secondary and primary accounts (in translation) to understand the development, variety, and significance of ethno-national forms of identity in the…
The Jewish Holocaust 1933-1945, emphasizing historical precedents and consequences. Traditional religious anti-Semitism, biologically-based racism, and extreme nationalism will be investigated as sources of modern genocidal behavior.
The historical interaction of science and religion in Western Society from antiquity to the present. Key historical episodes include the rise of Greek natural philosophy, science in medieval Christendom and Islam, the Galileo affair, religion in the Enlightenment, the Darwinian challenge,…
Introduction to the history of modern physics and its underlying philosophy for both science and non-science majors. Basic concepts of classical physics, relativity, and quantum mechanics are explained through their history, which combines intellectual, biographical, and cultural…
An introduction to the role of science and technology in Russian history: the Imperial Academy, universities, disputes over Darwinism, the Soviet system of research, the fiasco of Lysenkoism in biology, successes in physics, and the unexpected triumph of Soviet space exploration.
An exploration of the role of nuclear energy and weapons in the history of the twentieth century, from the humble origins of the science of radioactivity and atomic nucleus, through the drama of World War II's race for the atomic bomb, to the nuclear-centered world politics and diplomacy of the…
Course traces the history of the political, economic, and social history of oil in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It details the impact of oil on the rise and fall of empires and nations, the social ramifications of the oil industry on local cultures and societies, the role of…
Exploration of drugs and medicines as commodities in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. How different cultures and societies across the world have shaped the meanings of drugs and medicine, and how drugs and medicines have conversely influenced peoples' habits and social relationships…
Development of the native societies of the southeastern United States, the exploration of the area by Spain in the sixteenth century, and the consequences of the meeting of the two peoples.
Topics in modern and ancient African history. Non-traditional methodologies and sources are combined to introduce students to emerging issues in African history.
The history and historiography of African slavery and how the institution changed over the centuries. An examination of the trans-Saharan, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic slave trades, as well as themes such as economics, state formation, religion, race and ethnicity, gender, and kinship.…
Examination of the history of Muslim Africa. The rise and spread of Islam as well as the European conquest and occupation. Examines issues of race, gender, and slavery and requires students to analyze primary sources and historical debates in formal essays.
Images and symbolism used by Europeans and Americans to define the Islamic Middle East. The history of the Middle East through representation--stereotypes, myths, fairy tales, novels, films, and news coverage--particularly the ramifications of these images on Western foreign policy towards…
South Africa's economic, political and military might has shaped other southern African societies (Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique) in the twentieth century. Reform and revolution which Africans and Europeans employed to regain and maintain African…
Christianity was both ally and adversary to colonialism, threatening African "tradition" and aiding a vocal westernized elite which shaped independent African nations. African initiatives in Christian conversion, colonial Christianity, Africans in mission communities, mission education and…
A special issue or topic not otherwise offered in the history curriculum. Topics, methodology, and instructors will vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include: "Modern Shi'ism," "War and Society in the Modern Middle East," and "The Ottomans and Europe."
The origins and development of the Crusades from 1095 until the fall of Acre in 1291. The origins of Crusading, the concepts of just war and Jihad, and the Byzantine and Islamic responses to the Crusades.
Exploration of the origins and development of the struggle for land between Jews and Palestinians, and how that struggle spread throughout the Arab Middle East. We will begin by exploring the growth of Zionism among Russian and European Jews in the nineteenth century as well as the beginnings of…
A special issue or topic not otherwise offered in the history curriculum. Topics, methodology, and instructors will vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include "Law and Society in Colonial India", "Women, Gender and Family in Traditional Japan," and "Court and Countryside in…
The evolution of Japan's warrior tradition from earliest times to the late nineteenth century. The role of warriors in society, the ethics and values of the samurai, and the nature of warfare as these developed and changed during the millennium that has become known as the Age of the Samurai.…
Chinese economic history in world perspective, from the medieval commercial revolutions to the 19th-century crisis. The rise of European-dominated industrial capitalism was a reversal of long-term trends of a China-centered world system. A comparative approach will explain how the Chinese…
A cultural history of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), focusing on the structures of everyday life. Topics will include the culture of commerce, conspicuous consumption, artistic production, urban spaces, technologies of gender, and literary masterpieces.
The world of Japan's late classical age, focusing on the culture, the social structure, and the political evolution of the imperial court.
Japan's medieval world, focusing on the evolving political, social, and cultural make-up of the country from the 13th through the 16th centuries.
A special subject not otherwise offered in the history curriculum. Topics, methodology, and instructors vary from semester to semester.
What were the Middle Ages like after they ended? Examination of how modern cultures have imagined the medieval past — from the Victorians and their Viking heroes to Monty Python, Derrida, Game of Thrones, and white nationalism — and how the Middle Ages are still shaping the present as a…
This course on Marx covers five issues: revolutions, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, industrial and monopoly capitalism, women and capitalism, and contemporary capitalism. Includes extensive readings from Marx and Engels along with selections from later Marxists. (Honors).
We are living in a post-literate age. Most people now get their history from films instead of books. How film, using a different vocabulary than that of books, recreates the past.
Exploration of the methods and theory of oral history. Students will learn about the discipline’s rise in the 1960s and 1970s (in tandem with social history) and engage ethical and theoretical debates within the discipline. They then will conduct, process, and analyze an oral history…
This experiential introductory course offers students opportunities to research and develop public history projects using primary and secondary sources. Students may create or contribute to digital projects, documentaries, exhibitions, walking tours and present their work in a public forum…
This course is for the history major who is accepted into an internship program to gain experience in an institution or organization and who wants to earn academic credit for history- related research work in conjunction with the internship. A scholarly research paper is required. Enrollment is…
History of American colleges and universities from 1619 to the present. Major topics include student life, European antecedents, the nature of the university, the impact of religion, the rise of athletics, the culture of collegiate life, and the influence of society.
Individual study, reading, or projects under the direction of a project director. For history majors. Application required.
Individual study, reading, or projects under the direction of a project director.
Individual study, reading, or projects under the direction of a project director. (Honors).
The methods of historical research and writing as well as a brief study of the philosophy of history and historiography. The student must write a satisfactory formal paper.
Individual research in the field of his/her major or in a closely related field. (Honors only)
We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. Click here to learn more about giving.
Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.