Courses

A study of a special topic at an advanced level. This and all 300-level courses are small discussion classes. Descriptions of HIST 300 courses offered in a given semester are available on the History department Website or in the History department office prior to registration for that semester. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

Spring Semester information

300A: Topics: History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in the Global South

Science is necessarily a transnational project, emerging from exchanges between nations. However, dominant Western narratives have often deemed certain regions of the world peripheral to the production of scientific knowledge. The so-called "Global South," as a racialized category contingent on the economic development of a nation rather than on geography, serves to encapsulate those countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa that have been left out of the historical discourse on scientific progress. This course redresses that oversight by discussing the past and present of scientific, technological, and medical knowledge in the Global South. We will examine the distinctive ways of understanding nature within Indigenous knowledge systems, while analyzing how imperialism and colonialism have influenced scientific practices and applications. Discussions on the role of science and medicine in the production of supposedly objective meanings attributed to gender, race, and sexuality will also be at the core of this course.

300B: Topics: Social Media and Social Movements in Africa

This course is about how societies in Africa have been using the internet, smartphones, and social media to engage and confront oppressive political, economic, and socio-cultural systems and institutions. We will begin by discussing the historical, political, and social context to understand the different challenges that societies in Africa face. We will then show how social media have provided users and activists across the continent with a platform to share and disseminate information and ideas, organize, participate, and interactively collaborate with other societies in the African diaspora. In doing so, we will explore the emergence, organization, tactics, strategies, and outcomes of the different social movements in Africa. The course also examines the laws and tactics that governments use to obstruct information exchange and social media use. We will discuss the effects of cybercrime, cyber policing, and surveillance on political participation.

300C: Topics: Jagged Edge of Empire: Frontiers in East Asia, c. 1600 - present

Frontiers are places where ecologies ebb and flow, empires clash, and various peoples negotiate changing ways of life. In the last four centuries, Taiwan, Korea, and many parts of China, Japan, and Southeast Asia became frontiers where the environment and economy were transformed, where indigenous peoples, migrants, and colonizers fought and created alliances, and where new identities were created. The stories of these frontiers are vital to understanding power, resistance, identity, borders, (post-)colonialism, environmental issues, economic modernization, and the future of East Asia today.