200
This semester we will look at Medieval Europe from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (c. 410) to the arrival of the plague in 1348. Against the backdrop of daily life in Medieval Europe, we will consider a broad range of ideas and texts from the philosophy of Boethius to the Letters of St. Catherine of Siena; and from courtly romance to the Crusades. Far more than just the Dark Ages, our consideration of Medieval Europe includes monks on the trail of a murderer, kings and their subjects, and even mythical heroes such as King Arthur and Robin Hood (and of course, Maid Marion).
Fall semester, even-numbered years
This course covers the history of Modern Europe from 1789 to the decade before World War I, organized around political, social, and economic developments and conflicts. As we explore the ways nineteenth-century Europeans grappled with the creation of the modern world, the course will address several specific themes, including the tension between liberty and control in modernizing states, new belief systems (ideologies), migrations, imperialism, reform movements, and cultural developments.
This course examines Europe's 20th century, starting with Europe at the height of its relative wealth, power, and population in 1900 and continuing through war, trauma, division, and resurgence to the year 2000. We will survey major political, economic, social, and intellectual events and trends from several perspectives including individual experience, culture, and geopolitics, emphasizing the role of ideology. The course includes lectures, discussions, readings, and two papers. Country assignments will help students bring national perspectives to class, and special assignments will help students tie past events to present-day issues and controversies.
A topical study of the American West from the late 18th through the 20th centuries. Special emphasis on the myths and symbolism of the West, and on the West's impact on the nation's attitudes and values.
Russia has become a major player once again in the political affairs of the world, generating controversy through its annexation of territory, its intervention in foreign conflicts such as Syria, its resurgent anti-Western nationalism, and its attempts to undermine the integrity of leading Western democracies. Understanding the dramatic sweep of Russia's history helps us to understand the challenges the country faces and poses today. This course will begin with Tsar Alexander II's authoritarian attempts to modernize Russia in the 1860s, explore the Russian Revolution and the resulting coercive utopian project of the Soviet Union, and then study the solutions Russia has embraced to find a post-Communist identity. By reading, analyzing, and discussing texts, you will sharpen your critical reading and analytical skills, your writing skills, and your ability to debate concepts in a group situation. The course will be conducted through lectures, reading, and discussion. Class participation will be a component of the final grade. Crosslisted with
HI 320 - students can't take or get credit for one course if they have taken the other.
An introductory survey of Montana's past and its importance in the development of the West, from the period of exploration to the present.
The history of the Mediterranean is a survey of ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean basin, specifically Greece, Rome and the Near East to the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD. Consideration will also be given to Ancient Egypt and Mediterranean connections to the Silk Road. The course focuses on the cultural interactions and exchanges that took place around the Mediterranean: material, cultural, religious and social; the importance of merchants and trade networks; and the Mediterranean Sea as a space both connected and conflicted.
For purposes of this class, the modern Middle East is defined as 1914- present, territorially and politically stretching from Egypt to Iran, including Israel/Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula, and Turkey. As time allows, we will consider North Africa as a region with cultural, linguistic, and religious ties to the Middle East but also very different, as well as Afghanistan, and Pakistan. This course carefully considers how history, culture, politics, economics, and geography, as well as all three Abrahamic faiths-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-shaped the region's past, are inextricably tied to its present, and help us think about what the future might hold. This class also addresses matters of gender, violence, terrorism, and the chances for a lasting peace. Finally, colonialism and imperialism continue to resonate throughout the Middle East, making it necessary to exam the roles of such countries as Britain, France, Russia, and the United States.
An Elusive Peace, Study Abroad in Israel/Palestine and Jordan This study abroad course is designed to introducestudents to the history, culture, politics, and religions of Israel/Palestine and Jordan, a region uniquely shaped by a past and a present that includes three faiths all worshipping the same God, membership in the same linguistic family, and foreign intervention by Romans then crusaders, and finally Europe and the US. Despite these commonalities, and a desire on the part of many who are working daily for peace, this part of the world is also torn by animosities. Offering students an opportunity to see first-hand the region's rich history, vibrant cultures, and passionate attachment to faith and to the land, this program provides a better understanding of the role played by centuries of history in the region's volatile present and its uncertain future.
This course is a survey of the relatively recent histories of China, Japan, and Korea, from the 19th century to the present. Through readings, lectures, and films, we will chronicle the transformation of these three East Asian countries from quasi-medieval dynasties to subordinate semi-colonies of the Western powers in the 19th century, to the revolutionary and bloody upheavals of 20th century nationalism and communism that led to human suffering and war on an almost unimaginable scale. Today, Japan is an economic power that still hasn't fully come to terms with its wartime past, Korea is divided between a prosperous South that only recently embraced democracy and a bizarrely anachronistic Communist North, while China is finally emerging from more than a century of turmoil to become a global power that will do much to shape the course of the 21st century. The fascinating stories of how and why all of this occurred will be the subject matter of this course.
A survey of the major trends in the political, social, economic and intellectual development of Latin America since independence. The primary focus will be on the histories of Mexico, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina, although examples from across the region will be studied.
Special Topics courses include ad-hoc courses on various selected topics that are not part of the regular curriculum, however they may still fulfill certain curricular requirements. Special topics courses are offered at the discretion of each department and will be published as part of the semester course schedule - view available sections for more information. Questions about special topics classes can be directed to the instructor or department chair.
-189 -289 -389 -489 course descriptions: Special Topics courses include ad-hoc courses on various selected topics that are not part of the regular curriculum, however they may still fulfill certain curricular requirements. Special topics courses are offer
A survey of Sub-Saharan African history from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries with an emphasis on formal colonization, colonialism, decolonization, and post-colonial developments.