Undergraduate Program

How did we get here? And, how do we know what we know about the past? This course is a general introduction to archaeology, with emphases on the methods, theories, and ethical issues of archaeological research. To this end, this course will provide students with an overview of the various theoretical and methodological approaches that have been used to study artifacts and archaeological sites and make inferences about the past. In addition, we will focus on how archaeological finds are used to understand the history of human evolution, agriculture, urbanism, religion and complex societies in many areas of the world.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

How does a country with five percent of the world's population, a country that nominally values freedom above all else, come to have nearly a quarter of the world's incarcerated people? In this survey course we investigate the history of imprisonment in the United States--as theorized and as practiced--from the founding of the republic to the present day. Special attention is paid to the politics, economics, race politics, and religious logics of contemporary mass incarceration, and to the efforts afoot to end mass incarceration.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course examines the Black Death (1346-53) as an epidemiological, cultural, and historical phenomenon. Analyzing such disparate types of evidence as paleogenetics, chronicles, art, and literature, we will address questions of the plague’s etiology, spread, mortality rate, and social and economic effects. Inspired by our own recent experience with COVID-19, we will also consider cultural reactions to pandemic disease and rampant death, as well as the disparate interpretations and responses of contemporaries and modern observers alike.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This course revolves around the most essential question in modern German history: was Hitler's regime particular to Germany, German culture, and German society, or was merely the manifestation of an immanent quality in all modern nation states? What does it mean to compare any political figure to Hitler? Was his kind of "evil" suis generis or dangerously banal? This course places the rise and fall of the Nazi Party and Hitler in the longer duree of German history, from the Second Empire and WWI, to Weimar, the Nazi State, and the Two Germanys of the Cold War.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This class examines the history of the Soviet Union from foundation (1917) to collapse (1991), focusing on internal developments in the Russian part of the Union. We will begin with a discussion of the background to the collapse of the imperial Russian state in 1917, including changes in Russian society and World War I. Later, the class will look at questions such as: Did the New Economic Policy of the 1920s create a stable socioeconomic order? How did Stalin defeat his political rivals and create a personal dictatorship? What were the motivations for the Great Terror of 1937-1938? How did the Soviet Union defeat Nazi Germany in World War II? We will also devote some time to the Soviet role in the Cold War and the appeal of Leninism in colonized and post-colonial societies. The course will conclude with a discussion of the collapse of the USSR and the emergence of a soft authoritarian order in post-Soviet Russia. The syllabus will emphasize primary-source readings and class discussion.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course explores the role of religion in the politics of the Middle East. It examines the origins, evolution, and potential future of political Islam in the region. The course begins by introducing students to key concepts and terms necessary for understanding contemporary Middle Eastern politics and political discourse. The second part focuses on the key issues from the late 19th century through to the Arab Spring, such as the emergence of constitutionalism, Arab nationalism, the rise of Islamism, the debate on Islam’s compatibility with liberal democracy, and the concept of post-Islamism. The third part of the course illustrates these theoretical discussions with four corresponding case studies which provide insight into the trajectories of political Islam in Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This course will study the life and career of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. We will examine the beginning of Prophet Muhammad’s message in Mecca, the migration to and establishment of the Islamic state in Medina, and the conquest of Mecca. We will seek to understand the social and political background of the Prophet’s message and the impact of that message on his historical context. We will focus on the doctrinal, social, and political positions of the Prophet and their impact on the early beginnings of Islam and later Muslim society. Furthermore, we will analyze the different approaches historians have adopted in interpreting and understanding the life of the prophet.

Location

(MW 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

When visitors arrive on Alcatraz Island in the Bay Area today, they are greeted by the words, "You are on Indian land." Written by a participant in Native activists' occupation of the island in 1969, the statement is a reminder that there are Indigenous histories of the land that is currently the United States—and these histories are very much ongoing. This course is an introductory survey of the history of Native America, which consists of hundreds of distinct Indigenous nations. Among other topics, the course will explore how Native peoples navigated forced migrations and attempted genocide in the nineteenth century; the various ways they responded to efforts to Americanize them; Native activism and leadership on and off reservations across the twentieth century; and more recent developments from Standing Rock to Reservation Dogs. 

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

How did a nation surrounded by the French and British Empires at the end of the nineteenth century become the preeminent global superpower by the end of World War II in 1945? We will study the political and economic decisions after the US Civil War that culminated in the Spanish-American War of 1898, including America’s global invasion of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. We will consider the role that America assigned itself to in the march of world history. We will examine the place of commerce and consumer culture in the making of the Panama Canal and modern trade flows. And we will examine the rise of Communism in the context of American global power beginning with the Soviet Union and ending with the Vietnam War. Throughout, we will seek to understand how America’s military and economic strength has been understood internationally from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

How did a nation surrounded by the French and British Empires at the end of the nineteenth century become the preeminent global superpower by the end of World War II in 1945? We will study the political and economic decisions after the US Civil War that culminated in the Spanish-American War of 1898, including America’s global invasion of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. We will consider the role that America assigned itself to in the march of world history. We will examine the place of commerce and consumer culture in the making of the Panama Canal and modern trade flows. And we will examine the rise of Communism in the context of American global power beginning with the Soviet Union and ending with the Vietnam War. Throughout, we will seek to understand how America’s military and economic strength has been understood internationally from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day.

Location

(TR 10:00AM - 11:15AM)

This course examines European expansion into the Americas from Columbuss first voyage through the end of the American Revolution. Throughout, we will consider the making of a multi-national and multi-ethnic Atlantic world including Africa, Europe, and America as a broader context for situating the development of colonial British America and the infant United States. The course surveys the expansion of different European empires into the Americas, comparatively profiles Anglo-Indian contact, slavery and the emergence of African-American culture, gender, science, religion, and daily life within British America, and conclude by examining the political and ideological crises of the American Revolution and struggles within the new United States to forge a politically and culturally cohesive republic in the 1780s.

Location

(TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

An introduction to the religious and cultural development of Judaism. Will emphasize Judaism as a living tradition, one which has been subject to both continuity and change among its practitioners throughout its history.

Location

(TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Rochester’s history began long before the first permanent settlement in 1812 and was marked by a long and violent conflict between native peoples, the French and the British.   Wheat harvested in the Genesee Valley was ground into flour using the power of the Genesee River as it dropped 260 feet to Lake Ontario.   Transporting flour and other goods to New York City and other markets was difficult until the Erie Canal was completed in 1825.  The canal enabled an enormous migration of settlers moving west, and many chose to stay in Rochester.  The village became a city in 1834 with a vibrant and expanding mix of cultures that joined together to make Rochester a vibrant commercial and manufacturing center.  The Western Union Telegraph Company traces its roots to Rochester in 1851 and in 1853 eight local New York railroads merged to form the New York Central, whose tracks ran parallel to the Erie Canal.   In 1881 a local bank clerk, George Eastman, quit his job to devote his full attention to the business of photography and founded the Eastman Kodak Company.  The Haloid Photographic Company was founded in Rochester in 1906 and entered into an agreement with inventor Chester Carlson in 1946 that resulted in the introduction of the Xerox 914 plain paper copy machine in 1959 was adopted around the world.   Nevertheless, Rochester’s most famous residents are likely Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, who were instrumental in the struggle to expand civil rights to all Americans.  The local community, however, struggled to welcome the large numbers of African Americans who moved to Rochester after World War II.  Housing discrimination, white flight to the suburbs, and riots marked the 1960s, and the city today has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country.  Nevertheless, the city has vibrant cultural and educational institutions that continue to attract talented newcomers.  In short, the history of Rochester has a bit of everything and students in the course are encouraged to study the entire experience of the community, including topics that may be new and frankly uncomfortable. 

Location

(MW 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

HIST 200 is an introduction to historical practice - what professional historians actually do. It is a requirement for history majors, but we encourage all interested undergraduates to enroll.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

HIST 200 is an introduction to historical practice - what professional historians actually do. It is a requirement for history majors, but we encourage all interested undergraduates to enroll.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

The second of a sequence of two, the course approaches "The Divine Comedy" both as a poetic masterpiece and as an encyclopedia of medieval culture. Through a close textual analysis of the second half of 'Purgatorio' and the entirety of 'Paradiso,' students learn how to approach Dantes poetry as a vehicle for thought, an instrument of self-discovery, and a way to understand and affect the historical reality. They also gain a perspective on the Biblical, Christian, and Classical traditions as they intersect with the multiple levels of Dantes concern, ranging from literature to history, from politics to government, from philosophy to theology..

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This course examines the changing historical relationships between homo sapiens and other animal species from prehistory to the present. We will be concerned with how and why the relationship between humans and animals has changed from one defined by predator-prey relations to one of use-oriented dependence. We will attempt to work out how the current relationship between humans and animals came about through a dynamic historical process, with the ultimate goal of understanding that relationship in its proper historical context. The primary method of instruction will be seminar discussions of the readings.

Location

(MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This course examines the changing historical relationships between homo sapiens and other animal species from prehistory to the present. We will be concerned with how and why the relationship between humans and animals has changed from one defined by predator-prey relations to one of use-oriented dependence. We will attempt to work out how the current relationship between humans and animals came about through a dynamic historical process, with the ultimate goal of understanding that relationship in its proper historical context. The primary method of instruction will be seminar discussions of the readings.

Location

(MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This course is an introduction to the history of Europe before, during, and after the First World War. Beyond studying the details of the conflict itself, we will be concerned mainly with the effect of the war on European culture, politics, society, and consciousness. Class sessions will include some lectures, films, and regular seminar discussions. Readings will include a wide variety of memoirs, letters, diaries, novels, and poems by those who experienced the war and its traumatic aftermath first hand.

Location

(MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This course is an introduction to the history of Europe before, during, and after the First World War. Beyond studying the details of the conflict itself, we will be concerned mainly with the effect of the war on European culture, politics, society, and consciousness. Class sessions will include some lectures, films, and regular seminar discussions. Readings will include a wide variety of memoirs, letters, diaries, novels, and poems by those who experienced the war and its traumatic aftermath first hand.

Location

(MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This comparative course explores the figuration of the French Revolution in literature and film in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We will read and analyse several prose, dramatic and cinematic works, including by authors such as Charles Dickens, Baroness Orczy, Georg Büchner, Heiner Müller, Peter Weiss, C.L.R James, Lauren Gunderson, and filmmakers like Sofia Coppola and Peter Brook. German majors should enroll in co-location GRMN 256. German majors will have the opportunity to work on 1-2 German language texts with a separate language lab, while classroom language will otherwise be English.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 11:05AM)

In this colloquium we will look at the history of international feminism and explore its many faces. We will examine the various factors that have contributed to womens historically lower status in society; will look at the emergence of womens rights and feminist movements as well as the distinctions among various feminist theories, and will discuss the relevance of feminism today.

Location

(T 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

In this colloquium we will look at the history of international feminism and explore its many faces. We will examine the various factors that have contributed to womens historically lower status in society; will look at the emergence of womens rights and feminist movements as well as the distinctions among various feminist theories, and will discuss the relevance of feminism today.

Location

(T 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

This seminar examines the shifting relationship between people, food, and the environment that ties them together. It asks how have distance and space between the sites of production and consumption affected the economic and social relations of food? How has geography influenced the types of food people eat? How do views of scarcity and plenty shape approaches to farming? What is the role of governments and markets in agriculture? How does food refract and transform social divisions, cultural attitudes, and daily life? Topics include rural development; subsistence gardening; famine; histories of sugar, corn, pork, fish, whales, ice cream, and anything else that fits on a dinner plate.

Location

(R 9:00AM - 11:50AM)

This seminar examines the shifting relationship between people, food, and the environment that ties them together. It asks how have distance and space between the sites of production and consumption affected the economic and social relations of food? How has geography influenced the types of food people eat? How do views of scarcity and plenty shape approaches to farming? What is the role of governments and markets in agriculture? How does food refract and transform social divisions, cultural attitudes, and daily life? Topics include rural development; subsistence gardening; famine; histories of sugar, corn, pork, fish, whales, ice cream, and anything else that fits on a dinner plate.

Location

(R 9:00AM - 11:50AM)

The latter half of the 20th century was a period of dramatic societal change in the United States in which gender and sexuality played a key role. Surveying significant developments in this period including the Women’s movement and rise of feminism, the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, the sexual revolution, the gender and sexual politics of the civil rights movement, the conservative backlash, and the AIDS/HIV epidemic, this course examines the struggle over rights, freedom, and competing worldviews that continues into our present moment. Moreover, we will consider how gender and sexuality are themselves socially constructed and historically contingent as well as deeply embedded in matters such as race and U.S. imperialism.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

The latter half of the 20th century was a period of dramatic societal change in the United States in which gender and sexuality played a key role. Surveying significant developments in this period including the Women’s movement and rise of feminism, the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, the sexual revolution, the gender and sexual politics of the civil rights movement, the conservative backlash, and the AIDS/HIV epidemic, this course examines the struggle over rights, freedom, and competing worldviews that continues into our present moment. Moreover, we will consider how gender and sexuality are themselves socially constructed and historically contingent as well as deeply embedded in matters such as race and U.S. imperialism.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Interviewed by the Chicago Daily News in 1924, Mussolini said that Fascism was “the greatest experiment in history in making Italians.” Within the historical and political framework of the so-called Ventennio Fascista – from 1922 to 1943 – the course examines Mussolini’s cultural politics as a fundamental strategy not only to gain popular consent and propagate the ideology of the regime, but to implement his vision of Italian national identity. Topics include the fascist philosophy and politics of education, the myth of Rome and its imperial legacy, the archeological, architectural, and restoration projects, the graphic arts, fashion, sports, gender roles, dissent, historiography, and documentary film. Emphasis will be placed on documentary materials in addition to secondary sources. A selection of films on the regime complements the course.

Location

(T 3:25PM - 6:05PM)

Boasting two thousand years of uninterrupted presence on the land, Italian Jewry is the oldest Jewish community of the European Diaspora. Located at the center of the Mediterranean basin, over the centuries it was enriched by the contribution of a variety of Jewish internal traditions (autochthonous, Ashkenazi, and Sephardic, among the main ones), while at the same time developing a very complex relation with the surrounding non-Jewish environment. Such dynamics paradoxically reached their apex with the institution, starting in the sixteenth century, of ghettos, i.e., Jewish segregated quarters. Established in 1516 and in existence until 1797, the ghetto of Venice was the first of such settlements and was to give its name to all subsequent ethnic enclosures in modern history. Surrounded by water and walls, physically separated from the Christian population of the city―although, as a matter of fact, not isolated from it―Venetian Jews developed their own communal institutions, an elaborate system of religious and social practices, and articulated a rich cultural and intellectual life.

The course will examine the most relevant aspects of the Italian Jewish experience in its Venetian declination during the existence of the ghetto. Through the examination of a variety of documentary, literary, and artistic sources, both Jewish and non-Jewish, we will explore the conditions that concurred in making sixteenth-eighteenth century Venetian Jewry exemplary among Italian communities, and unique in the context of the European Diaspora.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Interested in designing an original research project? This seminar introduces students to source identification,  prospectus preparation, and grant-writing techniques for historical research. To prepare for your project, we will discuss select readings on questions of memory, power, archives and our motivations as writers of History. The course is mandatory for students interested in completing the History Honors program next year. Students who are planning on developing an alternate research project are also welcome to enroll. As a 4.0 credit course, the course only meets the first eight weeks of the semester. There is a class trip to Washington, D.C., during spring break.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

What does it mean to be human? What political, economic, religious, social, or sexual rights might be part of different people's working definitions? This course will look at both a) the historical development of conflicting theories of human rights and b) more contemporary debates about their ideal extent, their exercise, and their enforcement. Special topics will include debates over the meaning of the American and French Revolutions, the fight to design an International Declaration of Human Rights in the aftermath of World War II, the history of organizations such as Amnesty International, and the controversy around UN events such as the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2000 and 2005 Millennium Summits in New York City.

Location

(M 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

What does it mean to be human? What political, economic, religious, social, or sexual rights might be part of different people's working definitions? This course will look at both a) the historical development of conflicting theories of human rights and b) more contemporary debates about their ideal extent, their exercise, and their enforcement. Special topics will include debates over the meaning of the American and French Revolutions, the fight to design an International Declaration of Human Rights in the aftermath of World War II, the history of organizations such as Amnesty International, and the controversy around UN events such as the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2000 and 2005 Millennium Summits in New York City.

Location

(M 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

How do archival absences impact what we know about the past? How should these silences shape the histories we write? This course will explore the process of historical production through critical archival studies. We will discuss how “the archive” documents power dynamics in the past and present. We will read histories and theories of archives’ construction and examine different approaches to recovering African diasporic history. Researchers have turned to microhistory, memoir, fiction, theory, and other methods or genres to address archival absences, and we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these choices. By the end of the semester, students will be familiar with key voices within critical archival scholarship and postmodernist theories of history, and students will learn different techniques for addressing absences in their own research.

Location

(T 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

According to data from the National Safety Council, unintended injuries cause over 224,000 deaths and 62,000,000 cases involving medical attention per year across the country. Since the nineteenth century, “accidents” from car crashes to the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster have become increasingly central to American life. This course charts the history of accidents and explains why U.S. society has chosen to control some risks but not others. We will explore how accidents have changed over time alongside the introduction and diffusion of new technologies; cultural beliefs about safety; the political and economic interests of specific stakeholders; and the efforts of experts, corporations, nonprofits, families, and the government to keep the public safe. On one level, the course follows the unforeseen effects of modern industry, transportation, infrastructure, and consumer products. On another, it demonstrates how the ideals of personal responsibility and free enterprise continue to influence the safety movement. Using injuries as a lens, we will combine history with technical communication and public policy. We will also learn skills including close reading, critical thinking, primary and secondary research, and writing.

Location

(M 5:00PM - 7:30PM)

This seminar examines the history of beliefs about the end of the world in the western Judeo-Christian tradition. We will examine such topics as the birth of apocalyptic thought, the medieval development of various aspects of traditions about the End (such as the figure of Antichrist and millenarian traditions), millennial influences on the discovery and colonization of the New World, millennial movements of the last two centuries (such as the Millerites and the Mormons), and contemporary apocalyptic scenarios. A major theme of the course will be the flexibility of apocalyptic language, its ability to interpret various historical situations, and its power to move people to acceptance or action.

Location

(TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This seminar engages the experiences, writings and political ambitions of individuals typically excluded from discussions of the Atlantic. Key concepts such as Atlantic creoles and the Black Atlantic will be debated in light of recent studies on Sephardic merchants, African healers and Native American intellectuals. In order to contextualize their lives, this course will focus on the Iberian and South Atlantic from the early sixteenth to the late nineteenth century. Our initial readings will center on the circulation of Native American commoners and elites to Spain and will be complemented by seminal ethnohistorical studies. The second part of the course will take on the construction of a South or Lusophone ocean that weaves together the histories of Brazilian, Angolan and Portuguese actors. Students will revise and resubmit an original research paper on a topic of their choice.

Location

(R 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, Seniors identify a topic, develop a project plan, conduct substantive work, and present their findings or creations in a final written report, portfolio, performance, or presentation. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, Seniors identify a topic, develop a project plan, conduct substantive work, and present their findings or creations in a final written report, portfolio, performance, or presentation. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, Seniors identify a topic, develop a project plan, conduct substantive work, and present their findings or creations in a final written report, portfolio, performance, or presentation. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, Seniors identify a topic, develop a project plan, conduct substantive work, and present their findings or creations in a final written report, portfolio, performance, or presentation. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, Seniors identify a topic, develop a project plan, conduct substantive work, and present their findings or creations in a final written report, portfolio, performance, or presentation. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)