HISTORY: COURSES
Not all courses listed will necessarily be offered each year. All courses are three hours a week (3.00 credit hours).
Some courses are labeled I and II. These numbers are meant to distinguish the subject matter. Except where specifically indicated this does not imply the order in which the courses must be taken.
43-110. Past to Present: Understanding History
This course is specifically designed for first semester history majors, to introduce them to the history department, different kinds of historical inquiry, and the basics of historical research. Further, it is designed to create a cohort of the new history majors, both through participating in this class together and by working in small groups.
43-113 Europe Encounters the World: Facing Islam, 8th-15th Century
This course looks at the different forms of contact between Europeans and the rest of the world during the Middle Ages, focusing on conflict and coexistence with Islam. It will consider exchanges between civilizations, whether of an economic, cultural, artistic or spiritual nature. Topics include Muslim Spain, the Crusades, the Ottoman Empire and Venice.
43-114 Europe Encounters the World: The Age of Discovery, 15th-18th Century
This course looks at the different forms of contact between Europeans and the rest of the world during their first period of imperial expansion (15th-18th Century). Special attention will be paid to the discovery, conquest and settlement of India, Asia, and the Americas, as well as the relationship of Europeans with native populations of these continents.
43-123. The World in the Twentieth Century, 1914-1945
An overview of the major events and movements during the first half of the ‘short’ twentieth century. The course will broadly explore the world-wide impact of the world wars, communism, fascism, colonialism, the Great Depression, etc. The geographical focus of the material will vary with the instructor.(3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-124. The World in the Twentieth Century, 1945-Present
An overview of the major events and movements during the second half of the ‘short’ twentieth century. The course will broadly explore the world-wide impact of the Cold War, communism, decolonization, globalization, terrorism, etc. The geographical focus of the material will vary with the instructor. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-197. Selected Topics
Topics of current interest in history which may vary from year to year. (May be repeated for credit if content changes.)
43-201. Early Modern Europe
A survey of Europe from the Age of Discovery to the French Revolution. Areas of study will include the formation of a world economy, the industrial revolution, the rise of the nation state, popular culture, the Catholic and Protestant Reformations, the printing revolution, the Renaissance, the scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment. (3 lecture hours a week.) (Students cannot receive credit for both 43-115 and 43-201.)
43-202. Modern Europe
A survey of Europe from the French Revolution to the present. Areas of study may include political ideologies, revolution, imperialism, world war, cold war, and European union. (3 lecture hours a week.) (Students cannot receive credit for both 43-116 and 43-202.)
43-203. Making History: Methods and Practices
This course builds on historical skills and knowledge of the discipline introduced in 43-110. It emphasizes skills in research, assessing evidence, analyzing primary sources, bibliographic skills, and others tools needed for writing history papers. It will also introduce students to public history, digital history, and the ethics of research. At a larger level, it helps students think critically about the past and to recognize the way historians interpret the past and use evidence. (Pre-requisite: 43-110 or consent of instructor) (Anti-requisite: 43-200 and 43-111) (Credit cannot be obtained for both 43-203 and 43-111 or 43-200.)
43-207. Early Modern England, 1485-1714
A survey of England’s transition from a medieval realm to a modern state. Areas of study may include relations with Scotland, Ireland and Europe, as well as dynastic, religious, and constitutional change. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours/1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-208. Modern Britain, 1714 - Present
A survey of Britain’s experience of industrialism, imperialism and post-colonialism. Areas of study may include political and social reform, the world wars, the welfare state, and the European Union. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours/1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-210. Islamic History: Formative Period 600-1000
This is a survey course that examines the development of a distinctive Islamic civilization over the course of four centuries in southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and portions of Central Asia. The lectures will emphasize the following themes: 1) the formation of Islamic civilization as a long-term and gradual process engaged in by the conquering Arab Muslims and their conquered subjects; 2)the diversity of expressions of Islamic culture and religious practices; and 3) the important role played by historical memory in the formation of Islamic culture.
43-211. Islamic History: Consolidation and Expansion 1000-1500
This is a survey course that explores middle period of Islamic history from 1000 to 1500 C.E. This period was one of continuing change and innovation as new political and religious institutions were developed in response to changing conditions and the areas under the influence of Islamic civilization continued to expand, contributing to cultural diversity. Themes of the course that will be emphasized will be structures of premodern civilization, including, for example: 1) the relationship between state and religion; 2) trade and the economies of the increasingly diverse and fragmented Islamic states; 3) the social order and its expression in the urban environment; and 4) the relation between “high” and “low” culture.
43-212, Islamic History 1500-1800: Early Modern Empires
This survey course that explores middle period of Islamic history from 1500-1800 C.E. In 1500, the Islamic world was emerging from the challenges of the middle ages. Topics may include discussion of the development of Middle Eastern empires that drew on the both the heritage of Islamic civilization and the new technologies and new patterns of trade were contributing to the development of a new world economy. Special consideration will be given to several questions: What was the early modern period and how was it experienced by the Islamic world? What makes a state an empire? What led to a “world turned upside down” in the words of our textbook, and how did the Islamic early modern world respond?
43-218. War in the 20th Century
An overview of the evolution of military conflict during the last one hundred years. In addition to traditional military history, this course will introduce many facets of the New Military History, such as the social history of soldiers, life on the homefront, gender and war, etc. (3 lecture hours, or 2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour per week.)
43-220 History of Africa , 700-1800
This course is an overview of the major historical shifts in Africa during the pre-modern period (700-1800 AD). Its purpose is to introduce the student to Africa and the Africans: the space and its occupants. Main topics include climatic and linguistic maps, major networks of trade and communication, the cultivation of the `Semitic’ heritage (Christianity and Islam) and its impact on African experiences and relations with the rest of the world.(Pre-requisites 43-220 or semester 4 standing)
43-243. Canada from Early European Contacts to the Origins of Confederation, 1600-1867
An overview covering Aboriginal societies, European colonialism, and the emergence of the Canadian federation. Areas may include native-newcomer relations, colonial culture and society, imperial conflict, and the origins of confederation. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-244. Canada since Confederation, 1867 to the Present
An overview of the development of the Canadian federation. Areas may include competing visions of the Canadian “nation”, relations with Aboriginal peoples, industrialization and social change, and shifts in politics and political culture. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-246. Aboriginal Peoples in Canadian History: Beginnings to Mid-Nineteenth Century
Aboriginal peoples and their impact on the history of Canada. Areas will include an overview of aboriginal nations, and the changing dynamics of the relationship between the first peoples and Europeans. (2 lecture, 1 lab hour per week.)
43-247. Aboriginal Peoples in Canadian History: Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present
Aboriginal peoples and their impact on the history of Canada since 1850. Areas will include relations with the state, cultural, land and resource issues, and politics and protest movements.
(2 lecture, 1 lab hour per week.)
43-249. Women in Canada and the United States, 1600-1870
A social history from the period of Native-European contact to the mid-nineteenth century. Work, family and sexuality, cultural ideals, and political status and activism among women of Native, African, and European origins will be examined. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-250. Women in Canada and the United States, 1870-Present
A social history from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Native, black, immigrant, and native-born white women’s roles in paid and household labour, family and cultural life, and reform movements will be examined. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-251. History of Women's Movements in North America
An exploration of the collective action of women in the past and present in North America. Areas of study may include women's involvement with the temperance, civil rights, suffrage, trade union, environmental, reproductive rights, and women's liberation movements. (Also offered as Women's and Gender Studies 53-200.) (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-261. History of America, 1600-1877
The social, economic, and political history of the British North American colonies and the United States. Areas may include Native-European contact and conflict, the growth of the British Empire, slavery, the American Revolution, industrialization, reform movements, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-262. History of America, 1877 to the Present
The social, economic, and political history of the United States since Reconstruction. Topics may include urbanization and immigration, Progressive reform, women’s suffrage, the Great Depression, the World Wars, McCarthyism, civil rights and women’s liberation, the Vietnam War, and the end of the Cold War (3 lecture hours or 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour a week.)
43-272. Modern Latin America
Nation-states in Spanish America, Brazil and the Caribbean, from the revolutions of independence to the present. Covers patterns of political and economic development shared throughout the continent. Country and thematic focus may vary from year to year, and may include the Haitian, Mexican, and Cuban revolutions, modern military dictatorships, resources and the environment, and gender and ethnic relations.
43-287. History of Crime
Examines the ways in which crime and criminal justice were shaped by the societies in which they occurred and the ways in which they changed as these societies changed.
43-297. Selected Topics in History
Topics of current interest, which may vary from year to year. (May be repeated for credit with consent of an advisor in History.)
43-301. Culture, Literacy, and the Printed Word in Modern Europe and North America
An introduction to the social, literary and technological aspects of the book in history. Surveys the oral/manuscript culture of Western Europe, assesses the print culture of early-modern and modern Europe and North America, and addresses contemporary publishing. (3 hours per week, lecture and discussion)
43-302. History Workshop
A series of modules that gives students first hand experience in carrying out historical research and exposes them to sources for doing so. Activities may include visiting an archive and cataloguing sources, designing an historical web page, using computers for quantitative research, creating videos
43-303 Schools of Historical Thought
This course is specifically designed to introduce third year history students to a case study in historiography. Each time it is taught, the instructor’s specialization will be the theme, and he or she will outline the various historiographical approaches to that theme. (Credit cannot be obtained for both 43-303 and 43-400.)
43-310. Gender in Islamic History
This course is a historical study of gender in Islamic History, with special emphasis given to the modern Middle East and Afghanistan. We will examine the role of gender systems at different times and places in Islamic history through primary sources. Some themes of the course may be 1) the ways in which discourses of gender were constructed in ways usually disadvantageous to women. Though careful attention must be paid to important differences in time and place; 2) The relationship of gender systems to other hierarchical social structures such as class, ethnicity and age; 3) women and mens’ roles in preserving and constructing the gender systems of their society; and 4) the ways in which women and men were able to exercise agency in overcoming or transcending limitations of the dominant discourses on gender.
43-316. The European Renaissance
A study of European intellectual, cultural and artistic life from the 14th to the 16th century. Centered around the notions of Humanism and the revival of Greco-Roman Antiquity, special attention will be given to Italy and the Germano-Flemish lands, but areas of study will also include Spain, France, Eastern Europe, and the Ottoman empire.
43-320 Africa and the Atlantic System
This course explores the nature and terms of West Africa’s interaction with the Atlantic commercial system that materialized after European colonization of the Americas. It revolves around the birth, growth and demise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (1600s-1800s). The major themes cover the rationale and mechanics of this slave trade, and its impact on the African side of the Atlantic system. Students will be introduced to the general parameters of academic discourses on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its legacy. (Prerequisite: Semester 4 standing or Permission of instructor.)
43-321. Colonialism in Africa, 1830s-1960s
This course explores the imposition and liquidation of European colonialism in Africa. It focuses on the political, economic, and cultural forces behind colonialism, and the attitudes of its agents. Emphasis will be placed on highlighting the major similarities and differences between European colonial power structures and African resistance to, adaptation to and adoption of those structures. (Prerequisites: 43-220 or semester 4 standing.) (Credit cannot be obtained for both 43-221 and 43-321.)
43-336. Becoming Visible: Women in European History
An introduction to women’s status, roles and significance in European history, with emphasis on feminist ideologies and women’s movements from the eighteenth- through the mid-twentieth centuries. The geographic focus may vary from year to year.
43-340. Women, War and Peace
This course examines the various and distinct ways in which women experience war and peace, in both historical and contemporary contexts. Topics include home fronts during wartime in both combat and non-combat zones, women's peace activism, displacement, war crimes against women, women in combat, and media coverage of women and war/peace across the 20th and 21st centuries. (Also offered as Women's and Gender Studies 53-340.) (Prerequisite: one 200-level Women's and Gender Studies or History course or 45-260 or consent of the instructor.)
43-349. Canadian Labour History
The development of the Canadian labour movement and the working-class experience from the nineteenth century to the present. (Also offered as Labour Studies 54-349.) (Prerequisites: semester 4 standing. Labour Studies majors must have Semester 4 or above standing or consent of instructor.)
43-361. Slavery In North America, 1600-1877
The history of racial slavery, including both Amerindians and Africans, the emergence of the concept of “race”, male and female experiences, resistance to slavery, British abolition, Civil War, and Reconstruction. The Canadian and U.S. experiences will be compared.
43-362 African Americans/Canadians After Emancipation, 1877 to the Present
The history of racial discrimination, violence, and segregation, struggles for political rights, labour, migration and immigration, and the cultural activity of people of African descent in the U.S. and Canada from the end of American slavery to the present. Women’s and men’s lives will be treated equally. (Prerequisite: semester 4 standing.) (Students cannot receive credit for both 43-362 and 43-369.)
43-363. American History, 1945 to the Present
Selected themes in the political and social history of the United States from the end of World War II to the present. (Prerequisite: 43-262 or consent of instructor.)
43-368. North American Popular Culture
An investigation of North American popular culture from the nineteenth century to the present. Topics of study may include sports and masculinity, youth culture, media representations of women, “the Sixties,” the impact of cinema and television, and popular music.(Prerequisite: One of 43-244, 43-262, or 43-363 or consent of the Instructor.)
43-380. History on the Web
This course will explore the various ways in which history is currently being learned, studied, researched, created, manipulated, and enjoyed on the internet today. Students will both interrogate and analyze these various uses, as well as participate in each approach to history on the web, including creation. (Prerequisite: Semester 5 standing or above.)
43-397. Selected Topics in History
Topics of current interest which may vary from year to year. (May be repeated for credit with consent of an advisor in History.)
History courses at the 400 level are restricted to History majors and to third- and fourth-year majors in other programs with a History component. Others may register only with the consent of the instructor.
43-400. Historiography
A study of the assumptions, theoretical frameworks, and research strategies in recent historical writing. Topics will vary from year to year, and may include histories of society, culture, and sexuality. (Prerequisites: History major with semester 7 standing, and 43-302.) (Students cannot receive credit for both 43-400 and 43-401 or 43-402.)
43-403. Medicine, Healing and the Health Professions
A social history of medicine, including non-Western and unorthodox traditions, with a cross cultural focus on healers and an emphasis on the evolution of the allied health professions. Topics may include the consolidation of biomedicine, women and indigenous healers, the modern hospital, and the patient’s perspective. (Prerequisite: Semester 7 standing or permission of instructor.)
43-408. Culture and Society in Victorian Britain
A thematic approach to Victorian studies. Areas may include labour and leisure, science and religion, history and memory, gender and sexuality, class and national identity, literature and education. (Prerequisite: Restricted to History majors and other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of the instructor.)
43-411. The Life and Legacy of Muhammad
This course is designed to introduce students to four strands of thought in the history of constructing the life and legacy of the prophet Muhammad. These are 1) the traditional Muslim account of his life, 2) a variety of approaches to the topic by modern social scientists, 3) traditional delegitimizing of Muhammad in historic Western European polemics and their modern equivalents, 4) the role that Muhammad plays in the beliefs and practices of modern Muslims. (Semester 5 standing or above.)
43-414. Architecture, Cities and Urban Society in the Islamic World, 600 to 1850
This course is a seminar that will explore the urban history of the Islamic world. The course will focus our attention on four themes: 1) gender and the city, 2) commerce and the city, and 3) religion and the city, and 4) political authority and the city and the ways in which four aspects of urban life structured the shape of both daily life and the physical shape of the city. (Semester 5 standing or above.)
43-420 Religion and Politics in Modern Africa
This course deals with the intersection between religion and politics in Africa. The main focus of the course is on the role of religion in territorial expansion and political centralization. Comparable examples of the deployment of `providential truth’ to legitimize the conquest of space, control of its resources and the management of its occupants in different geographical settings will be introduced, and how it shaped African interactions with Asians or Europeans with comparable ideas about providential truth. (Prerequisite: Semester 5 standing or Consent of Instructor.)
43-421. State of Apartheid: South Africa (1900s-1990s)
This course introduces students to the cumulative South African historical experience known as Segregation (1910-1948) and Apartheid (1948-1994). Students will explore how “race” became a determinant of where one could live, what one could do for a living, for ‘how much’, and even who one could marry. To emphasize the casual relation between power relations and the production of knowledge, the readings assigned for this course are, mostly, produced by South African literati with first-hand experience of Segregation and/or Apartheid. (Prerequisites: 43-220 or 43-321, and Semester 6 standing and/or permission of instructor.)
43-435. The Early Modern Atlantic World
This course looks at the foundation, development and interaction of the different European empires (Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, British) in the Americas and Africa from the 15th to the 18th century. Topics include encounters with Africans and the native peoples of the Americas, cross-cultural exchanges, circulation of peoples, ideas, and commodities, migration, missions, conversion, and slavery.
43-441. Canadian Social History
Everyday experiences of Canadians from the nineteenth century to the present. Areas of study may include labour, women, ethnicity, sexuality, native peoples, leisure and sport, and the environment. (Prerequisites: two courses in Canadian history or consent of instructor. Restricted to History majors and other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of the instructor.)
43-445. Politics and Society in Industrializing Canada, 1890s-1930s
The impact of modernity on politics and the Canadian state. Topics may include political culture and ideology, political and social movements, and the beginning of state intervention in society. (Prerequisite: Restricted to History majors and other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of instructor.)
43-446. The Making of Post-War Canada
The changing relationship between the state and society during and after the Second World War. Topics may include the politics of post-war planning, the welfare state, nationalism, and political and social protest movements. (Prerequisite: Restricted to History majors and other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of instructor.)
43-458. Early American History, 1600-1800
Selected themes in the political and social history of early America, which may include European and Native American contacts, the political and social development of the American colonies, slavery, war and society, the changing status of women, and the American Revolution and its aftermath.(Restricted to History majors and other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of the instructor.)
43-462. United States-Latin American Relations in the 20th Century
The rise and shaping of U.S. power in the hemisphere, with emphasis on Latin American responses. Topics may include military intervention and anti-imperialist movements, cultural and other non-governmental exchanges, and the evolution of inter-American trade. (Prerequisite: Restricted to History majors and other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of the instructor.)
43-463. History of Gender and Sexuality
This course explores major themes in the history of gender and sexuality. These may include reproduction, contraception, and abortion; gender, race, and power; sexuality and the state; heterosexual relations and marriage; gay, lesbian, and transgender identities. Time period and geographical region will vary with the instructor.)(Prerequisite: Semester 5 or above standing and one of 43-249, 43-250, or 43-251/53-200 or permission of the instructor.)(Also offered as Women's and Gender Studies 53-463.)
43-466. History in the Movies
This course treats films as historical documents through which to lens broader social and cultural phenomena. Distinct from film history, that is the study of the history of cinema, the course pairs more “traditional” historical research materials, such as academic historical writing and primary documentation, to what became the dominant cultural medium of the 20th century. Films function as both historical artefacts (objects implicitly capturing moments in time) and as historical narratives (mediums explicitly disseminating points of view relevant to the time of production). Engaging with them at both levels, students will be expected to examine the experiences, values, politics, and social identities within a particular period (such as 1970s America) or as related to a specific historical theme (gender, for example) as a means of better understanding the history of the subject. (The topic will vary with the instructor and may be re-taken by permission of History’s undergraduate coordinator.)
43-470. The Era of the Great War
This course will explore the political, military, cultural and social history of the First World War and surrounding period, primarily in Germany, France, and Britain, but including some attention to Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. The course will address the historiography of the Great War, with a focus on the experience of the war for soldiers, for women on the home front, for artists, and for those under occupation. (Prerequisites: Restricted to History majors with at least semester 5 standing; and restricted to other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of instructor.)
43-480. Public History
This course explores the theory and practices of Public History, including the ways in which History is communicated to the wider public by museums, cultural institutions, heritage sites, archives, film, social media, advertising, and national parks. Topics may include approaches to digital history, curating, digitizing archival documents, and exhibit design and presentation. (Prerequisite: Semester 5 standing or above.)
43-481. Public History Practicum
This practicum provides students in the History program with the opportunity to apply learned concepts and theory to a practical setting and become further familiarized with an area of interest in Public History. Students will be placed in organizations in the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions related to their area of interest in Public History (e.g., museums, historical societies, heritage sites, etc.), and will be expected to dedicate a total of 100 hours to both in-class and on-line learning, and practicum components of the course. The course is open to History majors only. (Prerequisites: 43-480 and minimum average in History courses of 75% or permission of instructor).
43-497. Selected Topics in History
Topics of current interest which may vary from year to year. (May be repeated for credit with permission of a program advisor.) (May be repeated for credit with consent of an advisor in History.) (Prerequisite: Restricted to History majors and other students with at least semester 5 standing and permission of the instructor.)
43-499. Research Capstone Thesis
Students will receive training in the methods and skills of advanced historical research, ultimately composing an undergraduate research thesis based on their own original research in the subject area of the course as offered. In the first term of this two-term course, they will identify a practical research topic, perform a review of relevant scholarly literature, and produce a research proposal outlining the topic and identifying a body of relevant research materials, either in manuscript form or available digital archives. In the second term, students will implement the research proposal, spending much of the term engaged in original research. Having collected the relevant research materials, they will write, edit, and revise their final research thesis, the cumulative exercise of the course. The course’s specific theme or region/time-period will vary with the instructor. (Pre-requisite: At least Semester 6 standing, and 75% average in History courses or permission of instructor.)