Fall 2026 Curriculum

HIST 1100 – Law and History

Introduces the role of law in shaping human society. Explores how laws have evolved over the past two millennia in different contexts under the influence of different religious systems and political, economic, and social theories. Studies key legal texts and analyzes legal traditions in several regions of the world. Considers how laws have affected the everyday lives of subjects, slaves, and citizens.

Professor Katherine Luongo

MR, 11:45am – 1:25pm

CRN: 21634

HIST 1130 – Introduction to the History of the United States

Engages with the major issues in U.S. history. Topics include the interaction of native populations with European settlers, the American Revolution and the Constitution, slavery, the Civil War, industrialization and migration, the growth of government and rise of the welfare state, media and mass culture, struggles for civil rights and liberation, and America’s role in the world from independence to the Iraq wars.

Professor Richard Freeland

MR, 11:45am – 1:25pm

CRN: 12558

HIST/ASNS 1150 – East Asian Studies

Seeks to provide an understanding of the constituent characteristics that originally linked East Asia as a region and the nature of the transformations that have occurred in the region over the last two thousand years. Concentrates on China and Japan, and addresses Korea and Vietnam where possible. Also seeks to provide students with effective interdisciplinary analytical skills as well as historical, ethical, cultural diversity, and aesthetic perspectives. ASNS 1150 and HIST 1150 are cross-listed.

Professor Micheal Thornton

MWR, 4:35pm 5:30pm

CRN: 11342

HIST 1170 – Europe: Empires, Revolutions, Wars, and Their Aftermath

Examines how empires, wars, and revolutions have influenced the development of the modern world, focusing on Europe and Europe’s connections with the non–European world. Explores how wars and revolutions led to the emergence of modern concepts of sovereignty, the state, and citizenship and how global competition between states led to the emergence of empires. Traces the promise of allegedly liberating ideologies and the political and economic revolutions they fostered, repeated wars and their aftermaths, and the challenges of recent world developments viewed from the perspective of history. Explores how human diversity and difference have shaped modern societies through history and how human difference and multiculturalism have both fostered and posed challenges to civic sustainability. Interrogates the meanings of “modernity,” democracy and totalitarianism, capitalism and socialism, and globalization.

Professor Erina Megowan

MWR, 1:35pm – 2:40pm

CRN: 16141

HIST 1185 – Introduction to Middle Eastern History

Relies on historical and literary sources, as well as such other cultural artifacts as architecture and photography, and focuses on interaction and changing relations and perceptions between Europe and the Middle East. Surveys the major political and economic events that have linked the trajectory of both civilizations, as well as broad patterns of human activity, such as migrations, conversions, and, cultural exchange. Emphasizes the commonality of encounters, and analyzes the construction of an “other” and its enduring legacy in modern times.

Professor Ilham Khuri-Makdisi

TF, 9:50am – 11:30am

CRN: 13844

HIST 1187 – Introduction to Latin American History

Surveys major themes in Latin American history from the arrival of the first human inhabitants until the present through a diversity of primary and secondary sources. Examines the social, cultural, political, and economic transformations that shaped Latin America during this period. Emphasizes how concepts of race, class, gender, and sexuality informed these changes and the people’s experiences of them. Topics include migration, colonialism and postcolonialism, war and revolution, slavery and abolition, nationalism and nation building, democracy and despotism, urbanization, modernization, religion, imperialism and underdevelopment, human rights, drug policy and international relations, labor, the arts, popular culture, and the environment.

Professor Louise Walker

MWR, 10:30am – 11:35am

CRN:  21636

HIST 1200 – Historical Research and Writing

Offered in conjunction with HIST 1201. Introduces incoming history freshmen to the history major in the context of other disciplines within the college and University. Offers students an opportunity to learn and to practice methods and conventions of research and historical writing.

Section 01: Professor Chris Parsons
Does Not Meet
CRN: 16142

Section 02: Professor Kris Manjapra
Does Not Meet
CRN: 21637

HIST 1201 – First Year Seminar

Provides an introduction to historical methods, research, writing, and argument in which all students produce a substantial research project that passes through at least two revisions, and that is presented publicly to other members of the colloquium.

Section 02: Professor Chris Parsons
WF, 11:45am – 1:25pm
CRN: 13183

Section 03: Professor Kris Manjapra
MW, 2:50 – 4:30pm
CRN:  21638

HIST/WMNS/AFCS 1225 – Gender, Race, and Medicine

Examines the basic tenets of “scientific objectivity” and foundational scientific ideas about race, sex, and gender and what these have meant for marginalized groups in society, particularly when they seek medical care. Introduces feminist science theories and contemporary as well as historical examples to trace the evolution of “scientific truth” and its impact on the U.S. cultural landscape. Offers students the opportunity to question assumptions about science and view the scientific process as a site for critical analysis.

Professor Margot Abels

TF, 9:50am – 11:30am

CRN: 21724

HIST 1232 – History of Boston

Explores the history of Boston from colonial times to the present, with attention to the topographical growth and the ethnic composition of the city. Includes visits to historical sites, museums, and archives in the area.

Professor Uta Poiger

MW, 2:50pm – 4:30pm

CRN: 21665

HIST 1246 – WWII in the Pacific

Studies World War II, the most devastating war in history, which began in Asia and had a great long-term impact there. Using historical and literary texts, examines the causes, decisive battles, and lingering significance of the conflict on both sides of the Pacific.

Professor Michael Thornton

MWR, 1:35pm – 2:40pm

CRN: 21641

HIST 1272 – Europe in the Middle Ages: 500-1500

Examines the history of medieval Europe in a period of tremendous fluidity, migration, and flux. Studies the experiences of men and women in European societies before clearly defined nation-states had emerged. Topics include forms of political and cultural integration; the contacts between Europeans and non-Europeans in the Mediterranean and beyond; and the place of religion, art, and ideology, with attention to how Europeans’ experiences varied according to their gender, class, and race.

Professor Robert Cross

MWR, 4:35pm – 5:30pm

CRN: 21642

HIST 1286 – History of the Soviet Union

Examines Russia and the Soviet Union in the 20th century focusing on empires and revolutions: the Russian empire’s dissolution, the Russian Revolution and civil war, building the Soviet Union, World War II, the cold war and Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe and Asia, the breakup of the Soviet Union and its newly independent states, and Russian efforts to maintain influence in the post-Soviet space. Assesses the construction of Soviet identity by interpreting Soviet culture in the form of film, literature, art, and music. Evaluates explanatory theories of revolution and empire and the evolution of Marxism in the context of revolution and state building.

Professor Erina Megowan

MWR, 9:15am – 10:20am

CRN: 21643

HIST 1294 – History of Jews in the Modern World

Surveys the history of the Jews in the modern world, with an emphasis on global cultural exchange. Examines Jewish interaction with non-Jewish society from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, Israel, and the United States; and explores this relationship’s creative and destructive consequences. Focuses on how Jewish society, culture, religious practice, and political definition changed in relation to a variety of processes now associated with modernity, such as urbanization, industrialization, state centralization, and the development of nationalism and secularism.

Professor Simon Rabinovitch

MWR, 10:30am – 11:35am

CRN: 21644

HIST 1390 – History of Espionage 2: Cold War Spies

Explores the ways in which narrative and other forms of creative and cultural expression help shape conceptions of illness, healing, and the body. Offers students opportunities to consider the health and humanities through a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives and genres. Includes small-group and classwide experiential field outings. Culminates in the composition of reflective responses, a medical ethics/medical journalism piece, and a team-based experiential e-portfolio project. Course objectives include differentiating between healing and curing; knowing how to elicit, listen to, and analyze stories to determine how participants in the healthcare system experience illness and healing; being able to articulate the ways health is a cultural construct; and using this analysis to identify an empathic response as a future professional.

Professor Erina Megowan

MW, 2:50pm – 4:30pm

CRN: 21645

HIST 2211 – The World Since 1945

Examines the political, economic, social, and cultural relationship between the developed and developing world since the end of World War II. Topics include the Cold War, independence and national movements in developing countries, the globalization of the world economy, scientific and technological innovations, wealth and poverty, the eradication of some diseases and the spread of others, the fall of the Soviet Union, Middle East turmoil, and the enduring conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Section 01: Professor Malcolm Purinton
MW, 2:50pm – 4:30pm
CRN: 11185

Section 06: Professor Peter Fraunholtz
Online/Asynchronous
CRN: 16148

HIST 2220 – History of Technology

Offers an interdisciplinary survey of the global history of science and technology. Explores how scientific and technical knowledge, processes, and innovations developed and circulated. Examines how science and technology both shaped and responded to society, culture, ethics, and thought.

Section 03: Professor Tiffany Nichols
TF, 9:50am – 11:30am
CRN: 16149

Section 04: Professor Victoria Cain
MWR, 1:35pm – 2:40pm
CRN: 21648

HIST/POLS/JWSS 2282- The Holocaust and Comparative Genocide

Examines the origins of the Holocaust, perpetrators and victims, and changing efforts to come to terms with this genocide. The Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews by Germans in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, is one of the crucial events of modern history. Investigates the uniqueness of the Holocaust relative to other acts of ethnic cleansing or genocide, including mass death in the New World and mass murder in Armenia, Bosnia, and Rwanda.

Professor Natalie Bormann

TF, 1:35pm – 3:15pm

CRN: 21680

HIST 2301 – The History Seminar

Introduces history majors to advanced techniques of historical practice in research and writing. Offers students an opportunity to conduct original research and write an original research paper. Seminar themes vary; students should check with the Department of History for a list of each year’s seminar offerings. May be repeated without limit.

Professor Tiffany Nichols

TF, 1:35pm – 3:15pm

CRN: 10351

HIST 2302 – Historical Writing

Covers learning and practicing methods and conventions of historical writing for publication. Adjuncted to a Seminar in History, which fulfills the Advanced Writing in the Disciplines requirement.

Professor Tiffany Nichols

Does Not Meet

CRN: 10293

HIST 2311 – Colonialism/Imperialism

Examines the military, economic, political, and cultural expansion of world powers since the fifteenth century, and the ways in which colonized peoples were ruled. Why did colonialist countries feel the need to conquer and dominate, how did they do it, and why did they retreat on some fronts? How did people resist and cooperate with colonialism? How did colonialism affect national and cultural identities? Colonialism is examined as a global phenomenon and from a comparative perspective that looks at particular case studies. Also examines decolonization in the twentieth century.

Section 01: Professor Kris Manjapra
MR, 11:45am – 1:25pm
CRN:

Section 03: Professor Peter Fraunholtz
Does Not Meet
CRN 22151

HIST 2349 – Age of the Samurai

Introduces the history and culture of medieval and early modern Japan─the age of samurai rule. Covers the emergence of a social caste system; practices and culture of warfare; political and economic trends; and intellectual, religious, and cultural developments. Situates Japan’s medieval and early modern periods in their broader East Asian and global contexts to explore whether Japan was a coherent social and political unit in the premodern age. Includes concepts such as premodern nationalism, state centralization, and premodern diplomacy in a multipolar world. Examines how the medieval and early modern eras have been represented in contemporary culture.

Professor Michael Thornton

MWR, 9:15am – 10:20pm

CRN: 21650

HIST 2376- Britain and the British Empire

Traces the rise of Britain as a major colonial power and its transformation after the end of empire. Explores the interrelationships between metropole and colonies through sustained attention to critical race, feminist, and socioeconomic frameworks. Units include colonial violence, settler colonialism, anticolonial resistance, decolonization, multicultural Britain in the postcolonial era, and relations with the European Union.

Professor Heather Salter

TF, 9:50am – 11:30am

CRN: 21652

HIST 2430 – Digital Histories of Ethnic Boston

Integrates history of ethnic groups in Boston with methods from the digital humanities (DH) through a semester-long collaborative student project focused on one particular ethnic group. Combines learning how to use DH technology (as well as its possible misuses) with learning about the history of particular ethnic groups in Boston, such as Jews, the Irish, African-Americans, etc. Uses hands-on approaches to study ethnic migration and history to and within Boston by touring neighborhoods and sites. Examines DH technologies through workshops introducing tools such as Omeka, Story Maps, and Tableau, among other possibilities. Also examines different techniques for data visualization, relationship mapping, network analysis, and text analysis.

Professor Nicholas Brown

W, 10:30am – 1:25pm

CRN: 21653

HIST 3330 – Global Cold War

Examines the Cold War, emphasizing how the Soviet-American struggle for global preeminence intersected with decolonization and the rise of the Third World; Uses primary sources, monographs, and scholarly articles to trace the major events and developments of the Cold War; ideological differences between the capitalist and socialist systems, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam War; while also exploring how and why the Cold War came to pervade economic, cultural, and social relations globally. Examines how unexpected actors;Cuban doctors and Peace Corps volunteers;responded to and shaped superpower rivalry. Considers how the Cold War continues to shape the world today.

Professor Heather Salter

TF, 1:35pm – 3:15pm

CRN: 18350

HIST 3333 – Showcasing the World

Examines the social, cultural, and political history of museums and exhibitions around the world over the past 500 years. Focuses on the formation of the modern museum with the goal of illuminating contemporary museums’ contributions and controversies. Offers special emphasis upon the history of U.S. museums. Topics include museum collecting and collections; governance; the influence of nationalism and colonialism; cultural heritage, property, and repatriation; museums’ historical and present roles in education and exhibition; past and present understandings of curators, visitors, and communities; museum architecture; the impact of digitization on museum collections and exhibitions, visitor access and institutional strategy; contemporary efforts in decolonization and community building. Regular field trips to local museums are required.

Professor Victoria Cain

MR, 11:45am – 1:25pm

CRN: 21654

HIST 3350 – Leaders and Leadership in History

Explores the classic historical question of whether leaders make history or history makes leaders. Some leaders are considered unquestionable successes, while others are deemed partial or abject failures. Examines how certain men and women arrived at leadership positions, considering personal charisma and historical contingency. Studies the choices leaders made in difficult situations, and analyzes leaders’ successes and failures through historical notions of ethics and justice. Also examines the question of legacy, to understand why some leaders stand out (for better or worse) and other leaders recede from historical narratives. Case studies from around the world include national leaders and unsung heroes, from the early modern period through the present. Sources include historical scholarship, archive documents, and cultural renderings.

Professor Louise Walker

MWR, 1:35pm – 2:40pm

CRN: 18350

HIST 4701 – Capstone Seminar

Offers students an opportunity to make use of advanced techniques of historical methodology to conduct original research and write a major, original research paper as the culmination of their work toward the history degree. This is a capstone research and writing seminar for history majors.

Professor Uta Poiger

TF, 9:50am – 11:30am

CRN: 10352

HIST 5101 – Theory and Methodology 1

Examines the following questions in the context of major issues in current historical research and debate. Where do historical questions come from, and how do we answer them? How do we produce knowledge about historical events and processes? What theoretical models guide historians work? Emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches as well as concrete techniques in historical research.

Professor Katherine Luongo

M, 4:35pm – 7:30pm

CRN: 16154

HIST 5237 – Issues and Methods in Public History

Examines and analyzes major issues and methods in public history in the United States and the world. Topics include the nature, digital humanities, and meaning of national memory and myth, the theory and practice of historic preservation, rural and land preservation and the organizational structures and activities associated with those efforts, the interrelationship of historical museums and popular culture, the history and organization of historic house museums, historical documentary filmmaking, historical archaeology in world perspective, interpreting “ordinary” landscapes, and the impact of politics on public history.

Professor Jessica Parr

W, 4:35pm – 7:30pm

CRN: 16155