History

Hum/H 1 ab. East Asian History. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Humanities.

Hum/H 2. American History. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Humanities.

Hum/H 3 abc. European Civilization. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Humanities.

Hum/H 4 abc. Civilization, Science, and Archaeology. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Humanities.

Hum/H/HPS 10. Introduction to the History of Science. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Humanities.

H 40. Reading in History. Units to be determined for the individual by the division. Elective, in any term. Reading in history and related subjects, done either in connection with the regular courses or independently, but under the direction of members of the department. A brief written report will usually be required. Graded pass/fail. Not available for credit toward humanities–social science requirement.

H 41. Prehistoric Peoples of the Southwest. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. This course offers a comprehensive overview of the rich and varied archaeological record of the American Southwest, beginning with the colonization of the New World at the end of the last ice age and ending with the arrival of Spanish explorers in the 16th century. The course will review the major prehistoric culture that inhabited this region, stretching from coastal Southern California to the edge of the Great Plains in New Mexico and Colorado. Archaeological method and theory, the history of research in the region, and contemporary issues and debates in the field will also be discussed. Instructor: Van Keuren.

H 98. Reading in History. 9 units (1-0-8). Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. An individual program of directed reading in history, in areas not covered by regular courses. Instructor: Staff.

H 99 abc. Research Tutorial. 9 units (1-0-8). Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. Students will work with the instructor in the preparation of a research paper, which will form the basis of an oral examination. Instructor: Staff.

H 107. Violence in Medieval Europe. 9 units (3-0-6). This course will explore how people understood violence in Europe between ca. 500 and ca. 1400 A.D. It will focus in particular on the various norms that could govern or justify the use of violence in a period when the right of free people to carry and use weapons was considered self-evident. Working through primary sources from the period, students will explore the connections between violence and such things as vengeance, the law, emotions, public ritual, economics, and religion. They will also follow the norms broadcast and/or followed by kings and princes as they both wielded violence themselves and sought to control or limit its use by others. At the end, the course will ask students to consider whether we can see in the Middle Ages the seed of the modern idea that the use of violence to redress wrong and uphold order should be restricted to the state. Instructor: Brown.

H 108 a. The Early Middle Ages. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. This course is designed to introduce students to the formative period of Western medieval history, roughly from the fourth through the tenth centuries. It will emphasize the development of a new civilization from the fusion of Roman, Germanic, and Christian traditions, with a focus on the Frankish world. The course focuses on the reading, analysis, and discussion of primary sources. Instructor: Brown. Not offered 2007–08.

H 108 b. The High Middle Ages. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. This course is designed to introduce students to European history between 1000 and 1400. It will provide a topical as well as chronological examination of the economic, social, political, and religious evolution of western Europe during this period, with a focus on France, Italy, England, and Germany. The course emphasizes the reading, analysis, and discussion of primary sources. Instructor: Brown. Not offered 2007–08.

H 109. Medieval Knighthood. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. This course tells the story of the knight from his beginnings in the early Middle Ages, through his zenith in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries, to his decline and transformation in the late medieval and early modern periods. The course treats the knight not simply as a military phenomenon but also as a social, political, religious, and cultural figure who personified many of the elements that set the Middle Ages apart. Not offered 2007–08.

H 110. The World of Charlemagne. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. The emperor Charlemagne looms large in the European consciousness as the warrior-king who created Europe. This course looks at Charlemagne’s career in order to see how this late 8th- and early 9th-century Frankish ruler might have earned his reputation as the maker of a Christian Europe. At the same time, it explores the period dominated by his family, the Carolingians, as one in which the world of late antiquity was transformed into the civilization we call the Middle Ages. Not offered 2007–08.

H 111. The Medieval Church. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. This course takes students through the history of the medieval Christian Church in Europe, from its roots in Roman Palestine, through the zenith of its power in the high Middle Ages, to its decline on the eve of the Reformation. The course focuses on the church less as a religion (although it will by necessity deal with some basic theology) than as an institution that came to have an enormous political, social, cultural, and economic impact on medieval life, and for a brief time made Rome once more the mistress of Europe. Instructor: Brown.

H 112. The Vikings. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. This course will take on the Scandinavian seafaring warriors of the 8th–11th centuries as a historical problem. What were the Vikings, where did they come from, and how they did they differ from the Scandinavian and north German pirates and raiders who preceded them? Were they really the horned-helmeted, bloodthirsty barbarians depicted by modern popular media and by many medieval chronicles? What effect did they have in their roughly two centuries of raiding and colonization on the civilizations of medieval and ultimately modern Europe? Not offered 2007–08.

H 115 abc. British History. 9 units (3-0-6); first, second, third terms. The political and cultural development of Great Britain from the early modern period to the 20th century. H 115 a covers the Reformation and the making of a Protestant state (1500–1700). H 115 b examines the Enlightenment and British responses to revolutions in France and America (1700–1830). H 115 c is devoted to the Victorian and Edwardian eras (1830–1918). H 115 a is not a prerequisite for H 115 b; neither it nor H 115 b is a prerequisite for H 115 c. Not offered 2007–08.

H 116. Studies in Narrative: History, Fiction, and Storytelling. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. This course examines the fraught relationship between historical and literary narratives, two interdependent but often opposed forms of storytelling. It will look at works that raise the issue of veracity and storytelling, including fictions like Graham Swift’s Waterland, films such as Kurosawa’s Rashomon, and the “historical novellas” in Simon Schama’s book Dead Certainties. It will also investigate in some detail the works of American, French, and Italian historians who have tried to solve this problem by turning to so-called microhistory. Instructor: Brewer. Not offered 2007–08.

H 117. Consumer Society: The Debate 1950–2000. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. This course examines the debates about the nature, virtues, and vices of “consumer society” from its inception in the 1950s to the end of the 20th century. It will examine works of history, economics, sociology, and criticism, including such works as Galbraith’s The Affluent Society, Rostow’s The Stages of Economic Growth, Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle, and Frank’s Luxury Fever. Not offered 2007–08.

H 118. Histories of Collecting. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. This course examines the history and theory of collecting, concentrating on collectors, collections, and collecting in the West since the Renaissance. It will include field trips to collections around Los Angeles, including the Huntington Art Gallery and the Museum of Jurassic Technology, and the examination of issues such as forgery and the workings of art markets. Instructor: Brewer. Not offered 2007–08.

H 121. American Radicalism. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. The course will cover a number of radical social, political, and artistic movements in 20th-century America. A focus on the first two decades of the century will center around the poet, journalist, and revolutionary John Reed and his circle in Greenwich Village. Topics will include their involvement with artistic experimentation, the Industrial Workers of the World, the Mexican Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and the movements for birth control and against American involvement in World War I. Other areas of concentration will be the Great Depression of the ’30s, with its leftist political and labor actions, and the freewheeling radicalism of the ’60s, including the anti-Vietnam protests, Students for a Democratic Society, and the ethnic struggles for social and political equality. Some reference will be made to the anti-globalization movements of today. Instructor: Rosenstone.

H 122. Household and Family Forms over Time. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. This course examines the wide variety of family forms and household structures in past societies, as well as the social, cultural, institutional, and economic variables that influenced them. The course focuses mainly on Europe from about 1600 to the present, as this is the area for which most research has been done, but there will be some discussion of other parts of the world, including Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Special attention is given to comparisons among different societies. Instructor: Dennison.

H 125. The End of the Roman Empire. 9 units (3-0-6). This course will trace the transformation of the Roman world from the second century to about 700. It will examine the reforms of Diocletian, which provided a short-lived solution to some of the problems confronting the Roman Empire, visit the North Africa of St. Augustine, and end with the very different societies born out of the former empire, the Byzantine empire in the East and a series of Germanic kingdoms in the West. The course will trace the end of the Roman world and the birth of the Middle Ages with attention to the social, religious, and economic shifts that accompanied the political changes. Instructor: Davis.

H 126. Imperial China. 9 units (3-0-6). The purpose of this course is to review the history of imperial China from the late third century B.C.E. to the mid-19th century C.E. The main focus of the course will be on changes in Chinese economy and society. How and why did China’s economy and society evolve into what they are today? In addition to the historical chronology of the Chinese experience during these two millennia, the class will emphasize some of the distinctive features of this experience in comparative perspective. Instructor: Li.

H 127. 20th-Century Transportation History: the Case of Los Angeles. 9 units (3-0-6). This course will examine the changing technologies of transportation in their social, political, and cultural contexts. Major topics will include the economics of rail, the ascendance of the automobile, the development of aviation, the death and rebirth of mass transportation, and the transformation of shipping. Several field trips will be required, and students will conduct independent research on local subjects. A basic familiarity with United States history is recommended. Instructor: Dyble.

H 128. Slavery in the Americas. 9 units (3-0-6). This course examines the European exploitation of African labor throughout the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries. It explores slavery in its many American contexts: the sugar-producing colonies of Brazil and the Caribbean; the tobacco, rice, and cotton plantations of North America; mining outposts in Latin America; skilled urban, domestic, and maritime occupations. Such variations in labor regimes led to further distinctions in the lives of slaves and the development of African American cultures. To understand what set African slavery apart, students will also consider other “un-free” labor regimes, such as indentured servitude and compulsory Native American labor. Instructor: O’Malley.

H 130. Postmodern History. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. In recent years some historians have experimented with new and innovative ways of telling the past­—on the printed page, using film and video, and on the Internet. The course will focus on these new approaches to historical presentation and knowledge. Students will read, watch, and interact with various examples of these innovative historical works. They will also be exposed to the critiques of traditional historical writing from philosophers, literary critics, and postmodern theorists, which provide intellectual underpinning for experimenting with new forms of history. Instructor: Rosenstone.

H/F 131. History on Film. 9 units (2-2-5); offered by announcement. An investigation into the variety of ways history has been and can be represented on the screen. Some terms the focus will be a specific historical period or nation; other terms the focus will be the nature of film as a medium for history and biography. The class will include weekly screenings of films as well as weekly discussion sections. Instructor: Rosenstone.

H/F 133. Topics in Film History. 9 units (2-2-5); offered by announcement. The course will focus each term on one kind of motion picture—either a film genre, or films made by an individual director, or from a single nation or region of the world or particular historical era. Included are weekly screenings, readings on film, a weekly discussion meeting, and a term paper. Instructor: Rosenstone.

H/F 134. The Science Fiction Film. 9 units (2-2-5); offered by announcement. This course will introduce students to some of the classic works of the science fiction film from the earliest days of cinema until the present. It will analyze aesthetic, historical, and social documents, and will show that such films, while describing alternative, hypothetical, and futurist worlds, also serve as a commentary upon and/or a critique of contemporary (to the film) historical, social, political, and ideological systems and attitudes. Instructor: Rosenstone.

H 135. War, Conquest, and Empires. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. This course will use historical examples of war and conquest and ask why some periods of history were times of warfare and why certain countries developed a comparative advantage in violence. The examples will come from the history of Europe and Asia, from ancient times up until World War I, and the emphasis throughout will be on the interplay between politics, military technology, and social conditions. Instructor: Hoffman. Not offered 2007–08.

H/F 136. Ethnic Visions. 9 units (2-2-5); offered by announcement. In recent decades, directors from ethnic minorities that are often un- or misrepresented in mainstream Hollywood films have been making dramatic features depicting the history, problems, and prospects of their own communities. This course will feature a selection of such films by directors from African, Latino, Asian, Muslim, and European American ethnic groups, with an eye toward assessing the similarities and differences in the processes of immigration, acculturation, and Americanization. Instructor: Rosenstone.

H 137. Encounters in Early America, 1607–1814. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. This course offers an exploration of early American history through the study of the multifaceted encounters between the indigenous inhabitants, the European settlers, and the Africans who were forcefully brought over. Early America was a melting pot of diverse ambitions, and understanding such diversity, as well as the tension between competing cultures and ideals, is crucial to comprehending both early American history and the nature of American society today. Instructor: O’Malley.

H 138. Human Nature and the Enlightenment, 1760–1815. 9 units (3-0-6). Focusing primarily on the Enlightenment, this course addresses how late 18th-century thinkers pursued the challenging task of defining human nature. More specifically, it is structured around three themes: body (the humours, iatromechanism, and nervous disorders), mind (tabula rasa, ideas, and the operations of the mind), and spirit (dualism, materialism, and vitalism). Throughout the module, these topics will be considered historically and in light of recent work that addresses the history of the book and reading practices. Instructor: Eddy.

H 139. Victorian Science, Religion, and Human Origins. 9 units (3-0-6). Within the history of science and culture, the 19th century often is viewed as an era of secularization—a time when science broke free from the shackles of religion and objectivity ushered in the modern world. At the same time, uncomfortable questions arose: Were the origin accounts of religious texts compatible with scientific theories? Did life spontaneously erupt from a primeval ocean? Was race a biological fact or a social construct? This module reflects on these questions by addressing the different types of evidence that Victorian thinkers used to explain human origins. Instructor: Eddy.

H 140. The Art and Science of Alchemy. 9 units (3-0-6). Alchemy has occupied a curious place in Western art and science: it has been both revered and reviled, considered at once a colorful episode in the long history of popular superstition and a crucial chapter in the emergence of modern chemistry. While the alchemical quest has never produced the Philosopher’s Stone—with its power to transform base metals into gold and bring wealth, health, and spiritual purity—it has generated an extraordinary body of texts and a long tradition of work that connects the scientific and the artistic. The course will survey the history of alchemy and a wide range of primary texts. Instructor: Sherman.

H 141. Science in Print. 9 units (3-0-6). This class will explore the impact of the invention of printing (in the middle of the 15th century) on the spread of scientific discoveries and methods—and even on the definition of science itself. There will be regular trips to the Huntington Library, the ideal place to take a closer look at some landmarks in the history of the scientific book. The impact of digital texts on the history of scientific publication will also be considered. Instructor: Sherman.

Law/PS/H 148 ab. The Supreme Court in U.S. History. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Law.

HPS/H 156. The History of Modern Science. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 158. The Scientific Revolution. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 160 ab. Einstein and His Generation: The History of Modern Physical Sciences. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

H 161. Selected Topics in History. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. Instructors: Staff, visiting lecturers.

HPS/H 162. Social Studies of Science. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 166. Historical Perspectives on the Relations between Science and Religion. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 167. Experimenting with History/Historic Experiment. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 168. History of Electromagnetism and Heat Science. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 169. Selected Topics in the History of Science and Technology. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 170. History of Light from Antiquity to the 20th Century. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 171. History of Mechanics from Galileo through Euler. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 172. History of Mathematics: A Global View with Close-ups. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H/Pl 173. History of Chemistry. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H/Pl 174. Celestial and Terrestrial Mechanisms: Landmarks in the Development of Greek Astronomy. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H 175. Matter, Motion, and Force: Physical Astronomy from Ptolemy to Newton. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

H 201. Reading and Research for Graduate Students. Units to be determined for the individual by the division.