1 - 10 of 448 results for: HISTORY

What would the perfect society be? How would work be organized, and education, honor and profit be distributed? How would children be raised, and who would govern? Such questions have engaged philosophers, revolutionaries, and dreamers in every historical age. Examines utopian literature from ancient Greece through the modern age, focusing on the early modern period.

(Same as HISTORY 110B. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 110B.) Survey of early modern European history from the Reformation through the Enlightenment. Topics include religious war, state building and revolt, exploration and colonialism, gender and society.

(SAME as HISTORY 110C. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 110C.) From the late 18th century to the present. How Europeans responded to rapid social changes caused by political upheaval, industrialization, and modernization. How the experience and legacy of imperialism and colonialism both influenced European society and put in motion a process of globalization that continues to shape international politics today.

Preference to Freshmen. Prerequisite: IHUM 69A. Explore themes on the Roman Empire and its decline from the 1st through the 5th centuries C.E.. What was the political and military glue that held this diverse, multi-ethnic empire together? What were the bases of wealth and how was it distributed? What were the possibilities and limits of economic growth? How integrated was it in culture and religion? What were the causes and consequences of the conversion to Christianity? Why did the Empire fall in the West? How suitable is the analogy of the U.S. in the 21st century?

Noble women, often overlooked a political agents, were integral to the functioning of European political networks as intriguers, mothers, wife, patronesses, warriors, and chroniclers. Examines the writings of noble women (autobiography, personal correspondences, and a novel) with particular emphasis on behavioral expectations and practices, letter-writing and self-representation, networks (both familial and political), and cultural exchange and influence. From the mid-sixteenth to late eighteenth century (Catherine deMedici to Marie Antoinette). Cases from Italy, France, England, Spain, and Germany.

Preference to sophomores. The contrast between the early modern image of Europe as free, civilized, democratic, rational, and clean against the notion of New World Indians, Turks, and Chinese as savage. The more difficult, contemporary problem regarding E. Europe and Russia which seemed both European and exotic. Readings concerning E. Europe and Russia from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment; how they construct a positive image of Europe and conversely a negative stereotype of E. Europe. Prerequisite: PWR 1.

In this course, we will explore the history and culture of the United States through film, examining both the history of this quintessentially American medium and the ways in which American history has been represented in movies. Topics include the invention of moving picture technology, the creation of cinema "language," the rise and fall of the Hollywood studio system, the emergence and evolution of film genres (westerns, romantic comedies, film noir, science fiction, Blaxploitation, etc.), the quest for overseas markets for American movies, race and film, and the future of movies in the digital age. Among the films we will be discussing are Birth of a Nation, The Jazz Singer, Stagecoach, It Happened One Night, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, American Graffiti, Superfly, Taxi Driver, Blade Runner, Unforgiven, Bamboozled, Saving Private Ryan, Children of Men, and In the Valley of Elah. The course will include daily readings and discussions as well as a number of required screenings. In addition, students will complete short research projects on topics of their own choosing.

San Francisco and London are two of the world's best-loved and most-visited cities. They have certain things in common: both are ports, situated on the edge of continents; both are major commercial and cultural centres; and both have been shaped by immigration. Their differences are more obvious than their similarities, however, and these differences are to a large extent explained by their very different histories. London was founded by the Romans and was, for a period in its recent history, the capital of an Empire on which the sun famously never set; San Francisco did not emerge as a city until well into the 19th century and even now has something of the character of a "city state" rather than a national or state capital. Though often considered one of the most European of American cities, San Francisco is in fact laid out on the typically American grid plan; the planning of London is, by contrast, chaotic, reflecting its long evolution and the lack of any effective central planning control. nnnThe course will explain the ways in which these two fascinating cities have evolved, especially over the past 200 years. We will focus on the development of what is sometimes called the "urban landscape"-streets, public buildings, housing, open spaces, transport systems-and investigate who made the decisions that shaped the two cities as we experience them today. We will look not only at the impact of major events-the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the bombing of London during World War II-but also at the small decisions made by property owners and developers which helped determine the character of urban neighborhoods. We will use maps and primary documents as well as published histories, and there will be two field trips to explore buildings and neighborhoods in San Francisco. Students will write two papers, each of 4-5-pages, on aspects of the history of each city. An interest in history and/urban studies is an obvious asset.

Preference to sophomores. England from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century through the reading of seven novels ranging from Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews, to Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust. Focus is on the novels themselves and the historical context of the novels to acquire a knowledge of British history over two hundred years.