HISTORY 34A: European Witch Hunts
(Same as
HISTORY 134A. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 134A.) After the Reformation, in the midst of state building and scientific discovery, Europeans conducted a series of deadly witch hunts, violating their own laws and procedures in the process. What was it about early modernity that fueled witch hunting? Witch trials and early modern demonology as well as historians' interpretations of events to seek answers to this question.
Last offered: Autumn 2024
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
HISTORY 35: Sustainability and Civilization (BIO 35, POLISCI 35, RELIGST 53X)
Our civilization faces multiple sustainability challenges. Climate change often dominates public conversation, but in fact, a whole range of environmental, economic, political, and cultural trends threaten the structures that sustain the societies we know. These problems cannot be understood in isolation, because they interact in complex ways. Solving them will require collaboration across many different fields, from the natural and social sciences to the humanities. This one-unit course brings together over two dozen faculty from across the entire university for a series of interdisciplinary conversations around cross-cutting themes. Our aim is to encourage dialogue and perhaps even future collaborations among students and professors who might otherwise rarely interact in a classroom. All students are welcome, but frosh and sophomores may find the course especially useful as an introduction to a wide range of sustainability-related disciplines and teachers at Stanford.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
Instructors:
Dirzo, R. (PI)
;
Mayse, E. (PI)
HISTORY 35Q: Convict Australia: "Rogues," "Whores," and "Savages"
In 1787, the British government made the audacious decision to send its prisoners to a continent on the other side of the globe about which very little was known. In this new colony, a motley crew had to learn to live together: military men, who were determined to make their unlucky posting pay off; the convicts, who found themselves exiled from their families and homes most often for petty crimes of poverty; the female convicts, who served primarily to fulfill the sexual needs of the men; and the Indigenous peoples, who were deemed absolute "savages" by their invaders. Through early starvation days, rebellions, and frontier wars, a new society was contentiously formed, as various groups battled for supremacy, status, or simply survival and norms of race, class, and gender adapted to a unique environment. In this hands-on IntroSem, we will do the work of the historian: read and interpret primary sources. During class time, we will work in groups, essentially crowd sourcing primary rese
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In 1787, the British government made the audacious decision to send its prisoners to a continent on the other side of the globe about which very little was known. In this new colony, a motley crew had to learn to live together: military men, who were determined to make their unlucky posting pay off; the convicts, who found themselves exiled from their families and homes most often for petty crimes of poverty; the female convicts, who served primarily to fulfill the sexual needs of the men; and the Indigenous peoples, who were deemed absolute "savages" by their invaders. Through early starvation days, rebellions, and frontier wars, a new society was contentiously formed, as various groups battled for supremacy, status, or simply survival and norms of race, class, and gender adapted to a unique environment. In this hands-on IntroSem, we will do the work of the historian: read and interpret primary sources. During class time, we will work in groups, essentially crowd sourcing primary research, in order to piece together what life was like on the ground. We will debate the extent to which we can trust the sources and how best to use "biased" reports. We will also read the interpretations of historians and decide whether or not we agree with them. In doing so, we will see that the writing of history is never complete.
Last offered: Autumn 2024
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 37D: Germany's Wars and the World, 1848-2010 (HISTORY 137D)
(
History 37D is 3 units;
History 137D is 5 units.)This course examines a series of explosive encounters between Germans, Europe, and the world. Starting with the overlooked revolutions of 1848 and ending with the reunification of West Germany and East Germany after the Cold War, the course will explore a range of topics: capitalism, communism, imperialism, nationalism, diplomacy, antisemitism, gender, race, and the Holocaust, among others. We will also consider competing visions of Germany its borders, its members, its enemies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Press, S. (PI)
;
Baudler, E. (TA)
HISTORY 38B: A History of the Habsburg Empire
The course deals with the history of the Habsburg Empire, which shaped the European continent for more than four centuries. It was neither a linguistic, nor religious or geographical entity, rather, it comprised the countries that were brought together by the Habsburg dynasty over centuries. Accordingly, its structure is difficult to understand. The Habsburg monarchy was one of the great European powers; furthermore, it provided the framework for great cultural achievements (Mozart, Freud, Klimt and many others). The conflict between its more than ten nationalities, which remained unresolved until the end, was a major trigger for the First World War.
Last offered: Spring 2025
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
HISTORY 38S: All That Glitters is not Gold: The Country House in Modern Britain
The country house is more than just the setting for period dramas starring Maggie Smith; its story, from construction to demolition, is also that of modern Britain. This class is a biography of the country house, told each week as a chapter of historical methodology. From palace to military hospital to 'heritage' property of the National Trust, we will use the country house--its occupants, decor, and collections--to see how this symbol of class hierarchy came to be a national rallying point for Brexiteers.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 39: Modern Britain and the Empire, 1688-2016
(
History 39 is offered for 3 units;
History 139 is offered for 5 units.) This course surveys British history from the Glorious Revolution to Brexit. We will integrate the stories of Britain and its empire as we examine key topics, including the rise of the modern British state and economy, imperial expansion and contraction, the formation of class, gender, and national identities, mass culture and politics, the world wars, and racial politics in contemporary Britain. We will focus particularly on questions of decline, the dynamic fortunes and contradictions of British liberalism in an era of imperialism, and the weight of the past in contemporary Britain. Readings focus on primary sources from the period covered as well as a few scholarly works.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
HISTORY 39Q: Were They Really "Hard Times"? Mid-Victorian Social Movements and Charles Dickens (ENGLISH 39Q)
"It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it." So begins Charles Dickens description of Coketown in Hard Times. And it only seems to get more grim from there. But the world that Dickens sought to portray in the novel was a hopeful one, too. And that tension is our starting point. The intent of this class is to more closely examine mid-Victorian Britain in light of Dickens' novel, with particular focus on the rise of some of our modern social movements in the 19th century. While things like the labor movement, abolitionism, feminism, and environmentalism, are not the same now as they were then, this class will explore the argument that the 21st century is still, in some ways, working out 19th century problems and questions. At the same time, this is also a course that seeks to expand the kinds of sources we traditionally use as historians. Thus, while recognizing that literary sources are particularly complex, we will use Hard T
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"It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it." So begins Charles Dickens description of Coketown in Hard Times. And it only seems to get more grim from there. But the world that Dickens sought to portray in the novel was a hopeful one, too. And that tension is our starting point. The intent of this class is to more closely examine mid-Victorian Britain in light of Dickens' novel, with particular focus on the rise of some of our modern social movements in the 19th century. While things like the labor movement, abolitionism, feminism, and environmentalism, are not the same now as they were then, this class will explore the argument that the 21st century is still, in some ways, working out 19th century problems and questions. At the same time, this is also a course that seeks to expand the kinds of sources we traditionally use as historians. Thus, while recognizing that literary sources are particularly complex, we will use Hard Times as a guide to our exploration to this fascinating era. We will seek both to better understand this complex, transitional time and to assess the accuracy of Dickens' depictions of socio-political life.Through a combination of short response papers, creative Victorian projects (such as sending a hand-written letter to a classmate), and a final paper/project, this course will give you the opportunity to learn more about the 19th century and the value of being historically minded.As a seminar based course, discussion amongst members of the class is vital. All students are welcome
Last offered: Spring 2024
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
HISTORY 40: World History of Science: From Prehistory through the Scientific Revolution
(
History 40 is 3 units;
History 140 is 5 units.) The earliest developments in science, the prehistoric roots of technology, the scientific revolution, and global voyaging. Theories of human origins and the oldest known tools and symbols. Achievements of the Mayans, Aztecs, and native N. Americans. Science and medicine in ancient Greece, Egypt, China, Africa, and India. Science in medieval and Renaissance Europe and the Islamic world including changing cosmologies and natural histories. Theories of scientific growth and decay; how science engages other factors such as material culture and religions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
HISTORY 40A: The Scientific Revolution
(Same as
History 140A. 40A is 3 units; 140A is 5 units.) The modern sciences trace their origins to the 16th and 17th centuries, when natural knowledge took on dramatically new shapes at the hands of people such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, and Isaac Newton. These figures and their contemporaries proposed radically different ways to study, understand and explain the cosmos, and they also founded new institutions for the purpose: for example, the Accademia del Cimento (Academy of Experiment) in Florence; the Royal Society in London; and the Académie des Sciences in Paris. Through these developments, the natural sciences began to assume their modern form in several dimensions: theoretical, experimental, methodological and institutional. The course will study these origins of modern science in relation to the political, imperial, religious, social, and cultural context of early modern Europe.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI