printer friendly pageGLOBAL 34Q: Nationalism (POLISCI 34Q)
Nationalist platforms have been on the rise for years across the globe. The success of nationalist parties and candidates is often accompanied by backlash against outgroups, from immigrants to religious and ethnic minorities. Nationalism often leads people to act against their material interest, from voting against economic policies that would improve their standing, to undertaking extreme actions like self-sacrifice. Why is nationalism such a dominant force in today's world? And why is it such a powerful driver of human behavior? In this course, we will explore this question through a broad interdisciplinary lens, drawing lessons from the social sciences and history. We will ask what national identity is, where it comes from and why it has such appeal for humans. We will go back to the roots of nationalism in early modern Europe in order to understand the historical origin of national identities. And we will try to identify the forces that drive the rise in right-wing nationalism today, by exploring a number of country cases across the world.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
GLOBAL 41Q: The Ape Museum: Exploring the Idea of the Ape in Global History, Science, Art and Film (HISTORY 41Q)
This course will explore the idea of "the ape" in global history, science, art, and film. The idea that apes might be humanity's nearest animal relatives is only about 200 years old. From the start, the idea developed in a global context: living fossil apes were found in Africa and Asia, and were immediately embroiled in international controversies about theories of human origins and racial hierarchies. This class will look at how and why "the ape" became a generative and controversial new concept in numerous national and regional contexts. We'll explore some of the many ways humans have looked at, studied, and thought about apes around the world: the "out of Asia" versus "out of Africa" hypothesis for human origins; Nim Chimpsky, the chimpanzee raised as a human child; Koko, the gorilla who may have learned sign language; Congo, the chimpanzee who made "abstract" paintings; films such as King Kong, Planet of the Apes, and 2001: Space Odyssey; the ape in World War II and Cold War propa
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This course will explore the idea of "the ape" in global history, science, art, and film. The idea that apes might be humanity's nearest animal relatives is only about 200 years old. From the start, the idea developed in a global context: living fossil apes were found in Africa and Asia, and were immediately embroiled in international controversies about theories of human origins and racial hierarchies. This class will look at how and why "the ape" became a generative and controversial new concept in numerous national and regional contexts. We'll explore some of the many ways humans have looked at, studied, and thought about apes around the world: the "out of Asia" versus "out of Africa" hypothesis for human origins; Nim Chimpsky, the chimpanzee raised as a human child; Koko, the gorilla who may have learned sign language; Congo, the chimpanzee who made "abstract" paintings; films such as King Kong, Planet of the Apes, and 2001: Space Odyssey; the ape in World War II and Cold War propaganda in Japan, the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United States; Jane Goodall's study of chimpanzees "culture" and "personality"; the place of apes in natural history museums and zoos around the world; and Stanford's own fraught history of comparing apes and humans through the archival writings of eugenicist founding president David Starr Jordan. Taught in conjunction with an exhibit on global ape imagery at the Stanford Library curated by Professors Riskin and Winterer in 2024, the course will culminate in students' own miniature exhibits for a class-generated "Ape Museum."
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Riskin, J. (PI)
;
Winterer, C. (PI)
GLOBAL 101: Critical Issues in Global Affairs
It is often stated that we live in a global age. What does this mean? How new is this phenomenon? What does it mean to think about the human experience from a global perspective? And, why does it matter? In this course, we will examine globalism and globalization in historical and contemporary contexts; engage with theoretical frameworks and a range of case studies from a variety of national/regional contexts; and use these to analyze global economic, political, environmental, and socio-cultural networks, trends, and issues, exploring the interconnectedness of the local and the global. We will consider how universal is the human experience and how the answer to this question might impact the future of humanity. (This is the gateway course for students wishing to pursue a Global Studies minor in one of six specializations: African, European, Islamic, Iranian, Latin American, and South Asian studies.)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Kuhns, K. (PI)
;
Lazic, J. (PI)
GLOBAL 190: Peace and War in Medieval Islam: From the Arab Conquests to the Crusades (GLOBAL 232, HISTORY 218C, HISTORY 318C)
This course interrogates the theory and reality of war-making and peacemaking across the first millennium of Islamic history (c.600-c.1600 CE). We will examine major historical events (e.g. the struggle of the early community of Muslims against the pagan tribes of Arabia; Arab expansion and conquest during the seventh and eighth centuries; a sequence of civil wars, dynastic struggles, and schisms within Islam; and external invasions of the Islamic world by crusaders and steppe nomads, etc.). We will also investigate the development of major normative concepts across the Islamic tradition concerning peace and war (e.g. holy war; treaty- and truce-making; treatment of conquered enemies and prisoner; diplomacy with Muslims and non-Muslims, etc.). With respect to these concepts, we will attend especially to change over time and diversity across various sects. Mix of lecture and discussion. Readings will consist of both primary sources (in English translation) and modern scholarship. No previous experience with pre-modern or Islamic history required.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
GLOBAL 253P: Before the Model Minority: South Asians in the US (ASNAMST 153P, HISTORY 253P)
The model minority myth has been used to create a wedge between Asian and Black people in the United States, and masks the histories and lives of itinerant South Asian traders, laborers, and farmers. Beginning in the 1860s, South Asians (mostly male, and often undocumented) traveled to major ports in the US, such as New York City, New Orleans, and the California coast, where they found working-class jobs and married Puerto Rican, African American, Creole, and Mexican women. Some South Asians were double migrants, first brought to British colonies in the Caribbean and South America through indentured servitude, and later migrated to the United States. Their life stories expand to the racial history of the United States by looking beyond a Black/white binary. By juxtaposing immigrant stories with exclusionary US immigration laws, the course touches upon major themes of migration, capitalism, surveillance, race and racism, multiracial couples and communities, resistance, intersectional ac
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The model minority myth has been used to create a wedge between Asian and Black people in the United States, and masks the histories and lives of itinerant South Asian traders, laborers, and farmers. Beginning in the 1860s, South Asians (mostly male, and often undocumented) traveled to major ports in the US, such as New York City, New Orleans, and the California coast, where they found working-class jobs and married Puerto Rican, African American, Creole, and Mexican women. Some South Asians were double migrants, first brought to British colonies in the Caribbean and South America through indentured servitude, and later migrated to the United States. Their life stories expand to the racial history of the United States by looking beyond a Black/white binary. By juxtaposing immigrant stories with exclusionary US immigration laws, the course touches upon major themes of migration, capitalism, surveillance, race and racism, multiracial couples and communities, resistance, intersectional activism, borderlands and cities in the US, and the formation of national identity. During the quarter, we will seek to connect experiences in the past with contemporary issues of political culture in the United States to engage with the continuing challenge of locating and attaining self-definition, justice, and social progress in a fraught and divided world.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Akhter, M. (PI)
GSBGEN 113N: The Economic Survival of the Performing Arts
Even the most artistically accomplished and well-managed performing arts organizations--symphony orchestras, operas, dance companies, and many theaters--tend to live on the edge financially. In fact, most performing arts groups are organized as nonprofit organizations, because they cannot make enough money to cover costs and survive as profit-seeking businesses. In this seminar we will explore the reasons for the tension between artistic excellence and economic security,drawing on the experience of performing arts organizations in the United States and in countries(whose governments have adopted quite different policies toward the arts). Using economic concepts and analysis that we develop in the seminar, you will first examine the fundamental reasons for the economic challenges faced by performing arts organizations. In later sessions, we will consider and evaluate alternative solutions to these challenges in the United States and other countries. The seminar may include meetings with
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Even the most artistically accomplished and well-managed performing arts organizations--symphony orchestras, operas, dance companies, and many theaters--tend to live on the edge financially. In fact, most performing arts groups are organized as nonprofit organizations, because they cannot make enough money to cover costs and survive as profit-seeking businesses. In this seminar we will explore the reasons for the tension between artistic excellence and economic security,drawing on the experience of performing arts organizations in the United States and in countries(whose governments have adopted quite different policies toward the arts). Using economic concepts and analysis that we develop in the seminar, you will first examine the fundamental reasons for the economic challenges faced by performing arts organizations. In later sessions, we will consider and evaluate alternative solutions to these challenges in the United States and other countries. The seminar may include meetings with managers and/or trustees of arts organizations.nnnBy the end of the seminar, you will be able to assess the economic condition of an arts organization, evaluate alternative strategies for its survival, and understand the consequences of alternative government policies toward the arts.nnnDuring the early part of the course, you will prepare two short papers on topics or questions that I will suggest. Later, you will prepare a longer paper applying concepts learned to one of the performing arts or a particular arts organization that interests you. You will submit that paper in stages, as you learn about concepts and issues that are relevant to your analysis. There will also be a final exam.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Flanagan, R. (PI)
HISTORY 1A: Global History: The Ancient World (CLASSICS 76)
World history from the origins of humanity to the Black Death. Focuses on the evolution of complex societies, wealth, violence, hierarchy, and large-scale belief systems.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Lewis, M. (PI)
;
Martel-Dion, A. (TA)
HISTORY 1B: Global History: The Early Modern World, 1300 to 1800
(Course is offered for 3 OR 5 units.) Topics include early globalization and cross-cultural exchanges; varying and diverse cultural formations in different parts of the world; the growth and interaction of empires and states; the rise of capitalism and the economic divergence of "the west"; changes in the nature of technology, including military and information technologies; migration of ideas and people (including the slave-trade); disease, climate, and environmental change over time. Designed to accommodate beginning students, non-majors, and more advanced history students
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
HISTORY 1C: Global History through Graphic Novels: The Modern Age
(Course is offered for 3 OR 5 units.) How did empires and nation-states evolve around the globe during the modern period? How did they shape global experiences of modernity? And how can one write a history of the entire world, so as to cover the necessary ground, but also preserve nuance and complexity? In this course we will use graphic novels (paired with archival sources and historical essays) to examine modern world history from the 18th to the 21st century, from the age of empires and revolutions, through the World Wars, the Cold War, and the War on Terror. The class is appropriate for beginning students, non-majors, and more advanced history students, and may be taken for different levels of credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI, WAY-EDP
Instructors:
Mullaney, T. (PI)
;
Owens, M. (TA)
HISTORY 3F: Introduction to Modern Military History (HISTORY 103F, INTNLREL 103F)
(
HISTORY 3F is 3 units; 103F is 5 units.) This course will introduce students to the basic concepts of modern warfare, its evolution, and some of the immeasurable ways by which it shaped our history as well as our world today. How have strategy, operations and tactics been transformed by the modern state; the industrial revolution; and the accelerated pace of technological change? What is the meaning of total war, conventional war, and asymmetric war, and how were these different types of war fought in the 20th and 21st centuries? From the Napoleonic wars to the war in Ukraine, how do wars reflect, and shape, our politics, economics, culture, and technology? No prior knowledge of military history (or technology) is required. Students satisfying the WiM requirement for the major in International Relations must enroll in
INTNLREL 103F course listing. Please note that the version of this course offered in 2023-24 and later does not fulfill a "pre-1700" requirement for the history major.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
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