printer friendly pageHISTORY 116N: Howard Zinn's 'A People's History' and the Quest for Historical Truth (EDUC 116N)
Howard Zinn's 'A People's History of the United States' has few peers among contemporary historical works. With more than two million copies in print, A People's History is more than a book. It is a cultural icon, a symbol of our time. "You wanna read a real history book," Matt Damon tells Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, "read People's History of the US. That book'll knock you on your ass." Today, A People's History's original grey cover has been colorized in red, white, and blue for its Harper "Perennial Modern Classic" edition, and is now marketed with special displays in suburban megastores. You can buy A People's History T-shirts and tote-bags. Zinn's book was not the first but is certainly the defining example of a genre of historical writing known as revisionism, in which the cherished truths of a previous generation are turned on their head. In this seminar, we will use A People's History to probe the question of historical truth. How do we determine what was true in the past? Why and under what circumstances should we believe what historians say? Under what circumstances are we required to rethink our own interpretations about the past, even if doing so causes discomfort and upheaval? A People's History will be our point of departure, but our journey will visit a variety of historical trouble spots: debates about whether the US was founded as a Christian nation, Holocaust denial, and the "Birther" controversy of President Obama.
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HISTORY 145B: Africa in the 20th Century (AFRICAAM 145B)
(Same as
HISTORY 45B. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 145B.) The challenges facing Africans from when the continent fell under colonial rule until independence. Case studies of colonialism and its impact on African men and women drawn from West, Central, and Southern Africa. Novels, plays, polemics, and autobiographies written by Africans.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Cole, J. (PI)
HISTORY 150A: Colonial and Revolutionary America (AMSTUD 150A)
(Same as
HISTORY 50A. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for
HISTORY 150A.) Survey of the origins of American society and polity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Topics: the migration of Europeans and Africans and the impact on native populations; the emergence of racial slavery and of regional, provincial, Protestant cultures; and the political origins and constitutional consequences of the American Revolution.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
duRivage, J. (PI)
HISTORY 151: The American West (AMSTUD 124A, ARTHIST 152, ENGLISH 124, POLISCI 124A)
The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Cain, B. (PI)
;
Freyberg, D. (PI)
;
Jones, G. (PI)
...
more instructors for HISTORY 151 »
Instructors:
Cain, B. (PI)
;
Freyberg, D. (PI)
;
Jones, G. (PI)
;
Kennedy, D. (PI)
;
Nemerov, A. (PI)
HISTORY 168: American History in Film Since World War ll
U.S. society, culture, and politics since WW II through feature films. Topics include: McCarthyism and the Cold War; ethnicity and racial identify; changing sex and gender relationships; the civil rights and anti-war movements; and mass media. Films include
The Best Years of Our Lives, Salt of the Earth, On the Waterfront, Raisin in the Sun, Kramer v Kramer, and
Falling Down.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Carroll, P. (PI)
HISTORY 208A: Science and Law in History (HISTORY 308A)
How the intertwined modern fields of science and law, since the early modern period, together developed central notions of fact, evidence, experiment, demonstration, objectivity, and proof.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Riskin, J. (PI)
HISTORY 208C: History of Death and Dying (HISTORY 308C)
The changing realities of, attitudes towards and ways of coping with death drawing on examples from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States. The role of death in shaping the modern world via the global slave trades, imperial conquest, pandemics, wars and genocides. Changing rituals relating to death, intellectual and philosophical debates about the personal and social meanings of death, and the political and personal consequences of particular ways and patterns of dying.
Last offered: Autumn 2011
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 230C: Paris: Capital of the Modern World (FRENCH 140, FRENCH 340)
This course explores how Paris, between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, became the political, cultural, and artistic capital of the modern world. It considers how the city has both shaped and been shaped by the tumultuous events of modern history- class conflict, industrialization, imperialism, war, and occupation. It will also explore why Paris became the major world destination for intellectuals, artists and writers. Sources will include films, paintings, architecture, novels, travel journals, and memoirs.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Daughton, J. (PI)
HISTORY 231G: European Reformations (HISTORY 331G, RELIGST 236, RELIGST 336)
Readings in and discussion of theological and social aspects of sixteenth century reformations: Luther, Radical Reform, Calvin, and Council of Trent, missionary expansion, religious conflict, creative and artistic expressions. Texts include primary sources and secondary scholarly essays and monographs.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Pitkin, B. (PI)
;
Stokes, L. (PI)
HPS 60: Introduction to Philosophy of Science (PHIL 60)
The nature of scientific knowledge: evidence and confirmation; scientific explanation; models and theories; objectivity; science, society, and values.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Longino, H. (PI)
Filter Results: