interdisciplinary core
international terrorism
This interdisciplinary Core course blends history and political science to give students an understanding of the development of modern international terrorism. It features a substantive lab component in which students will conduct intensive research on terror organizations in order to understand their ideologies, objectives, and historical development.
interdisciplinary core
sic semper tyrannis: empires, war and peace
This course asks whether history's most common system of government - empire - tends more towards war than others like republics, oligarchies, or anarchy. Using political theory and historical methods, it will explore the conceptual foundations of empire and what distinguishes it from other forms of government. It will then consider specific cases of empires throughout history, asking conceptual questions about whether they act to uphold peace or tend to cause war - a question that has proved remarkably divisive to scholars and observers. Students will then conduct their own research projects on empires at war.
elective
world war II: modernity's apocalypse
Taking as its frame a question about the state of human nature - are humans predisposed to destructive violence? - this course begins by examining that question through anthropology, psychology, history, and literature. It then surveys the course of World War II, and equips students to reflect on how the war was both exceptional and historically contingent.
survey
democracy, rights, and empire
This survey course on modern world history focuses on a few problems at the heart of liberal democracy, namely the principle of human equality and the challenge of democratic governance. It traces these problems through world history since the Enlightenment, focusing on how colonialism and war have brought them into tension.