History Courses

This course explores the early history of Western Civilization. Topics include: Classical Greece and the Roman Republic and Empire; Christianity; the Byzantine Empire; Islam; the Carolingian Empire; Feudalism and Manorialism; the Economic Revival; Medieval Society and Culture; the Growth of National Monarchies; the Age of Exploration and Discovery; the Renaissance and the Reformation. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 101 or HIST 100. Offered 2023-2024.

This course explores the history of Western Civilization from the European conquest of the Americas to the end of the Cold War. Topics include: Europe’s overseas expansion; the age of absolutism; the scientific revolution; the Enlightenment; the American War of Independence; the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte; the Industrial Revolution; Nationalism, liberalism, feminism, and imperialism; the two World Wars; decolonization; and the Cold War. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 102 or HIST 100. Offered 2023-2024.

It may come as a surprise to the History Channel, but ancient monuments were not built by aliens. Rather, they stand as evidence of the complex societies that existed throughout the ancient world and the goods, ideas and people that connected them. From the Han Dynasty in China to the Roman Empire in Europe to the early trade networks of the Nok in West Africa, the ingenuity, mobility and interconnectedness of premodern cultures will be explored. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 103 or HIST 116. Offered 2023-2024.

Scholars now know that the premodern world was more profoundly interconnected by trade, cultural exchange and migration than we had ever realized. Still not Ancient Aliens examines some of these interconnections, from the roads of the ancient Wari of Peru to the cultural and trade connections of the Polynesian Islanders, to the premodern trade networks operating in the far North and the cultural mosaic of Islamic Spain. Three credits. Credits will be granted for only one of HIST 104 or HIST 116. Offered 2023-2024.

W.E.B. Du Bois stated, “The problem of the color line is the problem of the twentieth century,” but even earlier, the creation and operation of racial differences in colonial and capitalist contexts defined many key world events. This course examines the major events of world history from 1300 to the late eighteenth century’s “Age of Revolutions.” Global developments shall be examined via the social construction of racial, and ethnic differences between peoples. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 121, HIST 110, HIST 111, or HIST 141. Offered 2023-2024.

W.E.B. Du Bois stated, “The problem of the color line is the problem of the twentieth century,” but even earlier, the creation and operation of racial differences in colonial and capitalist contexts defined many key world events. This course examines the major events of world history from the late eighteenth century’s “Age of Revolutions” to the twenty-first century. Global developments shall be examined via the social construction of racial, and ethnic differences between peoples. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 122, HIST 110, HIST 112, HIST 132, or HIST 142. Offered 2023-2024.

The ideas that sparked early-modern Atlantic revolutions resulted from earlier exploration and the exchange of people, goods, and ideas. The world has remained interconnected ever since. This course examines how this is the case by investigating human society and the historical processes that have shaped institutions and ideas since the 18th century. It will do so through a focus on the goods being exchanged – from sugar and spice to ivory and opium, and what that meant in society. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 132 or HIST 110, HIST 112, HIST 122, HIST 142. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course examines the process of conquest and the rise of empires across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, spanning the centuries between 1300 and 1800. The course also addresses the impact of epidemics and pandemics, including the Black Death in Afro-Eurasia, and the genocide of indigenous populations in the Americas. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 141 and HIST 110, HIST 111, or  HIST 121. Offered 2023-2024.

This course takes a global focus on revolutionary struggles, national liberation and resistance to various forms of social oppression (like racism, sexism and misogyny, homophobia/transphobia) in the 19th and 20th centuries. This includes liberal and radical revolutions like the American and Russian Revolutions, as well as social and emancipatory movements like feminism, anti-racism, anti-imperialism, national liberation, and struggles for gay rights. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 142, HIST 110, HIST 112, HIST 122, or HIST 132. Offered 2023-2024.

Germany has variously been described as a “land of writers and thinkers”, an antechamber of Nazism, and the face of post-1945 liberal-democratic Europe.  What does it mean to be German?  Is the nation a mere repository of Fascism?  Can its entire history be reduced to a Sonderweg, a special path that leads inexorably to dictatorship, conquest, and racial extermination?  This course will attempt to address these critical questions, beginning with the ascension to power of Otto von Bismarck and the drive to national unification.  Three credits.  Not offered 2023-2024.

This course will explore the oft-ignored and increasingly important field of public history.  Given that the vast majority of people encountered history through film, television, museums, historic sites, etc. - not through academic literature - the ways in which our stories are communicated are crucial. This course will examine the difference between history and memory, how public historians address controversial issues, and provide students with the skills necessary to create an effective and meaningful work of public history. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 205, HIST 297 (2021-2022), or HIST 399 (2018-2019). Not offered 2023-2024.

This introductory survey lecture course is designed to examine the life and times of the Pre-Confederation Canada from a political, social, cultural and economic perspective. In this journey back in time in Canadian history, student will learn about the diversity of historical figures, experiences, events and ideas. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 213 or HIST 113. Offered 2023-2024.

This course provides an introduction to the major themes in Canadian history from Confederation to the contemporary era. It will explore the crucial political, economic, and social themes in Post-Confederation history. Regional, racial, ethnic, and gender variations will be addressed in this survey. Students will learn to identify, analyze, and discuss key issues in Canadian history. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 215 or HIST 115. Offered 2023-2024.

Explores French history from the end of the old regime to the present. Topics include the 1789 revolution and its aftermath, Napoleon, the July Monarchy, the Second Empire, class and gender in 19th-century France, the Third Republic, the Dreyfus Affair, the “Hollow Years” of the interwar era, the defeat of 1940 and the authoritarian Vichy Regime, decolonization and the rise of De Gaulle, and the role of feminism/memory/multiculturalism in post-war France with concentration on social, intellectual, cultural trends, and politics. Prerequisite: 6 credits at the 100 level or permission of the instructor. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

Topics include the origins of the Slavs; their adoption of Christianity; the establishment and development of the Kievan state; the coming of the Mongols and the Mongol “yoke”; the slow emergence of Muscovy; Ivan the Terrible and the Time of Troubles. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Topics include 17th-century Muscovy: the Romanovs, serfdom, schism, and territorial expansion; the 18th century: Peter the Great, Catherine II, and Westernization; and the 19th century: autocracy, culture, the abolition of serfdom, industrialization, the revolutionary movement, foreign policy, World War I and the collapse of tsarism; the revolution of 1917. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course will examine societies in modern Africa. Western histories of this period will be weighed alongside a more Afrocentric perspective, examining a selection of social systems, economic organization, political institutions, religious beliefs and life patterns, and the impact of the outside world on them. Topics to be addressed include: gender, culture, belief and identity, European imperialisms, contested nationalisms, independence movements, and the nature and experience of the African diaspora. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 223 or HIST 298 (2016-2017). Not offered 2023-2024.

This course begins with the 1880s to investigate how Canada became one of the world’s wealthiest nations. It explores the emergence of its financial markets, its entrepreneurial tradition, innovations in finance, management, and technology, the origins and growth of its regional, national and multinational corporations, its international trade relations and globalization. The course also examines the evolving relationship between commerce and society, and reviews economic shocks and disruptions generated by wars, depression, stock market bubbles and credit crashes. It concludes with an overall assessment of Canada’s business development by considering the central arguments of the proponents and critics of capitalism in its Canadian form. Three credits. Offered online only.

This survey lecture course is designed to examine the political, social, cultural and, economic development of the Maritime Provinces from the early 16th century to 1867. It will explore such topics as the  relations between Europeans and First Nations; the clash of empires; the Acadian Expulsion; the impact of immigrant cultures; the Age of Sail and federation with Canada. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 228 or HIST 209. Offered 2023-2024.

This survey lecture course is designed to examine the political, social, cultural, and economic developments of the Maritime Provinces from the 1860's to the 1960's.  It will examine such topics as the the federation with Canada; the industrialization and de-industrialization; labour unrest; social reform; the world wars; the impact of modernity and state intervention; out-migration; and the historical experiences of African-Maritimers, Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, Acadians, and Maritime women. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 229 or HIST 209. Offered 2023-2024.

The history of the Early Middle Ages has been much debated in recent years. Did Rome fall as Germanic warlords poured over its borders or were the Germanic migrations peaceful? Did Vikings only seek to pillage and destroy or to trade goods and share knowledge? What were the social, political and military roles of early Christian martyrs and monks? This course will answer such questions, while providing an overview of the history of Europe between 300 and 1050 CE. Three credits. Not offered 2023-204.

In 1050, Europe embarked on a long period of economic, intellectual and cultural growth. This was the time of the Crusades, chivalry and scholasticism. Beginning in 1300, however, Europe faced new crises characterized by some as the horsemen of the Apocalypse: famine, plague, war and death. Yet out of this disastrous period of history, new intellectual and artistic growth occurred, leading to the Renaissance. This course traces the history of medieval Europe through the highs and lows discussed above. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course examines the history of French Imperialism during the 19th and 20th centuries in the Maghreb, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. It explores various themes associated with colonial politics, society, economy, and culture, including the historiography of French imperialism, the construction and maintenance of the colonial governing system, the gendered nature of colonial discourse and practice, the social impact of religious customs in various locations within the empire, racial hierarchies and concomitant administrative repression, colonial representations in metropolitan French culture, and nationalist movements and revolts before and during the era of decolonization. Prerequisite: 6 credits of HIST at the 100 level , or permission of the instructor. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

The Indian sub-continent has been a crossroads of people and cultures throughout human history and its diasporas provide working communities, successful business models, rich history and beautiful culture from yoga to Freddy Mercury. South Asia is of central geopolitical, economic and cultural importance in the modern period. This course begins with the arrival of the Mughals in the 16th century and ends with decolonization and partition in 1947. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Vikings did more than plunder and pillage - they explored, farmed, and traded along vast travel networks that stretched from the east coast of Canada to the sophisticated cities of Constantinople and Baghdad in the East. Vikings! The Course will survey the spread of Norse influence and culture from their initial steps out of Scandinavia in the 8th century - attacking monasteries and cities - to the founding of Norse kingdoms in Normandy, Sicily and Novgorod. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Survey of the US from colonial times to the Civil War, with emphasis on aboriginal beginnings and civilizations; colonization; the rise of slavery and racism in British North America; the place of the colonies in the British Empire; the War of Independence; territorial expansion; the beginning of industrialization and its effects on the Jeffersonian notions of republicanism; the “problem” of slavery and growing sectionalism; and the road to Civil War and disunion. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

Topics emphasized are the Civil War as a black freedom movement; the federal government’s brief and grudging commitment to black citizenship during Reconstruction; the abandonment of Reconstruction and the imposition of segregation in the late 19th century; industrialization and age of fabulous robber barons and desperate immigrants; the Depression and the coming of the New Deal; the civil rights movement and Vietnam and its sequels. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

A This class explores history of the medieval religious wars that are now known as the crusades. Although often treated collectively, these wars differed greatly in character, from penitential crusades to the holy land to disciplinary crusades against the Cathars and Hussites, to the economic war of aggression that was the Fourth Crusade. Organized as a brief chronological survey of the crusades from 1096 to 1430. This course will also examine various themes in recent crusade historiography. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

This survey of German history emphasizes the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes topics such as the rise of Brandenburg Prussia; German nationalism; Bismarck and the unification of Germany; the industrial revolution and organized labour; the coming of the war in 1914; the revolution of 1918; the trials of democracy in the Weimar Republic; Hitler and Nazism; and Germany in a divided world. Six credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Surveys Spanish and Portuguese America, 15th to the 19th centuries. Themes include the indigenous, African and Iberian heritages of Latin America; the clash of civilizations and conquest in the Americas; the interaction of diverse cultures and the creation of new societies; the social, economic and cultural evolution of colonial Latin America; the age of piracy and challenges to the Spanish and Portuguese empires; the rise of hierarchies and inequalities based on gender, sexuality, ethnicity and class; and the struggle for independence. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024 and alternate years.

Introduces the political, social, economic and cultural history of Latin America from independence to the present. Themes include the struggles for independence; the creation of new nations and cultures in the 19th century; the abolition of slavery; the struggles of indigenous peoples to preserve their culture; modernization in the late 19th century; the evolution of social classes and ideas about ethnicity, gender, and sexuality; economic dependency and neocolonialism; nationalism and revolution; foreign intervention in Latin America; and the contemporary impact of democratization and globalization. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course examines economic, political, military, and cultural ties between Canada and the Global South during the 20th century.  The course explores how Canada's relationships with the Global South was shaped by its own colonial history and then examines different aspects of governmental, organizational, and person-to-person relations.  Topics will include: policies on immigration and refugees, business investments, concerns related to human rights, and international aid.  Cross-listed as DEVS 257. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

A survey of the European “long” 19th century from the French Revolution until the Great War. The course covers a variety of political, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual themes, including: Revolutionary/Napoleonic France, the Industrial Revolution, the age of ideologies (liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, socialism), bourgeois and working class society and culture, Italian/German unification, the evolution of gender roles, the rise of consumerism/material culture, scientific/technological/intellectual trends, the “new” Imperialism, and the origins of the Great War. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

A survey of the European “short” 20th century from the Great War to the collapse of the USSR. The course covers a variety of political, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual themes, including: the Great War/Russian Revolution, European society and culture during the “roaring 1920s”, the Great Depression, interwar dictatorships (Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Russia), World War II/the Holocaust, the Cold War, Decolonization, post-1945 economic prosperity and social change, intellectual/cultural trends and protest during the 1960s, and the fall of the Soviet Union. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 262 or HIST 260. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course surveys the political, social and economic history of Great Britain from the Acts of Union until the present. Over this period Britain shifted from an agrarian society ruled by aristocratic landowners to an industrialized nation comprised of distinct but complicated classes with competing interests. It also became an imperial power with possessions circling the globe. By the mid-20th century empire ended formally but this past still reshapes the social and political climate of Britain. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Britain was the world’s first modern superpower. From the late 18th century it dominated the world. This course will examine both the measurable of imperial domination, but also the intangibles; Britons themselves came to believe that they exemplified national characteristics that denoted imperial rulers. What led to that mindset, and how was it viewed by subject populations. Regional studies enable us to understand relationships between the metropole and the settlers, administrators and people of British colonies. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

This course will study the political, economic, cultural, and social origins of the Second World War - the largest and most deadly conflict in human history.  Indeed, combat on the seas, in the skies, and on the land ranged from virtually every corner of Europe as well as from the steaming jungles of Southeast Asia to the icy Aleutian Islands in Alaska. This course is both chronological and thematic in nature and built primarily around lectures; the latter will be complemented by audio-visual experiences, handouts, and discussions. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 292, HIST 297 (2020-2021), or HIST 299 (2017-2018). Not offered 2023-2024.

The topic for 2023-2024 is Historical Methods. What do historians do and how do they do it? This course introduces history students to the essential methods and practices within the historical discipline. It emphasizes skills in research, methods for assessing evidence and analyzing sources, and the tools that historians use for conducting research. In this course, students are asked to think about how and why history is written, and to evaluate how historians conduct their craft in the twenty-first century. Three credits

The topic for 2023-2024 is the USSR, 1917-1991. This course explores the political, economic, cultural, and social history of the USSR. Three credits.

The topic for 2023-2024 is British Empire Decolonize. Britain was the world’s first superpower but that rule was always challenged and by the mid-20C, nation-states systematically threw off western colonial rule. However, all history is about both continuity and change, and as formal empires ended, the informal institutions that had expanded along with empire continued to reinforce hierarchies of difference that shape our world into the present. This course examines decolonization in the modern British empire with a focus on tropical territories. Three credits.

This course will explore the scholarly literature on changing approaches to and experiences of health and embodiment in Canada over the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 20th century. Students will examine how historically situated and intersecting systems of power such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and ability shaped health and well-being. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

This course considers the emergence and reconstitution of a working class in Canada between1800-1910. The course examines three spheres of working-class life: the conditions that gave rise to permanent wage-labour in industry; the changing nature of the working-class household, and; the social and cultural dimensions of working-class communities and the challenges posed by moral reformers and mass commercial culture. The course attempts to determine the extent of working-class identity that has emerged in Canada and how it has changed. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

A continuation of HIST 303, this course considers the emergence and reconstitution of a working class in Canada from 1910-2010. The course attempts to determine the extent of working-class identity that has emerged in Canada and how it has changed into the contemporary era of the 21st century. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Examines Canada’s response to the atomic/nuclear age and divisions between the two superpowers from 1945-1991. Students will learn how the Cold War affected Canada and the West through a study of selected themes: political and cultural dimensions of the Red Scare; Canadian diplomacy during the Cold War; Canada’s role in the Vietnam War, and participation in NATO and NORAD; the influence of the Cold War on gender, business, labour, and popular culture. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course introduces students to major themes in the field of Canadian women’s and gender history. Covering the period from the late 16th century to the late 19th century, the course examines the historical development of women’s roles, experiences, identities and gender relations. Particular attention is given in this course to the impact of colonialism, and the intersection of gender, race, economic/class status, and Indigenous/non-Indigenous status in shaping women’s work, family roles, sexuality, political engagement and activism. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 317 or HIST 308. Cross-listed as WMGS 317. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course introduces students to major themes in the field of Canadian women’s and gender history. Covering the period from the late 19th century to the late 20th century, the course examines the historical development of women’s roles, experiences, identities and gender relations. Particular attention is given to the intersection of gender, race, economic/class status, and Indigenous/non-Indigenous status in shaping women’s work, family roles, sexuality, political engagement and activism. Cross-listed as WMGS 318. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

What is told? How is it told? Why is it told? And, who is telling the story? By examining a variety of events, hero figures, communities, regions and time periods, students will look critically at how Canadians have used myth and memory to create their pasts and to construct group identities and national narratives. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

This course traces the history of Canadian immigration, settlement, ethnicity, race relations, and multiculturalism to 1896. It demonstrates the central contribution of immigrants to the formation of Canada while also introducing important debates about immigration policy, refugees, minority rights, equality of opportunity, racism, ethnic identity, the commemoration of ethnic pasts, the creation of transnational communities, concepts of citizenship, and the policy of multiculturalism. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course traces the history of Canadian immigration, settlement, ethnicity, race relations, and multiculturalism from 1896 to the present. It demonstrates the central contribution of immigrants to the formation of Canada while also introducing important debates about immigration policy, refugees, minority rights, equality of opportunity, racism, ethnic identity, the commemoration of ethnic pasts, the creation of transnational communities, concepts of citizenship, and the policy of multiculturalism. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 323 or HIST 310. Offered online only.

Through in-depth case studies this course explores the impacts various epidemics had on historical cultures. Short-term medical responses will be examined along with longer-term economic, social, religious and cultural effects. Course content highlights how new scientific research has furthered understandings of historical diseases and how tudying historical diseases can help prepare us for the next pandemic. Case studies may include cancer, plague, syphilis, smallpox, leprosy, cholera, influenza, HIV/AIDS and Ebola. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course examines Cuban history from the early 19th century to the present. This includes the late stage of Spanish colonialism and the slave economy based on sugar, coffee and tobacco; the struggle for abolition and national independence; the Spanish-American War of 1898 and U.S. domination in the 20th century; the 1933 revolution and armed struggle against the Batista dictatorship; Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the socialist experiment; the Cold War and Cuba’s role in Latin America; and Cuban society in a post-Soviet world. The course will also address Afro-Cuban culture, gender and sexuality, and human rights. Prerequisite: HIST 255 or 256 recommended. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024 and in alternate years.

This history of pirates starts with Columbus and ends with Blackbeard. It addresses images of piracy in history and culture, and the nature of piracy. European powersused piracy to challenge Spain in Europe and the Americas. Topics include thepolitical economy of piracy, pirate republics, and the dynamics of class, race, gender, and sex. Instruction includes lectures, discussions, popular culture, and essays. There are no prerequisites, but familiarity with Latin American history is encouraged. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

This class explores late medieval conceptions of the physical body, which were always essential to identity in the Middle Ages. Medieval discussions of the practice of reading, clothing and fashion and even spiritual union with God, often involved debates and metaphors based upon the physical body.  Through an exploration of primary and secondary texts along with seminar discussions, the class will explore the interconnectedness of late medieval ideas of corporeality, identity, spirituality and sexuality. Cross-listed as WMGS 333. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

Common scholarly discourse posits that individualism developed in the wake of the “civilizing process” of the early modern period and the 18th-century Enlightenment. Yet many medieval scholars decry this chronology, citing examples of medieval people who seem to satisfy the requirements for modern individualism and exploring medieval theories of identity that permit the development of something like modern individualism. This course will explore and take part in this intense debate both by reading the scholarly literature on the subject and by reading primary sources that describe the experiences of medieval people. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 333 or HIST 330. Not offered 2023-2024.

Like people living in the modern West, medieval individuals marked significant rites of passage such as birth, marriage and death with rituals. In the medieval West, these rituals usually revolved around the Catholic Church. This class will explore the major rites of passage through which medieval peasants, townspeople and nobles alike marked their lives, exploring not only the meaning and purpose of the rituals, but the rich social lives of those individuals participating in them. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 334 or HIST 330. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course examines the history of modern Mexico from independence to the present. This includes the independence war of 1810-1821; civil war, rebellion, and banditry in the 19th century; indigenous peoples’ struggles to preserve their culture in the 19th and 20th centuries; foreign intervention and Mexican relations with North America and Europe. Special attention is paid to the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The course follows developments in the post-revolutionary era to explore popular culture, gender and sexuality, modernization, democracy and social justice. Prerequisite: HIST 255 or 256 recommended. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

A study of Canadian-American relations from the American Revolution to the modern era.  Topics include the founding of separate American and provincial societies; the tensions of continental and nationalist identities; the evolution of North American economy and culture; policy making and bilateral relations in NATO and the UN; post-9/11 security arrangements; complementary and conflicting national interests in political, military, economic, social, and cultural issues. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Explores the enduring importance of race in America. Survey of African American history includes slavery; white-black relations; abolition; the Civil War and Reconstruction; Jim Crow segregation; the Harlem Renaissance and the great migration; black nationalism; the long civil-rights movement; and conservative backlash to affirmative action. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

There is a long tradition of history - that is the written analysis of historical events - being used to underpin particular narratives of peoples and interests. Common examples include Thucydides suggesting that the growth of Athenian power made war with Sparta inevitable, the lack of substantive discussion of residential schools in Canadian history textbooks until very recently, and Vladimir Putin’s public addresses on the history of Ukraine arguing that it was historically Russian. By studying historiography, exploring the “history of history,” and the various approaches historians bring to their sources and writings, this course will help students understand how the discipline is grounded in present concerns and always written from a particular perspective. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 344 and HIST 445. Offered 2023-2024.

Examines the triumphs and failures of social movements from the post-Civil War era to the New Deal. Explores the nature of protest and its effectiveness in the era. Topics include radical Reconstruction; populism; women’ suffrage; radical pacifism; industrial unionism; and the unemployed people’s councils of the Great Depression. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Examines the triumphs and failures of social movements from New Deal era to the present. Students will study the tactics and achievements, as well as failures, of grassroots social movements. The nature of civil disobedience in the second half of the 20th century will be studied through topical case studies. Movements covered include industrial unionism; anti-nuclear activism; McCarthyism; black civil rights; gay rights; and the conservative backlash of groups such as Moral Majority.  Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Explores the history of immigration to the U.S. and the role of ethnicity in American social, cultural and political life. Topics include immigrant images of status and success; migration and return migration; American acculturation; bi-nationalism, and the persistence of ethnic identities; anti-immigrant xenophobia; and the construction of immigrants’ “white” identities. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Though tradition credits Christopher Columbus with beginning an age of exploration, Columbus himself knew that he drew from a long tradition of explorers who came before him including peoples as diverse as Islamic scholars, Venetian merchants, Basque fishermen and Viking sailors. He knew about the multicultural cities of Jerusalem and Karakorum where individuals from all over Eurasia traded knowledge and goods. This course will examine the science, technology, literature and history of exploration that so inspired Columbus and the extent to which the different cultures of the premodern world were interconnected by trade, pilgrimage and exploration. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Examines the tumultuous 1960s and situates the Canadian experience within the international context - primarily the USA and Western Europe. Connections will be made between civil rights movements, anti-colonialism, environmentalism, “second-wave” feminism, Québécois nationalism, the New Left, student activism, and the importance of the counter-culture. The course will retain a historical perspective but draw upon interdisciplinary scholarship. The decade’s lasting significance and its current invocation as a cultural and political artefact will be debated. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

This course examines major issues in the history of gender and sexuality in the new imperialism.  Themes to be covered include imperial families, race, gender and professionalism, gender, sexuality and citizenship, and women in imperialism and global movements. Cross-listed as WMGS 370. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

This course will explore the history of fascism from its late 19th-century origins to the present day. Topics include the political and doctrinal origins of fascism and its crystallization during the Great War; the fascistization of politics, economy and society in Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany; anti-Semitism; the appeal of fascism in interwar Europe; and its subsequent apogee during World War II and the Holocaust. Prerequisite: 6 credits at the 100 level, or permission of the instructor. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Topics include the Catholic Church on the eve of the Reformation, Christian humanism, Martin Luther and Lutheranism, John Calvin and Calvinism, Henry VIII and Anglicanism, radical reformers, women and witchcraft, the Jesuits and the Council of Trent, the wars of religion within the Holy Roman German Empire and in France, Philip II and his Grand Project, the rivalry between Spain and England, the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48), and the historiography of the Reformation. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Explores the history and legacy of the destruction of the Jews in Europe during World War II. Topics include anti-Semitism; the rise of the Nazis; euthanasia; the ghettos; the death camps; the actions of collaborationist regimes; Jewish and non-Jewish resistance; the role of ordinary Germans; the establishment of Israel; and post-war trials and controversies. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

Topics include: Confucianism; the dynastic cycles; the fall of the Ming dynasty; the Manchus; the intrusion of the West: the missionaries, the Canton System, the opium wars and the unequal treaties; the Taiping Rebellion; the failed attempts at modernization; the Boxer uprising; the revolution of 1911. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 372 and HIST 370. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Covers the revolution of 1911; warlordism; World War I and the May Fourth Movement; Sun Yatsen, Chiang Kaishek and the Guomindang; Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party; World War II (1937-45); the civil war (1945-49); the profound economic, social, cultural and political transformations of Communist China under Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Three credits. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 374 and HIST 370. Not offered 2023-2024.

The long 19th century was understood by Britons as ‘theirs’. An industrial powerhouse, grown on science and credit, Britain gained access to raw materials worldwide. Politically dynamic, British democracy went global, and a stable monarchy allowed for seemingly unparalleled Progress. Not everyone experienced this change in the same manner, however. It will explore how broad historical trends - changing ideals of citizenship and democracy, industrial growth, urbanism and the challenge of racial diversity - were experienced in this era. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Britain began the 20th century as a leading world power. By the end of the century this was much less the case, but the country had become one of the foremost welfare states. During this transformation, Britain faced important challenges in the two world wars, the ending of empire, and the Irish Question. This course deals with these and other challenges, and the responses to them. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

Beginning with the foundation of Tudor rule in 1485, the course will explore the Reformation under Henry VIII and the statecraft of Elizabeth I. Students will explore the social, economic, political, religious, and diplomatic developments during this period. Three credits. Not offered 2023-2024.

The topic for 2023-2024 is World War I: Causes and battles. This course explores the origins of the First World War, as well as the main battles fought in the various theaters of operations. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 391 or HIST 390. Three credits.

The topic for 2023-2024 is Medieval Christianity and the Church. Students will explore the development and history of Christian beliefs and culture during the Middle Ages (5th-15th centuries) in Europe and around the Mediterranean, focusing on topics such as missionaries, monasticism, the rise of the Papacy and the Roman Church, the Crusades, and popular religious devotion. Three credits.

The topic for 2023-2024 is Social Media Past and Present.  This course explores the history of journalism and the role of social media in Canada.  Beginning with newspaper publishing in the mid-eighteenth century and carrying forward into the twentieth century, students will explore how these forms helped create national and global interconnections.  Students will also consider the role of the World Wide Web and new interactive technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, and interests through virtual communities and networks. Three credits.

A comparative study of the history of sexuality during the modern period from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. Following a broadly chronological and thematic approach to a diverse history of sexualities, the course will explore in particular the changing meanings of and interconnections between sexuality, race, class and gender. Topics will include: indigenous sexual cultures; sexuality and colonialism; inter-racial sexual relationships; the ‘invention of heterosexuality’; moral panics, prostitution, the regulation of sexual desire; and sexual subcultures. Cross-listed as WMGS 398. Three credits.

The topic for 2023-2024 is World War I: Diplomacy and Home Fronts. This course explores the political, economic, cultural, and social aspects of the First World War. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 399 or HIST 390.  Three credits.

This course examines important themes and interpretations in Canadian history. The specific focus of the seminar will reflect the interests of the professor and the students. Three credits.

This course examines important themes and interpretations in Medieval European history. The specific focus of the seminar will reflect the interests of the professor and the students. Three credits.

This course examines important themes and interpretations in American history. The specific focus of the seminar will reflect the interests of the professor and the students. Three credits. Offered 2023-2024.

Explores major developments in 19th- and 20th-century European history. The specific focus of the seminar will reflect the interests of the professor and the students. Three credits.

This course examines important themes and interpretations in Latin American history. The specific focus of the seminar will reflect the interests of the professor and the students. Three credits.

Each student works under the supervision of a chosen professor who guides the selection of a thesis topic, use of resources, methodological component, quality of analysis and execution, and literary calibre of the final version. A student should have an appropriate course background in the selected thesis topic. Second readers will be selected on the approval of the thesis topic and consulted with the submission of the first chapter. Required for all honours students. Six credits.

The Selected Topic for 2023-2024 is Empire, Archives, and Destruction.  Archival records are the centre of historical investigation.  They are the raw material that allows historians to enter another world. This course investigates the legacy of empire and colonialism throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with special attention towards the British government's efforts to destroy records of that evidence their crimes.

The topic for 2023-2024 is Medieval Cult of the Saints. In this seminar, students will study medieval devotion to saints (the holy dead) through critical readings and discussion of primary sources and modern scholarship about saints, their relics, pilgrimage, and hagiography (saints’ biographies). Each student will prepare and write a formal research essay on a medieval saint or related topic. Three credits. 

Under the direction of a faculty member, students may pursue an individual program of study in an area of history not available in the course offerings.  For eligibility, see 3.5 of the academic calendar. Three or six credits.