History Department

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 101 or HIST 100. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 102 or HIST 100. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

W.E.B. Du Bois stated, “The problem of the colour 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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 121 and HIST 110, HIST 111, HIST 141. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

W.E.B. Du Bois stated, “The problem of the colour 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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 122 or HIST 110, HIST 112, HIST 132, HIST 142. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 141 or HIST 110, HIST 111, HIST 121. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 142 or HIST 110, HIST 112, HIST 122, HIST 132. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 203 or HIST 250. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

This course will explore the oft-ignored and increasingly important field of public history. Given that the vast majority of people encounter 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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 205, HIST 297 (2021-2022), or HIST 399 (2018-2019). Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 213 or HIST 113. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 215 or HIST 115. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Cross-listed as ART 223. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 223 or HIST 297 (2016-2017). Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Cross-listed as ART 236. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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 2024-2025.

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 2024-2025.

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. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 292, HIST 299 (2017-2018) or HIST 297 (2020-2021). Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

The topic for 2024-2025 is Historical Methods and Practices. 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 in 2023-2024 is The USSR, 1917-1991. This course explores the political, economic, cultural, and social history of the USSR. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 298 and HIST 320. 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 2024-2025.

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. Offered 2024-2025.

Cuban history from the19th century to present. This includes the Spanish colonialism and the slave economy; struggles for abolition and independence; Spanish-American War of 1898 and 20th century U.S. domination; the 1933 revolution and struggle against Batista dictatorship; Fidel Castro, Che Guevara socialism; the Cold War Cuba in Latin America; and post-Soviet Cuba. Prerequisite: HIST 255 or 256 recommended. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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 powers used piracy to challenge Spain in Europe and the Americas. Topics include the political 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 2024-2025.

This course examines the (Gaelic) history of Scotland from earliest times to the present. Topics include the Dalriadic Scots and the kingdom of Alba, the Gaelic church, the Kingdom and Lordship of the Isles, rise of the clans, decline of Gaelic, the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Reformation and union with England. Cross-listed as CELT 331. Three credits.

This course will follow the fortunes of the Gaels of the Highland diaspora. Emphasis is placed on studying the Highland settlements of North America with an in-depth look at the history of the Gaels in the Maritime Provinces, particularly Nova Scotia, from the earliest settlements to more recent times. Cross-listed as CELT 332. Three credits.

Popular culture often presents the Church as all-powerful and medieval inquisitions their chosen tool of oppression. Yet the historical reality is much more complicated than that. Through an in-depth 6-week role play, this class explores the interconnections between individual identity and societal expectations, doctrinal debate and dogma, heresy and resistance, inquisition and power. Cross-listed as ART 333. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

This course explores the political, economic, cultural, and social history of Eastern Europe, 1914-1945. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 338 or HIST 325. Offered 2024-2025.

This course explores the political, economic, cultural, and social history of Eastern Europe, 1939-1995. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 339 or HIST 325. Offered 2024-2025.

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 a 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. Offered 2024-2025.

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. 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. Credit will be granted for only one of HIST 344 or HIST 445. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Prerequisites: 6 credits HIST at the 100 level or permission of the instructor. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

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. Cross-listed as ART 383. Three credits. Offered 2024-2025.

The topic for 2024-2025 is History Workshop. How do historians develop an original research project? In this lively seminar-style workshop course about Canadian experiences within and beyond its borders, students will learn how to evaluate and contextualize primary sources, locate relevant secondary scholarship, and develop original historical analysis. As part of the workshop nature of this course, students will revise their writing with peer-reviewers, participate in group discussions, and prepare a formal presentation to share their research findings. 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. Offered 2024-2025.

The topic for 2024-2025 is Medicine and Miracle: Medieval Healing Traditions. When confronted with sickness, medieval people possessed a variety of different explanations and a vast range of healing methods. They could use herbal remedies, visit a physician, call an exorcist, visit the tomb of a saint, or recite a magical charm. Through the close reading of medieval primary sources, students in this course will explore the religious, medical, philosophical, and social approaches brought to healing in Late Antique and Medieval Europe. Cross-listed as RELS 399. Three credits.

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. Offered 2024-2025.

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 topic for 2024-2025 is History Under Review. In this seminar, students will learn how to engage with and effectively critique historical scholarship. Through directed readings, seminar discussions, and independent study, students will develop their critical thinking skills and hone their ability to create meaningful original analysis about how historians develop historical and historiographical arguments. The theme for 2025 will be global history. Three credits.

The topic for 2024-2025 is The Black Death: Plague and Medieval Society. Black death was an epidemic of plague, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, that killed roughly half of all people in Europe, Asia, and North Africa in the fourteenth century CE, and remained endemic for the next four centuries. In this course students will study plague’s profound impact on later medieval society, religion, and science in the period ca.1350-1500 CE through traditional documentary research in conjunction with the latest scientific discoveries about plague made through bioarcheology and paleomicrobiology. Cross-listed as RELS 498. Three credits.