Fall 2026 Courses

HIS 131: Europe from Antiquity to 1660: An expanding world
Prof. Hugh Thomas
Section 7C DIS, Class 5107, F 10:10am-11am
Section F LEC, Class 5108, MWF 1:25pm-2:15pm

This course will begin with the ancient world and end with the Protestant Reformation. In the process, we will briefly start with Mesopotamia and Egypt, move on to Greece and Rome, and then proceed through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. We will explore not only different civilizations but also different approaches to history. There will be two lectures each week and a third hour class period devoted to discussions of readings of primary sources posted on blackboard or available on the web. There will also be a textbook which will play an important role in the class. Grades will be based on exams, assignments based on the textbook, and participation in discussion.

HIS 161: Aztec Princesses, Spanish Conquistadors, and the Pirates of the Caribbean: Latin America to 1810
Prof. Marin Nesvig
Section S LEC, Class 5136, TTh 3:30pm-4:45pm

A survey of Spanish and Portuguese America from the pre-Columbian era through the end of the colonial period. The course offers consideration of the importance and impact of peoples from Iberia, Africa, and the Americas (indigenous peoples). Emphasis is on the cultural, political, religious, and social history of peoples in both pre-Hispanic as well as colonial Latin America. The course examines indigenous cultures of the Americas (Tainos, Aztecs, Incas, Tupi, e.g.) and the ways those cultures influenced Latin American societies, as well as the ways Spanish and Portuguese colonialism and African slavery spawned a new society.

HIS 201: History of Africa (to 1800)
Prof. Etana Dinka
Section R LEC, Class 5099, TTh 2pm-3:15pm

This course surveys selected themes in African history from the origins of agriculture to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its focus encompasses historical processes in African civilizations, statecraft, societies, cultures, economies, the environment, and demography across Africa’s diverse geographical regions and global encounters since the sixteenth century. It covers all geographical zones—north and south of the Sahara. We draw on primary sources, contemporary historical scholarship, and selected documentary films to represent myriad experiences in Africa’s past and the continent’s place in centuries of global interactions.

HIS 229: Consumer Society: A Global History
Prof. Eduardo Elena
Section CD LEC, Class 5137, MW 2pm-3:15pm

In the United States we are surrounded today with a seemingly limitless variety of consumer goods, and we are offered constant reminders of the increasingly globalized nature of modern life. Too often, however, such commentary reflects a shocking lack of historical understanding about the origins and evolution of contemporary consumption. Media coverage of consumption may be extensive, but it also betrays a superficial sense of how changes in consumer practices and aspirations have shaped societies across the world. This course offers a new perspective on these transformations by exploring the historical relationship between consumption and globalization. Spanning an arc from the fifteenth century to the present, the course explores the impact of innovations in trade, industry, and commercial culture on everyday life in multiple societies. The lectures and readings focus on case studies in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa that reveal underlying convergences and divergences worldwide as well as the unresolved social, ethical, and environmental problems associated with the rise of modern modes of consumption on a global scale.

Through weekly discussions and written assignments, students will hone their talents for historical interpretation, including critical thinking and writing skills that are essential for success at UM and after graduation. The goal is to provide course members with a deeper, historically grounded understanding of present-day debates over the characteristics and future of consumption.

HIS 267: Making History- Asian Food in the United States
Prof. Sumita Chaterjee
Section CD LEC, Class 11172, MW 10:10am-11:25am

This course studies the transformative journey of Asian culinary traditions and foodways as they have been woven into the fabric of American culture. We will examine how Asian immigrant communities, from early Chinese, Sikh, and Japanese laborers during the Gold Rush and railroad development to more recent Asian immigrants adapted their food practices to new social, economic, and political landscapes. We will explore the ways by which Asian Americans shaped our nation’s palate, influenced farming techniques, the farm-to-table movement, set up restaurants and created our love for Chinese take-out! Students will explore the evolution of dishes, ingredients, and culinary techniques through historical documents, oral histories, media representations, and gastronomic analysis from diverse Asian communities in the US — Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Filipino among others. By uncovering how Asian food both shaped and was reshaped by American society, the course invites students to critically engage with themes of immigration, cultural identity, authenticity, consumer behaviors, and innovation, ultimately demonstrating that food is a powerful medium for understanding history and forging community bonds. This course will use a feminist intersectional lens to study the above themes.

HIS 267: Making History- Film & U.S. History
Prof. Kevan Malone
Section O, Class 11171, TTh 9:30am-10:45am

This course examines the history of the United States since World War I through the prism of cinema. Students watch seven assigned movies outside of class during the semester—about one full movie every two weeks. These “zeitgeist” narrative films are set in their present days and reflect ideological currents and cultural trends of their periods. During some seminars, students watch and discuss scenes from additional films reflecting the culture and ideology of their times. In other weeks, they examine American historical memory of subjects depicted in scenes from films set in the past. Movies range from the eras of Hollywood's silent film and pre-code talkies to the renaissance of the late 1960s and beyond. Supplementary readings help students analyze such cinematic themes as wealth and poverty, capital and labor, political radicalism and reaction, race and ethnicity, American national identity, migration, cultural nostalgia, and more. The course will appeal to cinephiles, students of American cultural history, or anyone curious about how fictional cinema can help us narrate the past to better understand the present.

HIS 302: History on Trial: Law and American Society
Prof. Hannah Hicks
Section P, Class 11076, TTh 11:00am-12:15pm

In this course we will explore major trends and transformations in American legal history with attention to how historical context and societal change has shaped law in the U.S. We will read and discuss a variety of texts, from lawsuits, statutes, and legal opinions to articles by historians, literature, and transcripts from famous American trials. Topics include transformations in constitutional law and conceptions of citizenship, the law of slavery and emancipation, the growth of the federal state, race and civil rights, women’s relationship to law, labor law, voting rights, and criminal law. Throughout the course, we will pay particular attention to the complex relationship between law and liberty and to the tensions between law on the books and how ordinary Americans used law on the ground in local courts.

HIS 313: Bollywood and Beyond: Religion, Gender and Politics in South Asian film
Prof. Sumita Chaterjee
Section GH LEC, Class 53103, MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

This course studies themes in Indian society through the lens of Indian cinema - Bollywood and the regional film industry. The course consists of five modules each lasting between two to three weeks. Module one will situate and frame the entire semester’s readings with discussion of a brief history of Bollywood and regional cinema, their respective influence and limits in framing, valorizing and/or critiquing societal and cultural norms. Each subsequent module will open to lecture and discussion with the screening of a Bollywood film (often an excerpt), regional cinema or a documentary. The important themes that will be covered in the modules will relate to a) the significance and perversion of caste in Indian society — film mis/representations; b) the multiple cinematic and popular representations and framing of the religious epic - the Ramayana. Using multiple visual and textual narratives of the Ramayana we will discuss the place of myths, religious ideology, and visual culture in the construction of politics and society; c) issues of gender and sexuality - studying the shaping of celluloid goddesses and real lives of women, consumption of sex, queering of it and its depiction in film and reception in society; d) post-colonial engagement with modernity in India — through the lens of the nation state and its women, as well as the nation and its “others” — through the lens of nationalist cinema e) diaspora

HIS 316: Modern China
Prof. Stephen Halsey
Section GH LEC, Class 3130, MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

China has become one of the most powerful countries in the world in the early twenty-first century, and some commentators believe that it may come to dominate the international system within several decades. Yet during the past hundred and fifty years, it has witnessed three revolutions, fought eight major wars, and suffered the largest manmade famine in human history in the early 1960s. How can we reconcile this tumultuous past with China’s growing stature on the world stage today? This course examines China’s changing place in the global order from the late seventeenth century to the present, arguing that the origins of its current power lie as much in the country’s past as in the economic reforms of the past twenty-five years. In the first third of this course, we will discuss China’s last ruling dynasty (1644-1911), the Qing, addressing topics such as rebellion, the opium trade, imperialism, and foot-binding. We will then examine the Republican era (1911-1949), which saw the rise of Chinese nationalism, the outbreak of civil war, and the Japanese invasion of 1937. In the final third of the semester, we will discuss the communist revolution, Maoist policies such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and the rapid development of China’s economy since 1978.

HIS 331: England to the Accession of the Tudor Dynasty (to 1485)
Prof. Hugh Thomas
Section HI LEC, Class 5120, MW 3:35pm-4:50pm

This course will cover the history of England from the Roman invasions to the seizure of power by Henry Tudor in 1485. It will cover such topics as the creation of English identity, the unification of England, relations with Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, the Norman Conquest, and wars with France. We will also explore various topics concerning culture, religion, economic decline and development, and sex and gender. There will be a textbook and several books containing sources from the period in modern English translation. Grades will be based on exams, participation in discussion, and papers

HIS 341: History of the Third Reich
Prof. Hermann Beck
Section S LEC, Class 5121, TTh 3:30pm-4:45pm

This lecture course offers a comprehensive survey of the history of Nazi Germany from the early beginnings of pre-fascist movements in Central Europe before the First World War to the final and ignominious collapse of the Nazi regime in 1945. The main topics covered include the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi party in the 1920s; the last years of the Weimar Republic and Hitler’s rise to power; the crucial first phase of the regime that ended with the consolidation of Nazi rule in 1934; social, economic, and cultural developments in Nazi Germany; anti-Semitic attacks during the years leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War; Nazi foreign policy; Germany during the Second World War; and the Holocaust. Readings for this class include autobiographies and diaries from contemporaries as well as an array of translated primary sources. In addition, documentaries during the course of the semester complement written sources to bring the material to life.

HIS 346: Imperial Russia
Prof. Krista Goff
Section O LEC, Class 5109, TTh 9:30am-10:45am

This course is a survey of the Russian Empire from the thirteenth century to the dawn of the 1917 Russian Revolution. We will integrate local histories of imperial peripheries (including Siberia, Central Asia, Crimea, and the Caucasus) into the major themes that have defined Russian history. Topics covered will include: the politics, technologies, and practices of imperial expansion and rule; debates about “westernization” and Russian identity; serfdom and peasant life; industrialization and modernization; revolutionary and reactionary currents in the nineteenth century; state reforms; and the turbulent atmosphere leading up to the Russian Revolution

HIS 353: History of Cuba
Prof. Michael Bustamante
Section R LEC, Class 5123, TTh 2:00pm-3:15pm

The development of the Cuban nation, from the late-nineteenth century to the present. This course pays particular attention to the Revolution (leading up to and after 1959) as a contested historical process and experience. In addition to historical scholarship, students will engage a range of primary source materials, including visual art, literature, and film.

HIS 363: The Early Republic (1783-1815)
Prof. Ashli White
Section P LEC, Class 5116, TTh 11:00am-12:15pm

Beginning with the end of the American Revolution and concluding with the War of 1812, this course examines the earliest years of the U.S. republic. We explore both internal and international influences on the making of the United States: everything from the wrangling over the Constitution, the rise of the first political parties, and constant challenges from Indigenous and enslaved people to the impact of the French and Haitian revolutions, relations with the Caribbean, and the ever-present specter of Britain. During our consideration, we pay close attention not only to political and economic developments, but to cultural and social changes as well.

HIS 388: The Vietnam War
Prof. Kevan Malone
Section EF LEC, Class 11170, MW 12:20pm-1:35pm

This course examines the history of the Vietnam War and its political, social, and cultural impacts in the United States. Lectures cover the entire two-decade conflict—from the collapse of French colonial rule on the Indochina Peninsula in the 1950s to the North Vietnamese capture of Saigon in 1975—and its aftermath. With an emphasis on the period of the U.S. ground war from 1965 to 1972, the course incorporates scholarly historical literature, primary sources, documentary films, narrative movies, and music. Students explore the follies of U.S. policymakers under five administrations, class dimensions of the military draft, the antiwar movement, the reaction of the “silent majority,” racial politics at home and in the military, and news coverage—from nightly television broadcasts to the investigative exposés of the My Lai massacre and the Pentagon Papers. The course concludes with an examination of American historical memory of the Vietnam War and the “long 1960s” through the prism of cinema during the late twentieth century.

HIS 447: Global History
Prof. Krista Goff
Section O LEC, Class 5145, TTh 12:30pm-1:45pm

This is an advanced lecture and discussion course. In this class, we will study the early evolution of Marxian thought and its application in communist states. We will discuss the example of the Soviet Union in particular, but also draw on other case studies to explore the diversity of communist ideas. Students will develop skills in analytical thought as well as in vocal and written expression.

HIS 544: Studies in Modern European History
Prof. Hermann Beck
Section 5G SEM, Class 3129, W 2:30pm-5:15pm

This seminar focuses on the Weimar Republic and Hitler's rise to power. The Republic was born out of defeat in World War I, politically unstable but intellectually vibrant, culturally far ahead of its age but beset by political disasters — Inflation, the Great Depression, and the Rise of Nazism — that would ultimately lead to its downfall. This seminar explores the social, political, economic, and intellectual trends in the ill-fated Weimar Republic from the end of World War I to the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. In the first two-thirds of the course, we concentrate on Weimar’s history with an emphasis on the rise of the Nazi party, using a variety of (translated) primary sources and diplomatic reports from the British and American embassies in Berlin. The latter part of the course is devoted to a discussion of more specialized topics and student presentations.

HIS 561: Reconstruction: Race, Rights, and An Unfinished Revolution in the Wake of the Civil War
Prof. Hannah Hicks
Section 5R SEM, Class 5133, Th 2:00pm-4:45pm

This seminar focuses on Reconstruction, the period after the Civil War and one of the most dynamic and contested eras in U.S. history. We will explore changes in federal policy and law as well as the actions and ideas of people on the ground, such as African Americans claiming freedom and civil rights and Native Americans resisting settler encroachment. We will read, discuss, and write about how people at the time made sense of the period they were living through, how historians have interpreted Reconstruction and its legacy in the last century and a half, and how Americans have collectively remembered—and not remembered—this era in public history and popular culture.

HIS 565: Studies in American Political and Diplomatic History
Prof. Kevan Malone
Section 1G SEM, Class 11169, M 2:30pm-5:15pm

This seminar examines the history of American political culture in relation to both domestic and international affairs since the early twentieth century. Rather than historical accounts, students read selections from some of the most influential texts in American political thought through the years. Topics include the ascendance of the United States as a global leader, the rise and decline of the New Deal political order, the Cold War at home and abroad, political realignments, and neoliberalism. With an emphasis on reading and writing, the seminar will appeal to ambitious students who wish to develop their critical thinking faculties and their prose without generative AI. While any students with intellectual curiosities about the American political tradition will find the seminar engaging, those with professional ambitions in politics, government, law, and education will find it especially valuable.

HIS 591: Mapping New Worlds
Prof. Ashli White
Section IR, Class 5122, T 2:00pm-4:45pm

In this seminar we will work with the library’s world-renowned Kislak Collection, a trove of primary sources related to the age of exploration. We will examine how the so-called “New World” was represented in maps and other navigational materials as well as the diverse populations—mariners, officials, soldiers, cartographers, the enslaved, and Indigenous people—whose knowledge contributed to their fabrication. Our goal is to understand how these items were made, used, and circulated, and in so doing, how they contributed to creating the early modern Atlantic world. As part of the course, students will have the opportunity to apply recent mapping technologies (such as Story Maps and ArcGIS) to tell new stories about these old maps.

HIS 641: Field Preparation: Colonial Latin America
Prof. Martin Nesvig
Section 1P LEC, Class 5101, T 11:00am-1:45pm

An introduction to central historical issues and historiographical debates in the field of Colonial Latin America.

HIS 719: Imperialism and Colonialism: European Expansion in Africa C. 1875-1945.
Prof. Edmund Abaka
Section D, Class 11148, M 11:15am-2:00pm

This course deals with European conquest, partition, and consolidation of spheres of influence in Africa from about 1875-1945. It examines the rationale for the European conquest of Africa, African responses to the conquest of the continent, the overthrow of colonialism and independence, and the post-independence period. We will investigate specific issues such as the scramble and partition of Africa (the various European countries involved and their specific agendas), the establishment of Indirect Rule (British), Assimilation and Association (French), and other administrative systems (Belgian, German) of the colonial period. In addition, we will take an in-depth look at the political economy of colonialism, the rise of nationalism, the formation of nationalist movements, and the struggle for independence. Why is the post-independence period characterized by civil wars, genocide, political and economic instability and why have many professionals left Africa for Europe and North America? The events we discuss during this time frame of 1875-1945 will help us to answer these questions.

HIS 721: Historiography
Prof. Stephen Halsey
Section IR SEM, Class 5106, W 11:15am-2:00pm

This reading colloquium will introduce doctoral students to the theory and practice of writing history since the middle of the twentieth century in the Euro-American academy. The instructor will take the position that the writing of history resembles a professional craft, combining the elements of an art and a science. He will also argue for the broad influence of a narrow range of narrative archetypes and identify an affinity between forms of historical and literary storytelling. Readings will focus on the period since 1600 and address geographic and thematic areas as diverse global environmental history, gender history in early modern France, and the social history of upland Southeast Asia. This seminar will introduce a range of different genres of historical writing, exploring in particular the ways that history has engaged with the disciplines of literature and anthropology. Students will learn how to analyze the logical structure of scholarly arguments, evaluate the use of historical sources and evidence, and identify the ideological framework that informs a given historical work. They will also have an opportunity to hone their analytical writing skills and to assess a corpus of historical literature related to either their MA project or qualifying exam lists.

HIS 722: Dissertation Prospectus Seminar
Prof. Etana Dinka
Section 5P SEM, Class 5143, Th 11:00am-1:45pm

This is a graduate seminar designed to help students write their dissertation prospectus. The seminar helps students to craft a dissertation project and contextualize it within the broader, relevant historiographical context. It involves scaffolded activities: drafting, group reading, exchanging comments and feedback, mutual student criticism, and revision.