Fall 2025 Course Guide

The following courses will automatically satisfy the non-western requirement:

• HIST 116 History of Japan
• HIST 117 Science and Society in Modern China
• HIST 130 Middle East History I
• HIST 220 Capitalism and Alternatives in Latin America
• HIST 301 Women and Gender in Latin America
• HIST 345 China in the 19th Century
• HIST 492CW China at War

The following courses will automatically satisfy the pre-1500 requirement: 

• HIST 100 Western Thought to 1600
• HIST 204 Ancient Rome
• HIST 303 Later Middle Ages

The following courses will satisfy the Gen Ed Integrative Experience Requirement for students for whom history is their primary major:

• HIST 394RI Comparative Revolutions in the Modern Era
• Possible second IE TBD, we will update when we know more

The following courses will satisfy the Junior Year Writing requirement:

• HIST 450-01 History of Policing in the Modern US
• HIST 450-02 The Ancient World in Popular Media
• HIST 450-04 Biography

HIST 100-01 with D. Gordon, MW 10:10-11:00am and Friday discussions

or

HIST 100-02 with A. Taylor, TuTh 1:00-2:15pm, no discussions

The Western intellectual tradition continues to shape the way that Americans think about the world and their place in it. This course introduces students to key developments in the intellectual, cultural, and religious history of the West from ancient Greece to the Italian Renaissance. We will focus on foundational texts, like Homer's Iliad and the Bible. We will learn about the ideas and debates these texts have bequeathed to Western culture. A major theme running through the course will be the role of women in the Western thought. History 100 is a Historical Studies (HS) general education course. This course introduces students to important skills in the discipline of history: the ability to decipher old texts, to combine different sources into a unified interpretation, to compare and contrast cultures, to write clearly, to provide proper footnotes, and more. 

B. Bunk

MW 9:05-9:55am, Friday discussion

The goal of the course is to introduce the methods and approaches of historical study and to understand the development of key aspects of pre-modern world history. The course examines human interaction in specific situations emerging through time, including the development of significant social, political, or economic institutions or ideologies. Students are exposed to historically important events, developments, and processes as a way of teaching them to understand the present and direct their futures as well as gain an awareness of and appreciation for an historical perspective. The readings include a variety of primary and secondary sources in order to better analyze and understand the diversity of global norms and values and the way they change over time. The course work emphasizes the development of critical thinking and writing skills. Assignments include multiple written assignments and engagement with the course materials and topics. This course fulfills the non-western and pre-1500 requirement for history majors and the historical studies (HS) and global diversity (DG) portion of the General Education program. 4 credits

G. Washington

MW 1:25-2:15pm, Friday discussions

This survey class is a journey through the social, cultural, political, economic and religious developments in Japan since 1800. We’ll go from the 18^th-century kabuki stage and the samurai castle to the military barracks and factory floor behind Japanese imperialism to the crowded trains and hip-hop-filled streets of Harajuku in 21^st-century Tokyo. We will examine how much Japan has changed, but also much about the lines of continuity that run from the past to the present through a textbook and a few short scholarly pieces. The course also aims to humanize the history of the Japanese people through first-hand accounts ranging from diary, letter, newspaper, play, and novel excerpts to government documents, comic books, paintings, photos, and other sources. You will leave this course equipped with the information and tools needed to acknowledge and understand the vividness and complexity of Japan, its position in East Asia and the world, and its special relationship with the United States. Beyond studying our topic, however, you will also develop important critical thinking and analytical writing skills that will help you to reflect and communicate more effectively in general.

S. Schmalzer

MW 12:20-1:10pm, Friday discussions

Science has meant many things in modern Chinese history. It has been pursued as a force for sovereignty, enlightenment, civilization, modernity, economic development, social transformation, political liberation, state authority, democracy, populism, individual opportunity, international solidarity, global power, and more. This course will explore how science has shaped modern Chinese history and the roles played by scientists in supporting and challenging the state. It will also examine how specific social, cultural, and political contexts have shaped the practice and policy of science in China, and how the specific visions for science that have emerged there have influenced and inspired people within the country and around the world. Throughout the course, we will be attuned to the effects of power relations on the history of science in China, including the Chinese state’s geopolitical maneuverings in the contexts of colonialism and the Cold War, revolutionary challenges to ivory-tower elitism, and scientists’ struggles to find their voices within and against the state.

H. Scott

MW 11:15-12:05pm, plus Friday discussions

This course surveys the history of colonial Latin America, examining the encounters between Iberians, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and African peoples over the course of three centuries. The class explores the reciprocal effects of this contact. What effects did the conquest have on the peoples, cultures, environments, and demography of the Americas? What were the characteristics of the societies, cultures, and environments that emerged from this ongoing process of contact, conflict, and colonialism? We examine, among other themes, experiences and portrayals of conquest, the formation of colonial communities, the role of the Catholic Church, slavery and the formation of racialized caste systems, everyday life in colonial society, and the collapse of empire in the early nineteenth century. Opposing viewpoints and historiographical debates set the tone for at least some lectures and discussions. We make frequent use of textual and visual primary source materials throughout the semester. Assignments for the course include a midterm exam, an assignment based on the analysis of historical sources, a book review, and active participation.

A. Broadbridge

TuTh 2:30-3:45pm (no discussion sections)

You will gain an understanding of the history of the Islamic Middle East from the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in the sixth century until the advent of the Mongols in the thirteenth. You will study the chronological narrative of Islamic history, and the major themes, issues, complexities and contradictions that make this history interesting. You will also learn about key misconceptions on Middle Eastern or Islamic topics.

Instructor TBD

MW 9:05-9:55am, Friday discussions

This course surveys the history of the United States to the end of Reconstruction. Through readings, lectures, and discussions we will examine the social, cultural, and political histories of the peoples living within what is now the United States. Focusing on the aspirations, tribulations, and experiences of a large cast of historical actors, we will explore the multiple ways in which notions of belonging, liberty, equality, and Americanness were shaped and reshaped from the 16^th to the 19^th century.

J. Fronc

TuTh 10:00-10:50am, Friday discussions

This course will provide students with an understanding of American political, social, and economic history from the period of Reconstruction in the late 19th century through the late 20th century. The course explores politics and culture, as well as the interactions of race, class, and gender in U.S. history. Particular attention will be paid to struggles for justice, African American history, and women’s history. Primary source readings will be emphasized.

B. Ogilvie

MW 10:10-11:00am, Friday discussions

Science and technology are important aspects of the modern world. Where did they start? How did they develop? This course approaches the history of science and technology in the Western world by focusing on three aspects: (1) the origins and development of Greek natural philosophy, seen as a part of Greek culture and society; (2) the encounter of Roman, Islamic, and medieval European civilizations with Greek natural philosophy and its transformation in those new settings, especially medieval Europe; and (3) the so-called “Scientific Revolution” of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the place of craft (technical) knowledge in it.

The course has no prerequisites, though a background in Mediterranean and European history is helpful.

T. Hart

TuTh 1:00-2:15pm

This course, which satisfies the GenEd requirement for Historical Studies (HS), is a survey of Roman history covering over a millennium, from the city’s earliest beginnings in the 6th century BCE until the emergence of its political heirs during the 5th through 7th centuries CE. In this course you will learn about the major social processes and events that shaped the Mediterranean world into a single political entity for the first - and only - time in history. While this course follows a roughly chronological path, your journey through Roman history will be guided by three enduring, thematic questions:

1. What did it mean to be a Roman, over time? What characteristics/beliefs did Romans consider crucial to their identity? How did Romans think about and identify non-Romans? What were the social and political duties of a Roman citizen? What were the benefits? How could one become a Roman? Could someone stop being a Roman?
2. How do we know what we know about the Romans? What kinds of evidence do we use to reconstruct the Roman past? How do we understand and evaluate ancient texts and other types of evidence? How have modern scholars and others thought about the Romans? What does it mean to be an historian?
3. Why is the Roman Empire important? What, if anything, set the Romans apart from other ancient societies? Why was the “Roman project” so successful for so long? What factors ultimately led to the collapse of the imperial system? How does the legacy of Rome impact our contemporary world?

As we discuss topics such as Rome’s transition from republic to empire, the administration of a Mediterranean empire, the impact of Christianity, and the so-called “barbarian invasions,” you will read a wide range of ancient texts, and develop skills in critical analysis and written expression. This course requires no prior knowledge and is open to all.

K. Young

MW 10:10-11:00am, Friday discussions

Why have poverty and inequality been so persistent in Latin American history? What strategies have different people proposed to deal with these problems, and with what consequences? In attempting to answer these questions, we will survey the major periods in Latin American and Caribbean economic development, focusing on the last 150 years. Recurring issues will include natural resource extraction, industrialization, labor conditions and class hierarchy, control of the workplace, environmental impacts, the “segmentation” of the workforce along racial, gender, and other hierarchies, the role of the state in the economy, foreign intervention, and the relationship of democracy to the economy. We will pay close attention to the relationship between the economy and political power, social movements, and the non-human environment. This is not an economics course, but rather a course on how people have thought about, and tried to influence, the economy. No prior training in economics or Latin American history is necessary.

S. Ware

TuTh 10:00-11:15am

This course is an intensive honors class studying the Christian tradition through an historical lens. The course is ordered chronologically, following the religion as it spread from a local persecuted minority to the world's largest religion. Map quizzes will reinforce the geography of that expansion, and themes will include: Jesus in the Mediterranean world, internal tensions, defining the faith, alliances with political forces, effects on cultures encountered. Art and architecture will illustrate expressions of the faith.

M. Yoder

TuTh 2:30-3:45pm

An historical, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of families in America.  We will examine the histories of various groups, exploring how these experiences have resulted in different family dynamics.  We will then take up the question of the continuing relevance of race, ethnicity, and social class to families in America today and to the discussion of family in American politics.

R. Chu

TuTh 1:00-2:15pm

This is an introductory survey course on the history of Asian/Pacific/Americans (A/P/A) within the broader historical context of imperialisms in the Asia-Pacific region. We will compare and contrast the historical experiences of specific groups of the A/P/A community; namely, those of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian (Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Hmong), Asian Indian, and Pacific Islander descent. The main component of this course is reading Erika Lee’s Making of Asian America and other course-related materials. Topics will include the early migration of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Indian laborers; the Chinese exclusion laws; internment of Japanese Americans; U.S. involvement in the wars in the Pacific, Korea and Southeast Asia; the subsequent immigration of peoples from South Asian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian countries to the U.S.; and their current position within an increasingly isolationist American society in an increasingly globalized and transnational world.

E. Hamilton

MW 10:10-11:00am, Friday discussions

This course investigates the social meaning of medicine, health care, and disease in the U.S. from 1600 to the present.  Major topics will include: the evolution of beliefs about the body; medical and social responses to infectious and chronic disease; the rise of medical science and medical organizations; the development of medical technologies; and the role of public and government institutions in promoting health practices and disease treatments.  To explore the human experience of medicine, readings will address the experience of being ill, the delivery of compassionate care, the nature of the relationship between practitioner and patient, and ethics.  Throughout the semester, the class will link medicine to broad issues in American history by examining:  

1. the effects of class, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, lifestyle, and geographic region on health and medical care 
2. cultural and religious diversity in medical expression 
3. the intersections of politics, science/technology, consumerism, social movements, industry, the economy, and health care 
4. the role of the marketplace in shaping professional identities, patient expectations, and outcomes 
5. the training of medical practitioners, their role, and image  
6. media and health activism as influencers in individual and public health 
7. the global nature and politics of disease and medicine 

 Course materials will include recent scholarly literature in the history of medicine, writings by physicians and patients, historical documents, films, websites, audio interviews, and artifact studies.

J. Nye

Th 10:00-12:30

This course examines the legal status of women in the United States, focusing specifically on the 20th and 21st centuries. How has the law used gender, sex, sexuality, and race to legally enforce inequality between women and men (and among women)?  We will examine the legal arguments feminists have used to advocate for legal change and how these arguments have changed over time, paying specific attention to debates about whether to make legal arguments based on formal equality, substantive equality, liberty, or privacy. We will also consider the pros and cons of using the law to advocate for social justice. Specific issues that may be covered include the civil and political participation of women (voting, jury service), employment discrimination, intimate relationships, reproduction, contraception and abortion, violence against women, women as criminal defendants, and women as law students, lawyers, and judges.  Prior law-law related coursework helpful, but not required. This course counts as an additional course for the Five College Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Certificate.  Please note: this is not a History gen ed course.

A. Nash

TuTh 10:00-11:15

Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS) is an emerging field that centers Indigenous perspectives and protocols. The NAIS framework of this class introduces students to the history of Indigenous peoples in the U.S. with explicit connections to topics that are relevant for STEM majors. Discussions will include the impact of racism and ongoing colonization in the academy and in the world; the difference between knowledge and wisdom; and how to decolonize and indigenize STEM.

HIST 275-01 with A. Donson, MW 2:30-3:45pm

or

HIST 275-02 with B. Ogilvie, MW 4:00-5:15pm

This course provides history majors with an introduction to the philosophy of history, historical methodology, and general schools of historiography. We will consider how historians inside and outside the academy pose questions, and how they find, select, evaluate, interpret, and analyze evidence in order to propose answers to those questions. Finally, we will reflect as well upon questions about the purposes and goals of both studying and writing history.

J. Wolfe

MW 1:25-2:15pm, Friday discussions

This class examines the history of American gridiron football from its earliest days as a game played primarily at elite colleges through its development into the most popular spectator sport in the United States. The class examines the complex and contentious history of race and ethnicity in football, and its place in American politics from Theodore Roosevelt’s intervention to keep the sport legal to present-day controversies over everything from race and sexuality to patriotism.

You can do an internship for history credit and have it count for one course towards the major requirements; the history internship coordinator has an extensive list of suggestions to get you started, in all kinds of places, including archives, museums, historic sites, nonprofits, law offices, businesses, etc. You can email @email to set up a meeting to learn more and find out about internship opportunities. 

In order to earn credit for an internship you need to identify a faculty sponsor within the UMass History Department and work with them to determine how you will reflect or report on the relevance of your internship for history. Once you have come to an agreement with your faculty sponsor, they will request that you be enrolled in the course by the department. Note, internships are pass/ fail.

D. Sierra-Becerra

TuTh 10:00-11:15am

What happens to our understanding of history when gender is at the center of our analysis? This course will use gender as an analytical lens to study key themes and periods of Latin American history, from the European conquest of the Americas to the present-day neoliberal era. It will show gender shapes power relations, including institutions, social relationships, and identities. Together, we will learn how the individual and collective actions of women, from witches to revolutionaries, have transformed Latin America.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Understand key themes in Latin American history
• Understand how gender operates and intersects with multiple forms of power
• Recognize the historical processes that have shaped gender roles over time
• Sharpen their critical thinking, reading, writing, and communication skills

A. Taylor

TuTh 2:30-3:45pm

We will examine the cultural, intellectual, and religious history of Western Europe in the High and Later Middle Ages, focusing on the diverse experiences of its inhabitants. We will read a variety of primary sources, including documentary evidence, literary sources, and art.  We will explore themes such as individualism, authority, religious transformation, heresy, and the appropriation of the medieval past by the modern alt-right.

J. Heuer

MW 4:00-5:15pm

The French Revolution was one of the defining events of modern times. It provided a model for democratic political reform throughout the world, spreading new ideas about social equality, national identity, and rights for women, slaves, religious minorities, and other oppressed groups. Yet revolutionaries also killed thousands of people in the name of change. We will examine both the attempts to create a new, more just society and the spiraling violence against internal and external enemies, from the symbolic storming of the Bastille prison to Napoleon's rise and fall as Emperor. We will look closely not only at events in France itself, but also in Haiti and other French colonies in the Caribbean.

J. Olsen

MW 11:15-12:05pm, Friday discussions

This course surveys the troubled history of the modern German nation-state. It traces how the loose federation of German monarchies and duchies coalesced in the late nineteenth century into a European powerhouse. Topics include absolutism, the old regime, the Enlightenment, the Napoleonic occupation, the 1848 revolution, unification and rule under Bismarck, German Jews before 1914, mass politics under Wilhelm II, the First World War, the Weimar Republic, the Nazi dictatorship, the Second World War and the Holocaust, the divided Germanys, and the Federal Republic since 1989. 

This course fulfills the 4-credit general-education requirements with designations HS and DG (historical studies and global diversity). As an HS course, it covers a broad period of history, from the eighteenth century to the present. It also helps students develop their critical thinking by teaching how to read a variety of primary-source texts, including ethnologies, statistics, memoirs, diaries, speeches, letters, monographs, newspaper articles, and political-party programs. It develops writing skills through five short papers and weekly writing assignments. Finally, and most of it all, the course teaches the main skill of the historian: the ability to place events and ideas in their historical context and draw conclusions about causes and consequences. 

As a DG course, it introduces you to the viewpoints of a variety of people, such as socialists, reformers, aristocrats, workers, scholars, liberals, and conservatives. In their papers, you have to synthesize at least six primary sources to show multiple perspectives or change over time. The course pays special attention to the underprivileged, including workers, women, Catholics, and Jews.

S. Platt

TuTh 1:00-2:15pm

The rise and spectacular fall of China’s last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), with particular emphasis on the social, economic, intellectual and military forces that transformed China from an empire into a modern nation in the decades leading up to the 1911 Revolution. Our subjects will include secret societies, restoration scholars, gunboat diplomacy, imperial decadence, new-text Confucian visions, clandestine missionaries, treaty-port translators and student revolutionaries. No prior exposure to Chinese history is assumed.

K. Young

MW 2:30-3:45pm

This course explores Mexico’s society, economy, politics, and culture, with a focus on the last two centuries. We will analyze pre-Hispanic societies and the legacies of Spanish colonialism, the 1846 U.S. invasion of Mexico, land conflicts of the 19th century, the famous Revolution of 1910, the consolidation of an authoritarian state, the “Mexican miracle” of the 1940s-1960s, the adoption of neoliberalism starting in the 1980s, and the ongoing struggles of workers, peasants, women, students, Indigenous people, and other groups. Since the formal transition to democracy circa 2000, Mexicans have continued to face high poverty levels, environmental destruction, an authoritarian and pro-business state, and massive levels of drug-related violence – factors that help explain the high rate of migration. We will use our historical knowledge to help make sense of these problems.  

E. Sharrow

MW 9:45-11:00am

What are the problems associated with developing equitable and just policy?  Why does social policy in the United States continue to be marked by tensions between the principle of equality and the reality of inequalities in social, political, and economic realms?  How might policy subvert or reinforce these differences and inequalities?  This class examines the history of social policy in the United States, particularly those policies affecting concerns of gender, race, and class.  We will examine a wide range of social policies, focusing on those affecting groups such as: women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBT people, and low-income people.  We will study primarily empirical work, while asking questions about how political culture, interest groups, social movements, government institutions and other factor influence U.S. social policy.

J. Nye

TuTh 10:00-11:15am (note this new course meeting schedule is the correct one)

The history of the legal response to rape has often resulted in injustice for both the victim/survivor and the alleged perpetrator.  This course will examine the evolution of the U.S. legal system's treatment of rape, paying particular attention to the movement against lynching in the post-civil war era, the rise of the feminist anti-rape movement in the 1970s and the student movement against campus sexual assault.  Through an analysis of court cases, legislation, and other texts we will consider the role sexual violence has played in maintaining gendered and racialized power relationships.  We will examine how and why such violence came to be seen as a crime, including who is worthy of the law's "protection" and who is subject to the law's "punishment." We will explore issues such as:  rape as a form of racialized and imperial violence, especially against black and Native American women; the criminal legal treatment of rape and the evolution of the legal concepts of force, resistance, and consent; and the civil responses to rape under the Violence Against Women Act and Title IX.  We'll also look at the international law responses to rape as a weapon of war.  Finally, we'll think about how the legal responses, or non-responses, to rape have differed over time depending on factors such as the race/ethnicity, income level, immigration status, sexual orientation/gender identity, age, and marital status of the victim/survivor and the perpetrator.  Finally, we'll consider how the legal system can or should respond to rape, particularly in this age of mass criminalization and mass incarceration, and whether restorative justice responses might be preferable.  Prior law-related coursework is helpful, but not required.

B. Bunk

MW 2:30-3:45pm

In many ways World War II changed the course of world history. This class is a global study of the Second World War with an emphasis on examining the conflict from an international perspective. It is not primarily a military history, although important combat operations will be discussed. Instead the focus will be on exploring the multiple effects of the conflict on local, national and international communities. Although course readings will address the Holocaust, it is not a main focus of the class because there is another history course (History 387) centered on those events and their aftermath.

D. Gordon

MW 4:00-5:15pm (please note corrected time, was originally listed with TuTh schedule)

The core mission of the course is to examine why economic underdevelopment, in combination with weak or dependent state formations, often induces popular instances of rebellion and revolution in the modern era.  We will also examine why revolutions do not always usher in genuine social reform.   The class will be particularly focused on comparative models of social change and revolution found in the works of Gregor Benton, Crane Brinton, Edmund Burke, Jean Chesneaux, Richard Cobb, Eric Hobsbawm, Barrington Moore, Edmund Morgan, James Scott, Theda Skocpol and William T. Vollman.  The course will afford students an opportunity to improve their speaking and writing ability, while critically assessing the course material through an interdisciplinary lens.

R. LaRussa

Fri 12:00-2:00pm

This independent study is designed to give students preliminary understanding of how history, politics, economics, and the legislative and administrative processes in Washington shape US public policy, and the impact this has on US international relations. Students will be asked to analyze the impact of recent international trade decisions by the Trump Administration, with a focus on what and who drove these decisions, both inside of Washington and out. The course will focus on events that are happening now, including how the politics of the mid-term congressional elections have shaped policy. In the process, students will discover who influences these policies and a range of potential career paths in this area.

Instructor TBD

Tu 5:30-6:20pm

This class is designed to help students prepare for life after the BA by acquiring important professional skills and perspectives. The class will explore a variety of subjects, including what qualifications history majors bring to the job market, the importance of internships and networking, customizing resumes and cover letters, job and internship search strategies, and interviewing skills. [Note this course does not count towards history major requirements, but will earn you credits towards graduation.]

J. Fronc

TuTh 1:00-2:15pm

This writing seminar will explore historical and sociological literature on policing in the 20th century United States.  Murder and mass incarceration will be among the topics covered.  Students will write several short papers during the first half of the semester; during the second half, they will work on individual research projects, resulting in a final paper of 15-20 pages.

T. Hart

TuTh 2:30-3:45pm

From the hit video game Hades, to the Vulcans and Romulans of Star Trek, we have a seemingly-endless fascination with the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world.  Even if you've never taken a class on ancient Greece or Rome, you almost certainly have some level of familiarity with these classical civilizations through film, literature, and digital media.  In this junior-year writing seminar, we will explore how Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other peoples of the ancient Mediterranean world are represented in a range of popular media.  By engaging directly with a diverse set of films, stories, and games, you will think critically about how popular media shapes our conception of history and of our own society, while developing advanced skills in written expression in a variety of genres, from media reviews, to podcasts, to formal research-based writing.

A. Donson

TuTh 2:30-3:45pm

This course teaches students how to write biography using primary-source texts. Some students will use personal papers, letters, diaries, protocols, etc. from archives held in the Special Collections Department at UMass and the Five Colleges. Others may use obituaries, newspaper articles, and various secondary sources. Students will write a substantial biography or a paper that places biographies in their historiographical contexts. Students will also create or update biographies on Wikipedia.

S. Platt

Class schedule TBD

This is an advanced readings seminar focusing on recent English-language scholarship on modern Chinese military history. Roughly a third of the semester will be devoted to each of three major conflicts that helped shape China's modern history: the Opium War (1840-1842): the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864); and the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945 that intersected with World War II. A basic background in modern Chinese history, such as one would get from an undergraduate survey, is strongly recommended.