400

Involves practical work in museums, historical preservation and historical archives. Requires permission of area coordinator. Graded on a pass/fail basis.

This course investigates the impact of catastrophes — earthquakes, epidemics, hurricanes, fires, accidents — on society, politics and culture in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas since 1624. Natural disasters often transform relations between nations and among social groups, while revealing social conditions and cultural attitudes kept hidden under normal circumstances. Natural disasters can create the conditions for revolutions, lead to wars over scarce resources, provide pretexts for imperial intrusions and expose the inequalities and tensions in society. Students will develop their knowledge of world history and disaster studies by reading and writing about selected case studies.

The course traces the diplomatic and economic events leading to the outbreak of war in 1914 and follows the progress of the war, revolution and peace.

The course traces the political, economic, social and diplomatic events leading to the outbreak of hostilities and the military and diplomatic aspects of the war itself. It concludes with the Nuremburg Trials.

Involves guided readings, research and criticism.  Materials covered must be different from those included in current courses.  May be repeated for credit if subject matter varies.

A substantial research and writing project.  The subject matter must be determined through student-faculty consultation.  A senior thesis can be written under the guidance of any full-time professor in the HIS department.