33
Smith College
Department of History
Handbook
Spring 2009
Table of Contents
introduction 3
The Program in History 3
Requirements for the Major in History 3
Requirements for the Minor in History 4
Study Abroad 4
Course Descriptions 6
200-Level Courses 6
Seminars 13
Special Studies Options in History 14
Cross-Listed Courses 15
Five-College Courses 16
Departmental Honors Program 18
Recent Honors Thesis Titles 19
The Faculty 21
Scheduled Retirements and Leaves of Absence for Faculty Members 29
Department Office 30
Departmental Activities 30
Student Liaisons 30
Awards and Prizes 31
Directory of Addresses, Student Majors and Minors 33
INTRODUCTION
This handbook contains a description of the major and minor, a discussion of departmental activities and programs, a description of the honors program, descriptions of courses and course requirements, a directory of the members of the faculty, and a directory of students majoring or minoring in programs in the department.
THE PROGRAM IN HISTORY
Requirements for the Major in History
The History major comprises 11 semester courses, at least six of which shall normally be
taken at Smith, distributed as follows:
1. Field of concentration: five semester courses, at least one of which is a Smith
History department seminar. Two of these may be historically oriented courses at the 200-level or above in other disciplines approved by the student’s adviser
Fields of concentration: Antiquity; Islamic Middle East; East Asia; Europe, 300-1650;
Europe, 1650 to the present; Africa; Latin America; United States; Women's History;
Comparative Colonialism.
Note: A student may also design a field of concentration, which should consist of courses related chronologically, geographically, methodologically or thematically, and must be approved by an adviser.
2. Additional courses: six courses, of which four must be in two fields distinct from
the field of concentration.
3. No more than two courses taken at the 100-level may count toward the major.
4. Geographic breadth: among the 11 semester courses counting towards the major
there must be at least one course each in three of the following geographic
regions.
Africa
East Asia and Central Asia
Europe
Latin America
Middle East and South Asia
North America
Courses both in the field of concentration and outside the field of concentration
may be used to satisfy this requirement. AP credits may not be used to satisfy this
requirement.
Courses cross-listed on the History department section of the catalogue count as History courses toward all requirements.
A student may count one (but only one) AP examination in United States, European, or World history with a grade of 4 or 5 as the equivalent of a course for 4 credits toward the major.
The S/U grading option is not allowed for courses counting toward the major.
A reading knowledge of foreign languages is highly desirable and is especially recommended for students planning a major in History.
Requirements for the Minor in History
The minor comprises five semester courses. At least three of these courses must be related chronologically, geographically, methodologically or thematically. At least three of the courses will normally be taken at Smith. Students should consult their advisers.
The S/U grading option is not allowed for courses counting toward the minor.
Study Abroad
The History department encourages all students to consider studying abroad, especially in an institution that teaches in a language other than English.
A student planning to study away from Smith during the academic year or during the summer must consult with a departmental adviser concerning rules for granting credit toward the major and the degree. Students must consult with the departmental adviser for study away both before and after their participation in Junior Year Abroad programs.
Adviser for study away: Nadya Sbaiti, Fall 2008
Daniel Gardner, Spring 2009
In recent years History majors and minors have studied on Smith's own Junior Year Abroad Programs in
France: Paris
Switzerland: Geneva
Italy: Florence, and
Germany: Hamburg, as well as on consortial programs in
Spain: Cordoba,
Japan: Kyoto and
Mexico: Puebla
They have also studied independently in
Egypt: Cairo
Morocco: Rabat
Senegal: Dakar
South Africa: University of Natal at Pietermaritzburg
Tanzania: Dar-es-Salaam
Israel: Ben Gurion University, Arava Institute of Environmental Studies
Jordan: Amman
China: Beijing
Korea: Yonsei
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Australia: Trinity College Parkville, Adelaide, Sydney, Auckland
New Zealand: Otago
Austria: Vienna
Czech Republic: Prague
Denmark: Copenhagen
England: Bristol, London School of Economics, University College London,
Royal Holloway, King's College London, School of Oriental and African Studies,
Oxford, East Anglia, Queen Mary and Westfield, Sussex, York
Greece: Athens
Ireland: Galway, Cork, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin,
Belfast
Netherlands: Amsterdam
Portugal: Coimbra
Russia: Yaroslavl, Saint Petersburg
Scotland: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Saint Andrews
Spain: Madrid
New York and Paris
For more information on these and other programs, visit the Study Abroad Office and consult with seniors who have returned from study elsewhere. As most programs are not designed specifically for History majors, it is necessary for the student to consult closely with the Adviser for Study Away.
Courses taken abroad must be approved to count toward the History major or minor after they have been completed. This is a separate process from the awarding of overall credit toward a Smith degree. Students present a petition through their adviser, with supporting documentation on the courses. The basic rule is that such courses should be roughly equivalent to a Smith course in reading, writing, and class time. For further details on petitioning, please consult an adviser.
The same petition process governs other courses taken outside Smith, including at institutions in the United States during a summer or on an exchange program or during a semester of independent study or before transferring to Smith or before becoming an Ada Comstock Scholar.
Course Descriptions
200-Level Courses
Lectures (L) are normally limited to 40 students. Colloquia (C) are primarily reading and discussion courses limited to 18. Lectures and colloquia are open to all students unless otherwise indicated. In certain cases, students may enroll in colloquia for seminar credit with permission of the instructor.
HST206 (L) Aspects of Ancient History
Topic: Sport, Society, and Politics in the Roman World
The Colosseum is a symbol of both Rome’s grandeur and its decadence. Constructed over a period of ten years and dedicated in the year 80 C.E., it was a tremendous architectural achievement in its day that still dominates the landscape of the modern city. But it was also the venue for such public spectacles as gladiatorial combat (munera) and wild beast shows (venationes), in which slaves and criminals fought for their lives or were executed, and wild animals were hunted and killed. Another venue for public entertainment was the Circus Maximus which may have held up to 250,000 spectators for chariot races that were both breath-taking and perilous. Most Roman entertainers (gladiators, charioteers, and actors) were slaves or otherwise déclassé, but there is substantial evidence that they could achieve celebrity status. Lamps, reliefs, mosaics and other works of art--even a baby bottle--bearing images of gladiators have been unearthed, while poems, inscriptions and graffiti celebrate their careers. The evidence is also clear that the meteoric careers of these athletes often ended abruptly, in death on the floor of the arena.
This course will examine the complex phenomenon of public entertainment in Roman society against a backdrop of social and political history. We will begin with a discussion of political and social institutions in Rome, including the roles of men and women in Roman society, slaves and slavery, the Roman family, and life in the city. The core component of the course will be a discussion of spectacles in Roman society, not only as entertainment but also as a form of social control and a forum for political communication. The course readings will include ancient sources in translation (e.g., literary texts, inscriptions, and papyri) as well as works of modern scholarship. {H} 4 credits
Geoffrey Sumi
M W 9:00-10:20 a.m.
HST209 (C) Aspects of Middle Eastern Histroy
Topic: Women and Gender in the Middle East
Middle Eastern women are often portrayed in the Western media as oppressed, and a fixed, unchanging notion of “Islam” is frequently cited as the most significant source of such oppression. But what exactly is meant by “Middle Eastern women”? This colloquium is designed to provide students with a nuanced historical understanding of issues related to women and gender in the region, from Morocco to Iran, and including Turkey.
After an introduction to the main themes and approaches in the study of gender in the region, the first part of this course examines the development of discourses on gender as well as the lived experiences of women from the rise of Islam to the highpoint of the Ottoman Empire. The second part focuses on 19th- and 20th- century history. Topics to be covered include the politics of marriage, divorce, and reproduction; women’s political and economic participation; and Islamist movements. The final section of the course explores the new fields of masculinity, homosexuality, and trans-sexuality in the Middle East. {H} 4 credits
Nadya Sbaiti
TTH 10:30-11:50 a.m.
HST212 (L) China in Transformation, A.D. 750-1900
Chinese society and civilization from the Tang dynasty to the Taiping rebellion. Topics include disappearance of the hereditary aristocracy and rise of the scholar-official class, civil service examination system, Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, poetry and the arts, Mongol conquest, popular beliefs, women and the family, Manchus in China, domestic rebellion, and confrontation with the West. {H} 4 credits
Daniel Gardner
TTH 10:30-11:50 a.m.
HST214 (C) Aspects of Chinese History
Topic: The World of Thought in Early China
Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), Legalism, and Chan Buddhism were the formative schools in the development of the Chinese cultural tradition. Indeed, their influence has continued for two millennia, through the present day. The course will focus on the major writings from these schools, such as the Analects of Confucius, the Daodejing by Laozi, the Book of Changes, and the Platform Sutra.
This course does not take relevance as its aim. But it could. The values and practices of these Chinese schools of thought have made themselves felt in our own lives. Consider the books, The Tao of Pooh or the Tao of Physics; zen rock gardens and meditation halls; and attempts in Singapore, China, and, of all places, communities in Boston and Cambridge Massachusetts, to encourage a return to Confucian values. We have begun to build tea houses on our campuses; to design our homes and our rooms according to the principles of fengshui; and to hear social pundits extol the virtues of China and Japan where the harmony of the group is valued more than individual autonomy.
The books that are at the center of this course are among the world´s philosophical and literary masterpieces. {H/L} 4 credits
Daniel Gardner
T 1:00-3:30 p.m.
HST217 (L) World War Two in East Asia: History and Memory
For Asia, World War II began in 1931 with the Japanese seizure of Manchuria from China. Full-scale war broke out between China and Japan in 1937. Only after the Japanese attacked the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941 did the United States enter the war. This course discusses the factors leading to the war in Asia, examines the nature of the conflict, and assesses the legacy of the war for all those involved.
The course first provides an overview of the political history of East Asia from the late nineteenth century through the end of World War II in 1945. We then turn our attention to several specific issues, many of which continue to be controversial today. Topics covered include Japan’s seizure of Korea, the invasion of China, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the war in the Pacific, the racial dimensions of the Japanese empire, the “comfort women” (a term that refers to the large group of Asian women who were forced to serve as prostitutes for the Japanese military), biological warfare, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the complicated relationship between history and memory. {H} 4 credits
Marnie Anderson
MW 1:10-2:30 p.m.
HST223 (C) Women in Japanese History from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century
The dramatic transformation in gender relations is a key feature of Japan’s premodern history. In this course, we will examine how Japanese men and women have constructed norms of male and female behavior in different historical periods, how gender differences were institutionalized in social structures and practices, and how these norms and institutions changed over time. Due to the current state of the field, our focus will be primarily on women. Our goal is to understand the relationship between the changing structure of dominant institutions and the gendered experiences of women and men from different classes from approximately the seventh through the nineteenth centuries. Consonant with current developments in gender history, we will explore crucial variables such as class, religion, and political context which have affected women’s and men’s lives. The interaction of these variables with gender, rather than gender alone, has created the world in which Japanese women and men actually lived. Throughout the course, the feminist and historical scholarship of the last twenty years will help us to understand the ongoing conflict between textual prescription and reality.
Though the course will center on lecture, discussion will also be important. Work for the course will consist of one short critical essay, a midterm exam, a presentation, and a final research paper. The final paper will require that you design and answer a significant question regarding the history of gender in Japan. {H/S} 4 credits
Marnie Anderson
M 7:00-9:30 p.m.
HST225 (L) The Making of the Medieval World, 1000-1500
This course is a survey of the Middle Ages from c. 1000 to 1500. It aims to offer an overview of major trends in European political, social, and cultural life of this period, and should be a good foundation for further work in medieval studies.
The period from 1000 to 1300 was an expansive one in European history, with population growth spurring the development of cities, kingdoms, universities, and Crusades; we’ll examine these along with the accompanying power struggles among popes, kings, nobles, intellectuals, peasants, and city leaders. We’ll also go on to explore the troubled fourteenth century, particularly the effects of the Black Death on western European society.