Courses

A graduate-level course designed to survey a historical period in greater depth while introducing students to related primary and secondary sources. Students will be familiarized with major themes, events, and issues of interpretation in the history of European history from approximately the mid-fourteenth through to the sixteenth century. Particular attention will be paid to the “rebirth” of ancient Greek and Roman culture that began in the Italian commercial and educational centres of Milan, Florence, Venice and Rome. This course will examine the social, intellectual, artistic, political and economic history of the Renaissance as it developed in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe. These and other topics will be explored through close readings of primary sources. Students will also consider various methodological and theoretical approaches that have influenced the way that modern historians have analyzed and explained this period in European history.

Examines the nature of religious reform in the sixteenth century. Religious ideas are the starting point for an examination of economic conditions, the existing social structure, the family, and the state. Examines how ideas were communicated to and received by the common people. It also examines displays of intolerance and tolerance, coercion and power, and relations between government and society and between women and men

An examination of developments and events from 1600 to 1800 including religious wars, the witch craze, growth of absolutism and political rights, enlightened despots, movements within the church and the culture of the enlightenment. In addition, wealth and poverty, social hierarchies, popular customs and culture, marriage, the family, and gender are examined.

An analysis of the practice of history in the public sphere including the ways in which communities, regions, nations, and other entities collect, manage, create, present, and understand their histories and stories. How forms of historical consciousness show themselves in archives, museums, films, monuments, anniversaries, government policies, genealogy, etc. Practical application of historical skills and tools through communication with public historians, visits to local historic sites, and relevant assignments and experiential learning. Students gain valuable experiences and knowledge related to a variety of areas where public history is practised and are exposed to career opportunities in history.

Examines the engagement of science and religion in western culture over the past five centuries. In 1896, Andrew Dickson White published his famous History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, a work that helped establish the belief that science and religion were irreconcilable domains. This course examines the validity of that claim from the Copernican revolution in the sixteenth century to the rise of the modern Creation Science movement, and aims to place the relationship between science and faith in a mature historical, scientific and theological context.

Examines the historical development of the family beginning with the ancient world up to 1600. A central inquiry is the formation of families and households, as well as the impact of religion on gender and family roles. The course also explores the use of power and coercion in the organization of family and includes an inquiry into contemporary gender theory but concentrates on the lives and ideas of actual persons insofar as the historical record reveals them.

Examines the historical development of the family from 1600 to the present day. A central inquiry is the formation of families and households, as well the impact of religion on gender and family roles. The course also explores the use of power and coercion in the organization of family and includes an inquiry into contemporary gender theory but concentrates on the lives and ideas of actual persons insofar as the historical record reveals them.

This course is designed to survey a historical period in greater depth while introducing students to related primary and secondary sources. Students are familiarized with major themes, events, and issues of interpretation in the history of early modern England. Particular attention is paid to two developments that transformed English life: the religious reformations of the sixteenth century, and the civil war and political revolutions of the seventeenth century. These and other topics are explored through close readings of primary sources. Students also consider various methodological and theoretical approaches that have influenced the way that modern historians have analyzed and explained this period in English history.

This course is designed to survey a historical period in greater depth while introducing students to related primary and secondary sources. Students will become familiar with major themes, events, and issues of interpretation in the history of European history during the long nineteenth century from the French Revolution to the onset of the Great War. It explores key movements and themes in political, intellectual, gender, and socioeconomic history through lectures, discussion groups, and the close readings of primary and secondary sources. Students will also consider various methodological and theoretical approaches that have influenced the way that modern historians have analyzed and explained this period in European history.