HIST 200

Fall 2015 All Classes

All Classes

Intro Hist Interpretation

SHOW FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE

Credit: 3 hours.

Through the careful examination of a specific topic or theme, this course provides a thorough introduction to historical interpretation. Particular attention will be devoted to research strategies, writing practices, handling primary and secondary sources, and the analysis of historiography.

May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours with permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Prerequisite: A 100-level course in history or consent of instructor.

Topics will be listed in the department's course guide at http://www.history.illinois.edu.

My Favorites

My Schedule

Section Status updates every 10 minutes.

HIST 200 class schedule data for fall 2015
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
32494	Lecture-Discussion	A	11:00AM -12:20PM	TR	331 Gregory Hall	Barnes, T	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/15-12/09/15 Section Info: Topic: China in Africa -- Politics and Development. Description: This course will explore the range of connections between China and Africa: trade and diplomacy in earlier centuries such as the voyages of Zheng He, and development in the mid and late 20th century such as the Tazara Railway. China is often demonized in the West as seeking to overrun Africa in order to gain access to its vast natural resources; the Chinese government on the other hand characterizes its relationship with African countries as mutually beneficial. African governments, political parties and civil society organizations also have many perspectives on the issue. We will examine these competing discourses based on a range of quantitative and qualitative sources.
32497	Lecture-Discussion	B	10:00AM -11:20AM	MW	331 Gregory Hall	Crowston, C	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/15-12/09/15 Section Info: Topic: History of Luxury. Description: From the ancient era to our own globalized post-industrial times, luxury has occupied a central place in both economic production and cultural debate. Vociferously contested as a source of decadence and corruption, luxury has also signified privileged social status, aesthetic beauty, exceptional quality, and the divine. This class will address themes ranging from the production, distribution and consumption of luxury to religious, political, and economic controversies over ostentatious consumption. Our readings will examine themes including Orientalism, fashion, branding, and desire, as well as the opposing poles of charity, necessity and asceticism.
32500	Lecture-Discussion	C	2:00PM -3:20PM	TR	331 Gregory Hall	Hoxie, F	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/15-12/09/15 Section Info: Topic: American Classics. Description: This course rests on two questions that are essential to the work of historical interpretation with regard to the United States: what is "American?" and what is a "classic?" The first question is prompted by the fact that we are such a large, diverse and transient people. What, if anything, could speak for all of "us?" (And who are "we" anyway?) The second question is both aesthetic and scholarly: what if anything is so insightful, provocative and compelling that we could label it "classic"--timeless, eternally valuable, universally meaningful? We will explore the broad enterprise of historical interpretation and the narrower questions above by exploring together the contents and histories of four books that most people would recognize as "classic" products of American culture: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1790), Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845), How The Other Half Lives (1890) and The Feminine Mystique (1963). Because these books are spaced at roughly fifty year intervals across nearly two centuries of American history, our exploration will also provide an opportunity to discuss major issues in the American past (and present)--economic opportunity, racial oppression, poverty and gender politics--as well as to develop basic research, writing and interpretive skills. In the final weeks of the course, students will develop the case for a book that might be added to our list of classics. At that point, the group should have the skill necessary to make some judgments about which texts might fill that slot.
39271	Lecture-Discussion	D	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	331 Gregory Hall	Schneider, D	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/15-12/09/15 Section Info: Topic: Families in History. Description: Families have been at the core of human existence for a long time. Ideas and imagery of what families should be continue to influence contemporary American life. This class will focus on the changes in American families from the pre-revolutionary period to the twenty-first century as a way to understand and research history from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. From the family ideals (and dysfunctions) of the Puritans to "Hippie" families in the 1960s and fluid family formation of the 21st century, the seminar will approach different understandings of family as embedded in America's shifting national identity.