101 undergraduate courses in the 2026–27 Undergraduate Calendar, and 58 graduate courses in the Fall 2026 Graduate Calendar.
The course will focus on the history of global connections such as migration, war, trade, cultural interactions, international organizations and activism, human rights, technological innovation, environmentalism, and imperialism. What insights do we gain by taking a "bird's eye" view of history? The course's timeframe is the modern era of global history from the 18th to the 21st century.
An examination through lectures and films of the lives of Canadian men and women who have played formative roles in developing the Canadian nation. Examples will be drawn from such areas as politics, religion, business and labour, social reform, arts and entertainment, and sports.
This course explores the politics, culture, media, race relations, and gender relations of the United States after 1945 through the lens of rock and roll.
Focusing on ten different days that forever transformed the world's history, this course introduces students to moments of dramatic change in diverse time periods and places. Topics may include the Fall of Ancient and Modern Regimes; the Age of Discovery; Religious Cataclysm; Revolutionary Wars; Technological, Intellectual, and Scientific Inventions. Students are introduced to the differing methods that historians use to understand the past.
This course will survey the emergence and development of the Western world, from prehistory to 1715. Complementing the chronological and narrative overview of Western culture and civilization will be thematic surveys of developments in the arts and humanities, science, and socio-political structures.
This course will survey the emergence and development of the Western world from the 17th century to the present. Complementing the chronological and narrative overview of Western culture and civilization will be thematic surveys of developments in the arts and humanities, science, and socio-political structures.
This course introduces students to the history of science and technology in a global perspective from the ancient period through the 21st century, with an emphasis on the creation and exchange of major ideas, developments, and practices across cultures and continents. Students will examine the social and cultural role of science and technology, reading and interpreting historical documents to study the development of universal knowledge and how societies define progress using scientific reasoning and technological change. Students will be expected to develop their writing and critical thinking skills through a series of written assignments throughout the term.
This course examines the role of individuals in the growth of business in Canada. While there will be general examination of Canadian economic development, the principal focus will fall upon leading Canadian business persons and their interests and innovations. The relationship to the state of business, the place of education, and the impact of immigration are other topics that the course will consider.
This course examines the historical events and cultural assumptions that led to the European phenomenon of crusading, or holy war, between 1095 and 1453.
One or more topics courses will be offered from time to time as announced by the School of Social, Political and Historical Research and geared to first-year students. Topics will be dependent upon special interest and/or instructional interests by non-regular or visiting faculty.
An introduction to issues in modern cultural history through the study of selected narratives and documentary films with supplementary reading, lectures, and discussions. This course helps students to place films in historical context by teaching them how to analyze films like a historian and understand the historical significance of films. Assigned work may include essays, midterms, a final exam, and online or in-person discussion elements. Students will be able to develop research abilities, visual literacy, and writing skills through analytical film responses and other written assignments. Students will also be better able to determine the historical accuracy of films, and identify how cinema relates to cultural, social, and political discourses and debates.
This course considers the historical impact of Western sport. It traces the history from individual play through amateurism to professionalism, big business, and media. It examines sport's social role within local, national, and international communities, and its relationship to class, gender, leisure, race, and politics.
The Beatles - their lives, their music, their films, and their impact - are this course's lens to examine the social, political, and cultural upheavals and transformations of the 1960s, and to consider memory, nostalgia, and mythmaking about that storied decade. Primary focus is on the U.K. and U.S., with consideration of Beatlemania as a global phenomenon.
The invincible swordsman, the ultimate warrior: popular imagery portrays the samurai and their code of honour (Bushido) as the "soul" of Japan. But who were they, and were they really better than purveyors of violence? We will study the history of Japan and of the samurai; and we will also explore how the samurai have endured as a pop culture icon. Texts, films, and visual materials will inform our analysis, and critical discussion will be crucial to separate the real history from the popular myths. Learning activities may include active discussion of readings and films, and written assignments.
Starting with Aboriginal medicine, the course examines topics such as the rise of the medical and nursing professions, changing public attitudes to health and disease, and the evolution of the Canadian health insurance system.
A historical introduction to law in the ancient world. Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, and Roman law, legal practices, and concepts will be examined.
This course examines the historical and current relationships between computer technology and society. It explores the impact and consequences of computing from a societal perspective, but also considers various nontechnical factors and values that have shaped computing technology and practice. The scope of the course will range from early mechanical aids, through the mid 20th century invention of electronic digital computers, to the networks and mobile applications of the 21st century. Technological studies relating to gender, education, employment, and war will be used as focal points. Material artifacts will form a core element of the course.
This course introduces students to the history of Western popular culture and may include the study of popular literature, spectacle and performance, witchcraft, crime, sexual attitudes, consumption, sports, advertising, and the media.
This course contextualizes the information age around us: it examines both the technological story of the rise of the Internet, and the longer human story about the evolving concept of information, communication over time and space, and the ubiquity and complexity of the systems at the heart of our globalized world.
The "race problem" has appeared on the Canadian public agenda, but the issue is not of recent origin. This course examines Euro-Canadian attitudes and practices toward non-European minorities from pioneer times to the present and sets racial policies in the context of the evolution of a Canadian national identity.
An examination of the Holocaust in the context of the history of modern racism. Study topics will include historic anti-Judaism, scientific racism and the development of modern antisemitism, Nazi "race" ideology, wartime policies from ghetto to genocide, resistance movements, Nuremberg trials, Holocaust denial, and universal lessons from the Holocaust.
This course will examine the role of foodstuffs and foodways in world history, with an emphasis on Canada in the 20th century. Themes such as colonialism, immigration, ethnic identity, religion, gender, famine, and political policy will be examined to explore how food, and its associated habits and customs, has been central to the evolution of cultural patterns of the past.
This course considers the development of education as an institution within Canadian society and provides an understanding of significant educational issues and policies from a historical perspective.
The Canadian experience in World War 2 is still a subject of considerable debate. This course will employ lectures, films, and discussion groups to examine the war's impact on the social, economic, political, and military life of the country from 1939 to 1945.
How do societies deal with mass human rights violations? This course will examine how people around the world have sought to reckon with and remember historical atrocities. Students will learn about different approaches to justice and mechanisms for redress implemented by states and communities, such as truth commissions, reparations, and apologies. They will also examine how affected individuals and societies seek to remember these histories and share knowledge with future generations, including through historical records, testimonies, memorials, monuments, and museums. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to identify and assess the impact of different types of historical justice processes, understand how these have been used in multiple parts of the world, engage in respectful debates and discussions with peers, conduct independent research, critically analyze primary and secondary sources, and communicate effectively with both academic and public audiences.
This course examines the modern political history of the Middle East, with an emphasis on international affairs. It examines the colonization of the Middle East, the rise of national self-determination and nation-states, enduring Arab-Israeli conflicts, the Cold War, and the impact of U.S. foreign policy in shaping the modern Middle East.
This course examines the evolution of the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean communities in Canada as well as their significance for Canadian economic, social, and political life in the 19th and 20th centuries.
A survey of individuals and groups that have created popular movements for peace globally and locally throughout history. The scope will be international, with a particular focus on the 19th and 20th century movements. The choice of peace movements will allow for a contrast in comparison of ideology, strategy, and impact.
This survey course covers Japanese history from the 1800s to the present. During these two hundred years, Japan went from a closed feudal society through a rollercoaster of events: the arrival of the American "Black Ships," the Meiji Restoration, industrial revolution, fascism, wars, atomic bombs, an economic miracle, a "lost" decade, and recently, a devastating tsunami and nuclear disaster. We will examine books, films, manga, and news materials to embark on our own search for modern Japan. Learning activities may include a historical paper, short answer/essay exam(s), and a debate project based on team research.
The development of Christianity in its Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant traditions from the time of Christ to the present.
A study of the laws and legal procedures of the Middle Ages. This course examines the relationship between legal procedures and institutions and the medieval societies that produced them.
Focusing on Hodinohso:ni perspectives, this course flows through the history of the Hodinohso:ni confederacy beginning with creation up to modern times. Students will learn of the four epics, treaties and alliances, historic and present-day connections to land (including the Haldimand Tract), and the importance of language, storytelling and creating in Hodinohso:ni communities. Throughout this course, students will learn to summarize and explain key themes and events in Hodinohso:ni histories. Upon completion, students will be able to show how these themes and events relate to contemporary Hodinohso:ni communities and experiences.
Some of the topics studied in this course include: the three stages of warlordism, the May Fourth Movement, and the structure of society in the People's Republic of China.
A survey of ancient Greek history, from the Bronze Age to Alexander the Great, emphasizing particularly its political and military aspects.
This course explores the human-nature relationship in the context of North America through the historical study of the Anthropocene, changes to the natural world, and the growth and evolution of environmental and wildlife protection movements. Students will study the impact of humans and society on climate change, analyzing historical sources to evaluate causal arguments and develop oral presentation skills through the course assignments.
This course covers Mennonite origins, teachings, migrations, settlement patterns, divisions, leaders, institutions, and religious and social practices, indeed all facets of Mennonite history in various national settings.
This course provides a collegial learning setting within which students are introduced to techniques of historical writing and research, and some examples of the best of recent historical scholarship.
A survey of ancient Roman history, from the Republic to the Empire, emphasizing particularly its political and military aspects.
This course examines the major themes in pre-Confederation Canadian history including the rise and fall of New France, the creation of British North American societies in the Maritimes and Upper Canada, and economic and political development.
This course examines Confederation, the rise of political parties, Canadian external relations, western discontent, the impact of both World Wars, and political and economic changes in Canada since 1867.
Childhood has changed as a social and cultural concept. This course will trace these changes, examining sociological, psychological, cross-cultural, historical and political factors. Art and literature will also be used to reflect attitudes about childhood.
This course examines several major murder cases in Canadian history in order to provide insight into Canada's history and explore how the nation has developed legally, politically, economically, and socially.
This historical survey focuses on the emergence of the United States as a nation. The topics explored may include Indigenous peoples, slavery, race, gender, labour, immigration, urbanization, culture, sectionalism, politics, and ideologies.
This course begins in the aftermath of the Civil War and ends at the present day. Topics may include major social movements, the place of the United States in world politics, immigration and imperialism, and the economy.
The political, cultural, economic, and ecclesiastical development of Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the high middle ages.
This course examines European life in the Early Modern Period (1450-1700) and investigates the social, political, religious, and intellectual changes during the Renaissance, the Reformations, and the era of explorations.
This period marks the emergence of modern-day Europe. The course focuses on the way in which European society, politics, and culture changed, and why. It also examines the continent's descent into war in 1914.
An introduction to the social, economic, and political history of the countries of Eastern Europe since 1945. Topics may include the implementation of Communism, daily life, the secret police, women, opposition, and revolution.
This course assesses the transformation of the British Empire from its position of comparative strength in the mid 19th century to decolonization and the emergence of the Commonwealth after the Second World War. Topics of study include systems of power and control, the impact of Empire at home, and the manner in which imperialism influenced colonial subjects.
This course examines the role of empires in modern history. It examines how empires were formed, how they functioned, how they were resisted, and how they collapsed. While the focus will be on the European empires, we also assess other examples, including the empires of the Ottomans, the Japanese, the Chinese, and the United States.
This course examines the histories of Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) in local and national contexts. It emphasizes the relationship between Indigenous peoples and settler society, including histories of treaty-making and colonial policies of dispossession and assimilation such as the Indian Act and the Indian residential school system. We will highlight forms of Indigenous resistance and resurgence, assertions of land rights, and the diversity of communities and cultures.
This survey of the 20th century explores the non-Western world's response to a series of selected global themes: the rise of the West; post-colonialism; war and peace; human migration; culture; international organizations; climate change; human rights; disease; and globalization.
This course explores the history of death in societies around the world. While death is an inevitable, universal experience, the ways that individuals, communities, and societies view and respond to death reveals much about social and political structures and transforming cultural practices. This course takes a cultural history and thematic approach to the history of death. Students will learn through lectures, a variety of assignment types, discussions, and analyzing primary and secondary sources.
This course examines the Canadian legal system from colonial times to the present with particular emphasis on such themes as law and the economy, courts and judiciary, the legal profession, family and criminal law, women and the law, and civil liberties.
This course provides an overview of the political developments and conflicts that have shaped modern South Asia from 1750 to 2000 through an examination of the region's cultures, political systems, encounters with Western imperialism, nationalist movements, and the impact of the Cold War.
One or more term courses will be offered from time to time as announced by the School of Social, Political and Historical Research. Topics will be dependent upon special research and/or instructional interests of faculty.
This course provides the opportunity to design, research, and produce a history project in a multimedia format. Students incorporate archival, visual culture, and oral history research in their projects and examine the politics, ethics, and practice of historical research and its presentation to wide audiences.
Digital history, the application of new and emerging technologies to the study of history, is an exciting new field. This course explores the literature on digital history and then puts theory into practice by exploring the digital collection, evaluation, and production of historical knowledge.
An exploration of the impact of social crises on late medieval religious modes of expression. Topics will include the Great Famine, the Black Death, the Avignon Papacy and Western Schism, the development of heretical movements, and the eventual disintegration of European religious unity.
What factors create a national identity: historical events or socially-constructed historical memory? By analyzing key themes such as elite and popular culture, historical sites and commemorations, sports, and iconic public events, this course demonstrates how nation-states and other communities have created a series of evolving national identities.
A study of the social, historical, and rhetorical dimensions of collective action. Topics may include health and welfare movements, civil rights and anti-war protests, and environmentalism.
This course examines the international relations of the great powers from the rise of Wilhelmine Germany in the 1890s to the first steps of European integration in the early 1950s. Attention will be paid to the formation of foreign policy, alliances, leadership, war-making, and peace-making.
This course examines the origins, conduct, and wider international legacy of the First World War. The course has an international outline, but with a particular Canadian focus as it explores tactics, strategy, and the soldier's experience, as well as the War's lasting economic, political, and cultural impacts.
This course examines the history of the modern family in the United States and Canada. Students will learn about the family's changing relationship to the state, the economy, and ideals of domesticity, including changing conventions of courtship and dating, marriage, divorce, parenthood, and childhood. In addition, this course will deepen students' knowledge of historical methodologies, the interpretation of historical evidence, and historiographical thinking.
This course will explore the Civil Rights movement in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. Topics will include the origins and evolution of the movement, tactics, key figures, and the role of the federal government.
This course examines the history of foreign relations of the United States from the "Age of Imperialism" through the "War on Terror". Topics will include the Great War, Wilsonianism, World War 2, the Cold War, human rights, and post-9/11 U.S. foreign policies.
This course introduces students to the history of Western sexuality, beginning with the ancient world and focusing primarily on the Middle Ages and the transition to modernity.
This seminar introduces students to the history of sexuality. The course focuses on the 19th and 20th centuries.
The history of animal-human relations is a recent, and rapidly growing, sub-field of history. By moving animals inward from the periphery of human history, scholars have revealed the tremendous role that animals have played in humanity's development. This course examines several key areas of human existence that have been affected by animals, including food supply and domestication, warfare, industry, companionship and pet keeping, sport, entertainment, zoological gardens, and the recent emphasis on animal rights. Although there will be some reference to earlier periods and other areas of the globe, the course will be concentrated on the West in the modern period. In studying the key trends in human-animal history, students will learn to read and think critically, to understand an author's central argument, to communicate effectively in written form, and to evaluate an author's sources.
A detailed analysis of selected topics in the history of human rights. Special attention will be paid to revolutionary developments since World War II, and to the emergence of modern human rights policies. Topics will be examined through assigned readings, lectures, and films.
This course explores how and why the "camp" emerged as a major site of confinement and punishment, focusing in particular on the 20th century. Students will consider a range of spaces that fall within the category of the camp, including detention camps, concentration camps, and forced labour camps.
This course examines the global history of the prison, from its origins in the 18th and 19th centuries to contemporary debates about mass incarceration and the use of punishment as a form of social control. Students will explore how the prison became a nearly universal institution, considering the ways in which colonialism was a driving force for its expansion. They will examine how colonial powers presented prisons as symbols of "civilization" and "modernity," as well as how they became sites of anti-colonial resistance. Students will investigate these themes through case studies drawn from a range of geographical areas and time periods. A variety of sources will be used including academic texts, memoirs, media, poetry, visual sources, music, and film. The course will develop students' methodological skillset and their ability to critically examine the connections between penal institutions, power, and knowledge production. Overall, this course will help students to understand the place of the prison in our global society, past and present.
This course explores historical relationships amongst gardens, plants, and peoples in Canada from the 16th-century to the present. Approaches include the material, cultural, social, and political histories of gardens and their gardeners across time and geographical space. Course goals include demonstrating an emerging awareness of periodization in Canadian garden history, developing an understanding of garden history as a field of knowledge, and identifying some of the various sources of garden history and their usefulness. Assigned work may include discussion of primary and secondary sources, research and/or reflective essays or projects, individual and/or group work, and experiential learning through actual gardening whenever possible.
Canada is a nation built upon treaties, and as such, every individual who occupies this land has a responsibility to uphold the terms of these agreements; to share, respect, and protect the land for future generations. Students will develop understandings of kinship, reciprocity, and responsibility as critical elements to the establishment and maintenance of these relationships through time. Throughout the course, students will investigate the changing nature of treaties and treaty-making in Canada. Upon completion, students will be able to critically reflect on their roles and responsibilities as treaty people and examine solutions for moving forward in the spirit of reconciliation.
This course aims to engage students with Indigenous women's histories, stories, and contributions so that they may carry this knowledge into the foreground. Through the diplomacy of Molly Brant, the poetry of Pauline Johnson, the music of Buffy Sainte-Marie, and the advocacy of Mary Two-Axe Earley, students will explore Indigenous women's contributions to arts, politics, advocacy, sport, governance, and community throughout history in what is now Canada. Throughout this course, students will investigate Indigenous women's contributions to Canadian history through Indigenous women's lived experiences. Upon completion, students will have gained the skills to critically question why these narratives have been silenced, and how this silencing has contributed to Indigenous women's contemporary experiences in Canada.
A study of the common law of England from its introduction in the 11th century to the 15th century. Original documents and court cases will be examined.
This course explores the history of scientific and medical experimentation on humans through the role and experience of both experimenter and subject. Case studies will question how experiments mediate human relationships and influence ideas about authority, objectivity, autonomy, consent, race, gender, and class. Students will identify and interpret primary sources while improving skills in secondary-source analysis, using the selected case studies to develop skills in critical reading and writing.
This course explores the Cold War through a Canadian perspective, highlighting and studying the political and cultural dynamics of the period and their implications for the state and ordinary citizens. Students will use historical research to evaluate and analyze how the Canadian state and public responded to the ever-changing political, military/strategic, cultural, economic, and social experiences of the period. Course assignments will cultivate interpretive reading, writing, and oral presentation skills.
This course explores the ways in which Early Modern European women experienced, participated in, shaped, and responded to the world they inhabited. It investigates the ways in which women negotiated the Early Modern world as it unfolded in the Renaissance, the Reformation, European encounters around the world, and the challenges of everyday life.
A study of 16th-century Anabaptism - a religious Reformation movement dissenting from both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism - its origins; its social, political, and theological content; and its relationship to such independent dissenters as Sebastian Franck.
Tibet: the rooftop of the world. The land of Tibet has occupied a contested zone between history and myth for hundreds of years, from a proud Central Asian empire to a Buddhist hermit kingdom, and from a mystical Land of Snows to a militarized ethnic and religious region of China today. In this course we will confront myths, religion, political controversies, and the country's portrayal in popular culture, in search of the historical Tibet. Learning activities may include active discussion of readings and films, a debate project based on team research, short answer/essay exam(s), and a comprehensive historical analysis paper.
This course will examine the economic, cultural, and diplomatic aspects of Canada's relationship with the United States, Latin America, and the Commonwealth Caribbean from the time of the American Revolution to the present.
Immigrants and immigration have always been central to Canadians' perceptions of themselves as a country and as a society. This course will examine the immigrant experience and Canada's changing policies and attitudes toward immigration and immigrants from New France to the present.
This course examines the history of Russia and the Soviet Union from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Topics include: origins and nature of the Russian Revolution, communist society, Stalinism, the Cold War, and impact of the communist experience on contemporary Russia.
This course will explore cultural transgression during the rapid social changes and upheavals of Early Modern Europe (Renaissance, Reformation, Contact). The course will address a range of topics including criminality, religious rebellion, sexuality, and violence. Students will discuss diverse experiences around the issues of gender, religion, and violence; develop critical thinking skills through primary and secondary source analysis; develop research and writing skills through independent research; and develop communication skills through groupwork and class discussion.
An examination of the social, economic, and political history of Nazi Germany. Topics may include the rise of the Nazis, the secret police, war, population policies and mass murder, culture, and women.
This course examines the history of Africa in the 20th century, a time of tremendous change on the continent. Looking at broader trends as well as examining specific states, students will learn about the impact of colonialism, movements for independence and liberation, and the dynamics of postcolonial states and societies. Students will learn through lectures, analyzing primary and secondary sources, engaging in discussions, and independent research.
This course examines the break-up of empires in the mid/late 20th century, and assesses how the colonial experience has shaped relations between and among former imperial polities to the present. Focus is given to questions of political identity in colonial and post-colonial societies, and how these identities shape current political challenges.
The United Kingdom underwent a remarkable transition in the second half of the 20th century. It lost an empire, experienced large-scale immigration from around the world, joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union), and became a global cultural engine. This course examines the history of Britain from the end of the Second World War until recent events including the death of Princess Diana and Brexit. In this course you will study decolonization and its impact on British society, the creation and expansion of the welfare state, the "White Heat" of the "Swinging Sixties," shifting dynamics of class and gender, British popular culture from James Bond to David Bowie to Britpop, Irish and Scottish nationalism, the rise of Margaret Thatcher and neo-liberalism in the 1980s, New Labour in the 1990s, and developments in the new millennium.
A topical consideration of key themes, approaches, and chronologies in the history of society in Canada.
This course examines the origins, developments, and contemporary implications of the Cold War in East Asia.
A study of the major 16th-century reformers, and their intellectual background in humanism and late medieval scholasticism. Special attention will be given to the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, and their ideological, social, and political expressions.
Lectures, tutorials, and independent research will provide a decade-by-decade examination of the central social, political, and economic themes that have helped characterize "modern Canada".
An analytical and historical examination of Canadian foreign policy in the international system. Domestic sources of Canadian foreign policy and international sources of Canadian foreign policy are examined in detail.
One or more term courses will be offered from time to time as announced by the School of Social, Political and Historical Research. Topics will be dependent upon special research and/or instructional interests of faculty.
Study in a limited field under tutorial guidance. A high standard of written work will be expected.
Study in a limited field under tutorial guidance. A high standard of written work will be expected.
This seminar is a special study of a selected topic in history. See course instructor for details.
To truly understand Indigenous creation, one must engage in the act of creating. The embodied experience of engaging directly in the process of creating Indigenous arts, however, provides an additional dimension of deep understanding and opens pathways to Indigenous ways of knowing. Through this course, students will examine histories of Indigenous methods of creating such as moose/caribou hair tufting, beadwork, quillwork, and basket weaving. Students will have the opportunity to learn directly from Indigenous creators to understand these embodied practices as Indigenous ways of knowing, teaching, and learning. Students will design a final project in one of the mediums taught throughout the course which will be accompanied by a critical reflection of their embodied experience.
This course challenges students with an opportunity to synthesize and showcase, at a high level of achievement, the disciplinary skills and knowledge they have gained during the course of their studies in History. It encourages students to pursue individual research interests and presentation formats as limited only by historical methodology, academic rigour, and the consent of the instructor. Course focus may be shaped by instructor expertise.
Under exceptional academic circumstances a student may seek permission to pursue a course of independent study under the direction of a faculty member. The special topic is determined in consultation between them.
From the Fall 2026 Graduate Calendar.
Consult the schedule of classes for specific topics being offered.
Canadian History II
The course explores the concept of nationalism and the responses of multiethnic states to nationalist challenge. Students will examine theories of nationalism and discuss its creative and destructive potential. Pursuit of national self-determination led to the birth of new states and the disintegration of old ones: ethnic tensions were another product of nationalism. Different types of states have addressed ethnic problems in different ways: some have sought to maintain harmonious multicultural communities: others have preferred to assimilate or segregate minorities; yet others have engaged in ethnic cleansing. We will trace the roots of nationalism and the consequences of its rise, and we will also discuss the impact of state system on the ethnic policy.
This seminar offers a comparative analysis of insurgency and counterinsurgency from the 19th century to the present. It examines resistance to foreign invaders in Europe, the century of rebellion in Mexico in 1810-1917, anti-colonial wars of national liberation, Marxist revolutionary movements in South-East Asia and Latin America, the upsurge of Islamic fundamentalism and urban guerrilla warfare. The course will focus on the sources of insurgencies, their nature and the support they drew from various social groups. In each case, the government's response will also be investigated. We will analyse theories of guerrilla thinkers and pacification models and pay particular attention to the gap between intended and actual policies, and the plight of civilians caught in crossfire.
This course examines the history of global governance, focusing on the institutions, issues, and debates that have shaped global governance throughout history. Students will consider how and why state and non-state actors have turned to global governance to tackle pressing challenges and create common frameworks. They will also examine the power dynamics involved in these processes, analyzing the politics of inclusion and exclusion within global governance arenas across different historical periods.
This course examines the theory of international development and how it has been applied in practice. As well, students will assess the records of various international actors in terms of their success or failure in providing development assistance. They will also study the interactions between international organizations, states, non-governmental organizations and more informal interest groups through their involvement in overseas development assistance. Finally, the role played by the Cold War in determining Overseas Development Assistance priorities will be examined.
The course will examine developments in human rights, primarily during the twentieth century. Weekly discussions based on assigned readings will offer students an opportunity to explore such questions as: What are "human rights" and how are they different from any other rights? Where do human rights come from? Why do they change over time, and by whom and by what means are changes effected? Is there a role for the historian in explaining this process, and can the lessons of history be applied to public policy and to continuing human rights issues? The focus for our study is the formation and evolution of international human rights, but with attention paid to Canadian events to assess the relationship between domestic and global human rights innovations.
In this sequel to HIST 607, students will have an opportunity to pursue a primary research project on an approved topic in the history of human rights. A series of progress meetings and research consultations will lead towards a "conference" where students will present their own research and comment on their classmates' draft papers.
This course will explore the impact of twentieth century war on the English - speaking world, especially Canada. It will introduce students to the many ways in which historians have studied the First and Second World Wars, as well as other conflicts. Our seminar presentations and research papers will sample the 'old military history' of tactics and strategy, and we will also examine the 'new military history' that focuses on the social, economic and cultural impact of war.
History 611 forms the research component of the course. Students will write a research paper based on primary sources on a topic chosen with the professor's consultation. The paper will be approximately 30-35 pages in length (7500-9000 words). The class will meet throughout the term to discuss the process of research and writing. Each student will also present his or her working drafts to the class for discussion. Marks will be based on the quality of constructive comment raised in each class, as well as on the final paper submitted at term's end.
This course examines the historical and political contexts of Indigenous rights movements from around the world. It considers the histories of Indigenous-state relations and Indigenous assertions of rights and sovereignty through cultural, political, and legal means. We will discuss grassroots and global Indigenous rights movements and international efforts to address Indigenous aspirations and decolonization especially following WWII. Attention will be also paid to the formation of Indigenous organizations and the engagement of international forums (i.e., through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).
In this course you will master both classic and cutting-edge historical scholarship in Canadian Social History. You will read works that interrogate and historicize the traditional foci of social historians - class gender and race. You will read works informed by cultural theory, especially concerning the occupation of social space and the expression of experience of particularized social identities. Each week, we will meet together in seminar to discuss the substance, theoretical orientation, methodology, and historiographical significance of the assigned material. As such, active reading and constructive participation in seminar are key. In addition, you will be required to lead seminar discussions and write an historiographical paper.
Early Modern History I
Early Modern History II
This course borrows its title from the famous collection of essays edited by Edward Muir and Guido Ruggiero. The course explores how historians use narrative to (re)construct past realities. It looks closely at the uses, abuses, and limitations of microhistory as a genre and exposes students to important trends in social history. Though the bulk of the material deals with Europe in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, the course is methodological in nature and is intended for all graduate students of social history. Students in HIST 622 read the great microhistories including Davis' The Return of Martin Guerre, LeRoy Ladurie's Montaillou and Caranaval at Romans, Spence's The Death of Woman Wang, Ginzburg's Night Battles, and others. Through these sources students acquire a deep understanding of the historiography surrounding this genre. In addition, HIST 622 exposes students to the various non-historical theorists (sociological, anthropological, etc.) whose works inform the microhistorical method.
This course introduces graduate students to the major authors, works, and themes of preindustrial environmental and climate history. It demonstrates how historians frame the historical interaction of mutable human culture and natural environment. The locus of study is western Europe, the period between the end of antiquity and the start of the industrial revolution. Each week, students will read assigned texts and discuss them in a seminar format. Ultimately, each student must write a final research essay.
Modern European History I
Modern European History II
History of the United States I
History of the United States II
Race in Modern History I
Race in Modern History II
Digital history, the application of new and emerging technologies to the study of history, is an important field that has begun to reshape historical production and scholarship. This graduate level course introduces students to the literature on digital history, and then puts theory into practice by digitally collecting, publishing, and producing new historical knowledge with cutting-edge tools.
Historians and Public Policy
Public History Interpretation
This course examines transnational and global historical processes, focusing on temporal and geographic scales of analysis outside of traditional national histories, and promotes linking the local and the global. It looks at global forces influencing particular societies and encourages students to place themselves outside conventional local, regional, and national boundaries, and will critically consider a number of the metanarratives that have informed and continue to inform historiography, particularly idea such as modernity, progress, and the ongoing preoccupation with the 'rise of the west'. Given these questions, and the almost endless scope of a course that purports to take the world as its focal point, weekly seminars will begin with a discussion of the possibilities offered by as well as the limits to transnational/global/world history, the various interpretative frameworks in use and their proponents as well as the challenges that transnational/global/world history poses. We will then focus on particular case studies or themes so as to promote discussion that is as much historiographical as it is historical. Such themes/case studies may include: feminism and imperialism, famine and climate change, disease and ecology, military technology and governmentally, global trade and the rise of consumer society(s), colonial knowledge and shifting ideas of race.
Consult the schedule of classes for specific topics being offered.
Consult the schedule of classes for specific topics being offered.
Consult the schedule of classes for specific topics being offered.
Major Field Oral Qualifying Examination
This course examines the various ways global actors have identified and tried to solve global problems in the twentieth century. We will study the interactions between international organizations, state actors, non-governmental organizations, and informal interest groups as they have confronted global issues such as war, immigration, international trade, human rights, and environmental and health crises.
Major Field Written Qualifying Examination
Canadian History Major Field
Scottish History Major Field
Early Modern European History Major Field
Modern European History Major Field
This field will attract those who are interested in the impact of military conflict, in conventional and non-conventional forms, on civil society. It will focus in particular on the two World Wars and the "small wars" that developed in the last part of the twentieth century, and be flexible enough to include a range of related topics across time and place that reflect the interests of faculty and students.
Major field seminars meet biweekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor. During the subsequent Spring term major field participants read a further 50 books selected by the instructor in consultation with each participant's supervisor.
Major field seminars meet biweekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor. During the subsequent Spring term major field participants read a further 50 books selected by the instructor in consultation with each participant's supervisor.
Major field seminars meet biweekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor. During the subsequent Spring term major field participants read a further 50 books selected by the instructor in consultation with each participant's supervisor.
Major field seminars meet biweekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor. During the subsequent Spring term major field participants read a further 50 books selected by the instructor in consultation with each participant's supervisor.
War and Society Minor Area Seminar
Canadian History Minor Area Seminar
British History Minor Area Seminar
Scottish History Minor Area Seminar
Community Studies Minor Area Seminar
Early Modern European History Minor Area Seminar
Modern European History Minor Area Seminar
Gender, Women and Family Minor Area Seminar
Race, Class, Imperialism and Slavery Minor Area Seminar
United States Minor Area Seminar
International Relations Minor Area Seminar
Science, Medicine and Technology Minor Area Seminar
This minor area is arranged between the student and a professor, and falls outside of those other minor areas enumerated in the calendar. The participants will provide the department and the Graduate Studies Office with a course name, which will appear on the student's transcript, in order to more specifically identify the minor area
Minor area seminars meet biweekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor.
Minor area seminars meet bi-weekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor.
Minor area seminars meet biweekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor.
Minor area seminars meet biweekly throughout the Fall and Winter terms for discussion of a reading list of 50 books selected by the instructor.