History
Humanities Quadrangle, 2nd floor, 203.432.1366
http://history.yale.edu
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Chair
Regina Kunzel
Director of Graduate Studies
Lauren Benton (203.432.1361)
Professors Sunil Amrith, Lauren Benton, Paola Bertucci, Ned Blackhawk, David Blight, Daniel Botsman, Paul Bushkovitch, Deborah Coen, Stephen Davis, Carolyn Dean, Fabian Drixler, Carlos Eire, Omnia El Shakry, David Engerman, Paul Freedman, Joanne Freeman, John Gaddis, Beverly Gage, Bruce Gordon, Greg Grandin, Valerie Hansen, Robert Harms, Elizabeth Hinton, Matthew Jacobson, Paul Kennedy, Jennifer Klein, Regina Kunzel, Noel Lenski, Kathryn Lofton, Mary Lui, Daniel Magaziner, J.G. Manning, Ivan Marcus, Joanne Meyerowitz, Alan Mikhail, Samuel Moyn, Nicholas Parrillo, Mark Peterson, Stephen Pitti, Claire Priest, Laura Robson, Naomi Rogers, Edward Rugemer, Paul Sabin, Stuart Schwartz, Marci Shore, Timothy Snyder, David Sorkin, John Harley Warner, Arne Westad, John Witt, Taisu Zhang
Associate Professors Jennifer Allen, Rohit De, Marcela Echeverri Muñoz, Anne Eller, Hussein Fancy, Crystal Feimster, Andrew Johnston, Isaac Nakhimovsky, Vanessa Ogle, Joanna Radin, William Rankin, Elli Stern, Jonathan Wyrtzen, Alden Young
Assistant Professors Alvita Akiboh, Sergei Antonov, Maura Dykstra, Benedito Machava, Nana Osei Quarshie, Carolyn Roberts, Hannah Shepherd, Nurfadzilah Yahaya
Senior Lecturer Jay Gitlin
Fields of Study
Fields include ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern Europe (including Britain, Russia, and Eastern Europe), United States, Latin America, East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Jewish history; and diplomatic, environmental, ethnic, intellectual, labor, legal, military, political, religious, social, and women’s history, as well as the history of science and medicine (see the section in this bulletin on the History of Science and Medicine).
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
Language Requirements
All students must pass examinations in at least one foreign language by the end of the first year. Students are urged to do everything in their power to acquire adequate linguistic training before they enter Yale and should at a minimum be prepared to be examined in at least one language upon arrival. Typical language requirements for major subfields are as follows:
African Either (1) French and German or Portuguese or Dutch-Afrikaans; (2) French or German or Portuguese and Arabic; or (3) French or German or Portuguese or Dutch-Afrikaans and an African language approved by the director of graduate studies (DGS) and the faculty adviser.
American One language relevant to the student’s research interests approved by the adviser and DGS.
Ancient German and either French or Italian and two ancient languages, one of which must be Greek or Latin and the second of which can be either the second classical language or another ancient language (e.g., Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, Demotic, Coptic, Classical Armenian, Sanskrit).
Chinese Chinese and Japanese; additional languages like French, Russian, or German may be necessary for certain dissertation topics.
East European The language of the country of the student’s concentration plus two of the following: French, German, Russian, or an approved substitution.
Global/International Two languages to be determined by the DGS in consultation with the adviser.
Japanese Japanese and one additional language, as approved by the student’s adviser and the DGS.
Jewish Modern Hebrew and German, and additional languages such as Latin, Arabic, Yiddish, Russian, or Polish, as required by the student’s areas of specialization.
Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
Medieval French, German, and Latin.
Middle East Arabic, Persian, or Turkish (or modern Hebrew, depending on area of research) and a major European research language (French, German, Russian, or an approved substitute).
Modern Western European (including British) French and German; substitutions are permitted with the approval of the DGS.
Russian Russian plus French or German with other languages as required.
South Asia One South Asian language and a second relevant research language, whether another South Asian or a European or Asian language.
Southeast Asian Choice of Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Sanskrit, or Arabic, plus one or more Southeast Asian language (e.g., Bahasa Indonesian, Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Tagalog, Thai, Tetum, or Vietnamese). In certain cases, Ph.D. dissertation research on Southeast Asia may also require knowledge of a regional or local language, e.g., Balinese or Cham.
Foreign students whose native language is not English may receive permission during their first year to hand in some written work in their own language. Since, however, the dissertation must be in English, they are advised to bring their writing skills up to the necessary level at the earliest opportunity.
Additional Requirements
During the first year of study, students normally take six term courses, including Approaching History (HIST 500), which is required of first-year students. During the second year of study, they may opt to take four to six term courses, with the approval of their adviser and the DGS. One of these courses must be the Prospectus Seminar (HIST 501), which is required of second-year students. The ten courses taken during the first two years should normally include at least six chosen from those offered by the department. Students must achieve Honors in at least two courses in the first year, and Honors in at least four courses by the end of the second year, with a High Pass average overall. Courses graded in the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory mode (HIST 998) count toward the course work requirement but do not count toward the Honors requirement. Courses that count for less than one full credit per term do not count toward the coursework requirement, including EMST 700 and EMST 800 for those in the combined program with Early Modern Studies.
Two of the ten courses must be research seminars in which the student produces an original research paper from primary sources. The Prospectus Seminar (HIST 501) does not count as a research seminar. All graduate students, regardless of field, will be required to take two seminar courses in a time period other than their period of specialty.
Students in their second year should choose their courses so that at least one course will prepare them for a comprehensive examination field. Some fields offer reading seminars specifically designed to help prepare students for examination; others encourage students to sign up for Directed Reading (HIST 998) with one of their examiners. Students should, in consultation with their major field examiner and the DGS, register for Field Studies (HIST 525), which is a half-credit course and does not count toward the coursework requirements.
Students should discuss the following options with their advisers before choosing one:
Option 1 Students take exams during the fourth semester of graduate study (i.e., the second semester of year two). The Comprehensive Statement of Intention Form must be submitted by the end of the third semester.
Option 2 Students take exams during the fifth semester of graduate study (i.e., the first semester of year three). The Comprehensive Statement of Intention Form must be submitted by the end of the fourth semester.
Students in good academic standing may, with adviser approval, request scheduling comprehensive examinations in the sixth semester.
All students must submit the Comprehensive Statement of Intention Form by the end of the fourth semester.
Students will have a choice of selecting three or four fields of concentration: a major field and either two or three minor fields. The examination must contain one minor field that deals fifty percent or more with the historiography of a region of the world other than the area of the student’s major field. The examination will have a written component that will be completed before the oral component. For their major field, students will either write a historiographical essay of 8,000 words, maximum, or prepare a syllabus for an undergraduate lecture class in the field; this is to be decided in consultation with the major field examiner. For each of the minor fields, the student will prepare a syllabus for an undergraduate lecture class in the field. All of these are to be written over the course of the examination preparation process and will be due not less than two weeks prior to the oral portion of the examination. The oral examination examines the students on their fields and will, additionally, include discussion of the materials produced for the written component of the examination. For those students who choose two minor fields, the major field will be examined for sixty minutes and the minor fields will be examined for thirty minutes each. For those students who choose three minor fields, each field will be examined for thirty minutes.
In order to advance to candidacy, all students must pass a prospectus colloquium. This should be completed by the end of the sixth term. The prospectus colloquium offers students an opportunity to discuss the dissertation prospectus with their dissertation committee in order to gain the committee’s advice on the research and writing of the dissertation and its approval for the project. The dissertation prospectus provides the basis of grant proposals.
Both the comprehensive examinations and the prospectus colloquium must be held by the end of the sixth term.
Completion of ten term courses (including HIST 500 and HIST 501), the language requirements of the relevant field, the comprehensive examinations, and the prospectus colloquium will qualify a student for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D., which must take place by the end of the third year of study.
It is also possible for students who have completed extensive graduate work prior to entering the Yale Ph.D. program to complete course work sooner. Students may petition for course waivers based on previous graduate work (up to four term courses) only after successful completion of the first year.
Students normally serve as teaching fellows during four-six terms to acquire professional training. Ordinarily, students teach in their third year and two subsequent years. During their first term of teaching, students must attend training sessions run by the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning and work with the associate director of graduate studies to discuss any matters of concern. Students in more advanced years may have the opportunity to teach as associates in teaching (ATs), in conjunction with a faculty member, or by leading discipline-specific writing seminars on their own. Both options are available only through a competitive process. Interested students should consult with their advisers and the DGS for further information.
By the end of their ninth term, students are required to submit a chapter of their dissertation to the dissertation committee. This chapter will then be discussed with the student by the committee, in a chapter conference, to give the student additional advice and counsel on the progress of the dissertation. This conference is designed to be an extension of the conversation begun in the prospectus colloquium and is not intended as a defense. Its aim is to give students early feedback on the research, argument, and style of the first writing accomplished on the dissertation.
No less than one month before students plan to submit their dissertations, a relatively polished full draft of the dissertation should be discussed with the student by the dissertation committee, in a dissertation defense of one to two hours, to give the students additional advice and counsel on completing the dissertation or on turning it into a book, as appropriate. Students are required to submit the draft to their committee in sufficient time for the committee to be able to read it (approximately one month). This defense is designed to give students advice on the overall arguments and the final shape of the dissertation or book, and to leave time for adjustments coming out of the discussion.
The fellowship package offered to Ph.D. students normally includes twelve months of fellowship support for two terms of research and writing without any teaching duties. With the approval of the academic adviser and the DGS, students may choose to take the fellowship terms at any point after they have advanced to candidacy and before the end of their sixth year. Students are prohibited from teaching during research and writing fellowship terms.
Students who have not submitted the dissertation by the end of the sixth year need not register in order to submit. If, however, students wish to register for a seventh year for good academic reasons, they may petition for extended registration. The petition, submitted to the History DGS, will explain the academic reasons for the request. Only students who have completed the first chapter conference will be considered for extended registration.
Evaluation of First- and Second-Year Graduate Students
At the end of each term, the DGS will ask faculty members whether they have serious concerns about the academic progress of any first- or second-year students in the Ph.D. program. Faculty members who have such concerns will provide written feedback to the DGS at the DGS’s request. The DGS will use discretion in ensuring that feedback is provided in a clear and effective manner to any students about whom there are concerns. We expect such concerns to be rare.
Toward the end of the academic year, the History faculty will hold a special meeting to review each first- and second-year student in the program. The purpose of the meeting is to assess students’ academic progress. In order for second-year students to proceed to the third year, they must demonstrate through written work, classroom performance, and participation in departmental activities that they have the ability to: (a) speak and write clearly; (b) conduct independent research at a high level; and (c) develop coherent scholarly arguments. A faculty vote will be taken at the conclusion of the review meeting to decide whether each second-year student may stay in the program. In the unusual case that a majority of faculty present and voting determine that a student may not continue, the student will be informed in writing and withdrawn from the program. The review meeting must be a full faculty meeting, but faculty members with no knowledge of the students under review may abstain from the vote, and their abstentions will not count in the total. Those members of the faculty who have worked with or know the students being evaluated are required to attend. In the event that any necessary faculty members absolutely cannot be present, they may send their views in writing to the DGS, who will read them at the meeting.
A student informed of a vote of dismissal from the program may submit a formal letter of appeal within two weeks, accompanied by supporting documentation (research or other scholarly work), to the Graduate Advisory Committee. The Graduate Advisory Committee will render a final decision within two weeks of receipt of the appeal. Any members of the Graduate Advisory Committee who have worked directly with the student will recuse themselves from the final vote on the case.
Combined Ph.D. Programs
History and African American Studies
The Department of History offers, in conjunction with the Department of African American Studies, a combined Ph.D. in History and African American Studies. For further details, see African American Studies.
History and Classics
The Department of History offers, in conjunction with the Department of Classics, a combined Ph.D. in History and Classics, with a concentration in Ancient History. For further details, see Classics.
History and Early Modern Studies
The Department of History offers, in conjunction with the Early Modern Studies Program, a combined Ph.D. in History and Early Modern Studies. For further details, see Early Modern Studies.
Master’s Degrees
M.Phil. Students who have completed all requirements for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. may receive the M.Phil. degree.
M.A. (en route to the Ph.D.) Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program may qualify for the M.A. degree upon completion of a minimum of seven graduate term courses at Yale, of which two must have earned Honors grades and the other five courses must average High Pass overall. Students must also pass an examination in one foreign language.
A student in the Ph.D. program in American Studies who wishes to obtain an M.A. degree in History, rather than an M.A. in American Studies, must include in the courses completed at least two research seminars in the History department.
Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Political Science may qualify for the M.A. degree in History, rather than an M.A. in Political Science, upon completion of a minimum of six graduate term courses in History at Yale, of which two must have earned Honors grades and the other four courses must average High Pass overall. A student must include in the six courses completed at least two research seminars in the History department.
Terminal Master’s Degree Program For this terminal master’s degree, students must pass seven term courses, four of which must be in History; substantial written work must be submitted in conjunction with at least two of these courses, and Honors grades are expected in two courses, with a High Pass average overall. An undergraduate language course, statistics course, or other applicable course in a technological “language” may count for one course credit toward the graduate degree. All students in this program must pass an examination in one foreign language. Financial aid is not available for this program.
More information is available on the department’s website, http://history.yale.edu.
Courses
HIST 500a, Approaching History: Problems, Methods, and Theory Greg Grandin and Vanessa Ogle
An introduction to the professional study of history, which offers new doctoral students an opportunity to explore (and learn from each other about) the diversity of the field, while also addressing issues of shared concern and importance for the future of the discipline. By the end of the term participants have been exposed to some of the key methodological and theoretical approaches historians have developed for studying different time periods, places, and aspects of the human past. Required of and restricted to first-term History Ph.D. students.
W 9:25am-11:15am
HIST 501b, Prospectus Seminar Lauren Benton
This course provides students with information, support, and exercises to guide and assist them in writing the dissertation prospectus. It also introduces students to other common forms of academic writing such as conference papers and journal articles. By the end of the term, each student will have produced a preliminary draft of the dissertation prospectus.
W 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 502a / ANTH 531a / CLSS 815a / EALL 773a / HSAR 564a / JDST 653a / NELC 533a / RLST 803a, Archaia Seminar: Law and Society in China and Rome Noel Lenski and Valerie Hansen
An introduction to the legal systems of the Roman and post-Roman states and Han- and Tang-dynasty China. Emphasis on developing collaborative partnerships that foster comparative history research. Readings in surviving law codes (in the original or English translation) and secondary studies on topics including slavery, trade, crime, and family. This course serves as an Archaia Core Seminar. It is connected with Archaia's Ancient Societies Workshop (ASW), which runs a series of events throughout the academic year related to the theme of the seminar. Students enrolled in the seminar must attend all ASW events during the semester in which the seminar is offered.
M 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 507b / CLSS 829b / LING 668b / NELC 809b, Historical Sociolinguistics of the Ancient World Kevin van Bladel
Social history and linguistic history can illuminate each other. This seminar confers the methods and models needed to write new and meaningful social history on the basis of linguistic phenomena known through traditional philology. Students learn to diagnose general historical social conditions on the basis of linguistic phenomena occurring in ancient texts. Prerequisite: working knowledge of at least one ancient language.
M 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 508a / CLSS 847a, Climate, Environment, and Ancient History Joseph Manning
An overview of recent work in paleoclimatology with an emphasis on new climate proxy records and how they are or can be used in historical analysis. We examine in detail several recent case studies at the nexus of climate and history. Attention is paid to critiques of recent work as well as trends in the field.
T 9:25am-11:15am
HIST 523a / CLSS 811a / HSHM 758a, Graeco-Roman Medicine Jessica Lamont and Malina Buturovic
This course offers a graduate-level introduction to the history and study of ancient Greek and Graeco-Roman medicine, beginning with the development of “Hippocratic” medical texts in Classical Greece; these writings are set in dialogue with earlier Babylonian and Egyptian medical traditions. In addition to Hellenistic Alexandria, where anatomical research on the human body flourished, the seminar examines the works of the doctor and philosopher Galen of Pergamon. We conclude in Late Antique Alexandria, where traditions of Graeco-Roman medicine, repackaged as “Galenism,” begin a multi-century, cross-cultural journey into the medieval world. Throughout the course we consider: medical theories of human difference, regimen, gynecology and reproductive labor, pulse science, temple medicine and healing cults, anatomy and dissection, zoology, theories of contagion and epidemic, and natural philosophy. Classics students enrolled in the course are asked to read some texts in ancient Greek. However, knowledge of ancient Greek is not required for enrollment, and we welcome and encourage students with interests in the history of medicine and science beyond the Graeco-Roman world.
M 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 525a or b / HSHM 525a or b, Field Studies Staff
This course does not count toward the coursework requirements for the Ph.D. or M.A. ½ Course cr
HTBA
HIST 534a / MDVL 537a, Medieval Political History Paul Freedman
A reading and discussion course that concerns the nature of political power in Europe between approximately 1000 and 1500. Particular attention is paid to the development of state institutions, dynastic and territorial rivalries, the European balance of power, and the interaction of church and state.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 560a / EMST 660a / RLST 691a, Society and the Supernatural in Early Modern Europe Carlos Eire
Readings in primary texts from the period 1500–1700 that focus on definitions of the relationship between the natural and supernatural realms, both Catholic and Protestant. Among the topics covered: mystical ecstasy, visions, apparitions, miracles, and demonic possession. All assigned readings in English translation.
W 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 596a / JDST 761a / MDVL 596a / RLST 773a, Jews and the World: From the Bible through Early Modern Times Ivan Marcus
A broad introduction to the history of the Jews from biblical beginnings until the European Reformation and the Ottoman Empire. Focus on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationships among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Jewish society and culture in its biblical, rabbinic, and medieval settings.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm
HIST 625b, Martyrdom and Sainthood in the Early Modern World Carlos Eire
The late medieval and early modern periods saw a dramatic rise in religious violence and persecution. Heresies—such as the Hussites, Waldensians, and Lollards—unsettled religious and political authorities, leading to armed conflict and attempts to suppress movements with violence. Across northern Europe, the late Middle Ages witnessed increasing numbers of pogroms as Jewish communities continued to be eradicated. At the same time, the period saw a flourishing of the veneration of saints and the canonization of holy men and women. These conflicting trends were only heightened by the Reformation, in which martyrdom and sainthood played central roles. This course explores the willingness to die and kill for one’s faith and the extraordinary growth in religious heroes, both Protestant and Catholic, who defined emerging confessional identities. The course examines a broad range of texts and visual material considering martyrdom and sainthood in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Also REL 757.
W 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 656a / PLSC 629a, Histories of Political Thought Isaac Nakhimovsky
The intersection between political theory and intellectual history, examined from a historiographical rather than an exclusively methodological perspective. The course aims to develop a comparative framework for discussing the kinds of preoccupations and commitments that have animated various important contributions to the history of political thought since the nineteenth century.
F 9:25am-11:15am
HIST 667b / FREN 900b / WGSS 667b, History of Gender and Sexuality in Modern Europe Carolyn Dean
An introduction to the various lines of inquiry informing the history of sexuality. The course asks how historians and others constitute sexuality as an object of inquiry and addresses different arguments about the evolution of sexuality in Europe, including the relationship between sexuality and the state and sexuality and gender.
T 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 669a, European Empires and Law Lauren Benton
Empires used law to structure conquest, establish the legitimacy of rule, justify violence, and absorb new populations and territories. Imperial interactions with conquered populations developed in important ways through the medium of law. The conflicts in and among empires helped to shape the global legal order and to mold the contents of international law. This course considers these and other topics and problems. Readings include selections from the works of key European jurists but focus mainly on providing students with a firm grasp of trends in the secondary literature on empire and law. The emphasis is on the legal history of European empires between 1500 and 1900, but students are encouraged to explore topics and interests in other imperial historiographies.
W 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 680b, Russian History to 1725 Paul Bushkovitch
The major phases of Russian history from the tenth century, covering the major historiographical controversies and sources. Russian or German helpful but not required.
HTBA
HIST 702b / AMST 802b, Readings in Early National America Joanne Freeman
An introduction to the early national period and its scholarship, exploring major themes such as nationalism, national identity, the influence of the frontier, the structure of society, questions of race and gender, and the evolution of political cultures.
T 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 709a / AFAM 709a / HSHM 763a, Readings in Race and Racism in Medicine, Science, and Healthcare Carolyn Roberts
This graduate reading seminar invites students to study historical and contemporary texts related to race and racism in medicine, science, and healthcare. Our primary focus is anti-Black racism, and we study connections between the period of slavery and present-day issues in healthcare, biomedical research, reproductive justice, and medical and nursing education and practice. Students from any department and discipline are welcome to join this small seminar, which privileges deep listening, close reading, community, and care.
F 9:25am-11:15am
HIST 725a, Topics, Themes, and Methods in U.S. History Beverly Gage and Mark Peterson
Exploring key readings in U.S. history, this seminar introduces important areas of research, members of the Yale faculty, and resources for research at Yale and beyond. Highly recommended for first and second year doctoral students in US History. Open to other interested graduate students with permission of the instructors.
T 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 737b / AFAM 766b / AMST 691b, Research Seminar in U.S. Political Economy Jennifer Klein
Research seminar oriented around themes and issues in U.S. political economy from the late nineteenth century through the end of the twentieth. Readings in the first part of the term look at various approaches to writing about political economy: for example, business history, intellectual history, labor history, biography, local monograph, or transnational history. Research projects explore new possibilities for writing about labor, business, the state, and capitalism.
T 9:25am-11:15am
HIST 741a / AFAM 817a, Research Seminar on the Early Atlantic World Edward Rugemer
This research seminar explores various approaches to writing the history of the early Atlantic world, with particular emphasis on race and slavery, from 1500 to about 1850. Every student writes a publishable article based upon original research.
M 9:25am-11:15am
HIST 743a / AMST 839a / HSHM 744a, Readings in Environmental History Sunil Amrith
Readings and discussion of key works in environmental history. The course explores major forces shaping human-environment relationships, such as markets, politics, and ecological dynamics, and compares different approaches to writing about social and environmental change.
M 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 746b / AMST 903b / PHUM 903b, Introduction to Public Humanities Matthew Jacobson and Ryan Brasseaux
What is the relationship between knowledge produced in the university and the circulation of ideas among a broader public, between academic expertise on the one hand and nonprofessionalized ways of knowing and thinking on the other? What is possible? This seminar provides an introduction to various institutional relations and to the modes of inquiry, interpretation, and presentation by which practitioners in the humanities seek to invigorate the flow of information and ideas among a public more broadly conceived than the academy, its classrooms, and its exclusive readership of specialists. Topics include public history, museum studies, oral and community history, public art, documentary film and photography, public writing and educational outreach, the socially conscious performing arts, and fundraising. In addition to core readings and discussions, the seminar includes presentations by several practitioners who are currently engaged in different aspects of the Public Humanities. With the help of Yale faculty and affiliated institutions, participants collaborate in developing and executing a Public Humanities project of their own definition and design. Possibilities might include, but are not limited to, an exhibit or installation, a documentary, a set of walking tours, a website, a documents collection for use in public schools.
F 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 760b, American Legal History John Witt
A highly selective tour, with emphasis on transformative moments and foundations. Subjects include legal controversies over European empires in the New World; legal theory of the American Revolution and creation of the U.S. Constitution; advent of the laws of capitalism and slavery; the jurisprudence of the Civil War and Reconstruction; the rise of the modern state and its accompanying intellectual formations and legal crises; the civil rights era and its aftershocks; the mass incarceration phenomenon; immigration law in the construction of the United States; and conservative legal mobilization. Materials include elite sources from the U.S. Supreme Court and elsewhere, as well as social history of the law from the bottom up. Special attention to the role of legal institutions in American economic development; relationships between law and society; and questions about the significance of studying law’s history.
HTBA
HIST 775a / AMST 866a / WGSS 712a, Readings in the History of Sexuality Regina Kunzel
Selected topics in the history of sexuality. Emphasis on key theoretical works and recent historical literature.
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 779a, Readings in Economic History, Capitalism, and Political Economy Vanessa Ogle
In this graduate reading seminar, we explore different actors and institutions that shaped the formation of the global economy since the early modern period. The readings focus on a number of forces and their interplay with the economic lives of both ordinary men and women and more elite figures: states/political institutions, the environment, law, war, empire, companies, and capitalists. The seminar provides students with a solid knowledge of the questions currently discussed in the burgeoning subfield of the so-called “new history of capitalism.” We pay particular attention to the contours of these debates beyond the history of the United States, and to the international and global dimensions of economic history. No familiarity with economics or economic history required. While this is a reading seminar, students looking to write a research paper on related topics are welcome to pursue this option as part of the course. The course is designed for history Ph.D. students and others who have had previous exposure to history classes at the university level. Basic familiarity with broader historical developments since the eighteenth century is expected.
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 788a or b, Across the Red Sea: Race, Islam, and Geopolitics Staff
In this graduate seminar, we focus on historical and contemporary texts related to the modern history of the Red Sea region. This course uses the emergent historiography of the Red Sea to focus students’ attention on often overlooked connections between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula from the late eighteenth century until the present. In this course, we draw heavily on works from the discipline of history, but we also make ample use of works from the related social sciences. We touch upon issues of race, slavery, migration, imperialism, environmental change, and geopolitical competition. While this is a reading seminar, students looking to write a research paper on related topics are welcome to pursue this option as part of the course. The course is designed for history Ph.D. students and others who have had previous exposure to history classes at the university level.
HTBA
HIST 797b / AFAM 797b / AMST 797b, Atlantic Abolitions Marcela Echeverri Munoz
This readings course explores the historiography on the century of abolition, when the new states of the Americas abolished racial slavery. Beginning with the first abolitions in the U.S. North during the 1780s, we consider the emergence and process of abolition throughout the Atlantic world, including the Caribbean, Spanish America, and Brazil, through the 1880s.
Th 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 799b, Global and International History Workshop Lauren Benton
This workshop offers graduate students opportunities for guided interactions with a community of scholars in global and international history. Students comment on the research of leading scholars and refine their abilities in historical analysis and research presentation. The seminar runs in conjunction with the Global and International History Workshop (GIHW), which brings between six and eight scholars to present their work each year. Presenters represent different temporal and geographical specializations but share an international orientation and methodology in their work. The workshop is open to any student whose research is, broadly speaking, situated within global and international history. ½ Course cr
HTBA
HIST 804a, Latin American History Speaker Series Marcela Echeverri Munoz
The Latin American History Speaker Series meets eight times per year and aims to showcase ongoing research by leading historians of Latin America and create a space for dialogue about the future of the field. The series is made possible by the generous support of the Yale Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS) at the MacMillan Center. This course does not count toward the coursework requirements in History. ½ Course cr
HTBA
HIST 810a, Introduction to Brazilian History and Historiography Stuart Schwartz
This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the five-century broad sweep of Brazilian history and to the development of the historiography of that country. The course is organized around the reading and discussion of a series of books and articles that highlight the major themes and approaches in Brazilian history and that address the major theoretical and methodological issues as in writing and studying its history as well. We address themes such as the strength of regionalism, the role of the State and its relationship to society, the colonial legacy, the role of slavery and race in Brazilian society, the processes of immigration and industrialization, Brazil’s emergence as a regional and a world power, and the challenges of democracy and authoritarian rule in contemporary times.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 823b / FREN 785b, Haiti in the Americas Anne Eller and Marlene Daut
This course broadens the temporal parameters of Atlantic history to consider the formation and impact of colonial Saint-Domingue, the import of revolutionary Haiti, and the trajectory of state making on the island through imperial projects of the twentieth century. The course engages with scholarship from the circum-Caribbean, the United States, France, and the greater Atlantic African diaspora.
T 9:25am-11:15am
HIST 836b / AFST 836b, Histories of Postcolonial Africa: Themes, Genres, and the Contingencies of Archival Research Benedito Machava
This course is both historiographic and methodological. It is meant as an introduction to the major themes that have dominated the study of postcolonial Africa in recent years, and the material circumstances in which they were produced. We pay close attention to the kinds of sources and archives that scholars have employed in their works, and how they addressed the challenges of writing contemporary histories in Africa. We center our weekly meetings around one key text and one or two supplementary readings. We engage with works on politics, detention, violence, environment and technology, women and gender, affect, fashion, leisure, and popular culture.
HTBA
HIST 839b / AFST 839b, Environmental History of Africa Robert Harms
An examination of the interaction between people and their environment in Africa and the ways in which this interaction has affected or shaped the course of African history.
HTBA
HIST 844a / AFST 848 / HSAR 614 / HSHM 737, Human and Non-Human in African History Daniel Magaziner
This graduate reading seminar surveys recent scholarship on human interactions with non-humans in African history. Topics to be considered include human/animal interactions, histories of technology across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, histories of urbanization (encompassing histories of popular and mechanical culture as well as histories of human/pathogen interactions), and how human beings have responded to their circumstances through mediation with non-human objects, whether as “fetish,” as “art,” or as “technology.”
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 852a, Egypt, 1500–1900 Alan Mikhail
Topics in the historiography of early modern and modern Egypt. Readings include classics in the field as well as examples of recent trends and innovative new works. Emphasis is placed on methodology, source usage, questions of periodization, and other interpretive problems. Open to advanced undergraduate with permission of the instructor.
W 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 870b, Social History of the Silk Road Valerie Hansen
An introduction to the social history of the Silk Road from 200–1000 CE through close examination of six archaeological sites in China and one in Uzbekistan. Emphasis on excavated documents (as opposed to transmitted documents) and what they reveal about local society, trade relations, and religious change in the first millennium CE. Those who read classical Chinese meet separately to read handwritten documents, but knowledge of classical Chinese is not required.
M 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 877a, The History of Early Modern China Maura Dykstra
This course examines the periodization, parameters, and implications of some of the many ways that China’s path to modernity has been theorizing by reviewing scholarship on what defines and constitutes China’s Early Modern era. From early twentieth-century adaptations of social and historical theories from European languages into Chinese historiographical discussions to post-Mao attempts to trace the “sprouts of capitalism” that might justify China’s socialist revolution as a valid one, from theories of Song dynasty absolutism and Ming autocracy, from the Great Divergence to urban history, this course surveys the many ways in which the study of China’s pre-modern experiences have been shaped to answer questions about China’s particular path to modernity.
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 889a / EAST 889a / EMST 689a, Research in Japanese History Fabian Drixler and Hannah Shepherd
After a general introduction to the broad array of sources and reference materials available for conducting research related to the history of Japan since ca. 1600, students prepare original research papers on topics of their own choosing in a collaborative workshop environment. Prerequisite: reading knowledge of Japanese.
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 903b, Law and Society in Modern South Asia Rohit De
South Asian history has taken a legal turn, with a slew of new self-conscious works of legal history and a range of ethnographies. Social scientists are opening the ways in which law, legal institutions, and ideologies structure and shape South Asian society and are becoming sites of mobilization and resistance. This marks a decisive shift away from decades of scholarship which focused on the idea of a gap between law and legal institutions and South Asian society and comes at a time when the postcolonial states of South Asia are embracing the language of decolonization to overturn and transform long-standing laws and convention. Covering a time period from the eighteenth century to the present, the course engages with the emergence of the colonial legal system and the modern legal profession. The seminar engages with both the canon and recent scholarship on South Asian law and society to rethink fundamental categories of analysis in South Asia: property, state, family, caste, capital, sex, labour, but also to think generatively across broader questions of law and society.
W 7pm-8:50pm
HIST 926a / AMST 877a / HSHM 703a, Problems in the History of Medicine and Public Health John Warner
An examination of the variety of approaches to the social, cultural, and intellectual history of medicine, focusing on the United States. Reading and discussion of the recent scholarly literature on medical cultures, public health, and illness experiences from the early national period through the present. Topics include the role of gender, class, ethnicity, race, religion, and region in the experience of health care and sickness and in the construction of medical knowledge; the interplay between vernacular and professional understandings of the body; the role of the marketplace in shaping professional identities and patient expectations; health activism and social justice; citizenship, nationalism, and imperialism; and the visual cultures of medicine.
T 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 931b / HSHM 702b, Problems in the History of Science Deborah Coen
Surveys current methodologies through key theoretical and critical works. Students encounter major twentieth-century methodological moments that have left lasting imprints on the field: positivism and anti-positivism, the sociology of knowledge, actor-network theory, and historical epistemology, as well as newer approaches focusing on space, infrastructure, translation, and exchange. We also consider central conceptual problems for the field, such as the demarcation of science from pseudoscience; the definition of modernity and the narrative of the Scientific Revolution; vernacular science, the colonial archive, and non-textual sources.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 937b / AFAM 752b / AMST 937b / HSHM 761b, Researching and Writing Medicine, Health, and Empire Carolyn Roberts
This graduate research course is limited to a small number of graduate students who are currently involved in research projects that touch on any issues related to health, medicine, and the body in the context of slavery, colonialism, or neocolonialism. The course includes visits to diverse archives on campus, discussions of archival best practices, and digital organizational tools. The course provides graduate students with a balance of support and independence as they carry out their research. Graduate students in any discipline are warmly welcomed to participate in a compassion-based research community that prioritizes values of deep listening, presence, and care.
F 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 940b / HSHM 770b / WGSS 782b, Disability Histories: Research Seminar Naomi Rogers
This course introduces students to the major issues in current disability history as well as theoretical debates in disability studies. We discuss cultural, social, and political meanings of citizenship; efforts to define and classify disabled bodies; contested notions of bodily difference; and the ways disability has and continues to be used as a metaphor for socially defined inferiority like gender, race, or sexuality. By the fourth week students have identified the topic for their research papers and discussed them in class. The next month is devoted to research and writing. We then start meeting again to read and discuss a draft of each paper.
W 3:30pm-5:20pm
HIST 945a / AFAM 719a / HSHM 771a, Researching and Writing Histories of Health, Medicine, and Science Carolyn Roberts
This small graduate seminar is for students currently researching and writing histories of health, science, and medicine. Students learn about slow scholarship, the politics of the archive, and research organization and management and explore the craft of writing. Preference is given to graduate students in history, the history of science and medicine, and African American studies.
F 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 958b / EMST 695b / MUSI 852b, Temporalities: Early, Modern, and Otherwise Maura Dykstra and Marlene Daut
What is the relationship between history and temporality? Perhaps a better question might be: what different relationships have there been between histories and temporalities, and how can interrogating those epistemic shifts generate new ways of “doing” history in the present? This interdisciplinary graduate seminar undertakes a critical genealogy of “history” itself, approaching the Enlightenment and the early-mid-twentieth century as two pivotal moments in the conceptual solidification of the relationship between time (singular) and capital-H history. Readings describing and utilizing foundational theories about time, periodization, and historicism, are juxtaposed against critiques and alternative imaginings in post/de-colonial studies, gender and sexuality studies, performance studies, and various traditions outside of (or opposed to) the canon of modernity. The syllabus includes texts by early modern theorists of history, twentieth-century social theorists, and the critical theoretical engagements that assailed and critiqued them.
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 963a and HIST 964b / ANTH 963a and ANTH 964b / HSAR 841a and HSAR 842b / HSHM 691a and HSHM 692b, Topics in the Environmental Humanities Staff
This is the required workshop for the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities. The workshop meets six times per term to explore concepts, methods, and pedagogy in the environmental humanities, and to share student and faculty research. Each student pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities must complete both a fall term and a spring term of the workshop, but the two terms of student participation need not be consecutive. The fall term each year emphasizes key concepts and major intellectual currents. The spring term each year emphasizes pedagogy, methods, and public practice. Specific topics vary each year. Students who have previously enrolled in the course may audit the course in a subsequent year. This course does not count toward the coursework requirement in history. Open only to students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities. ½ Course cr per term
M 11:30am-1:20pm
HIST 965a / ANTH 541a / ENV 836a / PLSC 779a / SOCY 617a, Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development Jonathan Wyrtzen and Elisabeth Wood
An interdisciplinary examination of agrarian societies, contemporary and historical, Western and non-Western. Major analytical perspectives from anthropology, economics, history, political science, and environmental studies are used to develop a meaning-centered and historically grounded account of the transformations of rural society. Team-taught.
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
HIST 997a / HSHM 997a, Pedagogy Seminar Daniel Botsman
Faculty members instruct their Teaching Fellows on the pedagogical methods for teaching specific subject matter. 0 Course cr
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HIST 998a, Directed Readings Staff
Offered by permission of the instructor and DGS to meet special requirements not covered by regular courses. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.
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HIST 999a, Directed Research Staff
Offered by arrangement with the instructor and permission of DGS to meet special requirements.
HTBA