Fall 2008
HSTY 289 Chinese Martial Arts in History & Legend
Marcia Butler
Levitation, swords that fly through the air, the magical power of the true master; this is the stuff of Chinese martial arts in popular movies and fiction. Where do these images come from? How does the martial tradition draw upon broader cultural values and concepts? In this course, we will explore representations of historical and mytho-legendary hero/ines and the worlds in which they moved to answer these questions. With a focus on culture in history, we will explore Chinese religion, morality, and universal constructions that inform the martial tradition.
*Hard copies of the syllabus are available for review in the History Department office.
HSTY 299 Topics in History – History of Drugs in Modern America
Rhonda Williams — TR 1:15-2:30 PM
This course will survey the rise and political, social, and cultural effects of drugs in modern societies with an emphasis on the late 19th and 20th century United States. First, we will examine the global emergence and popularization of drugs as part of what David Courtwright has coined the “psychoactive revolution.” Then, we will narrow this broad lens by shifting our gaze to narcotics in the expanding US nation. Specifically, we will examine the shifting nature of and debates regarding narcotics consumption, regulation, and policy. Finally, we will explore the human toll of narcotics in post-World War II culture and cities through film and autobiography.
HSTY 329 Museums and Globalization
Mirian Levin —
W 3:00-5:30 PM
Museums are everywhere contested spaces today. Historically designed as agents of public education and community formation, now they are centers of public controversy on a global scale. From Paris to Nairobi museums figure in conflicts over urban redevelopment, national identity, cultural diversity, and global tourism. Questions we will consider in this course: what are the fundamental features of museums as institutions; how have they been structured; what ties have linked them to wider national and international communities, political, economic and social concerns; how have they used resources such as research, collecting, buildings, display technologies, and geographic location to carry out these functions; how do museums in Asia, Africa the Middle East and Latin America figure in the current international contention over the issue of heritage: This is an innovative course offered jointly by JHU and CWRU using web-based technologies that allow students to collaborate on projects and access museums across the globe through internet resources with "visitors" from other countries participating on-line and students buildings web links for their presentations and written projects. This is an innovative course using web-based technologies that allow discussions between students and "visitors" from other countries, as well as student collaboration on projects and access to museums across the globe through internet resources. Offered as HSTY 329 and HSTY 429.
HSTY 373 Advanced Topics in American Women's History
Renée Sentilles —
M 2:00-4:30 PM
This advanced seminar is designed to allow students to investigate aspects of American women's history that are not deeply explored in other courses. The two central purposes of the course are to move students forward in their study of American women's history and to provide advanced study for graduate students and other students interested in women-focused topics. The topic is subject to change, but may be any of the following or something similar: women and medicine, images of women in popular culture, growing up female, women and political movements, women and war, etc. Recommended preparation: HSTY 353/453 or HSTY 354/454. Offered as HSTY 373, WMST 373, and HSTY 473.
HSTY 381 The City as Classroom
Rhonda Williams
— T 4:30-7:00 PM
In this course, the city is the classroom. We will engage with the urban terrain. We will meet weekly off-campus, interact with community members, and interface--both literally and figuratively--with the city as a way to examine the linkages between historical, conceptual, and contemporary issues, with particular attention paid to race and class dynamics, inequality, and social justice. This course will have four intersecting components, primarily focusing on American cities since the 1930s: the social and physical construction of urban space, the built environment, life and culture in the city, and social movements and grassroots struggles. Offered as HSTY 381, POSC 381, SOCI 381, HSTY 481, POSC 481, and SOCI 481.
HSTY 391 Food in History
Alan Rocke — MW 12:30-1:45 PM
Food is inextricably interconnected with the development of agriculture and other technologies, with the rise and fall of empires, with increasing understanding of diet and nutrition, with laws and regulations, with the arts, with economic development and consumer culture, and with religious and ethnic identities. By examining selective and representative episodes pertaining to each of these topics, this course explores the global history of food, from the agricultural revolution of the neolithic era to the consumer revolution of the last generation. Offered as HSTY 391 and HSTY 491.
