Speaker: 2007 Blackburn Lecture

George M. Blackburn Endowed Lecture on the Civil War and Reconstruction

Treason or Politics as Usual?: Dissent, Party, and Federal Power in Civil War Cooperstown, NY

by

Dr. Thomas Summerhill
Associate Professor of History, Michigan State University

November 14, 2007
Park Library Auditorium
5:30pm

Free and Open to the Public

[Sponsored by the Department of History and the George M. Blackburn Endowed Lecture on the Civil War and Reconstruction]

Spring 2008 Course Spotlight: "The Third Reich"

HST 496: Research Seminar/HST 758A: Seminar in Twentieth Century European History

"The Third Reich and Genocide in Comparative Perspective"

Professor Eric A. Johnson
Tuesdays, 3:30-6:20
Spring 2008

This course focuses on The Third Reich in broad perspective. The goal is for students to write high quality research papers of 25-40 pages dealing with a specific aspect of the history of dictatorship and genocide whether in Nazi Germany or elsewhere. Of particular interest for this semester are papers based on correspondence between Europeans and Americans during the years of the Third Reich, but other topics can be arranged with the instructor’s approval.

Required Texts:

Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil
Samantha Powers, A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide
Eric A. Johnson, What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany
Elie Wiesel, Night
Jan Gross, Neighbors
Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power

Spring 2008 Course Spotlight: "Middle East Nationalisms"

HST 697A: Special Studies Colloquium

"Nationalisms, State Creation, and the Search for Identity in the Middle East, Ca. 1800 to the Present"

Professor John Robertson
Tuesdays, 3:30-6:20
Spring 2008

This course will explore the rich historiography of the Modern Middle East (from the late 18th century) with a focus on its inherently transnational and comparative character. Themes will include the construction of - and threats to - transethnic and transectarian identities (such as Ottomanism, Iraqi nationalism, and Lebanese nationalism) and trans-nation-state movements (Arab nationalism); the comparative uses of religion in defining national identities; the impact of European-American intervention and hegemony in the history of modern Middle Eastern nation-state; and the impact of economic and cultural globalization on Middle Eastern politics and culture.

Spring 2008 Course Spotlight: "The European Enlightenment"

HST 496: Research Seminar/HST 742: Seminar in Eighteenth Century European History

"The European Enlightenment"

Professor Doina Pasca Harsanyi
Tuesdays, 6:30-9:20
Spring 2008

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant chose the motto "Dare to know" to characterize the eighteenth century movement of ideas called the Enlightenment. Every generation needs to rediscover the intellectual daring of the Enlightenment and take up the challenge to think for oneself. The achievements as well as the shortcomings of this phenomenon left their mark on every aspect of modern Western civilization. This course aims at providing, in the spirit of the Enlightenment itself, the intellectual setting for each student to respond on his or her own to the ideas and values communicated by the Enlightenment.

Course Spotlight: "Historiography"

HST 600: Historiography

Professor Steve Scherer
Mondays, 6:30-9:20
Offered every semester

This course deals with historical theory. Theoretical courses in history curricula can include studies ranging from bibliography, methodology and research practice through the philosophy of history and the history of historical writing.

Bibliography, methodology and research practice are better taught intensively in association with subject matter courses. The philosophy of history is best taught within the discipline of philosophy.

History 600, therefore, is principally a study of the history of historical writing; the development of historical methods and the use of sources are discussed, but peripherally.

Course Texts

Basic Reference:
Breisach, Historiography: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern

Assigned Historians:
Sallust, Conspiracy of Catiline
Bede, History of the English Church and People
Guicciardini, History of Italy
Voltaire, The Age of Louis XIV
Michelet, Joan of Arc
Ranke, Ferdinand I and Maxmilian II of Austria
Pirenne, Medieval Cities
Foucault, Madness and Civilization
Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre
Johnson, What We Knew
Bailyn, Atlantic World
Dirlik, "Performing the World: Reality and Representation..."

Spring 2008 Course Spotlight: "Napoleon"

HST 542: "Napoleon"

Professor Doina Pasca Harsanyi
Tuesday-Thursday, 2:00-3:15
Spring 2008

The short period dominated by Napoleon Bonaparte (1795-1815) brought together a beginning and an end: it concluded the eighteenth century era of Enlightenment and Revolution while opening the modern age of nationalism and mass politics. Napoleon used to assure his contemporaries that the "gains of the Revolution were safe" with him but boasted of founding an empire like no other in history. This course will examine the historical significance of various aspects of Napoleon's rule -- famous military expeditions, social and political motivations, artistic representations -- and attempt to uncover the ambiguities behind the myth.

Spring 2008 Course Spotlight: "New African Diaspora"

HST 496: Research Seminar/HST 791: Graduate Research Seminar
"Seminar on the History of the New African Diaspora"

Professor Solomon Getahun
Mondays, 6:30-9:20
Spring 2008

So far, African Diaspora studies have been focused on the forced migration of people from the African continent into the New World, primarily the US to some degree the Caribbean. As a result, African Diaspora studies have always been associated with the saga of slavery and the Atlantic slave trade.

While both the Disapora and Transatlantic studies are essential in understanding the history of Africans in America and beyond, they do not explain the post-1960s migration of Africans to the US and other parts of the world; and the formation of New African Diaspora identities such as Nigerian-Americans, Ethiopian-Americans, and Senegalese-Italians, etc.

In this seminar, however, we will explore the historical circumstances and recent socio-economic and political developments that triggered the post-1960s African migration to the US and other parts of the world.

By examining US Congressional hearings, US Census Bureau data, INS (the now Homeland Security) figures and reports, and by interviewing contemporary African immigrants, we will map the whereabouts of the New African Disapora in the United States. Using the available literature on immigrants in America, we will also analyze African immigrants' relationships with the mainstream society in general and African Americans in particular.

Professor Schmiechen leads historic study tour of Saugatuck

Early this October 2007, Professor James Schmiechen will be leading a scenic study tour around the historical villages of the Saugatuck lakeshore along Lake Michigan as part of an educational program sponsored by the Society for Architectural Historians (SAH). For more information, visit the SAH website or download the flyer.

CMU to host international conference on violence and genocide

The Department's Center for Transnational and Comparative History (CTCH) is hosting an international conference on violence and genocide in Latin America on August 23-25, 2007. For more information, see the CTCH website or read the CMU press release.