Spring 2026 Graduate Courses


(Tentative schedule; subject to change)

Course No. & Name Professor/Lecturer Day/Time Course Description
HIST 200N. From Palm and Peanut to Petroleum: The Place of Oil in African History Prof. G. Lydon Mon 4-6:50 The nineteenth-century end of the Atlantic trade in enslaved people heralded a new era of exploitation on the African continent. Much of it was linked to shifts in the consumption patterns of industrializing Western societies. In this period, labelled the era of “legitimate trade,” European countries, such as France and England, turned their attention to exporting Africa’s raw materials. Chief among these was palm oil, a product used in all kinds of industrial applications, from lubricating machinery to manufacturing soap. This seminar is designed as a reading and research course, where we will focus our attention on the place of oils in African history, from the era of legitimate trade to more recent times. We will begin with theoretical discussions of materiality and what Arjun Appadurai termed “the social life of things.” Subsequent seminar readings and themes are organized chronologically around the history oil product and economic and social transformations in African history, starting with the place of West Africa’s palm oil. After reading about colonial peanut plantation economies, we will turn to the emergence and predicament of petroleum-producing states across the continent. The final readings will inform on Africa’s other vegetable oil production in the past 50 years. By examining one single thing, oil, in its multiple and consequential applications, this seminar will allow us to reflect upon large swaths of African history. In this seminar, you will write and present a research paper on a thing of your choosing that marked the history of a given time and place in Africa.
HIST C200Q. Colonialism and the Conquest of Knowledge Prof. V. Lal Tues 2-4:50 Colonialism has most often been studied as a system of political expansion and domination, economic exploitation, the evisceration of the lifestyles of the indigenous or colonized people, and the radical transformation of physical landscapes. Colonialism was also, however, an intellectual conquest, or a conquest of knowledge. This reading-intensive seminar will consider how history, anthropology, cartography, and other forms of knowledge production were deployed by European powers in their colonies in achieving an intellectual dominion. Readings will include works by Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Mignolo, Johannes Fabian, Edward Said, Aime Cesaire, Fanon, Larry Wolff, Ashis Nandy, and other scholars.
HIST 201D. Topics in History: Early Modern Europe Prof. P. Stacey Thurs 2-4:50 “Concepts of Class in Historical Enquiry: From Marx to Bourdieu” This course is designed to introduce graduates to some seminal concepts of class, and to their place within the development of modern sociology from the texts of two classical theorists – Marx and Weber – to those of Bourdieu. Our aim is twofold: to familiarize ourselves with the variety of ways of conceptualizing class in social theory which historians and others working in the social sciences have at their disposal as analytical tools; and to consider how these various theories might be used in an historical setting in order to furnish differing types of explanations of past human behavior. The course presumes no prior knowledge of the major works of sociology; in fact, it is constructed in order to introduce students to the texts themselves and to the general architecture of the various social theories in which class features as a key concept.
HIST 201L. Topics in History: China Prof. M. Zhang Thurs 1-3:50 This course offers an overview of the study of the various frontiers of the Qing empire through the conceptual lenses of identity, imperial formation, trade, coloniality, migration, and political economy. In particular, we will juxtapose studies on the Inner Asian frontier with those focused on the maritime frontier. We will read some of the major scholarly contributions to the field, including now classic works, as well as recent publications.
HIST 201O. Topics in History: Science/ Technology: Histories of Climate Prof. B.J. Venkat Mon 10- 12:50 Seminar, three hours. Graduate course involving reading, lecturing, and discussion of selected topics. May be repeated for credit. When concurrently scheduled with course 191, undergraduates must obtain consent of instructor to enroll. S/U or letter grading.
HIST 201Q Historical Narration: Craft, Art, Uprising Prof. S. Stein Weds 2-4:50 Scholars of history have narrated inventively for generations, with ever evolving goals, approaches, styles, and motivations. This graduate seminar, open to graduate students in History and other disciplines, explores creative approaches to historical storytelling and encourages students to sharpen their own writerly voice. Together, we will explore a range of narrative strategies from various fields focused on various time periods (but mostly the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries), considering how narration is deployed as a method and to what shifting, radical ends. Students will experiment with narrative form in written assignments, drawing on sources and cases from their own fields.
HIST C201W. Topics in History: World: African Archival Politics and Practice in Digital Age Prof. H. Frederick (Wint) Thurs 1-3:50 Archives are often imagined as dusty repositories of crumbling documents. But what is an archive in digital age? Do social media posts count? Consideration of whether databases of forced migration capture historical complexity, or flatten lived experiences. Many archives crucial to African history remain in former colonial capitals or African cities beyond most U.S. students’ reach. Digitization promises democratic access and builds global communities. Study asks who controls digital archives, and whose histories they privilege or erase. Examination of how to balance accessibility with violence of making vulnerable lives searchable. Exploration of digital politics history in Africa and Global South. Introduction to practical digital research methods. Study makes use of online collections. Exploration of digital approaches such as database queries, mapping, text mining, and interpretation of visual archives such as political ephemera. Students complete one digital history research project that develops both technical and critical skills.
HIST 263B. Seminar: History of American West Prof. B. Madley Mon 2-4:50 Seminar, three hours. Requisite: course 263A. Letter grading.
HIST M265. Graduate Writing: Form, Process and Thought Prof. W. Marotti Tues 4-6:50 (Same as East Asian Studies M265.) Seminar, three hours. Designed for East Asian Studies MA students and East Asia-focused doctoral students, but open to all graduate students. Focus on essential skill and craft of graduate-level writing. Consideration of everything from basics about process–drafts and editing–to professional-level questions of relation of form to content, and of writing for broader publics. Specific skills and techniques are connected with the fundamental theories and principles at stake in academic inquiry, and student capacities to participate fully in disciplinary and interdisciplinary work are built. May be repeated once for credit. S/U or letter grading.
HIST 275B Colloquium: African History Prof. A. Apter Tues 2-4:50 Seminar, three hours. Designed for all entering and continuing graduate students in African history. Source identification, research methodologies, historiographical traditions, historical interpretation, approaches to teaching, and research design. Forum for critical discussion of dissertation prospectuses and work in progress. May be taken independently for credit. S/U or letter grading.
HIST 282B. Seminar: Chinese History Prof. M. Goldman Tues 2-4:50 Seminar, three hours. Requisite: course 282A. Letter grading.
HIST 495. Teaching History (required for 1st year students) Prof. M. McClendon Fri 2-3:50 Required of all new teaching assistants. Lectures, readings, discussions, and practice teaching sessions within the structure of a seminar. Students receive unit credit toward full-time equivalence but not toward the nine-course requirement for MA degree. S/U grading.