This course explores representations of people of color and race relations in the United States. A range of topics will be explored including the depictions of people of color in stereotypical ways, challenges to conventional stereotypes, the construction of race, identity issues, presentations of people of color vis-à-vis dominant group portrayals, interracial relationships, the historical/cultural contexts in which representations of race take place, the complicated politics of integration, the social position of the characters under review, and the intersection of race with gender and social class. The course will examine race relations from an interdisciplinary perspective, utilizing conceptual and theoretical insights from literature across academic disciplines. In this course, the motion pictures will be critically examined as one mechanism and influencer on the public’s exposure to difference.

A country divided. An autocratic ruler. Corruption at the top. Desperation at the bottom. A gulf between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” In the seventeenth century, England was on the precipice. Witnessing the fragmentation of its social and political order, civil war broke out through the country. The Parliament tried and executed the king and set up a new republic, the “Commonwealth.” Although the monarchy was restored within two decades, for better or worse, England was never the same. What do historians make of this turning point? By investigating provocative primary and secondary sources, we will think about why the “English Revolution” has continued to inspire and repel, and to fascinate and scare, historians down to today. Does this historical period help us understand the challenges facing the contemporary world?

Shortly after the death of John Lewis, sales of his March trilogy skyrocketed. The beautifully illustrated autobiographical series traces major developments in the US Civil Rights Movement through the perspective of Lewis. The March series is part of a growing trend in popular and scholarly writing that attempts to provide dynamic and engaging ways to get readers to think about the past. This course taps into this trend by using graphic histories to think about the ways stories are both told and illustrated. While graphic histories differ significantly from traditional secondary sources, we must think of these texts as forms of history writing. Students will read and analyze primary sources, graphic histories, and scholarly pieces written by historians. We will consider the value of historical inquiry, why stories are presented in certain ways, and how historians think about audience, present information, engage with sources, and get people to think about the past in unconventional ways.

Considers the lived experiences, collective memories, and popular representations of World War II from the perspective of the peoples and nations of Asia, with an emphasis on China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Analysis of memoirs, film, literature, and official documents will enable students to make claims about the historical significance of these events for those who experienced them and those who came after.