Course Catalog

This course examines the major civilizational development of civilization in East Asia from prehistory to the end of the sixteenth century. We will examine the histories of China, Korea, Japan, with a focus primarily on China. You will also be asked to think comparatively, examining not only how the different countries and regions developed in East Asia, but also how East Asian developments compare with the “West.”

Why do women have less power, make less money, and have fewer opportunities than men do? Why have women's bodies been controlled, stigmatized, and pathologized? This is the first half of a year-long investigation of the origins and impacts of gender inequality. We start with our pre-agricultural Sapiens ancestors up to the beginning of the early modern period, looking primarily but not exclusively at socio-cultural developments that shaped understandings of gender, patriarchy and the role of women in different early cultures around the world.

We have reached a critical moment in the evolution of cities. From Ur and Rome to Shanghai and the shadow cities of the 21st century, this radical shift in the way humans inhabit the planet marks a watershed moment in the history of world. This course will offer a historical perspective on this global transformation through an interdisciplinary study of city development from the ancient world to present. Students will be introduced to dominant themes of global and urban history by reading the historians, urban planners and social scientists who have traced the evolution of the built environment in context from its origins to today.

This course examines the historical development of the Middle East from the rise of the Ottoman Empire to its decline, and later from colonial rule to national independences. It covers the Arab World, Turkey and Iran and follows four main general themes: Reform, Colonialism, Nationalism and Revolution. The course is divided into two main sections which are organised chronologically and thematically. The first part of the course deals with the formation of the Ottoman Empire, its expansion, and the rise of Safavids in Persia. It then covers the reform movements in the Ottoman and Persian (Qajar) Empires, the influence of Europe and the political and social upheaval brought about by the outbreak of revolutions in the early 20th century. Indigenous responses to European penetration and indigenous reform are analysed through an understanding of revolutionary movements, and the rise of nationalism. The second part of the course examines the emergence of states in the Arab World, the British French accords and declarations, the question of Palestine and the Zionist activism and the debates around Secularism vs. Islam.