History

The German philosopher Theodor Adorno famously wrote that “to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric,” by which he meant that no representation was possible of such a horrific human event. And yet, there has been a relentless outpouring  of film, memoirs, historical fiction and, even, poetry itself that deals directly with the Holocaust and some of which, such as the works of Italian survivor Primo Levi or Steven Spielberg’s film “Schindler’s List,” has become practically canonical.  This course examines a wide range of both filmic and literary efforts to grapple with the Nazi Holocaust with a view to the larger question of the problem of representing history that seems to defy all explanation.

A survey of some of the main currents in United States history since the end of the Second World War. Topics include: the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the countercultural movement, and the Post-Cold War Era.

This course examines the long view of the civil rights era, beginning with Reconstruction in the aftermath of the Civil War and continuing on to the climactic events of the 1960s.

This course will introduce some of the basic concepts and changing practices of religion at important moments in Chinese imperial history prior to the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911. After a brief introduction to the diversity of religions of China (from Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism and popular religions to the introduction of Islam and Christianity), the course will focus on the impact of religions on the daily lives of ordinary people. Readings will include primary sources-religious tracts, biographies of religious figures, and works of fiction in which religion plays a central role. Lectures will provide a critical framework through which students will interpret these materials and learn about the liveliness of the practices of Chinese religions.