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Department Policy on In-Person Attendance

All Fall 2025 History courses will be taught in-person.��By signing up for a class, you have agreed to attend and participate in the��class in-person. You should not expect to be able to attend class remotely or to access class recordings. *Exceptions to this policy may be granted at the instructor’s discretion. If you are unwilling or unable to commit to attending and participating in person over the duration of the semester, you should seek alternative options for all-remote or online courses. (For assistance with finding alternative classes, please contact your advisor and/or the History Advisor, Hayes Moore,��hayes.moore@colorado.edu.)

Expanded course descriptions

This page does not list all Fall 2025 History courses, only those for which we have expanded descriptions. To see all courses, please use the Course Search button above. If you would like an expanded description of a course which is not on this list, please reach out to the instructor.

HIST 1028-001: Latin American History since Independence - Tony Wood

Today, the twenty countries of Latin America are home to more than two-thirds of the Western hemisphere’s total population. Since 1800, they have been the scene of dramatic events that have captured the world’s attention, from the struggles for Independence to the Mexican Revolution, and from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the “Pink Tide” governments of Lula, Hugo Chávez, and Evo Morales. This course provides an overview of major events while drawing out longer-term themes and developments, such as the formation of national and racial identities, migration patterns, rural–urban tensions, and cultural shifts.��

HIST 1623-001: Introduction to Central and East European History since 1770 - John Hatch

HIST 1623 is an introduction to the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe in the modern era. From Germany to the steppes of Russia; from the Baltic to the Adriatic, this region of Europe has been the crucible of Modern History. World Wars have been started and fought there; empires destroyed; ideologies created and undone, and nations, too. It is the home of Nazism and Bolshevism, the Holocaust and Stalin's Great Purges, and to some of the greatest thinkers, writers, and artists of the modern era. More recently, it has been witness to the virulent hatreds of reborn nationalism in the Balkans and its chief product: ethnic cleansing; the incorporation of much of the (democratized) former Soviet Bloc into the European Union and NATO; the reemergence of Russian Statism, and the Russo-Ukrainian War. Given the course's scope, we will not be able to delve in great depth into any of these topics. Rather, I hope that by touching upon them, students will get the flavor of the region and a sense of the larger issues involved in its history.

HIST 1800-001: Introduction to Global History: The Silk Road - Kwangmin Kim

This course surveys the history of Silk Road as the crossroad of political, economic, cultural connections between East and West. Topics that will be explored in this course include but not limited to the rise and fall of the nomadic empires in Central Eurasia including the Mongols; the overland long-distance trades between China, Middle East, and Europe; the cultural exchanges via Silk Road including the expansion of Buddhism and Islam. The course also examines the partition of Central Eurasia by Chinese and Russian empires in the 19th century.

2220: History of War and Society��

(001) Gunpowder & War 1300-1648 - David Paradis

Knights on horseback dominated European warfare in the Middle Ages and even inspired a code of conduct and social paradigm: chivalry. ��With the adoption of gunpowder weapons and with the inclusion of the middle and lower classes in warfare, the chivalric ethos adapted, coexisted, sometimes even disintegrated as warfare became increasingly lethal, complex, and destructive by the early 1600s. ��This course examines a broad range of topics related to the adoption of gunpowder weapons and their impact on society before, during, and immediately after the Renaissance.

(002) Warfare in India - Sanjay Gautam��

This course focuses on the history of warfare in India from a global perspective. It is intended for students with little or no prior knowledge of the region. Starting with a discussion of Alexander’s invasion of India in 326 BCE, the course shifts its focus to the rise of Islam and the subsequent Arab and Turkish invasions and conquests in India. It then moves to the rise of maritime trading and naval powers—Portugal, Spain, and England/ Britain—in the 16th and 17th centuries that set off fierce colonial wars and eventually led to the colonization of India by the British East India Company. The course ends with an exploration into the emergence of the Anglo-Russian rivalry, also known as the ‘Great Game’, over Afghanistan in the early 19th century that led to devastating wars between the British empire in India and Afghanistan. An important aim of this course is to offer a historical perspective on some of the most enduring global conflicts of our times.

HIST 2326-001: Issues in the History of U.S. Society and Culture: American Identities - WWII Era - Natalie Mendoza

This course focuses on the WWII home front to explore how US society has defined "American"--in terms of identity as well as the ideals and priorities of the era. We will examine the tension between wartime democratic rhetoric and the various forms of discrimination African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Japanese Americans--among others--experienced by considering events such as the Double Victory campaign, the so-called Zoot Suit Riots, and Japanese American internment. In particular, we will consider the government's role in hindering or promoting a sense of belonging in American society, and how the war shaped citizens' rising expectations of the nation.

HIST 3012-001: Seminar in Modern European History: The Age of Empire - David Ciarlo

This research seminar explores what Eric Hobsbawm called the "Age of Empire," those four decades before the First World War (1875 to 1914) when Britain, Germany, France, and other European powers embarked on an unprecedented era of imperial expansion. ��Much of Africa and Southeast Asia fell under European rule in this development, often called "the new imperialism." As we tackle this era, we will address such topics as international rivalry in the "Scramble for Africa"; the economics of empire; theories of imperial expansion; racism in the colonial context; the myth of empire in European national identity; the role of social class and gender in colonial ideology, and especially, the 'culture' of imperialism. ��While much of the class will focus on the role of empire and imperialism in European society, we will also engage with a few counter-narratives from colonial subjects that offer experiences and perspectives that contrast vividly with those of the Europeans. ��The course will engage with a range of textual and visual sources, from historical writing to documents, from fiction to film. ��Most importantly, students will research a topic of their own choosing, and write a focused research paper using these sorts of sources in original research.��

HIST 3020: Historical Thinking & Writing

(001) The Rise of the Propaganda State - Tim Weston

This seminar examines how 20th and 21st century governments, some from the political left and others from the political right, came to��use propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, or some combination thereof, to manipulate and control societies over which they ruled.��We compare historical examples from Russia, Germany, China, and the U.S.��

(002) The Age of Revolutions - Andrew Detch

This course covers the use of visual and material sources in the study of the "Age of Revolutions" (1763-1850). Students will learn about the cultural history of the revolutionary era from a transnational perspective while also considering how to use visual and material sources. Overall, students will learn how to confront primary and secondary sources, join in wider historiographical discussions, write analytical essays, present research, and give useful criticism to peers.

HIST 3800-001: Seminar in Global History - Mithi Mukherjee

This research seminar is designed to train students in methods of historical research and writing by way of exploring themes of global reach. In this course we will look at the global encounter between Asia, Europe, and the United States in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We begin with a broad history of European colonialism, American expansion, and Japan’s empire in Asia in the modern era. We then look at anti-colonial resistance and the rise of nationalism in countries like India, the center of Britain’s maritime empire in Asia. The course concludes with an exploration into major transnational developments such as the rise of anti-Asian racism in the British Dominions and the United States, and the emergence and evolution of Asianism as a broad anticolonial cultural and political formation up until the end of the Second World War.��

HIST 4083-001: Trials and Triumphs on the Emerald Isle: The Irish People and Their Histories, 1641-1998 - Andrew Detch

Ireland is a small island with a big history. The Irish have suffered at the hands of conquerors, shown their bravery and tenacity during periods of rebellion and revolution, and graced the world with their creativity by producing some of history’s greatest writers, musicians, and artists. This course covers the history of Ireland during modern times, beginning with the rebellion of 1641 and ending with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Students will learn about some of the most tumultuous, triumphant, and creative periods in Irish history, all the while considering the blending of cultures that created the Ireland of today.

HIST 4258-001: Africa Under European Colonial Rule - Myles Osborne

This course seeks to understand the experience of colonialism in Africa. We will start with British, French, Portuguese and German empires that undertook the "Scramble for Africa" in the late 19th century. Themes include slavery and the slave trade; colonization and "pacification"; African resistance to European rule; missionaries and converts; decolonization and anti-colonial uprisings; issues facing Africa today, including oil, war and the Rwandan genocide.

HIST 4303-001: Venice and Florence during the Renaissance - Celine Dauverd

The Renaissance changed the way people created art, poetry, politics, and belief. The course explores the main artists of the time such as Michelangelo, Botticelli and Raphael, but also political theorists like Dante and Machiavelli, and engineers like Brunelleschi and Da Vinci. But Renaissance Italians were passionate about their cities: the course will assess critical moments like political assassinations and marriage wars, cross-cultural trade with the East, papal art patronage, and complex governance in Venice and Florence.

HIST 4304-001: The Cosmos in Ancient Mediterranean Societies - Celine Dauverd

How did people in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Greece, and Rome think about how the universe worked? To explore the cosmos of Ancient Mediterranean societies, the course focuses on spatial vs. divine universe; philosophic and scientific observation; order & chaos; and society and science shaping one another. We will pay special attention to the relationship between the cosmos and culture through monumental architecture, dogmatic texts and art.

*HIST 4349-001: Decolonization of the British Empire - Lucy Chester (online)

This class will be taught online and delivered asynchronously which means there are not scheduled days and times. Instructor may determine pacing and deadlines for coursework completion. See course syllabus for more information. This course examines the end of the British Empire.��Themes include control, resistance, negotiation, networks, and conflict, primarily in South Asia and the Palestine Mandate.����Students will acquire skills in comparative and transnational history, improve their writing, and develop a better understanding of the roots of contemporary conflict.

HIST 4442-001: Europe since 1945 - John Hatch

This course examines the political, economic, social, and cultural evolution of Europe since 1945. How did Europe rebuild from the ashes of World War II? What was the legacy of Nazism and the Holocaust? How did the Cold War and superpower rivalries shape the postwar European landscape? How do we account for the postwar economic boom in Western Europe and the development of the European Union? What was life like in the communist societies of Eastern Europe, and why did communism ultimately collapse? How did that collapse drive the rebirth of nationalism in the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, and, thirty years later, Russia's invasion of Ukraine?

HIST 4445-001: United States History since 1973 - Phoebe Young

The early 1970s marked a turning point shaping many key trends for the next half century: the rise of economic inequality; the onset of global neoliberalism; the emergence of the environmental movement and concerns about energy; the development of social movements for feminism, LGBTQ, African-American, Mexican-American and Indigenous rights; the end of the Cold War and the start of new global tensions; the growth of a new conservative movement and political polarization; the origins of the internet and new forms of media and technology; the beginning of the “war on drugs”; the birth of hip-hop and other cultural forms. In this class you will explore these and other key topics in political, economic, and cultural history from the 1970s all the way through to the 2020s. In addition to collective work and discussions, students will choose areas of interest, design custom questions, and analyze relevant evidence with the goal of examining this past in ways that can advance how we understand key present-day issues.

HIST 4527-001: Mexican-American History since 1848 - Natalie Mendoza

This course examines Mexican-origins people in the United States from the 19th century through the present. Focuses on Mexican American history as both an integral part of American history and as a unique subject of historical investigation. Using primary and secondary sources, students will examine how Mexicans and Mexican Americans have negotiated, influenced, and responded to political, social, cultural, and economic circumstances in the U.S.

HIST 4548-001: Women in Modern India - Mithi Mukherjee

This course will explore the status of women and the question of gender in modern India, examining women's roles, images, historical experiences, and contributions. We will explore such themes as the status of women and the role of gender in religious narratives, social customs and practices including marriage, the legal status of women, women and work, women's participation in the arts and politics, violence against women, and the representation of women in the media and the Indian film industry.

HIST 4554-001: Researching European Jewish Life - Thomas Pegelow Kaplan

This class is a research and learning initiative of ����������'s History Department with the Department of History, Philosophy, and Jewish Studies at the Open University of Israel and the Center for Research in Antisemitism at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. It revolves around an in-person research seminar in Europe. Topics will vary, beginning with a focus on autobiographical documents in the study of twentieth-century German Jewish life.

HIST 4558-001: Buddha to Gandhi: A History of Indian Nonviolence - Sanjay Gautam

Mahatma Gandhi led India to independence in 1947 through a nonviolent resistance movement against the British Empire that lasted over three decades. Despite millions of people participating in this movement, Gandhi maintained his unwavering commitment to nonviolence even under extremely tense historical circumstances. This was an exceptional and unprecedented movement in modern world history, given that all other major countries in the world-- Britain, France, America, Russia, and China--gained their freedom from their own monarchies or independence from foreign empires through violent revolutions. This course traces the long history of nonviolence in India going back to the Buddha, who was one of the first in India to introduce the idea of nonviolence as the foundation of religion in 6th century BCE. Nearly two and a half millennia before Gandhi became famous as the Mahatma or "great soul", the Buddha had been known in India as Mahatma Buddha. This is not a random coincidence, but a sign of deep historical ties between Gandhi and the Buddha. It is the nature and history of these ties that this course seeks to explore.

HIST 4800: Special Topics in Global History

(001) Abolition and Human Rights - Henry Lovejoy

This special topics History course focuses on a major global pattern of change: abolition and the rise of human rights. This major global shift went from a world which legally supported slavery to one that did not. Why then did the world suddenly decide to end slavery? This history still has implications today considering there are an estimated 40 million people around the world still enslaved today. This topic looks at abolitionism during the Age of Revolutions and the formation of some of the world's first international courts of humanitarian effort. It encourages students to practice historical methods by working with primary and secondary sources to write a paper, develop grant applications, and curate a digital project. It will address what kinds of questions we can ask about the origins of international human rights laws, procedures and practices.

(002) The Taiwan-China Conflict - Tim Weston

This course focuses on the history behind today’s headlines on the tension-filled triangular relationship between Taiwan, China, and the United States. The Taiwan-China Conflict is one of the most explosive geopolitical issues of our day. What exactly is Taiwan and how did the Conflict come about?

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