Program Committee: Alan Dye (Economics), Deborah Valenze (History), David Weiman (Economics), and Carl Wennerlind (History).
For a complete list of
faculty on leave see:
http://www.barnard.edu/provost/facleavelist.html
The Economic and Social History major is an interdisciplinary major that combines economic reasoning with different historiographic approaches and quantitative analysis. The major encourages students to develop an understanding of the human experience through the record of the past and acquire intellectual tools to analyze historical changes from an economic and social perspective. Students are exposed to different ways of thinking about the origins of capitalism, the structural features of modern economies, regional differences or global diversity in long-run economic performance and socioeconomic well-being, and the challenges and opportunities facing the global economy today. By looking at both the social and the economic dimensions of the histories of one or more geographical regions, students gain a valuable interdisciplinary perspective that enables them to appreciate and think systematically and critically about the complexities of human interaction. Students who graduate with a major in Economic and Social
History will be prepared to enter graduate programs in history, business, public policy/administration, or to pursue careers such as in public policy or business that call for diverse perspectives and skills.
A major in Economic History must complete the following 12 courses or their equivalents:
Economics (5 courses)
Theoretical Perspectives (3 courses) Students must take the following courses or their approved substitutes.
| ECON BC 1003 | Introduction to Economic Reasoning |
| ECON BC 3041 | Theoretical Foundations of Political Economy |
| ECON BC 3033 | Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (ECON BC3035, ECON W3213, or ECON W3211 may be substituted for ECON BC3033) |
Economic History (2 courses) Students must take 2 of the following courses, including at least one upper-level economic history elective (at the 3000 level or higher).
| ECON BC 2xxx | Globalization and Industrial Revolution |
| ECON BC 2014 | Topics in Economic History |
| ECON BC 3013 | Economic History of the United States (another upper-level economic history course may be substituted, subject to economics adviser’s approval.) |
History (5 courses)
Introductory courses (1 course)
| HIST BC 1xxx | Introductory course in field of historical specialization |
Lecture courses ( 2 courses)
| HIST BC 3116 | Filthy Lucre: A History of Money |
| HIST BC 3180 | Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Formation of Atlantic Capitalism: 1600-1800 |
| HIST BC 3321 | Colonial Encounters |
| HIST W 3411 | American Society in the Age of Capital |
| HIST W 3503 | American Labor in the 20th Century |
| HIST BC 3662 | History of Latin America in the 19th Century |
| HIST W 3665 | Economic History of Latin America |
| HIST W 3029 | Roman Social History |
| HSEA W 4884 | Economic History of Modern China |
Seminars ( 2 courses)
| HIST BC 4062 | Medieval Economic Life and Thought |
| HIST BC 4119 | Capitalism and Enlightenment |
| HIST W 4318 | Globalizing American Consumer Culture |
| HIST BC 4332 | The Politics of Leisure in Modern Europe |
| HIST BC 4335 | Poverty and Social Order in Europe |
| HIST W 4434 | The Atlantic Slave Trade |
| HIST W 3582 | Labor and Class Formation in African-American History, 1865-1950 |
| HIST W 4318 | Globalizing American Consumer Culture |
| HIST W 4327 | Consumer Culture in Modern Europe |
| HIST W 4569 | American Consumer Capitalism |
| HIST W 4766 | Slaves and Subjects in African History |
| HIST W 4884 | Economic History of Modern China |
| HIST BC 4886 | Fashion |
| HIST BC 4905 | Capitalism, Colonialism, and Culture: A Global History |
| AFCV W 4105 | Intellectual Origins of Political Economy |
Other appropriate courses may be substituted subject to the history adviser’s approval.
Senior Thesis Requirement (2 semesters)
| ECHS BC 3066/BC 3067 | Senior Research Seminar |