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REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR

Students who intend to major in history should consult a member of the department in their sophomore year to plan their academic programs. The history major requires a minimum of eleven courses, eight in the area of concentration and three outside the area of concentration.

The three principal areas of concentration are European, American, and Asian history, but majors may, in consultation with their advisers and with the approval of the chair, concentrate in some other field, such as ancient, medieval, Jewish, or African history. Majors may also, in consultation with their advisers, choose a transnational thematic concentration, such as urban history, empires and colonialism, nationalisms, science and society, money and markets, or gender, sexuality, and the family.

 


 

BARNARD COLLEGE HISTORY DEPARTMENT

TRANSNATIONAL THEMATIC CONCENTRATIONS

 

Majors in history may now choose to concentrate either in a world region (for example, Asia, Latin America, Europe, the US) or select a transnational thematic concentration (examples are listed below). For both regional and transnational thematic concentrations, two related courses may be chosen from outside the History Department (examples are listed below each concentration).

 

Urban History

  1. BC 3980 World Migration
  2. BC 4651 Jewish Immigration: New York, Paris, Buenos Aires
  3. BC TBA  Immigrant New York
  4. BC 4320 The City in Europe
  5. BC 4327 Consumer Culture in Modern Europe
  6. BC 4360 London: From Great Wen to World City
  7. BC 3496 History of American Cities
  8. BC 3525 20th-Century Urbanization in Comparative Perspective
  9. BC 4401 Reinventing American Cities
  10. BC 4335 Poverty and the Social Order in Europe
  11. BC 4332 The Politics of Leisure in Modern Europe
  12. W 4417 African-American Urban History
  13. W3535 History of the City of New York
  14. W3441 Making of the Modern American Landscape

Related courses from other departments

  1. AH C3643 The American City: Urban Form and City Planning
  2. ARCH   V3114 Making the Metropolis: Urban Design and Theories of the City Since 1850

 

Gender, Sexuality, and the Family

  1. BC 3323 European Women in the Age of Revolution
  2. BC 3567 American Women in the 20th Century
  3. BC 4468 American Women in the 1920s
  4. BC 4466 Progressive Women, 1890-1920
  5. BC 4402 Selected Topics in American Women’s History
  6. BC 3681 Women and Gender in Latin America
  7. BC 4861 Body Histories: Footbinding
  8. BC 3840 Gender, Caste, and Nation in South Asia
  9. BC 4671 History of the Family in Global Perspective, 1500-Present
  10. W4032 Family and Sexuality in Greece and Rome
  11. W3460 Topics in the History of American Women and Gender
  12. W 4103 Gender, Sex, and Commerce in Europe, 1200-1800
  13. W 4886 Gender, Passions, and Social Order in China Since 150
  14. W 4120 Witchcraft and the State
  15. W 4103 Gender, Sex
  16. W 4105 Homosexuality in the Classical World
  17. W 4032 Family and Sexuality in Greece
  18. W 4110 Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greece

Related courses from other departments

  1. HSEA W4886 Gender, Passions, and the Social Order in China Since 1500
  2. HSEA W4893 Family in Chinese History
  3. WMST BC3509 The Sex of Science: Gender and Knowledge in Modern History

 

Labor
 
  1. BC 4335 Poverty and the Social Order
  2. BC  4332 The Politics of Leisure in Modern Europe
  3. BC 4410 Approached by Sea: Early American Maritime Culture
  4. BC 3323 European Women in the Age of Revolution
  5. BC 3180 Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Making of Atlantic Capitalism, 1600-1800
  6. W 3582 Labor and Class Formation in African-American History, 1865-1950
  7. W 4596 Labor and Class Formation in the Americas
  8. W4426 People of the Old South
  9. W 3528 Radical Tradition in America
  10. W 4443 Society and Politics in the Gilded Age
  11.  W 4770 Women’s Work in 20th-Century South Africa
  12. W 4884 Economic History of Modern China
  13. W 3102 The Origins of Capitalism
  14. W 3411 American Society in the Age of Capital

 

Empires and Colonialism 

  1. BC 3180 Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Making of Atlantic Capitalism, 1600-1800
  2. BC 4410 Approached By Sea: Early American Maritime History
  3. BC 3321 Colonial Encounters: Europe and the Culture of Empire
  4. BC 3494: The Era of Independence in the Americas
  5. BC 1801 Colonialism and Nationalism in South Asia
  6. BC 4905 Capitalism, Colonialism, Culture
  7. W3719 History of the Modern Middle East
  8. W 4591 Slavery in the Atlantic World
  9. W 3491 US Foreign Relations, 1890-1970
  10. W 1020 The Romans, 754 B.C. to 565 A.D.
  11. W3222 The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
  12. W3434 The America West
  13. W 4404 Native American History
  14. W 3764 History of East Africa, 1850 to present
  15. W3772 West African History
  16. W 3220 Imperial Russia
  17. W 3020 Roman Imperialism
  18. W 3719 The History of the Modern Middle East
  19. W 3760 Main Currents in African History
  20. W 3762 South Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries
  21. W3956 Globalization in History
  22. W 3970 Global Inequality
  23. W 4310 Europe and the End of Empires
  24. W 4419 Age of Discovery
  25. W 4404 Native American History

Related courses from other departments

  1. ANCS W 4001 Ancient Empires
  2. HSEA W 3898 The Mongols in History
  3. HSME W 3650 Gandhi’s India
  4. ANTH V 3921 Anti-Colonialism

 


 Money and Markets

  1. BC 4062 Medieval Economic Life and Thought
  2. BC 3116 Filthy Lucre: A History of Money
  3. BC 4327 Consumer Culture in Modern Europe
  4. BC 4886  Fashion
  5. BC 4119 Capitalism and Enlightenment
  6. BC 4905  Capitalism, Colonialism, and Culture: A Global History
  7. BC 4332 The Politics of Leisure in Modern Europe
  8. BC 3180 Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Making of Atlantic Capitalism, 1600-1800
  9. W 3102 The Origins of Capitalism
  10. W 3411 American Society in the Age of Capital
  11. W3582  Labor and Class Formation in African-American History, 1865-1950
  12. W 4318 Globalizing American Consumer Culture
  13. W 4766 Slaves and Subjects in African History

Related courses from other departments

  1. HSEA 4884 Economic History of Modern China
  2. ECON BC 2014 Topics in Economic History
  3. ECON BC 3013 Economic History of the United States

 

Science and Society

  1. BC 4368 History of the Senses
  2. BC 3305 Science, Technology, and Modernity
  3. BC 4903 Reacting III/Science and Society
  4. BC Science Across Cultures
  5. BC 4909 History of Environmental Thinking
  6. BC 4064 Medieval Science and Society
  7. BC 4592 American Maritime History Since 1865
  8. W 4582 Looking at Nature
  9. W 3112 The Scientific Revolution in Western Europe
  10. W 3441 Making of the Modern American Landscape
  11. W 4584 History of American-American Health and Health Movements
  12. W 4910 Technology and History
  13. W 3404 Americans and the Natural World
  14. W  4305 The European Enlightenment
  15. W 4314 Animals from Aristotle to Agamben
  16. W 4906 Nuremberg and Beyond: Human Rights and Medicine
  17.  W 3103 Alchemy, Magic, and Science

       Related courses from other departments

   1.  WMST BC 3509 Sex and Science: Gender and Knowledge in Modern History


 

Nationalisms

  1. BC 1801 Colonialism and Nationalism in South Asia
  2. BC 4672 Perspectives on Power in 20th-Century Latin America
  3. W 4664 Mexican Revolution
  4. W3719 History of the Modern Middle East
  5. W3222 The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
  6. W 3434 The American West
  7. W 3376 The Balkans Since 1800
  8. W 3628 History of the State of Israel
  9. W 3762 Twentieth-Century South African History
  10. W 4310 Europe and the End of Empires
  11. W 3606 Messianic Movements I
  12. W 3607 Messianic Movements II
  13. W 3650 Gandhi’s India
  14. W 3719 The History of the Modern Middle East

Related courses from other departments

  1. HSME W 3650 Gandhi’s India

 

War, Revolution, and Social Change

  1. BC 3494 The Era of Independence in the Americas
  2. BC 3323 European Women in the Age of Revolution
  3. BC 3180 Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Making of Atlantic Capitalism, 1600-1800
  4. BC 4672 Perspectives on Power in 20th-Century Latin America
  5. W 4762 Islam and Africa
  6. W3300 Europe in the Age of Revolutions, 1789-1850
  7. W4483 American Military History and Policy
  8. W3320 The European Catastrophe, 1914-45
  9. W3663 Mexico from Revolution to Democracy
  10. W 4518 Slavery and Emancipation in the United States
  11. W 4509 Problems in International History
  12. W 3432 US in the Era of Civil War and Reconstruction
  13. W 4865 The Vietnam War as International History
  14. W 3997 World War II in History and Memory
  15. W 4382 The French Revolution
  16. W 3412 Revolutionary America 1750-1815
  17. W 3434 The American West
  18. W 3491 US Foreign Relations
  19. W 4664 Mexican Revolution
  20. W 4060 Laws of War

Related courses from other departments

  1. ANTH W 4019 Southeast Asia: War, Remembrance, Forgetting
  2. SOC V 3235 Social Movements

 

 Rights, Citizenship, and the Law 

  1. BC 3423 The Constitution in Historical Perspective
  2. BC 4423 Origins of the Constitution
  3. BC 4546 The Fourteenth Amendment and its Uses
  4. BC 3329 Crime and Punishment in Modern Europe
  5. BC 4672 Perspectives on Power in 20th-Century Latin America
  6. W 4518 Slavery and Emancipation in the United States
  7. W 3432 US in the Era of Civil War and Reconstruction
  8. W 4404 Native American History
  9.  W 4804 Political Modernity: Themes in the Study of Colonial and Postcolonial South Asia
  10. W 3926 Historical Origins of Human Rights
  11. W 4864 International Law and East Asia
  12. W  4305 The European Enlightenment
  13. W 4906 Nuremberg and Beyond: Human Rights and Medicine
  14. W 4659 Modern Crime and Punishment in Historical Perspective
  15. W 4314 Animals from Aristotle to Agamben

Related courses from other departments

  1. ANTH V 3921 Anti-Colonialism
  2. RELI VC 3650 Religion and the Civil Rights Movement

 

Intellectual History

  1. BC 3466 American Intellectual History Since 1865
  2. BC 3423 The Constitution in Historical Perspective
  3. BC 4546 The Fourteenth Amendment and Its Uses
  4. BC 4119 Capitalism and Enlightenment
  5. BC 4542  Education in American History
  6. BC 4543 Higher Learning in America
  7. BC 3457 A Social History of Columbia University
  8. BC 4064 Medieval Science and Society
  9. BC 4062 Medieval Economic Life and Thought
  10. BC 4324 Vienna and the Birth of the Modern
  11. BC 4909 History of Environmental Thinking
  12. BC 4423 Origins of the Constitution
  13. BC 4909 History of Environmental Thinking
  14. W 3606 Messianic Movements I
  15. W 3607 Messianic Movements II
  16. W 3103 Alchemy, Magic, and Science
  17. W 3528 The Radical Tradition in America
  18. W 4305 European Enlightenment
  19. W 3062 Medieval Intellectual Life
  20. W 4060 Laws of War
  21. W 4306 Philosophy and Politics
  22. W 3926 Historical Origins of Human Rights

 

Related courses from other departments

  1. BC 3180 Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Making of Atlantic Capitalism, 1600-1800
  2. BC 4592 Maritime History Since the Civil War
  3. BC 4410 Approached by Sea: Early American Maritime Culture
  4. BC 3980  World Migration
  5. BC 3682 Modern Latin American History
  6. BC 3494 Era of Independence in the Americas
  7. W 4419  Age of Discovery
  8. W 4404 Native American History
  9. W 4591 Slavery in the Atlantic World

 

The Atlantic World

  1. BC 3180 Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Making of Atlantic Capitalism, 1600-1800
  2. BC 4592 Maritime History Since the Civil War
  3. BC 4410 Approached by Sea: Early American Maritime Culture
  4. BC 3980  World Migration
  5. BC 3682 Modern Latin American History
  6. BC 3494 Era of Independence in the Americas
  7. W 4419  Age of Discovery
  8. W 4404 Native American History
  9. W 4591 Slavery in the Atlantic World

Related courses from other departments

  1. CLEN W 3930 Caribbean Diaspora Literature
  2. FR BC 3770  Négritude
  3. MUSI V 3163 Sonic Texts of the Black Atlantic
  4. SPAN V 3351 Literature and Culture of Latin America: Colonial Through Modern
  5. ANTH V 3983: Ideas and Society in the Caribbean

 

Premodern History

  1. BC 1062 Introduction to Later Middle Ages
  2. BC 4062 Medieval Economic Life and Thought
  3. BC 3062 Medieval Intellectual Life
  4. W 1061 Introduction to Early Middle Ages
  5. W 3606 Messianic Movements I
  6. BC 3980  World Migration
  7. W 1010 The Ancient Greeks
  8. W 1020 The Romans
  9. W 3020 Roman Imperialism
  10. W 4105 Homosexuality in the Classical World
  11. W 4032 Family and Sexuality in Greece
  12. W 4110 Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greece
  13. W 3711 Islamo-Christian Civilization
  14. W 1002 Ancient History of Mesopotamia and Anatolia
  15. W 3660 Latin American Civilization I

Related courses from other departments

   1. Classics V 3162 Ancient Law
   2. ASE V 2359 Introduction to East Asian Civilizations
    3. HSEA W 4869 History of Ancient China
    4.  HSEA W 3862 The History of Korea to 1900
    5. HSEA W 3898 The Mongols in History
    6. ANCS W 4001 Ancient Empires
    7.  ANCS W 4001 Ancient Empires
    8. HSME W 3854 East Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age
    9. RELI 3140 Early Christianity
   10. PHIL V 2101 History of Philosophy I: Pre-Socratics through Augustine
   11.  ANTH W 4344 The Inka Empire

Barnard history courses are numbered to reflect the type of course and world region:

By course type:
1000-level: introductory lecture courses
3000-level: other undergraduate lecture courses
4000-level: undergraduate seminars

By world region/epoch:
x000-x059: Ancient
x060-x099: Medieval
x1xx-x199: Early Modern Europe
x2xx-x299: East Central Europe
x3xx-x399: Modern Western Europe
x4xx-x599: United States
x600-x659: Jewish
x660-x699: Latin America
x700-x759: Middle East
x760-x799: Africa
x800-x859: South Asia
x860-x899: East Asia
x9xx-x999: Research, Historiography, Trans-National

The 11 required courses must include:

  1. Three introductory courses (i.e., 1000-level courses or their equivalent). For Barnard Class of 1998 onwards, two of the introductory courses must be taken in the field of concentration. Students with AP credits may substitute an advanced course(s) for introductory course(s), although AP credits may not be counted toward the 11 required courses.
  2. Two seminars
  3. The two-semester senior research seminar (HIS BC 4391-92).  The Senior Thesis must be taken in sequence over two semesters, beginning in the Fall and continuing through the Spring.

Majors may, with the approval of their advisers, take two of their 11 courses outside the department, provided that such courses are closely related to their concentrations.

American Studies seminars may be substituted for history seminars.

SENIOR RESEARCH SEMINAR

The senior research seminar, in which students write their senior essays (30-50 pages), represents the culmination of the undergraduate history major. Students should discuss tentative topics with their advisers by the end of the junior year. Halfway through the first semester of the senior year students must submit a formal prospectus defining the problem under investigation, outlining the issues involved, and identifying the primary and secondary sources consulted. They must draft part of the essay by the end of the Fall semester, then complete their research and writing in the Spring.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR

The minor in history requires five courses, four in an area of concentration and one outside the concentration. The five courses must include one seminar. Students planning to minor in history should consult the department chair.

 

 
 

 

Barnard College o Columbia University o 2004