Intellectual History Concentration
Intellectual History investigates the history of human thought, culture, and expression. It extends from a central concern with texts on all subjects to the history of other forms of human expression, including the visual arts and music.
Requirements
These are the New Requirements for the Intellectual History Concentration and apply to students who officially declared their major after September 1, 2006.
(For the Old Requirements, click here.)
The concentration in Intellectual History requires six courses:
1. Two of the six courses must come from the following list of core Intellectual History courses:
- HIST 131 Western Legal Tradition to 1800
- HIST 132 European Intellectual History: Christian Europe from St. Paul to Dante
- HIST 167 Foundations of Law
- HIST 308 Renaissance Europe
- HIST 337 University and Society: From the Origins of the University to the Present
- HIST 342 European Intellectual History, 1300-1600
- HIST 343 Nineteenth Century European Intellectual History
- HIST 344 Twentieth Century European Intellectual History
- HIST 352 Legal History: English Foundations
- HIST 379 Modern American Cultural and Intellectual History
- HIST 380 Modern Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History
- HIST 408 The Thirteenth Century: The World of Dante
- HIST 415 European Intellectual History of the Seventeenth Century
- HIST 416 European Intellectual History in the 18th Century
- HIST 442 Science and Culture in the West: From the Greeks to Galileo
2. One of the two seminars required for the history major must be a course in the intellectual history concentration:
that is, a seminar that explores the history of human thought, culture, and expression. Many faculty members teach 200-level seminars in intellectual history: Warren Breckman, Lee Cassanelli, Thomas Childers, Frederick Dickinson, Sarah Igo, Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, Alan Charles Kors, Bruce Kuklick, Ann Moyer, Ben Nathans, Edward Peters, David Ruderman, Julia Rudolph, Michael Ryan, Thomas Waldman, Arthur Waldron, and Michael Zuckerman.
See your advisor to be certain that a given seminar qualifies.
3. Other history courses that may be counted toward the intellectual history concentration include the following:
- HIST 025 Western Science, Magic and Religion
- HIST 035 Biology and Society
- HIST 140 History of Jewish Civilization II
- HIST 146 Comparative Medicine
- HIST 160 Strategy, Policy, and War
- HIST 168 History of American Law to 1877
- HIST 169 History of American Law since 1877
- HIST 286 Topics in American Literature
- HIST 322 Italian History and Film
- HIST 348 Popular Culture in the U.S. 1865-Present
- HIST 355 Classic Texts in American Popular Culture
- HIST 410 Topics in Medieval History
- HIST 448 Jews, Christians, Renaissance
- HIST 450 History of Print Culture
- HIST 449 Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History in the Early Modern Era: From the Spanish Expulsion to Spinoza
- HIST 468 History of American Medicine
- HIST 484 African American Intellectual History
New intellectual history courses may appear before they are added to this list. Please see your advisor if you find a course that you believe should appear on this list of intellectual history courses.
4. Up to two courses, of the required six, may be taken from other departments.
These major-related courses must focus on the history of human thought, culture, and expression, be above the introductory level, and they must be approved in consultation with your faculty advisor. You will need to explain how these major-related courses contribute to your concentration in terms of depth, breadth, or geographic or chronological range. Courses taught in the following departments may be eligible: Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Art History, Classical Studies, English, Folklore, Germanic Languages, History and Sociology of Science, Music, Philosophy (including PHIL 3 and 4), Political Science, Religious Studies, Romance Languages, Slavic Languages, South Asia Regional Studies, Women's Studies.
Faculty Advisors
Fall 2008 Courses
Courses which fulfill the Intellectual History requirement:
Regional and Topical Surveys
HIST 140 History of Jewish Civilization II (From Late Antiquity to the Seventeenth Century)
Ruderman
TR 1:30-3PM
PRE-1800
HIST 168 History of American Law to 1877
Natalini
TR 12-1:30PM
PRE-1800
Major Seminars
History 201-206 seminars are open to history majors only during pre-registration. If the course does not reach its enrollment maximum, it will be open to all students beginning with drop/add on a first-come first-serve basis.
HIST 201.301 The World of Charlemagne
Peters
M 2-5PM
R | SEM | PRE-1800
HIST 202.302 History of Economic Thought
Safley
T 1:30-4:30PM
SEM | PRE-1800
HIST 204.402 Rereading the Holocaust
Wenger
T 3-6PM
R | SEM
Benjamin Franklin Seminars
211-216 are advanced seminars, mainly for juniors and seniors in the Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program. All other students need permission from the instructor to enroll in these courses.
HIST 212.301 Classical Liberal Thought
Kors
T 3-6PM
SEM | Permit May Be Required: See note
Upper Level Courses
300-400 level courses are on special topics and are more advanced. They often presuppose some basic knowledge in the field and should be more difficult courses than courses at the 1-199 levels. The department is trying to insure that some 400 level courses, although substantially more difficult, are also small in size; they thus may be suitable for graduate students.
HIST 411 Cultures of the Book
Stallybrass
MW 3:30-5PM
SEM | PRE-1800
HIST 415 Seventeenth-Century Intellectual History
Kors
TR 1:30-3PM
PRE-1800
Old Requirements
The concentration in intellectual history requires eight courses:
1. Three of the eight courses must come from the following list of core intellectual history courses:
- HIST 131 Western Legal Tradition to 1800
- HIST 132 European Intellectual History: Christian Europe from St. Paul to Dante
- HIST 308 Renaissance Europe
- HIST 337 University and Society: From the Origins of the University to the Present
- HIST 342 European Intellectual History, 1300-1600
- HIST 343 Nineteenth Century European Intellectual History
- HIST 344 Twentieth Century European Intellectual History
- HIST 352 Legal History: English Foundations
- HIST 379 Modern American Cultural and Intellectual History
- HIST 380 Modern Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History
- HIST 408 The Thirteenth Century: The World of Dante
- HIST 415 European Intellectual History of the Seventeenth Century
- HIST 416 European Intellectual History in the 18th Century
- HIST 442 Science and Culture in the West: from the Greeks to Galileo
2. One of the two seminars required for the history major must be a course in the intellectual history concentration:
that is, a seminar that explores the history of human thought, culture, and expression. Many faculty members teach 200-level seminars in intellectual history: Warren Breckman, Lee Cassanelli, Thomas Childers, Frederick Dickinson, Sarah Igo, Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, Alan Charles Kors, Bruce Kuklick, Ann Moyer, Ben Nathans, Edward Peters, David Ruderman, Julia Rudolph, Michael Ryan, Thomas Waldman, Arthur Waldron, and Michael Zuckerman.
See your advisor to be certain that a given seminar qualifies.
3. Other history courses that may be counted toward the intellectual history concentration include the following:
- HIST 025 Western Science, Magic and Religion
- HIST 035 Biology and Society
- HIST 146 Comparative Medicine
- HIST 160 Strategy, Policy, and War
- HIST 168 History of American Law to 1877
- HIST 169 History of American Law since 1877
- HIST 286 Topics in American Literature
- HIST 322 Italian History and Film
- HIST 348 Popular Culture in the U.S. 1865-Present
- HIST 355 Classic Texts in American Popular Culture
- HIST 410 Topics in Medieval History
- HIST 448 Jews, Christians, Renaissance
- HIST 449 Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History in the Early Modern Era: From the Spanish Expulsion to Spinoza
- HIST 450 History of Print Culture
- HIST 468 History of American Medicine (seminar)
- HIST 484 African American Intellectual History
New intellectual history courses may appear before they are added to this list. Please see your advisor if you find a course that you believe should appear on this list of intellectual history courses.
4. Up to four courses, of the required eight, may be taken from other departments.
These major-related courses must focus on the history of human thought, culture, and expression, be above the introductory level, and they must be approved in consultation with your faculty advisor. You will need to explain how these major-related courses contribute to your concentration in terms of depth, breadth, or geographic or chronological range. Courses taught in the following departments may be eligible: Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Art History, Classical Studies, English, Folklore, Germanic Languages, History and Sociology of Science, Music, Philosophy (including PHIL 3 and 4), Political Science, Religious Studies, Romance Languages, Slavic Languages, South Asia Regional Studies, Women's Studies.
