This course surveys the culture, religion and history of India from 2500 BCE to 1200 CE. The course examines the major cultural, religious and social factors that shaped the course of early Indian history. The following themes will be covered: the rise and fall of Harappan civilization, the Aryan invasion and vedic India, the rise of cities, states and the religions of Buddhism and Jainism, the historical context of the growth of classical Hinduism, including the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the development of the theistic temple cults of Saivism and Vaisnavism, processes of medieval agrarian expansion and cultic incorporation as well as the spread of early Indian cultural ideas in Southeast Asia. In addition to assigned secondary readings students will read select primary sources on the history religion and culture of early India, including Vedic and Buddhist texts, Puranas and medieval temple inscriptions. Major objectives of the course will be to draw attention to India's early cultural and religious past and to assess contemporary concerns and ideologies in influencing our understanding and representation of that past.

Survey of major themes and issues in African history before 1800. Topics include: early civilizations, African kingdoms and empires, population movements, the spread of Islam,and the slave trade. Also, emphasis on how historians use archaeology, linguistics, and oral traditions to reconstruct Africa's early history.

Survey of major themes and issues in African history before 1800. Topics include: early civilizations, African kingdoms and empires, population movements, the spread of Islam,and the slave trade. Also, emphasis on how historians use archaeology, linguistics, and oral traditions to reconstruct Africa's early history.

Survey of major themes and issues in African history before 1800. Topics include: early civilizations, African kingdoms and empires, population movements, the spread of Islam,and the slave trade. Also, emphasis on how historians use archaeology, linguistics, and oral traditions to reconstruct Africa's early history.

Survey of major themes and issues in African history before 1800. Topics include: early civilizations, African kingdoms and empires, population movements, the spread of Islam,and the slave trade. Also, emphasis on how historians use archaeology, linguistics, and oral traditions to reconstruct Africa's early history.

Surveys Latin American and Caribbean history from the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to the present. We will examine the legacy of Spanish colonialism and slavery, movements for national and cultural independence, twentieth-century radicalism, and the politics of race in contemporary Latin America. Readings include fictional as well as analytical representations, and a film series will accompany the course.

Surveys Latin American and Caribbean history from the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to the present. We will examine the legacy of Spanish colonialism and slavery, movements for national and cultural independence, twentieth-century radicalism, and the politics of race in contemporary Latin America. Readings include fictional as well as analytical representations, and a film series will accompany the course.

Surveys Latin American and Caribbean history from the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to the present. We will examine the legacy of Spanish colonialism and slavery, movements for national and cultural independence, twentieth-century radicalism, and the politics of race in contemporary Latin America. Readings include fictional as well as analytical representations, and a film series will accompany the course.

Surveys Latin American and Caribbean history from the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to the present. We will examine the legacy of Spanish colonialism and slavery, movements for national and cultural independence, twentieth-century radicalism, and the politics of race in contemporary Latin America. Readings include fictional as well as analytical representations, and a film series will accompany the course.

Surveys Latin American and Caribbean history from the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to the present. We will examine the legacy of Spanish colonialism and slavery, movements for national and cultural independence, twentieth-century radicalism, and the politics of race in contemporary Latin America. Readings include fictional as well as analytical representations, and a film series will accompany the course.