This page allows you to search a particular semester's course offerings in History and filter them by Major/Minor requirement. We also invite you to explore Penn History courses on the Pathways App. This fun, game-like platform allows you to see connections between History courses, so that you can better sequence them. It also encourages you to ask “how can History help us answer big questions?” Give it a try!

Title Instructors Location Time Description Cross listings Fulfills Registration notes Major Concentrations Major/Minor Requirements Fulfilled
HIST 0240-401 The Rise and Fall of the Russian Empire, 1552-1917 Peter I Holquist MCNB 286-7 MW 10:15 AM-11:14 AM How and why did Russia become the center of the world's largest empire, a single state encompassing eleven time zones and over a hundred ethnic groups? To answer this question, we will explore the rise of a distinct political culture beginning in medieval Muscovy, its transformation under the impact of a prolonged encounter with European civilization, and the various attempts to re-form Russia from above and below prior to the Revolution of 1917. Main themes include the facade vs. the reality of central authority, the intersection of foreign and domestic issues, the development of a radical intelligentsia, and the tension between empire and nation. HIST5240401, HIST5240401, REES0310401, REES0310401, REES5310401, REES5310401 History & Tradition Sector
Cross Cultural Analysis 		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST0240401 Diplomatic, European Europe, pre-1800
HIST 0310-401 Warriors, Concubines & Converts: the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East & Europe Oscar Aguirre Mandujano
Zeinab Eskandari 		COLL 314 MW 12:00 PM-1:29 PM For almost six hundred years, the Ottomans ruled most of the Balkans and the Middle East. From their bases in Anatolia, Ottoman armies advanced into the Balkans, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq, constantly challenging the borders of neighboring European and Islamicate empires. By the end of the seventeenth century, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Cairo, Baghdad, Sarajevo, Budapest, and nearly Vienna came under Ottoman rule. As the empire expanded into Europe and the Middle East, the balance of imperial power shifted from warriors to converts, concubines, and intellectuals. This course examines the expansion of the Ottoman sultanate from a local principality into a sprawling empire with a sophisticated bureaucracy; it also investigates the social, cultural, and intellectual developments that accompanied the long arc of the empire's rise and fall. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify and discuss major currents of change in the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East. The student will have a better understanding of the roles of power, ideology, diplomacy, and gender in the construction of empire and a refined appreciation for diverse techniques of historical analysis. NELC0450401, NELC0450401 Cross Cultural Analysis
History & Tradition Sector 		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST0310401 Diplomatic, European, World Africa/Middle East, Europe, pre-1800
HIST 0400-401 Colonial Latin America Marcia Susan Norton STNH AUD MW 12:00 PM-12:59 PM The year 1492 was pivotal in the history of the world. It precipitated huge population movements within the Americas and across the Atlantic - a majority of them involuntary as in the case of indigenous and African people who were kidnapped and enslaved. It led to cataclysmic cultural upheavals, including the formation of new cultures in spaces inhabited by people of African, European and indigenous descent. This course explores the processes of destruction and creation in the region known today as Latin America in the period 1400 - 1800. Class readings are primary sources and provide opportunities to learn methods of source analysis in contexts marked by radically asymmetrical power relationships. AFRC0400401, AFRC0400401, LALS0400401, LALS0400401 History & Tradition Sector
Cross Cultural Analysis 		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST0400401 World Latin America/Caribbean, pre-1800
HIST 1110-001 Hamilton's America: US History 1776-1804 Vanjessica Gladney
Sarah L H Gronningsater
Jennifer Whitney Reiss 		LLAB 10 TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM In this course, students will learn about the political, constitutional, and social history of the United States from 1776 (the year the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain) to 1800 (the year Thomas Jefferson won the presidency in a heated partisan election for the presidency). Alexander Hamilton, an influential American statesman during this time, will be our guide to the many events and transformations that occurred during these years. The course is not, however, a biographical course about Hamilton. Topics covered include: the politics of independence, the Revolutionary War, the development of state and national republics, the creation of the U.S. Constitution, the role of ordinary people in the politics of the time period, the problem of slavery in the new nation, Native American power and loss, diplomatic affairs, and the rise of partisan politics. https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST1110001 American pre-1800, US
HIST 1121-401 The American South Maria Hammack
Ana Paula Nadalini Mendes 		MCNB 150 MW 5:15 PM-6:44 PM Southern culture and history from 1607-1860, from Jamestown to seccession. Traces the rise of slavery and plantation society, the growth of Southern sectionalism and its explosion into Civil War. AFRC1121401, AFRC1121401 Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
History & Tradition Sector 		American pre-1800, US
HIST 1127-401 Afro-American History 1550-1876 Mia E Bay
Alexandra Sanchez Rolon
Niiaja Wright 		FAGN 116 TR 5:15 PM-6:44 PM This course examines the experiences of Africans and African Americans in colonial America and in the United States to 1865. We will explore a variety of themes through the use of primary and secondary sources. Topics include: the development of racial slavery, labor, identity, gender, religion, education, law, protest, resistance, and abolition. AFRC1176401, AFRC1176401 Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
History & Tradition Sector 		American pre-1800, US
HIST 1200-401 Foundations of European Thought: from Rome to the Renaissance Hannah Phoebe Leclair
Ann Elizabeth Moyer 		COLL 318 TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM This course offers an introduction to the world of thought and learning at the heart of European culture, from the Romans through the Renaissance. We begin with the ancient Mediterranean and the formation of Christianity and trace its transformation into European society. Along the way we will examine the rise of universities and institutions for learning, and follow the humanist movement in rediscovering and redefining the ancients in the modern world. COML1201401, COML1201401 History & Tradition Sector
Cross Cultural Analysis 		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST1200401 European, Intellectual Europe, pre-1800
HIST 1310-401 Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade Roquinaldo Ferreira COLL 314 MW 5:15 PM-6:44 PM This course focuses on the history of selected African societies from the sixteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. The primary goal is to study the political, economic, social, and cultural history of a number of peoples who participated in the Atlantic slave trade or were touched by it during the era of their involvement. The course is designed to serve as an introduction to the history and culture of African peoples who entered the diaspora during the era of the slave trade. Its audience is students interested in the history of Africa, the African diaspora, and the Atlantic world, as well as those who want to learn about the history of the slave trade. Case studies will include the Yoruba, Akan, and Fon, as well as Senegambian and West-central African peoples. AFRC1310401, AFRC1310401, LALS1310401, LALS1310401 Cross Cultural Analysis World Africa/Middle East, pre-1800
HIST 1610-401 Medieval and Early Modern Jewry Anne O Albert CANCELED Exploration of intellectual, social, and cultural developments in Jewish civilization from the rise of Islam in the seventh century to the assault on established conceptions of faith and religious authority in 17th century Europe, that is, from the age of Mohammed to that of Spinoza. Particular attention will be paid to the interaction of Jewish culture with those of Christianity and Islam. JWST1610401, JWST1610401, JWST1610401, NELC0355401, NELC0355401, NELC0355401, RELS1610401, RELS1610401, RELS1610401 Cross Cultural Analysis
History & Tradition Sector 		European, Jewish, World Africa/Middle East, Europe, pre-1800
HIST 2201-401 The City of Rome: From Constantine to the Borgias Ann Elizabeth Moyer COLL 311A TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM The great city of Rome outlived its empire and its emperors. What happened to the Eternal City after “the fall of the Roman Empire in the West?” In this course, we will follow the story of this great city, its people, its buildings old and new, and its legacy across Italy, Europe, and beyond. Rome rebuilt and reshaped itself through the Middle Ages: home for popes, destination for pilgrims, power broker for Italy. It became a great Renaissance and early modern city, a center of art and architecture, of religion, and of politics. We will be reading a mix of primary sources and modern scholarship. All required texts are in English, though students who take this course for Italian Studies credit may choose to read some works in Italian. ITAL2201401, ITAL2201401 Cross Cultural Analysis https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST2201401 European, Intellectual Europe, pre-1800, Seminar
HIST 2401-401 Indians, Pirates, Rebels and Runaways: Unofficial Histories of the Colonial Caribbean Yvonne E Fabella DRLB 4C4 W 1:45 PM-4:44 PM This seminar considers the early history of the colonial Caribbean, not from the perspective of European colonizing powers but rather from “below.” Beginning with European-indigenous contact in the fifteenth century, and ending with the massive slave revolt that became the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), we will focus on the different ways in which indigenous, African, European and creole men and women experienced European colonization in the Caribbean, as agents, victims and resistors of imperial projects. Each week or so, we will examine the experiences of a different social group and their treatment by historians, as well as anthropologists, archaeologists, sociologists, and novelists. Along the way, we will pay special attention to the question of primary sources: how can we recover the perspectives of people who rarely left their own accounts? How can we use documents and material objects—many of which were produced by colonial officials and elites—to access the experiences of the indigenous, the enslaved, and the poor? We will have some help approaching these questions from the knowledgeable staff at the Penn Museum, the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, and the Van Pelt Library. AFRC2401401, AFRC2401401, GSWS2401401, GSWS2401401, LALS2401401, LALS2401401 https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST2401401 Diplomatic, World Latin America/Caribbean, pre-1800, Seminar
HIST 2605-401 The Jewish Book from Scroll to Screen Joshua Teplitsky VANP 625 MW 12:00 PM-1:29 PM Through much of their history, Jews have been known as a “people of the book” and have, often, prided themselves on such an association. The very definition of a book, what books contained, and who might use them are not so easy to define, and their study opens up new ways to think about the Jewish past. Books are perhaps the most important way people share ideas and change minds. But they are also commercial goods, collectors’ items, community memories, and cherished heirlooms.
This course offers a cultural history of communication and knowledge in Jewish experience through an exploration of the history of the book. It will use primary sources, scholarly articles, and hands-on encounters with books in different shapes and sizes to explore the way people of the past engaged with books both texts and material objects. It will also offer examples of new methods in the study of the book drawn from the digital humanities. Tracing changing conceptions and uses of the book from the ancient world until the present, we will consider the way that books have shaped religion, caused upheaval, and changed over time, even to face their possible obsolescence in our own age. 		JWST2605401, JWST2605401 European, Intellectual, Jewish, World Europe, pre-1800, Seminar
HIST 3201-301 Capitalism and Charity: The Long, Complicated Connection Thomas M Safley FAGN 110 W 12:00 PM-2:59 PM Capitalism and charity seldom appear in the same sentence, much less the same title. They seem diametrically opposed. While capitalism is commonly understood as “an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit”, according to Merriam-Webster, charity refers to “generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering, also aid given to those in need”. The former implies self-interest, while the other breathes common interest. Yet, the two are closely, dynamically connected. As capitalism has emerged and evolved historically, so has charity changed to meet new circumstances and find new legitimations. From simple charity in the form of indiscriminate alms-giving have emerged “poor relief”, “work relief”, “social welfare” and, more recently “effective altruism” to name but a few permutations. Charity as a personal, face-to-face interaction between rich and poor has become cloaked in varieties of impersonal programs and institutions. This research seminar will explore the tensions (and synergies) between capitalism and charity over time. Through readings and discussions of primary sources, students will come to understand something of this historical dynamic. By completing independent research projects, they will contribute to that understanding as well. Cross Cultural Analysis https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202230&c=HIST3201301 Economic, European, World Europe, pre-1800, Research, Seminar