Course Catalog

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THE MODERN CITY (ES1010)

Studies the foundations of the 19th-and 20th-century city, examining the cultural dynamics of key European cities. Uses film and other texts to question and explore urban modernity.

EARLY ISLAMIC HISTORY (ES2010)

This course offers an introduction to the first century and a half of Islamic society, 600-700 AD. It builds on knowledge of ways of writing about the past which students have acquired in earlier courses. The focus of the course is the rise and development of the religion of Islam and the key events and figures in the process. They will read extracts by those who wrote history in the early Islamic centuries – and those who have approached early Islam and is history in the global North, notably since he nineteenth century.
Essentially, the course offers:
- Substantive detail about the rise of the last of the Abrahamic monotheism;
- Theoretical reflection on the interplay between mediated communication, history and organized religion;
- An exploration of the history writing practices of early Muslims;
- An introduction of the intellectual history of nineteenth and twentieth century historiographies of the early Islamic Middle East and North Africa;
- An introduction to pilgrimage practices in Islam.

INTRO TO ANCIENT GREECE & ROME (ES2018)

The presence of Ancient Greece and Rome in our world cannot be overestimated. The Greeks taught us demokratia, our computers have a Latin name. Through Ancient Greece and Rome Western civilization has assimilated Near Eastern achievements like the alphabet. Presenting striking show cases, this course enables you to recognize how your life and thought have been shaped by ancient influences and to acquire a basic overview of more than 2000 years of Greco-Roman civilization - from the time of Troy to the many ends of Rome in late antiquity.

CONTEMPORARY GERMANY (ES2025)

Taking the founding of the Second Empire (1871-1918) as a point of departure, the course investigates Germany's historical transformations from Imperial Empire to Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, the postwar Allied occupation, the creation of the two German states, and the unification of the country.

BERLIN FROM ALLIED OCCUPATION TO CAPITAL (ES3002)

Examines the Allied partition of Berlin, the politics of the Cold War, the Berlin Air Lift, the emergence of two German states, the division by the Berlin Wall, and the reemergence of a unified city in a new Germany. Films, drama, and novels trace the historical development of the city. Includes a study trip to Berlin.

THE HISTORY OF PARIS (ES3004)

Seeks to understand how Paris elucidates the history of France by following its history from its origins to the present. The site of religious and political revolution, Paris testifies to the trials and glories of French history.

VIENNA, 1800-1918 (ES3006)

Studies Vienna's culture and Austria's history against a background of spatial transformations from Baroque palaces to the historicist style of the Ringstrasse and the modernist architecture of Wagner and Loos. Investigates building styles, paintings, novels, memoirs, music and films to document the city's development. Some readings are: Freud, Roth, Schnitzler, Zweig. Includes a study trip to Vienna.

EDINBURGH THE CITY, SCOTLAND THE NATION (ES3010)

Traces the development of Edinburgh from the Act of Union with England (1707) to the present, through architecture, philosophy, religion, cultural history, literature, and film. Links the city to Scotland's attempt to define its identity and achieve greater political autonomy. Some authors studied include David Hume, Adam Smith, Irvine Welsh. Includes a study trip to Edinburgh.

THE ISLAMIC CITY (ES3017)

Surveys the history of urban form in the predominantly Muslim cities of the Middle East and North Africa. Students will study the relationship between urban morphology and society, practices of sacred space, and the interplay of power, belief, and architectural form. Also covered are the politics behind the forms now seen as the defining features of Islamic building and the question of the image in Islamic building. On a contemporary note, students will explore the symbolic politics of the Muslim built heritage and examine the extreme conditions facing many Middle Eastern urban populations today. Includes a Study Trip. Please note that an additional fee will be charged for this course.

DANTE & MEDIEVAL CULTURE (ES3025)

Offers a detailed investigation of The Divine Comedy. Traces Dante's development in several related areas (love, mysticism, allegory, poetics, politics) and his affinity with other key cultural figures (Virgil, St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Thomas, Boccaccio). Includes an overview of medieval history.