Fall 2010

HH104 - American Naval History - This course examines the antecedents, origins, and development of the United states navy and Marine Corps within the frameworks of America's growth as a continental and, eventually, global power, with particular emphasis on the development of Naval and maritime strategy.

HH215 - The West in the Pre-modern World - Origins through the Enlightenment - Analyzes the historical evolution of ethical thought and its impact upon European society and culture from Antiquity to the Enlightenment.  The course sets the evolution of Western values in a larger, comparative context of world religions and values.  By studying the cultural expressions of Western Ethical concerns, ideals and aspirations in light of other civilizations, this course broadens knowledge of the West's global context and cultivates the development of critical thinking about human beings and their societies.  HH215 examines the critical moral and political choices made by societies and individuals through the ages in order to illuminate and deepen the student's understanding of the competing values, institutions and challenges of the modern West.

HH215A - Asia in the Pre-modern World - This course introduces students to pre-modern Asian civilizations, including China, India, Japan, and Southeast Asia.  HH215A traces dynamic manifestations of cultural, political, military, and intellectual patterns and examines them through a global perspective.  Topics include Asian ways of war as embodies in the Chinese art of war, the Mongol campaigns, Japan's samurai, and Buddhist and Hindu warrior kings.  Moreover, students will encounter ancient Asian sages and their ethical ruminations not only in their own regard but also in comparison with their counterparts in other world traditions such as Classical, Judeo-Christian, and Islamic civilizations.

HH215M - The Middle East in the Pre-modern World - This course is designed to provide an alternative to HH215 "The West in a Global Context."  It introduces students to pre-modern Middle Eastern civilizations.  This course traces the dynamic manifestations of cultural, political, military and intellectual patterns, and examines them through a global perspective.  Topics include Middle Eastern ways of war.  Moreover, students will encounter ancient Middle Eastern sages and their ethical ruminations not only in their own regard, but also in comparison with their counterparts in other world traditions including Classical, Asian, Judeo-Christian and Islamic cultures.

HH215P - The West in the Pre-modern World - Analyzes the historical evolution of ethical thought and its impact upon European politics and culture from the Classical Age to the Enlightenment. Given that a society's culture expresses the ethical concerns, ideals and aspirations of its members, this course approaches the development of Western civilization to 1776 through a study of its ideas and institutions. By studying the critical moral and practical choices made by societies and individuals through the ages, this course examines the ethical legacy of the past in order to illuminate and deepen the student's understanding of the values and institutions of contemporary Western society.

HH216 - The West in the Modern World - Focusing chiefly on the period from the 18th century to the present, this course analyzes the most significant political, social, intellectual and economic trends that have shaped contemporary societies.  HH216 examines the global impact of European and American cultures over the past three centuries and explores the most important reactions to modernity in both Western and non-Western societies.  In doing so, the course situates the West in a global context and prepares students to think critically and comparatively about a changing world.

HH262A - Alexander the Great - This section of HH 262 uses Alexander the Great as a case study in the contrasting approaches of political history, conventional military operational history, evolution into more structural military history,intellectual history, and cultural history.  Alexander of Macedon is the perfect lens through which to view various historical methods, since the evolution of his image alone evokes such questions as: How did Alexander view himself?  How did he attempt to manage his public image? How could professional historians of the past two centuries come up with images as polarized as Alexander as virtual messiah of peace vs. Alexander as a brutal young man traumatized in childhood and self-medicating with alcohol?  How could Alexander be remembered as an evil, destructive force in some Islamic societies and as Iskandar the Moslem hero in others?  Midshipmen in the course get a kit with which to construct their own Alexander.  
 

HH262B - American Irregular Warfare - Topics covered from a historical perspective include the Indian Wars, Civil War guerillas, the Philippine Insurrection, the Banana Wars, Vietnam, and current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

HH262C - American Slavery - This section of HH262 teaches historical methodology through the study of North American American slavery between 1619 and 1865.  You will analyze primary sources by and about enslaved African Americans or about the institution of slavery, evaluate the methodologies and approaches historians have used in studying the history of slavery, and explore prominent historical problems and historiographical debates in this field.  This background will prepare you to conceive, plan, research, write, and defend your own piece of scholarship on this topic.
 

HH262D - History of Religion - This course is designed as an introduction to the modern, academic, secular study of religion through the examination and comparison of concepts and themes central to human cultures.  Students will focus primarily on examples from the biblical book of Leviticus in the context of the ancient Near East (including ancient Israel and Iran), but will include comparisons with examples from contemporary non-literate cultures, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, China, and Japan, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.  Students are challenged to think in broad comparative terms, bringing together both details and generic categories.  This is an introductory course, and students are not expected to have prior knowledge or experience with the academic study of religion.  Students are encouraged to approach the materials in this course with an open but critical academic perspective.  The history of religions, within the context of the Humanities and Social Sciences, puts particular emphasis on an analytical understanding of culture as a human and particularly social construct.  In its attempts to compare diverse cultural products and generalize about the human condition, the history of religions is more appropriately described in relation to anthropology rather than theology.

HH312 - Imperial Rome -  Study of the most successful of Western states with emphasis on models for bureaucratization, military defense and the incorporation of various ethnic groups.

HH315 - The Age of Chivalry and Faith - Surveys the history and culture of Western Europe between about A.D. 1050 and about A.D. 1300, the period generally known as the High Middle Ages.  The course traces the emergence of two self-defined medieval aristocracies: those who fight (the knighthood) and those who pray (the Christian clergy).  Special attention is paid to developments in the socio-political systems of the age, kingship and lordship; to the culture of the medieval aristocracy, chivalry; to movements of religious enthusiasm; and to the evolution of the Catholic Church into a papal monarchy.

HH322 - The Rise and Fall of Soviet Communism - An examination of the Revolution of 1917 and the development of the Soviet Union, emphasizing the institutions and policies adopted to meet domestic and foreign problems.

HH327 - Germany and the Nazi Experience - Focuses on the antecedents of national socialism, including the Second Reich and World War I eras, the Nazi experience itself, and the legacy it bequeathed to today's German state.

HH321 - Art and Ideas in Modern Europe - Explores the transformation of culture in the modern world.  Examines how artists and intellectuals reacted to the long-range impacts of the democratic and industrial revolutions.  Emphasis is placed on development of the fine arts in relation to pivotal ideas from 1750 to present.

HH347 - Civil War and Reconstruction - An examination of the political, economic and social developments from the origins of the Civil War to 1896, including the wounding of the nation in a civil war and subsequent reunification.

HH354 - America in World Affairs - Surveys U.S. foreign relations from the colonial era to recent times, focusing on America's transformation from a colony to a preeminent world power.  Examines the causes and international consequences of this dramatic shift, with particular emphasis on the twentieth century--the era of America's greatest influence on world affairs.

HH357 - The Cold War - surveys the history of the Cold War, which dominated American foreign and national security policy (and much of the world's attention) for nearly a half-century after World War II, from 1945-1991.  The course examines the Cold War from beginning to end, incorporating the viewpoints of all its major participants, in order to provide a comprehensive synthesis.  The course will also introduce major interpretive issues emerging from American, European, Soviet, and Chinese documentary sources.

HH362 - History of the Middle East - A long-range historical approach to the Middle East's role in world affairs and the development of its cultural, political and military institutions.  Emphasis is placed on strategic and diplomatic considerations.

HH365 - Pre-Columbian and Iberian Empires - Pre-Columbian empires like Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca are studied through examinations of their cosmologies, styles of warfare, expansion, imperial consolidation, and collapse.  Spanish and Portuguese conquests in America will also be studies by focusing on military campaigns, imperial policies, race, ethnicity, slavery, and church-state relations through the Independence Era.

HH367 - Allah and Empire: A History of Islam in South Asia - This course is designed to introduce you to some of the major themes on Islam in South Asia, i.e., India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.  To a large degree, India (South Asia) was Islam's 'frontier', where radically different traditions and values clashed, merged and overlapped to create one of the world's greatest syncretic cultures.  It was also the sight for some of the most significant movements in the Islamicate world.  Some of the themes we will examine include: the Mughal Empire as an 'Islamic' polity; the nature of Islam as a cultural, anthropological, religious, political & theological phenomenon; Hindu-Muslim relations & religious syncretism; why Islam failed to achieve political uniformity & cohesion in the Subcontinent; impact of British colonial rule upon Muslim perceptions of the self & Islam in general; the 'Islamicate' world's connections with South Asia; Pakistani cultural movements & 'Islamisation'; emergence of Bangladesh, Pakistan & Afghanistan within the frame of Islam; South Asia, Islam & terrorism in the 21st century.

HH367A - The History of Modern Brazil -  An open topics history course.

HH367B - Afro-Latin America -

HH367C - Japan and the Second World War - Ever-escalating warfare gripped the Asia-Pacific beginning with Japan's invasion of Manchuria in September 1931 until its surrender to Allied forces in August 1945.  Tracing the crisis from Japan's initial military attacks in continental Asia through the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, students will study several controversies regarding how Japan's "Fifteen-Year War" was waged and how it has been both remembered and forgotten in the years since Japan's defeat.  In addition to focusing on military and political developments in wartime Japan, students will also explore Japanese society and culture during the war years.

HH367D - Thailand: Armageddon to Paradise - Beginning with the destruction of the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya by a massive Burmese army in 1767, the course traces Thailand’s evolution from utter ruination to rebirth and, finally, to its present position as the most stable and prosperous nation in mainland Southeast Asia. Students will explore: Siam’s successful efforts at remaining the sole independent Southeast Asian kingdom in the age of Western imperial domination; the role of Buddhism and kingship in Thailand’s national formula; the Japanese occupation of Thailand in World War II; episodes of political violence in the post-colonial era; Thailand’s Cold War alliance with the United States during the Vietnam War and the “the American Era”; and the presentation of Thailand as a tourist “paradise” today. In addition to analyzing the political and military histories of Siam/Thailand, students will acquire a strong understanding of the kingdom’s unique culture and traditions.

HH371 - History of Film 1895-1968 - This course examines the history of film from the first showing of motion pictures projected on a screen by the Lumieres in France in 1895. It will consider the origins and development of the film industry in the United States and abroad, the development of film techniques, the growth of the studio and star system, the introduction of sound, and efforts to deal with the rise of television. It will consider films both as an entertainment product for an international market and a source of national expression. Issues of censorship and control will, therefore, be a part of the course.

HH382 - The Great Age of Sail - Examines the theory, practice, and nature of warfare on land and sea, both in Europe and European colonies, from about 1500 through the Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon. Tactical, logistical, technological, and professional developments of Western armies and navies are studied in their political, economic, and social contexts.  Topics of the early-modern maritime experience include exploration & discovery, expansion & trade, the maritime empires, the rise of navies, age of sail warfare, mutiny and piracy.

HH383 - The Age of Total War - Surveys the dimensions of warfare and civil-military relations from the end of the Napoleonic era through World War II.

HH386A - The History of Modern Counterinsurgency - This course examines the origins, theory, doctrine and practice of modern counterinsurgency warfare. After defining several common characteristics of insurgency warfare throughout history, the course will provide midshipmen with an understanding of the complexities of establishing a counterinsurgency campaign within the framework of historical forces such as social movements, politics, civil-military relations and technology. While comparing and contrasting the insurgencies of British Malaya, French Algeria, French Indochina, Vietnam and 21st century Iraq/ Afghanistan, the course will illustrate the effectiveness of government and foreign power responses to these insurgencies. The course will also explore factors that have influenced U. S. conceptions of counterinsurgency warfare from 1776 to the present day. Although every insurgency can be considered contextual, thus presenting its own set of challenges, this course will stimulate the student to think critically about understanding and addressing specific insurgencies within the framework of evolving doctrinal guidelines. Finally, the concept of a globalized insurgency will be introduced to prepare students for the challenges of dealing with non-state entities which seek to reorder the Islamic world and its relations with the rest of the globe.

HH462A - French Revolution - This course examines the historiography of the French Revolution, focusing particularly on the principal analytical approaches of the last fifty years: the "orthodox," Marxist interpretation, the revisionists, and the cultural turn.  The semester is divided evenly between the interpretations of the Old Regime and the origins of the French Revolution, first, and then the course of the Revolution and into the Napoleonic period.

HH462B - France and Her Colonies - Offers midshipmen with a solid base in historical studies an opportunity to pursue the discipline at a level of greater sophistication. Taught in small, intensive seminars; individual sections will engage in a detailed examination of a selected historical topic. Each section will focus on a particular event or problem in history and on the interpretative debates surrounding it. This 1/C seminar will investigate the way that modern day historians have written about French colonies from the 18th century to the later 20th century.  The specific focus will be on Haiti, West Africa, Southeast Asia and Algeria.  Students will discuss the way that historians have constructed historical arguments about colonization and decolonization.  They will analyze the historical narrative from the perspectives of social, cultural and political history.  There will be weekly writing assignments and one comprehensive final paper.
 

HH462C - Chinese Art of War -  Designed as a reading seminar, it seeks to expose graduating seniors to the rich heritage of Chinese warfare and strategic culture. It is not a narrative of weapons, battles and campaigns, but an analytical understanding of key Chinese approaches and preponderant attitudes toward warfare and its relations with people and society. These uniquely Chinese methods of war have prompted prolonged and exhaustive studies and inquiries over the millennia into grand strategies, proper applications of force, generalship, military technologies and warfare’s intrinsic and complex relationships with non-military elements of human existence. Midshipmen in this seminar will study numerous Chinese military classics including Tai Gong [T’ai Kung]’s Six Secret Teachings 太公六韬, Sun Zi [Sun Tzu]’s Methods of War 孙子兵法, [commonly mistranslated as “Art of War”].  In addition, a week-by-week analysis of the entire “36 Military Strategies” 三十六计, China’s far more popularized wiles of war, will be analyzed in this seminar.

HH481A - Advanced Topics in History - Jr

HH481B - Advanced Topics in History - Sr

HH484 - World Cinema of the Sound Era: An Introduction - The course will view selected motion pictures from a variety of national cinemas from the time that sound became common in film production (roughly 1930).

HH485 - Rise of the Machines: Technology in Peace and War - This course will examine the social and historical implications of changing
technology: how humans, their ideas, and the environment shaped and were in
turn shaped by technological innovation. The course will devote
approximately equal time to the study of civilian sector technologies and
military technologies, beginning with the Middle Ages and concluding in the
early 21st century. In addition, we will review and develop familiarity with
competing theories of socio-technological change, and how theoretical
understanding may be relevant to an officer today as he or she faces rapid
innovations in communications, robotics, and weaponry.

HH486A - History of Christianity - This course examines the history of Christianity from its origins to the mid-20th century. It will pay particular attention to problems of authority and text; to the development of doctrine and practice; and to the
relationship between religious and political institutions. Much of the
course will study medieval and early modern western Christianity. It will
also, however, pay due attention to the fact that Christianity has been and
still is a religion with many adherents elsewhere-e.g., Asia, Africa, the
Middle East.  From its origin in 1st-Century Palestine, Christianity grew
into a global religion with a wide variety of forms in practice, belief, and
organization. This course will therefore also closely examine the
inculturation of Christianity-that is, its adaptation to and accommodation
of various cultures-as it spread and developed.

HH486B - IS: Evolution of the Civil Rights Movement

HH507 - Honors Seminar-Culture in Cold War America -

HH509 - Honors Independent Research -