UNIT I. RETHINKING THE MODERN WORLD Considering “What is history?” and “What is the Shape of the Modern World?”
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Aug 29 |
Introductory Topics: Who cares about history?!In our first class meeting we will consider why you are taking this class to begin with! What is your main reason? Class time? Distribution content? Interest in course material???? We will begin to think about why history (and modern history) matters! |
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Aug. 31 |
History and Agency: Staking a claim in the modern worldIn our first class meeting we will consider why you are taking this class to begin with! What is your main reason? Class time? Distribution content? Interest in course material???? We will begin to think about why history (and modern history) matters and how a class like this one can change the way you think about the present as well as the past. Assignment for class: Read the following online in the New York Times in advance of class and, for the purposes of discussion, ensure that this is available to you in the class meeting: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html Consider before class meeting: What is the main argument of this piece ? Why do you think it matters ? What is historiography and why (according to this piece) is authorship important ? Who holds power in the modern world? How does our world (and its power structures) differ from those of the pre-modern world? What is the link between history and power? If time is available, considerations of constraint, freedoms, and social order in pre-modern Europe will be introduced. |