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Academic Year 2002/2003

World History: A Psychohistory of the Modern World
HIST 251 FA

Linked Course: SOC264

In this lecture-discussion course, we will explore the often neglected psychological dimension of modern history. First, we will explore processes of global change in the modern period. Then, using a variety of materials, including memoirs, fiction, and film, we will examine how peoples in widely differing cultures and with very different levels of wealth and power adapted to modernization. Several variants of psychoanalysis will be critically examined and applied to a range of topics, among them, the impact of global economic change on the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe; the adaptation of new cultural forms and accompanying changes of psychology and identity; racism and anti-Semitism; the impact of European imperialism and cultural exportation on the Americas, Africa and Asia; the effects of world wars, civil wars, and revolutions; Nazism, Stalinism, and Maoism; Gandhi and Satyagraha; postcolonialism, the Cold War, and the disintegration of the Communist bloc; the USA as a psychological laboratory; the women's movement, gender revolution, and the emergence of "postmodern," protean psyches.

MAJOR READINGS

E. Erikson, CHILDHOOD AND SOCIETY
F. Fanon, BLACK SKIN, WHITE MASKS
S. Freud, CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Eric Hobsbaum, THE AGE OF EXTREMES
C. Lasch, THE CULTURE OF NARCISSISM
Eric Wolf, EUROPE AND THE PEOPLES WITHOUT HISTORY
There will also be shorter readings on a variety of topics and three films.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

There will be three short essays and a longer final essay.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Students are encouraged to take HIST251 as a linked course concurrently with SOC264. For students taking HIST251 as a linked course:
1) First year students must enroll in Section 01 and concurrently in Section 01 of SOC264.
2) Sophomores must enroll in Section 02 and concurrently in Section 02 of SOC264.

Students who take HIST251 as a single course should enroll in Section 03.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-18-2003

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