HIST 386RCultures in Conflict 1500-1850

Catalog

Description: This course deals with a wide variety of tensions and hostilities that led to conflict in the centuries between the Reformation and the Revolutions of 1848. The method for doing this is to explore the multiple meanings of the word "culture." Protestant versus Catholic, Spanish versus Aztec, empire versus autonomy, English versus Irish, peasant communities versus monarchical state, European versus Asiatic, secular humanism versus religious faith, liberal democracy versus corporative privilege, proletariat versus bourgeoisie; these are a few of the many cultures in conflict in the period. The defining of difference, the autonomy of culture, and the recourse to violence will be central themes. Format: Two one-hour lectures and one small-group discussion each week. One mid-term exam, one research paper, and one final exam.