The Frontiers of Empire

Catalog description

This class will look at interactions along and across imperial frontier zones throughout the world, with an emphasis on the pre-modern and early modern period. Readings will be both theoretical and empirical in nature, and will focus on themes including the conceptualization of space; practices and consequences of warfare, captive-taking, and slavery; identity- and secondary state-formation; economy and society; diplomacy and the negotiation of claims to authority.