HIST 411 - Junior Seminar

Post-Imperial Histories
How does the imperial past shape the present? In the twentieth century, the British Empire transformed from the largest empire the world had seen to a collection of loosely affiliated nation-states. In this course, we will examine how historians have studied the afterlife of empire in the twentieth century. Course readings will address formal decolonization, the developmentalist state, public institutions, the Commonwealth, humanitarian initiatives and non-governmental organizations, immigration, racial formation, gender, and culture. From this shared foundation, students will be able to pursue independent research projects on topics of their own choosing.

Experiment and Enlightenment: History of Science, 1660-1860
This course examines the development and diffusion of scientific practices and ideas in Europe in the 200 years between the founding of the Royal Society of London, a society dedicated to the pursuit of natural knowledge, and the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. During this time, individuals throughout Europe debated how best to understand the natural world and how to verify and confirm that knowledge: should it be observed or manipulated through experimentation? How would a “fact” be proven? Who constituted a legitimate authority? And were there limits to what man could, and should, know about the natural world? This class will examine these changing practices of experimentation and modes of communication among natural historians in Europe and the reception and circulation of scientific ideas, including in art and literature. Particular attention will be paid to the material objects that made natural inquiry both possible and increasingly popular, including scientific instruments, botanical specimens collected on imperial voyages, and museums dedicated to natural history. Students will develop, research, write, and present a substantial research paper using primary and secondary sources.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing, and two history courses at Reed
Restriction(s): History and Interdisciplinary-History majors only
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Notes: Not all topics offered every year. Review schedule of classes for availability.
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.