courses of instruction - Lafayette College

HISTORY
riety of sources covering the same topic.
Written sources include memoirs, literary
works, and traditional history texts. (Not
open to first-year students.) S taff
221. The Medieval World. A study of Eu
ropean history from the fall of the Roman
Empire to the fifteenth century. The course
focuses upon the interplay of political,
economic, and ideological forces in the de
velopment and decline of medieval civili
zation, and attempts to assess the relation
ship of the Middle Ages to the Italian Re
naissance. Lecture/discussion. Mr. Fix
222. Emergence of Western Europe. Eu
rope from the Renaissance to the early En
lightenment. The first half of the course
concentrates on the Renaissance, the sec
ond half on the foundations of modern
Europe. The emphasis in the second half is
on the interrelationship of socioeconomic
change, the new European political order,
and the intellectual revolution of the six
teenth and seventeenth centuries. Lec
ture/discussion. Mr. Fix
223. British History to 1715. Foundations
of the English monarchy and its evolution
into a model constitutional system; 17th-
century revolutionary tradition; expansion
of England in British Isles, North America,
and East Indies; origins of an urban, in
dustrial society. Lecture/discussion. Staff
224. British History 1715 to the Present.
Evolution of the constitution from oli-
garcy to democracy; industrial revolution;
articulation of class; rise, zenith, and de
cline of Britain as a world power; English
culture and society. The readings empha
size primary documents, including litera
ture. The course should be of interest to
pre-legal and English-literature students
as well as to history majors. Lecture/dis
cussion. Staff
225. The Age of Revolution. The course
centers on the French Revolution, begin
ning with an examination of its 18th-cen
tury social, economic, and intellectual
roots, continuing with the Revolution it
self, and ending with an assessment of its
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aftermath up to 1848. An underlying
theme of the course is the connection be
tween the Industrial Revolution and the
political revolutions of 1789,1830, and
1848. Lecture/discussion. Mr. Fix
227. Europe: 1850-1917. This course exam
ines the operation of the European state
system, the impact of the industrial revo
lution, nationalism, and imperialism on
European politics and culture, and the
tensions and crises that culminated in the
breakdown of the European state system
during World War I. Lecture/discussion.
Offered in fall semester. [W] Mr. Weiner
228. Europe: World War I to the Present.
This course examines the development of
European politics and culture since World
War I, with particular emphasis on the
impact of the Great War and the Russian
Revolution, the age of the dictators, the or
igins and impact of World War II, and the
rebuilding of European society since 1945
under the shadow of Soviet-American
hegemony. Lecture/discussion. Offered
in spring semester. Mr. Weiner
253,254. European Thought, Society, and
Culture. European culture and society
from the High Middle Ages to the present.
The courses offer a variety of texts from
literature, philosophy, political theory, and
economics, through a perspective provid
ed by works on social history. Lecture/
discussion. 253 offered in fall semester;
254 in spring semester. Mr. Fix
The United States
231. Early American Social and Econom
ic History. This course examines impor
tant socioeconomic developments in early
American history. Topics covered include
the origins and evolution of the institution
of slavery, Puritanism and witchcraft, the
changing experiences of artisans and
wage earners, and the transformation of
social structure and community relation
ships. Lecture/discussion. Prerequisite:
History 108. Offered every other year in
spring semester. Ms. Rosen.