2007-08 - Pitzer College

126 HISTORY
17. History and Political Economy of Natural Resources. (Also IIS 17) This course
surveys the modern history and political economy of natural resources. Though we will
focus on gold, diamonds, and oil, the course also addresses larger issues of resource
exploitation within specific historical, political and economic settings. We begin with the
so-called “scramble for Africa,” when European nations carved up Africa between them
at the Berlin Conference in 1885. This scramble for Africa and its resources was later
extended to other regions of the non-western world, such as the Middle East. The course
will then explore the role of natural resources in internal and global conflicts, from the
colonial to the post-colonial periods, focusing on how those conflicts played themselves
out in Africa and the Middle East. Spring, A. Wakefield/L. Tongun.
20. Greece and Rome. An introductory survey of the histories and cultures of Classical
and Hellenistic Greece, Republican and Imperial Rome to AD 565 and the rise of
Christianity. Special attention is given to the primary source material, with an
examination of the archaeological evidence and representative readings from the ancient
poets, historians, and philosophers. Fall, S. Glass.
Hist21/Anth 21. The World Since 1492. This course explores the last 500 years of world
history. In examining this large expanse of time, the focus is on four closely related
themes: (1) struggles between Europeans and colonized peoples, (2) the global formation
of capitalist economies and industrialization, (3) the formation of modern states, and (4)
the formation of the tastes, disciplines, and dispositions of bourgeois society.
Spring, C. Johnson/D. Segal.
22. History of the Disciplines. The social and behavioral sciences-economics, sociology,
political science, anthropology, and psychology- structure our experience so completely
that we sometimes take them for granted. The great division of intellectual labor that
these “human sciences” represent can seem so natural, and so logical, that it is sometimes
hard to imagine a world without them. But these disciplines did not always exist. In
exploring their histories, we simultaneously ask about the contingency of our world, and
about how it might be different. It is a history of the present. Fall, A. Wakefield.
34. White and Off-White: Historical-Anthropological Studies of Racial Privilege and
Demarcation. This course examines the historical construction of “whiteness”. Special
attention is given to the ways the border between “white” and “non-white” (that which is
socially “off-” or “near-white”) has been drawn, policed, and redrawn in different
historical contexts. For example, the course looks at the shifting color of identity of
American Jews, as well as the social history of “poor whites” and “white trash.” The
ultimate goal is to gain increased understanding of the relationship between race-making
and patterns of political-economic domination. Prerequisites: Hist/Anth 21 or either
History 55 or 56 or permission of instructor. D. Segal. [not offered 2007-08]
36. Malls, Museums, and Other Amusements: The Public Sphere in the Modern U.S.
This course examines, through the lenses of anthropology and social history, public sites
that link commerce, entertainment and education in the 20th century U.S. The course
encourages students to analyze connections between the organizations of public spaces,
the social construction of our public behaviors and personae, and the marketing of
sanctioned desires and pleasures as these contribute to our contemporary American
“lifestyle.” D. Segal. [not offered 2007-08]
HISTORY
40BK. History of Africa to 1800. (See Black Studies 40BK) Fall, S. Lemelle (Pomona).
41BK. History of Africa, 1800-Present. (See Black Studies 41BK.), S. Lemelle (Pomona).
[not offered 2007-08]
55, 56. United States History 1620-Present. An analytical and topical introduction to
American social and political history. This course will focus on how different historians
have interpreted several key events and periods. Among the topics to be considered are
the encounter between New England Puritans and the land, the adoption of the federal
Constitution, causes of the Civil War, the rise of the city, and the development of 20thcentury
liberalism. Intended for students with no previous college-level background in
United States history. Either semester may be taken separately.
55. United States History, 1620-1877. Fall, S. McConnell.
56. United States History, 1877-Present. Spring, S. McConnell.
65. Travel and Encounter, 1800-2000. Travelers, who often find themselves in unfamiliar
and threatening situations, make fascinating historical guides. Using a selection of travel
narratives, we will sample the history of travel from 1800 to the present. The course
focuses not only on the motivations and experiences of travelers, but also examines their
impact on the people and places encountered. Topics include colonialism, arctic
exploration, and road trips. A. Wakefield. [not offered 2007-08]
73. The Problem with Profit. As capitalism emerged in Europe (ca. 1150-1600), this
controversial idea and the actual accumulation of wealth in communities provoked many
responses. This course begins by exploring theories about the development of capitalism.
It then examines theological and political debates involving wealth and profit, the social
groups who supported or condemned capitalism, and cultural responses to inequalities
of wealth. C. Johnson. [not offered 2007-08]
Hist 77/Anth 77. Great Revolutions in Human History: The Agricultural and Industrial
Revolutions Compared. This seminar examines and compares the complex changes in
human existence known, respectively, as “the agricultural revolution” and the “industrial
revolution.” Topics include: (i) the received understanding of each of these “revolutions”
in “developmental” or “social evolutionary” terms; (ii) the environmental history of each;
(iii) how these two historical complexes have been framed as similar, despite divergences
in their forms and structures, in terms of independent invention, diffusion, and
sustainability. Prerequisite: Anth 21. Spring, D. Segal.
STS 81. Science and Technology in the Early Modern World: History of Science,
Renaissance to 1800. (See Science Technology Society 81.) Fall, J. Grabiner.
Anth 89. The Sixties. (See Anthropology 89). D. Segal. [not offered 2007-08]
Anth 90. Schooling. [See Anthropology 90). Fall, D. Segal.
100iCH. Race and Identity in Latin America. (See Chicano Studies 100ICH.) Fall, M. Tinker-
Salas.
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