Participants will devote the last month of the course to the oral and written presentation of a 15-20 page essay on any of the central themes or figures of the course. This course emphasizes the political history of the independence movement and the formation of the national government through the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It also treats social and military history of the era. The role of ideology, the impact of economic motives, and the consequences of regional variations receive critical scrutiny. In addition to scholarly studies, primary sources will command substantial attention.
Assignments stress careful reading and analysis, and include short written exercises.
This seminar is an introduction to key themes, exemplary monographs, and the range of primary sources for the study of early America from Columbus's landfall to the mid-eighteenth century. The emphasis is social, political, and cultural developments in the British North American colonies that became the United States. Assignments include critical reviews, in-class oral reports, and teamwork. The purpose of this course is to introduce graduate students to the history and historical literature of 16th-century Europe. Since the 16th century was dominated by the Reformation, a movement of unparalleled religious renewal and change, the course will focus primarily on the historiography of major issues of the Reformation and the Reformation's impact on European society more broadly.