Graduate Courses

To see a complete list of courses offered and their descriptions, visit the online course catalog.

For current course schedule information and registration, visit SIS.

Courses numbered 600–799 are seminars, either general or in special fields. They are designed to give doctoral candidates, according to their individual needs and capacities, training in historical methods; introduction to bibliography; direction for individual reading; and supervision in research, exposition, and interpretation in the preparation of papers and dissertations. Each candidate for an advanced degree will take one seminar in a special field and one general seminar every semester. They are offered every year.

Spring 2023

Renew, Reuse, Recycle: Afterlives of Architecture in the Ottoman Empire
AS.010.665 (01)

Designed from the outset to be inhabited and used, works of architecture are inherently susceptible to changes in purpose, appearance, and meaning over time. This was particularly so in the Ottoman Empire (c. 1299–1922), a multiethnic and multireligious transcontinental polity whose territories were already marked by long and eventful architectural histories. Through such case studies as the Parthenon in Athens, the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople/Istanbul, the Citadel of Cairo, and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, this course investigates the ways in which buildings and sites have been appropriated, repurposed, transformed, and/or reconceptualized in response to changing sociopolitical and artistic conditions. Topics to be addressed include the conversion of places of worship, (re)decoration as a vehicle of ideology, and the phenomenon of spoliation—the recycling, whether for practical or symbolic reasons, of existing building materials. In addition to the monuments themselves, we will address the objects that filled them and the human activities they hosted. While our focus will be on the Ottoman context and its relationship to the past, the course will also consider comparable examples in other geographies as well as developments in the post-Ottoman era, including the current debate over the Parthenon marbles and the recent reconversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Rustem, Unver
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/8
PosTag(s): n/a

Early Modern France and the French Empire
AS.100.619 (01)

The second part of a two-semester sequence, this seminar examines the history of France and its empire from the seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century. Topics include: political culture; political economy; the rise of commercial capitalism; the Enlightenment, gender, and sociability; print and popular culture; empire, race, and slavery; and the French and Haitian Revolutions.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Kwass, Michael
Room: Gilman 305
Status: Open
Seats Available: 12/12
PosTag(s): n/a

Readings in African Popular Culture
AS.100.626 (01)

A reading seminar in African popular culture; the focus might be on Central and West Africa as well as the African Diaspora.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 3:30PM
Instructor: Gondola, Didier Didier
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/10
PosTag(s): n/a

Making Medieval History in 'Modern' America
AS.100.636 (01)

This course examines the emergence and practice of medieval history as a field of history in the US beginning in the nineteenth-century. We will address what the medieval past meant for the formation of the discipline of history in the US and how an imagined medieval past came to inform scholarly discourse, research approaches, methodologies, ideas about race and gender, legal and constitutional history, and the contours of nation states. The narrative of the medieval origins of states will also be addressed and questioned as it developed over the course of the 20th century. Students will do archival research in the JHU archives and in other published and unpublished source sets.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Lester, Anne
Room: BLC 4040
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/8
PosTag(s): n/a

Twentieth Century Urban History
AS.100.651 (01)

This graduate seminar explores some of the most innovative approaches to the study of the built environment. We will consider the evolution of what is commonly called “urban history” to examine broader developments in American economic, cultural, spatial, and political history.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 12:00PM - 2:30PM
Instructor: Connolly, Nathan D
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/15
PosTag(s): n/a

Reading Seminar in Black Women's History
AS.100.655 (01)

The second part of a two-semester sequence, this seminar examines a variety of historical traditions in the field of black women’s history.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Turner Bryson, Sasha
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/10
PosTag(s): n/a

Research Seminar in Atlantic History, 1600-1800
AS.100.681 (01)

Writing workshop for graduate students at all stages presenting work in progress. Discussion of theories, methods, and challenges of graduate student writing.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: Th 12:00PM - 1:30PM
Instructor: Pearsall, Sarah
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/10
PosTag(s): n/a

The Black World II
AS.100.708 (01)

The Black World Seminar considers the making and meaning of blackness between the 14th and 20th centuries and Africans and people of African descent’s impact on the making of the modern world, from the slave trade to the present. We explore, too, the historical forces which created blackness as a marker on the body and as a political and cultural identity.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: T 12:00PM - 2:00PM
Instructor: Jones, Martha Suzanne
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 18/20
PosTag(s): n/a

Early Modern Spain and the Mediterranean
AS.100.727 (01)

This course explores the history and historiography of early modern Spain, with a particular emphasis on its relationship with the Mediterranean - from religious, economic, social, diplomatic, and military perspectives. It will discuss piracy, the slave trade, the "morisco" question in Spain, the Jewish diaspora, and North Africa-Spanish relations, among other topics. These topics will be explored with an eye to discussions on conversion, gender, and race among other lenses.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Rowe, Erin
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/10
PosTag(s): n/a

Social Theory for Historians: Marx, Durkheim, Weber
AS.100.749 (01)

An examination of the works of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, as examples of the Hegelian, positivist, and hermeneutic traditions of social theory.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Instructor: Jelavich, Peter
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/10
PosTag(s): n/a

Modern American Seminar
AS.100.753 (01)

A graduate workshop in which graduate students, faculty, and invited speakers present their latest research results in 20th century history. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly

Credits: 2.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 20/20
PosTag(s): n/a

Arabic Historical Writing in the Middle Ages
AS.100.759 (01)

The course examines various genres of Arabic historical writing during the high and late Middle Ages (10th-15th c.). All primary readings are in English/French translation (no Arabic required).

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: el-Leithy, Tamer
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 11/12
PosTag(s): n/a

Gender History Workshop
AS.100.770 (01)

Workshop for presentation of works-in-progress on the history of women, gender, and/or sexuality, including drafts of dissertation chapters, research papers, talks, and proposals. Students in disciplines other than history are welcome. Graduate students only.

Credits: 3.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: T 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 20/20
PosTag(s): n/a

The Seminar
AS.100.782 (01)

This course features presentations from invited speakers. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly.

Credits: 2.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: M 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 59/60
PosTag(s): n/a

Seminar: Medieval Europe
AS.100.784 (01)

A graduate workshop in which graduate students, faculty, and invited speakers present their latest research results in Medieval European History. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly.

Credits: 2.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: Th 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 20/20
PosTag(s): n/a

Seminar: Early Modern Europe
AS.100.786 (01)

A graduate workshop in which graduate students, faculty, and invited speakers present their latest research results in Early Modern European History. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly.

Credits: 2.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: Th 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/15
PosTag(s): n/a

General Seminar: Modern Europe
AS.100.788 (01)

A graduate workshop in which graduate students, faculty, and invited speakers present their latest research results in Modern European History. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly.

Credits: 2.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: Th 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 14/15
PosTag(s): n/a

General Seminar: America
AS.100.790 (01)

A seminar series in which graduate students, faculty, and invited speakers present their latest research results in American History. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly.

Credits: 2.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 20/20
PosTag(s): n/a

General Seminar: Africa
AS.100.794 (01)

A seminar series in which graduate students, faculty, and invited speakers present their latest research results in African History. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly.

Credits: 1.50
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: F 3:00PM - 4:30PM
Instructor: Thornberry, Elizabeth
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/15
PosTag(s): n/a

Seminar: Asian
AS.100.795 (01)

A seminar series in which graduate students, faculty, and invited speakers present their latest research results in Asian History. Q&A, with an emphasis on critical thinking, intellectual discussions, and written and oral presentations. Course may not meet weekly.

Credits: 1.50
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: M 9:00AM - 10:30AM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 20/20
PosTag(s): n/a

First Year Graduate Workshop
AS.100.798 (01)

The intention of the graduate workshop is to allow students, both the first-year cohort and all the graduate students in the department(s) as a group, to meet to discuss themes, topics, concerns, approaches, ideas, methods, and insights together and thus to build a sense of community, cohesiveness, and cooperation within the program and the department as a whole. In the spring semester it will also be focused on drafting and presenting the First Year Paper.

Credits: 1.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: M 12:00PM - 1:30PM
Instructor: Lester, Anne
Room: Gilman 308
Status: Open
Seats Available: 12/12
PosTag(s): n/a

Dissertation Research
AS.100.802 (01)