READINGS IN EARLY AMERICA, 1763 to 1820
56:512:505:01
W 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Shankman
Readings in North American/U.S. History 1763-1820 explores the principal economic, social, cultural, and political developments of the American Revolutionary era and the early national period. The course examines the imperial crisis and movement for independence and the implications of creating a new U.S. constitutional republic for all those living on the North American continent.
READINGS IN US: 1945 – PRESENT
56:512:508:01
TH 2:00 pm – 4:50 pm
Professor Goodman
This course is designed to acquaint graduate students with rich, innovative scholarship in recent U.S. history. Readings will examine the transformation of the United States since World War II, focusing on the era’s political cultures, economic developments, and movements for social and cultural change.
GENDER IN HISTORY AND THEORY
56:512:523:01 I
W 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Jewell
The history of gender has come a long way since it first emerged as women’s history in the mid-twentieth century alongside the Second Wave Feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s. From women’s history to the new frontier of trans* histories, this course traces the development of gender as a category of historical study, and how its direction was shaped by certain theoretical and methodological debates both within and outside the discipline of history. After initially examining the gendered nature of historical practice itself, in the first third of the course we will explore the emergence of women’s history—from ancient history to US history—and how this eventually transformed into gender history, including feminist histories, the history of masculinity, as well as the introduction of deconstructionist and performance theories, and the critiques of these new perspectives. The remainder of the course will then examine specific intersections between gender history and other categories of history, including race, labor and technology, health and medicine, the body, sexuality, colonialism, as well as both regionally specific and global histories. Students will complete in-depth readings (monographs and/or articles) for each weekly topic, actively contribute to class discussion, co-facilitate one discussion, and write book reviews and a short methodological review essay relevant to their own research interests.
THE CRAFT OF HISTORY
56:512:550:01
M 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Thomas
The Craft of History is unique in the master’s program at Rutgers University—Camden. Rather than a readings or research course in a particular area of history, Craft is designed to familiarize students with major problems, questions, and methods that shape the discipline of history as a whole. We begin by studying with the development of historiographical frameworks in the field in the late 19th and early 20thcentury, then turn our attention to a progression of thematic and theoretical approaches, including histories of gender, race, colonialism and postcolonialism, and the environment. Throughout the semester, we consider a variety of methodological issues and tools, including the use of various time and spatial scales and how the selection of different types of sources shapes analysis. The course provides a foundation for the remainder of the graduate program and will help students hone their analytical skills through reading, structured notetaking, class discussion, and paper-writing.
READINGS IN 20th CENTURY GLOBAL HISTORY
56:512:558:01
W 12:30 pm – 3:10 pm
Professor Marker
This graduate readings course explores the major forces that shaped world history in the twentieth century. We will focus on changing configurations of world order from the latter stages of the era of high imperialism in the early 1900s through to the end of the Cold War and the aftermaths of 9/11. We will also consider how historians and other social scientists have theorized, conceptualized, and periodized the twentieth century, variously known as “the American century,” the “long twentieth century,” the “short twentieth century,” and “the age of extremes.” Students can take the course as a standalone readings course or continue on with the research seminar in the spring.
MATERIAL CULTURE IN AMERICA
56:512:588:01
TH 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Woloson
In this course, we will take a closer look at the physical world that surrounds us, studying things that seem, by turns, trivial and significant, whether George Washington’s false teeth, beaded pillows from Niagara Falls, or limited-edition Beanie Babies. What kinds of interpretive lenses should we use when trying to understand material artifacts as primary source evidence, and what can we learn from examining objects over time and their place in our society today?
We will place American material culture in a broader historical context, discussing the role of objects in the history of cultural, economic, and political life. And we will also talk about the intersection of material culture and capitalism, including the nature of commodities and the impact of commodity culture. In addition, we will explore and develop innovative frameworks that will help us better understand material culture today.
Reading assignments will consist of case studies underpinned by relevant theories. Topics will include, among other things: trash, garbage, and reuse; souvenirs and nostalgia; the nature of value; rituals of collecting; objects and identity creation; kitsch, taste, and culture; hoarding and asceticism; and commodification.
Students will have the opportunity to design their own semester-long major project, centered on some aspect of material/commodity culture. This might include, for example, crafting an article-length work of original research, revisiting your previous scholarship to include a substantial material culture component, writing an extensive literature review, or curating an exhibition.