Course List

This course introduces students to the broad contours of world history since 1500. Encounters and exchanges, as well as imperialism and state formation, are central themes. Students will also be introduced to the methods historians use to study the past and will consider Christian perspectives on the practices and understanding of history. The course will begin with European encounters with the Americas and conclude with an examination of 21st-century global challenges.

This course will introduce students to some of the key issues in the practice of history. We will explore the responsibilities and tasks of the historian. We will examine the problems confronted by different types of primary sources. We will consider the history of history-writing and research (historiography) and analyze some of the main themes and debates in the study of the past. Throughout the course we will also reflect on what it means to study the past as Christians and seek to develop Christian perspectives on how we might practice our craft as historians.

This course explores ideas and theories about economic life that have been developed from ancient times to the present, including (but not limited to) those of the major economic thinkers from Adam Smith onwards. These ideas will be analyzed in light of the economic, political, social and intellectual contexts that helped to shape them. By investigating this historical development, we will gain a better understanding of how current approaches to economics and economic policy-making came to be.

This course is designed to introduce students to the History of Modern Europe from the onset of the French Revolution until the collapse of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It will trace the development of many of the key themes in European history in this tumultuous era: revolutions, war, unity and division, empire and nation, migration, and the emergence of new ideologies. The course will explore the social, cultural and political history of Europe and will examine key primary source texts where appropriate. Students will also be invited to consider Christian perspectives on key issues: eg. war and pacifism, genocide, modernity and notions of progress.

This course deals with the major intellectual, political, social and economic changes during the 19th century in the period from the French Revolution to the eve of World War I. Among the topics covered are: the impact of the French Revolution; the nature of romanticism; social classes and reform; revolutionary movements; liberalism, nationalism, imperialism, and socialism; the new state systems.

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This course deals with the major political, social, and intellectual movements from the late 17th century to the eve of the French Revolution. Among the topics covered are: science and philosophy in the 18th century, political theory and practice in the age of democratic revolutions, political economy, philosophies and the propaganda of the Enlightenment and religion in an age of reason.

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This course examines the rise of Christian social and political movements within Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions since the French Revolution (1789). It explores the context in which these movements arose, their distinctive ideas and strategies, as well as the practical changes to the establishment they advocated. Attention will be given to movements such as the British anti-slavery movement, faith-based schools, Christian democracy, American civil rights movement, liberation theology, Bonhoeffer & the Confessing Church, and creation care.

This course deals with the major intellectual, political, social and economic changes since World War I. Among the topics covered are: the legacy of the Great War, the Great Depression, democracy and totalitarianism, World War II, the Cold War, decolonization, European unification, and major trends in thought, sciences and religion.

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This course will consider in depth major themes in World History from 1500-1800 and help students think analytically about the interaction between the Western and non-Western worlds during this time period.

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This course will consider in depth major themes in World History since 1800 and help students think analytically about the interaction between the Western and non-Western worlds during this time period.

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This course will explore the history of World Christianity since 1500, focussing on Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Among other subjects, we will analyze missionary movements and cross-cultural encounters in the Global South and the growth of charismatic and Pentecostal Christianities.

This course examines the Cold War from its origins to its denouement. It examines the escalation of the conflict from the end of the Second World War through the ERP, the Korean War, Cuba and Vietnam, up to and including the collapse of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall. This course explicitly focuses upon key hotspots (Cuba, Vietnam), the main protagonists (Kennedy and Khrushchev, Reagan and Gorbachev) and social, cultural and economic aspects of the Cold War (including music, film, literature) to build an integrated view of the Cold War by examining it from different disciplinary perspectives. It includes a sustained engagement with both the historiography of the Cold War, and the relevant primary sources from the period.

This course is designed to introduce students to the way that the past is represented on screen. It will compare and contrast different forms of representation: films (feature film, documentary, propaganda, animation, films of record); television; console games; social media; digital history, and think about the problems that each of these forms creates. This course will thus engage with the deeper questions about how the past is presented, represented and consumed outside of the academy, and will explore the question of how far these visual modes of representation provide a different (unique? Superior?) experience of the past and how to understand it compared to more traditional textual modes of representation. This course will help students to engage critically with information, ideas and interpretations about the past that are mediated via a screen, and to think carefully about public history, the past and the Christian imagination.

What does childhood look like around the world? How have ideas about childhood changed in the last five hundred years? This course examines experiences and ideologies of childhood across different cultures, considering broad questions in the historiography of childhood as well as specific case studies. Key themes include the notion of the child genius, literature by and for children, the role of education in children's lives, children's experiences of colonialism, incarceration, and conflict, and the rights of the child in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

This course examines the history of gender and sexuality in Europe and North America, with particular attention to the period from about 1850 to the present. Key themes include the history of gender roles and feminist movements, as well as various Indigenous, legal, scientific, medical, activist, and Christian understandings of gender and sexuality.

This course introduces the major currents in African Studies. Challenging popular representations of Africa, it provides critical tools for dissecting the continent's complex socio-cultural experience. It looks at the self-directed and relatively autonomous Africa before the European encounter, particularly the diverse forms of traditional political institutions, the patterns of belief and social relationships, and the rise and decline of pre-colonial states. The course addresses the establishment of colonization and the rise of nationalism. The course combines literary and cultural texts to challenge the "the West's" stereotyped image of Africa as "the Dark Continent."

This course explores experiences of medicine and health in the modern Western world, concentrating on the period from about 1800 to the present. Topics to be discussed include the social roles of different medical practitioners, women in medicine, medical experimentation, epidemics, tensions between public health and civil liberties, and depictions of medicine and disability in popular media.

This course consists of a study of the life of Britain and her peoples from the late 15th to the early 17th century. Primary attention will be given to England. Topics to be covered include: the essence of the English Reformation, Tudor rebellions, Edwardian Protestantism and Marian reaction, the Elizabethan Settlement and the origins of Puritanism.

This course is designed to give students an appreciation for the basic themes of British history from 1603 to 1688. A concluding survey covering the period from the Glorious Revolution to 1714 is included. Some prominent topics are: Anglicans and Puritans, Cromwell and the Holy Commonwealth, radical social thought and foreign relations.

This course seeks to explore the role which medicine has played in the shaping of North Atlantic societies from the Great Plague of London in the mid-17th century to the Spanish Influenza epidemic of the early 20th. Topics to be discussed include physicians and surgeons, quacks and "irregulars", disease and diseases, hospitals, the practice of medicine, the changing nature of surgery, women and medicine, and medicine and empire.

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This course seeks to provide an introduction to British history in the long eighteenth century. It will consist of a combination of lectures by the instructor and seminar discussions based on readings in the most recent historical literature. While the primary focus is on English history, there will be some consideration of Ireland, Scotland and the 18th century Empire.

A study of British domestic and foreign issues during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Topics for consideration include: Victorian thought and society; the era of Gladstone and Disraeli; the Irish problems; and the nature of the Church of England and the rise of evangelicalism.

This course offers an introductory survey of the history of the United States from before European contact to the Civil War. Topics include Indigenous histories; European and African migration during the colonial period; the development of religious and political institutions; the American Revolution and the Early Republic; westward expansion, war, and Manifest Destiny; and slavery and sectionalism.

This course offers an introductory survey of the history of the United States from the aftermath of the Civil War to the aftermath of 9/11. Topics include: Reconstruction; race relations and the rise of the Civil Rights movement; women's rights and feminism; immigration; religious and political culture; and pivotal conflicts such as the Spanish-American War, World War I and II, and the Cold War. We will also consider economic, military, cultural, and religious dimensions of the global assertion of American power over the past 150 years.

This course in American government examines the history of political institutions in the United States from Independence in 1776 to the present day. This course explores the origins of the Constitution, the functions and historical evolution of the three branches of the federal government (executive, legislative, judiciary) as well as the roles of political parties, interest groups, public opinion, and the media. It also studies important historical case studies (over issues such as race, slavery and civil rights; civil and religious liberties; family and privacy law; and economic and environmental policy) that demonstrate how American political culture has changed over time. This course is decidedly interdisciplinary in approaching the subject using the methodologies of history and political science.

This course introduces students to the field of environmental history with general attention to the Americas. We will look at Indigenous views and uses of land and nature prior to colonialism, the impact of European settlers on nature and landscapes after 1492, and the contemporary manifestations of the environmental movement and the climate crisis. The course will explore these themes through specific historical case studies.

This course examines significant events, cultures, and encounters on the lands called "Canada" prior to 1867. Particular attention is given to interactions between Indigenous peoples and European settlers as well as the formative political, intellectual, and cultural currents of this period, in order to help develop an adequate foundation for both the study of recent Canadian history and the understanding of contemporary Canadian society.

This course seeks to introduce students to the main contours of Canadian history since Confederation in 1867. Particular attention is given to the patterns of interactions between Indigenous peoples and European settlers. A variety of political, social, religious, racial, economic, and cultural themes will be considered to provide broad and comprehensive coverage of the last century and a half of Canadian history.

To respond effectively to today's economic challenges and opportunities, it helps to understand where they came from. This course explores economic history in the land that is now called Canada, beginning with Indigenous economies before European contact, continuing through the eras of colonization, resource development, and industrialization, up to the present time. The course will prioritize readings from diverse and marginalized voices, particularly Indigenous voices. Themes include the ongoing legacy of settler-colonialism, relationships between humans and the natural world, regional and equity concerns, and the drivers and limitations of economic growth. In addition, the course will build students' skills in scholarly research and writing.

A study of important stages in the development of Christian doctrine and some of the major figures in the history of Christian theology. We will examine the influence of social, political and cultural contexts on doctrine and theology, and ask the question whether and how a study of the Christian past might give shape to the church, theology and Christian faithfulness in the present and future.

Blessed are the peacemakers, said Jesus, and this course offers an interdisciplinary inquiry into the issues of war and peace in the Western tradition. The course will mix philosophical and theological approaches (just war theory, humanitarian intervention, and Christian non-violence, for example) with historical case studies (especially the Crusades and the Second World War but also reaching to contemporary conflicts such as the "War on Terror"). This will be a seminar-style course based on weekly discussion of a common set of readings. The goal is to provide students with a heightened awareness of the range of perspectives on war and peace both in the past and in our world today.

This course is designed to develop an understanding of the rise of Russia to world prominence. The course emphasizes political, social, and economic forces and institutions, the motives behind the Russian Revolution, the establishment of the Communist order, and Russia's role as a world power in the 20th century.

This course examines the contours of the Stalinist period of modern Russian history. It provides a comprehensive and detailed appraisal of the system that emerged in the USSR in the 1930s until the year of Stalin's death in 1953. This course includes sustained engagement with the historiography of Stalinism, and uses a variety of different sources - texts, newspapers, memoirs, posters, films, literature, music - to explore different aspects of the Stalinist system in order to understand what Stalinism was, how it emerged and how it worked in practice. It also appraises how Stalinism has been remembered East and West, and examines the treatment of Stalin in recent biographies.

This course examines the history of the Second World War, adopting a thematic and a comparative approach in order to explore some of the contested issues in our understanding of this key moment in twentieth century history, and of subsequent ways in which this war has been interpreted and represented by historians, commentators and politicians. This course examines a range of different source material as it explores some of these questions - visual, textual, official - and seeks to understand the forces which continue to shape our world today. Throughout the course we will debate and reflect upon what it means to study the past as Christians, and seek to develop a Christian perspective on key issues and developments.

This course examines the history of the First World War, adopting a thematic and a comparative approach in order to explore some of the contested issues in our understanding of this key moment in twentieth century history, and of subsequent ways in which this war has been interpreted and represented by historians commentators and politicians. In this course we will examine a range of different source material as we explore some of these questions - visual, textual, official - and seek to understand the forces which continue to shape our world today. Throughout the course we will debate and reflect upon what it means to study the past as Christians, and seek to develop a Christian perspective on key issues and developments.

A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the history faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.

This course will examine some of the methods and approaches that artists, institutions, and public historians have deployed in the representation of the past in the public sphere. It will evaluate the attempts to involve diverse audiences in the historical understanding of relationships between publics and the past. Areas of study include museums, monuments, media, live performances, heritage, and acts of protest. The core aim of the course is to engage with theoretical, methodological and practice-based contexts of histories and their contestation in the public sphere.

This course seeks to examine various aspects of the religious culture of British North America and Canada from the 18th century to the present. It will consist of a combination of lectures by the instructor and seminar discussions based on extensive readings in the most recent literature. Among the topics to be considered are Protestant-Catholic relations, evangelicalism, ultramontanism, the Victorian crisis of belief, the social gospel, secularization, fundamentalism, and popular religious culture. Readings in English, Scottish, Irish and American religious history are intended to provide a transatlantic and comparative perspective on the Canadian scene.

All students in the both the 3 and 4 yr BA History are required to take this course in their final year of study. Students develop skills in Historical research methods, and will also explore the central issues in both Historiography and public history. They will prepare a major paper in consultation with the instructor(s). Instruction will be in the form of a seminar, to enhance student participation, independent learning, and to hone analytical, rhetorical and presentation skills.

Every human story is important, and oral history is one way to capture, preserve, and honour the living memories of ordinary people. This course has two major goals. First, students will explore the theoretical, ethical, and methodological dimensions of this type of history. Second, in consultation with the instructor, students will prepare for and conduct a substantial oral history interview project. In many cases the result-a video interview and transcription-will be preserved in the Gerry Segger Heritage Collection at King's, whose mission is to document the Dutch-Canadian Experience. In other cases the student will work with the instructor to identify a suitable archival home for the final project. Interested students must seek the permission of the instructor before enrolling in this course.

Students will carry out an independent research project under the supervision of one of the professors in the department.

Students will carry out an independent research project under the supervision of one of the professors in the department.

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to conduct supervised research on a topic which they choose in consultation with a member of the history department. An emphasis will be placed on research methods, problems of interpretation and the art of writing.