Course List

This course seeks to introduce students to the broad contours of world history since 1500. Although aspects of the history of the "West" and the "World" will be treated as discrete entities, a particular concern will be to explore the complex interactions between the two. The course will begin with the period from the European encounter with the Americas and conclude with an examination of war and terrorism in the 21st century Middle East.

View Course Outline

This course will introduce students to some of the key issues in the practice of history and of being a historian. We will consider the history of history-writing and research (historiography) and analyze some of the main themes and debates in the study and practice of history. Throughout the course we will also reflect on that it means to study the past as Christians and seek to develop Christian perspectives on how we might practice our craft as historians.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

This course deals with the breakdown of medieval Christendom and the emergence of the Renaissance and Reformation movements. It also deals with the major intellectual, political, social and economic developments until the end of the Thirty Years' War. Among the topics covered will be the age of "discovery," the wars of religion, witchcraft, science, and the new state systems and cultures that emerged in early modern Europe.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

This course will explore the global growth of Christianity since 1500, a process that raises pressing historical and theological questions. Why did Christianity "succeed" in some times and places, but not in others? How has Christianization been implicated in processes of Western imperialism and conquest? And what cross-cultural processes or transferences occur when Christianity infuses a new culture? We will examine these questions in depth by examining the global spread of Christianity to the Americas, Asia and Africa after 1500.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

The main purpose of this course is to answer the question: why did Americans fight the Civil War (1861-1865)? Understanding the origins of this most destructive of American conflicts requires a long view of American history. Topics include: European and African migrations during the colonial period; contact and conflict with Native peoples; development of religious and political institutions; the American Revolution; slavery and sectionalism; westward expansion and "Manifest Destiny."

View Course Outline

Is the United States an empire? This course examines America's movement from isolationism to imperialism and sole world superpower, especially during the 20th century. 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; immigration; religious and political culture; and pivotal conflicts such as the Spanish-American War, the world wars, and the Cold War. We also will consider the economic, military, cultural and religious dimensions of the global assertion of American power over the past century.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

This course is designed to do two things. First, we will ask the question "What is environmental history?" as a way to introduce the students to the theoretical and disciplinary issues that drive this emerging academic field. Second, we will explore the history of our relationships with the environment and the Americas since the arrival of humans; particular comparisons will be made between aboriginal and Euro-American ideas and practices. The goal is to show that nature, too, has a history, and to provide historical context for our current concerns about environmental degradation.

View Course Outline

This course examines significant events, themes and personalities in the Canadian past from the European explorations to the movement toward Confederation. Particular attention is given to the formative 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.

View Course Outline

This course deals with the major themes of Canadian history from the time of Confederation to the present. Among the topics covered are: the development of cultural communities, the Confederation era, social and economic developments, regionalism, political traditions, immigration and multiculturalism.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline

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

View Course Outline

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

View Course Outline

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.

View Course Outline