Arab-Islamic Influence on the West (HIST-SHU 130)

This course utilizes multidisciplinary sources of evidence to address Arab-Islamic knowledge and culture, the influences that they had on medieval and early modern Europe, and that they continue to have today, while questioning why many Western scholars have minimized Arab-Islamic contributions in favor of “Western Exceptionalism” narratives. By exploring cross-cultural transmissions of knowledge, students are encouraged to think critically about how ideas and technologies evolve as they are adopted by individuals and groups in order to suit their personal and cultural needs. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Humanities Major Other Introductory Courses (18-19 Survey Courses).

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2025)

HIST-SHU 130-000 (19994)
09/01/2025 – 12/12/2025 Tue,Thu
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Wen, Shuang

What is Islam? (HIST-UA 9085)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed

This course explores the origins of Islam and the development of its rituals and doctrines to the 21st century. It assumes no previous background in Islamic studies. Students will learn about topics such as the Koran and the Prophet, Islamic law, the encounter of East and West during the Crusades, and Islam in Britain. They will find out how Muslims in different regions have interpreted and lived their religion in past and present. Readings will include not only scholarly works but also material from primary sources, for example the Koran, biographies and chronicles. The course consists of a combination of lectures, seminar discussions, field trips and includes other media, such as film.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Core Spring 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Modern Europe (HIST-UA 12)

This course introduces students to European history since 1750. It proceeds chronologically and thematically, integrating politics, ideas, society, and culture. Topics include the Enlightenment, French Revolution, industrialization, nationalism, imperialism, feminism, mass politics, communism, fascism, world wars, the Cold War, decolonization, and globalization. Readings feature such writers as Mary Wollstonecraft, Sigmund Freud, Frantz Fanon, and Simone de Beauvoir, and lectures make ample use of visual materials including visual arts, animations, newsreels, and film clips. The course assumes no prior knowledge, and welcomes students from all majors, schools, and years.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2025 Undergraduate

Spring 2025

What is Art History? (HIST-SHU 102)

This course introduces a range of theories that have influenced art history, which here refers to both the purported narratives of the history of art and the practice of re/writing such narratives. We will analyze biography as a mode of art history; connoisseurship, iconography, formalism, and post-structuralist theory; Marxist and feminist approaches; and queer and trans* methods. Recognizing the Eurocentrism in the texts considered foundational to the discipline of Art History, we will examine the ways that art history was conceptualized in East Asia. The aim is to acquire knowledge of key art historical approaches; to apply that knowledge to assess works of art and art historical texts; and to analyze the impact of the historically specific relationship between the visual text and the viewer/historian on our knowledge of art. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Humanities Foundations or Introductory Course.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

HIST-SHU 102-000 (21294)
02/03/2025 – 05/16/2025 Mon,Wed
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Kong, Hyoungee

Expressive Culture Undergraduate

Environmental History of Migration in Europe and the Americas (HIST-UA 9186)

This four credit course explores how the dynamics of migration have shaped identity and citizenship. By providing students with a range of theoretical approaches, the course will address questions of migration, national identity and belonging from a multidisciplinary perspective drawing from (amongst other fields): Sociology, History, Geo-Politics, Gender Studies, Black European Studies, and Cultural Studies. Taking the so called “refugee crisis” as a starting point, the course will pay particular attention to the figure and representation of the “migrant” going from Italian mass migration in the late 19th century to the migrants crossing every day the waters of the Mediterranean in order to reach Fortress Europe. Yet, a course on migration processes undertaken in 2017 Italy cannot limit itself to a purely theoretical framework. Migration means movements of people bringing along personal histories, families and cultural backgrounds. Furthermore the presence of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers reaching Europe is having a significant impact on the current social and political agenda of European government, as in the case of Italy. Therefore the course will include a series of fieldtrips aimed at showing students how immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers insert themselves into the labor market and society in Italy.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2025)

HIST-UA 9186-000 (19193)
08/28/2025 – 12/02/2025 Mon
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Morning)
at NYU Florence (Global)
Instructed by Koziura, Karolina

Cultures and Contexts Fall 2025 Undergraduate

Fall 2024

Intro to US Education Historical and Contemporary (HIST-UA 60)

Sponsored by Steinhardt. Central themes, issues, and controversies in American education. What is the purpose of “school”? How did schools begin in the United States, and how have they evolved across time? How do children learn? How are they different from each other, and why and when should that matter? How should we teach them? And how should we structure schools and classrooms to promote learning?

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2024)

HIST-UA 60-000 (9532)
09/03/2024 – 12/12/2024 Mon,Wed
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Online
Instructed by Brewer, Dominic

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate

Germany and East Central Europe (HIST-UA 9514)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed

This course will focus on the history of the culturally rich region of “Mitteleuropa” through analysis of the parallel evolution of Germany and the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Mitteleuropa as a region produced such important figures as Franz Kafka, Gustav Mahler, Sigmund Freud, Theodor Herzl and Milan Kundera; historical personalities whose influence internationally is indisputable. We’ll delve into the history of the region and on the central role played by German politics and culture from the end of the 19th century, through the turbulent 20th century to the present day. Emphasis will be on the evolution of the concept of nationalism as well as on Germany’s foreign policy in the “concert of nations”, especially towards its Eastern neighbors. The aim is to achieve an understanding of the complex evolution of national entities and their interaction between the birth of the modern German state and the integration of the Visegrád countries in NATO and the European Union.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Hist of Nationalism in Cent & Eastern Europe (HIST-UA 9176)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed

The goal of this course is to introduce the students into nationalism studies and into a plethora of historical and present roots of national identities and manifestations of nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. The course will examine how selected aspects of national histories have been used (and misused) in 19., 20. and 21. century to support/justify national political programs and leaders; specifically, how a romantic picture of national history influenced the development of national identity and what role its interpretation has had in political struggles and programs of Central and East European nations. The course focuses on forces that triggered many eruptions of ethnic hatred and atrocities in Central and Eastern Europe including Holocaust, post World War II expulsion of Germans, civil war in former Yugoslavia, and most recently the nationalist aspects of conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The course will focus on Ukraine and Russia, Poland, Hungary, former Czechoslovakia, present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia, on former Yugoslavia and on independent states on its territory, and it will motivate the students to formulate a positive and cooperative prospect for the region’s future.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Societies & the Social Sciences Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Comp Modern Societies: Pol & Soc in 20C Germany (HIST-UA 9133)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed

The history of Germany in the twentieth century offers rich material to explore various approaches to organizing modern society. Beginning with Imperial Germany in 1900 and moving forward to today’s reunited Germany, we will look at different ways in which the relationship between the state and the individual, and relationship between politics, economy, and society developed over five different political systems. We will interrogate how these institutional arrangements were envisioned and structured and how they were experienced in everyday negotiations. In this course, principle narratives and events will be situated in a European and global context, allowing us to place the concept of German modernity in a comparative framework. Lectures will provide an overview of Germany in the twentieth century; readings and in-class discussions will explore different approaches to analyzing German history and society. During museum visits and walking tours, we will analyze contestations over the various attempts to integrate – both in concerted efforts to memorialize as well as to forget and erase – Germany’s oft-problematic pasts within the narrative of Germany’s present.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Fall 2025 Societies & the Social Sciences Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Fall 2022

History in the Headlines (HIST-UA 70)

The key events you read about in your morning twitter feed or on your favorite news sites are usually not unique in world affairs. They have a background, a context, that makes them more understandable and often more interesting. History is about everything that happened before you started reading this course description. And thinking historically means trying to make sense of the new in the context of what human beings have done before. In this lecture series, NYU’s historians take you on a behind the scenes tour of current events you thought you knew, with the goal of making you a better observer and analyst of news about the world around you.

History (Undergraduate)
2 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Europe Since 1945 (HIST-UA 9156)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed

The course will begin with an examination of the background to and condition of Europe in 1945. The outbreak of the Cold War and the division of Europe will be discussed as will the promotion of European unity, the establishment of NATO and the emergence of COMECON and the Warsaw Pact. The pressures leading to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) will be considered together with the firm establishment of the democratic principle in Western Europe. The Suez Crisis and Decolonisation in Britain and France will be explored together with the corollary, the first application by Britain for membership of the EEC. The effect of President de Gaulle’s presidency on France, NATO and the EEC will be considered. The end of Stalinism in the USSR will be examined as will the first cracks in the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe in Hungary and Poland. This will be followed by a discussion of the merits and demerits of Khrushchev’s period in power, the U2 crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall. The Prague Spring off 1968 will be discussed. The continued integration of Europe will be analyzed together with the impact of Ostpolitik in Germany. Brezhnev’s domination of the USSR and Détente in the 1970s will be examined. Following this, the forces that led to the triumph of Neo-Liberalism in Britain will be considered, as will the return of conservatism in Germany and the cohabitation of Mitterrand’s France. The re-launch of the European Community in the 1980s will be analysed. In Eastern Europe the Gorbachev era and the rise of Solidarność will be explored and the course will conclude with an examination of the disintegration of the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe, the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet state and the conclusion of the Maastricht Treaty.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Fall 2020

Renaissance and Early Modern Europe (HIST-UA 9022)

This course concentrates on the culture, society, and politics of Renaissance and early modern Europe. The course explores several critical topics and themes, including the Italian and Northern Renaissance, the age of religious reform and religious wars, Europe’s “discovery” of other worlds and cultures, the origins and development of national states, the scientific revolution, the European enlightenment, and the origins of the French revolution.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2020)

HIST-UA 9022-000 (27178)
09/02/2020 – 12/10/2020 Mon,Wed
9:00 PM – 10:00 PM (Evening)
at NYU Florence (Global)
Instructed by Duni, Matteo · Perlman, Jason

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Fall 2020

African-American History to 1865 (HIST-UA 647)

Survey of the experience of African Americans to 1865, emphasizing living conditions, treatment, images, attitudes, important figures and events, and culture using a chronological and topical approach. Topics include African way of life, initial contact between Africans and Europeans, slave trade, early slavery, freedom and control in slave society, abolitionism, slave resistance, free blacks, and gender.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2020)

HIST-UA 647-000 (19675)
09/02/2020 – 12/13/2020 Mon,Fri
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Mitchell, Michele · Royster, Briana

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Fall 2020

History of Modern Japan (HIST-UA 537)

Emphasizes historical problems in Japan?s economic development, their challenge to political and social institutions, and their role in shaping foreign policy. Focuses on Japan?s transition from an agrarian economy to commercial capitalism, from hierarchical social organization to constitutional authority, and from isolation from the rest of the world to involvement with Western culture and diplomatic relations. Traces Japan?s development into an industrial giant fully engaged in world affairs.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2020)

HIST-UA 537-000 (22687)
09/02/2020 – 12/13/2020 Mon,Wed
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Linkhoeva, Tatiana · Zhu, Yuhang

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Fall 2021

Espionage and the Making of the Modern World (HIST-UA 23)

Wikileaks and Edward Snowden reveal the dark side of the secret world just as the actions of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine remind us of why we need good intelligence. Since World War II ushered in the modern espionage era, secret intelligence and intelligence services have shaped the course of international history. This course introduces the student to the great sweep of world history from 1939 to 2015 through the lens of the role played by spies, code-breakers, saboteurs, intelligence analysts and the organizations for which they worked. How much did all of this secret stuff matter? Why did countries set up organizations to undertake spying and covert action? Have these activities made them, especially the US, more or less secure? And what has been the cost to private individuals of these activities? Although the focus will mainly be on the activities of US, Russian (Soviet) and British intelligence, the class will also explore cases involving Chinese, Cuban, French, German, Iranian, Israeli, Jordanian, Saudi and Vietnamese intelligence.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Fall 2021

The Early Middle Ages, 300-1050 (HIST-UA 111)

Identical to V65.0111. Bedos-Rezak, Griffiths. Offered every other year. 4 points. Europe in the early Middle Ages was created out of a mixture of ingredients: the legacy of the Roman Empire; the growth and development of Christianity; invading peoples who settled within the boundaries of the former Roman Empire; and the clash of competing languages, religions, and legal systems. This tumultuous time forged a new entity, medieval Europe, whose development, growing pains, and creative successes this course examines. Uses the records and artifacts of the period itself as central elements for investigating the period.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2021)

HIST-UA 111-000 (21499)
09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Tue,Thu
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Underwood, Norman

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Fall 2021

Mao and The Chinese Revolution (HIST-UA 546)

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Spring 2022

US Since 1865 (HIST-UA 10)

Course examines developments in U.S. society within a global historical context. Topics: urbanization; industrialization; immigration; American reform movements (populism, progressivism, the New Deal, and the War on Poverty); and foreign policy. Beginning with the post-Civil War expansion of the U.S. into the American West, the course traces U.S expansion and increasing global influence through the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Cold War, Gulf Wars, and the War on Terror. Emphasizes broad themes and main changes in U.S. culture, politics, and society.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

A History of London (HIST-UA 9127)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Mon,Wed

This course examines the growth and importance of London from the Roman invasion of 43 AD to the present day. Students will learn about London’s changing economic and political role, and will understand how London grew to dominate the commerce, industry and culture of England. They will find out how London became the biggest city the world had ever known, and how it coped (or failed to cope) with the social and environmental problems created by its enormous size. The classroom sessions will be divided between a lecture and a class discussion. From week two onwards the class will begin with a discussion of the topic or period covered in the previous week‚s lecture, in which students will be expected to use knowledge and ideas gathered from lectures and from their weekly reading. There will also be four walking tours of parts of London which relate to the period we are studying at a particular time.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

IMA Interchange

Archives

Arab-Islamic Influence on the West (HIST-SHU 130)

Sections (Fall 2025)

What is Islam? (HIST-UA 9085)

Modern Europe (HIST-UA 12)

What is Art History? (HIST-SHU 102)

Sections (Spring 2025)

Environmental History of Migration in Europe and the Americas (HIST-UA 9186)

Sections (Fall 2025)

Germany and East Central Europe (HIST-UA 9514)

History in the Headlines (HIST-UA 70)

Europe Since 1945 (HIST-UA 9156)

Renaissance and Early Modern Europe (HIST-UA 9022)

Sections (Fall 2020)

African-American History to 1865 (HIST-UA 647)

Sections (Fall 2020)

History of Modern Japan (HIST-UA 537)

Sections (Fall 2020)

Espionage and the Making of the Modern World (HIST-UA 23)

The Early Middle Ages, 300-1050 (HIST-UA 111)

Sections (Fall 2021)

Mao and The Chinese Revolution (HIST-UA 546)

US Since 1865 (HIST-UA 10)

A History of London (HIST-UA 9127)

A site to help IMA NY students find equivalent courses