History

History is indispensable for understanding the modern world and in understanding great contemporary public debates, for example on the Cold War, the Middle East, the Holocaust, the decline of the United States, the rise of China, and on the economic crisis in the West.

History provides a critical perspective on the present by contrasting it with the past. To give just one example: one can get a new perspective on democracy by immersing oneself in the history of totalitarian nations like Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, or by studying slavery. The contrasts and the sometimes-surprising continuities with the past are crucial in gaining insight in present-day political, intellectual, economic and social problems.

The past is in itself fascinating and at times sheer fun to study. Who can read about the exploits of Alexander the Great, Hannibal or Napoleon without a sense of adventure? A broad interest in the past for its own sake can help avoid the tunnel vision that too much present-mindedness may engender.

Within the many disciplines taught at University College Utrecht, History has a distinctive approach to understanding reality. Comparing the historical approach with other disciplines is essential in coming to grips with the college's Liberal Arts and Sciences philosophy.

History is a valuable track for many future careers, as the skills learned are useful whether as a politician, a journalist, an economist, an international lawyer, a diplomat, a sociologist or even a businessman. They all have to study and interpret the past. History courses help in doing so critically, and in avoiding dogmatism and singlemindedness.

The University College Utrecht History track teaches you the following skills:

• How to search for historical literature;
• How to analyse historical texts;
• How to develop an independent view; and
• How to give expression to that view orally and in writing.

For further information, see the History Essay Guide, available with the History Fellow Erik Jacobs, email: E.Jacobs@uu.nl

You can also contact the track representative for the history track, Trisha Bhaya, email: t.bhaya@students.uu.nl

The History Track at University College Utrecht covers a broad array of historical specialities, from political or economic history, to history and philosophy of science or the study security and conflict. This interdisciplinary nature thus offers the opportunity for many students from different disciplines to include history in their major, or pursue history as a minor. Unique to the History Track at University College Utrecht is the opportunity for students to include their interests in other disciplines into their coursework at University College Utrecht, for example an economics student can take the level 1 course on Middle Ages and write an essay on the feudal economy, then move to the level 2 course on the Cold War and write about economic policy during this period, and then move to the level 3 course on the Origins and Crises of the Global Economy. Economic history could then become the topic in the bachelor thesis. This is just one of the many different options within the History Track at University College Utrecht.

I. Economic history

• UCHUMHIS36: Origins and crises of the global economy 

This course is attractive to students of the economics track, sociology track, political theory/ international relations track, and the law track. In this course they will familiarize themselves with specific historical methods to study economic reality and they will be enabled to study particular economic topics (for example industrialization or the great depression of the 1930s) in their historical context. In 100-level and 200-level courses like Middle Ages, Early Modern History, Modern History and the Global Cold War or Transatlantic Cold War it is quite possible to focus on economic history, which thus can serve as a preparation for the above-mentioned course on economic history.

II. Political history and international history.

• UCHUMHIS21: The Transatlantic Cold War 
• UCHUMHIS28: Global Cold War: Conflict and Cooperation in the “Third World”
• UCINTHIS21: Understanding Conflict: Historical Analysis of Irregular Contemporary Conflicts 
• UCHUMHIS35: Great Powers 
• UCINTHIS32: European Conflicts and Security: Ukraine
• UCINTHIS22: UN Simulation & Negotiation

The interest in international affairs and politics is so widespread at University College Utrecht and there are so many different courses on these themes, from law, sociology, and international relations to economics, that this part of the history track is obviously attractive to many Humanities and (Social) Science students who are interested in political history. Students in the Humanities might focus on the cultural themes dealt with in these courses, such as art, film, literature and propaganda during the Cold War and in the history of the Great Powers generally.

III. History of ideas/cultural history

• UCSCIHIS11: History and philosophy of science 
• UCHUMHIS24: Cultural history of magic and science 

This part of the History track is particularly inviting for students from the Humanities and (Social) Sciences who plan to study the history of their discipline using historical methods and dealing with the types of questions that historians deem relevant. Humanities students can focus on arts, literature, philosophy, religion, or the performing arts. (Social) Science students can focus on the history of psychology, sociology, physics or biology. In this way students will become more conscious of the different approaches in the different disciplines.

IV. The twentieth century

• UCHUMHIS14: Modern history 
• UCHUMHIS21: The  Transatlantic Cold War
• UCHUMHIS28: Global Cold War: Conflict and Cooperation in the “Third World”
• UCINTHIS21: Understanding Conflict: Historical Analysis of contemporary wars 

•  UCINTHIS22: UN Simulation & Negotiation

• UCHUMHIS35: Great Powers 
• UCHUMHIS36: Origins and crises of the global economy 
• UCHUMHIS37: Transitional Justice  
• UCINTHIS32: European Conflicts and Security: Ukraine

The twentieth century is of special interest to many students at University College Utrecht who need or prefer specific courses in modern history as an essential background to study their own disciplines.

V. Premodern History

• UCHUMHIS12: Medieval history 400-1500 
• UCHUMHIS13: Early modern history: 1450-1800 
• UCHUMLIT12: Ancient Literature and History
• UCHUMHIS15: History and philosophy of science: from antiquity to the present 
• UCHUMHIS24: Cultural history of magic and science 
• UCHUMHIS35: Great Powers 

Premodern history is a crucial ingredient for the diversity of perspectives that a Liberal Arts and Sciences institution like University College Utrecht seeks to encourage. Hardly any discipline at the college looks at reality from a pre-dominantly temporal perspective; most courses are on the modern world. The above-mentioned courses, however, deal partly or entirely with the world before the Industrial Revolution and before the French Revolution. They offer students an opportunity to delve into very different societies from our own, that at the same time may show some surprising continuities. Since more than half of the world population now lives in urban areas (as reported already in 2005 by the United Nations), courses on the pre-industrial era offer a unique perspective on reality.

The requirements for Master's programmes vary. The popular programme Conflict Studies and Human Rights at Utrecht University requires 30 ECTS in related studies, such as Political Science, History, Sociology, Law, etc.

History students from University College Utrecht are almost always accepted to the Master's programme in History. Most applicants for special research Master's programmes in Utrecht, Leiden and Amsterdam have been accepted. Students have also been accepted at King’s College, the London School of Economics and other universities abroad.

Relevant Master's Programmes at Utrecht University

• History
• Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Studies
• Conflict Studies and Human Rights (selective master)
• Cultuurgeschiedenis van modern Europa (in Dutch)
• History of Politics and Society
• Geschiedenis: educatie en communicatie (in Dutch)
• History and Philosophy of Science
• International Relations in Historical Perspective (selective master– unique in the Netherlands because of its combination of international relations and history)
• Leraar voorbereidend hoger onderwijs in geschiedenis en staatsinrichting
• Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Students who plan to do a Master's programme in History are advised to take at least two courses from the chronological courses, so HUMHIS12, HUMHIS13, HUMCLA12. The reason for this is that many students choose modern history, which deals mainly with modern industrialised or urbanised society in the 19th and 20th centuries. To achieve the necessary contrast, however, a History student needs to have studied at least one mainly agricultural society.

It is advised to do the Bachelor’s thesis on a historical topic that is closely related to the subject of the Master's programme.

UCHUMHIS12: Medieval history 400-1500 

As common prejudice has it, the medieval period stands out most of all by a reversion to barbarism. Students will, however, find that Barbarians were not all that barbarian, that those who entered a monastery were no sad cases of religious mania, that medieval kings in their right minds did not order to have their rivals’ heads chopped off on a whim, and that medieval peasants and townspeople were perfectly capable of making rational economic decisions. The course focuses mostly on European developments, but will also include other regions, most notably the Byzantium and the Islamic world, thus exploring the Middle Ages as a period of connectivity, transformation and innovation.

J. van Doren, email: j.vandoren@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS13: Early modern history: 1450-1850

This course gives a chronological overview of European history in the period 1450-1800, while also covering the borderlines with medieval, modern, and world history. The focus is on economic, political, and cultural aspects of different periods in the early modern age. Students will discover ‘the past as another country’, but they will also find surprising similarities between past and present.

The course will examine how developments during the early modern period, which spans from roughly the late fifteenth to late eighteenth century, laid the foundations for present-day Europe. 

Erik Jacobs, email: E.Jacobs@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS14: Modern history

This course covers the period from the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution to the dramatic events in the first decade of the 21st century, such as the American invasion of Iraq. In addition, it gives an introduction to a selection of classical debates in modern history such as the debates on industrialization and on the causes of World Wars I and II.  The course focuses not only on Europe and the United States but also deals with developments in Africa, Australia, Asia and Latin America. It thus provides a global perspective on the 19th and 20th centuries and after.

Arend-Jan Boekestijn, email: A.J.Boekestijn@uu.nl

Erik Jacobs, email: E.Jacobs@uu.nl

Corina Mavrodin, email: c.mavrodin@uu.nl

Kim van der Wijngaart, email: k.vanderwijngaart@uu.nl

UCSCIHIS11: History and philosophy of science 

In understanding the modern world, it is important to learn to think critically about issues surrounding techno-science. In this course, this goal is achieved by examining important episodes and turning points in the history and philosophy of science and technology. Cross-listed with the science department. This course counts for the science breadth requirement, only, not for the humanities breadth requirement.

Emma Mojet, email: G.e.n.mojet@uu.nl

Daan Wegener , email: F.D.A.Wegener@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS21:Transatlantic Cold War: Europe and the Superpowers

The Cold War shaped international politics from the Second World War to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and beyond. This course focuses on the transatlantic Cold War and thus on developments in and interactions between the US, the USSR and Europe from the angles of primarily diplomatic, as well as cultural and technological history.

Kim van der Wijngaart, email: k.vanderwijngaart@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS28: Global Cold War: Conflict and Cooperation in the “Third World”

This course adopts a global perspective to examine the Cold War from a new, non-Eurocentric angle, as well as focusing on the interaction between developments in the Global South, decolonisation and the Cold War that still shape the world we live in today. This course complements The Transatlantic Cold War, which approaches the bipolar conflict mainly from an East-West perspective. It can be taken in conjunction with that course, since it covers an altogether new set of themes and regions, or by itself, since students will be made familiar with the relevant skills and contents during the course.

Corina Mavrodin, email: c.mavrodin@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS24: Cultural history of magic and science 

This course focuses on the relationship between science and magic in the period between 1500 and 1700. Although the two seem mutually exclusive in our age, in the early modern period that was by no means obvious. In the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, magic and superstition were intricately intertwined with innovation and science. In this course we will address questions like: how did literature contribute to the creation of astrology, alchemy, and humoral pathology? What was the role of literature in the dissemination of the heliocentric worldview, the discovery of the blood circulation, the mechanical philosophy, and Newton’s gravitational theory?

Daan Wegener , email: F.D.A.Wegener@uu.nl

UCINTHIS21  Understanding Conflict: Historical Analysis of contemporary irregular conflicts

This course takes an historical approach, using a series of in-depth cases studies as a means to investigate the dynamics of conflicts. The historical case study method allows students to take a complete view across the lifespan of a conflict and to gain in-depth analysis of conflicts; examining the conflicts as they progress overtime and identifying the causal processes driving the violence. It also allows for comparisons between conflicts; to identify patterns, sequences and differences, and also to gain insights from history on how to understand present day conflicts. The course will examine four case studies:

1. Punjab Crisis (India, Sikh separatist insurgency 1980s-90s)

2. Mindanao (Southern Philippines Muslim separatist insurgency, 1970s-2000s),

3. Northern Ireland (UK, 1970s-1990s)

4. Congo Civil War (1990s).

Arend-Jan Boekestijn, email: A.J.Boekestijn@uu.nl

UCINTHIS22  UN Simulation & Negotiation

Conflict is in itself neither bad nor good, but a sign that change is needed. The question is: does the way it is dealt with allow for growth, development, and understanding, or rather destruction, confusion, and polarization? Considering that violent conflict is a social event; any attempt at its resolution or transformation does not just require a solid theoretical foundation – it also necessitates a practical skill set. By working through theories and case studies of violent conflict, this course approaches violent conflict in different ways.

Corina Mavrodin, email: c.mavrodin@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS35: The Rise and Fall of the Great powers in the Modern World 

This course has as its subject Paul Kennedy’s stimulating thesis on the rise and fall of the great powers and the extensive criticism which arose. The focus will be on the history of the great powers - their strengths and weaknesses - since 1500: the Habsburg Empire, the France of Louis XIV and of Napoleon, the British Empire, the German bid for mastery in the 20th century, the fate of Japan, the rise and demise of the Soviet Union, and the fall and subsequent rise of China in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Erik Jacobs, email: E.Jacobs@uu.nl

Corina Mavrodin, email: c.mavrodin@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS36: Origins and crises of the global economy

This course aims to give students an overview of long-term developments in the world economy from the 19th century until the present. The main emphasis lies on understanding the two main problems of social and economic history: what are the origins and drivers of economic growth, and why does that process result in wide disparities in wealth? Additionally, this course intends to teach students to independently carry out a research project. Students will acquire general skills (e.g. developing a research project) as well as skills specific to social and economic historians (e.g. source criticism, working with data and theory). It prepares them for working at the MA level.

Vigyan Ratnoo, email: v.ratnoo@uu.nl

UCINTHIS32  European Conflicts and Security

This course examines the geo-strategic significance of regions in an age of globalism, as well as the opportunities and limitations that this macro-dimension places on finding a workable “roadmap to peace.” We study the painful consequences of the wars that have hardened resistance, precipitated revenge-seeking, and entrenched negative views of the identities of ‘the other.’ Therefore, the course reviews the historical debate.. We then examine the arguments, sources and methods that inform the debate on the origins and developments of the conflict. Subsequently, we address core issues and themes that in addition to the recognition of narratives, will prepare us for the simulation exercise, where we live the conflict for one weekend.

Arend-Jan Boekestijn, email: A.J.Boekestijn@uu.nl

UCHUMHIS37: Transitional justice: The historical dilemma of retribution or reconciliation

During the 20th century societies have been struggling with the aftermath of mass violence and human rights violations. In coming to terms with this violent past different kinds of reaction patterns can be recognised varying from retributive justice to restorative justice. Retributive justice is perpetrator oriented and could be regarded as a legal response to mass atrocities. Restorative justice on the other hand is victim oriented. Furthermore, the course looks at the effectiveness of the Transitional Justice mechanisms. Is it possible to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of Transitional Justice on a state level? Statistical outcomes are being presented in this context.

Petra van den Boomgaard, email: c.p.vandenboomgaard@uu.nl

UCINTHIS23: Black Music and Social Transformation

This course examines Black (Afro-diasporic) music and its impact on society in America and Europe. It reveals how Black Music functions as a form of cultural politics, a philosophy and a way of building identity and community. It shows how Afro-diasporic musical production has been a central force in political movements and social transformations from interwar anti-colonial activism to the Civil Rights campaigns. This has continued in the recent #BlackLivesMatter movement. In this course students engage with genres of music such as blues and spirituals, jazz, gospel, afro-futurist pop, and hip hop. We situate these genres in their historical context, listen and perform or practice them, and show how the music – both individual pieces and whole genres - make political and philosophical claims. This treatment of music serves as a form of critical thinking and engagement with scholarly traditions that give primacy to textual work. The course combines readings, historical case studies and biography, and music listening and making. It therefore enacts and models radically interdisciplinary approaches that connect text-based and embodied learning.

Rachel Gillett, email: R.A.Gillett@uu.nl

Tjitse Vogel, email: T.A.Vogel@uu.nl

Cross Listed Courses

UCINTPOL32: Politics and Religion in the Modern World

UCSCIHIS11: History and Philosophy of Science