Professor: Larissa Stiglich
4 credits
The 20th century is often thought of as the birth of a globalized age. Since then, the world has grown ever more interconnected through the flow of goods, services, people, information, and technology. And yet, people’s experiences of ostensibly global phenomena are shaped decisively by their specific local circumstances, including the place and space where they live, but also their own positionality (age, gender, race/ethnicity, class, etc.). This course takes World War I, also known as the Great War, as a case study to examine the ways in which people experienced the first global war differently depending on their local perspectives. Students will cultivate their curiosity about a specific topic and locale as they learn basic research skills in the social sciences and humanities. This includes locating and interpreting digital and physical primary sources, critically engaging with academic scholarship, articulating an original argument in written and oral form, and participating constructively in the work of peer review. Broadly speaking, this course is intended to both allow independent exploration of a quintessential global phenomenon of the early 20th century, while simultaneously cultivating historical empathy with people from a broad range of different backgrounds and experiences than students’ own.