Members of the History Department faculty often offer J-term courses under the auspices of the Luther College Study Abroad Office.  The following are examples of some of the classes that have been taught in the past, or are forthcoming:

History 299, “Environmental History in India,” to be offered in January 2011.  Taught by Brian Caton

The field of environmental history has been shaped significantly by scholars and activists working in India, since at least the early 1970s. Our course will investigate the historiography of Indian environmental history and the content of environmental change in India over at least the past three hundred years. We will investigate a series of sites in western India to discover the environmental history of specific places and to see how the process of doing environmental history intersects with the daily lives of people in those places.

History 299:  The Reformation in Renaissance Europe (Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Offered in 2009, and to be offered again in 2012. Taught by Victoria and Robert Christman
In this course we will analyze the ideas and trace the steps of some of the key figures of the Protestant Reformation, while observing the sites of some of the Reformation’s central events.  We will begin in Prague, in the Czech Republic, home of the Reformation’s famous forerunner, Jan Hus.  Thereafter we will proceed to Wittenberg and other sites in Eastern Germany associated with Martin Luther, before continuing on to Münster, in western Germany, to explore the ideas and fate of the Anabaptists, part of the radical wing of the Reformation.  The course will end in the Low Countries, with stays in Antwerp, Belgium and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  In Belgium, we will focus our attention on the Counter and Catholic Reformations, the church’s effort to defend itself from the growing Protestant heresy, and redefine itself in its wake.  Finally, in the Netherlands, we will observe important sites in the Calvinist Reformation and explore that reformation’s central premises.

History 351, "Viking Life in Scandinavia and Ireland," offered 2002, 2004, and 2008. Taught by Marv Slind

This course examined the “Viking Era,” approximately 750 to 1100 CE, with special emphasis on Scandinavia and Ireland.  It covered the essential elements of Viking society and culture, and the technological developments (particularly maritime) that led to the spread of the Viking world.  Topics included: ships and navigation; art; daily life; military techniques; mythology and religion; and literature.   Lectures and readings were supplemented by visits to museums and historical/archaeological sites in the following areas:  Copenhagen and Roskilde, Denmark; Dublin and Cork, Ireland; and Oslo, Norway.

 

History 299: "European History through the Irish Lens:  The Irish Republic and Northern Ireland," offered in January 2010. Taught by Marv Slind

Since the prehistoric migrations of peoples in Western Europe, there has been frequent interaction between Ireland and the rest of Europe.  In many cases, Ireland has been the object of other nations’ policies, and subject to the ambitions of outsiders.  At other times, Ireland has been actively involved in the political, conomic, and cultural life of Europe and the world.  This course surveyed the interaction of Ireland with Europe from prehistoric times to the present.  In addition to examining Ireland’s long and difficult relationship with England, it looked at such topics as the role of the Vikings in developing Irish urban culture and trade, Ireland and the Napoleonic Wars, relations with England from the Normans to Independence, the Spanish Armada and the “Flight of the Wild Geese” following the Battle of Kinsale, “the Troubles” and Northern Ireland, and the “Celtic Tiger” and the European Union.  Visits to historical sites and museums were supplemented by guest lecturers from local academic institutions.  There were also regular viewings of contemporary Irish films which explored historical and cultural topics from a national perspective.