This course delves into the intricate relationship between social media platforms and the construction, performance, and theatricality of identity. Students will explore how individuals and groups present themselves online, the performative nature of these presentations, and the performance and sociological theories that explain these behaviors. Through critical analysis and case studies, the course will examine the impact of social media on self-perception, societal norms, and cultural dynamics. Digital spaces are often utilized as a stage for identity and social theatre. Students will investigate and explore the performance of social media influencers and personalities that construct online identity.

From fascination to fear to exploitation humans have strong feelings about and complex relationships with animals.   This seminar will delve into the multifaceted ways humans in the past engaged with wild animals and how those relationships shape cultural narratives. We will examine a variety of different types of interactions including subsistence practices, acquisition of secondary products such as hides or antlers, symbolic associations, pest management, animal relocation, and pathways to domestication.  Students will gain insights into the techniques employed by researchers to understand human-animal dynamics including written texts and archaeological evidence.  During the two week seminar students will have the opportunity to explore primary sources (writings and art), conduct laboratory research, and discuss academic literature which will prepare them to develop a research proposal that leverages archaeological faunal collections and/or written documentation to investigate specific aspects of human-wildlife interactions in the past.  Through critical discussions of the readings and activities, the seminar aims to deepen students’ understandings of the archaeological and historic records and their implications for contemporary conservation efforts.

In the months immediately following the end of the Second World War in Europe, hundreds of U.S. Army units created souvenir maps for their soldiers to send home as mementos. The maps, which have been largely overlooked by historians, provide remarkable insights into the ways that American soldiers understood the war, the transition to peace, and the crimes of Nazism. I am currently creating a digital repository of these maps, making them available in a richly annotated format that will be valuable for researchers and students interested in the history of the Second World War, the Holocaust, and transatlantic relations.

Students in this seminar will develop their knowledge of the experience of American military personnel in Europe, learn skills related to digital humanities, and design their own research projects using these remarkable sources.

Today, many Supreme Court justices and appellate judges interpret the Constitution through the lens of originalism, looking to the nation’s history and traditions in their decision making. Yet judges rarely draw upon works by professional historians, nor do they use a wide range of primary source material. Some of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions of the past decade — including cases involving abortion and the Second Amendment — have relied upon historical arguments. Therefore, it is important that the history in these rulings is grounded in the archival research and careful analysis of trained historians.

In this course, students will work on a collaborative, public-facing website that will build a bridge between the historical and legal communities. This website will not take a political stand, nor will it advocate a particular outcome in judicial cases. Instead, it will focus on making well-researched history, which is relevant to contemporary legal issues, accessible to the wider public. Students will read judicial opinions that have been grounded in historical claims and will conduct both primary and secondary source research into the history relevant to these decisions. They will also learn how to introduce the legal community to primary-source and peer-reviewed history through a digital medium.