International and World History, Dual Degree M.A./M.Sc.
Degree Programs:
Full-Time: dual degree program, Free-Standing M.A. (housed in the Department of History, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) and M.Sc. (housed in the Department of International History, London School of Economics)
The two degrees, M.A. and M.Sc., are awarded only upon
completion of all requirements of both years of the program
Requirements for the M.A. (Columbia)
Year One – in New York
In the first year of the program students must complete 30
points, including the first two semesters of the two-year sequence of core
courses. At least 22 of these points must be courses in the History department taken
for letter grade credit, including the two required courses. Most students must also take a course (or
courses) to meet their language requirement (see below). Students who wish to take electives outside
the History department need written permission from a member of the Joint
Teaching Committee or their designated advisor.
In November
of their first year, students identify a topic for their thesis. They complete a historiographical essay
related to this topic and submit it to the instructor of HIST G8903x
(Approaches to International and Global History). When the students have finalized
their thesis topics in HIST G8XXXy (Theory and Practice of International and
World History) during the second semester, one Columbia advisor and one LSE
advisor are designated to advise and guide them through completion of the
thesis in year two at the LSE.
Core courses:
The two-year core sequence begins with Approaches to
International and Global History (HIST G8903x), which introduces the conceptual
possibilities and problems of international and world history. In the second
semester students take Theory and Practice of International and World History
(HIST G8XXXy), a series of practical workshops including training in the use of
archives and other primary sources, the organization and documentation of
research, and presentation and publication of findings.
History department electives may be chosen from
semester-long courses such as those in the illustrative list below (the specific
courses that are offered change each semester). Note: some courses require the
permission of the instructor.
HIST BC3180y. Merchants, Pirates, and Slaves in the Making
of Atlantic Capitalism: 1600-1800. 3 pts.
HIST BC3321x. Colonial Encounters: Europe and the Culture of
Empire. 3 pts.
HIST W3377y. International and Global History since WWII. 3
pts.
HIST W3491y. U.S. Foreign Relations. 3 pts.
HIST BC3525y. 20th Century Urbanization in Comparative
Perspective. 3 pts.
HIST W3711y. Main Currents of Islamo-Christian Civilization.
3 pts.
HIST BC3803x. Gender and Empire. 3 pts.
HSEA W3891x. The Asia-Pacific Wars, 1931-1975. 3 pts.
HIST W3912y. Domestic Animals and Human History. 3 pts.
HIST W3926y. Historical Origins of Human Rights. 3 pts.
HIST W3956y. Globalization in History. 3 pts.
HIST BC3980x. History of World Migration. 3 pts.
HIST W4318x. Globalizing American Consumer Culture. 4 pts.
HIST W4603x. Jewish Migration to the Americas: Eastern
European Jews in the U.S. and Latin America, 1881-1939. 4 pts.
HIST W4604y. Jews and the City. 4 pts.
HIST BC4651y. Jewish Tales from Four Cities. 4 pts.
HIST W4659x. Modern Crime and Punishment in Historical
Perspective. 4 pts.
HIST BC4671x. History of the Family in Global Perspective,
1500 to Present. 4 pts.
HIST W4713y. Orientalism and the Historiography of the
Other. 4 pts.
HIST W4762y. Islam in Africa, 4 pts.
HIST BC4802x. History and Human Rights: Capitalism,
Colonialism, and Culture. 4 pts.
HIST W4864x. International Law and East Asia. 4 pts.
HIST W4865x. The Vietnam War as International History. 4
pts.
HIST BC 4886x. Fashion. 4 pts.
HIST W4902y. World War II. 4 pts.
HIST BC 4905x. Capitalism, Colonialism and Culture: A Global
History. 4 pts.
HIST BC4907y. Edible Conflicts: A History of Food. 4 pts.
HIST BC4909y. History of Environmental Thinking. 4
pts.
HIST W4910x. Technology and History. 4 pts.
HIST W4918x. Smuggling, Drugs, States. 4 pts.
HIST G8310x. Projects and Practices of Colonial Rule in the
20th Century. 4 pts.
INAF U8419. Cold War in Latin America. 4 pts.
HIST G8660x. Modern Crime and Punishment in Historical
Perspective. 4 pts.
HIST G8701y. Political Islam. 4 pts.
HIST G8763y. Africa, Europe and New Colonial History. 4 pts.
HIST G8810x. Native Bodies and Colonial Discipline. 4 pts.
HIST G8901y. Imperialism. 4 pts.
HIST G8918y. Colloquium on World History. 4 pts.
HIST G8920x. Disease, Public Health and Empire: Comparative
Perspectives. 4 pts.
HIST W8933x. Telling the Twentieth Century. 4 pts.
HIST G8945y. Colloquium on Technology and History. 4 pts.
HIST G8951x. Problematics of History and International
Relations. 4 pts.
HIST G8954x. International Orders 1600-1920. 4 pts.
HIST G9102y. Knowledge in Transit in the Early Modern World.
4 pts.
HIST G9310y. Population Control: Eugenics, Malthusianism,
and Migration in the 20th Century. 4 pts.
HIST G9401y. Atlantic World, c. 1600-1850. 4 pts.
HIST G9805x. Gender and Empire. 4 pts.
HIST G8063x. Captivity. 4 pts.
HIST G9903x. Gender
and Migration in a Global Perspective. 4 pts.
Year Two – in London
The requirement for the second year in London is completion
of four units including the last part of the two-year sequence of core courses
(one unit). Students will take three units of electives.
Core courses:
Having continued their research over the summer, upon
arrival at LSE all students enroll in a year-long Dissertation Workshop, which
completes the sequence of core courses. The dissertation – a Master’s thesis in
the American system – must be no more than 15,000 words in length; it is supervised and assessed at LSE in
accordance with its M.Sc. regulations.
The three
units of electives are chosen from the following list (all courses are one
academic year in length):
HY400 Crisis Decision-Making in War and Peace, 1914-1991
HY409 Origins and Conduct of the Second World War, 1935-1945
HY411 European Integration in the Twentieth Century
HY412 Spain and the Great Powers, 1936-1953
HY414 French External Relations in the Era of de Gaulle,
1940-1969
HY422 Presidents, Public Opinion, and Foreign Policy: From
Roosevelt to Reagan, 1933-1989
HY423 Empire, Colonialism and Globalization
HY424 The Napoleonic Empire: The Making of Modern Europe?
HY426 The European Enlightenment, c.1680-1799
HY429 Anglo-American Relations from World War to Cold War,
1939-91
HY430 The Marshall Plan, the Cold War and the Making of
Post-War Europe
HY432 From Cold Warriors to Peacemakers: The End of the Cold
War Era, 1979-1997
HY433 Cultural Encounters from the Renaissance to the Modern
World
HY434 The Rise and Fall of Communism in Europe, 1917-1990
HY435 Political Islam: From Mohamed Abduh to Osama bin Laden
HY436 Race, Violence and Colonial Rule in Africa
HY451 Persecution in Europe: From Witch-hunts to Ethnic
Cleansing
HY456 Sex, Race and Slavery: The Western Experience
HY461 East Asia in the Age of Imperialism, 1839-1945
HY462 From Nationalism to Fascism: Europe, 1890-1939
HY463 The Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1962
HY464 Crises and Détente in the Cold War, 1962-1979
HY 475 International History Since 1900
EH404* India and the World Economy
EH408* International Migration, 1500-2000: From Slavery to
Asylum
EH411* Epidemics and Economic and Social Change, from the
Black Death to the Present
EH440* African Economic Development in Historical Perspective
EH477* History of Economics: From Moral Philosophy to Social
Science
EH485* Scientific, Technical and Useful Knowledge from Song
China to the Industrial Revolution
EH486* Shipping and Sea Power in Asian Waters, c.1600-1860
*Notes regarding EH courses: Students may take additional
options among EH courses only with the prior written agreement from the teacher
responsible and the Academic Coordinator. Students should note that some core
courses in EH degree programs are closed to students in other programs.
One of the EH courses above may be replaced by an additional
course from another LSE department (subject to prior written agreement from the
teacher responsible and the Academic Coordinator).
Language Requirement:
A translation exam is administered upon arrival at Columbia.
Those who are unable to pass a translation exam in a language other than
English will need to commit to take two years of language training at Columbia
and at the LSE Language Centre. Those able to pass one translation exam in a
language other than English upon arrival at Columbia can complete the
requirement in either of two ways:
1) By taking one year of language training at Columbia or at
the LSE Language Centre. These can either be more advanced courses in the same
language or a second language appropriate to their research interests.
2) Passing a second translation exam during the first year
at Columbia. Students who are able to pass two translation exams in languages
other than English by the end of their first year at Columbia will be exempt
from having to take language courses at either Columbia or the LSE.
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