HIST638J

What are the key social, cultural, political, and economic causes of revolution? How and why have modern revolutions migrated across borders, continents, and oceans? This seminar -- intended for both advanced undergrads and graduate students -- considers the American, French, and Russian Revolutions as global events before exploring the rise and fall of Communist regimes in the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe, the failed Tiananmen Square revolution in China, the rise of the mujahideen in Afghanistan and the end of apartheid in South Africa. The seminar closes with challenges facing the global order in the 21st century, including ongoing struggles in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.