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History: American History

Master

New MA-students (including those still in the admittance procedure) are required to attend the MA introduction on Tuesday 7 September, 15-16h, in the LIPSIUS building / room 002, 15-16h.

Literature Seminar [10 ECTS]

Students start their programme with a Literature Seminar, whether they start in September or February.

Research Seminar [10 ECTS]

Students follow one Research Seminar in the first semester of their programme. Students starting in September follow their Research Seminar in the Fall Semester, students starting in February in the Spring Semester.

Optional Courses [10 ECTS]

Students follow one or two optional courses. All MA courses offered at level 400 or higher can be followed as ‘Optional Course’. These may comprise MA-courses offered by Leiden University (including any Literature and Research seminars offered by the Department of History, subject to availability of space) and those offered by other universities.

You can either follow one course of 10 ECTS or two of 5 ECTS. It is advisable to take these courses in the first semester of the programme, but it is possible to take them in the second semester, provided you start already with the thesis in the first semester.

Please note that although the titles of both Literature Seminars differ, the content will be essentially the same. I.e. it is not allowed to take one of the two as an Optional Course.

Thesis and exam [30 ECTS]

The Master’s Programme will be concluded by a 30 ECTS MA-thesis. This thesis will be based on original research and will be ca. 23.000 words in size. Students are guided in writing their thesis by thesis supervisors. Students are also expected to follow a thesis seminar. This seminar consists of a number of meetings in which students are given the opportunity to present their work and to comment on the work of others. The seminar aims at providing students with some additional support in the writing process as well as achieving further uniformity where practical matters are concerned. Before graduation students sit for a final exam for which they defend their thesis and answer questions on additional literature.

Year 1

Vak EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Literature Seminars
Major Issues in American History 10
Readings in American History 10

Research Seminars
American Crucible 10
The American Civil Rights Movement 10

Optional American Studies course (English dept.)
Literature: Migration Matters: Voices and Visions of Multicultural America 10

Optional Courses (History dept.)
Roman Social History 10
The Rise of Rome and the Unification of the Mediterranean 10
Current Debates in Medieval and Early Modern European History I 10
Current Debates in Medieval and Early Modern European History II 10
Migration and integration 10
Literature Seminar: Issues in Economic History 10
Parallels in World History 10
Globalization and Empire 10
HEEG Literature Seminar 4: Archival Studies 10
HEEG Literature Seminar 3: Maritime History 10
Political Culture and National Identities 10
Political Debate 10
Graeco-Roman Egypt: from Alexander the Great to Diocletian 10
Alexandria in Egypt? The history and archaeology of culture contact 10
Medieval peoples and the birth of nations 10
Rulers, courts, and elites in the early modern world 10
Historical culture in the Low Countries, 1300-1700 10
Migration to Chinese cities (1650-2015) in a global perspective 10
Consumption and material culture in Africa since c. 1850 5
What’s the problem? Old and New Debates on Migration 10
Economic Development of Southeast Asia 10
Cross-cultural Connections, 1492-1776: Trade, Marriage and Business Networks 10
Science and the Dutch Colonial Empire in the East, 1815-1850 10
Arts and Culture in Area Studies: Culture and Conquest: the impact of the Mongols and their descendants 10
Disasters and Colonialism: coping strategies and risk management in 19th century Indonesia 10
Trade for slave societies: the rise and fall of Sint-Eustatius, 1770-1785 10
An empire of papers. Colonial networks of information in the early 19th century 10
Scarcity or abundance? Appraisal, selection and preservation of the past 10
Dutch Atlantic Connections. Elmina as a Dutch nodal point in West Africa in the 18th century 10
Pioneers of mass politics: 19th century British, Irish and American origins of the modern pressure group. 10
Dignity versus the People? The Dutch Establishment and its challenger since the 19th century 10
Living through the Soviet past 10
Memory of the Holocaust 10
Creating an Atlantic Community: Transatlantic Relations since WW II 10

Thesis Seminar