This seminar explores the history of the American antislavery movement, from its institutional and ideological origins in the post-Revolutionary era to the eve of the Civil War. A particular focus of the course will be the historical reality and mythology of the Underground Railroad, understood through the lives, strategies, writings, and fate of black abolitionists.

"This seminar, led by Ira Berlin, will view the development of chattel bondage in mainland North America from the perspective of the larger Atlantic world. Topics include the nature of the slave trade, the distinction between societies with slaves and slave societies, the evolution of plantation slavery, the transforming face of the Age of Revolutions, the remaking of slavery in the nineteenth century, and the contemporary debate about the meaning of slavery for American life."

"Between ca. 1500 and ca. 1800, the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean saw the creation, destruction, and re-creation of communities as a result of the movement of peoples, commodities, institutions, social practices, and cultural values. This seminar will explore the pan-Atlantic webs of association linking people, objects, and beliefs across and within the region. The best Atlantic history is interactive and crosses borders. The hope is that participants will enlarge their horizons by placing the standard early North American story in a larger framework."

"Movements for women’s equality and gender justice have transformed American society over the past few generations. Nancy Cott will focus this seminar on the varied branches of feminism. After reviewing the suffrage campaign and opportunities for women during World War II, the seminar will explore convergences and conflicts among women’s groups, both feminist and conservative, emerging after 1960. Topics include the formation of the National Organization for Women, radical feminism, African American and Chicana feminism, reproductive rights advocacy, the women’s health movement, Roe v. Wade and its opponents, the women’s rights revolution in law, and the campaigns for and against the Equal Rights Amendment."

"Professor Gabor Boritt and guest lecturers examine the 'War President' Abraham Lincoln and the transformation of the United States during and after the Civil War. The seminar focuses on the central role of Gettysburg. Lecture topics include battlefields and soldiers; slavery and race; and Lincoln’s transition to a resolute war leader."

"This seminar will consider two different American Revolutions. One was the struggle for American self-determination. The second was the ongoing struggle for liberty and equality enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. The seminar will consider the ideological, economic, social and political causes of the War for Independence. It will also consider the war as a political, military, and social struggle. This course will discuss critical steps made during and after the war for liberty and equality: the abolition of slavery in the North, enhancement of women's role and enfranchisement of unpropertied white men. Since New York figured as a critical field of conflict in both American Revolutions, we will take advantage of our location in New York to visit some of the most important Revolutionary sites."

"This seminar will consider two different American Revolutions. One was the struggle for American self-determination. The second was the ongoing struggle for liberty and equality enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. We will consider the ideological, economic, social and political causes of the War for Independence. We will also consider the war as a political, military, and social struggle. This course will discuss critical steps made during and after the war for liberty and equality: the abolition of slavery in the North, enhancement of women's role and enfranchisement of unpropertied white men. Since New York figured as a critical field of conflict in both American Revolutions, we will take advantage of our location in New York to visit some of the most important Revolutionary sites."

"This course will focus on key episodes when Southern history and the history of the nation intersected at particularly important points: the emergence and spread of slavery, the Founding, the Civil War, the creation of segregation, and the Civil Rights struggle. The course will be taught in Richmond, Virginia, a city rich in museums and historic sites that we will use to explore the subjects addressed in the seminar."

"This seminar will explore a controversial era shrouded in myths and memories. Among the topics it will examine are the presidencies of John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon; the civil rights movement; the Vietnam War; the New Left; the counterculture; the women's movement; the gay movement; the conservative movement; the international dimension of youth protest; and the legacies of the 1960s. The aim of the seminar is to provide a balanced history of a turbulent time that continues to influence American politics, society, and culture."

"This seminar will examine the transnational and global aspects of the American Civil War and consider how such study enriches understanding of the sectional crisis, the breakup of the Union, and the limits of Reconstruction."