Online and Remote Learning

What enabled Greek city-states to defeat the more powerful Persian Empire? What explains their subsequent descent into civil war? How was Rome able to build an empire of unprecedented size? Why did this empire ultimately collapse? Join instructor Emanuele Sica in this survey of the conduct of warfare and diplomacy in the era of Classical Greece and Rome. We’ll begin with an examination of the emergence of powerful city states in Greece before considering their conduct of the Greco-Persian Wars and investigating the causes, conduct and consequences of the Second Peloponnesian War, as well as the subsequent rise of Philip and Alexander of Macedon. We’ll turn then to focus on Rome, beginning with its foundations, followed by an examination of the Punic Wars, and moving on to explore the expansion and collapse of the Roman Empire. In addition to acquainting learners with the character of warfare and diplomacy in the classical period, this course will encourage the critical evaluation of the sources from which we derive our understanding of this period. By the end of this course, you'll be able to: Understand the conduct of warfare in the Classical period.  Understand the limitations of source materials pertaining to this period. Improve critical reading skills. Take part in scholarly debate surrounding warfare in the Classical period

The 20th century has been described as an “Age of Extremes,” when Europe became a “Dark Continent” in which the rival forces of liberal democracy, fascism and communism fought for domination. While fascism was ultimately defeated in 1945, and European communism fell in 1989-91, the victory of democracy was not inevitable: the “totalitarian temptation” was often present and may still lurk in various parts of the world today. This course explores Europe’s 20th century by focusing on the major events that spawned Italian Fascism, German National Socialism, Bolshevism, and Stalinism, and the political, social, economic and cultural consequences of these new ideologies. Provide a comparative approach to three models of totalitarian regimes, underlining their similarities and their differences Address the concept of “totalitarianism,” and questions whether it is a useful and accurate means of explaining and understanding the horrors inflicted by authoritarian regimes in the 20th century, or whether it is an outdated product of the Cold War.