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Listed in: History, as HIST-402
Rick A. Lopez (Section 01)
[c] The topic for this proseminar changes year to year. In 2011-12 the topic is wine. Through analysis of the production and consumption of wine in various regions of Europe, North Africa, and the Americas the course will introduce students to such issues as the environmental impact of wine; the politics of taste; the impact of global trade; the changing ways producers have dealt with blights (phylloxera); the development and impact of monocrop production; class conflict within both production and consumption; and the emergence of claims about terroir (the notion that each wine, like each culture, is unique to a particular place) and how such claims relate to regional and national identities. Course content will be student-driven, since members of the class will take responsibility for identifying many of the documents and secondary studies. Through class discussion, focused workshops, and close supervision each student will learn to design a research prospectus related to wine before designing a second research prospectus followed by a 20-25 page research paper on any environmental or historical topic of his or her choosing.Two meetings per week.
Open to juniors and seniors. Limited to 15 students. Fall semester. Professor López.
If Overenrolled: Priority will be given to juniors preparing to write a senior thesis and seniors who have opted not to write a thesis.