2:30-3:45P      TR      BH109

Topic:  A History of the Future

A medieval preacher prophesying the end of the world, a nineteenth
century scientist predicting an age of universal prosperity, a model
of the city of the future at a 1930s World's Fair, a 1950s civil
defense film, and the bridge of the Star Ship Enterprise -- each of
these is a historical document offering invaluable evidence about the
hopes, fears, and values of a particular era.  In this course you will
have the opportunity to see how projections into the future are used
by historians to reconstruct the mind-set of earlier periods.  You
will work directly with such materials, producing your own historical
analyses, and you will learn about the historical context in which
these cultural products were created.  Throughout you will be provided
with models of how historians work, as well as how you may strengthen
your skills at such tasks as reading, writing, note-taking, and taking
part in discussion.  You will have the opportunity to work closely
with other students and with the instructor.