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This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

History, Literature, and the Arts

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History Fields of Study or Degree Options

The History, Literature, and the Arts (HLA) track is designed for the student who wishes to complement his or her work in History with study in literature, particularly in a foreign language. For the purposes of this major, literature is defined broadly, including art, drama, films and poetry, memoirs and autobiography, novels, as well as canonical works of philosophy and political science. It appeals to students who are interested in studying literature primarily in its historical context, or who want to focus on both the literature and history of a specific geographical area while also learning the language of that area.

Gateway Course—HISTORY 132A. Enlightenment and the Arts gives students a broad introduction to the study of literary texts in history. Note: The former gateway course, HISTORY 239E, History, Literature and the Arts in Great Britain, may be counted in lieu of 132A.

Methodological Cluster—This three-course cluster teaches students how historians, in particular, analyze literary texts as documentary sources. Students choose three courses from among the pre-approved HLA methodology curriculum. These courses need not be in the student's geographic concentration. For 2008-09, these courses are:

HISTORY 12N. The Early Roman Emperors: History, Biography, and Fiction

HISTORY 15S. Understanding Machiavelli: War, Women, and Politics

HISTORY 20Q. Russia in the Early Modern European Imagination

HISTORY 33S. The France of Louis XIV

HISTORY 36N. Gay Autobiography

HISTORY 38N. The Body

HISTORY 52N. The Harlem Renaissance

HISTORY 54N. African American Women's Lives

HISTORY 70. Culture, Politics and Society in Latin America

HISTORY 132. Ordinary Lives: A Social History of the Everyday in Early Modern Europe

HISTORY 136D. European Intellectual History, 1789-Present

HISTORY 154A. Religion and American Society

HISTORY 168. U.S. History since World War II through Film

HISTORY 223. Art and Ideas in Imperial Russia

HISTORY 232D. Rome: The City and the World, 1350-1750

HISTORY 234A. Marie Antoinette on Trial

HISTORY 254. Popular Culture and American Nature

HISTORY 255D. Racial Identity in the American Imagination

HISTORY 282B. Islamic Thought and Culture in the Pre-modern Middle East, 800-1800

AMSTUD 114N. Visions of the 1960s

AMSTUD 160. Perspectives on American Identity

AMSTUD 203A. Children in American History

AMSTUD 214. The American 1960s: Thought, Protest, and Culture

CLASSGEN 66. Herodotus

OSPOXFRD 15. British Architecture and the Renaissance, 1500-1850

OSPOXFRD 221Y. Art and Society in Britain

Geographical Cluster—Students select four History courses in one geographic area. These are: Europe, Britain and the countries of the former British Empire, Asia, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, or Africa. These four courses must be taken in addition to the three methodological courses required above.

Interdisciplinary Cluster—Four courses, taken outside the Department of History, must address the literature and arts, broadly defined, of the area chosen for the geographic concentration. The student's adviser must pre-approve all courses in this cluster; these courses may not be double-counted towards a minor or major other than History.

Research Seminar for Majors—HISTORY 209S; fulfills Writing in the Major requirement.

General Requirements—Like all History majors, students in History Interdisciplinary Programs must complete two lecture courses (one Europe or U.S, one Africa, Asia, Middle East or Latin America), two 200-level courses, a Sources and Methods seminar, and a Research Seminar for Majors.

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