Topic for Winter 2022: Coffee, Liquid Modernity
This course provides a history of the modern world through the medium of a single commodity: coffee. Reading materials move from examining basic biology of the coffea plant, including coffee's physiological and psychoactive effects on humans, to the development of cultivation techniques and its significance as an export commodity for 'Global South' nations. We will also investigate the forms of sociality that have emerged around the production and consumption of coffee, from diverse labor forms to the stimulating milieus of Enlightenment salons and Starbucks.

Topic for Winter 2022: Race and Pandemics in U.S. History
This course examines the history of medicine and racism alongside major epidemic diseases in 20th century American history. This is done through a range of primary and secondary documents which are used to introduce or more close examine major themes, time periods, and individuals. The course also focused on historical controversies, such as access to health care, racialization of disease, and inferior treatments.