2000

The main purpose of this course is to provide students access to colonial and early Republic document research by training it on the paleography of such periods. Through the course, students will be trained not only on archive document reading, but also on the use of catalogs and manuals and on the knowledge of the operation of the General Nation´s Archive.

The historiographic study is based on a critical reflection on the different works related to history. In this regard, the analysis on how the history has been written makes evident the interpretative models, historiographic schools or currents, sources and changes in the subject matter trends. In the Colombian case, the path towards professionalization of this discipline offers a broad overview to study the aforesaid elements. A work of this nature turns into a fundamental support to understand what shape has the field of work of historians acquired, as well as to encourage new research projects. The course looks forward to studying the different components involved in a historiographic analysis, the analysis of changes in the orientation of historical works in Colombia, the role played by the interdisciplinary approach in historical works and the evaluation of the national production characteristics during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with some of the main means of history produced on the Western from its origin up to these days.

This course is an introduction to the history of geography and is divided in two parts. The first is intended to show the importance of geographical production in the history of Colombia, thus taking a look at three key moments: The geographical relations in the 16th century, the Enlightment at the beginning of the 19th century and the nationalist geography of the mid and late 19th century. We will discuss what type of geography was produced back then, as well as the interests and the power relations underlying these approaches. The second part of the course, longer, is focused on the history of geography as an academic discipline and remarkably emphasizes Anglo-Saxon geography. It is developed around the concepts that help define this branch of knowledge: place, region and landscape, space, society-nature relations and cartography. We will see how some of this axis serve in specific years to define what geography was and how each one of them has been worked in a different manner. None of them is useful on its own to define this multifarious discipline. Therefore, the course strives to enhance the sensibility of students regarding the immense diversity of human geography, hoping that they incorporate some of its elements in the way they perceive the world and carry out their work.

This course seeks to familiarize students with the main economic, social and political processes of the Colombian history from the crisis of the Spanish Imperialism in America and the Independence process up to the War of the Thousand Days early on the XX Century. It analyzes the process of Independence, the emergence of political modernity, the creation of political parties, the Radical period and the conservative Regeneration.

This course is intended to familiarize students with the changes that have taken place in the current territory of Colombia and how it has been perceived and owned by some of the multiple societies that have lived in Colombia. To achieve the objective of the course, its topic range has been divided into four parts. The first, rapidly discusses the transformations in relief and modelling as part of long-term processes: the formation of the Andean cordilleras, the marine regression, the production of alluvial systems, such as rivers and swamps, as well as bioclimatic changes associated with these phenomena. The second one studies the populating processes that these territories have undergone since the first occupations of the territory until the European invasion of the 16th century. At this point,it focuses on the special importance that several pre-Columbian cultures gave to the management of hydric resources, their activities to render their environment more productive, and the impact of their occupation of this land. The third one will focus on the populating and transforming processes of the territory and its organization during the colonial period. The establishment of cities, villages, hamlets, parishes, mining-small towns, among others, will be studied along with other forms of settlement, somehow considered alternative: isolated populations out of the Spanish colonial domination called palenques and rochelas. The fourth one will focus on the configuration of the nation during the Republican period and the role that geography played in that process.

The program proposed includes a broad outlook of the Colombian 20th century, which enables us to see the elements configuring the structure and functioning of the country´s political organization in different periods, taking into account the dynamic scenario of the economic activity and its subsequent effects on social organization. The content of the program focuses on discourses about modernity and development, to observe through their formulation and application, three wide aspects: politics, economy, and grassroots movements. It is about achieving an approach in which at least three components of society development can be integrated. The program intends to provide students, from a historical point of view, with the judgment elements enabling them to successfully read the complex current scenario, to identify the structural characteristics determining the evolution of the most remarkable problems in Colombia and studying the proposals of different governments to solve such problems.

This course on comparative colonial history consist of a revision of the mail historical processes developed in Ibero-America from the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century. Thus, it emphasizes in the territories colonized and incorporated to the kingdoms of Castilla and Portugal, from the arrival of the first conquerors up the moment in which the diversity of territories gained their independence from their respective metropolis. This topic will be addressed in a comparative manner. The territories belonging to the Spanish crown in the Americas were not homogeneus, they portrayed a collage of natural regions and diverse society, that determined the historical processes developed and the structure of the colonial societies that emerge from this contact. The same occurred in Brazil. The type of indigenous cultures found by the Europeans and the available wealth were the factors that shaped the colonial society. The origin, maturity and utter development of these societies will be the topics of discussion.

In this course on Latin America of the 19th century we will discuss 15 topics, each one in two sessions (corresponding to two lessons per week during 15 weeks). These topics have been arranged chronologically, but all of them have a topic-related definition. The course begins with a definition of the borbonic reforms in the Spanish Empire, both in the Iberic Peninsula and the Americas, and finishes with the Mexican Revolution, including a session on general geography and history of the Major and Minor Antilles. This is not a comprehensive course on History of Latin America, but a selective and topic-ranged one. It is expected that all sessions, including those referring to a single country, might be significant for the study of general history of Latin America. The set of fifteen sessions, each one of two parts, should be the basis for another course about the region during the 20th century and its current situation, as well as for a continuous study of the ideas and projects of what is known today as Latinamericanism.

This course is intended to offer students some basic knowledge on Latin American history from the late 20th century until today. Taking into consideration the diversity on the continent, the course includes a follow up of the main stages of a historically rich and complex process, defined by the search of a national identity. After a turbulent period of civil war, Latin America finally enjoys certain political stability and an unseen economic growth, generating a number of dramatic transformations. The effects of capitalism and secularization, along with the modernization in the continent, cause, according to the intensity of these processes in each of the countries in the area, a heterogeneous historical development, which paces are not always similar. The course has two main objectives: 1) offer a general perspective of some of the main features of Latin America. 2) Contribute to build up a spirit of criticism in the students.

The European Union, as conceived today, is one of the main actors in the current international scenario and constitutes a unique regional integration process in today´s world. In this regard, its study becomes relevant for people looking forward to understanding our world. To this end, the course studies, from a historical perspective, the process of European construction, to obtain the indispensable elements to understand its current functioning as an entity of regional integration and its future challenges. Why was the European Constitution rejected? How can this situation be explained from a historical perspective? How was managed the crisis derived from this rejection? Why some countries belong to the Euro zone and others do not? What implications has the recent expansion of the European Union to 27 countries? How can the process of European integration be construed and what is its purpose? What is the position of the European Union with regards to current global tensions? What does the European Union do in relation to the Colombian conflict? These and other set of questions can be posed about the European Union, which justifies the importance of its study.

This course presents to students the issues of contemporary Middle East from a historical perspective, developing relevant topics such as the colonization and decolonization processes during the 19th and 20th century, and the impact of western imperialism, the creation of the national states, Jewish and Muslim fundamentalism, armed conflicts, among other topic of interest. The course aims at developing in students a spirit of criticism.

The ancient history as known today, was to a considerable extent, an invention of 19th century Europe. Back then, an intellectual process parallel to the Industrial Revolution took place, pretending to rescue the roots of its cultural origin, that ultimately could justify the validity of its national states. It is well justified then, the development of auxiliary sciences of history, such as archeology, scientific geography, anthropology or linguistics, to deepen the knowledge of such origins

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the fields of study, the theoretical and methodological tools and the possibilities offered by Geography to understand social phenomena. This objective covers a wide spectrum that includes the acknowledgement of themes derived from the literal sense of the term Geography (in Greek, write or describe earth), to the reflection on the society´s perception and management of the space where they belong. The course combines the masterly exhibition with the discussion of readings assigned for each class. During sessions assigned to workshops, final progress and works presented on topics associated with field visits are discussed.

This course is an introduction to the history of the United States from the colonial period up to date. Since it is virtually impossible to examine thoroughly the American historical experience in just one semester, we will strive to focus on some of its most significant episodes and issues: the imperial rivalry in the conquest of North American territory, the movement for independence, the Civil War, the importance of immigration, the age of industrialization, the world wars, the 60´s decade, among others . In particular, we will take a look at the historical development of the American international relations and their role in the formation of the United States. The U.S. expansion along the 19th and 20th century had a remarkable influence in the formation of an American identity that we will try to understand during this semester. Similarly, the class will analyze the influence of American history at an international level. In our current world, in which globalization is marked by a strong U.S. influence, not only in military, political and economic terms, but also in social, cultural and scientific ones as well, as understanding today the role of the United States in history is of the essence.

One of the most characteristic features of the world during the 90s was the raise of awareness about the importance of global in a wide range of social environments. In fact, in the world we live, there is a number of economic, social, political, cultural, ideological, and symbolic interpenetrations that have permitted the overcoming of the former real or imaginary borders, substituted by new networks, as well as new forms of compenetration of global with local. From these changes, the world, as it was pointed out by Octavio Lanni, is not an astronomic figure anymore, but a historical category. This course intends, from an interdisciplinary perspective, to show how the new global networks of interpenetration are built, and to show as well the interstices built to relocate local within global.

This course is an introduction to the history of medicine since ancient times to our days. Analyzing the historical experience of all the medical sciences in just one semester is rather an impossible task, thereby, we will focus on some of the most representative episodes and issues. We will study in particular two topics that will help us to understand the role of medicine in history. On one side, we will discuss the evolution of some of the most representative theories and ideas with regards to health and disease, and on the other side, prominent figures in the historical evolution of medicine. The work of relevant figures such as Hipocrates, William Harvey, Louis Pasteur, among many others will be a fundamental axis in this course. On the other hand, however, we will highlight the importance of the relation among medicine, science and society along history, especially in the western world. The human body is a construction that has changed remarkably in the last 2500 years, and it is necessary to understand the relation between medical knowledge and historical context.

Do you know where the ingredients of the food you eat come from? Why you eat chicken more frequently than meat? Why McDonalds has been more successful in China than in Colombia? This course explores the long and interesting history of food. From animal and plant domestication to genetically modified organisms, it examines the way in which food has played a key role in the affirmation of identities and the definition of nations, as well as why it has produced political struggles.