[Histmaj] Important Information about two HSTRY 388 classes in Autumn 2025

[HISTORY UNDERGRADUATE ADVISORS via Histmaj]

Good morning, Historians:
We wanted to bring your attention to a slight change in topic for HSTRY 388 A, "Beyond Dixie: Black Freedom Movements Outside of the South", and also to open seats in the newly added HSTRY 388 C, ".  These are two great Junior Seminar classes that we would love to fill.  Students sometimes ask about taking a second HSTRY 388 class, even if they have already finished their Junior Seminar requirement.  For these two classes in Autumn, we can allow it.
If you want to add either of these, please email histadv at uw.edu<mailto:histadv at uw.edu> with your full name, student number, and a clear indication of which you want to add.
Here are descriptions of the two classes:
The Global Middle Ages
When people think of the Middle Ages, they often imagine isolated peasants, or formidable castles meant to keep outsiders at bay; in reality, however, the period saw a great deal of travel, exploration, and encounter between various peoples. This seminar will focus on global contacts and connections in the Middle Ages (roughly 500 to 1500 CE). It will seek to help students understand and explore connections between Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia across the medieval millennium, by studying a wide range of literature, including histories, poems and epics, and travel narratives. Through these, we will examine strategies and challenges in dealing with medieval sources that students can apply to texts in a wide range of languages and cultures. Students will develop research projects exploring cross-cultural interaction through trade, travel, and/or interreligious coexistence and conflict.
Beyond Dixie: Black Freedom Movements Outside of the South
This course introduces students to the discipline of history through the study of Black life, activism, and resistance outside the American South. While the South has long dominated narratives of the Black Freedom Struggle, this seminar shifts the focus to under-analyzed regions-particularly in parts of the Pacific Northwest and Midwest-to explore how Black communities in these areas confronted racial exclusion, organized for political and economic justice, and built institutions that reshaped both local and national landscapes.  Using a range of sources-including primary documents, oral histories, scholarly texts, and digital and public history projects-students will examine how race, place, class, and gender shaped Black struggles for freedom throughout the twentieth century. The course will ask: What does Black freedom mean, and how is it shaped by geography? How do regional dynamics challenge or expand dominant narratives of African American history? By the end of the quarter, students will be equipped to analyze how Black freedom movements emerged and operated across different regions-and how they have been remembered, erased, and reimagined over time. This seminar is also intended to introduce students to the craft of history and prepare them for in-depth historical inquiry. Therefore, while we will examine Black histories outside of the South, we will simultaneously give equal attention to how historians do the work of history-how to formulate research questions, engage with sources, and construct historical narratives. This seminar emphasizes historical methodology, including the use of archival materials, oral histories, and historiographical analysis.

Sincerely, Mark and Tracy

Mark Weitzenkamp and Tracy Maschman Morrissey
History Undergraduate Advising
University of Washington
Smith Hall 315
Box 353560
Seattle, WA 98195
vm: 206.543.5691<tel:206.543.5691> fax: 206.543.9451<tel:206.543.9451>
depts.washington.edu/history<http://depts.washington.edu/history>

Please click here to schedule an advising appointment! [outlook.office365.com]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/UWHistoryAdvising@cloud.washington.edu/bookings/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!hepl5zsGyNtp8irH6BFU_vfzEDAVByBQeKGrA21TwwYy6eG5HGMceoCxsf_yemPn_ZqlOYzhtiOUSeGhRg$>

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From: HISTORY UNDERGRADUATE ADVISORS
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2025 9:07 AM
Cc: Tracy L Maschman Morrissey <tmasch at uw.edu>; Mark Weitzenkamp <weitzen at uw.edu>
Subject: Slight change to subject of HSTRY 388 A in Autumn 2025

Good morning, Historians!
We hope you are having a great summer, so far.  You are already registered for HSTRY 388 A in Autumn 2025, but we wanted to point out a change to the subject of the class.  The title has changed from "Black Histories in the Pacific Northwest" to a broader topic of: "Beyond Dixie: Black Freedom Movements Outside the South."  In many ways the topic is unchanged, dealing with Black Freedom movements and communities outside of the South, and students should be able to focus their own research on the Pacific Northwest part of this question.  We wanted to let you know about the change and we are very excited about Prof. Wright's adjusted topic.  Here is the newer description from his syllabus:

This course introduces students to the discipline of history through the study of Black life, activism, and resistance outside the American South. While the South has long dominated narratives of the Black Freedom Struggle, this seminar shifts the focus to under-analyzed regions-particularly in parts of the Pacific Northwest and Midwest-to explore how Black communities in these areas confronted racial exclusion, organized for political and economic justice, and built institutions that reshaped both local and national landscapes.

Using a range of sources-including primary documents, oral histories, scholarly texts, and digital and public history projects-students will examine how race, place, class, and gender shaped Black struggles for freedom throughout the twentieth century. The course will ask: What does Black freedom mean, and how is it shaped by geography? How do regional dynamics challenge or expand dominant narratives of African American history? By the end of the quarter, students will be equipped to analyze how Black freedom movements emerged and operated across different regions-and how they have been remembered, erased, and reimagined over time.

This seminar is also intended to introduce students to the craft of history and prepare them for in-depth historical inquiry. Therefore, while we will examine Black histories outside of the South, we will simultaneously give equal attention to how historians do the work of history-how to formulate research questions, engage with sources, and construct historical narratives. This seminar emphasizes historical methodology, including the use of archival materials, oral histories, and historiographical analysis.

Sincerely, Mark and Tracy
Mark Weitzenkamp and Tracy Maschman Morrissey
History Undergraduate Advising
University of Washington
Smith Hall 315
Box 353560
Seattle, WA 98195
vm: 206.543.5691<tel:206.543.5691> fax: 206.543.9451<tel:206.543.9451>
depts.washington.edu/history<http://depts.washington.edu/history>

Please click here to schedule an advising appointment! [outlook.office365.com]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/UWHistoryAdvising@cloud.washington.edu/bookings/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!hepl5zsGyNtp8irH6BFU_vfzEDAVByBQeKGrA21TwwYy6eG5HGMceoCxsf_yemPn_ZqlOYzhtiOUSeGhRg$>

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