Self and Other Course Pairing

Encountering the Past (HS 100)

Rather than approaching history as a list of dates, names, and historical events, this introductory course instead explores how historians have defined and practiced their craft, approached key themes in their scholarship, and deployed a vast array of evidence in support of historical interpretations. In other words, we will study how historians make their histories. In doing so, we will approach the discipline as a contested landscape full of debate and conflict where ideas do battle. Along the way, students will develop the skills necessary for understanding and producing histories, which include the critical evaluation of sources and the ability to write cogently and persuasively about events in the past. This section will focus on the causes and consequences of the “Taiping Rebellion” in China’s long nineteenth century.

Faculty biography

Dr. Austin Parks hails from Bozeman, Montana, where he earned B.A.s in History and Photography from Montana State University. Following that, he advanced degrees in History from the University of Oregon (M.A.) and Northwestern (Ph.D.). His primary scholarly interests include modern Japanese history, visual culture, and war memory. Dr. Parks has taught East Asian history at Loyola University Maryland since 2017.

The Art of Reading (EN 101)

Cultivates reading, writing, thinking, and oral communication skills by investigating the kinds of attention that literary texts, in multiple genres, ask of readers. The course is writing intensive. Topics reflect the range of faculty expertise and interests and are selected to invite student curiosity.

Faculty biography

Dr. Yu Zhang Stearns specializes in late imperial Chinese literature such as poetry, vernacular fiction and tanci fiction. Her current research focuses on the intersection of gender, text, and religion at the turn of the twentieth century. She is the author of Interfamily Tanci Writing in Nineteenth Century China: Bonds and Boundaries (Lexington Press, 2018), which examines a group of tanci writers connected within one extensive family network and the significance of their works. Her recent and forthcoming publications appear in peer-reviewed journals including Ming Qing Studies, Frontiers of Literary Studies in China, and so on. She is also active in publishing book reviews. At Loyola, she teaches Mandarin Chinese, as well as content courses about Chinese literature, film, and gender issues in East Asia. Besides work, she likes to cook, read detective stories, and explore walking trails. 

Mentor biography

Jack Hobson currently serves as the Dean of International Programs at Loyola University Maryland and has over two decades in international education. Jack holds undergraduate and masters degrees in French and International Relations from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate from Creighton University in Educational Leadership.

Virtual Advisor

HS 100 satisfies the History core requirement for all students. EN 101 satisfies the Literature core requirement for all students.