This course probes the nature and meaning of hunger in Modern European History. It seeks to map European hunger (across famine zones, European colonies, and amongst the urban and rural poor), and to critically examine the diverse causes of hunger in the modern era. At the same time, the course aims to explore how Europeans themselves conceived of and sought to manage hunger. To this end, we will investigate how hunger was variously constituted as a problem of political economy, public health, agronomy, and social welfare. Topics to be covered include the Irish Famine, European colonialism, rationing during the Great War, European welfare states, Soviet collectivization, World War II and the Holocaust, international humanitarian and food relief programs, and the Cold War. May be offered jointly with HIST 802.
