HIST 105 H/C Pre-Modern World
(4 credits)
Vose
This World History course will closely examine how pre-modern people lived and thought during the period from 3000 BCE-1400 CE. Themes will include how travel, motivated by the need for conquest, conversion, and/or commerce, reveals the history of those who ventured to areas outside of their own empires. In reading accounts referring to the “Other,” as perceived by these ancient individuals, we will learn about how civilizations become more interconnected until at 1250 CE there was what some historians have called a “world-system” that allowed the Afro-Eurasian landmass to be connected in a way not seen before in history. Students will be assessed on the basis of weekly written assignments, participation in the form of in-class discussions and on-line work, maps, analytical essays and a final paper. Writing intensive.
HIST 106 H/C Modern World
(4 credits)
Proctor
Are you interested in what the Aztecs thought of the Spanish? Have you ever thought about how Japanese farmers experienced life in the 19th century? In "The Modern World," we will examine such questions in an attempt to re-examine our assumptions about non-western cultures since 1400, while seeing the connections between these cultures and western civilizations. Using a global framework, students will explore the development of modern civilizations in the Near and Far East, Eastern/Western Europe, Africa and the Americas. Assessment will focus on the students' ability to express their ideas in essay exams, short papers, and oral presentations. Prerequisite: None. (Satisfies certification requirements.)
HIST 106 H/C Modern World
(4 credits)
Taylor
See description above.
HIST 111H Medieval Civilization
(4 credits)
Vose
The millennium of European history dividing the “Fall of the Roman Empire” from the advent of the so-called “Renaissance” and “Reformation” period has been characterized, interpreted and imagined in a multitude of ways. For some it represents the “Dark Ages”, while for others it marks an enticing period of “Golden Ages”. The medieval centuries witnessed cycles of decline and renewal in terms of classical culture and economic life, but also the rise of Christianity, Islam and Rabbinic Judaism as world religions. Many of the political, social, cultural, technological, economic and religious trends which later helped shape the modern world can already be seen emerging in this dynamic period of history.
This course will therefore survey a myriad of important and exciting events and personalities over a vast chronological and geographic range, from the gleaming palaces of the Roman Empire to the smoky mead-halls of northern warlords. In addition to providing a fundamental introduction to one of the formative phases of European and world history, it will train students to understand the ways in which information can be gleaned from original medieval textual sources (in English translation). Students will research topics of interest, critically analyze texts and interpret often disparate sets of data in a sophisticated manner. The development of these important skills will be emphasized, in place of a dry rehearsal of names and dates. The course is writing-intensive, with at least six essay-style short assignments and a longer term paper in addition to a final exam. Group work and participation in discussions will also form part of the overall grade.
HIST 162C Modern East Asia
(4 credits)
Huffman
Westerners fighting for the right to sell opium in China. Japanese challenging the world in the marketplace, in the anime world, on the battlefield. Koreans emerging from foreign shadows and talking about both unity and nuclear weapons. We will attempt to pull all of those strands, and more, into some sort of coherent narrative, as we look at East Asia’s experience with self-sufficiency, imperialism, and modernity during the last four centuries. Lectures will be supplemented with readings (including primary sources), audiovisual materials, and in-class discussion. Students will be expected to read five books. Grading will concentrate on tests, a series of short “summary” papers, and one 3- to 5-page paper. No prerequisite.
HIST 172C Africa Since 1500
(4 credits)
Rosenberg
This course will examine how African political, cultural, religious, economic, and social institutions have responded to the penetration of outsiders over the last 500 years. These outsiders include European slave traders, missionaries, and colonizers as well as Arab traders and Islamic scholars. The impact of the slave trade and later European colonization will be explored in depth. Africans were not passive victims in their own history, and we will focus on how Africans responded to these challenges and struggled for their independence, and how these movements helped shape the face of Post-Colonial Africa. It is this dynamic interplay between Africans and outsiders, which has shaped the formation of modern Africa.
HIST 201H-1.1 The American Revolution
(2 credits)
Taylor
First half of the semester only.
Students who have previously taken HIST 221H for credit may not take this course.
Overview of the revolutionary era in American history, from 1750 to 1800. Topics include the French and Indian War; cultural variety in pre-Revolutionary America; the British colonial crises of the 1760s and 1770s; the New England, northern, southern, and western phases of the war for independence; the slave trade and the rise of the anti-slavery movement; the Articles of Confederation and the origins of the Constitution; Washington and Adams administrations; the first party system and the election of 1800; the Indian wars of the 1790s. This course and HIST 201H-1.2 America’s Civil War, if taken together, may be substituted for HIST 221 in the History/Social Studies major. (Satisfies certification requirements.)
HIST 201H-1.2 America’s Civil War
(2 credits)
Taylor
Second half of the semester only.
Students who have previously taken HIST 221H for credit may not take this course.
Overview of the Civil War era. Topics include the plantation economy of the antebellum South; slavery, antislavery, and antebellum reform; the ideology of free labor; expansionism and the west; the political crises of the 1850s; the secession crisis and the outbreak of war; the major military campaigns; the home front, North and South; internal and international wartime politics; the battle over black equality during and after the war; Reconstruction, equality and the restoration of white rule in the South. This course and HIST 201H-1.1 The American Revolution, if taken together, may be substituted for HIST 221 in the History/Social Studies major. (Satisfies certification requirements.)
HIST 202H Church and State
(4 credits)
Taylor
ACongress make shall no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” This course examines the historical origins of that phrase and its application twentieth-century constitutional law. We will ask such questions as What is separation of church and state? Why can they pray in Congress but not in public schools? Must universities fund student-run religious newspapers? Are school vouchers constitutional? We will read lots of Supreme Court cases, as well as Stephen L. Carter, The Culture of Disbelief How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion. Lots of discussion and debating; writing intensive. Prerequisite ENGL 101.
HIST 203H The Historian’s Craft: Negro Leagues
(4 credits)
Rosenberg
The course will focus on the Negro Leagues that existed in the United States from the early 20th century until the late 1960s. We will also explore the experience of black baseball players both before and after the period of segregation in the United States. While it is essential that we come to grips with the broader political, social, and economic institutions that supported racial segregation, the main focus of this course is to expose the lives that black baseball players made for themselves. In exploring the lives of African-American baseball players, we will focus on an emerging culture and the evolution of race relations. Of particular interest will be the few successful Negro Leagues that operated from 1919 through the 1940s and the long process of breaking baseball's color barrier from 1946 through the 1960s. This course is designed to teach students the basic skills of researching and writing a historical paper. Prerequisite: ENGL 101. Writing intensive.
HIST 203H The Historian’s Craft: The Great War
(4 credits)
Proctor
In August 1914 a war commenced that would transform the political, economic, cultural and social landscape of several continents and that would institute a new era of militarization. This World War touched the lives of men and women of different nationalities, classes, and occupations. The course will train students in research methods through an examination of this world crisis. Students will be asked to understand political structures, intellectual and cultural change, and social transformations that characterized this era. Assessment will focus on the students’ ability to express their ideas in essay exams, papers, and oral presentations. In particular, students will complete an independent research project focusing on some aspect of the Great War. Students will need to explore their questions using a variety of sources (text, documents, novels, film) in order to gain an understanding of how experiences on the home front and in the trenches shaped lives, nations and cultural mores. Prerequisite: ENGL 101. Writing Intensive.
HIST 222H United States History II
(4 credits)
Wood
(Two sections)
How did new technology change the lives of average Americans in the late nineteenth century? What role did American women play in World War I? How did the Civil Rights Movement change American society? Was the U.S. decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima right or wrong? These are just a few of the questions we will discuss in HIST 222, a survey of major themes, topics and issues in American history from 1877-present. We will focus on selected social, political, diplomatic, economic and cultural developments which have shaped the nation, all its regions and all its people. This course will consist of lecture, class discussion and numerous reading and writing assignments. Students will grapple with problems of historical perspective and interpretation, and are expected to participate in discussion, raise questions and form opinions. Students will be evaluated on their participation in class and on their timely completion of all written assignments. Writing intensive. (Satisfies certification requirements.)
HIST 301 01.1 Herodotos and the Greeks
(2 credits)
Brooks Hedstrom
Herodotus and Thucydides. They are the first fathers of history and yet Herodotus has been sometimes regarded as a liar rather than a defender of the facts. By reading selections of Herodotus’ Histories we will investigate his history of the Persian Wars with the Greeks, his view of the Scythians nomads, and a very seminal work on Egyptian civilization. Through examining archaeological and textual remains, we will explore the question of whether Herodotus was the Father of History or the Father of Lies. This 2-credit course will be writing intensive and will meet only for the first half of the semester. There will be writing exercises dedicated to interpreting source materials in both textual and archaeological forms. The course meets once a week and therefore self-direction is important to do well in this course with only 8 class meetings. No prerequisite.
HIST 301 02.1 Greek Archaeology
(2 credits)
Brooks Hedstrom
This course will be an introduction to the role of Greek myth in the archaeology discovery of Greece. We will look in particular at the myths of the Iliad and Odyssey and the search for the cities of Troy and Mycenae. Through the excavations on the island of Crete we will examine how well the Minoan capital of Knosses reflects the world of Theseus, the Minotaur and Ariadne. This 2-credit course will be writing intensive and will meet only for the first half of the semester. There will be writing exercises dedicated to interpreting primary source materials in both textual and archaeological forms. No prerequisite.
HIST 301 Love and War in Crusader Spain
(4 credits)
Vose
In the Middle Ages, the Iberian peninsula was racked by conflict as three great peoples struggled among themselves for military dominance, riches, and mastery of religious truth. Yet at the same time Iberian Jews, Muslims and Christians shared a remarkable hybrid culture which has been called the “ornament of the world”. This culture facilitated exchanges at all levels, from philosophical, religious and artistic ideas to personal relationships.
In this course, students will explore the multi-faceted and multi-cultural world of medieval Spain through literature, music and art. The class will be writing-intensive, with at least four short papers focusing on individual primary sources and a longer term paper synthesizing their overall findings. There will be no exams. Some film and music review assignments will be undertaken outside of class time. The goal will be for each student to develop their own appreciation for and critical analysis of medieval Spanish cultural history and its legacy—from the golden to the dark. No prerequisite.
HIST 320 American Women’s History
(4 credits)
Wood
This course will trace the history of American women from the seventeenth century to the present (though the course will concentrate on nineteenth and twentieth century history). Students will debate broad themes in women’s history, such as the idea that there have been “separate spheres” of influence for men and women in the American past, and will also conduct in-depth study of specific topics such as women and slavery, and women at war. Finally, students will gain an awareness of the role of gender as a basic category of social relations in American history and as a tool of analysis that helps us to understand the past. All students are expected to participate in discussion, raise questions and form opinions based on the material presented in lecture and in reading assignments. Students will be evaluated on their participation in class discussions and projects and on their completion of all written assignments. Writing intensive. Prerequisite: HIST 221, 222, WMST 100 or permission.
HIST 390 Reading Colloquium: Stalin
(4 credits)
O’Connor
The course will deal with the changing images of Stalin, from his radical youth in Georgia through the “Cult of Personality” in the 30’s and 40’s to the post-Soviet era. There will be a research paper, a good deal of reading, writing, and student discussion. Writing intensive. Prerequisite: One class in Modern European history or permission of instructor.
HIST 390 Reading Colloquium: South Africa
(4 credits)
Rosenberg
A colloquium focusing on the development of Apartheid in South Africa and how scholars have sought to explain the emergence of this racial system. We will examine how scholars of four different generations have sought to explain why Apartheid was created. After focusing on the construction of Apartheid, we will review the movements, which resisted legislated racism. Our discussion of resistance will cover political movements, aspects of cultural struggle, and women=s strategies. Most of this course will be dedicated to discussing the selected readings, and papers will be based upon those readings. Writing intensive. Prerequisite: One course in African history or permission. (Satisfies certification requirements.)
HIST 411 Senior Seminar
(4 credits)
Huffman
A seminar designed for SENIOR HISTORY MAJORS. This capstone course examines historical and historiographical problems, philosophical issues pertaining to substance and methods of history as a discipline, and the process of research and writing history. A long analytical paper, written critiques, oral presentations, and active class participation are required. (And it all promises to be fun!) Prerequisite: Senior standing in history and HIST 202 and HIST 203, and permission. Writing intensive.
