DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Fall 2007
HIST 101 Topics
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: None
Survey that studies some region or civilization of the past. Some sections are writing intensive. May be repeated for credit. A more complete course description will be available later in the semester.
HIST 105C/H 1W and 2W C/H. Pre Modern World
4.00 credits
Proctor, Tammy & Livingstone, Amy
Prerequisite: None
Using a global framework, students will explore the development of ancient civilizations in the Near and Far East, Africa, and pre-Columbian Americas. Students will be asked to re-examine their own assumptions about non-western cultures prior to 1400, while seeing the connections between these cultures and western civilizations. The class will look at political and ideological change, but it will also delve into the everyday experiences of life. Pre-Modern World will ask students to use concepts of race, class, and gender as ways of viewing world history. In addition, students will use documents to examine their assumptions about “civilization,” “culture,” and “values
Assessment will focus on the students’ ability to express their ideas in essay exams, class discussions, papers, and oral presentations. In particular, I will ask students to begin with the question—what is civilization?—in order to develop a framework for the study of the past. From there, we will examine particular themes in world history, such as comparative religion, trade networks, cultural exchange, impact of nomads, etc. Students will need to explore these questions and themes using a variety of sources (text, documents, novels, film) in order to gain an understanding of how historians interpret the past. Writing intensive.
HIST 105 C/H 2W. Pre Modern World
4.00 credits
Livingstone, Amy & Proctor, Tammy
Prerequisite: None
See description above.
HIST 106C/H 1W. Modern World
4.00 credits
Proctor, Tammy
Prerequisite: None
Did you ever wonder how the potato led to the invasion of Iraq? Or how the ideas in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species help explain the terrorist attacks of 2001? Have you ever thought about how Japanese farmers experienced life in the 19th century? Are you interested in what the Aztecs thought of the Spanish? In "The Modern World," we will examine such questions in an attempt to re-evaluate our assumptions about non-western cultures, while seeing the connections between these cultures and western civilizations. Starting in 2001 and working our way backwards to 1400, students will explore the interaction of cultures in Western Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Assessment will focus on the students' ability to express their ideas in essay exams, short papers and quizzes. Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 111H 1W. Medieval Civilization
4.00 credits
Livingstone, Amy
(Linked with ENGL 101 (D’Arcy Fallon)
Prerequisite: None
The medieval millennium, perhaps more than any other era of history, was a time when personalities shaped and affected the course of history. This course will explore the social, cultural, political and economic changes through the lives of particular medieval people, including peasants, warriors, mystics, kings and saints. Through lectures, discussions, films, debates and readings, the important developments, accomplishments and failings of the medieval centuries will be brought to life. Course assessment will consist of essay exams, short quizzes and class participation. Writing intensive.
HIST 161C 1W. Pre-Modern East Asia
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: None
Survey of the history of East Asia’s three major countries—China, Japan and Korea—from earliest times until the beginning of the 17th century. The focus is on culture and thought, as well as major political developments. Writing intensive.
HIST 170C 1W. Topics: Contemporary Africa
4.00 credits
Rosenberg, Scott
Prerequisite: None
During the 20th century, Africans fought against a range of inequalities, both during and after colonial rule. In their creative resuscitations of the past they have struggled over the production and reproduction of social categories such as nationalism and ethnicity. This class will explore a number of issues such as the construction of Africa's current national borders as well as ethnicity and "tribalism" which are often blamed for much of Africa's strife. This class will look closely at a number of violent liberation struggles as well as several civil wars that have occurred since liberation. (Continued next page.)
HIST 170C 1W. Contemporary Africa continued:
In particular, we will look at the civil wars/genocides of Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, and the Sudan. Lastly, the question of AIDS in Africa will be addressed. Novels and films will be used to provide a more personal account of these events. Students will be evaluated on class participation, take-home exams, and papers based upon the readings. Writing intensive.
HIST 173C 1W. Settlers and Liberators of South Africa
(4.00 credits)
Rosenberg, Scott
Prerequisite: None
This course will focus on conflict in South Africa from a historical perspective. We will consider the nature of the European colonial societies and the Africans who resisted them. Africans fought not only against a range of inequalities, but in their creative resuscitation of a suppressed past, fought over descriptive languages, social and cultural categories that are themselves the product of domination. Africans used passive, hidden, and violent methods to overcome a variety of difficulties in achieving independence and survival. Readings will include novels, biographies, and a few manuscripts. Students will be evaluated on class participation, take-home exams, and papers based upon the readings. Writing intensive.
HIST 201H 1.1W. Revolutionary America—First half of the semester only.
2.00 credits
Taylor, Thomas T.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing only.
This two-credit course examines the revolutionary era, in greater depth than is possible during a typical US History survey course. If taken with America’s Civil War, it can be substituted for HIST 221: United States History I. We will examine the origins of the American Revolution, military and social aspects of the war itself, and the social and governmental consequences of the conflict. In addition to a primary textbook, we will use two collections of essays, What Did the Declaration Declare? and What Did the Constitution Mean to Early Americans?, along with Carol Berkins’ Revolutionary Mothers and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. Writing intensive. (This course if taken with HIST 201H 1.2W, America’s Civil War, can be substituted for HIST 221, United States History I, in the Integrated Social Studies major.)
HIST 201H 1.2. America’s Civil War—Second half of the semester only.
2.00 credits
Taylor, Thomas T.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing only.
This two-credit course examines the era of the Civil War, in greater depth than is possible in a typical US survey course. In addition to a primary textbook, we will use books like Lost Triumph and The Narrative of Frederick Douglass to examine the origins, course and consequences of America’s most terrible war. Writing intensive. (If taken with HIST 201H 1.1W, Revolutionary America, it can be substituted for HIST 221, United States History I, in the Integrated Social Studies major.)
HIST 201 Topics in Russian History
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing only.
Topical approach to Russian history. Some sections are writing intensive. May be repeated for credit. A more complete course description will be available later in the semester.
HIST 202H 1W. Frank Lloyd Wright
4.00 credits
Taylor, Thomas T.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing only.
This course introduces students to historical writing and the work and life of America’s greatest architect. Frank Lloyd Wright influenced twentieth-century architecture and thought in myriad ways, over half a century inventing and reinventing himself, delighting and shocking both clients and the public. Controversial, iconoclastic, and shamelessly self-promoting, Wright left few people neutral toward him. We will read and write about his own writings as well as writings about him and his work. Writing intensive. (Satisfies Integrated Social Studies major.)
HIST 202 2W. Children of the Past
4.00 credits
Livingstone, Amy
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing only.
What was it like growing up in the past? Did pre modern people have a “childhood?” Historians have recently turned their attention to investigating the private lives of medieval and early modern people. In this class we will explore what historians have uncovered about growing up in the past. We will examine the experiences of children in medieval London and Florence, Reformation Germany and sixteenth-century France.
This course will also examine how historians “do” history. What methods, theories, philosophies inform how historians have approached examining the history of childhood? What are the issues that confront historians in regard to the use of primary sources and historiographic traditions? Should historians be objective? Can they be objective? Each of those questions is fundamental to the task, vocation and obligation of the historian. To address such issues, students will read, analyze and critique primary sources. The “history” of historical interpretation, or historiography, will also be explored through a series of monographs and articles. Students will write several short analytical essays, as well as a longer historiographical paper, and participate in discussion and debate. Writing Intensive.
(Satisfies Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 203H 1W. Decade of Decadence
4.00 credits
Proctor, Tammy
Prerequisite: None
The course will train students in research methods through an examination of the crisis of European society that developed in the 1890s. Students will be asked to understand political structures, intellectual and cultural change, and social transformations that led up to the turn of the 20th century. The class will spend a great deal of time discussing questions of race, gender and sexual identity, through discussions of the eugenics and suffrage movements as well as through examinations of the trials of Oscar Wilde and Alfred Dreyfus. 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 1890s in Europe. Students will need to explore their questions using a variety of sources (text, documents, novels, film) in order to gain an understanding of how European history fits into the larger history of the western world. Writing intensive. (Satisfies Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 301. Topics in East Asian history
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: One course in History or permission of instructor.
Topical approach, focusing on a specific theme. Prerequisites vary by section. Some sections are writing intensive. May be repeated for credit. A more complete course description will be available later in the semester.
HIST 301. Topics in Eurasian history
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: One course in History or permission of instructor.
Topical approach, focusing on a specific theme. Prerequisites vary by section. Some sections are writing intensive. May be repeated for credit. A more complete course description will be available later in the semester.
HIST 332 1W. American Constitutional History II
4.00 credits
Taylor, Thomas T.
Prerequisite: One course in History or POLI 101: American National Government.
HIST 332 surveys the development of American constitutional law from the dramatic constitutional changes and challenges that occurred during Reconstruction (1863-1877) through the constitutional debates of the present day. In between we consider the rising importance of civil rights, the growth of the federal regulatory state, and the continuing battles over judicial interpretation. We will give particular attention to some key cases/topics such as Brown v. Board of Education and desegregation cases; Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion law; Lochner v. New York and economic regulatory cases; the impeachments of Johnson, Nixon and Clinton; the crucial debates over “original intent” the interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment; legal issues associated with war-making and civil liberties during wartime. In addition to monographs on key cases, we will use Michael Les Benedict, Blessings of Liberty, 2/e, as a primary text, and Scott Turow, Ultimate Punishment, for a discussion on the death penalty. Writing intensive
HIST 390 1W. The U.S. and Vietnam
4.00 credit hours
Wood, Molly
Prerequisite: HIST 202C/H or permission of instructor.
This class is a rigorous reading seminar. We will explore the historiography (changing and evolving historical interpretations) of the relationship between the United States and Vietnam, focusing on the period between 1945 – 1975. We will seek to understand the ways in which historians have explained and interpreted the Vietnam War, as well as the reasons why those interpretations have changed over time. Some familiarity with post World War II American history is expected – students may contact Dr. Wood if they wish to do preparatory reading over the summer. Class meetings will be discussion-oriented, therefore it is absolutely essential that students keep up with weekly reading assignments.
Regular attendance, thorough preparation for each class and active participation in discussion are all essential to success in this class. Students will be evaluated on their participation in class and on timely completion of all written and oral assignments. In this class students will produce a major historiographical essay surveying the secondary literature of a specific topic or issue related to the study of the Vietnam War. Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 411 1W. Senior Seminar
4.00 credits
Wood, Molly
Prerequisite: Senior history majors only and HIST 202, HIST 203, and HIST 390 and instructor’s permission.
This capstone course employs a philosophical approach to the study of history, with a focus on methods of historical research and writing. Senior history majors will participate in class readings and discussions on the nature and study of history and will produce a major piece of original historical writing. All members of the class will also participate in an end-of-semester History 411 Conference at which they will present the results of their research to other history majors and history faculty.
Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
