DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Spring 2007
HIST 101H 1W. US History I
4.00 credits
Taylor, Thomas
Prerequisite: None
Counts as HIST 221. Students may not receive credit for this course if they have received credit for HIST 221 or HIST 201, American Revolution/Civil War.
A survey of American history from colonization through the Civil War and Reconstruction, this course will combine lecture and discussion with debate and writing about American history. Students should expect to read the popular text, The American Promise, and the reader Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History, The Colonial Period to Reconstruction, and Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking. The course combines objective testing and written assignments. Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 105C/H 1. Pre Modern World
4.00 credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Dar
Prerequisite: Freshmen only.
This World History course will closely examine how pre-modern people regarded those who differed from themselves during the period from 3000 BCE-1400 CE. We will consider 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. Students will be assessed on the basis of weekly quizzes, participation in class discussions and three exams.
HIST 105C/H 2W. Pre Modern World
4.00 credits
Proctor, Tammy
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.” (continued next page)
HIST 105C/H 2W. Pre Modern World continued
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 106C/H 1W and 2W C/H. Modern World
4.00 credits
Proctor, Tammy & Wood, Molly
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 106C/H 2W. Modern World
4.00 credits
Wood, Molly & Proctor, Tammy
Prerequisite: None
See description above.
HIST 162C 01. Modern East Asia
4.00 credits
Huffman, James
Prerequisite: None
Westerners fighting for the right to sell opium in China. Japanese challenging the world on the battlefield and in the marketplace. Communists practicing capitalism in China. North Koreans emerging from the shadows and testing missiles; South Koreans moving from autocracy to democracy and wealth. Japanese flooding the world with anime and cell phones. We will attempt to pull all of those strands, and more, into some sort of coherent pattern, as we look at East Asia's experience with self-sufficiency, imperialism, and modernity during the last three centuries. Lectures will be supplemented with audiovisual materials and in-class discussion. Students will be expected to read five or six books. Grading will concentrate on test, a series of short "summary" papers, and one 3- to 5-page paper.
HIST 170C 1W. Topics: Contemporary Africa in Literature and Film
4.00 credits
Thomas, Samuel
Prerequisite: None
In this course we will examine a number of issues and problems faced by Africans on a daily basis. Among the topics of discussion will be: the nature of African culture, and its relationship to the west; the problem of despotic government; the questions of rites of passage, particularly female circumcision; and Apartheid and its legacy in South Africa. We will also examine questions of the relationship between the individual and the community in contemporary Africa, the legacy of colonial domination, as well as issues of gender and the family. The goal of this class is to help students think critically about these issues, and to increase students’ sensitivity to the ways in which western stereotypes about Africa and Africans shape our perception of the continent as a whole.
Writing intensive.
HIST 201H 1.1W. American Revolution -- First half of the semester only.
HIST 201H 1.2W. America’s Civil War -- Second half of the semester only.
2.00 credits each
Taylor, Thomas
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Each of these two-credit courses examines a crucial period in American history in greater depth than is possible in a typical survey course. One may take either or both. In addition to the text, The American Promise, students will read in significant primary sources from the period and participate in class debates. Grades combine papers with objective tests.
(These courses, if taken together, may be substituted for HIST 221 in the History/Social Studies major.) Writing intensive.
HIST 201H 2W. U.S. and the Cold War, 1945-1999
4.00 credits
Wood, Molly
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Counts as HIST 222
In 1945, as World War II ended, a new ideological conflict began to develop between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. This “Cold War” would dominate U.S. history and international relations for the better part of the remainder of the twentieth century. This class will explore how and why the Cold War began, and how it shaped U.S. foreign and domestic policy for almost five decades. We will assess American actions all over the globe – Europe, Korea, Vietnam, Latin America, the Middle East, etc. – in the context of the Cold War. But we will also focus on the impact of the Cold War on Americans at home. What were the connections between American Cold War Foreign Policy and the economic expansion and so-called domestic tranquility of the 1950s? The Civil Rights Movement? The activism of the 1960s? The domestic crises of the 1970s and 80s? This class will give students the opportunity to examine recent U.S. history in some detail, and to place U.S. history in a larger global context. This course will consist of lecture, class discussion and reading and writing assignments. Attendance is essential. Students will be evaluated on their attendance and participation in class and the timely completion of all reading and writing assignments. Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 202H 1W. The Battle over the English Revolution
4.00 credits
Thomas, Samuel
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
In 1642, King Charles I of England raised his battle standard and declared war against his own Parliament. Eight years later, he had been executed for treason, and England began a brief time as a Republic in which religious liberty was the rule, and hopes for the coming Apocalypse ran high. The English Civil Wars (or Revolution) has been the subject of vigorous historical debate virtually since they (or it) ended. Various historians have argued that they signaled the advent of representative democracy, were a necessary step on the path to a socialist revolution, or that they changed nothing at all. Rather than
examining the Civil Wars from a narrative perspective, this course will critically examine historians’ arguments about the causes and effects of the Civil Wars (or Revolution). This course will be conducted as a seminar. This means that there will be few lectures and students will be responsible for taking an active role in each class by raising and responding to questions from the reading, and participating in classroom exercises and discussion. Attendance is absolutely essential. Students will be evaluated on their attendance, participation in class, and their timely completion of all written and oral assignments. Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 203C 1W. Excavating Egypt’s History
4.00 credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Dar
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
"Excavating Egyptian History" will explore the art, archaeology and history of Ancient Egypt during the 18th Dynasty, with particular focus upon the Amarna Period. Tutankhamun and Nefertiti are the two most well-known figures of the Amarna period. We will examine their lives in relationship to the most controversial ruler of ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh Akhenaten. Considered a madman, a heretic, or a visionary by some, this course will endeavor to explore the mysteries surrounding him and his successor, Tutankhamun.
Through the reading of primary textual sources in the form of letters, myths, military annals, and biographies, we will ask questions about what life was like before, during and after the Amarna Period. We will also examine archaeological discoveries at Amarna and Karnak that have reconfigured our understanding of the Amarna Period and the successors of the 19th Dynasty. One component of the course will include a trip to the research library at the Ohio State University.
This sophomore level, research class will be based upon several pre-writing, writing, and revision exercises to train students how to write a well-designed and argued research paper based upon archaeological and textual material. This methodology course will include exercises that will give students the experience in writing summaries of scholarly articles, revising thesis statements, designing research outlines, and providing peer reviews of early versions of the final research paper. The central focus of the assessment in the course is a project that includes a source bibliography, citation with footnotes, and a research text that analyzes a topic related to the Amarna Period. Writing intensive.
(Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 203C 2W. Meiji Japan
4.00 credits
Huffman, James
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
Japan’s rush from feudalism to modernity in the late 1800s will be the focus of this course. Using a variety of historical sources (novels, documents, film, monographs), we will use Japan’s rapid transformation to learn the essential skills required for “doing history.” There will be one or two essay exams, and students will learn research and writing skills by writing and presenting a lengthy research paper, and completing several shorter assignments. Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 230H 1W. African American History
4.00 credits
Neumann, Caryn
Prerequisite: None
The African American Historical Experience is a study of the contributions and experiences of African-derived people in America from Reconstruction to the present. Course will include use of standard text, collateral readings and is African and African-American centered. The course will include frequent writing exercises as well as a term paper. Writing intensive.
HIST 241H 1W. England-Arthur to Elizabeth I
4.00 credits
Thomas, Sam
Prerequisite: None
The focus of this course will be on the history of England from the end of the Roman presence on the island to the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603. Students will read primary sources, including literary works such as BEOWULF and THE CANTERBURY TALES, as well as letters, diaries and Parliamentary debates. Through an examination of these primary and secondary sources, literary works, and modern fiction, students will gain an appreciation for the complexities of the period. The final grade will be based on quizzes, class discussion and essays. Writing intensive.
HIST 251C 1W. Russia to 1917
4.00 credits
Soderstrom, Mark
Prerequisite: None
The history of Russia from the formation of the Kievan state to the collapse of the tsarist autocracy. Primary emphasis is on the relevance of political and social history to the developments in the 20th century. The final grade will be based on class participation, several short papers, a few quizzes and a midterm and final exam of essays. Writing intensive.
HIST 301 1.1W. Greek Archaeology
2.00 credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Dar
Prerequisite: one history course or permission of the instructor
The class meets for eight weeks the first half of the semester.
This course is a writing-intensive survey of the archaeology and myth of Bronze Age and Archaic Greece. We will look at how archaeology is used by historians to write a history of Greece before the advent of substantial written documents. Also we will examine to what degree we can use myths, such as the Iliad and Odyssey, in conjunction with archaeology to write history.
The course will be an introduction to the role of Greek myth in the archaeological discovery of Greece. Through the excavations on the island of Crete we will examine how well the Minoan capital of Knossos reflects the world of Theseus, the Minotaur and Ariadne.
HIST 301 1.2W. Herodotus and the Greeks
2. credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Dar
Prerequisite: one history course or permission of the instructor
The class meets for eight weeks the second half of the semester.
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 Book II, which is one of the early portraits of ancient Egypt by an historian.
Through examining archaeological and textual remains, we will explore the question of whether Herodotus was the Father of History or the Father of Lies. There will be writing exercises dedicated to interpreting source materials in both textual and archaeological forms. Writing intensive.
HIST 331 1W. American Constitutional History I
4. credits
Taylor, Thomas
Prerequisite: One course in history or POLI 101: American National Government.
Designed to survey the origins and foundations of the American constitutional system, this course covers constitutional history from the colonial through the Civil War periods. Assignments will include mock trial reenactments of key cases, such as Marbury v. Madison (judicial review), the Cherokee Cases (Indian removal and executive power), and Dred Scott v. Sanford (slavery and civil rights). Other topics include the debate over the “original intent” of the Constitution and Lincoln’s suspensions of habeas corpus during the Civil War. Books will include Les Benedict’s The Blessings of Liberty, Jill Norgren’s The Cherokee Cases: Two Landmark Federal Decisions in the Fight for Sovereignty; Paul Finkelman, Dred Scott v. Sandford: A Brief History with Documents; and Mark E. Neely, The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties. Writing intensive.
HIST 390. 1W. European Imperialism
4.00 credits
Proctor, Tammy
Prerequisite: HIST 202 C/H or permission of instructor.
Using a global framework, students will explore European imperialism as it developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries around the world. Students will assess the impact of and motivations for expansion by European nations, and the course will also allow students to compare methods and goals of the various imperial countries, with particular emphasis on France and Britain. The class will look at political and ideological change from a European perspective, but it will also delve into the actions and reactions of indigenous peoples to European encroachment. Assessment will focus on the students' ability to express their ideas in essay exams, papers, discussion and oral presentations, and the course will ask students to assume a heavy reading load. As a class, we will explore major 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. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 411 Senior Seminar
4.00 credits
Huffman, James
Prerequisite: Senior history majors only and HIST 202, HIST 203, AND HIST 390.
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!) Writing intensive. (Integrated Social Studies requirement.)
HIST 490 00. Independent Study
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
HIST 491 00. Internship
4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
HIST 499 00. Senior Honors Thesis
8.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
