HIST 105 C/H 1W. Pre-Modern World History
4 credits
Raffensperger, Christian
Prerequisite: none
Pre-Modern world history is fundamentally about the interconnectivity of the global system. In this class we will discuss kings, emperors, and philosophers from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas in addition to how the kingdoms and empires of the world interacted during this period. Key topics include the development of empire from Persia to China to Rome, the migrations of steppe peoples from Mongolia into Europe over the course of a thousand years, and the religious interactions (and their sometimes violent conflicts) in Eurasia and Africa that resulted in the spread of Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. In addition to discussing happenings within various kingdoms and fledgling states of the world, this class, specifically in lecture and discussion, is designed to look at how those kingdoms interacted with one another and what the consequences were—culturally, religiously, and economically. What was gained, and what lost? Writing intensive
HIST 105 C/H 2W. Pre-Modern World History
4 credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Darlene
Prerequisite: Freshmen only with Supplemental Instruction.
This course considers how in the world ancient history matters in shaping the modern world. We will discard memorization of dates to consider real questions that have historical importance in thinking about the past. We will develop skills in reading, debating and argumentation as we consider issues such as how telling stories about the world reflect core values of society, what medical beliefs about the body tell us about gender roles in the past, what beliefs were foundation to the Islamic empire, how Genghis Khan ushered in the modern age, and to what degree ancient religious beliefs predetermine the political and ethical history of a community. We will read primary sources from period, examine archaeological remains of material culture and read historical fiction as a way to engage with these questions and establish skills in thinking critically about the past. The course is reading and writing intensive. Supplemental Instruction will be available two times a week.
HIST 106C/H 1W. Modern World
4 credits
Proctor, Tammy
Prerequisite: none.
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, quizzes, short papers, and oral presentations. Writing intensive.
HIST 111 H 1W. Medieval Europe
4 credits
Raffensperger, Christian
Prerequisite: Freshmen only with Supplemental Instruction
The origins of medieval Europe are grounded in the world of Late Antiquity. This class begins with the last of the Western Roman Emperors by surveying the “barbarian” kingdoms that had been created in the fourth and fifth centuries. Essential to understanding Europe is the relationship between East and West. Starting with a dominant Byzantium in the early part of our course, we’ll examine ups and downs in the East/West relationship in the ninth and early twelfth centuries and their antagonistic relationship after 1204 and the sack of Constantinople. Essential to this story are the lives of women and religious minorities, such as Jews, Muslims, and pagans. Those stories will be woven in with the traditional highlights of the Middle Ages, such as Charlemagne’s ascension as Holy Roman Emperor, the Viking raids throughout Europe, the rise of the Normans and the conquest of England, the reform papacy and the Crusades, and the beginning of the Renaissance. Medieval Europe changed drastically over the thousand years studied in this course, and we will attempt to both understand the events and processes that contributed to that change as well as the shape of Europe at the end of our period. Writing intensive.
HIST 161C 1W. Pre-Modern East Asia
4 credits
Maus, Tanya
Prerequisite: none. Supplemental Instruction.
Elegant courtiers and eunuchs, ethical scholars, powerful Buddhist nuns, and impudent commoners were some of many groups that created the fabric of East Asian societies during the pre-modern period. This course looks at how such groups within China, Korea and Japan developed the foundations for powerful states and societies with flourishing economies and rich cultural diversity. In particular, we will focus on the relationship between politics, religion, and culture as sources of East Asian interchange and identity. Students’ work will be evaluated through in-class participation, in-class quizzes, presentations and a variety of written assignments. Writing intensive.
HIST 173C 1W. Settlers and Liberators of South Africa
4 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 201C 1W. Japanese Imperialism in Korea
4 credits
Maus, Tanya
Prerequisite: none
In 1910 Japan annexed Korea as part of its imperialist program in East Asia. Its colonial government was in place in Korea until Japan’s surrender to the United States in 1945 following its defeat in the Pacific War. This course will not only examine the historical factors that led to the annexation of Korea by Japan, but will also focus on the various views of Japanese imperialism from within both Japanese and Korean societies through essays and literature. Finally, we will look at the Korean resistance movement during the period of Japanese rule in Korea as well as the long-term impact of Japanese imperialism on Japan and North and South Korea. Students’ work will be evaluated through in-class participation, in-class quizzes, presentations and a variety of written assignments. Writing intensive.
HIST 202H 1W. Luther
4 credits
Taylor, Thomas
Prerequisite: Sophomore Standing
HIST 202 courses introduce students to problems in the interpretation of history (more technically called historiography) and to the writing of historical prose. This version of HIST 202 tackles the extraordinary and complex figure of Martin Luther. The course approaches him as a problem in biography, through readings of some of major biographical interpretations of his life, and as a problem in theology, through readings of his own writings as well as those of modern theologians and scholars. Books will include Roland Bainton, Here I Stand; Erik Erikson, Young Man Luther; Martin Marty, Martin Luther; David C. Steinmetz, Luther in Context; and Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Students will be assessed on completion of papers, tests and quizzes. Writing intensive.
HIST 203H 1W. The Great War: Historian’s Craft
4 credits
Proctor, Tammy
Prerequisite: ENGL 101E and sophomore standing.
In August 1914 a war commenced that transformed the political, economic, cultural and social landscape of several continents and instituted 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. Writing intensive.
Optional Addition: Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC).
Interested in using your foreign language skills to earn extra credit connected to this course and to learn more about the subject matter of this course at the same time? If so, register for the CLAC components offered here. You don’t need to be fluent in the language to exercise this option. In fact, you need only to have completed two credits beyond 112 or to be currently enrolled in a course beyond 112. Your work will be guided by your professor and by faculty from the Languages Department. The CLAC module is designed for intermediate level language learners. This course offers a foreign language component or CLAC component in the following languages: Chinese, French, German and Russian. Students who select the CLAC option will complete work in a foreign language that will supplement the work in this course. Students who complete the CLAC assignments successfully will earn 1 credit for the CLAC component. To register for the CLAC component, you must also register for a one-credit LANG 230 CLAC module listed among the Language Department’s offerings. Meeting times and location will be arranged at the beginning of the semester. Credit for CLAC modules may be counted toward the requirements for International Studies and as elective credit in the Language department.
HIST 203H 2W. Negro Leagues
4 credits
Rosenberg, Scott
Prerequisite: ENGL 101E and sophomore standing.
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. Assessment will be based on a book review, two take home exams, and the main component of the grade will be based on the research assignments and final paper. Writing intensive.
HIST 221H 01. United States History to 1877
4 credits
Taylor, Thomas
Prerequisite: none
United States History I provides an introduction to early American history (colonization through the Civil War and Reconstruction) with a particular emphasis on human institutions and the social processes of migration, self-government and the blending of cultures into American society. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of government and to the ways American resolved thorny problems and justified their actions. In other words, the course literally deals with institutions, processes, and behavior. Chief vehicles for assessment include a series of quizzes and tests. The Colonial unit examines the processes of colonization, the establishment of early institutions (government and church), and the values among the half dozen or so largest ethnic groups that settled in the English colonies in the 1600s. The Revolution unit examines the origins, course and consequences of the Revolutionary War, with special attention to the creation of the new government under the constitution of 1787. The Early Republic unit considers westward expansion of the early political development of the new republic. The final unit, on the Civil War era, discusses the economic, political and social origins of that conflict, the war itself, and the struggle over equality that dominated the postwar era known as Reconstruction. Throughout the course we approach history as stories based on facts that need interpreting. Required books include James L. Roark et al, The American Promise, Volume I, 4/e, 2009; The Bedford Glossary for U.S. History, 2007; and Francis G. Couvares, Martha Saxton, Gerald N. Grob, George A. Billias, Interpretations of American History, 8/e, 2009
HIST 225H 01. Church & State, Law & Religion
4 credits
Taylor, Thomas
Prerequisite: None
HIST 225H introduces students to the interplay of religion and law in American history, with particular attention to the legal issues stemming from the free exercise of religion and the no establishment of religion clauses in the First Amendment. We will study the role of religion in early American culture and the origins of the religion clauses of the First Amendment; the slow evolution of the First Amendment from 1791 to the 1920s; the dramatic changes in church-state law that occurred in the mid-twentieth century; and the major controversies in said law of our day. The final portion of the course will provide a comparative context, looking at the relationship between religion and law in other parts of the world. Quizzes, tests, and some writing.
HIST 226H 1W. U.S. History from 1877 to 1945.
4 credits
Wood, Molly
Prerequisite: None
This course will explore the major events of U.S. history from the end of the period known as “Reconstruction” in 1877 to the end of World War II in 1945. We will assess the important social, political, cultural and economic changes during a time of great change by exploring both broad questions (for example, how and why did industrialization shape American society in the late nineteenth century? How and why did the U.S. enter World War I and World War II?) and specific events (for example, what was the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911? What was the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s?) This class will give students the opportunity to examine a critical period in U.S. history in significant detail, to raise their own questions about the events of this era and how these events helped to shape the more recent history of the U.S., and to practice some of the basic skills of historical analysis. The course will consist of lecture, class discussion and reading and writing assignments. Attendance is required. Students will be evaluated on their participation in class, and the timely completion of all reading and writing assignments. Satisfies HIST 222 requirement for the Integrated Social Studies Major. Students may not take both HIST 226 and HIST 222 for credit. Writing intensive.
HIST 252 C/H 1W. Russian History since 1796
4 credits
Raffensperger, Christian
Prerequisite: none
After the death of Catherine the Great in 1796, Russia is fully enmeshed in European and world history. Over the course of this class we will see Russian troops in Paris and Soviet troops in Berlin, as well as Russian and Soviet activity throughout the world. Russia also goes through a series of dramatic changes in this period from the conservative reaction under Catherine’s son to cycles of reform and reaction throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. That cycle will spark multiple revolutions in 1905-6, and 1917, leading to the birth of the first socialist state. The history of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics will occupy most of our time, and we will discuss the building of socialism in one country, as well as the position of the Soviet Union in world affairs. Writing intensive.
HIST 301 1W. Satire, Critique, and Rebellion in Early Modern Japan
4 credits
Maus, Tanya
Prerequisite: One course in History or EAS 100 or permission of instructor.
Can a samurai exchanging the sword for a pen serve as a metaphor for social change? How did various groups of commoners, peasants, and outcastes in early modern Japan find their political voices? This course examines popular dissent in early modern Japan (1600 to 1868) through samurai critiques of the government and society, popular art such as ukiyoe (Japanese woodblock prints), literary genres such as gesaku (satirical stories), as well as peasant rebellions. Students’ work will be evaluated through written assignments, in-class presentations and focused discussion. Writing intensive.
HIST 303 1.1W. Ancient Historians: Herodotus
2 credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Darlene
Prerequisite: One course in history or permission of instructor.
Class meets first 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’s Histories we will investigate the Persian Wars with the Greeks, his view of 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. This 2-credit course will be writing intensive. There will be writing exercises dedicated to interpreting source materials in both textual and archaeological forms. Substantial reading in primary sources and secondary literature will be required.
HIST 303 1.2W. Ancient Historians: Arrian and Plutarch
2 credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Darlene
Prerequisite: One course in history or permission of instructor.
Class meets second half of the semester
Biographies of Alexander the Great were written by his generals, but only fragments remain in later Roman biographies of the young Macedonian conqueror. This 2-credit course will examine the textual evidence for Alexander the Great, why Arrian is considered his most successful biographer, and how Plutarch’s reserved history compares with other Roman historians. We will also read two modern biographies of Alexander to consider the historiography that shapes the study of Hellenism. The course is writing intensive. There will be writing exercises dedicated to interpreting source materials in both textual and archaeological forms. Substantial reading in primary sources and secondary literature will be required.
HIST 370 1W. Migrant Labor and HIV/AIDS in southern Africa
4 credits
Rosenberg, Scott
Prerequisite: One course in history or permission of instructor.
This class will examine the connection between colonial policies that led to the development of a migrant labor system and the eventual explosion of AIDS in southern Africa in the late 1980s through the present. The colonial powers stripped Africans of their land and imposed taxes on men to force them into migrant labor, tearing apart the African family. Once at the mines/urban areas, the colonial powers relied partially on alcohol and prostitution as a means of controlling African labor. The social and economic patterns established during colonial rule created the conditions for the spread of AIDS. We will also look at the origins of AIDS in Africa, and how it has spread. Lastly, this class will examine how African cultural attitudes have influenced the fight to stop the spread of AIDS. The class will mix lectures with the discussion of several monographs. Grades will be based on papers. Writing intensive.
HIST 390 1W. Russian Revolution
4 credits
Raffensperger, Christian
Prerequisite: HIST 202C/H or permission of instructor.
This class will explore the Russian Revolution of 1917 as a historical event that changed Russia, and the world. But it will also focus on the perceptions of that revolution, specifically, how historians have understood the Russian Revolution, and used it in their own ideological constructs. This will showcase a variety of historical schools of thought, but also show a change of opinion over time, particularly relevant now that nearly two decades have passed since the fall of the Soviet Union. The class will have a heavy reading load focused on the revolution and historiography,and grading will be largely on thematic papers, oral assignments, and discussion. Writing intensive.
HIST 411 1W. Senior Seminar: The Study of History
4 credits
Wood, Molly
Prerequisites: SENIOR HISTORY MAJORS ONLY and HIST 202, HIST 203, and
permission of instructor.
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 research and 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.
HIST 490 00. Independent Study
1-4 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
HIST 491 00. Internship
1-4 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
HIST 499 00. Senior Honors Thesis
0-8 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission only.
