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Course Descriptions
HIS 101 World History to 1500
Exploration of the origins of human societies and the development of their hierarchical structures and the network connections between them across the world. An effort will be made to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing different societies and network interactions comparatively so as to highlight meaningful similarities and differences among them. This course, along with HIS 102, is especially recommended to those students taking their first college-level history course. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 102 World History since 1500
This course traces the increasing interdependence of the world’s different societies as improved communications tie more of the world closely together. This will involve explaining the transformations wrought upon different areas by industrialization and the reactions this process has created across the globe. This course, along with HIS 101, is especially recommended to those students taking their first college-level history course. This course is offered in the spring semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 187 Independent Study
Open to history majors.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 188 Independent Study
Open to history majors.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 200 Topics in World and Comparative History
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 201 The World from 1914–Present
This course examines the development of “the modern world” from a variety of global perspectives, including demographics, the human impact on the environment, social transformations and the rise of gender, ethnic and class issues and identities, the impact of warfare and political and ideological conflict, and the implications for culture of global communications networks.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 210 Topics in Ancient History (CLA 113)
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 211 Ancient History: Greece (CLA 105)
A survey of Greek history from the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 1100 B.C.) to the time of the Roman conquest of the Greek world (first century B.C.). Emphasis is on the origin, evolution, and problems of the most important Greek political-social-cultural structure, the polis or “city-state.” This course is offered in the fall semester in even-numbered years.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 212 Ancient History: Rome (CLA 106)
A survey of Roman history from the Etruscan period (6th and 5th centuries B.C.) to the transformation of the Roman world to the medieval (4th and 5th centuries A.D.). Emphasis is on the origins, nature, effects, and evolution of imperialism in Roman politics, culture, and society. This course is offered in the spring semester in odd-numbered years.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 220 Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 221 Medieval Europe, 400–1400
The history of Europe from ca. 400 to ca. 1400, focusing on Latin Christendom. The course traces the emergence of medieval society out of elements of the late Roman world and the transformation of that synthesis in the troubles of the 14th century. Emphasis is on examining economic, institutional, social, and gender structures, and the historical context of medieval cultural production through examination of primary sources. This course is offered in the fall semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 222 Early Modern Europe, 1400–1800
Europe from the crisis of the medieval world to the dawn of the modern age. The course traces the transformations of all aspects of European life—economic organization, state structures, religious institutions and sentiments, social structures and gender roles, and intellectual outlooks—with an emphasis on different historiographical approaches and analysis of secondary sources, especially monographs. This course is offered in the fall semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 230 Topics in Modern Europe
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 231 19th-Century Europe
This survey will cover events in European history from the French Revolution to the end of the 19th century. It will explore nationalism, utopianism, Europe’s quest for colonial expansion, and the rise of the Industrial Revolution. In addition to these vast issues, the course also examines developments in social history including family life, change in urban areas, health, medicine, and gender. This course is offered in the fall semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 232 20th-Century Europe
This survey will examine significant events in European history from 1900 to the end of the 20th century. The course will cover circumstances leading to World War I, the rise of fascism, and World War II. The survey ends with a discussion of the Cold War, its ultimate demise, and nuclear legacy. Since there was more to the 20th century than military history, the class will also consider how European societies reacted to war and will focus on life on the home front, gender relations, cultural change, and consumerism. This course is offered in the spring semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 235 Topics in Economics History: European (ECO 214)
The purpose of this course is to study economic issues in European history. A substantial part of the course is devoted to the Industrial Revolution. What caused the Industrial Revolution and why did it occur in England? What effects did it have on living standards? Other topics will vary, but may include: agriculture, demography, Poor Laws, the Great Depression, and the gold standard. This course is offered in the fall semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: ECO 101.
Credits: 1
HIS 236 History of Economic Thought (ECO 205)
Designed for non-majors as well as majors, this course examines the intellectual history of economics. The ideas of great economists (including Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Keynes, Schumpeter, and Knight) are analyzed and compared. Particular emphasis is placed on differing views toward capitalism—especially predictions about its eventual fate. This course is offered in the fall semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 240 Topics in American History
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 241 America to 1877
An introduction to American history and to the departmental Core Goals in the process of historical investigation and understanding. Students will learn the basic facts and conceptual themes involved in Native Indian cultures, Puritanism, the American Revolution, the New Nation, expansionism, slavery, reform, Civil War, and Reconstruction. The course focuses on significant landmark political events, but also on the everyday experiences and social history of women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 242 America since 1877
The emphasis is upon some of the major issues in American politics and society since 1877: the growth of big business; changes in the lives of farmers, workers, and immigrants; the rise of the city; and reform movements among rural and urban labor and among minority groups. In addition to studying national history and the emergence of America as a world power, students will have an opportunity to investigate their own family histories. This course is offered in the spring semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 244 African American History
Emphasis on several crucial periods: slavery; Reconstruction and its aftermath; the civil rights and Black liberation movements of the 1960s; and contemporary African American culture. Relations between Blacks and Whites will be examined through the reading and discussion of classic African American texts by Douglass, Jacobs, Washington, DuBois, Wright, Angelou, Moody, Walker, Malcolm X, King, Baldwin, Gates, and others. This course is offered in some spring semesters.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 245 Topics in Economic History: American (ECO 213)
The purpose of this course is to use economics to improve our understanding of history and to use history to improve our understanding of economics. Examples of questions that may be addressed are: Why is the U.S. wealthy? How do government policies affect the economy? How has the role of government changed over the course of U.S. history? How did the institution of slavery and its abolition affect Southern economic development? Is the current U.S. banking system better than the systems that preceded it? What caused the Great Depression?
Prerequisites: ECO 101.
Credits: 1
HIS 250 Topics in Latin American History
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 252 Peoples and Nations of Latin America
A survey of the history of Latin America from Pre-Columbian times through the Wars of Independence and the national period to the current day. This course will examine the various internal dynamics and external influences that have shaped the experiences of the countries of Latin America since independence. Emphasis on socioeconomic structures as the conditioning environment for political and cultural developments. A major focus will be historical analysis of scholarly monographs and primary source documents. This course is offered in the spring semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 260 Topics in Asian History
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 261 Classical and Imperial China to 1911
A survey of the early history of China from its first dynasties (Shang, Chou) to its last (Ch’ing). This course will examine the complex internal dynamics that came to shape its peoples and institutions. This course is offered in the fall semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 262 Modern China from 1911 to the Present
A survey of modern China. The class will examine the end of the Ch’ing Dynasty and the emergence of Nationalism through the end of the Second World War, the rise of Chinese Communism through the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and contemporary China to the present. This course is offered in the spring semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 270 Topics in African History
Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 272 African History
This course focuses on the sociocultural, economic, and political realities of sub-Saharan African peoples, in the precolonial (before 1885) era as well as colonial and postcolonial periods. A major focus will be historical analysis of scholarly monographs and primary source documents. The course serves both as a thematic survey of the region and preparation for further work in African Studies. This course is offered in the spring semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
HIS 287 Independent Study
Open to history majors.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 288 Independent Study
Open to history majors.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 300 Advanced Topics, World and Comparative History
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in world and comparative history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in world history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 301 Craft and Theory of World History
This is an upper level course in world history. Students will read secondary literature about world history and will read world history textbooks more for historiographical analysis than for content. Emphasis will therefore be on the theories and practices of world history; students will be expected to produce a significant term paper focusing either on a curricular proposal for a world history course or on an historiographical analysis of current trends and developments in the field. This course is offered in the spring semester (when offered).
Prerequisites: Previous course work in world history.
Credits: 1
HIS 310 Advanced Topics, Ancient History (CLA 213)
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in ancient history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in ancient history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 320 Advanced Topics, Medieval and Early Modern Europe
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in medieval and early modern European history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in medieval or early modern European history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 330 Advanced Topics, Modern Europe
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in modern European history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in modern European history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 340 Advanced Topics, American History
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in American history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in American history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 350 Advanced Topics, Latin America
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in Latin American history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 360 Advanced Topics in Asian History
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in Asian history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 370 Advanced Topics in African History
This course provides opportunities for small group and independent work in intensive study of selected topics in African history. Since the content of this course varies from semester to semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the instructor’s approval.
Prerequisites: Previous course work in African history.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 387 Independent Study
Open to history majors.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 388 Independent Study
Open to history majors.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
HIS 497 Philosophy and Craft of History
This course is required of all majors in history and should be taken in the junior year. Students have an opportunity to read different examples of historical writing and to examine the philosophical and methodological assumptions which underlie the historian’s craft. This course is offered in the fall and spring semesters.
Credits: 1
HIS 498 Research Seminar
All history majors must take this course in the fall semester of their senior year, while other juniors or seniors are welcome to enroll with the consent of the instructor. Emphasis on research techniques, conferences with the instructor, and independent development of individual projects focused on a topic with a global or comparative component. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Credits: 1