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Course Descriptions

HIS 120: Early Civilizations
Goal: To analyze and evaluate the many forms of evidence which historians use to interpret and write history within the context of the origins, development, and impact of selected world civilizations to 1650.
Content: Various types of historical documentation such as early myths, poems, and epics, archaeological remains, legal and criminal codes, religious documents and treatises, court records, eyewitness and travelers’ accounts, letters, and cultural artifacts will provide
the vehicle with which students encounter the world’s civilizations to 1650. Documents and lectures will pertain to major historical issues such as the nature of state building, the development of the world’s religions, the creation of hierarchies of power, and the role
of science and technology in the development of world civilizations.
Taught: Fall.
Gen. Ed. Category: Exploring; Historical Events & Phenomena; (SBS).
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 125 The Emergence of the Modern World
Goal: To analyze and evaluate the many forms of evidence which historians use to interpret and write history within the context of the early modern and modern periods.
Content: Through an analysis of various types of historical documentation such as newspapers, diaries, speeches, journals, a wide variety of governmental records, oral histories, film, television, photographs, and art, students will encounter the world’s civilizations since 1650. In examining major historical issues such as “Western” hegemony in the modern world, the social and political context of the emergence of modern political ideologies, war and revolution in the twentieth century, and the “New World Order,” students will be asked to evaluate the many forms of evidence which historians use to interpret and write history.
Taught: Spring.
Gen. Ed. Category: Exploring; Historical Events & Phenomena; (SBS).
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 130: The American Experience to 1877
Goal: To analyze and evaluate the many forms of evidence that historians use to interpret and write history within the context of the origins, development, and impact of American history through Reconstruction.
Content: Through an analysis of various types of historical documentation such as newspapers, diaries, speeches, journals, official records, oral histories, photographs, and art, students will examine American history from the Age of Discovery through the Civil War.
Taught: Fall.
Gen. Ed. Category: Exploring; Historical Events & Phenomena; (SBS).
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 210: The West and The Classical Age
Goal: Students will be asked to hone critical thinking skills by analyzing primary and secondary sources related to these civilizations, making comparisons between civilizations, and conveying their thoughts in several written exercises.
Content: This course explores the history of the ancient and classical civilizations that contributed to the development of Western Civilization, including those of the Near East, Greece, and Rome.
Taught: Alternate years.
Gen. Ed. Category: Developing; Writing Competency; (SBS).
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 215: Reacting to the Past
Goal: This course allows students to engage deeply with historic sources and to consider the long- and short-term causes of historical conflicts. Students will express themselves persuasively and effectively on historical topics in written and oral communication.
Content: Students enrolled in this course will complete two to three extended historical simulations in which they play characters with specific and collective victory conditions. Students will be asked to read, write, and speak extensively based on their analyses of historical texts and situations.
Taught: Alternate years.
Gen. Ed. Category: Developing; Speaking Competency; (SBS).
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 267: Women in World History
Goal: To provide students with an introduction to the role of women in world history and to have students read critically from a variety of primary and secondary sources on topics related to women's changing role in different cultures.
Content: Using the experience of women as the unifying theme, this course will take a comparative approach to different civilizations from the ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern periods around the world.
Taught: Alternate years.
Gen. Ed. Category: Expanding;Women's Experiences, (SBS).
Credit: 3 hours; cross-listed as WST 267.

HIS 299: Historical Methods & Historiography
Goal: To introduce students to the nature of historical inquiry, to the questions such inquiry raises, and to the basics of discipline-specific writing.
Content: Required for history, political science, and international relations majors who should take it in their sophomore year.
Taught: Fall.
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 305 Empires and Diaspora
Goal: To familiarize students with the history and long-ranging results of European overseas empires during the modern period.
Content: Students will learn about the major events that led, during the modern period, to the establishment of vast European overseas empires, the results of European domination in these empires, and the process of and lingering problems caused by decolonization. After an overview of earlier European colonial encounters, the primary focus of the course will be on the European empires of the 19th century.
Taught: Spring. Alternate years.
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 323: 20th Century Genocide
Goal: To familiarize students with the history of genocide during the twentieth century and encourage them to think critically about defining and responding to instances of mass killing.
Content: The first half of the course will be spent studying the largest and most influential of these Genocide, the German murder of approximately six million civilians during World War II. We shall consider the origins of the Holocaust, its social, cultural, political, and economic aspects, and the results of this genocide for European and world history. In the second half of the course we shall turn to the legal definition of genocide as established by the United Nations following the Holocaust. Using this definition we shall survey other alleged and confirmed acts of genocide from the twentieth century.
Taught: Alternate years.
Gen. Ed. Category: Synthesizing.
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 342: Modern Europe
Goal: This course surveys the historical development of Modern Europe, with particular focus on Western and Central Europe.
Content: This course examines the social, political, cultural, and economic development of Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During this period Europe and Europeans rose to international dominance through industrialization and vast overseas empires by 1900, then worked to reinvent themselves in the face of world wars, extreme governments, economic crises, the Cold War, and massive social upheavals.
Taught: Alternate years.
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 358: Public History and Historic Preservation
Goals: This course will survey the methods of public history and historical preservation.
Content: Students will gain an overview of the theoretical basis of public history and historical preservation, and will gain practical knowledge about researching, presenting, and interpreting public historical topics through a major project.
Taught: Alternate Years.
Prerequisite: None.
Credit: 3 hours.

HIS 377: Seminar in Women's History
Goal: To provide students with an in-depth exploration of a variety of important primary and secondary texts in women's history, and to teach students to engage competently in discussions of historical writing about women and gender.
Content: This course provides students with an in-depth examination of a particular theme, period, or region in women's history with emphasis on the variety of historical scholarship on that topic. The focus of each seminar will vary. Topics might include the history of motherhood, the history of sex workers, or the history of women entrepreneurs. This course may be repeated for credit once with a different topic.
Taught: Alternate years.
Gen. Ed. Category: Expanding; Women's Experiences, (SBS).
Credit: 3 hours; cross-listed as WST 377.

HIS 480: Senior Research Seminar
Goal: To provide a capstone experience for majors in which students complete a significant research project in which they make connections among the various parts of their course of study and employ sound methodology.
Content: Each student will select and carry out a significant research project on a topic chosen in conjunction with the instructor. Students will present their research at a formal defense at the end of the semester. Students will also explore career options in the major.
Taught: Fall.
Prerequisite: POL 332 or HIS 399 or permission of instructor.
Credit: 3 hours.

 

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Rev. 09.15