Upper-Division Courses

A required course for history majors that provides an introduction to the discipline of history and how it is practiced by historians. Students will examine various types of evidence used by historians and the methods of analysis that they apply to construct historical arguments through primary document collection and analysis, review of historiography, and peer discussion.

Study of the exploration and colonization of North America by Spain, France, and Britain. Emphasis will be placed on interactions with Native Americans, the development of unique societies and political institutions, and a comparison of the establishment of the independent nations of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Examines the era of the American Revolution from 1750 through 1820. Special emphasis on the imperial politics and protests, the military, diplomatic, and political history of the war, and the political, economic, and foreign policy crises caused by the break from the British Empire.

This course will survey the major aspects of Plains Indian culture and history from the earliest archaeological evidence to the present day. Special emphasis will be given to traditional Plains Indian cultures and the interaction between Plains Indians and the U.S. culture and government in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Study of the US from the Jacksonian era through the Civil War to the emergence of a modern state.

This course covers the expansion of American borders, trade, and leadership from the colonial period to the British Empire, through the western and Pacific frontiers, and into the age of globalization following World War II. The course examines the causes of expansion, and the development of American society as influenced by its experience of broad-ranging expansion.

This course will examine key issues in American social and cultural history from the Jazz Age through the Great Depression and New Deal Era, to US involvement in World War II. Through texts, oral history, art, literature, and popular culture, the course will explore the effects of Depression and War on ordinary Americans.

Study of the causes and effects of the Cold War in American domestic and foreign affairs. Emphasis will be placed on social, cultural, economic, and political movements within the United States, as well as America's role in world events after World War II.

This course examines the history of American women from 1890 to the present. Special emphasis will be placed on the diversity of this group called "women" particularly by race and class, the construction of American gender ideologies, and women's participation in social reform movements of the twentieth century.

This course traces the history and development of American movements for social justice in the twentieth century. Examining race, gender, and class-based social inequalities, the course highlights individuals and organizations that have worked to correct social injustice throughout the past century. The course emphasizes cultural forms of protest (literature and art) in addition to social and political reform.

This course explores African American history from Reconstruction through the present. Highlighting important African American intellectuals and other leaders, the course explores the changing nature of race in America as well as the history of Civil Rights.

This course is designed to meet the American military history requirement for Army ROTC commissioning but is open to anyone interested in military history. Special attention will be given to battle analysis and the lessons learned from battle, the evolution of American warfare 1775 to present, the professionalization of the American military, and the place of the military in American history.

This course examines the political, social, cultural, religious and intellectual history of the ancient Mediterranean World. After a quick study of the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, this class proceeds through the Bronze Age, archaic, and classical Greece before finishing with the most stable of ancient civilizations, Rome.

Using primary texts(including martyrdom accounts, inquisition records, and biographies of medieval men and women) and works by leading medievalists, this course examines the relationship between religion and culture by studying changing notions of sanctity and heresy in the medieval West.

A broad study of the history of Medieval Europe, from St. Augustine to the Hundred Years' War, with special emphasis on politics and culture.

What role did the crusades play in the history of Europe and the broader Mediterranean World? Why did so many Christians go on crusade? How did Muslims understand the crusading movement? How did the idea of crusade evolve over time? We will consider these questions,the evolution of the crusading movement as well as its modern legacy.

This course will examine European history from 1500 to 1688. This period runs from the Reformation to the birth of the modern state system. Special emphasis on intellectual, artistic, and cultural developments as well as the theological and military transformations in European life during this time.

Course covers the history of Europe between England's Glorious Revolution in 1688 and the French Revolution of 1789. Special focus on the personalities and ideas of the Enlightenment and their influence on European governments and politics.

Study of the major personalities, institutions, and movements which shaped the modernization of Europe in the century after 1815, as the region changed under the impact of economic and political revolutions.

A broad study of the European continent from 1900 to the revolutions of 1989 and their aftermath, emphasizing the political, social, and cultural significance of the century's major events.

Study of the varying political forms of German life over the past two centuries with emphasis on the war and the Nazi dictatorship.

Study of the major political, social, economic, and cultural forces since the Revolution of 1789 with emphasis on the intellectual ideas and governmental issues shaping modern France.

Study of Japan since approx 1800. Emphasis on the political, social, intellectual, and cultural developments of Japan from the last decades of the Tokugawa Shogunate through the country's economic dominance and stagnation in the late 20th century.

This course will focus on the historic social, economic, and political development and diplomatic relations of the United States and the nations of the Pacific Rim from roughly 1500 to the present. Major emphasis will be given to the geopolitical struggles over time between the United States and the Spanish and British empires, Japan, China, and Russia.

The name Cuba evokes a broad range of images and emotions. This class will examine Cuban history from the 19th century to the present including slavery, independence, US intervention, the Cuban Revolution, Castro, exiles, and the "Special Period" utilizing a variety of sources to trace the trajectory of Modern Cuban history.

This course will trace the principal economic, social, cultural, and political transformations in Mexico from pre-contact to present. The class will explore the trajectory of modern Mexican history including conquest, resistance, independence, US intervention, the revolution, tourism, immigration, and the "Drug Wars."

Bull fighting to baseball, Ricky Ricardo to Ricky Martin, Salsa Dancing to Chips and Salsa, Latin America's history is filled with a cornucopia of sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences. This course explores the contours of modern Latin American history--nationalism, imperialism, borderlands, transculturalism, and hybridity-- through the lens of pop culture.

This course will examine the exploitation of natural resources in modern global society, from the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution to the modern day. Special emphasis is placed on the intersection of technology, culture, and the environment in modern life.

This course will examine the role disease, medicine, and culture have played in human history from ancient times to the 20th century. Areas of particular focus will include major epidemics, the rise of germ theory, and the intersection between economic development and human health.

Course examines the emergence of modern urbanization in various parts of the world from approximately 1800 to the present emphasizing similarities and differences in urban development across countries and cultures. Course addresses the built environment of cities as well as the political, social, and economic forces that have shaped urbanization and their effects.

World War I from the geopolitical background to the peace settlements. The global conflict from military, political, economic, and cultural perspectives. Includes discussion of the Easter Rising in Ireland, the Russian revolutions of 1917, and the fragmentation of the Middle East.

Study of World War II from immediate causes to Cold War conclusions with a balanced treatment of military, political and social (Homefront) events and issues.

Study of Europe from 1600 to approximately 1815 with emphasis on absolutism in France, constitutionalism in England, the emergence of Prussia and Russia, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution. (Salzburg only.)

Study of special topics in British history. 

At its height, the British Empire controlled a quarter of the world and a fifth of the world's population while dominating most of the major waterways. From the victory over Napoleon at Waterloo to the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 we will study the means of acquisition, cultural diversity, and the lasting impact of British institutions and the English language around the world.

From William of Orange and James II at the Battle of the Boyne to Wellington and Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, The British and French engaged in a global rivalry that determined the fates of North America and India, while giving the British worldwide naval supremacy.

This course will focus on the emergence and development of modern Irish and Irish-American cultural identities: What does it mean to be Irish? This course will mix lectures, group discussions, and research (by groups and individuals) to examine the military, political, economic, social, religious, and intellectual developments that have shaped the contrasting versions of Irish identity.