200

HIS 201 The Historian's Craft

This course introduces undergraduate majors and minors to the exercise of thinking, researching and writing historically, focusing on the technical, methodological and theoretical skills that guide professional practice in diverse settings: museums, archives, secondary education and universities. Students will learn how to distinguish between evidence and interpretation and how to assess different kinds of evidence. Class meetings will sample representative fields, approaches and primary sources to provide the foundations for independent research in the capstone course.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 202 The United States to 1877

Surveys the cultural, political, social and economic developments in this country from the discovery of America through Reconstruction.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 203 The United States Since 1877

Surveys the urbanization and industrialization of the nation and its rise to world power.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 205 Indians/Native Americans of North America

A study of North American Indian history and culture from pre-contact times to the present. Covers Native American contributions to civilization; wars, removals and forced assimilation; and modern political activism.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 206 Slavery and Racism in the Early Americas: A Comparative Perspective

A study of the development of slavery and relations between European Americans and African Americans in British, Spanish, and Portuguese America from the beginning of European settlement in the New World until the abolition of slavery in the mid-19th century.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 212 Witchcraft and Magic in the Early Modern Atlantic World

A study of the development of witchcraft accusations, beginning with continental Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries and continuing with the later scares in England and New England. Particular emphasis will be given to international comparisons and to the changing social, cultural and economic positions of women.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

HIS 214 Russia's Modern Centuries

This course surveys the political, economic, social, intellectual, cultural and diplomatic history of Russia in the Imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet periods.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS) (W)

HIS 215 Women in American History

A survey of women's accomplishments, lifestyles, changing image and struggle for equality and recognition from colonial times to the present.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS) (W)

HIS 217 China's Modern Centuries

This course surveys the interplay between China and the outside world from before the Opium War through the late Imperial period, early Republic, Nationalist regime, Japanese invasion, Nationalist-Communist civil war, and the People's Republic, to the present.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS) (W)

HIS 218 History of the Islamic World

A study of Muslims in world history from the 7th to the 21st centuries. This course explores the history of Islamic societies and of Muslims in local and global contexts, including the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia, and the West. The course addresses selected topics such as politics and statecraft; religious and cultural traditions and varieties; gender roles; and the challenges and choices that Muslim societies and individuals have faced in classical, early modern, and modern times. Materials include film, fiction and political writing as well as primary historical documents and secondary history textbooks.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 220 Introduction to African History

An exploration of the history of Africa from the rise of the great Sahel empires to the struggle for independence from European imperialism, with an emphasis on the period from 1500 to 1975. Major topics include the role of Islam, colonialism, nationalist movements, Pan-Africanism, decolonization and the challenges facing newly independent states and societies.


Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 221 Japan's Modern Centuries

This course surveys Japanese history from the coming of the Western gunboats in the 1850s through the Meiji restoration, the early development of international trade and democracy, the rise of militarism in the 1930s, World War II, the American Occupation, the economic "miracle" and the troubled 2000s.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS) (W)

HIS 225 The Age of the Civil War

A study of mid-19th century America, with particular emphases on the political developments, changing regional economies, patterns of interracial, interethnic and interclass relationships, as well as the course of military events during the Civil War.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 227 Traditional China

This course covers an examination and analysis of traditional Chinese history.

Credit Hours: 4
(NW) (SS)

HIS 228 Traditional Japan

This course examines the history of Japan from its pre-historical origins until the rise of modern Japan in the mid-nineteenth century. Special focus is given to indigenous Japanese beliefs, the influence of Chinese political and social values on Japanese life, Buddhist religious culture, the military ethos of the samurai, and the material cultural and attistic achievements of the Tokugawa period. In addition to a conventional textbook, literature and film are used to immerse students in the worldviews of traditional Japan. Group work and collaborative learning is emphasized. 

Credit Hours: 4
(NW) (SS)

HIS 229 History of Sexuality

This course surveys major trends and turning points in the history of sexuality since 1500. We will examine the governing regimes (legal, religious, medical, etc.) that defined sexual behavior and reproductive practices in mainland North America, paying particular attention to the changing relationship between sexual regulation and politics over time. The course will also explore the ways that official pronouncements differed from the actual practices and perceptions of ordinary woman and men. We will ask how factors such as race and ethnicity, class, and gender shaped sexual understandings and behavior.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 260 The Holocaust

This course covers the abuse and systematic extermination by the Nazis and their collaborators of millions of Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and other peoples of Europe. It deals with Germany and other parts of Europe under Nazi domination.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS) (W)

HIS 275 The Civil Rights Movement

This course focuses on the struggle for racial equality and freedom in the American South after World War II. It also helps students comprehend this struggle within the broader context of post-Civil War American race relations.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 290-299 Special Studies

Special courses are offered each year.

Credit Hours: 2-4
(SS)

HIS 296 America and Vietnam

An examination and analysis of America's role in the Vietnam Conflict.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)