HIST103 - World Civilization I

Beginning with prehistory, this course explores early civilizations and then follows developments in a global context, showing interconnections between Asia, Africa, and Europe. Emphasis is placed on cultural, social, economic, religious, and political developments.

HIST104 - World Civilization II

This course emphasizes themes of interrelatedness and mutuality of influence between East and West. Internal as well as external developments are explored. Questions of exclusiveness, intolerance, and cooperation are examined.

HIST105 - History of Human Rights

This course surveys the complicated history of Human Rights from its origins to the modern era. Emphasis is on the historical forces, movements, and events, especially in the last three centuries, that have moved this concept from the realm of intellectual theory and conjecture to practical implementation and application. This course may also touch on some of the major philosophical, ethical, and moral questions intertwined with Human Rights.

HIST123 - American Civilization I

This course examines the chief political, social, and cultural features of American society as they have developed through the period of Reconstruction. Emphasis is on Colonial America, the War of Independence, the Constitution, and the emergence of the Republic through the Civil War.

HIST124 - American Civilization II

This course is a continuation of HIST 123 from the period of Reconstruction to the present. Emphasis is on reconstruction, industrializa­tion, immigration, constitutional issues, and the emergence of American foreign policy. There is some examination of American political life in the nuclear age.

HIST203 - The History of Women in U.S.

This course explores the social history of women in the United States, beginning in the colonial period and ending with an examination of twen­tieth century issues. Emphasis is on the image of women held during these periods, in contrast to actual conditions. Contributions of women to social change and the growth of women’s move­ments are also analyzed. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST204 - Recent American History

This course focuses on the presidencies beginning with Kennedy to the present. Work is divided roughly into three areas: foreign affairs; domestic politics; economic, social, and cultural needs. Topics range from the Vietnam War to the Iraq War, the weakening of Congress and the expansion of the presidency, the women's movement, changes in popular culture, and domestic economic developments. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST207 - African American History

This course explores the history of African Americans in the United States from their African beginnings to the present. It traces the lives and status of African Americans, enslaved and emancipated, as they confronted the barriers of legal, institutional, and cultural prejudices; examines the socioeconomic and political experiences of blacks in America; and investigates strategies of accommodation, resistance, and protest in the struggle of African Americans to gain human and first-class citizenship rights. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST208 - Sub-Saharan Africa after 1800

This survey of sub-Saharan African history explores the ongoing story of African political, social, and economic developments from the post trans-Atlantic slave trade period to the present. The course includes treatment of the impact of European merchants, missionaries, and adventurers on Africa from the time immediately preceding imperialism and colonialism up through the emergence of nationalism and decolonization and liberation movements. The new nation-states, their post-colonial economies, and their developing systems of justice, education, and rule are investigated. Finally, topics such as soil erosion, disease, conservation, famine, and Africa’s relationships with the wider world are discussed. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST209 - China from 1600 to Present

This course is a survey of modern Chinese history from the founding of the Qing Dynasty in the seventeenth century to Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms of the 1990s. Special attention will be paid to modernization, Western and Japanese imperialism in China, and the rise of Communism under Mao Zedong. In addition to learning about important milestones in Chinese history, students will also be introduced to aspects of Chinese art, culture, and women's issues through primary sources translated into English. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST210 - Latin Amer Colonial Period to Present

This survey looks at Latin American history from pre-Columbian to contemporary times. Emphasis is on native cultures, the “discovery” of the New World, European presence, colonialism, imperialism, the creation of the peasantry, wars of independence, the formation of nation-states, the role of the military, slavery and racism, development and underdevelopment, the Catholic Church, liberation theology, poverty, and revolution. Major emphasis in South America is on Argentina, Columbia, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, and the Portuguese speaking nation of Brazil. The course also includes examination of foreign intervention and inner instability in Mexico, including struggles for democracy, economic rights, and social justice. In the Hispanic Caribbean and Central America, especially, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, land and labor systems, gender relations, race and ethnicity, and varied forms of rule are discussed. This is a writing intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST211 - Middle East & Islamic World Since 1800

This course looks at the Middle East and its relations with the wider world, from the appearance of Napoleon to the present. Topics include attempts at reform and modernization in the Ottoman Empire; the impact of Western imperialism on the region as a whole; and twentieth-century developments in the area, including nationalism, pan-Arabism, pan-Islamism, the cult of the personality, coup, revolution, Zionism, and the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. The economic and social impact of oil, the influence of fundamentalism, and the Great Power rivalry down through the position of the United States toward the area are investigated. The efforts of Iran to gain acceptance in/by the contemporary world is examined, as is the shifting attitude of Egypt toward modernity. Finally, connections between the region and the rest of the Islamic world are explored. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST212 - Mod Japan: Culture & History

This course is a survey of Japan's modernization from the fall of the "warring states" period to the economic bubble of the 1980s. Special attention will be paid to the contributions of the "early modern" Tokugawa Shogunate, the Meiji period of cultural borrowing from the West, and the cultural nationalism of the Japanese empire until 1945. In addition to learning about important milestones in Japanese history, students will be introduced to aspects of Japanese art and culture through a variety of primary and secondary sources and film clips. This is a presentation-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST216X - Ancient Greece & Rome

This course reviews how ancient Greece and Rome established the social, economic, political, and cultural foundations of Western civilization. Topics will include the ideas about government and politics, art and architecture, and literature and philosophy that originated in ancient Greece and spread throughout the Roman empire. This course satisfies the Area of Inquiry-Historical [AI(H)].

HIST217X - Childhood & Human Rights

This Connected Learning Experience is designed to continue students’ development along the Core Curriculum by demonstrating in an inquiry-based way the nature of integrative learning. As such, this team-taught, multidisciplinary course will focus on the concepts of childhood and human rights from the following perspectives: historical, criminal justice, social justice, and moral and ethical. The topics to be explore are manifold, ranging from human trafficking of children for sexual exploitation to other crimes against children like forced soldiering and labor. Although this course is a pilot for the proposed Core Curriculum, it will satisfy the following Areas of Inquiry in our current general education curriculum: Historical and Moral/Ethical.

HIST218 - Global History of Childhood

This course introduces students to how cultural ideas about childhood and childrearing have changed over time. Using Western history as a departure point, the course will compare and contrast key topics of childhood, such as child labor and child rights, in various cultures. This is primarily a discussion seminar, in which students present and discuss a variety of academic readings. There is also a service-learning component. This is a presentation-intensive course. Prerequisite: HIST 103, HIST 104, HIST 123, HIST 124, or permission of instructor.

HIST220X - Romantic Europe in the 19th Century

Historians have long disputed over the value of "periodization." There has also been considerable disdain shown for typical chronology. The notion of "long" and "short" centuries has gained currency over the past half century. Our course will commence with the French Revolution and will run through the end of World War I. There is considerable support in current historiography for such an approach. The Revolution marked the end of the ancient regime and ushered in a time of creativity as well as contest over whether monarchy would survive or whether a new entity fueled by the ideology of nationalism, the nation-state, would replace traditional reigns.Prerequisite: ENG102 or any 100-level HIST course. This course satisfies the Area of Inquiry-Historical [AI(H)].Intergenerational.

HIST222X - Radicals: England & America 1550 - 1750

Radicals: England & America 1550 - 1750

HIST223 - Special Topics in History

In this course, a single topic in history is explored for the entire semester. Possible topics include Islamic civilization, India in the twentieth century, nationalism and imperialism in the last two centuries, United States and the world in the twentieth century, and the African American in the development of the United States. This course may be repeated for credit, as different special topics are offered. Prerequisite: 100 level history course or ENG102 with a C or better

HIST231 - Revolutions & Revolutionary Thought

This course provides an analysis of many types, facets, and styles of revolution, including political, cultural, and scientific meanings of the concept. The readings are taken from literature as well as from history and the social sciences. Prerequisite: a 100 level history course or ENG 102.

HIST233X - Great War in Literature & History

World War I, which took place from 1914-1918, is still known as the Great War because of its tremendous impact on the course of history and the lives of individuals. Many of the roots of the current Iraq War can be found in the repercussions of the Great War. And the horror of the war inspired many participants to write poetry, fiction and memoirs describing their experience. This course will investigate the causes, course, and effects of World War I through analysis of historical and literary texts.

HIST325 - The Intellectual Origins of Western Civ

This seminar traces the roots of modern western thought from ancient Greece through the Enlightenment by discussing and analyzing selections from the writings of major European thinkers. The seminar focuses on dominant figures representative of an historical epoch and examines their ideas in light of existing and future political, social, economic, and intellectual developments. Prerequisite: a 200 level history course or permission of instructor.

HIST327X - Intelluctual Origins of Eastern Civ

This seminar explores Eastern philosophy from ancient India, Classical China, and Medieval and Early Modern Japan by discussing and analyzing selections from Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian classics. The seminar examines these ideas in their historical context, and explores their continued influence on art, society and politics in India, China and Japan. Prerequisite: Any 200-level History course or permission of instructor. This course satisfies the Area of Inquiry-Multicultural [AI(MC)].

HIST330 - Europe & The World/ Age of Expansion

This course examines political, economic, social, scientific, and religious developments that contributed to European desire for land and power, and also to fantasies and phobias directed by European conquerors toward those whom they subdued and subjected to Western rule. The reaction toward the white Westerners on the part of those exploited is also explored. The period covered is from the mid-fifteenth century through the eighteenth century. Prerequisite: a 200 level history course or permission of instructor.

HIST337 - History of Everyday Life

This seminar introduces students to the work and methodologies of social and cultural historians. The main focus of these historians is on certain social groups, such as peasants, slaves, poor workers, and women, who have been seemingly powerless for much of history. This course explores the significant roles these groups have in fact had in the development of human history. In studying these roles, students gain a better understanding of the continuities and changes in daily life among ordinary people. Last, since this course takes a comparative approach, students develop a heightened consciousness of contemporary social and cultural structures. Prerequisite: a 200 level history course or permission of instructor.

HIST352 - Nature & Meaning of History

The first half of this course examines selective theories of history from Herodotus through Braudel. The second part investigates the historiography of a single topic according to student interest. Readings are selected to introduce the student to interpretive issues surrounding the selected topic. The perspectives of several practicing historians are considered. Students write a research paper. This course is intended for history majors and as a capstone course for history minors; it is open to others who have successfully completed at least three history courses and have the permission of the instructor. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: a 200 level history course and permission of instructor.

HIST401 - Tutorial in History

This capstone course focuses on research methodology and practice in history. The student must gain the written agreement of the faculty member who oversees the project. Each student defines a topic by the end of the first week of the semester. Subsequent weekly meetings address progress and problems enountered in research of the topic. The finished product is a substantial paper (ca. 30 pages) with full scholarly apparatus Prerequisite: Senior standing, History 352, History major.