History (HIS)
Culture, Society and the Mind
Global Studies Department
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HIS 101—United States History 1
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of the major social, political, economic, and intellectual developments that shaped American history from the Age of Discovery through the close of the Civil War. Topics may include the emergence of the slave trade; race, class, and gender in the colonial and early National eras; the struggle for American independence; the development of the Early American Republic; territorial expansion; and the coming of the American Civil War. Special attention will be paid to the topics of diversity, agency, political participation, and the development of systems and institutions. Students will also be introduced to historiography and historical methodology. Fulfills Category A. (G4A)
HIS 102—United States History 2
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of the major social, political, economic, and intellectual developments that shaped American history from the Reconstruction Era through Modern Day. Topics may include the emergence of the surveys the Reconstructions Era within the context of the 13, 14, and 15 Amendments, their impacts and interpretations; race, class, and gender in the in the close of the Nineteenth Century as well as in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries; the change from an agrarian to an industrial society, immigration, and the labor movement. An assessment of twentieth century/twenty-first century U.S. participation in world events, as well as the balance of power between the superpowers and Third World nations are included. The Civil Rights Movement, as well as other various social movements will be discussed. Special attention will be paid to the topics of diversity, agency, political participation, and the development of systems and institutions. Students will also be introduced to historiography and historical methodology. Fulfills category A. Fulfills Category A. (G4A)
HIS 107—Diversity and Inclusion: The American Experience
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course is about experiences and is presented as a social history of diversity and inclusion in the United States. As such, it seeks to accomplish two tasks. First, it seeks to provide students with a deeper understanding of the historical, political, cultural, and theoretical bases of diversity, inclusion and exclusion. Second, and more importantly, the course aims to have students (re)consider the history of the United States from the perspective of groups traditionally excluded, marginalized or written out of the American narrative. We will also seek to recognize those actors, movements, and forces who have worked toward inclusion. Fulfills Category A or Fulfills Category E. (G4A, G6A)
HIS 121—World History 1
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course serves as an introduction to the historical and cultural heritage bequeathed to us from the societies of the ancient Near East, Greece, Rome, Africa, the Americas, and the ancient civilizations of eastern and southern Asia. Our primary focus will be on the acquisition of the basic skills needed to evaluate, analyze, and understand the principle events and the most important historical figures of these periods. We will also become familiar with the essential chronology, geography, and the political/social institutions of the various societies we will encounter. While the structure of the course is essentially chronological, our main emphasis will be on several key themes that will guide our exploration of Western history. These themes are: 1) the relationship between society and notions of the divine world, 2) the relationship between society and the natural world, 3) the forms and varieties of political, social, military, and religious organization, 4) the shaping of individual and collective identity, and 5) the interaction and competition between states, religious authorities, and/or cultures. We will also gain some familiarity with the variety of sources – both material and literary – from which historians construct interpretations of the past. We will learn how to evaluate, analyze, and interpret those historical sources. There are no prerequisites for this course, although an interest in history, healthy curiosity, and a willingness to think carefully about these societies and cultures would be an advantage. Regular attendance, participation and a commitment to complete reading assignments, quizzes, papers, and exams is essential. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 122—World History 2
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course traces major developments in World History since 1500, including European expansion, colonialism and imperialism and the responses of other peoples and regions, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and other social upheavals, liberalism, nationalism and socialism, World War I, World War II, the Cold War and de-colonization, and contemporary economic, social and environmental crises and responses up to the present time. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 203—History of African-Americans
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course offers a survey of the history of Africans and African-Americans in the British North American colonies and the United States, from the beginnings of the forced migration of enslaved Africans to the Americas to the present day. The course will address the many political, cultural, social, labor, and literary events and movements that shaped African and African-Americans, & that Africans & African Americans helped to shape. Fulfills Category A. (G4A)
HIS 204—The American Civil War and Reconstruction
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course will examine American history from the mid-1840s to the late 1870s, with a primary focus on the Civil War and Reconstruction. Emphasis will be placed on issues of race, gender, politics, economics, society, and military matters. The institution of slavery will be analyzed in the context of the section rift it caused among the American population and how it was a major factor in bringing about the Civil War. In addition, the Reconstruction Era as well as the impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments in the United States and what that meant—and didn’t mean—for the American people will be explored. Fulfills Category A. (G4A, G6A)
HIS 205—Science, Technology, and Society
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course is an introduction to the histories of science and technology and their relationships to global society. Emphasis is placed on the interactions among science and technology and the corresponding economic, social, and political developments rather than on the internal histories of science and technology. Fulfills Category D.
HIS 219—Ancient Asia
3 cr.
(Spring)
This course provides a historical introduction to the ancient civilizations of India, China, and Japan. The great empires and dynasties of these countries will be explored along with the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions that developed in ancient India, China, and Japan. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 220—Modern East Asia: China, Japan and Korea
3 cr.
(Fall)
A study of the histories of China, Japan and Korea, focusing on the modern period. Topics include religion, social, political and cultural traditions and transformations, international relations and the role of these countries in our contemporary world. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 221—Modern India and Southeast Asia
3 cr.
(Spring)
A study of the histories of India and Southeast Asia in general with emphasis on the modern period. Topics include religion, social, political and cultural traditions and transformations, international relations and the role of this region in our contemporary world. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 222—The Middle East
3 cr.
(Fall-evening)
The course is a survey of Middle East civilizations. Emphasis is placed upon the major historical, cultural, social and political themes that form the basis for an understanding of the modern Arab world, Israel, and Iran. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 223—Latin American History
3 cr.
(Spring-evening)
A survey of pre-colonial and colonial Latin America, including discovery and conquest by the Europeans and the subsequent blending of the civilizations. Emphasis is given to cultural elements of the various races, to the period from 1800 to the present, and to the topics of nationalism and revolutions. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 224—Africa: Past and Present
3 cr.
(Fall-evening)
A study of the development of the African world from the earliest cultures to the emergence and problems of the modern African states. Close attention is paid to the influences of geography, indigenous cultural systems, and cultural exchanges between Africa and the rest of the world. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 230—The Greek and Roman World
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This class examines the history, culture, and significance of ancient Greece and Rome, from the first Neolithic villages in Greece and Italy through to the collapse of Roman political institutions. Particular attention will be paid to the formation and development of Greek and Roman political, social, military, and cultural institutions, such as the city-state, Athenian democracy, the Roman Republic and Principate, ancient theater, philosophy, warfare, and the origins and development of early Christianity. Along the way, we will gain considerable familiarity with the interpretation of a variety of sources – both material and literary. There are no prerequisites for this course, although an interest in history and culture, healthy curiosity, and a willingness to think carefully about human societies and cultures would be an advantage. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 231—Medieval and Renaissance Europe
3 cr.
(Spring)
This course serves as an introduction to the historical and cultural heritage bequeathed to us from the societies of Europe from the collapse of the Roman Empire (ca. 500) to the beginning of the European age of Discovery (ca. 1500). Our primary focus will be on the acquisition of the basic skills needed to evaluate, analyze, and understand the principle events and the most important historical figures of this period. We will also become familiar with the essential chronology, geography, and the political/social institutions of the various societies we will encounter. While the structure of the course is essentially chronological, our main emphasis will be on several key themes that will guide our exploration of medieval history. These themes are: 1) the growth and development of Christianity 2) the creation of “medieval” culture out of its Roman, Germanic, and Christian roots 3) the evolution of political and religious authority 4) the (re) shaping of individual and collective identity, and 5) the interaction and competition between the Catholic Church and secular authorities. We will also gain some familiarity with the variety of sources – both material and literary – from which historians construct interpretations of the past. We will learn how to evaluate, analyze, and interpret those historical sources. There are no prerequisites for this course, although an interest in history, healthy curiosity, and a willingness to think carefully about these societies and cultures would be an advantage. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)
HIS 232—The Age of Revolutions
3 cr.
(Fall)
This course examines the social, political, and economic revolutions that shook the Early Modern Atlantic World (c. 1450-1850) through the lenses of race, class and gender, and from the perspectives of those traditionally written out of the historical narrative. Focusing on topics of power, rights, inclusion, exclusion, and agency, the course will examine the ways in which common people shaped and experienced moments of upheaval and transformation. By exploring the histories and historiographies of revolutions, the course will consider the ways in which marginalized groups impacted and were impacted by existing and emerging structures of inequality, privilege, oppression, and opportunity. Fulfills Category D or Fulfills Category E. (G5A, G6A)
HIS 233—Modern Europe
3 cr.
(Fall/Spring)
This course is a survey of the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the European nations starting with the Congress of Vienna to the modern day. The changes in political, social, cultural, and economic events, inclusive of the industrialization of society, and the national, class, ethnic, race, and gender conflicts that dominated this time period, inclusive of their ideological aspects, will be explored. Some topics considered are nationalism, imperialism, Communism, Fascism, the two World Wars, the Cold War, the post USSR nations and a united Europe with an emphasis on humanity’s disillusionment with the promises of earlier generations. Students will also be introduced to historiography and historical methodology. Fulfills Category D. (G5A, G6A)
HIS 234—The History of Russia and Eastern Europe
3 cr.
(Fall-evening)
This course surveys Russian and Eastern European history from the late Roman Era to the present, including the migrations of Slavs, Hungarians, Jews, and others, tensions between Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christianity, the development of a distinctive Jewish culture and its eventual destruction in the Holocaust, the situation of other minorities such as the Roma (Gypsies), Tatars and Karaites, the effects of nationalism, wars and invasions on the region, and the rise and fall of the empires of Lithuania, Poland, Austria-Hungary, Tsarist Russia, and the Soviet Union, ending with the current state of post-Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe. Fulfills Category D. (G5A)