History
Faculty: Professor S. Chaney (coordinator) and Assistant Professor Kieffer
The history program offers students the opportunity to study the major institutions, ideologies, philosophies, politics, culture, social features, religious beliefs, and the art and literature contributing to the development of the United States, and European and world societies. An informed awareness of historical developments will prepare students for a diverse range of careers as well as for lives of action and contribution in contemporary society. Students’ learning goals in the history program involve three principle areas: critical thinking skills, communication skills, and material knowledge.
Degrees and Certificates
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Bachelor of Arts in History -
History Minor -
Certificate in Public History
Courses
HIS/ENV 320: American Environmental History
Credits 3An analysis of changing perceptions and uses of the environment in the United States from pre-contact time to the present. Emphasis is placed on examples of sustainability and conservation practice. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.
HIS 111: United States History to 1877
Credits 3Survey of the development of United States from its colonial origins to the end of Reconstruction.
HIS 112: United States History Since 1877
Credits 3Survey of development of United States from Reconstruction to present.
HIS 131: World History to 1500
Credits 3A survey of major developments in world history from ancient times to 1500. Emphasis is placed on the rise and fall of major civilizations and empires, the emergence and spread of enduring faiths and philosophies, and the evolution of regional and global networks that dispersed crops, diseases, technologies, and ideas.
HIS 132: World History Since 1500
Credits 3A survey of major developments in world history from 1500 to 1950. Emphasis is placed on the expansion and contraction of empires in Africa, Asia, Americas, Europe, and Middle East and on the origins and consequences of the French, Atlantic, Russian, and industrial revolutions and of the two world wars.
HIS 133: The World Since 1945
Credits 3A survey of developments in world history since the end of World War Two. Emphasis is placed on the global Cold War and its many consequences, decolonization and social justice movements in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, tensions in the Middle East, and challenges in the post-Cold War world.
HIS 150: Introduction to Historical Methods
Credits 3How do historians know what they know? This course will introduce the field of history and its methods. Students will learn to identify and utilize primary and secondary sources and develop their own original research project.
HIS 199: Internship
Credits 1HIS 202: Twentieth-Century Europe
Credits 3A survey of major developments in twentieth-century Europe. Special attention is given to social and cultural trends, the cataclysmic effects of two world wars, competing democratic, communist, and fascist ideologies, the Cold War division of Europe, the collapse of European and Soviet empires, and challenges for the European Union.
HIS 211: History of Women in the United States
Credits 3Survey of women in the United States from colonial to modern times. Introduces political, social, religious and economic factors that influenced women's roles in and contributions to U.S. society.
HIS 245: The Holocaust
Credits 3An in-depth examination of the persecution and attempted annihilation of European Jews and other targeted groups by Nazi Germans and their collaborators during World War Two. Topics covered include Antisemitism, Nazi ideology and policy, the Final Solution in its wartime context, and postwar legacies of the Holocaust.
HIS 255: Early Modern Europe, 1350-1700
Credits 3A survey of major developments in Europe between 1350 and 1700. Emphasis is placed on the Renaissance, the Reformation and wars of religion, interaction with the Ottoman Empire, conquest of empires in the Americas, and European rivalries. The rise of Western science and the emergence of the modern state will also be examined.
HIS 260: Modern European History, 1700-1900
Credits 3A survey of major developments in Europe between 1700 and 1900. Emphasis is placed on the Enlightenment, French Revolution and Napoleonic Era, revolutionary movements of the 1820s-1840s, socio-economic changes in industrial production, the emergence of ideologies such as socialism, liberalism, and nationalism, and competition for empires in Africa and Asia.
HIS 340: Genocide in History
Credits 3A comparative examination of genocides in history, with emphasis on examples from the twentieth century. The course explores the context in which genocides have occurred over the ages and also devotes attention to efforts in modern times to seek justice after the mass violence.
HIS 345: Modern Political Revolutions
Credits 3An examination of the origins, anatomy, and short and long-term consequences of several major world revolutions since 1750 that sought to completely transform the political, social, economic and ideological aspects of society. Emphasis is placed on the French, Bolshevik, anti-colonial, and Iranian revolutions.
HIS 350: Advanced Historical Methods
Credits 3This junior-level course, required of all history majors, emphasizes the skills, standards, and ethics required in practicing History. Students hone their ability to locate and analyze sources, prepare notes and bibliographies, formulate and engage historical arguments, and write and present historical research. It is a pre-requisite for HIS 490.
HIS 355: Readings in History
Credits 3This course allows students to immerse themselves in the history of a region, time period, specific person, or major event of interest to them. They will create a bibliography, read extensively, and regularly share their findings with the class.
HIS 490: Capstone Research Project in History
Credits 3The senior capstone in history, required of all majors, involves completing a research project proposal and a substantial research essay on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with a history faculty mentor. The essay should demonstrate advanced historical methods and be formally presented to the campus community.
WGS/HIS 211: History of Women in the United States
Credits 3Survey of women in the United States from colonial to modern times. Introduces political, social, religious and economic factors that influenced women's roles in and contributions to U.S. society.
WGS/HIS 330: Women's Suffrage Movement
Credits 3In this course students will explore the leaders of the “Votes for Women” movement in the United States and their methods, 1848-1920. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.