100 Level Courses
HI 103C - Medieval Europe Credits: 4
The formation of Europe: from the breakdown of Roman political authority in the West in the fourth century to the rise of national states and their conflicts in the fourteenth. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.)
E. Bastress-Dukehart
HI 105 - Nineteenth-Century Europe: Ideology and Revolution Credits: 3
An intensive examination of the revolutions in economics, politics, and society in Europe from 1789 to 1914. Emphasis on the French and industrial revolutions; the rise in nationalism, liberalism, socialism, imperialism, and the women’s movement; international rivalry and diplomacy culminating in World War I. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.)
M. Hockenos
HI 110 - The British Empire: An Introduction Credits: 3
An introductory survey of the British Empire from its earliest beginnings in the sixteenth century through decolonization in the post-World War II era. Focuses on the political, economic, cultural, and ecological causes and consequences of British overseas expansion. Topics include the ecological and biological impact of British imperialism; Elizabethan commercial expansion; the plantings of Ireland; early settlements in the New World and the impact on indigenous peoples; the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the plantation system in the Caribbean; the American Revolution and the end of the first British Empire; the ideologies of the British Raj in India; the “New Imperialism” of the late nineteenth century and the “scramble for Africa”; the transfer of technology and culture; decolonization; and the contemporary legacy of empire.
(Fulfills cultural diversity and social sciences requirements.)
T. Nechtman
HI 142 - Introduction To Modern China Credits: 3
An introductory survey of the major political, economic, and social developments in China, from the foundation of the last imperial dynasty in 1644 to the present. Emphasis is on the major stages of the revolution, from the Opium War to the present. (Designated a non-Western culture course; fulfills social sciences requirement.)
TBA
The formation of Europe: from the breakdown of Roman political authority in the West in the fourth century to the rise of national states and their conflicts in the fourteenth. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.)
E. Bastress-Dukehart
HI 105 - Nineteenth-Century Europe: Ideology and Revolution Credits: 3
An intensive examination of the revolutions in economics, politics, and society in Europe from 1789 to 1914. Emphasis on the French and industrial revolutions; the rise in nationalism, liberalism, socialism, imperialism, and the women’s movement; international rivalry and diplomacy culminating in World War I. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.)
M. Hockenos
HI 110 - The British Empire: An Introduction Credits: 3
An introductory survey of the British Empire from its earliest beginnings in the sixteenth century through decolonization in the post-World War II era. Focuses on the political, economic, cultural, and ecological causes and consequences of British overseas expansion. Topics include the ecological and biological impact of British imperialism; Elizabethan commercial expansion; the plantings of Ireland; early settlements in the New World and the impact on indigenous peoples; the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the plantation system in the Caribbean; the American Revolution and the end of the first British Empire; the ideologies of the British Raj in India; the “New Imperialism” of the late nineteenth century and the “scramble for Africa”; the transfer of technology and culture; decolonization; and the contemporary legacy of empire.
(Fulfills cultural diversity and social sciences requirements.)
T. Nechtman
HI 142 - Introduction To Modern China Credits: 3
An introductory survey of the major political, economic, and social developments in China, from the foundation of the last imperial dynasty in 1644 to the present. Emphasis is on the major stages of the revolution, from the Opium War to the present. (Designated a non-Western culture course; fulfills social sciences requirement.)
TBA
200 Level Courses
HI 203 - Rise of Athens Credits: 3A study of Greece with a focus on Athens from the Mycenaean age to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Students examine the heroic age, the development of the city-state, the origins of democracy, the nature of imperialism, intellectual and cultural achievements, economic conditions, and family life. Special emphasis is given to the study of the ancient sources: literary, historiographic, archaeological, and numismatic.
(Fulfills social sciences requirement.)
M. Arnush
HI 210 - The Four Kingdoms Credits: 3
What does it mean to be English, Scottish, Irish, or Welsh? This course explores the interactive histories of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and investigates each of the four kingdoms as categories of geopolitical meaning and imagined communities of individuals, seeking to understand the place that each played in the history of the geographic space we now call “the British Isles.” In confronting the disparities between the myth, legend, and history in all of the four kingdoms, and the relationships forged between them, students in the course challenge the boundaries of historical inquiry marking “domestic” history as something apart from “imperial” history and seek ultimately to define what being “British” means to those living in each of the four kingdoms. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.)
T. Nechtman
HI 217 - Topics In History Credits: 3
Topically organized courses based on problems and issues of special interest at the introductory level. The specific themes to be examined will vary from year to year. Recent offerings include “An Introduction to U.S. Environmental History” and “Vietnam War.”
This course with a different topic may be repeated for credit. When offered as “American Indian History”, fulfills cultural diversity requirement. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.)
HI 217 002– American Colonial History Credits: 3
This course explores the complex and contested history of colonization in North America. We will focus on a number of central themes, including contact and conflict among different peoples, the ongoing contest among European and indigenous powers for domination of the continent, the critical importance of slavery in crafting the North American colonial experience, the rich cultural diversity that defined colonial life, and the trans-Atlantic realities that paved the way for the American Revolution. In the end, we will consider how colonization ultimately defined the North American history in profound and lasting ways.
Eric Morser
HI 217 003 – Islamic History and Institutions Credits: 3
We will explore the rise and spread of Islam, and the evolution of Islamic norms and institutions, in historical context. We will look at scholarly and spiritual movements, schisms and sectarianism, relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, politics and religion, organization and patterns of social life in the first millennium of Islam (seventh-sixteenth centuries). We will also venture into discussions of the present-day implications and forms of the medieval foundations of Islam.
Daniella Talmon
HI 217C 001 – U.S. History Since 1961 Credits: 4
An examination of U.S. political, cultural, and economic history from the election of John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. Topics include: civil rights, Vietnam, the New Left and counterculture, the rise of the Right, deindustrialization, the end of the Cold War, the rise of “diversity” and multiculturalism, Clinton era, and Bush. The fourth hour component will consist of features films that other historical insight into these topics.
Jennifer Delton
HI 229W - War and Peace In 20th Century Latin America Credits: 4
Examines the social, economic, political, and intellectual causes and consequences of important internal and international wars in 20th century Latin America. The course will consider cases of successful and unsuccessful attempts to achieve political change ranging from the Mexican Revolution to Central America’s road from war to peace in the 1980s and 1990s, to U.S. interventions in the Caribbean and military dictatorships in South America. Why certain sectors promote war, the justifications of war, why others choose to instigate or participate in conflict and violence, what conditions are required to consider a conflict concluded, what factors (internal and international, ethnic, religious, gender, etc.) shape specific conflicts, are principal questions. (Designated a Cultural Diversity course.)
J. Dym
HI 275 - Introduction To The History Major Credits: 1
An introduction to the aims of the history major.
A prerequisite for the Colloquium. Required of all majors and interdepartmental majors, to be taken in the sophomore or junior years. Open to non-majors with permission of instructor.
J. Delton
300 Level Courses
HI 302R - The High Middle Ages Credits: 4European civilization: 1100-1400. Special emphasis on the Renaissance of the twelfth century; the rediscovery of Aristotle; the thought of Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham; the Roman Church at its height; the breakdown of Christian unity.
Courses on the 300-level are open to sophomores only with permission of instructor.
E. Bastress-Dukehart
HI 306C - The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789-1815 Credits: 4
A study of the causes and course of the Revolution in France, the reign of Napoleon, and the effects of the Revolution and Napoleon on other European states.
Prerequisites One college course in European history or political thought.
Courses on the 300-level are open to sophomores only with permission of instructor.
M. Hockenos
HI 324R - Civil War and Reconstruction Credits: 4
Division and reunification, 1840-1877. This course will examine the importance of sectionalism, the breakdown of national institutions, the revolutionary impact of the war, and the dilemmas attending reconciliation. Special attention will be given to the role of race in shaping popular attitudes and public policy before, during, and after the war.
Courses on the 300-level are open to sophomores only with permission of instructor.
E. Morser
HI 363 - Topics In Asian History Credits: 3
Topically organized courses based on problems and issues of special interest at the advanced level. The specific themes to be examined will vary from year to year. Recent offerings include “The Historian as Detective,” “Utopias and Science Fiction,” and “The Fifties.”
This course with a different topic may be repeated for credit. Courses on the 300-level are open to sophomores only with permission of instructor.
TBA
HI 363R 001 – Colonial Spanish America Credits: 4
This discussion-based course explores Spanish American conquests, colonization and institutions from initial encounters between Europeans and Native Americans in the sixteenth century to the Bourbon Reforms of the eighteenth century. Drawing from select secondary sources and primary sources that present the perspectives of Native Americans, Africans and Europeans, we will seek to understand the political, cultural, economic, legal and intellectual underpinnings of the multiethnic societies that formed and the reasons why, by the early nineteenth century, many would seek political independence from the metropolis. The Atlantic context--notably the parallels and differences between British, French, Spanish and Portuguese imperialisms--will also be considered. Students will develop research skills and write a 15-20 page research paper using primary sources--poems, novels, letters, royal orders, travel accounts, images, maps etc.--that engage a key theme in the course.
J. Dym