History

HIS105 Colonial America (3 semester hours)
Compares the concept and practice of empire in America by Spain, France, and England and the different types of English colonies as expressions of differing motives and cultures. Explores differences between the colonial and provincial experience as well as the development in concept and practice of the old British Empire. Concludes with an analysis of the causes and nature of the American Revolution and the problems associated with the founding of a nation.
No prerequisites

HIS110 Nineteenth Century America (3 semester hours)
Examines the evolution of the United States from a young republic in a rural, agricultural society to a mature democracy well on its way to becoming a major industrial and world power, including Jeffersonianism, Jacksonianism, western and foreign expansionism, slavery and the Civil War, the industrial revolution, urbanization, immigration, and social reform.
No prerequisites

HIS115 Twentieth Century America (3 semester hours)
Surveys the major political, social, economic, and cultural developments in the United States in the twentieth century, with special attention to twentieth-century political developments such as the growth in the power of the federal government, especially the presidency; economic problems and development, especially the Great Depression; the causes and consequences of two world wars; and the major social reform and liberation movements since Progressivism.
No prerequisites

HIS205 The American West (3 semester hours)
Investigates the legendary Old West of the 19th century, the West made famous in fiction, films, and television. Investigates the lives and contributions of the explorer, fur trapper and trader; the gold and silver miner and mining entrepreneur; the cattle king and cowboy; the settler and Native American; the lawman and outlaw; man and woman. Both the myth and the reality of the Old West are considered, as is the meaning of the Old West for the American then and now.
Prerequisites: A general background in American history is helpful.

HIS210 The African-American Experience (3 semester hours)
Surveys the history of the black experience in the U.S., tracing the history of African-Americans from their African origins through their struggle against slavery and segregation to the present drive for civil rights.
Prerequisites: A general background in American history is helpful.

HIS215 Women in American History (3 semester hours)
Investigates the history of American women from the colonial period to the present, including the changing definition and idea of womanhood and the family as reflections of changing socioeconomic conditions in the U.S. and the history of American women's struggle for equality.
Prerequisites: A general background in American history is helpful.

HIS250 The Ancient Mediterranean World (3 semester hours)
Surveys the political and cultural history of the ancient classical world from it earliest beginnings in the Near East to the close of the Roman Empire in the West (A.D. 476). Presents the ancient Mediterranean civilizations as forerunners of modern Europe and the Western world.
No prerequisites

HIS255 Medieval Europe (3 semester hours)
Considers the development of Europe from the close of the Roman Empire to the advent of the Renaissance, including the rise of medieval Europe with its distinctive ecclesiastical, economic, social, and cultural life; the challenge to that civilization by the forces behind the Renaissance and Reformation; and the effect of the medieval heritage on the emergence of modern Eu rope.
No prerequisites

HIS260 The Renaissance and Reformation (3 semester hours)
Investigates the religious, intellectual, social, economic, aesthetic and political forces at work in Europe from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries, the period of transition from the medieval to the modern world.
No prerequisites

HIS265 Age of Revolution and Nationalism (3 semester hours)
Analyzes the political, socioeconomic, and intellectual causes and consequences of the major nineteenth-century revolutions in Western Europe (starting with the 1789 French Revolution), as well as the rise of modern nationalism and imperialism, the industrialization/urbanization process as one of the major agents of social change in nineteenth-century Europe, and the modernizing forces that created Italy and Germany and transformed existing nation states.
No prerequisites

HIS270 Twentieth Century Europe (3 semester hours)
Surveys the political, social, economic, and cultural history of the major European powers in the twentieth century, with special attention to the causes and results of World Wars I and II, the rise and demise of fascism and communism, the European integration movement, and the building of a new Europe after the collapse of communism.
No prerequisites

HIS305 The Immigrant in Urban America (3 semester hours)
Investigates the immigrant experience in urban America, more specifically, the relationship between industrialization, urbanization, and the massive migration from Europe and Asia to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Examines the immigrant's role in the development of the American city and industry along with the role played by industrialization and urbanization in the acculturation of the immigrant. Also considers the immigration experience since World War II, comparing it with that of earlier waves of immigrants.
Prerequisites: A general background in American history is helpful.

HIS310 American Labor History (3 semester hours)
Examines the rise and development of the American worker and the American labor movement from the colonial period to the present, including the culture, values, and communities of American workers; the changing relationship between the labor movement and the federal government; and the special problems of labor since World War II.
Prerequisites: A general background in American history is helpful.

HIS340 Indians of the Americas (3 semester hours)
Examines the origin, development, and distinctive characteristics of the Native American cultures of North America; their conquest by Europeans and Americans; and their subsequent relations with the United States, including the nineteenth century wars. Also considers the high civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs, Incas, and others in Central and South America.
No prerequisites

HIS345 Latin American History (3 semester hours)
Examines the establishment of European power and civilization in Latin America, the wars for independence, and the major developments during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. International relations are also considered. Emphasizes major trends and developments in the various Latin American countries rather than the details of each of the present republics.
No prerequisites

HIS360 Russia Since 1600 (3 semester hours)
Investigates the chief features of Russia's political, social, and economic history since the advent of the Romanovs in 1618. Approximately one half of the course concentrates on developments since the Russian Revolution of 1917 and some consideration is given to the theory, practice, and collapse of communism.
Prerequisites: A general background in modern European history is helpful.

HIS365 Hitler and the Nazi Revolution (3 semester hours)
Examines the origins and development of European fascism; the nature of European fascism; the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party to power; Hitler's blueprint for the Nazi revolution (both in domestic and foreign affairs), and the extent to which it was fulfilled. Ends with World War II, the Holocaust, and the question of why Hitler's dream ultimately self-destructed.
Prerequisites: A general background in modern European history is helpful.

HIS370 History of the Middle East (3 semester hours)
Examines the rise of Islam and traces the major developments in the Middle East up to the present day, giving attention to both regional and national concerns. Major emphasis on the period after World War I.
No prerequisites

HIS375 The Far East (3 semester hours)
Examines the major political developments and personalities in the histories of China, Japan, and Korea during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with emphasis on the period from World War I to the present and on the impact upon these areas of the rise and demise of Western imperialism.
No prerequisites

HIS491 Historical Research (3 semester hours)
Examines the nature and definition of history and historical truth, tests of evidence, internal and external criticisms, research methodology, synthesis and skill in writing, schools of history, and tasks of the professional historian. It treats history as a liberal arts discipline and as a profession, and is designed to be useful both to those going on to graduate work and to those who will undertake no further formal study of history.
Prerequisites: Senior level course. For history majors only.