|
|
History, the written record of the past, serves as the memory of humanity, and provides society with a common frame of reference. The study of history presents a panoramic view of human behavior, enhancing our understanding of self and others. This is true whether one studies the Western or the non-Western world.
Introductory courses supply both intellectual enrichment and a foundation for not only other history courses, but also for other fields of study such as religion, philosophy, science, politics, literature, music, and the fine arts. Embedded in our History curriculum are practices designed to enhance a student’s ability to conceptualize, analyze, research, write and speak well.
Students majoring in history develop a unique historical mentality, including an understanding of an interpretive approach to their sources. By an open-minded yet critical examination of evidence, they progress to self-directed research and writing, mindful of pertinent methodologies and philosophies of history. Majors may apply historical skills and perspectives by participating in various internship and study-abroad opportunities.
Some History majors continue their education for careers in college teaching, library science, law, public administration and the ministry. Many of our majors graduate into careers in secondary education, working in archival or museum settings, others gain employment in community service enterprises, the government or business. Whichever choice a student makes, the study of history allows a student to engage in a variety of occupations, whether at home or abroad. And remember, history does not judge the past, historians do.
HISTORY MAJOR: 36 credit hours
Required Courses : 36 credit hours
HIST 110/114 - Western Civilization I (114-Honors section) (3 cr)
HIST 111/115 - Western Civilization II (115-Honors section) (3 cr)
HIST 120 - The American Experience to 1877 (3 cr)
HIST 121 - The American Experience since 1877 (3 cr)
HIST 251 - Methods and Philosophies of History (W) (3 cr)
HIST 490 - Senior Seminar (W) (3 cr)
One of the following courses:
HIST 300 - Revolutionary America (W) (3 cr)
HIST 303 - History of the American West (W) (3 cr)
HIST 305 - The Era of the American Civil War (3 cr)
HIST 315 - Recent U.S. History (3 cr)
One of the following courses:
HIST 201 - Dreaming the Middle Ages (3 cr)
HIST 324 - The Reformation (W) (3 cr)
HIST 325 - History of Modern Europe (3 cr)
HIST 345 - Ireland North and South (3 cr)
HIST 355 - Hitler and the Holocaust (3 cr)
*Where appropriate, and with departmental approval, a student may substitute an Interim course and/or another
listed history course for the major.
HISTORY MINOR: 18 credit hours
HIST 110/114 - Western Civilization I (114-Honors section) (3 cr)
HIST 111/115 - Western Civilization II (115-Honors section) (3 cr)
HIST 120 - The American Experience to 1877 (3 cr)
HIST 121 - The American Experience since 1877 (3 cr)
HIST - Electives numbered 180 or above (6 cr)
HIST 110 - WESTERN CIVILIZATION I (Area 3.1A) (3 credits)
An introductory survey emphasizing the major economic, social, political, intellectual, and cultural
developments of the Western world from the rise of civilization in the Near East to the end of the Reformation.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY SEMESTER
HIST 111 - WESTERN CIVILIZATION II (Area 3.1B) (3 credits)
An introductory survey emphasizing the major political, social, economic, intellectual, and cultural
developments of European Civilization from the seventeenth century to the present.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY SEMESTER
HIST 112 - ART HISTORY I: PREHISTORY TO THE RENAISSANCE (Area 3.1A) (3 credits)
An introductory survey of artistic creations and their relationship to historical developments from the cave
paintings through the Middle Ages.
NOTES: CROSS-LISTED WITH ART 112
OFFERED EVERY FALL SEMESTER
HIST 113 - ART HISTORY II: RENAISSANCE THROUGH THE 20th CENTURY (Area 3.1B) (3 credits)
An introductory survey of painting, sculpture, and architecture and their relationship to modern history
from the Italian Renaissance through the twentieth century in the United States.
NOTES: CROSS-LISTED WITH ART 113
OFFERED EVERY SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 114 - WESTERN CIVILIZATION I (Honors) (Area 3.1A) (3 credits)
Reserved for first year students with ACT composite scores of 28 or higher and strong secondary school
academic records, the course examines the political, social, and intellectual accomplishments of Western
society from the urban revolution in Mesopotamia to the end of the 16th century. Special emphasis is placed
on historical sources, discussion, oral presentations, and analytical essays.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY FALL SEMESTER
HIST 115 - WESTERN CIVILIZATION II (Honors) (Area 3.1B) (3 credits)
Reserved for first year students with ACT composite scores of 28 or higher, or superior performance in HIST
110. This course examines the political, social, and intellectual accomplishments of Western society since
1600. Special emphasis is placed on historical sources, discussion, oral presentations, and analytical essays.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 120 - THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE TO 1877 (Area 3.1B – ELED majors only) (3 credits)
An interpretive survey of the events, ideas, and personalities that shaped the United States prior to 1877.
Emphasis is placed on colonial beginnings, the War for Independence, the evolution of national institutions
and a uniquely American culture, the conflict between nationalism and sectionalism, territorial expansion,
the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Only students seeking Elementary Education certification may apply
this course toward Area 3.1B.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY FALL SEMESTER
HIST 121 - THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE SINCE 1877 (Area 3.1B – ELED majors only) (3 credits)
An interpretive survey of the events, ideas, and personalities which have shaped the United States since
1877. Emphasis is placed on the rise of big business, immigration, the closing of the frontier, American
expansionism, the 1920s, the New Deal, World War II, and post-1945 diplomatic and social problems. Only
students seeking Elementary Education certification may apply this course toward Area 3.1B.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 180 - RED, WHITE, and BLACK: THE PEOPLE OF EARLY AMERICA (3 credits)
(W – Area 2.1B and Area 3.6)
This course focuses on how Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans created a unique society along the
Atlantic coast of North America during the colonial period of American history. Specific attention is given
to how certain events such as Bacon’s Rebellion, Metacom’s War, the Great Awakening, and the 1760s
impacted the various groups comprising colonial America.
NOTES: CROSS-LISTED WITH NAST 180
OFFERED EVERY THIRD INTERIM
HIST 201 - DREAMING THE MIDDLE AGES (3 credits)
This course is an examination of popular perceptions and constructions of the Middle Ages and their
relationship to the reality of medieval life and history. Through film and literature we will examine
common assumptions held in the modern world about the nature of central features of medieval life, culture
and institutions. These assumptions will then be compared with the corresponding reality of existence in
the Middle Ages, at least insofar as this can be recovered by historians. This will be, then, not only a course
about the history of the Middle Ages, but also about how we read the past through lenses of our own age
and how, sometimes, we reinvent the past to fit our own preconceptions.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY THIRD SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 251 - METHODS AND PHILOSOPHIES OF HISTORY (W – Area 2.1B) (3 credits)
A foundational course for students majoring in history, it examines various intellectual approaches applied
to the study of the past, the history of the discipline, and the methods of historical research and writing. It
is designed to enhance student effectiveness in subsequent history courses. Students are encouraged to take
it during the sophomore year.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 290 - A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PRESS (W – Area 2.1B) (3 credits)
An examination of the development of American journalism from colonial times to the present. Using
primary source readings and films, in addition to textbooks, the course will examine changes within the
journalism industry itself, the response of that industry to changes in American society and culture, and the
effects journalism has had on American life.
NOTES: CROSS-LISTED WITH JOUR 290
OFFERED EVERY OTHER SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 300 - REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA (W - Area 2.1B) (3 credits)
Religious revivals, reasoned discourses, and cultural change characterize America in the 18th century. These
phenomena shaped colonial demand for independence. This course explores the issues, events, ideas, and
people that changed Englishmen into Americans and English colonies into an independent American Republic.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY OTHER SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 303 - HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WEST (W - Area 2.1B) (3 credits)
This course traces the rise of the “American West” in American consciousness from the early 19th century
until today. Understanding that American western expansion looks different for the indigenous cultures of
the trans-Mississippi West, the course asks students to re-think the “myth of the West” with the reality of
western development. Specific topics include: Euro-American explorations of the West, American
settlement of the region, the “cowboy,” and the Indian wars of the late 19th century. In the 20th century,
water issues, conservation, immigration, and demographic change take center stage.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY OTHER FALL SEMESTER
HIST 305 - THE ERA OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR (3 credits)
A detailed, interpretive study of the developments that fostered both nationalism and sectionalism in the
young American Republic and of the resolution of those divergent views through civil war, constitutional
amendment, and reconstruction.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY OTHER SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 315 - RECENT U.S. HISTORY (3 credits)
Using the New Deal as its starting point, this course examines the changes America underwent from 1932
to the present. Specific topics will include FDR’s America, World War II, the Cold War, race and gender
relations, the “mass culture” and “consensus culture” movements of the 1950’s, the civil rights movement,
1960’s counterculture, the Vietnam era, Watergate and America’s “confidence crisis” during the 1970’s, the
Reagan Revolution, and the American economy since 1945.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY OTHER FALL SEMESTER
HIST 324 - THE REFORMATION (W - Area 2.1B) (3 credits)
This course is a study of the history and theology of the Protestant Reformation. The primary focus is on
the first generation of the Reformation, that is, the reform movements associated with Martin Luther and
his contemporaries. Luther’s “theological revolution” will be examined within the traditions of late
Medieval scholasticism and Renaissance humanism. We will then move out of the ivory towers of the
professional theologians to investigate how the Reformation unfolded within the social and political context
of sixteenth-century Europe.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY THIRD SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 325 - HISTORY OF MODERN EUROPE (3 credits)
This course particularly focuses upon the social, economic and cultural developments in Europe from the
eighteenth century to the present. It begins by examining how the Age of Enlightenment led to the
revolutions of the late eighteenth century that then brought dramatic change to the peoples of Europe. While
the course spends time on such major changes as the industrial revolution, Imperialism, and nation building,
it will seek to bring students a better understanding of the twentieth century through discussion of two
world wars, the cold war, end of empire and the collapse of communism.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY OTHER FALL SEMESTER
HIST 337 - HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND METHODOLOGY (3 credits)
The study of economic concepts and doctrines within the social context of the past and their impact on the
development of economic theory and methodology.
NOTES: CROSS-LISTED WITH ECON 337
PREREQUISITE: ECON 120 AND ECON 121
OFFERED EVERY OTHER YEAR
HIST 345 - IRELAND NORTH AND SOUTH: FROM REVOLUTIONARY ERA TO TROUBLED TIMES: 1798-1998 (3 credits)
This course examines the political, social and cultural history of modern Ireland. It begins with the 1798
Revolution which must be contextualized with late eighteenth century revolutions, including the American
and French. We will move through the nineteenth century which is characterized by the worst famine in
recorded history and ultimately culminate with Europe’s most deadly guerilla war. Throughout we will pay
special attention to the role of gender in Irish history.
NOTES: CROSS-LISTED WITH GENS 345
OFFERED EVERY OTHER FALL SEMESTER
HIST 352 - HISTORY OF THE LAKOTA/DAKOTA (Area 3.6) (3 credits)
This course presents an historical analysis of Lakota/Dakota history from pre-European contact to the
present. It explores the continuity and discontinuity of the Lakota/Dakota experience from our earliest
records of them until the late 20th century. By exploring the political, economic, familial, gender and
educational transformations over the course of three centuries, students can discover an awareness and
understanding of another group of people outside the majority culture. Students will discover that ‘history’
is not nearly as single-dimensional as often encountered in a traditional American history class. When
finished, a student will understand how traditional Lakota society was organized, and recognize the
continuity of Lakota culture over the course of time.
NOTES: CROSS-LISTED WITH NAST 352
OFFERED EVERY FALL SEMESTER
HIST 355 - HITLER AND THE HOLOCAUST (3 credits)
This course focuses on two central aspects of the Nazi era in German history: the person of Adolf Hitler
and the Holocaust. We will investigate Hitler’s rise to power and the nature of Nazi rule and policies,
especially the “final solution” or extermination of Europe’s Jews. All of this will be set against the backdrop
of the history of Western anti-Semitism. The course will conclude with an investigation of the phenomenon
of Holocaust denial and the place of the Holocaust in the history of modern genocide.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY THIRD SPRING SEMESTER
HIST 395, 396 - INTERNSHIP (2-4 credits)
HIST 197, 297, 397 - TOPICS IN HISTORY (2-4 credits)
HIST 398 - HONORS IN HISTORY (3-4 credits)
See major advisor. Candidates must have completed exceptional Senior Seminar research project.
NOTE: PREREQUISITES: COLLEGE GPA 3.3 OR ABOVE; MAJOR GPA 3.5 OR ABOVE;
PERMISSION OF DEPARTMENT FACULTY
HIST 199, 299, 399 - INDEPENDENT STUDY (2-4 credits)
HIST 490 - SENIOR SEMINAR (W - Area 2.1B) (3 credits)
All history majors, normally in their senior year, will produce a research essay which demonstrates a
mastery of historical techniques and writing skill. The history department sees this course as the
culmination course of the student’s major. The student chooses a topic based upon the courses previously
taken that are numbered between 260 and 381. The student’s topic must be approved by the faculty member
running the course. If the final product is of exceptional quality, it may be submitted to the department for
a possible degree with honors.
NOTE: OFFERED EVERY SEMESTER