HISTORY
Department of History and American Studies
Jeffrey W. McClurken, Chair
Porter Blakemore and Steven Harris, Career Advisors
Faculty
Distinguished Professor and Rector and Visitors Chair
William B. Crawley, Jr.
Distinguished Professor and Hofer Chair of Early American Culture and Historic Preservation
Carter L. Hudgins
Professors
Claudine L. Ferrell
Bruce R. O’Brien
Allyson M. Poska
Associate Professors
Porter R. Blakemore
Jeffrey W. McClurken
Assistant Professors
Nabil S.Al-Tikriti
Susan R. Fernsebner
Steven E. Harris
Krystyn R. Moon
Jess M. Rigelhaupt
The History Program
The History curriculum is widely diversified by topic and by approach and offers an extensive range of courses from ancient to modern times in American, Asian, European, and Latin American. The History major itself is distinctive for three courses that are particularly germane to student development of independent, critical judgment based on historical skills. The First Year Seminars offer incoming students, particularly those who have completed AP courses, the opportunity to move quickly into the history major during their first year.
The Introduction to the Study of History is a seminar typically completed during the sophomore year that prepares majors in the critical evaluation of historical arguments, research and analysis of historical data, and historical writing. This course is essential preparation for upper level lecture courses and seminars and for the senior course Historical Research. This capstone course provides an opportunity to complete a historical research project working one-on-one with a member of the history faculty.
An internship option enhances the program by granting credit for history-related, career-oriented work outside the classroom.
The goal of the History program is to produce graduates with a command of factual and conceptual knowledge of the past; the analytical methods that historians use to recover, research, and write about the past; and well-honed writing and speaking skills. Graduates of the history program go on to a wide range of careers in which the ability to understand and solve historical problems, and in which skills of independent, critical judgment based on historical knowledge, are useful. Because the practice of history requires the ability to analyze and communicate ideas clearly as well as to retain factual information, it is an ideal preparation for law school and for careers in business, public policy, government, and journalism.
Honors in History at Graduation requires a 3.5 Grade Point Average in the major and superior work in History 485, Historical Research, or 486, Historical Research Abroad.
Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honorary society, enriches the quality of the History program and offers opportunities to participate in social and educational activities.
Requirements for the History Major
The history major requires completion of 36 credits: 6 credits from one of the survey sequences (HIST 121-122, or HIST 131-32, or HIST 141-42); HIST 299; 18 credits at the 200-level or beyond; 9 credits at the 400 level, 3 of which must be HIST 485 or 486 and 3 of which may be HIST 491 (Individual Study). Internships (HIST 499) are encouraged but do not count in the major.
History Course Offerings
121 – Western Civilization I (3)
From ancient Near Eastern origins through classical Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and Reformation Era to the seventeenth century.
122 – Western Civilization II (3)
From the seventeenth century through the Age of Absolutism, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution to the era of nationalism and industrialism and the modernism of the twentieth century.
131 – American History to 1865 (3)
The Age of Discovery and the Colonial Era through the American Revolution, nation building, the rise of the party system, slavery, and the Civil War.
132 – American History Since 1865 (3)
Reconstruction, the emergence of industrialism, the development of world power status through the World Wars, and post-1945 trends.
141 – Asian Civilization I (3)
Asian civilization from its origins in India, China, Japan, and other societies through 1500 AD. Emphasis on social, intellectual, and technological change in the development of the culture and history of the area.
142 – Asian Civilization II (3)
Asia in the modern era, 1500 AD to present, the age of Western expansion and penetration and the social, political, economic, and intellectual transformation of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
200 – Topics in History (3)
Listed in the Schedule of Courses, chosen according to timely interest.
201- First Year Seminar in European History (3)
Topical seminar for freshmen.
202- First Year Seminar in American History (3)
Topical seminar for freshmen.
299 – Seminar: Introduction to the Study of History (3)
Prerequisite: History 121, 122, 131, 132, or 141, 142, and major status. Introduction to what history is and what historians do with a focus on historiography, research, and writing.
303 – The American South (3)
Slavery and the plantation system, rise of sectionalism, Civil War and Reconstruction, the era of segregation, and the civil rights movement.
304 – The Civil War (3)
Development of Southern nationalism and the Confederacy; emphasis on social, economic, and political as well as military aspects of the War.
305 – The American West (3)
Exploration of interactions among various peoples who have lived along the American frontier and/or the American “West.”
311, 312 – History of Virginia (3, 3)
First semester, English origins and colonial developments through the revolutionary era; second semester, Jeffersonian period to the present.
313 – African American History through 1865 (3)
A survey of the African American experience in the British colonies in North America and in the early United States from African roots through the Civil War, with a focus on the experience of both slaves and free blacks.
314 – African American History since Slavery (3)
A survey of the African American experience since emancipation in 1865; covers segregation and lynching, black nationalism, the Great Migration, and the civil rights movement.
315 – Immigration History (3)
Experiences of immigrants in the United States and the creation of ethnic identity from the colonial period to the present.
318 – The American Revolution (3)
Overview of the cultural, economic, political and social factors that fueled the movement toward rebellion and independence.
320 – The Gilded Age (3)
Urbanization, industrialization, immigration, reform movements, and development in law, family, recreation, race, and labor from the Civil War to the turn of the 20th century.
321 – The Progressive Era (3)
A survey of the first quarter of the twentieth century; covers reform efforts, and World War I, as well as developments in law, recreation, race, business, and labor.
325 – Technology and Culture (3)
Development of American technology and its relation to U.S. culture from the colonial period to the present.
327 – U.S. Women’s History to 1870 (3)
Significant cultural, economic, and political developments that shaped the lives of women in the United States from the pre-colonial period to the passage of the 15th Amendment.
328 – U.S. Women’s History since 1870 (3)
Women in the United States from the passage of the 15th Amendment to the present.
329 – U.S. History and Film (3)
History of how motion pictures have portrayed the American past and how they have shaped views of the past.
331 – History of Ancient Greece (3)
Greek history from Mycenae and Homer to the Hellenistic kingdoms; emphasis on primary source criticism.
332 – History of Ancient Rome (3)
Mythic origins of the city to the barbarian invasions; emphasis on primary source criticism.
334 – Early Modern European Women’s History (3)
Explores key areas of European women’s lives, including family life, religion, sexuality, and witchcraft, from 1300-1700.
335 – The Renaissance (3)
Provides an in depth look at the intellectual, political, social and artistic developments in Europe known as the Renaissance.
336 – The Reformation (3)
Provides an in depth look at the religious, intellectual, and social developments of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
341, 342 – Europe in the Middle Ages (3, 3)
First semester, conversion of Constantine to the last Viking raids; second semester, Investiture crisis to the Italian Renaissance.
349 – History of the British Isles (3)
Ireland, England, and Wales from prehistory to the 20th century, emphasizing interaction of cultures in the British Isles and throughout the British Empire.
353, 354 – History of France (3, 3)
First semester, Gaul and the Franks to French Revolution and Napoleon; second semester, Restoration Era to de Gaulle.
356 – History of Germany (3)
From the early nineteenth century to the present, with emphasis on the era of Bismarck, World War I, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the Cold War.
357, 358 – History of Russia (3, 3)
First semester, Kiev, Muscovy, and Imperial Russia to 1856; second semester, the last Romanovs, Revolution, and Soviet Period.
360 – History of Spain (3)
The history of Spain and its political, economic, and social evolution.
361, 362 – History of Latin America (3, 3)
First semester, native cultures, Spanish conquest, and colonial institutions; second semester, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
364 – History of Japan (3)
Social, political, and intellectual development from the earliest times to the present; emphasis on the rise of Japan to world power.
365, 366 – History of China (3, 3)
Social, political, and intellectual development from the earliest times to the present; emphasis on the rise of modern nationalism, Maoist period.
371, 372 – European Diplomatic History (3, 3)
First semester, development of the modern state system from the Thirty Years War to the middle of the nineteenth century; second semester, from the unification of Germany through the two World Wars to the Cold War.
375 – Military History (3)
The art of war and its impact on society from the seventeenth century to the present; analysis of military developments in terms of organization, technology, and strategy.
377 – The Second World War, 1939-1945 (3)
In-depth study of the origins, conduct, and consequences of the war with emphasis on its political, diplomatic, economic, and military aspects.
380 – United States Since 1945 (3)
Emphasis on major issues of the postwar era, including the Cold War, McCarthyism, civil rights movement, Vietnam, black militancy, and feminism.
381 – Europe Since 1945 (3)
Cold War, national developments, the Common Market, colonial independence movements, and the collapse of the Soviet empire.
382 – Far East Since 1945 (3)
Cultural, social, economic, and political developments in modern China, Japan, and Korea with emphasis on relations of those countries with United States and Russia.
383 – Islamic Civilization I (3)
Traces the political, religious, cultural, and institutional aspects of Islamic Civilization and its spread through Eurasia and Africa from the 7th to 15th centuries.
384 - Islamic Civilization II (3)
Traces the major political, religious, social, and cultural developments that shaped the modern Middle East from the 15th to the 21st century.
385 – The Arab-Israeli Conflict (3)
Survey of the “Arab-Israeli Conflict” from the mid-19th century to the present.
386 – Modern Iraq (3)
Explores the historical development of Iraqi society from late Ottoman rule to the present day.
390 – The United States and Vietnam (3)
Political, diplomatic, military, economic, and cultural study of Vietnam and of the United States’ role in Indochina.
395 - US History and Popular Culture (3)
This course explores the history of the United States through the prism of popular culture. Topics include fashion, food ways, television, movies, and music.
416 – American Legal History (3)
Prerequisite: junior or senior status. A study of politics, society, and economics through the mirror of law. Covers such issues as property, the family, and the legal profession.
417 – American Constitutional History (3)
Prerequisite: junior or senior status. Major cases, questions, and issues from the revolutionary period through the twentieth century.
420 – The Great War, 1914-1918 (3)
Prerequisite: History 299. The war’s origins, its political and military leadership, the various land and sea campaigns, war poetry, the war’s cultural legacy, the role of women, and peacemaking.
421 – Nazi Germany (3)
Prerequisites: History 299 and junior or senior status. German history from 1933-1945, including Hitler’s rise to power, the causes of the 1939 war, the campaigns of World War II, the Holocaust, war crimes, and continuing Nazi legacy.
422 – 20th Century American Presidents (3)
Prerequisites: History 299 and junior or senior status. Investigates American chief executives through tumultuous decades of the 20s-60s.
426 – Nineteenth-Century American Families (3)
Prerequisites: History 299 and junior or senior status. U.S. family from the Revolution through the early twentieth century comparing idealized to actual families by exploring regional, class, and ethnic differences.
431 – The World of Late Antiquity (3)
Prerequisites: History 299 and junior or senior status. The Mediterranean world in a period of military collapse, barbarian invasion, intellectual revolution, and religious ferment.
435 – Daily Life in Early Modern Europe (3)
Prerequisites: History 299 and junior or senior status. The daily life of ordinary people in Europe during the early modern period (1350- 1700), examining topics such as childbirth, literacy, disease, sexuality, and work.
444 – American Slavery (3)
Prerequisite: History 299. Slavery in America from its African origins to its demise during the Civil War.
451 – Anglo-Saxon England (3)
Prerequisite: History 299. England from the 5th- century migrations of Angles and Saxons to the Norman Conquest.
455 – Forgery and History (3)
Prerequisite: History 299. Investigates circumstances and consequences of forgery in its historical context from the Hellenistic period (3rd century BCE) to the 20th century.
462 – Women in Latin America (3)
Prerequisites: History 299 and junior or senior status. Role of women in Latin American society from the preconquest period to the present.
471 – Special Studies in History (3)
Prerequisites: History 299 and junior or senior status or permission of the instructor. Topical Seminars. See Schedule of Courses each semester.
485 – Historical Research (3)
Prerequisites: senior status and faculty approval of research topic. Capstone research and writing course involving the in-depth investigation of a subject under close supervision by a member of the department.
486 – Historical Research Abroad (3)
Prerequisites: senior status and faculty approval of research topic. Capstone research and writing course conducted in foreign archives under close supervision by a member of the department.
491 – Individual Study (3)
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Individual investigation of a subject of historical significance, directed by a member of the department.
499 – Internship (Credits variable)
Supervised off-campus experience, developed in consultation with the department.