Rutgers Undergraduate History Master Course List
510-Series Courses (General History)
21:510:201,202 History of Western Civilization (3,3)
The main developments in the history of ideas and institutions from earliest times to the present; consideration of historical material serves as a point of departure for discussion of present-day problems.
21:510:207 History of Colonial Latin America (3)
Survey of the encounter between indigenous and Iberian peoples in Latin America, from conquest and colonization to the wars of independence. Among the topics considered are the moral implications of the encounter, the histories of race and ethnicity, the development of colonial economic and political institutions, and the eventual breakdown of imperial order.
21:510:208 History of Modern Latin America (3)
Survey of the history of the nations of Latin America from the wars of independence to the present. Among the topics considered are the nature and consequences of the independence movements, the creation of new political and economic institutions, the development of postcolonial relationships between formerly colonized peoples and their former colonizers, and the implications of the past since independence for the problems of contemporary Latin America.
21:510:209 (formerly 317) History of the Caribbean (3)
Caribbean history from the colonial period to the present; the development of a sugar economy; the competition among foreign powers for control; 19th-century struggles for independence; and contemporary social upheavals.
21:510:226,227 Topics in History (3,3)
21:510:240 Women in European History (3)
Changes in women's economic, social, and legal positions from classical times to the present; women and the family; women and the Industrial Revolution; witchcraft; women in politics, war, and revolution; women under socialism and fascism; women and sexuality; and the development of the modern feminist movement.
21:510:255 Ancient Greek Civilization (3)
This interdisciplinary course studies the cultural heritage of the ancient Greek world through its literature, art, and archaeology. The course also includes a brief historical survey of the period in question, as well as sections devoted to particular historical topics (like democracy, intellectual development, colonization, and movement from city to nation-statehood). Readings from ancient sources in translation include Homer, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, and Aristotle.
21:510:256 Roman Civilization (3)
Examines the Roman world through an interdisciplinary study of its history, literature, and art and archaeology. Topics covered will include: imperialism, patron-client relationships, Roman law, blood sport, and the evolution of Rome from pagan to Christian civilization. Readings from ancient sources in translation include Roman comedy, Virgil, Seneca, and samples of early Christian writings.
21:510:257 Greco-Roman Myth and Religion (3)
Survey of Greek and Roman mythology and religion, including the individual myths and their literary, historical, social, and religious significance; Greek and Roman religious practices and how they reflect the cultural context of the time; representations of myths in painting, inscriptions, and sculpture; and the relationships between mythology, ritual, and society.
21:510:263,264 History of Africa (3,3)
Political, religious, economic, and social development of the peoples of Africa south of the Sahara from about 500 AD to the present.
21:510:280 South Asian History I (3)
Introduction to the history of the Indian subcontinent from prehistoric times to the Europeans colonial conquest. Focus on diverse political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments across South Asia, especially religious philosophies, social, gender, and legal structures. Texts and readings will draw upon recent secondary research as well as historical and literary primary source materials.
21:510:281 South Asian History II (3)
Introduction to the history of the Indian subcontinent since 1500. Focus on the diverse political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments in the ancient and medieval history of the region, which comprises today the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
21:510:286 The Ancient Near East (3)
General survey of the history of the ancient Near East from the first appearance of civilization in the fertile crescent to the unification of the Near East in the Persian Empire. Covers the political, social, economic, religious, cultural, and intellectual development of the primary civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as the later city-states and empires.
21:510:287,288 History of Islamic Civilization (3,3)
The history, culture, and institutions of the Islamic world, from the age of the prophet Muhammad to the present. First semester: evolution of classical Islamic civilization in its Near and Middle Eastern heartland. Second semester: the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires; Islam in central, east, and southeast Asia; traditional Islamic society; and the problems of colonialism, imperialism, and modernization.
21:510:297,298 History of East Asia (3,3)
Major developments in East Asian history, particularly in China and Japan, from early times to the present; cultural, economic, and political aspects and contemporary problems.
21:510:301 Film and History (3)
Examines the relationship between movies and history, focusing mainly on feature films. The course seeks less to list the films' inaccuracies than to identify and analyze how and why they mythologize the past. By learning to spot films' ideologies, assumptions, strategies, and visions of the past, one can identify the historical evolution of modern societies' dominant mythologies, values, and beliefs.
21:510:305 Ancient Sport: Olympians to Gladiators (3)
Ancient forms of athletic contest and competition are examined. Includes Greek games held during the Olympic festival and other occasions; chariot racing and circus contests in Greece and Rome; and Roman blood sport (including animal fights and gladiatorial contests). Examines both the archaeological and literary evidence for such events, as well as the impact such competitions have had on our modern perceptions of sport and athletic competition.
21:510:306 The Greek and Roman Cities (3)
Provides an urban history of ancient Greek and Roman cities from the earliest period to late antiquity. Emphasis will fall upon Athens and Rome. The course will focus on the archaeological remains; ancient concepts of community and town organization; classical architecture within the context of topographical limitations of the city; religious architecture; the impact of the ancient urban experience; and the practicalities of ancient urban centers (sanitation, water supply, policing, defense, and traffic). Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:311 Latin America and the United States (3)
The historical relationship between Latin America and the United States, including political, social, economic, and cultural ties. Examines those ties from both Latin American and U.S. perspectives and shows how hemispheric relations affect not only governments but also national, regional, and local communities. Topics include U.S. imperialism in the late 19th century; Latin American and U.S. images of their neighbors; the effects of the cold war on hemispheric politics; and the history of Latin American immigration to the United States.
21:510:312 Democracy and Rebellion in Modern Latin America (3)
History of democracy, rebellion, and citizenship in Latin America from the early 19th century to the present. Topics include the transformation of colonial societies into liberal republican democracies, new citizens' relationships to new states, and the effects of changes in those states on the terms of citizenship over two centuries. Focuses on the meaning of democracy and the ways in which it sometimes breaks down, either peacefully or in armed rebellion. Concludes with a look at the recent trend toward democratization.
21:510:314 Film and Colonialism (3)
The course examines fiction films about the European and American colonial empires in places such as India, East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the South Seas, and the American West. Through analyzing films and readings, we will consider how films either supported or criticized colonialism and how western attitudes toward colonialism evolved in the twentieth century.
21:510:315,316 Perspectives in History (3)
These Writing Intensive courses are required for History majors, who are encouraged to take at least one before the Research Seminar (510:490), but are also open to other students. The courses focus both on specific historical topics and on training students how to handle a wide range of different primary source texts. They are designed to teach students superior analytical skills by emphasizing how to evaluate and interpret primary source evidence, and in this way to help prepare History majors in particular for writing the Research Seminar paper (510:490).
21:510:319 Ancient Greek History (3)
The origins and development of the Greek civilization as it developed in Southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Special attention will be paid to the development of Greek political systems, especially Athenian democracy; social, cultural, and intellectual developments of the Greek world (slavery, sexuality, and the emergence of philosophy and science); Spartan society and militarism; treatment of non-Greek people; and the conquests and achievements of Alexander the Great. Readings from ancient sources in translation include Hesiod, Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristotle, Plato, and Plutarch.
21:510:320 Roman History (3)
The origins and history of the Roman people from their emergence in the early Iron Age down to the beginnings of the Byzantine empire. Special attention will be paid to the political and military history of the Romans; social and cultural aspects of Roman society (slavery, sexuality, imperialism, absorption of non-Roman people, and blood sports); the emergence of Christianity; and the conquest and romanization of Europe and the Mediterranean world. Readings from ancient sources include Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, and Ammianus Marcellinus.
21:510:325 History of Mexico and Central America (3)
Historical development of Mexico and Central America from the pre-Columbian civilizations to the present. Contemporary issues affecting the region.
21:510:327,328 Civilization of the Middle Ages (3,3)
Western Europe from the barbarian invasions to the close of the 13th century; the structure of society and its economic organization. Readings provide a basis for the study of feudalism, agrarian life, and the rise of the towns; religious developments and conflicts; church-state relationships; the Crusades; the rise of feudal monarchies; and cultural achievements.
21:510:331,332 British History (3,3)
British history from the Roman occupation to the present;,emphasis on the interrelationship between constitutional and social developments. First semester: medieval England and the Tudor-Stuart period. Second semester: changes in politics and society resulting from the Industrial Revolution.
21:510:337 The History of Iran (3)
History of Iran from ancient times to the present; the forces that have shaped modern Iran.
21:510:338 The Ottoman Empire (3)
History of the Ottoman state from its origins as a Ghazi state (13th century) to its collapse in the 20th century; the Ottoman impact, politically and culturally, on the peoples of eastern Europe.
21:510:339 The West, Islam, and the Middle East (3)
The historical relationship between Europe/the West and the Islamic world of the Middle East and nearby regions from the advent of Islam to today. Topics include the Crusades; conflict and coexistence in medieval Spain; relations between Europe and the Ottoman Empire; European colonization of North Africa & the Middle East; wars & crises of decolonization; post-1945 US policy in Iran, Israel/Palestine, and the Persian Gulf; Muslim immigration in contemporary Europe; and the “War on Terror.” The course examines the perspectives of various participants and observers and to analyze patterns in the behavior of those involved and their perceptions of each other.
21:510:343,344 Early Modern Europe (3,3)
Europe from the beginning of the modern period through the scientific revolution in the 1600s, addressing political, cultural, intellectual, social, economic, and religious history. First semester: topics include the Renaissance, the Age of Exploration, new intellectual outlooks, the formation of national states and monarchies; and the lives and mentalities of peasants, artisans, and the poor. Second semester: Protestant Reformation, Catholic Counter-Reformation, Wars of Religion, Absolutism, and the scientific revolution.
21:510:351,352 History of France (3,3)
First semester: survey of French history from the late middle ages through the French Revolution. Second semester: French history from 1815 to the present. Emphasizes ideas, politics, culture, and the development of national cohesion and identity.
21:510:353,354 Modern China (3,3)
Evolution of the Chinese nation from the Opium War to the establishment of the People's Republic; problems arising out of rebellion, reform, and revolution discussed in connection with modernization and acculturation.
21:510:355 Traditional China: Institutions and Society (3)
Chinese history from the Shang to the Ming dynasties (1766 BC-1643 AD); patterns of social change and social mobility; feudalism; dynastic cycles; modernization; and Oriental despotism.
21:510:356 History of the People's Republic of China (3)
The revolutionary experience of the Chinese people; the efforts of the Chinese communists to modernize the nation; and the processes and problems of adapting to a communist system.
21:510:357 Nineteenth-Century Europe (3) Covers the period from ca. 1815 to 1914. Topics include nationalism; the Industrial Revolution; revolutions of 1830 and 1848; formation of Italy and Germany; rise of working class movements; Marxism; imperialism; Darwinism and social Darwinism; relations between church and state; women's movements; trends in culture and daily life.
21:510:358 Twentieth-Century Europe (3)
Europe since 1914. Topics include origins, nature, and consequences of World War I and the Russian Revolution; interwar culture and society; the Great Depression; Fascism and Nazism; the Spanish Civil War; the origins, nature, and consequences of World War II; the Holocaust; the Marshall Plan and the cold war; origins and development of the European Union; East European communism; West European welfare states and consumerism; women's movements; postwar culture and leisure; youth movements of the 1960s; fall of communism.
21:510:361 The Modern Middle East (3)
Introduction to the modern Near and Middle East. Review of the formation of classical Islamic civilization in the region. Political, economic, social, and ethnic problems resulting from Western influences and the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. Modern Iranian development and the creation of Israel.
21:510:362 Capitalism and Socialism (3)
The history of Western economic systems and ideologies from the origins of capitalism in early modern Europe through the rise of socialism in the 19th century and social democracy in the 20th. Topics include the agricultural and industrial revolutions; liberal ideologies and policies of the 19th century; Marxism and socialist thought; the Soviet model; the Great Depression; growth of the welfare state after World War II; and the problem of underdevelopment.
21:510:365 Islam, Africa, and the Contemporary World (3)
Islam's historical and contemporary impact on African societies, life, and lore. The effects on African worldviews; religious practices (including ancestral veneration, magic, sorcery, and other paranormal phenomena); social dynamics (birth, marriage, death, and property inheritance); and political thought and practice. How African members of the world community of Islam relate to global trends.
21:510:367,368 History of Russia and the Soviet Union (3,3)
First semester: Russian politics and civilization from the founding of Kiev to 1864. Second semester: the history of Russia from 1865 to the present time, with the emphasis on Soviet affairs.
21:510:374 History of Spain to 1700 (3)
The history of Spain from the middle ages to 1700. Muslim conquest; interactions among Muslims, Christians, and Jews; Christian reconquest; formation of a Spanish state; advent of overseas empire; role of the Church.
21:510:375 History of Spain 1700 to Present (3)
The history of Spain from 1700 to the present. Enlightenment reforms; Napoleonic wars and popular revolt; Basque and Catalan movements; economic development and modernization; rise of anarchism and socialism; Spanish Civil War; Franco regime; democracy since 1975.
21:510:377 Portugal and Its Empire (3)
The history of Portugal and its overseas empire from the 14th century to the present, examining the country's politics, economics, and culture, as well as its global expansion and relations with colonies, particularly Brazil.
21:510:378 Colonialism to 1825 (3)
European colonialism from the 15th century through the early 19th century, emphasizing the empires of Portugal, Spain, Britain, and France in the Americas and Asia. Topics include motives for colonial expansion; justifications for conquest and rule; reasons for European power; colonial economies; methods of controlling colonies; slavery and abolitionism; mutual perceptions of colonizer and colonized; opposition to colonialism; independence in British, Spanish, and Portuguese America.
21:510:379 Colonialism and Decolonization (3)
European colonial rule from the late eighteenth century through the dismantling of formal empires in the decades after World War II. Topics include Britain’s takeover of India in the 18th century; the 19th-century “scramble for Africa”; theories and justifications of empire; methods of colonial rule; mutual perceptions of colonizers and colonized; the growth of anti-colonial movements and the decolonization process in India, the Middle East, and Africa; the outlooks and policies of the US and the USSR on colonial issues.
21:510:385,386 A History of Southern Africa (3,3)
History of southern Africa from 1000 AD to the present; precolonial African societies; European colonization; European impact; industrial development; the Zulu and Boer Wars; the evolution of apartheid; the African nationalist movements.
21:510:390 Gender and Caste in South Asian History (3)
Introduction to themes of gender and social structure in the history of the Indian subcontinent. Focus on conceptions of gender, gender relations, and the experiences of women in particular. Introduction to the concept of caste as a social system, its changing practice through the ages, and its importance in politics and culture.
21:510:391,392 The History of Germany (3,3)
Germany from the 18th century to the present. First semester: the rise of Prussia, the impact of the French Revolution and the Empire, the growth of nationalism and liberalism, the Revolution of 1848, and unification. Second semester: internal developments, foreign policy, and intellectual movements after 1871; examines Germany in the First World War, the Weimar Republic, the rise of Nazism, the drive for European domination in the Second World War, and the postwar era.
21:510:396,397 Honors Program in Non-American History (3,3)
Research and writing for candidates for honors in history.
21:510:401 Topics in European History (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:403 Topics in Social History (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:404 Topics in Intellectual History (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:405,407 Topics in Ancient History (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:406 Topics in Medieval Civilization (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:431,432 Topics in Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries (3,3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202 or 263,264, or permission of instructor.
21:510:433 Topics in Islamic History (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:435 Topics in Medieval and Early Modern History (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:441,442 Topics in Latin American and Caribbean History (3,3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:449,450 Topics in Asian, Chinese, and Far Eastern History (3,3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:451,452 Topics in the History of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union (3,3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:458 Topics in Women's History (3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:460,461 Topics in Comparative History (3,3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:462,463 Topics in Transnational History (3,3) Prerequisites: 21:510:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:510:479,480 Readings in Non-American History (3,3)
Designed for the history major who desires to undertake extensive reading in a particular historical area, selected in close consultation with a member of the department. Limited to students whose grade-point average within the department is 2.0 or higher. Only one reading course may be taken per semester, and no more than 9 credits in reading courses may be applied toward the history major. Prerequisites: Written permission of department chair and instructor.
21:510:489 Seminar-Readings (3)
Intended to combine study of specific topics, which vary each year, with attention to the methods for researching and writing history, these small classes for history majors in their junior or senior year prepare students for the following semester's research project and culminate in a brief paper describing a proposed topic and the historical documents and sources to be used.
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing. English Composition. Prior writing intensive course.
21:510:490 Seminar-Research (3)
The Research Seminar is required for History majors, but is also open to other students by permission of the department. These one-semester-long seminars allow students to apply the skills they learn in the History major to topics of current and pressing interest. While topics for the courses vary, they place an emphasis on Researching the Community: in these small classes, students research topics relating to Newark history, its diverse populations, the region’s development, and social justice and community activism more generally. With close guidance from instructors, students explore local archives, design a paper topic of their interest, and write a research paper.
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing. English Composition. Prior writing intensive course. History majors are encouraged to take Perspectives in History (510:315,316), as a writing intensive course, before taking the Research Seminar.
21:510:491 Honors Program in Non-American History (3)
Research and writing for candidates for honors in history.
21:510:499 Individual Study in Historical Research (BA)
Historical research on a more systematic level than is normally possible in lecture courses. Prerequisites: Permission of department chair and instructor. Restricted to history majors in their senior year.
512-Series Courses (American History)
21:512:201,202 History of the United States (3,3)
Political, economic, and social phases of American history that have influenced or determined the development of the United States from 1607 to the present.
21:512:203 Topics in the History of Newark (3)
Major economic, social, and political developments in Newark from 1830 to the present; focus on late 19th- and 20th-century trends in demography, housing, and community development.
21:512:204 LGBT History (3)
This course explores the social, cultural, and political history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the United States, focusing on the twentieth century. An important goal of the course is to understand the shift from sexual acts to sexual identities as the main cultural framework for organizing human sexuality. Since the policing of LGBT life is closely related to broader shifts in sexual and gender identities, we will also pay close attention to the history of heterosexuality and heteronormativity. Topics covered will include the emergence of homosexuality and heterosexuality as categories and experiences; the history of diverse queer communities and their representation in popular culture; the changing relationship between sexual and gender deviance; the role of science, religion, and social movements in shaping the history of sexuality; HIV/AIDS; and the emergence and transformation of anti-LGBT politics.
21:512:215 U.S. History in Fiction and Fact (3)
Explores critical events and problems in U.S. history by juxtaposing closely related works of history, biography, memoir, and fiction. Topics include Lincoln and Gettysburg; the legacy of slavery and reconstruction; and Huey Long and the Great Depression.
21:512:217 Public History (3)
This course will introduce students to the field of public history by teaching them the skills to become savvy consumers of the historical narratives they will encounter in the rest of their lives, as well as introducing them to the profession of the public historian. In contrast to academic research in history, public history seeks to capture the interest of the public in order to engage, entertain, influence, and inspire. Through a combination of lectures, readings, guest speakers, field trips, and group work, this class will explore how public histories are never neutral or apolitical, but instead are always engaged in broader social issues of power, identity, and belonging. By identifying and studying the various meanings of these invocations of the past—within our holidays, the names of our streets, as well as at historic sites and museums—students will gain an understanding of some of the ways in which the past is operationalized in the present, in order to shape the future.
21:512:226,227 Topics in American History (3,3)
21:512:230 History of American Immigration (3)
The central role of immigration in American history; English migration in the 17th century, involuntary African migration in the 18th century; Irish migration in the mid-19th century; southern and eastern European migrations; Asian migration; and the more recent Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and West Indian migrations; comparisons and contrasts of experiences; the tensions of cultural assimilation and separatism; and the concept of American national identity.
21:512:233,234 African-American History (3,3)
The black American's role in the United States from the 17th century to the present.
21:512:265,266 American Legal History (3,3)
The interaction between political and economic forces and the role of law in American history; readings from the fields of history, political science, and constitutional development.
21:512:273,274 History of Women in the United States (3,3)
The role of women in American life from colonial times to the present; the nature of men and women and their relations; women's roles in social change; and the organizational mechanisms by which their influence has been exerted.
21:512:297,298 American Foreign Affairs (3,3)
Analysis of American foreign policy from the colonial period to the present; emphasis on power politics, geopolitics, world trade, public opinion, and the interrelation between domestic and foreign affairs.
21:512:308 Gay & Lesbian Lives (3)
This course will use autobiographical writings to examine how sexual identity has been organized and articulated by those who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or queer. Approaching this theme from diverse angles in terms of place, time, and demographics, how these identities emerge from and interact with these varying historical contexts will be analyzed.
21:512:309,310 A History of American Thought (3,3)
Origins and developments in American thinking on social, economic, and political questions and in the fields of the arts and sciences, religion, and philosophy.
21:512:311 Colonial America (3)
The colonial origins of the United States and divergence from England; relations with the Native American Indians; slavery; Puritanism and the waning and revival of religion; family and gender roles; role of the colonies in the British Empire; and the transformation of colonial political culture, leading to the Revolution.
21:512:312 “Trash Cinema” and the Cultural Politics of Sleaze (3)
The history of American cinema is often framed around films of great aesthetic merit: Citizen Kane, Sunset Blvd., The Godfather, etc. But what happens when we examine this history from the vantage point of its bottom rungs: the lowly, the disreputable, the trashy, the ephemeral, and the sleazy? What do these films—less important as works of art, perhaps, but equally important as windows into various moments of cultural history –tell us about American society? In this course, we will use several “trashy” films and genres to interrogate this and related questions, situating these often forgotten or dismissed films in terms of historical conflicts over race, class, gender, and more. Along the way, we will also contemplate matters of aesthetics, analyzing why these films are considered “trash.” Among the marginalized genres we will discuss are the “white slave” films of the 1910's, exploitation and “teenpics” of the mid-20 th century, “sexploitation,” pornography, erotic thrillers, and “Blaxploitation,” horror, and action films.
21:512:313 Visions of the City in American Cinema (3)
“The city,” as both actual geographic entity and imagined cultural phenomenon, provides a revealing historical window into numerous aspects of American society. Using representations of the city in American film history as our point of entry into these issues, we will explore what these depictions tell us about American cultural concerns. How are mainstream understandings of race, gender, class, and sexuality articulated—or challenged—through cinematic visions of the city? What understanding of the physical landscape of the nation have these images contributed to the collective American historical memory, and how has cultural representation interacted with politics and policy?
21:512:318 Labor History (3)
The impact of industrialization on the workforce in the United States; examines economic pressures; technological developments; immigration patterns; entrepreneurial policies; ethnic and black subcultures; the emergence of urban institutions as they relate to the working class; and class consciousness.
21:512:337 History of the Family in the United States (3)
The changing nature of the American family; the Puritan family; the Victorian family and the cult of true womanhood; the black family; and childhood, marriage, and old age.
21:512:343 The Creation of the American Republic (3)
The history of the United States from 1776 to 1820. The Revolutionary War, the writing of the Constitution, establishment of political parties, and contrasting philosophies of Jefferson and Hamilton. Emphasis on changes in religion, gender roles, race relations, social structure, and political thought.
21:512:350 The Civil War and Reconstruction: The Unfinished Revolution (3)
Making liberal use of computer technology and resources, this course explores the political, economic, legal, and social causes of the American Civil War and its aftermath.
21:512:357,358 American Economic and Business History (3,3)
Survey of the economic development of the United States from colonial times to the present; the nation`s westward march; relationships between the American economy and the economies of other nations; the changing emphasis and growing complexity of American economic life.
21:512:361,362 Urban History of the United States (3,3)
The history of the American city and its role in American social, economic, and political development.
21:512:364 Military History of the United States, 1800-2000 (3)
Examines seven historical episodes involving civilian interplay with the military, and how such interplay affected both the military itself as well as the external civilian society from which, increasingly, it has been drawn and ultimately reflects. The topics include (1) the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy in 1804; (2) war against law in the War of 1812; (3) due process at sea in 1841; (4) the Civil War politics, military, and the role of law, 1861 to 1866; (5) World War I, a brief civil war within the Army, 1917-1919; (6) World War II and two examples dealing with the civilian politics of involvement with military justice, 1942-1951; (7) Vietnam and the political crisis of defeat, 1968-1974.
21:512:367 The Progressive Era (3)
Survey of American history from 1880-1920, focusing on economic and societal transformation and the populist and progressive response; industrialization; the rise of modern corporate power; and social and intellectual currents.
21:512:368 Modern America (3)
Survey of the history of the United States between 1890 and 1945, with emphasis on immigration, migration, and battles waged over labor, leisure, and definitions of American identity.
21:512:371 Contemporary America (3)
Survey of the history of the United States from 1945 to the present, with emphasis on corporate liberalism, McCarthyism, the rise of suburbia, the Vietnam War, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the "Reagan Revolution."
21:512:379 U.S. History in the Courtroom (3)
Explores modern U.S. history through the lens of a number of celebrated court cases and the controversies surrounding them.
21:512:383 Culture and the Cold War (3)
Examines the cold war as an ideological contest waged within the United States as well as between the United States and the U.S.S.R. Focuses on that competition's cultural dimensions, analyzing the ways in which cold war politics informed American popular culture; assesses the promotion of "the American way of life" overseas as a means to win adherents to the Western bloc. The course involves the close study of primary sources, including films as well as official documents.
21:512:385,386 History of American Politics (3,3)
The formation and development of politics in the United States; function and history of political parties in America; changes in elections, campaigns, voting behavior, and the American party system; the rise of bossism and machine politics; periodic attempts to reform American politics.
21:512:387,388 History of Race and Ethnicity (3,3)
An introduction to the history of race and ethnicity in the United States. The first semester covers the period up to ca. 1865. First semester: topics include European-Indian relations; the origins of slavery and racism; the crusade against slavery; sex across the color line; and race relations in both the North and South. Second semester: topics include the abolition of slavery; segregation and the response to it; and race and ethnic relations in the 20th century. Both semesters explore the construction of race and ethnicity.
21:512:389 The 1960s in America (3)
Survey of the issues and events of the 1960s, including the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the antiwar movement, the new left, the youth counterculture, the women's rights movement, and the gay- and lesbian-rights movement.
21:512:391,392 Honor's Program in American History (3,3)
21:512:402 Topics in American Intellectual History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:403 Topics in American Political History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:404 Topics in American Business and Economic History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:405 Topics in the History of Science (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:408 Topics in American Social and Cultural History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:410 Topics in the History of American Foreign Policy and Diplomacy (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:438 Internship: Administration of Historical Manuscripts (3)
Basic principles and techniques of modern archives administration with emphasis on accession, appraisal, arrangement, description, and conservation. The practicum for this course may entail the full processing of a historical manuscript collection; requires approximately 70 hours. Prerequisite: Permission of department chair.
21:512:452 Topics in Legal History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:462 Topics in Recent American History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:472 Topics in African-American History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:473 Topics in Women's History (3) Prerequisites: 21:512:201,202, or permission of instructor.
21:512:499 Individual Study in American History (3)
Designed for the history major who desires to undertake extensive reading in a particular historical area, selected in consultation with a member of the department. Limited to students whose grade-point average within the department is 2.0 or higher. Only one reading course may be taken during a semester, and no more than 9 credits in reading courses may be applied toward the history major. Prerequisites: Written permission of department chair and instructor.
Last Update: 11/2013