History (HIST)

Professor Claire E. Nolte,

Chair of the Department

A history major can be an ideal choice for a variety of careers. In addition to preparing students to be professional historians or researchers, it lays the foundation for professions such as law or teaching, as well as business, public service, the military, and the media.

Requirements for a Major in History. Students in the School of Arts who major in history must complete a minimum of thirty credits in history courses. These credits must include HIST 200, 210, 217, 490. The remaining courses must be at the 300 level or above, and must include six credits in European history and three credits in world history. A minimum grade of C is necessary to receive credit in the major. Students are encouraged to pursue opportunities for study abroad. In addition, internships in a wide variety of fields are available for history majors.

Students in the School of Education who major in Social Studies must complete twenty-seven credits in history courses if they specialize in Adolescent Education, and twenty-four credits if they specialize in Childhood Education. These credits must include HIST 206, 207, 217, 218 and three credits of courses at the 300 level in world history. In addition, Adolescent Education majors must complete HIST 200 and 490. Education majors are strongly encouraged to take at least an additional three credits of courses at the 300 level in American history. A minimum grade of C is necessary to receive credit in the major.

Requirements for a Minor in History. Fifteen credits of history courses, with most at the 300 level or above. The program is worked out individually with the department chair. A minimum grade of C is required for all courses in the minor.

All history majors and minors are invited to participate in the social, co-curricular, and vocational activities of the department. The department houses a chapter Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society. Outstanding history majors are regularly elected to its membership. In addition, the department has two regular lecture series honoring the memory of past department chairs. An annual lecture in honor of Brother Casimir Gabriel Costello, F.S.C. features European history, and a biennial series focuses on topics in early American history in honor of Professor Robert Christen.

Basic Courses

200. Introduction to the Study of History. This course will introduce students to the discipline of history. An overview of historical writing will contribute to an understanding of how the craft of history is practiced and has evolved. Class assignments will develop and strengthen techniques of historical research, information literacy, and writing skills. Intended for history and social studies majors during the first or second semester of their major course work, this course is open to others with permission of the instructor. (Cr.3)

204. History of the Ancient World. The beginnings of civilization in Egypt and Mesopotamia, the rise and decline of Greece, the Roman Republic and Empire to 180 A.D. (Cr.3)

206. United States through the Reconstruction of the Union. The United States, from its origins through the Civil War and Reconstruction , with an emphasis on the main political, economic, and social developments. Major wars and cultural trends will also be addressed, as well as the lives of important and representative individuals. (Cr.3)

207. United States from Reconstruction to the Present. The United States since the end of Reconstruction, with an emphasis on the major political, economic, and social developments. Major wars and cultural trends will also be addressed, as well as the lives of important and representative individuals. (Cr.3)

210. Great Issues in American History. An examination of selected critical issues and events in American history. Attention will be given to providing a better understanding of the particular issue and event studied and its place in the general themes and patterns of American history. (Cr.3)

217. World History to 1600. This course will survey the history of the world from the beginnings of civilization in the Near East to the European encounter with the non-Western world. Topics covered will include the history of early civilizations in the Near East, China, India, Japan, and sub-Saharan Africa, the classical cultures of Greece and Rome, the world of the Middle Ages, the emergence of European monarchies, and the impact of the Renaissance and the Reformation. (Cr.3)

218. World History since 1600. This course will survey the history of the world from the European encounter with the non-Western world to the present day. It will explore the major trends which have shaped the modern world, including the rise of modern states; the revolutionary era; the ideologies of socialism, liberalism, and nationalism; European imperialism, and the shifting balance of power in the postcolonial world. (Cr.3)

230. History of the American Economy. This course on the rise of the American economy from the colonial period to the present will go beyond economic history to examine issues of politics, philosophy, and legal theory and their impact on economic developments. Special emphasis will be given to advancements in science and technology, the creation of educational systems, and the links between global economic conditions and the economy of the nation-state. The course will highlight themes of continuity and change that have characterized American economic history. (Cr.3)

American History

360. Women in the United States. This course will focus on the changing roles of women in American society from the 17th century to the present. Beginning with pre-industrial society and tracing women’s experiences in agricultural, commercial, industrial, and post-industrial America, we will discover how women’s roles have changed—and not changed—in the course of American history. In an historical context, the various experiences of women as housewives, mothers, consumers, workers, professionals, and citizens will be analyzed.  (Cr.3)

362. American Foreign Relations, 1900 to the Present. “The American Century.” The rise of America to world power. Relations with other countries before, during, and between the world wars, in the Cold War, and in the post-Soviet era, including politics toward Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. (Cr.3)

371. The American West. A survey of the region that has long captured people’s imagination. Enduring themes such as cowboys and Indians as well as newer concerns such as the role of women and the rise of technology will be analyzed in light of historical evidence, both primary and secondary. (Cr.3)

380. Sport and American Society. An interdisciplinary course on the history of American sport from the colonial era to the present. Special emphasis will be given to the economic, sociological, political, and psychological aspects of twentieth century American sport. (Cr.3)

381. Colonial and Revolutionary America to 1789. The political, economic, social, and cultural status of the British-American colonies in the mid-eighteenth century; the coming of the American Revolution; the problems of war and independence; the constitutional development of the new nation; the impact of the Revolution on all of the American people. (Cr.3)

383. The Civil War and Reconstruction. The causes of the Civil War: economic and political, legal and constitutional, ideological and moral. The great people, the great battles, and the great events. The results and the cost of the war, human and economic. Reconstruction, racism and segregation. (Cr.3)

385. Modern America, 1930 to the Present. The nation’s domestic, political, social, and economic issues from the Great Depression of the 1930s to terrorism in 2001. The New Deal and the Fair Deal, the Home Front in World War II, Civil Rights and the Great Society, consensus in the 1950s and conflicts in the 1960s, the domestic cost of Vietnam, Watergate, and Reagonomics, the Information Revolution and the Clinton Paradox. (Cr.3)

386. American Biography. An examination of several Americans who influenced U.S. society. Attention will be given to various biographical techniques. (Cr.3)

387. New York City and the American Urban Experience. The colonial and Revolutionary city, urban imperialism, the city in the American mind, the New Urban History (migration and social mobility, the family, demography), immigration, the rise of the ghetto, urban politics, suburbanization, metropolis, and megalopolis. Special attention to the history of New York City. (Cr.3)

European History

304. Europe in the Middle Ages. Breakdown of the Roman; development of the medieval Church and the Holy Roman Empire; emergence of the monarchies and city states; economic, social, and cultural history to the early Renaissance. (Cr.3)

305. Early Modern Europe. This course traces the transformation of Europe between the Renaissance and the French Revolution. Special emphasis will be placed on the wars of religion, the revolution in European military practice, the emerging national states, the structure and functioning of the absolutist monarchies and, especially, the wide-ranging impact of the Enlightenment. (Cr.3)

319. The Crusades. The great military expeditions of Latin Christendom against the Moslems and the Byzantine Empire for the recovery and defense of the Holy Land. Special topics include the growth of chivalry, the rise of anti-Semitism, and the increased economic contacts between Europe and the Middle East. (Cr.3)

325. The Byzantine Empire. The political and cultural history of the Eastern Roman Empire from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries and its relations with Islam, the Latin West, and the Slavs. (Cr.3)

337. England to 1688. An overview of Anglo-Saxon England, the Plantagenet dynasty, especially in terms of English constitutional developments and the Hundred Years’ War; the Tudor dynasty as exemplified by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I including the “new monarchy,” the Reformation, the cultural renaissance, and sea power; and the Stuart dynasty, the constitutional struggles and civil war, Cromwell, and the establishment of parliamentary monarchy. (Cr.3)

351. The Age of the French Revolution. The course explores European history from the Enlightenment to the fall of Napoleon. The origins, course, and aftermath of the French Revolution will receive particular attention. Other themes include the Enlightenment, early industrialization, and the Napoleonic Empire. (Cr.3)

352. Nineteenth-Century Europe. This course will explore European history from the fall of Napoleon in 1815 to the start of World War I in 1914, with emphasis on the revolutions in 1830, 1848, and 1871, nation-building and social transformation because of industrialization. (Cr.3)

326. Diplomatic History of Europe Since 1815. The international relations among the European states from the Congress of Vienna through the era of Imperialism and the 20th century’s two world wars. (Cr.3)

342. Ireland. After an overview of medieval and early modern Irish history, attention focuses on the Act of Union, O’Connell, the great famine, Fenianism, home rule, Parnell, the Easter 1916 rebellion, constitutional development in South and North, the present situation. (Cr.3)

353. Modern Germany. The influence exercised in German history of the medieval empire, Luther, the Thirty Years War, Frederick the Great, and the Age of Revolution. A chronological treatment from 1848 to the present. (Cr.3)

354. History of the Soviet Union. The course deals with the background, revolution, and establishment of the Soviet Union, focusing on both domestic developments and the role of the Soviet Union in world affairs. Special attention is given to the problems of continuity and change in Soviet policy between 1917 and 1991. (Cr.3)

355. Eastern Europe in Modern Times. A survey of the history of Eastern and Central Europe, the area between Germany and Russia, from the end of World War I until the present day. The countries of the region are examined both comparatively and individually to identify the economic, social, cultural, and national forces which have shaped their developments. (Cr.3)

World History

312. Modern China, 1839 to the Present. The modern transformation of China, its values and institutions, resulting from the impact of the West and revolution. (Cr.3)

313. Vietnam to the Philippines. Political, social, economic change, and the kaleidoscope of outside intervention in modern Southeast Asia since the founding of Singapore in 1819. (Cr.3)

314. Modern Africa. This course introduces the multiple histories, diverse cultures and complicated geography of modern Africa. Three areas: modern-day Algeria; Ghana; and South Africa will serve as case studies in order to place continent-wide trends in their local contexts and to explore key historical events and developments from a consistent perspective that will illustrate change over time. This course will also emphasize the dynamic role of Africans in the events and processes that have shaped modern Africa. (Cr.3)

316. Hispanic America. The history of Latin American civilization with an overview of pre-Columbian and colonial periods, but concentrating on the era since independence. (Cr.3)

318. Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Political, economic, and cultural developments of the region. (Cr.3)

Special Topics

307. Genocide and Racism: The Holocaust. The course investigates the emergence of modern racism and its expression as genocide. More in-depth examinations of the events in Armenia, Rwanda, Bosnia, East Timor, and Cambodia complement the special emphasis on the German attempt to annihilate certain groups like the Jews during World War II. Recommended for Education majors to satisfy New York and New Jersey state education laws requiring that the Holocaust be taught in all schools. (Cr.3)

321 and 322. Special Topics in History. An extensive study of a theme, problem, movement, or era in history. (Cr.3)

377. Science, Technology and Society in the Industrial Age. This course explores major developments in both science and technology from the perspective of their social impact. Particular emphasis will be placed on industrialization and how science and technology affect society as a whole. (Cr.3)

390. Terror and Terrorism: The Uses of Political Violence. This course examines the major ideas and problems associated with terror and terrorism from the French Revolution to the present and considers the historical development and role of political violence both by and against the state in contemporary society. (Cr. 3)

490. Senior Seminar. An exploration of a specific historical theme through class discussion and student papers, with an emphasis on proper research methodologies and presentation. Intended for advanced history and social studies majors, but open to others with the permission of the instructor. (Cr.3)

498. Independent Study. Supervised reading and research. Permission of Department Chair required. (Cr.3)

500. Honors Research in History. Independent research and reading under the direction of a member of the Department. Open to qualified majors with the permission of the Department Chair. (Cr.3)