Courses
History
HIST-111 United States History to 1877
Covers the emergence of an independent American state, the development of a distinctively American society and culture, the conflict over states? rights and slavery, and the Civil War. Considers changes in the lives of diverse American peoples.
HIST-112 United States History Since 1877
Late 19th- and 20th-century American history. Covers the growth of industrialism and urbanism in the Gilded Age to the decline of American liberalism and global involvement in the 1970s and 1980s. Includes the reform movements, the two world wars and the path to global involvement. Considers the changing status of women and minorities and their struggle for rights as American citizens.
HIST-131 Europe, 800 - 1648
Medieval and early Modern periods in European history. Covers major characteristics, institutions, and movements of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Reformation. Focus on the common themes and continuity of early European history. Explores the political, economic and cultural heritage that formed the basis for modern Western Society.
HIST-132 Europe, 1648 - Present
Modern Europe from the dawn of revolution to the end of Communism and after. A survey in the broadest sense, from the birth of science and the state to post modernism and globalization. Focuses on major political and social developments, world views and ideologies, and the impact of culture on people's everyday lives. Topics include industrialization, empire-building, nationalism modernism, world war, and genocide.
HIST-151 Traditional East Asia
An introduction to the civilization of East Asia from earliest times to the 17th century, surveying major political, social and cultural developments in China, Japan and Korea. Special attention is given to the origins and the evolution of civilizations; the relationship between state, society, and religion; and the writing of history. The course provides students with a better understanding of different cultures, to awaken them to world developments and to encourage cross-cultural analysis and appreciation.
HIST-152 Modern East Asia
A survey course that introduces the foundation and development of modern East Asia from the 17th century to the present. It emphasizes the transformation of political and economic institutions, and the social and cultural trends of modern China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. It studies how international diplomatic, commercial, military, religious and cultural relationships joined with internal processes to direct the development of East Asian societies.
HIST-171 African Civilization
Survey of key developments in early African history from the Agricultural Revolution to the advent of trade with Western Europe. This course covers the topics of technology, economy, politics, constructions of gender, and religious institutions between circa 16,000 B.C.E. up to 1400 C.E.
HIST-172 Early Modern Africa
An examination of the processes of change that have led to modern political, economic, and social institutions in Africa. Topics include the analysis of the historical development of urbanization, state formation, the slave trade, monetary systems, and leisure culture. This course focuses on issues of continuity and change between 1400 and the present. The central question addressed is how have African communities viewed modernity and how have different people endeavored to create a modern Africa?
HIST-180 Latin America, 1492 - 1825
An examination of Latin America from pre-Columbian times to independence. Traces developments fundamental to the establishment of colonial rule, the formation of colonial society, and the origins of the independence movements in Spanish America and Brazil. Topics include contact period, the cultural and political assimilation and resistance of indigenous and African peoples, the role of the church, colonial government and economic systems, and the wars for independence.
HIST-181 Latin American History, 1825 - Present
This course surveys Latin American history from 1825 to the present, an area that stretches from what is now the southern border of the USA (CA, AZ, NM, TX, and FL) to Cape Horn in Chili. The content covered includes but is not limited to Latin America and the global economy, revolutions and their consequences on Latin American societies (particularly in Mexico, Central America, and Cuba), rise of dictatorships and democratic governments established in Latin American countries, the effects of African and indigenous cultures within these societies, the impact of feminism and gender, the relationship between the USA and Latin American nations, and cultural politics.
HIST-215 The Civil War in American Experience
Surveys the Civil War as an event of great significance in the American experience, placing military conflict in economic, political, and cultural contexts. Focuses on the war as a human struggle with roots in racial, class, gender, and regional identities. Also considers historians' debates about causes and consequences.
HIST-217 Contemporary America, 1945 - Present
Analyzes the United States in the Cold War, Civil Rights era, war in Vietnam, period of deindustrialization, and into the 1980s and 1990s. Focus on social/cultural history and the theories with which historians explain the past.
HIST-218 Work and Play in the USA
This course examines the connections between the history of labor and leisure in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. Particular emphasis is placed on social and cultural analysis of labor and leisure systems. Students read several historical case studies and synthesize course material in an original research project or a topic of their choosing.
HIST-226 Soviet and Russian Politics
This course looks at Russian and Soviet politics and foreign policy beginning with the development of the Russian empire. The Soviet Union is examined, with particular emphasis on the policies of Gorbachev and the 1991 disintegration of the USSR. The post-Soviet period is also studied, especially the ramifications of attempting (and not attempting) democratization and of moving (or not moving) toward a market economy. While primary attention is paid to the situation in Russia, issues in other former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe will be discussed.
HIST-238 Contemporary Europe
Examination of post-World War II Europe from its division, reconstruction, and reduction to democratization and the end of Communism. Compares life in both East and West. Pays attention to cultural diversity in the new Europe. Explores the role of memory in shaping European identities.
HIST-258 Modern China
A history of China from the fall of the last imperial dynasty to the People's Republic. It covers the major political events and revolutions, such as the Opium War, the Republican revolution and the Communist revolution. It also emphasizes the social and cultural lives of various human actors and social institutions, such as peasants, workers, women, ethnic minorities, migrants within and beyond China, educational system, and nationality laws. It explores such questions as what is Chineseness and what modernity means to different people at different times. It also studies China as an integral part of world history.
HIST-300 History Methods
A study of the research methods employed by historians: searching for sources with electronic and published retrieval systems, annotated bibliographies, methods of citation. A consideration of epistemological issues, such as fact, truth, inference, synthesis. Completion of a historiographical essay, a short research project, and other writing in order to build and refine skills. Brief exploration of historiography.
HIST-313 Social History of the United States
Studies the changing group setting for individual Americans, including family, community, class, and race/ethnicity. Dual focus on popular culture and the process of industrialization/urbanization. Also examines historians' models of social change.
HIST-314 African-American History
Surveys the experience of African-Americans from the origins of slavery to the debate over affirmative action. Considers slavery, black abolition, blacks during the Civil War and their transition to freedom. Also covers life under institutional restrictions such as segregation and disenfranchisement, and civil rights and black power movements, and the changing cultural expressions of African-Americans.
HIST-316 Making a Multicultural United States
This course examines United States history through the lens of ethnic and racial interplay. Students consider the experiences of a diverse set of historical actors, emphasizing shifting definitions of national identity, citizenship, and opportunity in America.
HIST-321 European Union
Examines the post-World War II development, institutional structure, and policies of the European Union and its predecessors in the movement toward European integration. The course culminates with student participation in a multi-day mock European Parliament with students from other colleges.
HIST-322 Pennsylvania History
An examination of the history and governmental structure of Pennsylvania. Students will consider the experiences of a diverse set of historical actors who coexisted from the colonial period to the late 20th century. The course will emphasize the ways in which these groups interacted, as well as the means by which individuals made sense of such widespread changes as industrialization, demographic shifts, and urbanization.
HIST-323 History of American Medicine
An analysis of the history of American medicine from the colonial period to today. In addition to studying professional medical practice, the class will investigate the following topics: Native American medicine, enslaved healers, alternative medical practices, gender and medicine, race and medicine, class and medicine, and disease. Using both primary and secondary sources, students will analyze several important questions. What is medicine? What is disease? How did race, gender, and class affect American medical care? How has medicine changed or stayed the same over time? What is unique about American medicine? Prior knowledge of medicine or American history is not required.
HIST-330 The Middle Ages
Focuses on the social, economic, and intellectual changes and developments during the time of enormous creativity and transition from the ninth to 14th centuries. Examines the social and intellectual synthesis of the medieval period as an essential link between the Classical and Modern worlds.
HIST-331 Medieval People and Culture
An interdisciplinary study of the historical and literary figures of the Middle Ages. Although the content will vary from semester to semester, this course is designed to provide substantial first-hand knowledge of major works of the period, as well as an introduction to the historical and cultural contexts in which they were written.
HIST-335 Muslims/Christians/Jews Medieval Spain
This course will examine the lives of Muslims, Christians and Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula, at times under Muslim rule and at times under Christian domination, during the 8th to the 15th centuries. We will explore the distinctive religious thought and practices of each group while noting the theological and traditional connections among the ?Peoples of the Book?. We will also investigate the idea of ?convivencia? as a way to understand the living together of these three groups which resulted in significant cultural, philosophical and artistic collaboration and achievement and horrifying persecutions, cruelty and slaughter.
HIST-338 The Holocaust
Examines the origins, implementation and consequences of the Nazi program of mass murder. Topics include history of modern anti-Semitism, Nazi ideology and politics, the meaning of survival, forms of resistance, and ethical issues.
HIST-361 Global Migrations in Modern History
A study of migration in the modern world from historical and comparative perspectives. It examines major migrations across national boundries and their connections in the global context. It compares migrants to the United States with those living and working in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. It addresses important themes such as colonialism, imperialism, racism, war and migration, gender and migration, and so on.
HIST-370 American Women
This course traces the history of American women from the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries. It considers the history of American women in relation to gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and religion.
HIST-375 Piracy
Pirates have long been a fear and fascination of communities mythologized in popular culture. From literature to film to music and even fashion, pirates are a favorite inspiration. In this course we examine, from several philosophical & cultural perspectives, piracy in its various forms. We also examine how several disciplines have approached &/or defined the subject; the disciplines include history, anthropology, law, literature and art. Definitions of piracy vary not only in terms of globally perspectives but also historical eras, though typically definitions of piracy deal with issues of transgressing societal norms and border crossing, be those borders philosophical or physical. We examine the diversity of piracy in its many forms from maritime piracy to digital piracy as well as piracy?s economic, social, political, and cultural impacts. A wide range of sources will be used to explore this topic from films, music, children?s literature, poetry, international laws, scholarship in the disciplines, religious commentaries, and media coverage of piracy.
HIST-376 Race/Nation in Modern Latin America
This course examines the role of the idea of race in the formation of the modern nation-state in Latin America during the 19th and 20th centuries. It examines how racial ideologies and constructions shaped during the forging of national identity and the ways of citizenship were constantly challenged and redefined by government officials and racial/ethnic groups after independence. The course also examines how ideas about race, ethnicity, gender, and nation not only shaped the course of the region's history but also the lives of ordinary people.
HIST-381 Film and History
This interdisciplinary course unites film studies and history as a way to understand two things: the ways that film functions as history and the ways we use film to consider history. Using films therefore as primary and secondary sources, it will analyze one epoch in detail. Students will use the tools of the historian to study film and the tools of the film scholar to analyze film's function in shaping perspectives on history.
HIST-383 Popular Music & History in the 20th Cent
Music reveals a great deal about the 20th century. By studying music and history together and by using each discipline to interrogate each other, this interdisciplinary class will offer a unique way to understand the lives of men and women in Europe and the United States in the 20th century, as well as the music they experience. As a way to pay particular attention to average people, we will look specifically at popular music. This focus will in turn make us consider the impact of recorded music and will minimize differences in our abilities to read and analyze music.
HIST-390 Topics in History
Discussion, debate and evaluation of significant problems or phenomena in history. Topics vary according to instructor preference. Recent topics include: Film and History, African Diaspora, Intellectual History of Europe, Islam in Africa, and Indian Ocean History.
HIST-401 Collective Inquiry in History
Examines varied topics, many focusing on the historical origins of contemporary issues. Shared discussion and investigation by students and instructor. Culminates in colloquium presentation.
HIST-408 Readings in History
Directed readings in a specific topic in the field, most often in preparation for Senior Seminar.
HIST-410 Seminar in History
The capstone course that brings together students' work in various classes, employing especially their research, analytical, interpretive, communication, and writing skills. Students create a substantial research project in conjunction with a faculty member and present their work publicly. Required for history majors.
HIST-420 Internship in History
Supervised work in fields related to history including museum work, publishing and editing, historic site surveys and other activities in public history. Not for major or Core credit.
HIST-501 Independent Study
Detailed exploration of a selected historical period, topic or problem under a faculty member's direction. Involves either a reading program or a major research paper. Open to all majors.
HIST-502 Honors Conference
Writing a thesis under the personal supervision of a department member.
Go Preparation
OFFP-AUSTRIA GO Austria: Natnl Hist, Glbl Rspnsblt
OFFP-AUSTRIA is the planning course for the three-week experience based in Salzburg. There will be required pre-departure meetings. Focuses on questions of cultural inheritance and accountability for the nature of one's national heritage.
Go Reflection
OFFR-AUSTRIA GO Austria: Natnl Hist, Glbl Rspnsblt
The reflective component following OFFS-AUSTRIA, the three-week experience based in Salzburg. Focuses on questions of cultural inheritance and accountability for the nature of one's national heritage.
GO-Short Trip
OFFS-APPALAC History of Southern Appalachia
OFFS-AUSTRIA GO Austria: Natnl Hist, Glbl Rspnsblt
A three-week travel experience based in Salzburg with required pre-departure meetings and a contiguous reflective component. Also spends time in Vienna, Munich and the Salzburg region. Focuses on questions of cultural inheritance and accountability for the nature of one's national heritage in part by working with students at the University of Salzburg.
Womens Studies
WMST-370 American Women
This course traces the history of American women from the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries. It considers the history of American women in relation to gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and religion.
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