Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletins

Department of History

Field Description

The Department of History has three paramount aims for its undergraduates, whether they are majors, minors, or students in the required core courses.

First, we foster an appreciation for studying the past for its own sake, in all its variety, ambiguity, and strangeness. To this end, each course emphasizes the exploration and interpretation of primary sources, the raw materials with which historians construct the narrative of the past.

Second, the faculty aims to help students understand that the past has shaped the present. We ask them to participate in the never-ending dialogue between the past and the present by encouraging them to explore difficult questions: What happened? Why did it happen? What were the consequences? What were the dominant values and the dissident voices? How did different cultures and societies interact? How did contemporaries and later generations differ in interpreting events? What are the context and meaning of the changes that have occurred in business, medicine, economics, politics, religion, culture, urban affairs, and gender and race relations? After exposure to these questions, students enter the world personally enriched and better equipped for whatever profession they choose.

Third, the department understands its role in educating students for effective membership and leadership in a global political, social, and economic community by providing an historical understanding of the major world cultures. In courses that range from ancient to modern times, from Asia to New York City, and from the history of women to African-American history, we try to contextualize the world for students.

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The Major

History majors are required to take at least eight history courses (24 credits) numbered 3000 and above. They must take one course in at least three different areas of the globe; these areas include American, Latin American, European, African, and Asian history. Majors are encouraged, but not required, to take the Capstone Course (History 4900). Majors must also write a substantial research paper (minimum of twenty pages) under the supervision of a professor in one of their courses. Students may take six credits toward their majors in other departments, if the courses are related to their program of study; prior consultation with a history department advisor is required.


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The Minor

The minor in history (completing three courses at the 3000 level or above) is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of the discipline for students who are majoring in other academic areas. Students can choose courses from different regions, such as the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and West, South, and East Asia. These courses may focus on urban, intellectual, economic, or political issues. History combines perfectly with studies in international business, economics, business ethics, or finance, as well as many other fields.

Students completing the Tier III disciplinary concentration in history also qualify as a history minor. To fulfill the collegewide requirement for Tier III with a disciplinary concentra tion in history, students take three upper-level courses (9 credits). Two of these courses must be at the 3000 level, followed by HIS 4900, the history capstone course. Interested students should consult with the history department.


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Electives and Tier III Courses

American History
HIS 3005 Social Welfare Policy 3 credits
HIS 3008 Religion and Politics in the United States 3 credits
HIS 3041 Colonial America: From Settlement to Independence 3 credits
HIS 3044 The Civil War and Reconstruction: 1850 – 1880 3 credits
HIS 3060 African American History 3 credits
HIS 3102 American Conservatism: Origins, Development, and Contemporary Controversies 3 credits
HIS 3400 City and Suburb in Twentieth-Century America 3 credits
HIS 3410 History of American Business Enterprise 3 credits
HIS 3415 U.S. Economic History 3 credits
HIS 3420 American Foreign Relations in the Twentieth Century 3 credits
HIS 3445 History of the Cold War 3 credits
HIS 3450 History of American Medicine 3 credits
HIS 3455 Science and Technology in American Life 3 credits
HIS 3456 American Intellectual History 3 credits
HIS 3460 Topics in American History 3 credits
HIS 3472 American Urban History 3 credits
HIS 3550 The Immigrant in American History 3 credits
HIS 3551 History of the People of the City of New York 3 credits
HIS 3552 The Great Depression, 1929 – 1940 3 credits
HIS 3560 History of the Jewish People in America 3 credits
HIS 3650 Women in America 3 credits
Latin American History
HIS 3020 Afro-Brazilian History 3 credits
HIS 3070 History of Civilizations in Latin America 3 credits
HIS 3075 History of Caribbean Civilizations 3 credits
European History
HIS 2013 Medieval Europe 3 credits
HIS 2021 Early Modern Europe 1517 – 1715 3 credits
HIS 2022 Europe in the Eighteenth Century 3 credits
HIS 2023 Europe in an Era of Revolution 3 credits
HIS 2026 The Origins of Western Capitalism, 1400 – 1800 3 credits
HIS 2031 Nineteenth-Century Europe 3 credits
HIS 2032 Europe in the Early Twentieth Century 3 credits
HIS 2033 Europe and the World Since 1945 3 credits
HIS 2538 The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry 3 credits
HIS 3011 Ancient Greece 3 credits
HIS 3012 The Ancient World: Rome 3 credits
HIS 3016 Europe in the Age of the Renaissance 3 credits
HIS 3100 JesusA Historical and Critical Approach 3 credits
HIS 3221 European Thought in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 3 credits
HIS 3222 European Intellectual History in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 3 credits
HIS 3230 Modern Imperialism 3 credits
HIS 3250 The Third Republic in France 3 credits
HIS 3340 Women in Europe: Ancient to Modern 3 credits
HIS 3351 Russia Under the Tsars 3 credits
HIS 3352 The Russian Revolution and the Soviet Regime 3 credits
HIS 3360-3370 Topics in European History 3 credits
HIS 3367 Comparative Revolutions

 3 credits
African History
HIS 3061 Survey of African History 3 credits
HIS 3062 Women in African History 3 credits
HIS 3063 History of the African Diaspora 3 credits
HIS 3815 History of African Religions

 3 credits
Asian History
HIS 1512 Introduction to the Religions of Asia 3 credits
HIS 3080 A Survey of Asian History 3 credits
HIS 3084 The Historical Search for the Prophet Mohammad 3 credits
HIS 3085 The Islamic Middle East and North Africa: 622 – 1789 3 credits
HIS 3086 The Modern Middle East and North Africa 3 credits
HIS 3165 Classical Buddhism 3 credits
HIS 3170 Classical Chinese Philosophy 3 credits
HIS 3345 Asian American History 3 credits
HIS 3380 Contemporary Islamic World 3 credits
HIS 3446 History of Modern Iraq 3 credits
HIS 3820 History of Chinese Religion 3 credits
HIS 3841 Ancient India 3 credits
HIS 3842 The Making of Modern India 3 credits
HIS 3851 The Heritage of Chinese Civilization 3 credits
HIS 3852 Modernization and Westernization in Asia 3 credits
HIS 3853 The Emergence of Modern Japan 3 credits
HIS 3854 China in Revolution 3 credits
HIS 3860 Topics in African, Asian, or Latin American History 3 credits


General Department Courses

HIS 3500 Colloquium in History 3 credits
HIS 4900 Capstone Course: In Search of History 3 credits
HIS 5000-5004 Independent Research and Reading in History variable
HIS 5100 History Internship 3 credits
HIS 6001H-6003H History Honors I, II, and III variable

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Special Program

Honors Program in History

History majors and other interested students will be admitted to the program in their junior or senior year. All students will be required to have had at least 12 hours of history courses with B+ average in history and a general average of B. Students falling short of these requirements may be admitted to the program upon the recommendation of two history faculty members.

The honors program may consist of two tutorials taken consecutively and devoted to reading and researching an area of the students choice. For College requirements for honors, see the Honors Programs section in Part 9 of this bulletin.

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