Undergraduate Course Descriptions

History

HST 106 World History I (4 credits)
A study of the World history from the dawn of civilization to the early modern period. Areas of focus include the Near East, China, India, Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

HST 107 World History II (4 credits)
A continuation of World history from 1500 to the present in terms of the political, cultural, social, scientific, and religious events that have produced the Modern World. Special emphasis will be given to the development of nation-states and their policies of imperialism, the scientific and technological revolution, political and social revolutions, World War, capitalism, and the emergence of the global economy.

HST 131 Far East: Beginning to Present (4 credits)
A study of China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia with emphasis on the political, economic, and cultural history, and the impact of Western contacts on these nations.

HST 201 American History I (4 credits)
An analysis of the colonial heritage of the United States, the causes and consequences of the American Revolution, the political, social, and economic development of the new nation through the Civil War and its aftermath. Not open to students who have taken HST/HI 120.

HST 202 American History II (4 credits)
An analysis of the rise of big business, the labor movement, the emergence of the United States as a world power; the Progressive Reform movement; World War I, the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War era. Not open to students who have taken HST/HI 121.

HST/SOC 226 The Ethnic Experience in America (4 credits)
A study of Native American and non-English speaking immigrant ethnic groups within the development of the U.S. with specific attention to the issues of dominant and minority relations, assimilation or ethnic pluralism and culture, color, gender, and social class as negative or positive factors in ethnic relations.

HST 230 History of Latin America (4 credits)
A study of patterns in the conquest and colonization of Latin America and the continuity and change in these patterns from independence and national consolidation through contemporary struggles with socio-economic and political development.

HST 231 History in the West I (4 credits)
A study of the contributions made to civilization by Medieval Europe, consideration of the development of early modern civilization and the expansion of the West through exploration and conquest. Not open to students who have taken HST/HI 310.

HST 232 History in the West II (4 credits)
A study of modern European civilization from the 17th Century through World War I through selected areas of study: e.g., imperialism, the rise of the nation-state, political economy, revolution, the breakdown of religion as a unifying idea. Not open to students who have taken HST/HI 211.

HST 245 The Middle East and Islam (4 credits)
An exploration of the historical, religious, social, and political factors that have produced the contemporary Islamic Middle Eastern world. Special consideration will be gin to Islam as one of the three great Western religions. Not open to students who have taken HST 348d.

HST 305 The Ancient World (4 credits)
A study of the foundations of Western civilization, with special emphasis on the ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome. Prerequisite: HST 106.

HST 317 Europe in the Age of Revolutions (4 credits)
A study of the major revolutionary movements in early modern Europe (1500-1890). Selected topics include the period of religious wars, movements of scientific inquiry, the enlightenment, ideological and political revolutions, industrialism, and imperialism.

HST 320 Twentieth-Century America (4 credits)
A study of the political, economic, and social changes in the United States in the twentieth century and the role of the United States in international affairs. The thematic focus will be on the extent and speed of the changes in the World War II era, which laid the foundations for many of the present day challenges presented by issues of race, gender and class. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

HST 330 World Powers in the Twentieth Century (4 credits)
A study of the interactions of the major world powers in the twentieth century with emphasis on the developments following World War I through the current challenges posed by the concept of a "global" community and economy. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

HST/POL/ART 335 American Political Thought: Nature and the American Vision (4 credits)
A study of the historic, cultural, and political meanings of American landscape painting in the United States; landscape painting’s relationship to the political philosophy of the American founding; the development of a conscious American political thought. Special emphasis on the Hudson River School, its place in the development of the American political vision in the 19th century and its cultural and political legacy in the 20th century.

HST/THL 342 History of Christianity in the United States (4 credits)
A historical overview of the religious life, institutions, and thoughts of Americans from colonial times to the present with a special emphasis on the Catholic Church in the United States. Note: HST/THL 342 does not fulfill the core requirement in theology unless one additional course in theology is also taken.

HST 344 Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (2 credits)
A study of Abraham Lincoln’s life and leadership during our great national crisis, the Civil War. In the moral context of the war, the focus will be on Lincoln’s skills as an orator and writer as well as President and politician.

HST 345 A History of Slavery in the United States (2 credits)
A study of the “peculiar institution” of slavery in U. S. History, from its colonial origins through the antebellum era, culminating in emancipation in the context of the Civil War.

HST 346 Civil Rights, Civil Liberties (4 credits)
An examination of the history and development of civil rights and civil liberties: first amendment, due process, civil and criminal rights considered in their historical and political meanings. Special emphasis on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

HST 348c Thematic Studies: The Great American Crisis (4 credits)
A study of the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction Period focusing on the ways in which a nation responds to the approach of a crisis of disunity, to the crisis itself, and to the aftermath. Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 110-111.

HST/POL 348e Thematic Studies: A History of U.S. Foreign Relations (4 credits)
A study of the relationship between major expressions of US foreign policy and the American ethos in the context of historic foreign policy challenges. Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 110-111.

HST 348f Thematic Studies: History and Technology (4 credits)
A consideration of the technological forces in human history through the study of selected social issues and the reading of primary texts.

HST 350 Medieval Europe (4 credits)
A study of Europe from 500-1500 tracing the development of medieval civilization through its apex and decline. Special consideration will be given to the artistic, intellectual, religious, social, and political events, which created the great European age of transition from the Ancient to the Modern worlds. Not open to students who have taken HST 310.

HST 352 Modern Europe (4 credits)
A study of Europe from 1890 to the present, tracing the transformation of Europe from the center to the periphery of world power. Topics to be discussed include Imperialism, World War, ideological conflicts, economic revival and unification, reemergence of nationalism and regionalism, and the dissolution of communism.

HST/POL 365 The U.S. Presidency (4 credits)
A study of the American Presidency - often described as "the most powerful political office in the world"- and the men who have occupied it. An analysis of the continuity and change in the institution since it was created by the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention. The historical focus will be on the emergence of the Modern Presidency during the twentieth century. Prerequisite: POL 290.

HST 370 Africa and America: The Uneasy Partnership (4 credits)
Survey of the relationship between Africa, Europe and the Americas; examination of the cultures and histories of sub-Saharan Africa, the development of the slave trade, the middle passage, chattel slavery in the US, the Civil War and Reconstruction, racial thought in the US from 1877, the Civil Rights Movement, the development of pluralism and contemporary issues of diversity in US culture.

HST 1/2/3/485 Special Topics (2-4 credits)
Intensive reading and class discussion of selected topics in history not covered in regular courses.

HST 2/3/486 Independent Study (1-4 credits)
Intensive individual work in an area of history. Includes Honors Program research. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor, academic advisor, division chairperson.

HST 498 Seminar (4 credits)
As a capstone course this is a study of the meaning and practice of history through directed research and historiography with emphasis on the integration of social studies theories, themes, concepts and facts (American and world) in diverse historical and social settings.