History Course Offerings - Spring 09

HI 333: Gender and Society in Western Europe, Dr. Elisabeth Wengler
1-3-5, 11:20, B107

This course examines the images, roles and experiences of women in Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution, and how these changed over time.  While the focus will be on women, we will be studying the historical construction of both male and female gender roles.

Students will consider how gender can alter and deepen our understanding of the social, economic, political, religious, and cultural developments in medieval and early Modern Europe.  Particular emphasis will be placed on the Renaissance and Reformation period.

Topics to be considered include: ideas about gender in medieval and early modern society; family, marriage, and sexuality; women, work and culture; women, religion, and authority; women on the margins of society; women, politics and power.

HI 335: Medieval Institutions and Society, Dr. Theresa Vann
2-4-6, 1:00, Pengl 244

This course will focus on the themes of medieval history from 1000 to 1350, emphasizing the development of independent kingdoms in Europe after the decline of the Roman Empire in the West.  During this period the papacy emerged as the first dominant state in the West, able to create emperors and call Crusades.  But gradually, strong feudal monarchies emerged whose centralized organization was borrowed from the church and Roman law and bolstered by lawyers trained in the new universities.  Their expansion swallowed up their less powerful neighbors.  Arts and culture flourished in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, encouraged by these powerful patrons.  Eventually, they challenged the papacy and the whole idea of papal monarchy, creating a European ideal of independent nations that has lasted until the end of the 20th century.

The course will provide the student with the background of the Germanic invasions into the Roman empire, their gradual assimilation into Roman society, and the formation of the early Church.  With the rise of feudal monarchies the student will encounter such notable medieval personalities as Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Western European civilization and intellectual life will be compared with the higher civilizations found in Byzantium and the Muslim world, and the exchange of ideas and technology will be demonstrated.  The Crusades and the idea of papal monarchy will also be discussed in detail.  The student will learn about communal medieval life in the university and the monastery.  The course will conclude with the Black Death and its influence upon European civilization.  Throughout the course, the student will obtain hands-on experience through primary readings, and contact with the manuscripts.

HI 346: Cold War Europe, Dr. Gregory Schroeder
Tuesday Evenings, 6-9 p.m., Q353

This course traces the political, economic, social, and cultural development of Europe after the unprecedented destruction and chaos caused by the Second World War.  The topics under study include postwar recovery, the end of European overseas empires, the Cold War division of Europe, cultural and intellectual dissent, and the end of communist regimes.  The course covers both western eastern Europe.  Course materials will include a basic textbook, monographs, literature, films, and primary sources.  Students will be evaluated on the basis of discussion and several essays.

HI 348: History of Ireland, Dr. Bernard Carpenter
Thursday Evenings, 6-9 p.m., H107

Few countries in the world have such a compelling, individual, and stirring history such as Ireland.  This course will examine the shifting patterns of settlement and colonization, the recurrent religious strife, and the establishment of new political entities.  The traditional perspectives on Irish history have been swept away in recent years because of the new research of historians and because of the tragic events in Northern Ireland, and this course will offer the most current views on timeless Irish themes.  Careful attention will be paid to the interaction of Irish history and literature, including folklore, and while political matters will be interwoven, the stress will be on the social aspects of people’s lives.  Through a discussion of politics, culture, and economics, we will explore how Ireland is a hybrid of culture and peoples.

Students will learn to distinguish between myth and reality in a brief examination of ancient Gaelic Ireland.  Through a careful examination of the political and the cultural evolution of 18th and 19th century Ireland, students will have a firm understanding of the issues of independence which have consumed the island in the 20th century.  Students will comprehend the role that such emotional issues as the Great Famine and massive emigration have played in shaping this nation.

HI 353: Civil War and Reconstruction, Dr. James Fischer
1-3-5, 2:40, Guild Hall

Examine the road to the American Civil War, its course, conduct, and the immediate aftermath-Reconstruction-by exploring various diplomatic, cultural, military, and economic topics weaved around a narrative of military campaigns and domestic politics from 1850-1877.  Students will gain an appreciation for an individual's experience at the time, the challenges facing these people, and the dynamic of life in the past.

HI 357: US From WWI to 1960, Dr. Derek Larson
2-4-6, 2:40, New Sci 140

Political, cultural and social change at home from World War I through 1960. Topics include the impacts of major wars (WWI, WWII, Cold War, Korea) on civilian society, cultural conflict in the 1920s, economic changes and the Great Depression, the evolving role of the Federal government, currents in popular culture, the influence of technology, and the roles of race, gender, and other individual factors influencing the American experience during the period.

HI 360: US Environmental History, Dr. Thomas Huffman
2-4-6, 8:00, Q349

Environmental history is the study of the relationship between humans and nature over time.  This course examines the changing American understanding of nature in the 19th and 20th centuries with particular attention to the development of public policies toward natural resources and wildlife, the emergence of a new set of ideas recognizing non-utilitarian values in nature, and to the evolution of the conservation and environmental movements.  Intellectual, political, economic, scientific, and social evidence will all be examined in the process of placing nature back into the human history of North America.

HI 361: American Women to 1920, Dr. Martha Tomhave Blauvelt
1-3-5, 9:40, BAC 109

“Men their rights and nothing more; women their rights and nothing less,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote in her aptly titled paper, The Revolution.  How did Victorian society produce such radical sentiments?  Women’s history from the mid-eighteenth century to the vote in 1920 charts not only astonishing oppression but extraordinary activism.  This course has two aims: first, to explain how and why women’s rights changed during this period; and, second, to explore the tremendous variety of women’s experience: the range of images (from Eve to saintly mother); their diverse economic, political, and social roles; and the differences stemming from class and race.

A majority of this course’s readings will be primary sources by women of this period, so that they can speak for themselves.  Possible readings are Anzia Yezierska’s The Bread-Givers, a novel of Jewish immigrant life; Sherna Berger Gluck, From Parlor to Prison (interviews with former suffragists); Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland: a Lost Feminist Utopian Novel.

Class requirements emphasize active participation in discussion and three essays.  There are no in class exams.

HI 364: American Popular Religion, Dr. Martha Tomhave Blauvelt
1-3-5, 11:20, B109
(This course is cross-listed with CORE 365 and THEO 313)
(This course fulfills the Theology, Gender, and Humanities requirement)

Mormons to Muslims, immigrant Catholics to Fundamentalists, African Methodist Episcopal to Zen, American popular religion is a sea of competing faiths, providing more variety and more intense religious commitment than any other Western nation in the world.  This course is not a history of church structure or theology, but an analysis of the changing cultural meaning and experience of popular religion in America.  We will consider why American religious experience has been so diverse and passionate; how spirituality has shaped our society and vice versa; how our concept of the family of God reflects and shapes changes in American families, the role of religion in combating oppression; and the current role of religion in politics.  The primary focus of the course is the twentieth century.

This is an interactive course which emphasizes discussion; students will not only read about diverse popular religions but will have an opportunity to visit and give a presentation on a religious service outside their own faith, such as an African-American Baptist service, a Buddhist meditation session or a Latin Catholic Mass. 

Possible readings are Robert Orsi, The Madonna of 115^th Street; Faith of Community in Italian Harlem, Wade Clark Roof, A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation , James Cone, Martin and Malcolm, a comparison of the liberation theologies of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam.

HI 365: American Indians since 1865, Dr. Julie Davis
1-3-5, 2:40, Q349

A study of United States Indians, primarily in the 20th century, with a focus on religious, economic and political areas which raise factors in cooperation and conflict between Indians and non-Indians.”   

A variety of readings and media will be used--from both Indian and non-Indian sources.  

Course format involves much discussion, some lectures, and use of video-documentaries.  Assignments include three-four reaction papers (about two pages each), two or three exams (approx. 50 points each), and one longer paper (7-8 pages), the latter giving scope for individual interest and research skills.   Assignments include 3-4 reaction papers (approx. two pages each), two exams, and one longer paper (approx. 8-9 pages), the latter giving scope for individual interests.

HI 368: US and the World, Dr. Kenneth Jones
2-4-6, 9:40, Q349

In the wake of the terrorist actions of September 11, many Americans have developed a new interest in the world beyond our borders.  If that includes you, this course is for you because it will provide an historical framework for understanding the current situation.  We will start with the US entry into World War II, and then examine the Cold War and its hot offshoots like Vietnam before examining more recent conflicts.  We will give special
attention to our Mideast policies, as well as examining our ever-changing engagement with China.

HI 395: Historiography and Methods: History, Memory and the Politics of Remembering, Dr. Gregory Schroeder
1-3-5, 11:20, Q349

This course examines the ways in which countries and societies remember the past, what they remember, and why they remember. Sometimes, the things that are forgotten are as significant as what is remembered. In many cases, the events at issue pertain to the Second World War, but other topics will be included as well. The course focuses on the politics of memory in several European countries, the United States, and Japan.

HI 399: Senior Thesis, Dr. Martha Tomhave Blauvelt
Monday Evening, 6-9 p.m., B107

The primary concern of this course is the theory and practice of historical research.  Students will learn research strategies and techniques as well as explore questions about the validation, analysis, and interpretation of historical evidence.  Each student will participate in class discussions about the historical theories and practices in question, submit periodic written and oral progress reports about individual research projects, and write a major paper about your research project.

Research topics may deal with any time period, and geographic region, and use a variety of methodological approaches to history.  The instructor will work individually with each student as s/he moves through the stages of the research project.  In some cases, depending on the topic the student’s research may be directed by another history faculty who will serve as a co-sponsor.

This course is primarily intended for history majors; non-history majors should apply to the instructor for permission to enroll.