History Department
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History Department
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HIST/GEOG 211 — Introduction to Geography (3)
The course will provide an understanding of the physical and cultural landscapes
of the earth and the relationships between them. Topics include geographic tools
and techniques; physiogeography and climate; human interaction with the
environment; cultural, political and economic systems and structures, and the
impact of the land on lives. This course is required for a Geography Minor and
for a Secondary Education Citizenship Education certificate.
HIST 222 — History Through Selected Biography (3)
A study of a selected historical period or theme through the use of biography.
The course will explore the thesis that a well-written biography provides
insight into an historical period or theme. An analysis of the historian’s
methodology as biographer will also be included.
HIST 246 — Latin America (3)
This class centers on Latin American interaction with and transformation of
notions about modernity. The conquest of the hemisphere by European empires in
the 15th century unleashed a cascade of revolutions in the economic, cultural,
and political worlds and worldviews of both colonizers and colonized. In this
class, we will investigate how these transformations resolved themselves in
colonialism and its resistance; the growth of nationalism; negotiations about
the “good society” in the newly emerging “nation-states” of Latin America; the
creation and costs of economic modernization; and the region’s role in the Cold
War. Area Studies.
HIST 250 — American Political History (3)
A survey of the historical development of the American political system from the
Federalist Era to the current day. The course will examine growth of the major
American political parties as well as third party movements. Primary focus will
include political party philosophies and programs, ideas and forces which shaped
the political system, men and women who served as party leaders, and significant
state and national elections. Cross listed as PS 250.
HIST 252 — American Social History (3)
A topical examination of the development of American attitudes and institutions.
This is the history of the people and the topics include the demography, race,
ethnicity, religion, class, socio-economic status, gender, and lifestyle.
HIST 253 — American Ethnicity and Minority Group Relations (3)
The history and sociology of American racial and ethnic groups are examined
along with their status in society. Emphasis is placed on the settlement
process, cultural identity, accommodation, assimilation, cultural diffusion,
segregation, inter-ethnic relations, and theories regarding race and ethnicity.
Social sources of the patterns of discrimination will also be examined. The
course draws on both historical and sociological research to explain how the
American racial and ethnic heritage shaped contemporary American society.
HIST 258 Pennsylvania Survey (3)
The course presents an overview of the state’s history; physical and cultural
geography; government and political structure; and economic systems relevant to
the Commonwealth’s location and spatial relationships. Also, current issues and
events in Pennsylvania will be examined. This course is open to all History
majors and other students; it is required for a Secondary Education certificate
in Citizenship Education.
HIST 261 Research & Methods (3)
This class should build the basic skills and methods needed for the study of
history. Topics will include library and archival research, historical writing,
historiography and interpretation, use of various computer applications, and the
professional opportunities for the history major. Students will complete a
supervised research paper that will be count as the Sophomore-Junior Project.
This course is normally taken in the second semester of the sophomore year and
is required of all History majors.
HIST 271 — Women in Western Civilization (3)
Daughters and dowagers, moms and mistresses, queens and queers, witches and
workers, bundled with sex and science: women are often largely absent from the
history books, although they have accounted for about half of humanity. This
course surveys the historical and cultural roles of women from the beginnings of
human history through classical, medieval, and early modern European periods up
to the beginning of the 20th Century. As students analyze both representative
individuals and general trends, topics will include theories of women’s history,
legal rights and their influence on political participations, economic
contributions, gender roles in family and community institutions, cultural
constructions, and religious vocations. Cross-listed as WMST 373.
HIST 275 — Medieval Europe: 500-1500 (3)
The age of faith, the era of Chivalry, the chaos of war, the drudgery of
serfdom, the dawn of capitalism: this course offers a broadly based survey of
the historical synthesis of Greco-Roman, Celtic, Judeo-Christian, and Germanic
Barbarian cultures from the late Roman Empire through the age of medieval
Christendom, ending with the Renaissance. We examine peoples and institutions,
especially those of the knights, the clergy, the peasants, and the townspeople,
which shaped this period of Western Civilization. SYLLABUS
HIST 280 — Colonial Worlds (3)
Colonialism and its resistance is the emphasis of this course. We will
investigate the processes (political, military, economic and ideological) that
enabled the Western powers to hold sway over much of the world in the modern era
and the manner in which colonized peoples resisted, transformed and found
solaces in this domination. Special attention will be paid to the British and
French colonial projects of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Area Studies.
HIST 282 Asian Civilizations (3)
A survey of the major civilizations of monsoon Asia, ranging from the Indian
Subcontinent through Indochina and Indonesia to China and Japan. Focus will be
on the key political, social, and cultural developments of the major peoples
from their beginnings to the present. Of special interest will be how they
influenced each other and how they interacted with Western Civilization in the
modern period. Area Studies.
HIST 303 — History of America’s Major Wars (3)
This course is a systemic examination of the major wars engaged in by the United
States, analyzing the origins, accomplishments, and consequences of American
involvement. The Vietnam conflict will receive intensive scrutiny and emphasis,
particularly the decision-making process.
HIST/GEOG 311 — American Cultural Geography (3)
A topical examination of the relationship between geography and cultural
development in the United States. Topics to be studied include folk, popular and
vernacular cultures; settlement patterns; regionalism; linguistics; race and
ethnicity; religion; socioeconomic status; and forces of unity and diversity.
The students will also become familiar with the methods and process of
geographic study. Area Studies.
HIST 324 — Empires of Greece and Rome: 800 B.C.-A.D. 500 (3)
This class examines the interaction of warfare and culture which laid the
foundation for Western Civilization and Europe. We will cover the growth,
conflicts, and consequences of Greek city-states in the Ancient World, the
Hellenistic expansion, the rise of the Roman Republic and its imperial power,
and the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. SYLLABUS
HIST 331 American Business and Labor in Historical
Perspective (3)
This class analyzes the development of American business from Colonial society
to the present. In particular, the course will examine, from the perspective of
historical continuity, the interaction of economic development with social and
political factors.
HIST 333 American Foreign Policy (3)
This class surveys the major stages of American interaction with other nations
around the world. It analyzes both the ways in which American leaders have
pursued their view of the national interest and the historical background of
contemporary problems.
HIST 337 — The United States: Revolution to Republic 1763-1815 (3)
In this analysis of the American Revolution and the establishment of the
American Republic, special attention will be given to Anglo-American ideas and
institutions, British imperial policies and colonial reaction, Revolutionary
ideology, and the social and political consequences of the Revolution. Also
treated will be government in the Confederation period as well as the
establishment of the Constitution, the ideological conflicts and factionalism in
the Washington, Adams, Jefferson administrations, including foreign policy and
the impact of Anglo-French conflict.
HIST 339 The United States since 1945
This course will define the principal political, social, economic, and cultural
forces after World War II. Emphasis will be given to the challenges and changes
at home and abroad which the United States has experienced during the Cold War
and in post-Cold War era with the development of the world’s largest military
industrial-scientific complex. Also, the course evaluates the national and
international growth of American business and corporate enterprise. Analysis of
Civil Rights movements will privilege the voices of African-Americans,
feminists, gays and lesbians, young people, and many new immigrants whose status
requires re-examination. The impact of the communication and information
revolution will also be included.
HIST 343 The American Presidency
The course will analyze the evolution of the Presidency by targeting the
administrations of a select group of American Presidents. Emphasis will be on
the leadership roles each exercised in shaping the character of the office, as
well as the primary political, economic, and cultural forces of the respective
historical periods. Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and several
twentieth-century. Presidents will be the primary subjects. Cross-listed as PS
343.
HIST 344 — Violence in America: A Historical Perspective (3)
This class investigates factors within the societal framework that produced
assassinations, rioting, ghetto uprisings, vigilantism, etc. The study excludes
war. The primary focus is to examine, interpret, and analyze the evolution of
this growing threat to society’s stability.
HIST 362 — Eastern Europe from the Enlightenment (3)
This course investigates Eastern European History from the Enlightenment: a
period which saw the birth of the Eastern European national states, the
expansion of imperial power and its destruction, the socialist experiment,
globalization, “reintegration” with Europe writ large, and the possibility that
Eastern Europe as an idea may no longer be tenable (or at least losing its
explanatory power). Area Studies.
HIST 363 Russia in Historical Perspective (3)
This course studies the crucial developments of the Russian state from the
Kievan period to the present. Emphasis will be on the roles of ideology,
geography , environment and history in forming, shaping and maintaining
authoritarian government. The study of the contemporary period, especially that
dealing with the creation, establishment and disintegration of the Soviet state,
will receive intensive examination. Area Studies.
HIST 364 — Balkanisms: Southeastern Europe and the Making of the Balkans (3)
This course traces the development of the Balkans as a distinct cultural and
geographical space from the time of the Byzantine Empire to the present. We will
investigate the rise and fall of two great world empires (Byzantine and
Ottoman), the creation of the Balkan national states and the mechanics of the
Balkan communist systems through travel writing, art and architecture, and
novels. Area Studies.
HIST 368 — Cold War Cultures (3)
This course explores the Cold War as a global struggle over differing visions of
the “good life.” Each actor in the Cold War was continually defining what it
meant to live well: how to balance the needs of the individual and society, how
to understand consumption and leisure, how to balance public and private needs.
Our investigation will focus on how these definitions were envisioned, enforced,
and transformed through culture. How did people live the Cold War? What were its
comforts and horrors? How were the intentions of Moscow and Washington met in
the streets of Kabul, Prague, and Paris? How were these conceptions of the good
life expressed through official, unofficial, and dissident culture?
HIST 371 International Politics (3)
This course analyzes select aspects of international politics at three major
levels: the international political system; the major actors in the system; the
principal forms of interaction between actors in the system. Among topics are
the balance of power; collective security; foreign policy decision-making;
environmental factors; diplomacy, bargaining and war; arms control; role of
non-national actors like multinational corporations and the United Nations. Case
study illustrations will be utilized. The course is required for a Secondary
Education certificate in Citizenship Education. Cross-listed as PS 371.
HIST 372 — Modern Britain (3)
This survey covers the British Isles from the Revolution of the 1680’s to
the present, with attention paid to economic, social, political, and imperial
developments. Themes will include the rise and fall of the world’s first
industrial nation and its colonial empire; Victorian culture and society; and
the modern welfare state and its discontents. Area Studies.
SYLLABUS
HIST 376 Early Modern Europe: 1500-1815 (3)
Much of our modern world views began in these centuries as the nations of Europe
struggled with the boundaries and limits of their power and ideas. This course
analyzes the emergence of modern Europe. Starting with the Renaissance and
Reformation of the 16th century, this course surveys the development of the
state system and the origin and evolution of the modern secularized nations in
their constitutional and absolutist forms. SYLLABUS
HIST 377 German Europe: 1815-1945 (3)
This course surveys the political and cultural development of Europe from the
fall of Napoleon to the fall of Hitler, focusing on the roles played by the
German peoples. These include problems of unification and division, social
adjustments of constitutional democracy and the rise of fascism, rule over
different ethnic groups and racism, the arts and literature, economic and
military competition between neighboring European powers, and the German attempt
to dominate the European continent in two World Wars. Area Studies. SYLLABUS
HIST 381 The Modern Middle East (3)
This course introduces students to a world quite different from Western
Civilization, but of immense historical and contemporary significance. Special
emphasis is given to the role of oil in focusing the interests of the two
superpowers on an area of crucial economic and political significance.
Chronological concern is with the recent past in which Arab expectations and
power impact upon the world as a whole. Area Studies.
HIST 383 China (3)
This course surveys the unique characteristics of civilization and
institutions of China as they evolved in the contemporary era. Students will
analyze the internal patterns influencing China’s response to Western impact,
the collapse of traditional China, the Nationalist achievement, Communism and
Mao Zedong, and contemporary China. Area Studies.
HIST 385 Japan (3)
This course surveys the unique characteristics of civilization and institutions
of Japan as they evolved, and their relevance in the contemporary era.
Westernization, the first non-Western model of parliamentary development, and
the rise of Japan to world power will be analyzed. The impact of the occupation,
and the socio-political problems of a hybrid culture and industrial giant will
be considered. Area Studies.
HIST 387 World War II
A multidimensional survey of the Second World War. The course will examine the
major strategic choices which confronted the Axis and Allies 1939-1945 and the
campaigns that followed; the unique Anglo-American alliance; relations with
Soviet Russia and China; and the major wartime conferences. Topics of special
interest will include American war mobilization, economic warfare; the role of
women on the home front, the film and propaganda war, the strategic bombing
controversy, and the atomic bomb decision.
HIST/GEOG 403 Urban and Community Studies (3)
A study of the research, analysis, and implications in all stages of community
development. An historical survey will be presented as a means of examining the
present sociological, political, and economic state of American communities.
Although Northeastern Pennsylvania subject matter will be utilized, the course
approaches the material in a general and multi-regional manner. direct student
participation in selected scholarly projects will be emphasized. Cross-listed as
SOC 403.
HIST 415 Senior Seminar (3)
This capstone course integrates discipline-specific knowledge into a culminating
senior experience. Students must analyze and discuss all facets of historical
presentations, including scholarly works and public history. Each class member
will make an in-depth public presentation demonstrating some aspect of
historical research, study, or professional involvement. This course is normally
taken in the first semester of the senior year and is required of all History
majors. Prerequisite: HIST 261 Research & Methods. SYLLABUS
HIST/GEOG 440 — Seminar: Geographies of Europe (3)
Outside the conveniences of maps and ideas of tectonic plates, Europe has never
been a fixed space; rather it has always resided within flexible and permeable
boundaries of convention. Who belongs to Europe, who is excluded, and the
consequences of this demarcation have changed dramatically over time. This
course investigates the creation, transformation, and enforcement of these
boundaries of Europe. Area Studies. Although designed as a stand-alone class,
this course may also be used as the first part of the “Geographies of Europe”
sequence: the second half will be a three-week King’s College Study Abroad
program, “Geographies of Europe: Sofia- Istanbul” during the summer of 2010.
HIST 444 — Seminar: the Witch Hunts 1400-1800 (3)
From the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, many Europeans persecuted
witches, seeing a new sect hostile to humanity. Through reading and discussion
of primary and secondary sources, students will learn how these Europeans
defined and treated their alleged witches, within the context of other economic,
social, and cultural relationships. Included in this study will be the
examination of new technologies and methods of rule in the rise of the modern
state, and the roles of class and gender in focusing hostility on certain
people, especially women. Cross-listed as WMST 444.
SYLLABUS.
HIST 470-489 — Special Topics in History (3)
Courses on specialized historical subjects offered by the History faculty.
HIST 490-495 Independent Study (3)
Study of a specific historical topic in cooperation with a History faculty
member. Registration requires approval of the Department chairperson.
HIST 496-497 Independent Research (3)
An advanced research project in a specialized area of History under close
supervision of a History Department faculty member. Registration requires
approval of the Department chairperson.
HIST 499 Internship (3)
A one-semester, supervised, field experience in a work setting. A partial list
of opportunities includes government agencies, the legal system, political
offices, and historical societies.
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