B.A. in History

A survey of the history of world civilizations from pre-History to approximately 1500. Topics usually include the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Near East, Persia, Egypt, India, and China; pre-modern Africa; ancient Greece and Rome; the development of Christianity; the development of Islam; Byzantium; Medieval China and Southeast Asia; Medieval Europe; the European Renaissance and Reformation.

A survey of the history of world civilizations from approximately 1500 to the present. Topics usually include the European Age of Exploration; early-modern Europe; the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment; the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions; early-modern Asia and Southeast Asia; the early-modern Muslim Empires; early-modern Africa; democratic and liberal revolutions of the 18th century; the ideologies (Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism); late 19th century Imperialism; Latin America in the 19th century; the First World War and Russian Revolution; 20th century Asia; 20th century dictatorships and the Second World War; post-war America and Europe; contemporary Asia and Africa; the emergence of the Third World.

This general survey of American history examines the colonial period through the end of the Civil War. Issues covered include: slavery, Native American experiences, women's history, and westward expansion. Students will examine America's change from a colony into an independent nation and the factors leading to America's Civil War.

This is a general survey of American history since the Civil War. Topics in this course include; Reconstruction, foreign policy, political reforms, women's history, technological and economic growth, immigration, civil rights, and America's complex identity in the 20th century.

An introduction to the principles of historical research, with an emphasis on the use of research tools and source materials. Several supervised written assignments will be required; most will be based on American source materials.

The Senior Seminar is designed to permit students to integrate elements of previous course-work into a step-by-step development and completion of a senior research project. It will involve discussing the common history topic for the semester, and researching, writing, completing and presenting a research paper on a topic developed during the Fall semester. The seminar will require application of historical methods by discussion, extensive reading, and writing. One seminar is given each term; no more than two seminars are to be counted for major credit.

An examination of the people and the historical processes that brought together deaf individuals to form a cohesive community in the United States.

A survey of the mass media (print, film, and television) as sources and interpreters of deafness and deaf people within the context of U.S. social and cultural history. The class will also examine historical changes in the products of mass media within the deaf community.

This course will cover the history of disability in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present, focusing on two important eras. The period of industrialization, from the late nineteenth century through the 1920s, will receive the most attention, as the status of people with disabilities changed most dramatically and having a disability led to stigmatization. This course will examine closely the disability civil rights era from the 1960s to the 1990s when disability rights advocates gained more visibility and federal laws and programs began to focus on disability civil rights issues. The course content will focus on three themes: Perceptions of disability and how those perceptions of disability change over time, as well as the socioeconomic status of people with disabilities; the role that people with disabilities have played in American history and the actions they have taken to affect their position in society; and Federal policies and laws related to disability issues, and how they have changed over time.

Students will become acquainted with documentary film as a vehicle for exploring history, the human experience, and complex contemporary issues. Students will read about and study groundbreaking documentaries in order to understand the different communication tools used for ethnographic documentation, historical films, personal journey essays, and advocacy.  Through course assignments, hands-on classroom activities, and discussions with documentary filmmakers, students will develop a critical appreciation of documentary film, consider ethical aspects of documentary filmmaking, and gain skills in interviewing techniques, research, and writing.

For the culminating project, students will research topics, identify target audiences, list resources, and develop treatments that outline an approach for conveying factual information in creative, engaging styles.  We will discuss strategies Deaf filmmakers may want to consider when developing and producing documentaries for general audiences.

This course will satisfy the US history elective requirement for history majors.

This course offers a close study of the birth and early evolution of America's Deaf community, with particular attention to historical context. Incorporating recent scholarship in the field, this course will examine central topics, including education, organizations, regional identities, class, and eugenics. This class also will closely study several subcultures in addition to general American Deaf history, including African American, European American, and Native American experiences. Economic, social, religious, and cultural factors also will be addressed.

This course will present a detailed examination of the black experience in America from the Civil War to today to provide an understanding of the role African-Americans have played in the history of America and an assessment of why until recently they were excluded from the promise of American democracy. The course will analyze the various political, economic, social, and cultural methods African-Americans have employed to survive in an overwhelmingly hostile environment and analyze their prospects as they make the final frontal assault on the structure of racially discriminatory institutions.

This interdisciplinary course will look at the development of cities and suburbs in the United States since the 19th century. The first part of the course will look at urban development (physical, social, economic, and political) until about the 1920s; the second half of the course will look at the evolution of urban areas since the 1920s, focusing especially on the development of the suburbs and its impact on urban areas. This course will use one city as a case study such as Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, New York.

A study of the social, economic, and political changes in America since 1890, with emphasis on the relationship of these changes to present-day conditions.

An examination of the role of women in American history from colonial times to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the role of race, gender, class, disability, and deafness in the historical experiences of American women.

This course will cover some important aspects of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History. The geographical focus will be principally the United States with some attention to Europe and other parts of the world. Major topics in this course will include the history and evolution of sexual identities, same-sex relations and communities, the political movement for GLBT rights, HIV-AIDS, and post-gay Queer identities. The ancient world will be used as a starting point, touching on the early-modern development of a gay identity; then turning to the development of 20th and 21st century GLBT identity, community, and movements. The course will consist principally of discussion of readings and videos and films.

By studying Deaf women's history, students will enhance their understanding of this minority group, as well as the broader fields of Deaf history and women's history. Students will be introduced to recent scholarship that directly examines this topic. In order t place such works in a broader context, students also will be exposed to vital works in related historical fields. This class will include close study of multiple minority groups, including Deaf Americans, European Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans. The important role of economic, social, religious, and cultural factors be considered throughout this course. This class emphasizes various historical methods of study, building analytical skills and critical thinking. Exploring the changing meaning of gender and deafness in history will provide students with tools for independent research. Ultimately, this focused study of identity challenges students to reconsider traditional notions of gender, disability, cultural Deaf identity, beauty, normalcy, citizenship, and status.

A history of the English colonies in America and the American Revolution.

This course combines traditional book learning with the study of documentary and dramatic films. Three major topics will be covered: Hitler's rise to power and domestic policies, Hitler's foreign policy and the war, the Holocaust.

This course explores the major developments in European social, political, and economic history in the 19th century. Topics include liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, revolutions, industrialization, socialism, suffrage, national unification, women's rights, and imperialism.

This course explores the major developments in European social, political, and economic history in the 20th century. Topics include the world wars, the Russian Revolution, the Depression, fascism, and Nazism, the Holocaust, the Cold War, the European Community, Eurocommunism, the Welfare State, and the fall of communism.

This course will explore the history of sexuality in Europe and America in the modern era. Topics may include: essentialist and constructionist views of sexuality and sexual identity, changing social norms of sexuality, changing patterns of courtship and marriage, the development of homosexuality and heterosexuality, prostitution, transvestism, hermaphrodism, pornography, the sexual revolutions of the 20th century.

France on the eve of 1789, the revolution, the empire of Napoleon, the peace settlements of 1814-1815. Internal developments and international repercussions.

An examination of the major forces that have influenced the development of the Middle East since 1800. Emphasis will be on Islamic society's response to the challenges of modernization, the modernization of Egypt, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the role of the Middle East in the contemporary world.

A survey of the history of African civilizations from earliest times to the present. The course emphasizes political, social, economic, and cultural developments within sub-Saharan Africa, particularly during the modern period.

This course will focus on the history of social movements, revolution, rebellion, and resistance that have shaped the lives of Latin Americans in the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will examine the major revolutionary movements in Latin America during the 20th century, particularly Mexico (1910), Cuba (1959), Chile (1973), and Peru (1980s), and will learn about the development of the social movements of Liberation Theology in El Salvador, Peru and Brazil and the Landless Movement in Brazil. This course will explore the political, economic, and cultural forces at work that compelled ordinary people to rebel against the status quo. Students will consider who stood to benefit from revolutionary projects, and examine divisions within revolutionary movements, such as the differences between men and women, as well as divisions between those who formed the revolutionary leadership and those who supported revolution and social change through grassroots political activism.

The history of race and gender in Latin America share ambiguous boundaries with culture. This course will examine these concepts in terms of how power, historical events, ideology, and social forces have shaped their meaning during colonial and post-colonial Latin America. Categories of race, color and ethnicity have been constructed, contested, and negotiated since the earliest encounters between Europeans, African, and indigenous peoples in the Americas. The roles of men and women were also a critical part of the establishment of hegemonic colonial rule, process of nation-state formation, and counter-hegemonic projects (revolution and rebellion). The determination of cultural identities and citizenship are crucial to understanding the political and economic struggles of social groups and individuals. This course will thus address the question of how Latin American art, film, and cultural expressions have dealt with issues of gender and identity formation.

A survey of the history of Latin America from the Indian and Iberian background though the 1970s. Emphasis will be placed on the national histories of the region's traditionally dominant countries Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Latin America's relationship to and contracts with the United States.

Women's studies scholars and activists in women's issues have made it their work to examine the genesis, development, and impact of assumptions about women's nature. These assumptions underlie the belief systems and institutional practices of all cultures and have justified oppressions of women that interact in complex ways with class, racial and other oppressions. This interdisciplinary course is designed to open the field of Women's Studies to introductory level students. It will demonstrate how addressing questions from an interdisciplinary perspective can lead to complex understanding of the place of women in contemporary society.

A survey of the way in which the physical environment influenced the development of cultures in the major regions of the world. Special stress will be given to the varieties of land use, current environmental threats, and cultural adaptations to modern world problems.

This course is designed to survey the relationship between human impact on geography and the environment. By looking at different cultures and their values, examining urban and rural environments, learning about less developed and more fully developed nations, and by considering the role of race, religion and gender in human relations, students learn about the complexity of dealing with environmental crises such as global warming. In essence, this course will examine how changes in geography and the environment influence each other. By studying specific areas of the planet, students will be able to consider alternative solutions from those considered in the United States.

Special topics in the discipline, designed primarily for juniors. Students may enroll in 395 Special Topics multiple times, as long as the topics differ.

Special topics in the discipline, designed primarily for seniors who are majors or minors. Students may enroll in 495 Special Topics multiple times, as long as the topics differ.

Intensive supervised study and research on topics of the student's selection.