UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

200 Level Undergraduate Course Descriptions

HIS 209 American Civil War
Professor Evitts
M                           7:00-9:40                              Reg. #199348

History 209 traces the cause, the context, the course and the consequences of the American Civil War from early sectional strife through the Reconstruction period.  The chronological heart of History 209 will be from 1850 to 1877.  Not a purely military history of the war itself (though military matters will be considered), this course will take a wider look at America in the mid-nineteenth century.  It will explore how we fell into civil war, why the North won, and what the consequences were for contemporary Americans and for the nation today.  Constitutional, racial, economic, social and political issues will all be important in History 209.  USH

HIS 211 Poland and Eastern Europe:  Films, Democracy and Politics
Staff
T R                        8:00-9:20                              Reg. #471485

This course explores ways in which politics, the cinema, and democracy intertwined and clashed with each other in pre-1989 Poland and Central Europe.  It examines major Polish and Central European political breakthroughs as seen in the movies of the most outstanding Polish film directors, such as Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kieslowski, and Agnieszka Hollandk, and other important name in Central/ Eastern cinema.  Numerous readings are used throughout the course, explaining historical and political contexts of selected films. 

The courses offer an interdisciplinary approach in which historical contexts are enriched with sociological analysis and political science.  Cross-listed with DMS 212 (reg. #229425), ENG 213 (reg. #309648), POL 223 (reg. #393399) & PS  211 (reg. #000919).  MOD

HIS 223 Greek Civilization
Professor Barry
M W F                   2:00-2:50                              Reg. #059349

An introduction to the political, military, intellectual, and social history of ancient Greece, from the Neolithic beginnings to the eastern conquests of Alexander in the fourth century B.C.  Cross-listed with CL 222 (reg. #432320).  EAR

HIS 250 History of Ireland
Professor McDevitt
T R                        9:30-10:50             Reg. #274635

This course is an introduction to the history and historiography of Ireland from the seventeenth century to the present, with an emphasis on Ireland’s social, cultural and political history from the Cromwellian invasion to the Good Friday Peace accords. While the past is important to most modern cultures, it is particularly central to modern Irish society. The past (or various interpretations of the past) is so often used as ammunition in the on-going battle over the relationship between the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The goal of the class will be to untangle the intertwined threads of history, legend, propaganda, and folklore which comprise the Irish vision of the past. Topics to be covered include: the 1798 United Irishmen’s Rebellion, the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Catholic Emancipation, the Great Famine/An Gorta Mor, the Gaelic Renaissance, the Home Rule movement, the Troubles, the Irish Diaspora, and the roles of the religion, sport, music, drama and literature in the creation of the Irish nation. Assignments will include two tests, two short response papers, and a final exam.  MOD

HIS 260 Major Issues Caribbean Studies
Professor Henry
T R                        11:00-12:20                          Reg. #322985

This course provides a socio-cultural, political and economic overview of the Caribbean.  While the course focuses on the twentieth century, it also provides an historical framework for understanding the region.  Discussions of the framework and of the geography and economy of the region lay the groundwork for the course.  Class sessions are devoted in great degree to social and cultural issues, including ones relating to family, education, literature, religion, and popular pastimes.  Our analyses uncover common experiences and identities across linguistic and other boundaries, but space is reserved for particular territories of special experience and interest – Haiti and Cuba notably.  Cross-listed with AAS 270 (reg. #392116) & AMS 273 (reg. #230644).  AAL

HIS 280 Survey of African-American Experience
Staff
M W F                  4:00-4:50               Reg. #270222

Please contact African-American Studies Dept. for course information.  USH

HIS 292 Greek Archaeology I
Professor Ault
M W F                  1:00-1:50               Reg. #184125

Provides an introduction to ancient Greek culture though its archaeological remains from the Stone, Bronze, and Early Iron Ages.  Over the semester we will survey palaces, settlements, and cemeteries.  We will also study artifacts ranging from pottery to sculpture.  This evidence will be used to consider theories about broad historical trends and developments in society.  In the process, we will also seek to gain a better understanding about the ways in which archaeologists go about “reading” the past from material culture.  Cross-listed with AHI 336 (reg. #068997) & CL 336 (reg. #147857).  EAR

HIS 295 Special Topics:  Nationalism and Revolution in Spain, Portugal, and Italy
Professor Pack
M W F                  3:00-3:50               Reg. #182268

Typically neglected in general surveys of modern European history, the three countries of Southwestern Europe present an array of social cleavages, mass movements, and political traditions unfamiliar to conventional accounts of modern European history.  This course will examine in detail the successes and failures of liberal nationalism, the dynamics of revolutionary movements, and the triumph of three variants of right-wing dictatorship in the twentieth century.  The final weeks of the semester will consider patterns of development and democratization in all three countries in the second half of the twentieth century.  In addition to understanding the principal historical events and themes, students will be asked to identify points for transnational comparison among the three countries.  Through in-depth examination of these three national case studies, students should become familiar with the definition, causes, and historical context of modern nationalism and authoritarianism, and understand the diverse challenges inherent to maintaining a stable political system amid periods of rapid social, economic, and cultural change.  MOD

HIS 308 History of the Roman Republic
Professor Dyson
T R                        12:30-1:50             Reg. #417774

This course traces the development of Rome from the founding of the city to the assassination of Caesar in 44 B.C.  Emphasis on the relation between the expansion of the empire and changes in Roman society at home.  Cross-listed with CL 327 (reg. #001034).  EAR

Last updated: Monday, April 26, 2004