History (HIST)
Head of Department: Professor Altina L. Waller
Department Office: Room 121, Wood Hall
For major requirements, see the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section of this Catalog.
100. The Roots of the Western Experience
Either semester. Three credits.
An analysis of the traditions and changes which have shaped Western political institutions, economic systems, social structures and culture in ancient and medieval times.
101. Modern Europe
Either semester. Three credits.
The origins of the economy, society, politics, and culture of contemporary Europe with emphasis on aspects of European history which have contributed to the shaping of the modern world from the Renaissance to the present.
104. The United States: Where We Are and How We Got There
Either semester. Three credits. Asher
Major themes and questions of contemporary American life (e.g.; racism, popular culture, urban crisis, family, radicalism of left and right, and foreign intervention) are analyzed historically.
106. The Roots of Traditional Asia
Either semester. Three credits.
A survey of the early development and staying power of the traditional cultures from which the major societies of modern Asia have evolved.
108. Modern World History
Either semester. Three credits. Omara-Otunno
A survey of the historical experiences of the world's major civilizations during recent centuries with particular attention to the modernization of the traditional cultures of Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
121. Women in History
Either semester. Three credits. I. Brown
The historical roots of challenges faced by contemporary women as revealed in the European and/or American experience: the political, economic, legal, religious, and family life of women.
198. Varieties of History
Either semester. Three credits. With a change in content may be repeated for credit.
A major topic in history through contemporary sources and historical interpretations.
200W. Senior Thesis in History
Either semester. Three credits. Hours by arrangement. Open only with consent of instructor and Department Head. Independent study authorization form required. Prerequisite: three credits of independent study and/or an advanced seminar.
201. Supervised Field Work
Either semester. Credits up to 12. No more than six credits will count toward the department's major requirements. Hours by arrangement. Open only with consent of Department Head.
Internship in applied history.
203W. History and the Historian
First semester. Three credits. Cox, Langer
Major historical theories and writings from the ancient world to the modern era. For History Honors and other qualified students.
204. Medieval Islamic Civilization to 1700
First semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 100 or 101. Open to sophomores. Azimi
The social dynamics of faith, culture, and change from the rise of Islam to the Ottoman decline and the Islamic challenge to Greek and Latin Christendom.
205. The Modern Middle East from 1700 to the Present
Second semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Azimi
Tradition, change, modernization and development in the Middle East from the Ottoman decline and rise of successor states to the Arab-Israeli and oil crises.
206. Introduction to the History of Science
(Also offered as Science 206.) First semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. This course may be used only once to meet the distribution requirement. Roe
Rise and development of scientific inquiry; case studies designed to illustrate problems and methods in the study of the history of science.
207W. Science and Social Issues in the Modern World
Second semester. Three credits. Roe
Social context of science in the United States and Europe since 1850. Genetics and eugenics; ecology and the environment; nuclear issues; gender, race, and science.
208W. Darwinism in the Modern World
First semester. Three credits. Roe
Interaction of science, ideology, and world view in the development of evolutionary biology from Darwin to the present, including interrelations of genetics, eugenics, ecology, and sociobiology.
209. History of the Family
(Also offered as HDFR 279.) Either semester. Three credits. Not open for credit to students who have passed HDFR 279. Brown
Pre-industrial and industrial family life in Western society since the Middle Ages, with emphasis on the changes in demography, family size and structure, family economy, social expectations, sex roles, sexuality, and affective bonds.
210. History of Women and Gender in Early America
(Also offered as Women's Studies 210.) Either semester. Three credits. Not open to students who have taken HIST 202 or WS 202 before fall 1998. Dayton
Compares the evolving gender systems of native American groups, transplanted Africans, and immigrant Europeans up to the early Nineteenth Century. Topics include women's work, marriage and divorce, witch-hunting, masculinity, and women's Revolutionary War roles. For U.S. women's history, 1790 to present, see History 215.
211. The Historian's Craft
Either semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Learning critical reading, thinking and writing skills by interpreting a variety of primary sources.
212W. Near Eastern Pre-History
(Also offered as Anthropology 257W.) Second semester. Three credits. Not open for credit to students who have passed ANTH 257.
From the earliest hunter-gatherers to the rise of the state: the transition from food-gathering to food-producing and the development of complex societies in the Near East.
213. Ancient Near East
(Also offered as Classics 253.) Either semester. Three credits.
The history of Near Eastern civilization from the Neolithic period to the Persian Empire. The birth of civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt. The political, economic, social, and cultural achievements of ancient Near Eastern peoples.
214. Ancient Greece
(Also offered as Classics 254.) Either semester. Three credits. Not open for credit to students who have passed HIST 215.
The history of Greece from Minoan and Mycenaean times into the Hellenistic period with special emphasis on the Fifth Century and the "Golden Age" of Athens.
214W. Ancient Greece
(Also offered as Women's Studies 215.) Either semester. Three credits. Not open for credit to students who taken HIST 202 or WS 202 before fall 1998. Porter-Benson
Women and gender in family, work, education, politics, and religion. Impact of age, race, ethnicity, region, class, and affectional preference on women's lives. Changing definitions of womanhood and manhood.
216. Ancient Rome
(Also offered as Classics 255.) Either semester. Three credits. Not open for credit to students who have passed HIST 217.
From the beginning of Rome to the reign of Justinian. The growth of the Roman Republic and Empire, Roman civilization and its influence upon later history.
216W. Ancient Rome
(Formerly offered as History 217.)
218. Palestine Under the Greeks and Romans
(Also offered as Hebrew 218 and Classics 256.) Either semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 213 or 214 or 216 or INTD 294 or HEB 202. Miller
The political, historical and religious currents in Greco-Roman Palestine. Includes the Jewish Revolts, sectarian developments, the rise of Christianity and the Talmudic academies.
219. Early Middle Ages
First semester. Three credits. Olson
The decline of Rome, rise of Christianity, the barbarian invasions and kingdoms, culminating in the civilizations of the Carolingian Empire, of Byzantium, and of Islam.
220. The High Middle Ages
Second semester. Three credits. Olson
The history of Europe from the tenth through the fourteenth centuries. The development and expansion of European civilization, the revival of a money economy and town life, the development of feudal monarchy, the conflict of Empire and Papacy, the Crusades.
221. Modern China
Either semester. Three credits. Wang
Survey of patterns of modern China since 1800. Topics will include reforms and revolutions, industrialization and urbanization, and family and population growth.
222. History of Pre-Colonial Africa
First semester. Three credits. Omara-Otunnu
The history of pre-colonial Africa with particular attention to the rise and fall of African kingdoms, interaction between different ethnic groups, African trade with other continents, and the impact of foreigners on African societies.
223. History of Modern Africa
Second semester. Three credits. Omara-Otunnu
The history of African perceptions of and responses to the abolition of the slave trade, Western imperialism and colonialism, and the development of nationalism and struggle for independence.
224. History of Pan-Africanism
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: At least one of the following, HIST 222, 223, 238, or 246. Omara-Otunnu
The development of ideas of Pan-Africanism, beginning with the proto-Pan-Africanists in the nineteenth century; examination of the linkages between those ideas in Africa and the evolution of Pan-Africanism as a movement in the African Diaspora.
225. History of War in the Modern World
Either semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 101. Open to sophomores.
Selected topics analyzing the interactions of warfare, military theories and practice with social, economic and technological developments since 1815.
226. Contemporary World Issues
Either semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores.
The historical background of, and approach to, a number of the most critical problems confronting the world since World War II.
227. Social History of Connecticut
First semester, even-numbered years. Three credits. Either 239 or 227, but not both, may be counted for credit toward the History major. Collier
Everyday life from the Colonial Period to the recent past. Topography, Indians, settlement patterns, agriculture, industry, immigration and ethnic patterns, urbanization and suburbanization. Especially recommended to students planning to teach elementary grades.
228. Europe in the Nineteenth Century
First semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Recommended preparation: HIST 101. Coons
This course examines the Restoration, the mid-century revolutions, and the forces of nationalism, liberalism and imperialism. New social and economic movements and currents of thought are described and explored.
228W. Europe in the Nineteenth Century
229. Europe in the Twentieth Century
Either semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Recommended preparation: HIST 101.
Twentieth Century Europe and its world relationships in the era of two world wars, the great depression, and the cold war.
229W. Europe in the Twentieth Century
(Formerly offered as History 295, Topic Two.)
231. American History to 1877: A Survey
Either semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores.
Political, social, and economic development of the American people through post-Civil War Reconstruction.
231W. American History to 1877: A Survey
232. American History Since 1877: A Survey
Either semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Not open for credit to students who have passed HIST 294, Topic Two.
Political, social, and economic development of the American people from Reconstruction to the present.
232W. American History Since 1877: A Survey
233. Social and Intellectual History of the United States through the Civil War
First semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: HIST 231 or consent of instructor. Brown
This course stresses the impact of political, economic, and social changes on American thought.
234. American Thought and Society Since the Late Nineteenth Century
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 232.
The interaction of popular ideas and formal thought with society in the United States during a time of world-wide crises and unrest. Social Darwinism, Populism, reformism, racism, radicalism, liberalism, conservativism, and other idealogies and movements.
235. Constitutional History of the United States
Either semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 231. Collier
The Constitution and the Supreme Court in relation to the political, economic, and intellectual history of the United States.
236. Civil War America
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 231. Waller
The social, economic and cultural forces that shaped the Civil War and its aftermath. Sectional conflict, industrialization, reform and abolitionism, race relations, and class, gender and constitutional issues from the 1830s to the 1880s.
237. The Indian in American History
Either semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 231.
Examination of the cultural and political/military interaction of Indians and Europeans in America from the early colonial period.
238. African American History to 1865
Either semester. Three credits. Baszille
History of African-American people to 1865, from their West African roots, to their presence in colonial America, through enslavement and emancipation. Adaptation and resistance to their conditions in North America. Contributions by black people to the development of the United States.
238W. African American History to 1865
239. History of Connecticut
First semester in odd-numbered years. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 231 or 232. Either 239 or 227, but not both, may be counted for credit toward the History major. Collier
A survey of Connecticut's history from 1633 to the present from a constitutional and political perspective.
240W. History Workshop: Topics in American Society and Culture
Either semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Recommended preparation: HIST 231 or 232.
Techniques of primary historical research based on collaborative research and writing on a topic selected by the instructor. With a change in content, may be repeated for credit.
241. The History of Urban America
(Also offered as Urban Studies 241.) Either semester. Three credits. Not open for credit to students who have passed URBN 241. Stave
The development of Urban America with emphasis on social, political, physical, and environmental change in the industrial city.
241W. The History of Urban America
(Also offered as Urban Studies 241W.)
242. Work and Workers in American Society
Either semester. Three credits. Porter-Benson
Changes in work from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Workers' experiences, ideologies, and activities as shaped by gender, race/ethnicity, region, occupation, and industry.
243. The Establishment of the American Colonies
First semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 231. Baszile, Dayton
Examines the context in which Europeans undertook settlement of North America, and the nature of the Indian response. Emphasis on the development of social, political, and religious institutions in the seventeenth century and in the increasingly ethnically and racially mixed cultures of the eighteenth century.
243W. The Establishment of the American Colonies.
244. The American Revolution
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 231 or 243. Brown, Collier
Creation of the United States of America from the beginnings of the independence movement through the adoption of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
246. African American History Since 1865
Either semester. Three credits. Ogbar
History of African-American people since the Civil war. Contributions by black people to American development. African-American activity in international arenas.
246W. African American History Since 1865
247. Immigrants and the Shaping of American History
Either semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: One course in American History.
The origins of immigration to the United States and the interaction of immigrants with the social, political, and economic life of the nation after 1789, with emphasis on such topics as nativism, assimilation, and the "ethnic legacy."
248W. Main Currents in American Law
Second semester. Three credits. Consent of instructor required. Dayton
Seminar, limited to fifteen, emphasizing class participation. Themes from 18th to 20th century include: the Americanization of English common law; developments in legal education and law practice; legal ideology from sociological jurisprudence to legal realism to critical legal studies.
249. History of American Foreign Relations
Either semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 231 or 232.
The United States in the world since the eighteenth century, with emphasis on twentieth-century events, doctrines, and leaders, expansion and decline of the American empire, world wars, Cold War, and Third World intervention.
250. Byzantium
Second semester. Three credits. Langer
A survey of the major developments from the fourth through the fifteenth centuries: religious controversies, the theme system, the Crusades, Byzantine civilization, its law, art, literature, and its impact upon European and Russian civilization.
251. Medieval and Imperial Russia to 1855
First semester. Three credits. Langer
The development of Russia from the emergence of the Slavs to the reign
of Alexander II. Russian political
institutions, orthodoxy and cultural traditions, nobility, peasantry,
and townsmen.
252. History of Russia Since 1855
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended Preparation: HIST 251. Langer
Continuation of History 251. Late imperial Russia, the former Soviet Union, and contemporary Russia.
254W. The Habsburg Monarchy and Its Peoples, 1740-1918
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 101. Coons
The rise and fall of the multinational, dynastic state of the Habsburgs, with emphasis upon those forces which sustained it through the nineteenth century and those which brought its collapse in 1918.
255. Germany from the Reformation to 1815
First semester. Three credits. Bergmann
A political and cultural survey of German history with topical emphasis on the Reformation, the religious wars, the Age of Enlightenment, the rise of Brandenburg-Prussia, Germany during the revolutionary era.
255W. Germany from the Reformation to 1815
256. Germany Since 1815
Second semester. Three credits. Bergmann
A study of German political, social, and intellectual history since the Napoleonic Wars. This course also considers European and world problems as reflected in the emergence of Germany as a pivotal force in international affairs.
258. Intellectual and Social History of Europe in the Nineteenth Century
First semester. Three credits. Bergmann
The thought and feeling of Europeans in their social context.
258W. Intellectual and Social History of Europe in the Nineteenth Century
259. Intellectual and Social History of Europe in the Twentieth Century
Second semester. Three credits. Bergmann
A continuation of HIST 258.
259W. Intellectual and Social History of Europe in the Twentieth Century
261. English History to 1603
First semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Olson
A survey of English history from its origin to the close of the Tudor period. Emphasis is placed on the development of the English nation and the growth of its culture. Recommended to majors in English.
262. History of Modern England
Second semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Watson
Cultural, political, economic, and intellectual development of modern Britain, with special emphasis on changing ideas of national identity.
264. Social and Economic History of Modern Britain
First semester. Three credits. Watson
The change from an agrarian to an industrial society.
265. History of Ireland
Either semester. Three credits. Canning
History of Ireland, with emphasis on the modern
period. The rise of Irish nationalism, the Irish Literary Revival,
and the problems of Northern Ireland.
266. Gender and Sexuality in Pre-Modern Europe (300-1800)
Either semester. Three credits.
The medieval, renaissance and early modern formulation of gender roles will be examined in the context of changing sexual values, practice, and methods of disciplining sexuality.
267. Italy 1250-1600
Either semester. Three credits.
Italy from the triumph of the city-state and the popolo grosso to the end of the Renaissance. The complex interrelationship between society and culture will be the focus of study. Not open to those who have taken HIST 268.
269. The Modernization of Italy from 1815 to Present
Second semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Davis
The modernization of Italy's traditional sociopolitical and economic structure; Industrialization, unification, the liberal regime, fascism, and the republic.
270. Variable Topics
Either semester. Three credits. With a change in topic, may be repeated for credit. Prerequisites, required preparation, and recommended preparation vary.
271. The Renaissance
First semester. Three credits.
Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
272. The Reformation
Second semester. Three credits.
Europe in the sixteenth century with emphasis on religious developments, rise of the modern state, birth of science, expansion of Europe, and the Commercial Revolution.
273. Europe in the Seventeenth Century
First semester. Three credits.
Conflict of constitutionalism and absolutism, colonial expansion and rivalry, development of science, and the age of reason, the age of the baroque, the age of Louis XIV.
274. Europe in the Eighteenth Century
Second semester. Three credits.
Intellectual, political, and socioeconomic developments in Europe from 1713 to 1789.
275. Latin America and the Great Powers
First semester. Three credits.
Great power diplomatic, commercial, and cultural relations with Latin America from the end of the colonial period to the present. Emphasis on the United States and Great Britain.
276. Andean Societies
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 281 or 282. Spalding
History of the geographical and social region occupied by the Inca Empire: pre-Columbian cultures, the period of Spanish colonial rule, and the modern Andean republics (primarily Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
277. Modern India
Either semester. Three credits. Buckley
An introduction to the history of India from the Mughal and European invasions of the 16th Century to the present. India's synthesis of Eastern and Western culture, traditional and new, will be the focus.
279. France Since 1715
Second semester. Three credits. Cox
The disintegration of the monarchical synthesis prior to and during the French Revolution; the attempts to harmonize French society under subsequent regimes.
280W. Mexico in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 281.
The emergence of modern Mexico from independence to the present with emphasis on the Revolution of 1910.
281. Latin America in the Colonial Period
First semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores.
Pre-Columbian Civilization in America, the epoch of conquest and settlement, together with a study of the Ibero-Indian cultural synthesis which forms the basis of modern Latin American civilization.
282. Latin America in the National Period
Second semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Goodwin
Representative countries in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean together with the historic development of inter-American relations and contemporary Latin American problems.
283W. The Hispanic World in the Ages of Reason and Revolution
First semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 281.
The transformation of Spanish America from the Bourbons in 1700, through the wars of independence and the struggle to build stable national states in the Nineteenth Century.
285. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Spanish Caribbean
First semester. Three credits.
Discovery and settlement, slavery and plantation economy, recent political and economic developments, and United States relations with the Spanish Caribbean.
286. Argentina and LaPlata Region
First semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: HIST 281 or 282. Goodwin
Colonial heritage, social and economic transformation of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, foreign relations and contemporary turmoil.
287. East Asia to the Mid-Nineteenth Century
First semester. Three credits. Wang
The major problems and issues of traditional Chinese and Japanese history and historiography. Special emphasis on the "Great Tradition" in ideas of both civilizations.
287W. East Asia to the Mid-Nineteenth Century
288. East Asia Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century
Second semester. Three credits. Wang
The reactions of East Asia to the Western threat, and the rise of Asian nationalism, communism, and fascism. Special attention to the tensions caused by the conflict of ideas.
288W. East Asia Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century
289. War and Diplomacy in East Asia
First semester. Three credits.
European struggle for power in Asia since 1842, in the context of the rise of Japan and the reassertion of Chinese power.
290. The Middle East Crucible
First semester. Three credits. Azimi
Twentieth-century issues in the Middle East heartland with analysis focusing on the Ottoman heritage, nationalism, Arab-Israeli and other conflicts, Islam, oil, water, rapid sociopolitical change, trends in development, super-power rivalries, and the search for identity, independence, and peace with justice.
291. Personality and Power in the Twentieth Century
Second semester. Three credits.
Dynamic leadership in historical crises, including, for example, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, DeGaulle, Kennedy, and Mao.
292W. Biography as History
Second semester. Three credits. Two class periods of 75 minutes. Open to sophomores.
What the lives of significant individuals reveal about major historical periods and themes. Variable topics.
293. Foreign Study
Either or both semesters. Credits and hours by arrangement. May be repeated for credit. Consent of department head required, normally to be granted before the student's departure. May count toward the major with consent of the advisor.
294. Asian-American Experience Since 1850
295W. History through Fiction
Either semester. Three credits. Open to sophomores. Recommended preparation: History 231 or 232 (if American perspective) or History 228 or 229 (if European perspective). Phillips
What classic novels and other works of fiction reveal about major historical periods and themes in history. Variable topics. May be offered from an American or European perspective.
296. Directed Research
Either or both semesters. Three credits. Open only to senior history majors.
An introduction to research methods and resources in history.
297W. Senior Seminar
Either semester. Three credits. Required preparation: HIST 211. Open only to undergraduate history majors in their senior year. With a change in content, may be repeated for credit.
These seminars give students the experience of reading critically and in depth in primary and secondary sources, and of developing and defending a position as an historian does.
298. Special Topics
Either semester. Credits and hours by arrangement. With a change of content, may be repeated for credit. Prerequisites, required preparation, and recommended preparation vary.
299. Independent Study
Either or both semesters. Credits and hours by arrangement. Open only with consent of instructor. With a change in content, may be repeated for credit.