Our history students are good detectives; they are curious, able to puzzle out and piece together evidence, and respectful of their “witnesses,” the people of the past. They have a deep curiosity about and insight into human character in all times, places and cultures. They like to work with many different kinds of texts and enjoy an intellectual challenge.
Our program has students consider the diversity of thoughts and cultures through courses in U.S., European and world history across the centuries. Students have access to world-class research facilities and collections, such as the Library of Congress and the National Archives. We also have a chapter of the national history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, and are a member of the Capitol Area Association for Peace Studies (C.A.A.P.S.), which gives students the opportunity to present research papers at student conferences.
Students in history courses develop vital skills in written and oral communication, critical thinking, and research methodology, skills that will serve them in almost any profession.
HIS 234 Kings, Commoners and ConstitutionsExamines religion and politics in the 17th century, the English constitutional conflicts and the triumph of the common law tradition, the mystique and reality of royal power in the court of France, the trend toward secularization of thought, and the growing role of commoners in political institutions.
3 credits
General Education: LeadershipHIS 338 United States Comes of Age, 1865-1941Studies the political and economic consequences of the evolution of the United States to an urbanized, industrialized society, the dilemmas of Reconstruction, the formation of a national economy, the politics of equilibrium from 1865-1896, the Progressive Movement, the New Deal, and the emergence of the United States as a world power.
3 creditsHIS 345 Civil Rights Movement in the Twentieth CenturyThis course explores the origins, evolution, and consequences of the Civil Rights Movement from the beginning of the twentieth century through the Black Power Movement and the liberation movements of the 1970's.Topics include the origins of protest in the 1890's and the first decade of the twentieth century, the transition from protest to resistance in the social movements of the 1930's and 1940's, the emergence of the mass movements of the 1950's and 1960's, and the Black Power Movement.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
General Education: Civic KnowledgeHIS 360 Ethics & Power: Contemporary Diplomatic History of the USExamines key moments in contemporary US history when previous generations had to address complex international challenges and establish an effective integration of realist and idealist perspectives. The course considers the various factors that affected the incorporation of ethical traditions into policy and analyzes their domestic and international consequences. Knowledge of these historic patterns, in turn, provides a basis for a critical appraisal of current, pressing issues on the international agenda in which ethical considerations figure prominently.
3 credits
Cross-referenced with ICAE 360HIS 393 Women in US History to 1900Explores women's experience in United States culture from the colonial period to 1900. Topics include the diversity of women's cultures and the impact of this diversity on family, work, and socialization; women's legal and political standing; and the conflicts among women exemplified in religious, ethnic, class and racial difference.
3 creditsHIS 431 Social Landscapes in United States CultureExplores questions of identity, diversity and power in the United States in the 20th century, focusing on concerns about the meaning of "America." Through the examination of symbolic landscapes, the course will explore the ways social change challenges dominant ideologies.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II HIS 485 Age of Dictators: Europe 1914-1945Examines the transformation of the European order as a result of World War I and the peace of 1919; analyzes the rise of the dictatorships, the leadership of Mussolini, Hitler, Lenin and Stalin; and investigates the outbreak of World War II.
3 credits
Our history students are good detectives; they are curious, able to puzzle out and piece together evidence, and respectful of their “witnesses,” the people of the past. They have a deep curiosity about and insight into human character in all times, places and cultures. They like to work with many different kinds of texts and enjoy an intellectual challenge.
