Along with the Core curriculum you must meet the requirements of the following to complete a major in History:
HIS 110 Ancient World (3credits) HIS 120 Medieval World (3 credits) HIS 161 Modern World (3 credits) HIS 171 Contemporary World (3 credits) HIS 201 U.S. History to 1877 (3 Credits) HIS 202 U.S. History from 1877 (3 credits) HIS 210 Methods of History (3 credits)
Six upper level History courses One year of Foreign Language (8 credits)
Three History Seminars HIS 499 (1 credit) (Differ each semester)
Senior thesis 497 (3 credits) Plus another 300-400 level history class
History Internship 495 (6-9credits)
Please note that along with the Core Curriculum and the History major curriculum students must complete a minor. (Humanities if often the minor associated with a History Major, but you are well to create a minor of your own. Please talk to your advisor about doing so.)
A survey of global societies including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, from prehistory to around AD 500. There will be a focus on the birth of civilization and its struggle for existence.
A survey of global societies including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, which existed in the thousand year period between the ancient and modern eras c. AD 500 - 1500). Attention will be given to the massive and creative developments of this period.
A survey of global societies including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas from the Renaissance through the first half of the 20th Century and the beginnings of the Cold War (1500-1945). Particular focus will be given to the issues of Imperialism, Nationalism, and Industrialism.
A survey of global history in the 20th and 21st centuries with emphases on the legacy go the world wars, the Cold War, and the rise of the post-colonial Third World. This course will study the impact of modernization of nationalist and extremist responses, including the issue of terrorism.
A survey of social, political, economic, religious, and cultural institutions from Pre-Columbian America to the end of Reconstruction.
A survey of the social, political, cultural, and economic developments in the United States with special attention given to the emergence of the United States as a world power.
An introduction to the field of history with an overview of historical theory and methods. Students will learn how to analyze primary and secondary sources, to incorporate historiography into their research and writing, ant to utilize the Chicago Manual of Style. Assessment will be based on the research, writing, and presentation of a conference-style paper. This course is designed to enhance student effectiveness in subsequent upper-division history course and thesis writing. Students are expected to take this course during their sophomore year.
A regional study of the Northern Plains with primary coverage of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas and some coverage of surrounding states and cities such as Chicago. This course begins with the Plains Indians around 1800 and continues to the present. Techniques in regional and local history will be investigated.
This course covers the political, social, economic, and cultural history of ancient Greece from the Dark Ages through the Classical and Hellenistic eras until Roman conquest. (Directed Study)
This course covers Roman political, social, economic, and cultural history from the Roman Republic to the fall of the Roman Empire.
A study of Medieval Europe form the fall of the Roman Empire to the eve of the Reformation. Emphases will be placed on the development of medieval culture, the rise of the Christian Church and nation-states, and the famines, plagues, and wars that challenged society. (directed study)
An introduction to the foundations of Islam: Muhammed, the Qu’ran, and the sources of Islamic faith. The course includes an overview of the spread of Islam from its early beginnings to the present. The course also examines the diversity of being Muslim in the world today. Student research explores various forms of like and piety in selected locations of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Attention is paid to the area of Christian-Muslim understandings between the two communities.
A study of African history since the early 19th century with a concentration on the impact of European imperialism and the rise of New Africa after independence. Emphases will include an examination of imperialism, nationalism, socialism, and ethnic rivalry.
A study of Latin American history since independence, including an examination of the Caudillo era, the rise of Marxism, the challenge of democracy, and American intervention. (Directed Study)
A survey of American women’s history from before European contact to the present, with a special emphasis on women’s evolving experiences of work and family.
A study of the origins and expansion of colonial America in the 17th-18th centuries, as well as an examination of the American Revolution, early confederation, and constitutional conventions. (Directed study)
Traces the main political, social, and military events in American history from the war with Mexico in 1846-1847 through the crisis of the 1850s culminating in the Civil War from 1861-1865. US history from the end of Reconstruction in 1877 to the end of the century. Focuses on the problems of immigration, industrial expansion, and labor relations. Also discusses the growing sense of the United States as a world power, American Imperialism and the Spanish-American War.
A study of the chief executive of the United States from McKinley to the present, with special emphasis on the evolution of the office due to special factors and individuals who shaped it. Course will examine the impact of presidents on government structures through their domestic and foreign policies.
A study of American history since 1945, with emphases on the Cold War, the rise of technology and mass culture, and the crescendo and crises of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
A study of Scandinavian culture and society from the Carolingian era migrations though the rise of the Christian monarchies. Emphases will be placed on political, military, economic, social, and cultural themes as well as the impact that Viking Scandinavians had on Europe, North America, and the Near East. (Directed study)
Traces the major political, social, and administrative changes from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. A study of the British Empire with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries with regard to the expansion of empire, colonial government, nationalist responses, the impact of world wars, the collapse of empire, and the formation of the Commonwealth.
A study of the British Empire with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries with regard to the expansion of empire, colonial government, nationalist responses, the impact of world wars, the collapse of empire, and the formation of the commonwealth.
A study of modern Britain from 1815 to the present. There will be an examination of Britain's domestic transformation into a social welfare state, its cultural and intellectual achievements, its participation in world events, the climax and collapse of the British Empire, and Britain's post-imperial legacy.
A study of Modern Germany from 1871 to the present with an emphasis on the political, economic, social, cultural, intellectual, and military achievements as well as its challenges for itself and the world during the Second Reich, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, and Bundesrepublik.
This course covers the main political, economic, and military causes and development of the Great War, 1914-1918. A study of the political and diplomatic tensions as well as the imperial and nationalist rivalries at the turn of the war to the Peace of Versailles. American of European emphases will be determined.
A survey of the major events in American history during the era of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Emphasis will be on the Great Depression, the New Deal, and WWII. Course will include an examination of the political, social, military, and economic changes that make this era a turning point in American history.
This course covers the main political, economic and military causes and developments of World War 11, 1939-1945. It begins with eh failure of Versailles and the rise of Fascism, and continues through the war to the atomic age and beginning of the Cold War.
This class centers on the American involvement in Southeast Asia from 1965 to 1972 through the disciplines of History and English. IT also covers to a lesser degree the French colonial experience in Indo-China and the history of the united Vietnam after reunification in 1975. As an interdisciplinary course, the focus is not only on the historical narrative but on the literature of the period as well from American, South Vietnamese, and North Vietnamese sources. Film, music, and direct recollections of the U.S. Vietnam veterans are used in this course.
This interdisciplinary course will examine American counterculture, political activism, and postmodern literature after 1945.
Seminars will cover announced topics and can be taken as a stand-alone course of in conjunction with a lecture course of a similar topic. Seminars may be organized in either a reading or research format with the former requiring a formal annotated bibliography and the latter requiring an advanced research paper. Historiography and theory will be emphasized in either format. History majors are required to complete three seminars for graduation. (Seminar topics vary by semester)
A general survey of world geography with an exploration of political, physical, and cultural geographic themes. Students will learn the countries of the world, basic geographical forms, climate, and how to use maps effectively. (Directed study)
A broad study of the current global issues of political, economic, cultural, and environmental significance that face the United States and the world. Special attention will be given to understanding the geographical significance of those issues.
An advanced introduction to the American legal system with an in-depth exploration of the US Constitution and the institutions and processes of the local, state and federal courts. Emphasis will be placed on major historical cases as well as major issues and cases facing the courts today.
Discusses the legal issues affecting the mass media, including the First Amendment rights, libel, fair trial rights, privacy, and public access to information. Students study the U.S. Constitution, court cases and legislative actions which are the foundations for media law.
A first course in law for the business practitioner. Topics include the U.S. Constitution and the Uniform Commercial Code, crimes and torts, courts and procedures, contracts, sales, business organizations, agency, government regulation, and property. Major themes include legal research, the international legal environment, ethics, and corporate responsibility. The course concludes with a moot court, in which students play the roles of plaintiff, defendant, counsel, clerk of court, judge and jury.
Covers the nature of the American federal system as it is under the American Constitution including the national, state, and local governments. It also studies the political processes through which our governmental systems function.
A general overview of public relations as a four-step process. Process application as it relates to case studies in media relations, internal communications, community relations, public affairs, and crisis communications.
A foundational study of the major political parties of the United States and the electoral process at the local, state, and national levels. Coverage includes caucuses, preliminaries, conventions, platform building, lobbying, and campaigning, along with an investigation of the positions of current parties. Offered during election years.
This course is designed to improve critical thinking and argumentation skills. The student will learn to construct, apply, and rebut arguments through the discipline of academic debate. The student will develop the ability to apply these skills in a variety of communication situations (business, legal, personal). The course also prepares the student to direct and manage or judge a high school debate team.
A comparative study of foreign governmental systems in parallel or contrast to the American form government with regard to their political and legal institutions and philosophies.
This course traces the evolution of the U.S. foreign policy and its required government institutions from the Revolution to its present roles as a world leader. Politics and diplomacy are combined with a focus on the social and economic issues that inevitably become intertwined.
An advanced introduction to the American legal system with an in-depth exploration of the U.S. Constitution and the institutions and processes of the local, state, and federal courts. Emphases will be placed on major historical cases as well as major issues and cases facing the courts today. (Directed study)
Instruction in the basic skills needed for public relations programming including strategic and organizational planning, special events planning, and persuasive writing. Includes sample analysis, writing projects and actual events planning.
Topics will vary and are determined by the instructor. All political science special topics will include a component that examines American political structures, theory, or policies