COURSES
Fall 2023 Course Descriptions
100-400 Level
SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE! Always check the University online schedule for the latest changes.
HIS 101: The Contemporary World
101-01 80067 MWF 10:00-10:50 Jeff Jones
101-02 80068 MWF 11:00-11:50 Mark Moser
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the historical roots of the key events, issues and themes in modern world history, focusing mainly on the post-World War II period, from the use of atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, to the complex, high-tech, evolving world of today. We will examine the world with a number of themes in mind: the Cold War; the rise & fall of communism; nationalism; violent vs. non-violent resistance to oppression; the rise of terrorism; gender relations; colonialism/de-colonization; racial/ethnic/religious diversity and conflict; and the international economy.
Field: Wider World. Markers: GHP; GMO; GN; MFND
HIS 206-01: "The History of Christianity in the Early Modern Atlantic World, 1450-1800"
80069 ONLINE asynchronous
Jonathan Baier
Christianity has become synonymous with European colonization in the Atlantic World’s Age of Exploration. This course will explore the historical link between the practice and spread of Christianity to better understand the development of identity and belief systems in the early modern world. Through the prism of Christianity, we will analyze the relationship that emerged between European imperial colonization, the Transatlantic slave trade, and the emergence of new concepts of race and identity. Additional topics will include the resistance to Christianity and the reshaping of encountering populations in Africa and the Americas, transformations in religious practice, and the influence of religious interaction on the concepts of violence and peace.
Field: Europe. Markers: GHP; GL; GPM; MHFA
HIS 207-02 - "The Caribbean in World History: From Columbus to Haiti"
80072 207-02 ONLINE asynchronous
Linda Rupert
From Columbus’s misguided attempt to find a route to Asia, to the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution three hundred years later, the Caribbean was at the center of early modern world history. This course explores major moments in the region’s history, their relationship to wider historical processes, and the impact on the lives of ordinary people. Topics include native peoples, piracy, smuggling, the transatlantic slave trade, and plantation slavery. We also discuss how these processes have been portrayed in popular culture and how popular memory differs from historical realities.
Field: Wider World. Markers: ADS; GHP; GN; GPM; IGS; MGIL
HIS 208-01 - "European Empires & Colonial Encounters"
80113 MWF 11:00-11:50
Jill Bender
The empires of France and Britain once included nearly 1/3 of the world's population. By the 1920s, the British Empire alone covered more than 14 million square miles of the world's surface. European imperialism is a reality of the past and has significantly shaped the world in which we live. This course provides a historical survey of European imperialism from the mid-eighteenth century to the late-twentieth century. We will pay particular attention to the cultural, social, and political ramifications of colonial encounters.
Field: Europe. Markers: .GHP; GL; GMO; IGS; MHFA
HIS 210: Human Rights in Modern World History
80114 MWF 12:00-12:50
Mark Elliott
This course provides a conceptual and historical introduction to the idea of human rights, surveying major developments in the advocacy of human rights around the globe from 1760 to the present. Focusing on a selection of important events, historical figures, and international issues of global significance, this course explores human rights in international law, transnational movements, and global causes. By understanding how claims of "humanity" arise from grassroots struggles, this course will widen the historical inquiry on this topic from a World, rather than Eurocentric, perspective. The concept of "human rights" has not remained static over time; it has been a contested idea and the subject of debate and disagreement among its advocates as well as its detractors. Placing the debates around, and the uses of, "human rights" in historical context will be the main endeavor of this course.
Field: Wider World. Markers: GHP; GMO; GN; IGS; MGIL
HIS 211: United States History to 1865
General survey of American history from colonization through the Civil War. All sections are Writing Intensive.
Field: United States. Markers: GHP; GMO; MDEQ; CW; WI
80115 211-01 TR 3:30-4:45 Robert Skelton
80116 211-02 ONLINE asynchronous Jeanna DeVita
80117 211-03 ONLINE asynchronous Emilee Robbins
84870 211-04 TR 2:00-3:15 Watson Jennison
HIS 212 - United States History since 1865
General survey of American history from Reconstruction to the present. All sections are Writing Intensive.
Field: United States. Markers: GHP; GMO; MDEQ; CW; WI
80118 212-01 ONLINE asynchronous David Wight
80120 212-03 ONLINE asynchronous David Kay
HIS 213-01 - "Women and Gender in Early America"
80237 ONLINE asynchronous Ashley Gilbert
This course surveys women and gender in America up to 1865. It explores how social and cultural expectations for gender roles informed physical and reproductive labor, slavery, economics, politics, family dynamics, and education. Students will analyze primary sources from diverse perspectives that aim to introduce students to the controversies, trends, events, and actors in the first half of American history and familiarize them with the analytical skills employed in the study of history.
Field: United States. Markers: Field: United States. Markers: GHP; GMO; MDEQ
HIS 213-02 - "America's Property: Slave Resistance, Protest, and Rebellion in History and Memory"
80765 ONLINE asynchronous
Felton Foushee
This course will explore historical figures and historical acts associated with disrupting, and at times attempting to destroy, the institution of slavery. Although the course focuses on slavery in the United States we will at points explore the practice beyond our shores in order to provide more historical context. By carefully reading primary and secondary source documents and reviewing selected media productions students will evaluate the various methods of dissent slaves and abolitionists used to interrupt the institution of American slavery. Was the act of working slow or laying down one's tools, when the overseer was out of sight, rebellious? Are Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, and John Brown recognizable in our collective historical memory? In answering questions such as this, students will gain a clearer understanding of the nuances associated with acts of defiance, while also learning analytical skills that will enhance their study of history and other subjects.
Field: United States. Markers: GHP; GMO; MDEQ
HIS 215-01 - Civilizations of Asia
80127 MWF 10:00-10:50
James Anderson
This course is an introduction to the pre-modern history of Asia. We will focus on the following Asian countries: China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Most students in the West may only be familiar with these nations in the context of the traumatic episodes of war and violence and revolution that swept the region throughout the twentieth century. However, these countries are heirs to long histories of cultural brilliance and diversity. In this class, we will first explore how the history of this region has shaped the common bonds that bring this part of the world together as a whole. Secondly, we will consider how the literary traditions of these various societies depict the social and political conditions from which modern Asian nations would later emerge.
Field: Wider World. Markers: GHP; GMO; GN; IGS; MGIL
HIS 217 - The World of the Twentieth Century (1900-1945)
80128 ONLINE asynchronous Mark Moser
Political, social, and economic forces affecting Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. 1900-1945.
Field: Wider World. Markers: GHP; GMO; GN; IGS; MGIL
HIS 218 - The World since 1945
80128 ONLINE asynchronous David Wight
This class will examine global issues in the contemporary world, focusing mainly on the post-World War II period, from the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, to the complex, high-tech, evolving world of today. We will examine some of the important political, economic, social, and cultural changes of the second half of the twentieth century and how these changes have shaped the world we live in today.
Field: Wider World. Markers: GHP; GMO; GN; IGS; MGIL
HIS 222 - Europe 1400-1789
80211 MWF 11-11:50
Jodi Bilinkoff
Survey of major socio-economic, political,
and cultural trends in Europe from the Renaissance to the French Revolution.
Field: Europe. Markers: GHP; GL; GPM; MHFA
HIS 223 - European Revolutions, 1789-1989
80213 ONLINE asynchronous
Teresa Walch
A survey of the political, social and cultural history of Europe from the time of the French Revolution to the fall of the Berlin wall. Emphasis will be placed on the political culture and the emergence of the great ideological systems of the West (e.g., liberalism, conservatism, socialism, communism, nationalism, and fascism) as well as how the borders and boundaries of Europe have changed over the last two hundred years with respect to class, race, gender and the nation state.
Field: Europe. Markers: GHP; GL; GMO; MHFA
HIS 301 - Race and Slavery
80241 TR 11:00-12:15
Watson Jennison
An examination of the African-American experience from ancient to modern times, including precolonial Africa, the Atlantic slave trade, slavery in the Americas with special emphasis on the United States before the Civil War.
Field: United States. Markers: GMO; ADS
HIS 312 - The Crusades
80343 TR 11:00-12:15
Richard Barton
This course offers an introduction to the social, political, intellectual, military and religious movement that is known as the crusades. It focuses on the "classic era" of crusading, namely the century and a half between the call to the first crusade at Clermont (1095) and the failure of the last serious crusade in Egypt (1250). Although close attention will be paid to the actions and achievements of the European crusaders in carving out European states in the Middle East, the course it not limited to, nor even particularly oriented around, military history. Rather, it attempts to place the crusading movement and its outcomes into a proper historical and cultural context. As a result, the class will focus intensely on the social and economic conditions that gave rise to the crusades, on the motives and ideologies of the crusaders, and on the structure of the society that they attempted to construct in the East. The course also assumes that any understanding of the crusading movement must also begin with an understanding of Islam; we will spend some time looking at Muslim society in the Near East, at Islamic notions of Jihad, at the reactions of Muslims to the crusades, and at the impact of the crusades on Muslim political, social and religious affairs. While recent events of the 21st century lend the crusading period a natural interest, and while we will be concerned to address some of the modern concerns raised by crusading ideologies, the course will insist that analysis and interpretation of motives, causes, and impacts of the crusades respect the historical and cultural uniqueness of the Christian and Islamic civilizations of the Middle Ages.
Field: Europe.
HIS 315: Witchcraft and Magic in European History
84660 MW 2:00-3:15 Jodi Bilinkoff
You may have heard about the witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. But, did you realize that by that time tens of thousands of people, mostly women, had been tried and executed as witches throughout western Europe? In this course we will examine the intellectual, religious, legal, and social factors that led to a "Witch Craze" in the period between 1480 and 1700. Field: Europe. Marker: WGS
HIS 316 - Interpreting American History
80344 TR 12:30-1:45
Thomas Jackson
Pr. Middle Grades or Secondary Social Studies Licensure candidates or permission of instructor
Examination of a broad variety of primary source evidence and historiographical methods for studying the American past from the colonial era through the twentieth century.
Field: United States.
HIS 318: Revolution and Reform in Modern Latin America
80478 ONLINE asynchronous
Origins and historical influence of major social and cultural movements in Latin America since 1800. Topics can include liberalism, populism, and communism; gender movements, countercultures, and Catholic traditionalism; and ethnic nationalisms. Field: Wider World.
HIS 329-01 - U.S. Women's History since 1865
80345 TR 9:30-10:45
Abigail Shimer
A history of women in the U.S. since the Civil War. Topics include women's activism, labor, reproduction, public policy, race and class inequalities, and contemporary women's issues.
Field: United States. Marker: .WGS
HIS 340 - The United States since World War II
80346 ONLINE asynchronous
David Wight
With the end of World War II, Americans celebrated the defeat of fascism and a return to peacetime and a booming economy. In short order, however, new challenges and opportunities arose for the United States at home and abroad. In the following decades, Americans debated and acted upon these issues. The Democratic and Republican parties struggled over the direction of the country's political programs, with visions that ranged from Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society to Reaganomics. Activists contested the legal, social, and cultural standing of racial minorities, women, and the environment. And Americans grappled with how to wield US power abroad during the Cold War and the Global War on Terror. This course will look at these major events and the debates Americans had within them.
Field: United States.
HIS 347 - History of North Carolina
This survey course spans more than 400 years of state history - from colonization to the present. It is American history with the spotlight on North Carolina. Objectives of the course include an examination of:
- when, how, and why North Carolina developed as it did.
- How its actions and reactions were similar or different from the other states.
- How the development of its economic, social, and political structure determines present-day North Carolina with special emphasis on such topics as: a) the economy b) politics c) race relations.
80348 347-01 ONLINE asynchronous Mark Moser
80789 347-02 ONLINE asynchronous Andrew Turner
HIS 348 - The World at War 1914-1918
80351 MW 2:00-3:15
Mark Moser
Origins, course, and impact of the First World War. Emphasis on political, social, and cultural as well as military perspectives.
Field: Europe.
HIS 354: The Roman Republic, 754 BC-44 BC
80352 MWF 12:00-12:50 Jonathan Zarecki
Study of the social and political forces that led to Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean World—and of the transformation which world conquest wrought on Rome itself. Topics covered include: the Roman Constitution and politics, the Roman conquest of Italy and then of the whole Mediterranean, and the decline of the Republic. Field: Europe. Crosslisted with CCI 354.
HIS 377 - Russian History to 1900
80354 MW 2:00-3:15
Jeff Jones
Introduction to old Russia of Kiev and Muscovy, followed by a more intensive survey of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Field: Europe. Marker: GPM
HIS 380 - Topics in Near/Middle East: "Unearthing Islam's Past: Art, Archaeology, and History"
80357 TR 3:30-4:45
Asa Eger
This course will survey the monuments, material culture, and settlements left behind of the Islamic world from Morocco to the Middle East to Central and Southeast Asia. We will begin in the 7th century and continue through the Late Antique, Medieval, and Early Modern periods until the early 20th century. We will study Islamic lands through archaeology. Beyond understanding Islamic history through its physical past, we will closely examine the relationship between archaeological and historical practice, observing how archaeological evidence complements or diverges from what we consider as 'history,' and how, as archaeologists and historians, we can broaden our perspectives and utilize other categories of evidence as tools to learning history.
Field: Wider World. Markers: ARC; IGS
HIS 384 - The Modern Transformation of China, 1800-present
80359 MW 3:30-4:45
James Anderson
How is Modern China "modern"? We need to look behind the headlines to understand fully how China has changed over the past two hundred and twenty years. This course will examine the political, intellectual and social development of China since ca. 1800. Attention will be given to traditional Chinese culture and society, peasant revolutions, the May Fourth Movement, the rise of nationalism and communism, and domestic developments since the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China. Comparing and analyzing a variety of primary source materials, we will write our own history of China and in the end develop our skills in observing societies with different origins than our own.
Field: Wider World. Markers: .GN; IGS
HIS 391 - Historical Skills and Methods
80361 HIS 391-01 TR 3:30-4:45
Thomas Jackson
Writing Intensive. Restricted to history majors.
This is a required course for all history majors (except social studies concentration candidates who complete HIS 430 for research methods). It serves as a prerequisite for the capstone course in the major. Students in the course address a variety of research problems in history using different sources and methods in preparation for HIS 411. Formal goals include: analyzing varieties of primary and secondary source materials; designing a project focus; finding and evaluating appropriate sources; learning citation methods; understanding how historiography can guide us to significant questions and methods.
Marker: .WI
HIS 408 - Latin American History Selected Topics: "Islands of Liberation: Revolution and Radical Alternatives in the Caribbean"
This course will introduce students to the history of the Caribbean through the lens of the major waves of revolutions and social movements dating from the late 18th century to the present. Using the 1804, 1959 and 1979 moments we will recenter the Caribbean as one of the most important and influential participants in global struggles for abolition, decolonization as well as the site of some of the most dynamic and popular visions of alternative politics and development.
Field: Wider World. Marker: .IGS
HIS 411A - Seminar in Historical Research and Writing: "Doing Local History"
80484 ONLINE asynchronous
Lisa Tolbert
Writing and Speaking Intensive. Prerequisites: For social studies licensure students: HIS 430 and permission of instructor. For all other history majors: HIS 391 and permission of instructor.
We will use digitized archival sources to study the history of Greensboro. More details to follow.
Field: United States. Markers: .WI .SI.
HIS 411B - Seminar in Historical Research and Writing: "The Great Irish Famine"
80485 MW 3:30-4:45
Jill Bender
Writing and Speaking Intensive. Prerequisites: For social studies licensure students: HIS 430 and permission of instructor. For all other history majors: HIS 391 and permission of instructor.
During the mid-nineteenth century, Ireland suffered a series of famines that decimated the island's population—in less than one decade, from 1846 to 1855, between 1.1 and 1.5 million people died at the hands of starvation or disease and another 2.1 million emigrated. The difficulties of these years were captured at the time and later recalled through art, literature, music, and more. Indeed, few (if any) events have had a larger impact on Irish history, politics, or national memory than "The Great Hunger." This course is designed to introduce students to the history of the Irish Famine and its repercussions. Together, we will examine the broad political, social, and cultural impacts of the Famine. Individually, students will conceptualize, research, and write papers on a related topic of their own choosing.
Field: Europe. Markers: .WI .SI.
HIS 426 - Selected Topics in the Civil War and Reconstruction: "American Nationalism and the Second Founding"
80486 MW 2:00-3:15
Mark Elliott
This course examines the transformation of American nationalism during the Civil War and Reconstruction period. Historians have begun to view the profound changes of this period as a "Second Founding" period that remade the nation’s constitutional and national identity. Conflicting ideas about nationalism led to the Civil War and the conflict itself reshaped the ways Americans conceived of national identity. American antislavery nationalism triumphed but also morphed into new forms during Reconstruction. Confederate nationalism did not die, but transformed and survived into the next century as a variant of American identity. This course seeks to better understand how the multiplicity of nationalisms operated as a cultural force. How were they gendered and racialized? What inclusions and exclusions did they create or reinforce? What have been the lasting legacies of this period for American nationalism today? Students will examine both primary and secondary sources and conduct their own historical research into different aspects of this topic.
Field: United States. Crosslisted with HIS 526.
HIS 440 - Principles and Practices of Teaching History
80488 MW 2:00-3:15
Lisa Tolbert
Pr. Middle Grades or Secondary Social Studies Licensure candidates who have completed HIS 308, 316, and one other 300-level History elective for a total of 9 s.h., or permission of instructor.
This course is especially designed for students who are concentrating in social studies and plan to engage in teaching as a career. As an aspiring educator, how will you instill in your students a sense of the value and relevance of thinking historically in the 21st century? How do people learn history? Is there something distinctive about learning history compared to learning other academic subjects? This course will introduce you to the growing scholarship that addresses the distinctive challenges of teaching and learning history as both a subject and a discipline.
HIS 446-01 - "African American Material Culture"
80489 TR 12:30-1:45
Torren Gatson
This seminar's goal is to provide grounding on the paradigm of material culture as it relates to African American life and culture through theoretical analysis and primary source research. Visual and material culture has been defined from numerous perspectives most notably anthropology, archeology, art history, cultural theory, and history. Using a wide range of methodologies and theoretical approaches we will largely study the Black experience through the lens of material culture genres and subfields of cultural landscapes. We will consider materiality within the following categories with a strong, but not exclusive, emphasis on consumption including, but not limited to, enslavement, foodways, decorative arts, burial and death rituals, interpretative history (public history), and visual and ichnographic culture.
Field: United States. Crosslisted with HIS 546.
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