COURSES
Spring 2015 Course Descriptions: 200-400 Level
SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE! Always check the University online schedule for the latest changes.
HIS 206-01 - Topics in Premodern World History I: "Global Developments to 1500"
10040 MW 11:00-11:50 and F 11:00-11:50
Stephen Ruzicka
This course surveys premodern history (through about 1500) on a global basis. While looking at the origins and histories of distinctive societies and cultural traditions in Africa, Eurasia, China, South Asia, the Near East and the Western Hemisphere, it pays particular attention to developments of world historical scope - population movements, economic activities, trade, and cultural exchange - which constitute the common premodern human experience. Students should gain a broad and balanced understanding of the major social, political, and cultural developments of human societies up to the eve of the modern age.
The lecture portion of this class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11-11:50. Smaller discussion groups will meet on Fridays at 11:00-11:50.
19171 206R-01 - F 11:00-11:50
19172 206R-02 - F 11:00-11:50
HIS 206-02 - Topics in Premodern World History I: "Change, Comparison, and Connections in the Premodern World"
18029ONLINE
Donna Ward
What was the world like before the internet, telephones, and the steam engine? How did people communicate and get from place to place? This course is a survey of premodern Europe through its interactions among people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas roughly to 1500. Students will explore big picture themes including religion, culture, state-building, and commerce by examining change, comparison, and connections between people and societies. Upon completion of the course students will be able to interpret big picture themes through the use of premodern historical written and visual sources.
HIS 207-01 - Topics in Premodern World History II: "Globalization, 1400-1700"
10041 MW 11:00-11:50 and F 11:00-11:50Linda Rupert
Hundreds of years before the Internet, cell phones, and GPS, the rise of European overseas empires linked peoples around the world through conquest, trade, and migrations. This course provides an overview of European expansion from the end of the Middle Ages up to the eighteenth century. We will discuss the creation of imperial spheres, the development of colonial societies, and the impact on peoples and cultures worldwide.
The lecture portion of this class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11-11:50. Discussion is on Fridays at 11:00-11:50.
17836 207R-01 - F 11:00-11:50
HIS 208-01 - Topics in Modern World History I: "European Expansion and Empires"
17842 MWF 11:00-11:50
Jill Bender
This course examines the rise and fall of European empires from the mid-eighteenth century to the late-twentieth century. We will pay particular attention to the cultural, social, and political ramifications of this imperial expansion. Specific topics will include new imperialism, the role of empires in both World War I and World War II, and decolonization.
HIS 208-02 - Topics in Modern World History I: "Revolutions in Modern World History"
17843 MW 3:30-4:45
Mark Moser
This course will be a comparative overview of major "revolutions" in modern world history. Topics covered will include the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Technological Revolution of the late 20th century, as well as important political and cultural revolutions that have taken place globally in the modern era. Major emphasis will be placed on the impact of these revolutions on the individual.
HIS 209-01 - Topics in Modern World History II: "Introduction to Islamic History and Civilization, 1200 C.E. - present"
10049 MWF 12:00-12:50
Asa Eger
By the tenth and eleventh centuries, Islamic civilization from Spain to Central Asia had reached its peak with a system of elaborate cities, expansive trade networks, and profound achievements in arts and architecture, science, literature, law, political and religious thought. However, by the twelfth century, contact with western European world with the onset of the Crusades and with the eastern world with the advent of Turkic nomads fundamentally transformed the course of Islamic civilization. In this course we will examine how these changes reverberated through medieval and modern Islamic history in two parts. The first part will familiarize students with the dynamic history and changes in Islamic cultural process from time of the Crusaders through the legacy of the Mongols. The second part will explore the transition of the medieval to modern Islamic world, focusing on the formation of the "gunpowder" Ottoman, Safavid, and Moghul Indian empires and the effects of nationalism in shaping the modern Middle East. Throughout the course we will focus on themes of tradition and change in Islamic society with the assimilation, influence, and conflict of non-Arab and non-Muslim cultures. Our approach will be interdisciplinary. We will look at the history, art and architecture, archaeology, environment, literature, and religion of Islamic civilization.
HIS 209-02 - Topics in Modern World History II: "World Environmental History"
17844 MW 2:00-3:15
Greg O'Brien
This course will use an environmental history approach to better understand the past 500 years of human history around the planet. We will read and discuss books, see films, and discuss selected topics in order to better understand the relationship between humans and nature. Humans have always been limited by the natural resources at their disposal while simultaneously developing new techniques and technologies to exploit nature. Nature has impacted the general direction of human history more than any other single factor, while humans have altered and impacted nature more than any other species. It is impossible to fully understand human history without including the role of nature.
HIS 211-01 - United States History to 1865
10051 MW 10:00-10:50 and F 10:00-10:50
Watson Jennison
General survey of American history from colonization through the Civil War. All sections are Writing Intensive.
The lecture portion of this class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10-10:50. Smaller discussion groups meet on Fridays at 10:00-10:50.
15990 211R-01 - F 10:00-10:50
15991 211R-02 - F 10:00-10:50
17845 211R-03 - F 10:00-10:50
HIS 212 - United States History since 1865
General survey of American history from Reconstruction to the present.
10053 212-01 R 6:00-8:50 p.m. Steven Peach
10054 212-02 TR 9:30-10:45 Hannah Dudley Shotwell
10055 212-03 MWF 12:00-12:50 Justina Licata
HIS 217 - The World in the Twentieth Century (1900-1945)
10059 217-01 TR 3:30-4:45 Jamie Mize
16932 217-02 MWF 10:00-10:50 Joseph Ross
17847 217-03 ONLINE Mark Moser
Political, social, and economic forces affecting Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. 1900-1945.
HIS 218 - The World in the Twentieth Century, since 1945
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.
10066 218-01 MWF 10:00-10:50 Virginia Summey16111 218-02 ONLINE Mark Moser
HIS 221-01 - Medieval Legacy
10069 MW 9:00-9:50 and F at 9:00-9:50 Richard Barton
Survey of Western European history from the end of the Roman Empire to the fifteenth century exploring such varied aspects of the medieval experience as pilgrimage, crusade, peasant life, the emergence of national states, and the rise of the university.
The lecture portion of this class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9-9:50. Smaller discussion groups meet on Fridays at 9:00-9:50.
18025 221R-01 - F 9:00-9:50
18026 221R-02 - F 9:00-9:50
HIS 222-01 - Europe 1400-1789
17848 MWF 1:00-1:50
Jodi Bilinkoff
Survey of major socio-economic, political, and cultural trends in Europe from the Renaissance to the French Revolution.
HIS 223 - European Revolutions, 1789-1989
10072 223-01 TR 11:00-12:15 Jeff Jones
17849 223-02 TR 2:00-3:15 Emily Levine
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. This course uses technology to enhance the teaching of historical skills and to facilitate peer learning.
HIS 240 - (Dis)order and Progress: Latin America since 1810
10073 TR 9:30-10:45
Peter Villella
This course introduces the the political, social, and cultural history of Latin America since independence. The survey addresses such themes as dictatorship and democracy; sovereignty and imperialism; revolution and social transformation; race relations; and the evolution of export economics, and explores the historical roots of the region's perennial struggles with inequality and foreign exploitation.
HIS 302 - Race and Segregation
10452 MW 2:00-3:15
Watson Jennison
Race and segregation in the United States since the Civil War, including the origins of the Jim Crow laws, the civil rights movement, black urbanization, the Harlem Renaissance, black nationalism, and the African American experience in America.
HIS 310 - Daughters of Eve: Women in the Middle Ages
18379 TR 11:00-12:15
Caitlin Saraphis
Examines the political, social, religious, and cultural experiences of women during the European Middle Ages. Consideration given to gender roles, family structure, and writings by and about women.
HIS 320 - History of Mexico and Central America
17851 TR 2:00-3:15
Peter Villella
This course examines the political, cultural, and social history of Mexico and Central America from the dissolution of colonial New Spain in 1821 to the conflicts over neoliberalism in the early 21st century. Topics include race relations and mestizo nationalism; competing visions of modernization and democracy; the influence of the United States and other foreign powers; and the origins of modern Mexican patriotism and national identity.
HIS 337 - Age of Jefferson and Jackson, 1789-1848
16007MWF 1:00-1:50
Mark Moser
A study of American History, 1789–1848, including examination of political events and politicians, economic and social trends and developments, and growth of sectionalism.
HIS 338 - Civil War, Reconstruction, and Reunion, 1848–1896
17853 TR 12:30-1:45
Christopher Graham
This course will examine the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Students will understand and explain how Americans from diverse backgrounds acted to bring about the Civil War and how the conflict changed the nation. Students will analyze the ideological, military, political and social aspects of the war and its aftermath and critically examine how we now think and talk about the legacy of the conflict.
HIS 340 - The United States since World War II
17854 TR 12:30-1:45
Brian Lee
Selected social, political, and international trends and events: Cold War and Vietnam; conservatism from McCarthy to Reagan; black freedom, radicalism and the Great Society; feminism; mass immigration and multicultural America.
HIS 347 - History of North Carolina
10459 347-01 TR 9:30-10:45 Christopher Graham
10460 347-02 MWF 11:00-11:50 Speaking Intensive Section Christine Flood
17855 347-03 ONLINE Jason Stroud
This is a survey course. It 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.
HIS 348 - The World at War 1914-1918
17856 TR 11:00-12:15
Paul Mazgaj
Few events in modern history have had as profound an impact on political institutions, society, and culture as the "Great War." This course will begin with an examination of prewar European society and an analysis of the stress zones—diplomatic, political, and cultural—that brought Europe to war in 1914. Next we will examine the course of the war, focusing not only on the battlefield but on the mobilization of the enormous human and material resources that were required to fight a "total war." Attention will be paid to the impact of total war on society, an impact that included challenging traditional gender roles, an increased role for the state, and an intensification of ideological conflicts. Finally, we will attempt to evaluate the consequences of the war for Western societies. These consequences included the collapse of three European empires, the communist revolution in Russia, the rise of fascist movements in Italy and Germany, a misfired attempt to bring a new order to the Middle East, and, not least, a major transformation in Western social and cultural life.
HIS 355 - The Roman Empire, 44 b.c.–a.d. 337
17857 MWF 9:00-9:50
Stephen Ruzicka
Survey of politics and society at Rome under the Empire, when Rome dominated Western Civilization. Topics covered include: Augustus and the rise of one-man rule at Rome, the long "Roman Peace" and the civilizing of Europe under the Emperors, the rise of Christianity, and the transformed Empire of Constantine the Great.
HIS 369 - History of Spain
17930MWF 10:00-10:50
Jodi Bilinkoff
In the period between 1450 and 1700 a previously poor and isolated region of Europe emerged as a dominant political, military and cultural force. In this, its "Golden Age," Spain conquered and colonized the largest empire since the days of the Romans, dominated much of Europe, declared itself the leader of the Catholic faith, and dazzled the world with its accomplishments in art, music, literature and spiritual expression. It also grappled with intense problems of poverty, urban sprawl, racism, religious intolerance and seemingly endless wars, on both sides of the Atlantic. In this course we examine primary texts (in English translation) from the Hispanic world in the Age of Empire, and listen to the voices of people caught up in the triumphs and struggles of this complex and fascinating society.
HIS 373 - English History to 1660
17931 TR 9:30-10:45
Caitlin Saraphis
This course will investigate the history of England, from the megaliths of 3000 BCE to the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 CE. We will look at primary and archaeological sources, as well as historians' and archaeologists' interpretations of those sources, in order to address three overarching themes:
- Identity: How did the different groups that contributed to the development of the English people understand themselves and their place in the world?
- Power: Who was in control at any given time, and what gave them that control?
- Culture: What made the English English and how did that manifest itself in their material culture/'stuff'?
HIS 376 - German History: "Germany and the World"
18060 TR 11:00-12:15
Emily Levine
The historian Raymond Aron once remarked that the 20th century could have been the German century. Some might say it actually was—but not in the way most Germans would have hoped. In the 19th century, Germany was the center of cultural and intellectual life in Europe and around the world. The two world wars and the postwar division of the country nearly demolished this legacy. But in the postwar period the country experienced an "economic miracle" and reemerged at the end of the century a leader of a new Europe. This course will use current scholarship to consider the vicissitudes of Germany in the 20th century in light of its changing relationship to the world. Together we will introduce a variety of historical methodologies, including cultural and comparative history, gender, and everyday life.
HIS 377 - Russian History to 1900
18061 TR 11:00-12:15
Jeff Jones
This course introduces students to the issues and debates raised in Russian history from its origins in roughly the 9th century until the eve of the 20th century. We will examine Russia’s history, as much as possible, through the eyes of those who lived it, trying thereby to acquire a fuller understanding of Russia today. The course is divided into two sections: Early Russia to 1700; and Imperial Russia 1700-1900. Relying largely on primary sources, we will approach the subject material from several perspectives, including political, social, economic, and cultural, with a number of themes in mind: state and society; ideology/religion; family/gender; class; and war and peace.
HIS 389 - West Africa during the Atlantic Slave Trade
17932 TR 3:30-4:45
Jonathan Fowler
Examines how trade between European and African countries developed into a trans-Atlantic slave trade. Focus on origins of slaves and effects of slave trade on Africa, ca. 1450–1850.
HIS 390 - History Internship
10711
Benjamin Filene
Field learning experience in public or applied history. Academic supervision provided by job supervisor. Assigned reading and written reports. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of Director of Public History. Written permission needed to register. Contact Benjamin Filene for information.
HIS 391-01 - Historical Skills and Methods
10712 TR 2:00-3:15
Thomas Jackson
Research 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 511. 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.
HIS 391-02 - Historical Skills and Methods
17933 MWF 11:00-11:50
Jodi Bilinkoff
Research 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 511. 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.
When a German monk named Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses against the sale of indulgences in 1517 he set off a chain of events that would shatter a unified Christendom. Over the next two hundred years Europeans would struggle with a dizzying array of issues related to faith, power, education, gender roles, work, artistic expression, and individual and group identities in a multi-confessional society. In this course we will first briefly trace the history of the Protestant Reformation and the manifold Catholic responses. Then students will take on projects focusing on aspects of the Age of Reformations in Europe and its colonies in the period between 1500 and 1700. Over the course of the semester they will learn skills critical to carrying out historical research and writing, including ways of analyzing primary and secondary sources, how to design a project and develop a thesis, citation methods for notes and bibliographies, and strategies for composing clear and compelling prose.
HIS 430 - Historical Methods for Social Studies Teachers
12052 TR 2:00-3:15
Lisa Tolbert
Writing and Research Intensive. 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
HIS 430 is an introduction to historical thinking and the research process designed to address these historical methods content standards for all social studies licensure candidates. The state of North Carolina requires that teacher candidates must demonstrate depth of content knowledge in "the process of critical inquiry in history and the social sciences used to examine change over time and develop historical perspectives," including: identifying and framing a problem, using primary and secondary resources, evaluating the credibility of sources, putting sources into historical context, investigating, interpreting, and analyzing multiple viewpoints, clearly and effectively articulating conclusions. The ultimate goal of the course is to understand the creative process of research within the discipline of history.
HIS 440 - Principles and Practices of Teaching History
10715 TR 3:30-4:45
Lisa Tolbert
Writing Intensive. 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.
