History

Explorations in History

An introduction to the foundational skills, methods, and work of historical inquiry. It explores how historians analyze evidence, build arguments, and interpret the past. Students develop essential research, writing, and citation skills while exploring practical and civic applications of historical thinking, including career opportunities and the importance of historical knowledge in the world around us. Every spring semester.

Introductory Topics in U.S. History

This topics course is an introduction to the study of United States history. While focusing on different topics or historical eras each semester, it gives special attention to the craft of history by introducing the materials and methods of historical inquiry. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Offered intermittently.

Introductory Topics in European History

This topics course is an introduction to the study of European history. While focusing on different topics or historical eras each semester, it gives special attention to the craft of history by introducing the materials and methods of historical inquiry. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Offered intermittently.

Introductory Topics in World History

This topics course is an introduction to the study of World history. While focusing on different topics or historical eras each semester, it gives special attention to the craft of history by introducing the materials and methods of historical inquiry. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Offered intermittently.

World History to A.D. 1600

This course explores world history to 1600 CE through an examination of global geography, politics, economics and trade, religion and law, gender, art, and warfare. Students encounter and discuss the lives and journeys of people familiar and strange, diverse human experiences, and the enduring legacies of these historical itineraries. Offered every fall.

World History: The Modern Era

Explores world history since 1600, focusing on intercultural exploration and appreciation. Examines many critical political events in world history, including the two world wars. Students also learn about key historical trends such as the waning of traditional societies, industrialization, Marxism, nationalism, and imperialism. Significant attention is devoted to studying cultural developments, especially how ordinary people experienced major historical events. Offered every spring.

History of the United States

A survey of the history of the United States from approximately 1400 to the present. Examines the major political, social, cultural, intellectual, religious, and economic trends over the course of the nation's history. Designed primarily to fulfill state competency requirements for prospective teachers. Offered every spring.

Topics in U.S. History

Emphasizes skills in historical analysis through an examination of a topic in U.S. history. Students learn how societies change over time by analyzing primary documents in their historical context and developing independent arguments based on primary sources. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Offered intermittently.

Topics in European History

Emphasizes skills in historical analysis through an examination of a topic in European history. Students learn how societies change over time by analyzing primary documents in their historical context and developing independent arguments based on primary sources. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Offered intermittently.

Topics in World History

Emphasizes skills in historical analysis through an examination of a topic in World history. Students learn how societies change over time by analyzing primary documents in their historical context and developing independent arguments based on primary sources. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Offered intermittently.

Modern Japan Study Away

Provides an overview of Japanese political, economic, social, and cultural history combined with a 10-day immersion study away trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima. The class includes study of Japanese intangible cultural heritage in the forms of food, music, and art. Offered summer term of odd-numbered years.

History of Hawai'i

This course will explore major themes in the history of the Hawaiian Islands, with attention paid to ancient Hawai'i, interactions with European and American interests, the overthrow of the monarchy, and American annexation. Offered fall of even-numbered years.

African American History

This course examines the major ideas, individuals, and institutions shaping African American life throughout U.S. history. Offered every fall.

Seminar in the History of European Cities

Investigates the history of various European cities, including Berlin, Paris, London, Vienna, and Prague. Focuses on the history of art, architecture, city planning, and public spaces. Through walking tours, visits to museums and key landmarks, and musical performances, students investigate the historical developments of the cities, especially the conflicts radiating from the construction and destruction of the urban landscape. Begins at Batten University with an on-campus component in which students prepare for an on-site study of the city. This study is followed by travel to the destination. Offered intermittently.

Queer Lives in the Archive

An exploration of the rise of LGBTQ+ and queer history as transformative forces in historical inquiry. Centering queer archival methods, it examines key events, people, and communities, investigating how public historians interpret sources and share findings with diverse audiences across public forums, spaces, and forms of representation. Prerequisites: sophomore/junior/senior status and successful completion of ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher. Every other fall semester in even years.

Advanced Topics in U.S. History

An advanced, discussion-based topical exploration in U.S. history. Students deepen their understanding of historical change over time by analyzing primary sources in tandem with historical preoccupations that have shaped the secondary literature. Students learn to develop and communicate independent conclusions. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Advanced Topics in European History

An advanced, discussion-based topical exploration in European history. Students deepen their understanding of historical change over time by analyzing primary sources in tandem with historical preoccupations that have shaped the secondary literature. Students learn to develop and communicate independent conclusions. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Advanced Topics in World History

An advanced, discussion-based topical exploration in World history. Students deepen their understanding of historical change over time by analyzing primary sources in tandem with historical preoccupations that have shaped the secondary literature. Students learn to develop and communicate independent conclusions. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Early Americas

A study of the social, cultural, religious, and demographic changes that took place over two centuries in early North and South American history. Topics studied include Native American life; the political, economic, and social formation of the colonies; free and enslaved black life; cultural development; and revolution, among others. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered spring of odd-numbered years.

Murder & Death in U.S. History

An examination of the history of death and the experiences of dying throughout U.S. history, with particular attention paid to violence and murder, graveyard and funerary rituals, and the meanings Americans associated with death throughout different historical periods. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered fall of even-numbered years.

Pop and Rock Music Seminar

Examines the history of Western popular music in the twentieth century. Situates pop and rock music in their socio-cultural contexts, investigating the nexus between socio-political developments and musical expression. Focuses on the interactions between different cultures, the development of international youth styles, music as political expression, and cultural imperialism. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

History of Modern France

Focuses on France's attempts to achieve "liberty, equality, and fraternity," exploring the history of France from the beginning of the 18th century to the present. Examines the various political regimes, beginning with Absolutism under Louis XIV, through the series republics and the two Napoleonic empires. Emphasizes the many revolutions that have left indelible stamps on the history of France. The political narrative is supplemented by a social analysis of French society, including the history of the working classes, women, Jews, and immigrants. Examines the cultural milestones in French history, in popular culture, and in national political symbolism. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

History of Modern Germany

Explores the meaning of modern Germany since its unification as a modern nation-state in 1871. Topics include the political outline of German history, the social and cultural histories of Germany, German identity, ethnic groups, the Holocaust, and Germany's national borders. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Holocaust

Examines the Third Reich and its collaborators' murder of six million Jews, emphasizing the perspectives of Holocaust victims. Also explores how survivors, nations, and popular culture have constructed a history that both raised awareness of the Holocaust while simultaneously advancing interpretations that were sometimes inconsistent with the historical record. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered spring of odd-numbered years.

Seminar in the History of Socialism, Communism, & Marxism in Europe

Explores the development of socialism in Europe from the late eighteenth century through today. Examines the theoretical origins of socialism in the late eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century. Includes an analysis of Marxism and Communism as developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as critical socialist thinkers after Marx, including August Bebel, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, and Geog Lukacs. Includes an analysis of socialist/communist feminism, aesthetics, literary theory, and home furnishing. Investigates the historical application of socialist theory to the political world from the mid-nineteenth century to the Russian Revolution, to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe in the 1990s. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Sex and Love in Asian History

Explores how love and sexuality have been shaped and experienced across Asian history. Through close historical case studies, this discussion-driven course reveals how sex and love are entwined with power, empire, religion, and identity. Students engage diverse sources, build research skills, and conduct original research. Prerequisites: sophomore/junior/senior status and successful completion of ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher. Every fall semester in even years.

Comparative Genocide

Examines a number of genocides. Central to the analysis is developing an understanding of the conditions that gave rise to genocide, the processes of genocide, the experiences of genocide (both victim and perpetrator), and external responses to genocide. We also consider the definition and significance of the term "genocide". Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered spring of even-numbered years.

Pirates, Slavery, and Empires

Introduces students to the major topics and themes of worldwide imperial formation during the early modern and modern era. Students examine topics such as the environment, migration, piracy, slavery, and revolution. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered spring of odd-numbered years.

History of Women in Europe Since 1700

Explores the history of women in Europe from the 18th century to the present. Focuses on women's roles in society, both public and private. Examining women in the spaces they have historically occupied, students probe some of the central questions concerning the history of women in Europe: how did society define "woman," and why was she generally seen as the "other"? How did society construct women's roles, and to what extent did women contest traditional gender roles? How did industrialization shape women's lives? To what extent did women participate in political struggle, and how did their political goals and means of struggle vary from those of men? How did contemporaries view the female body? Why did some women oppose "emancipation", as defined by feminists? Prerequisites: ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher and sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered spring of even-numbered years.

Religion and Social Justice

An exploration of how global religious ideas and identities have shaped, and been shaped by, social justice movements throughout the 20th century. Through a case study approach, this course examines the dynamic interplay between faith, activism, and justice in diverse religious and political contexts. Prerequisites: sophomore/junior/senior status and successful completion of ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher. Every other spring semester in odd years.

Topical Seminar in U.S. History

A highly advanced seminar in a current historiographical topic in U.S. history. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Topical Seminar in European History

A highly advanced seminar in a current historiographical topic in European history. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Senior Thesis Seminar

A workshop in which senior history majors apply previous learning. Each student selects a historical problem, develops appropriate research methodology, and carries out the project under faculty supervision and in close contact with other members of the seminar. Students are encouraged to consider a variety of approaches to historical investigation, including oral history, quantification, and archival research. Prerequisites: ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher and senior status, or consent. Offered every fall.