DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
HIST-10200-01 MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION II HU LA 1 h g
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Karin Breuer, Muller 419, Ext. 4-1489
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITES: None.
OBJECTIVES: This course will provide an overview of European history from 1648 to the present. Topics covered will include the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, socio-political change in the nineteenth century, Marxism and the Russian Revolution, the causes and the courses of World Wars I and II, and the Holocaust.
STUDENTS: This is a beginning level survey course. As such it is open to all students.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Primarily lecture, some discussion
REQUIREMENTS: Three examinations, 3 mid-length (4 page) analytical essays, class attendance and discussion
HIST-11200-01, 02 UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE 1865 HU LA 1 h
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Trotti, Muller, Muller 412, Ext. 4-1591
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITE: None.
OBJECTIVES: Survey of the important cultural, social, economic, and political developments in the U.S. from 1865 to the present. As a survey, this course will give you a sound knowledge of the most important moments of our recent past. Special emphasis will be placed upon: the emergence of the nation as an economic superpower, the growing engagement of the U.S. in world affairs, and the rich social history (race, class, and gender) of the nation in this period.
STUDENTS: Usually first year students and sophomores from all majors; also upperclassmen.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lecture and discussion.
REQUIREMENTS: 1. Four books. 2. One paper, 2 essay exams, and regular quizzes.
HIST-11200-04, 05 UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE 1865 HU LA 1 h
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Vivian Conger, Muller 408, Ext. 4-3572
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITE: None.
OBJECTIVES: This course broadly explores the history of the United States from Reconstruction to the making of the modern United States. Attention is given to social and intellectual currents, labor and business, farmer protests, immigration and ethnicity, race and gender, the development of reform and radical thought and activities, American involvement in war, civil liberties issues, Progressivism and the New Deal, and major changes in Post-World War II America. The course is organized to enable students to begin to cultivate habits of critical understanding and analysis that allow them to draw significance from the past.
STUDENTS: Primarily first and second year students from all majors. Open to students of all majors.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, readings (primary and secondary sources), videos and discussion.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings from a foundation text, a collection of essays that set up key points of debate, a collection of primary documents, and two additional books (one will be a novel). Also regular attendance, weekly writing assignments, and 2 in-class exams.
GRADING: Based on attendance, class participation and above requirements.
HIST-18200-01, 02 MODERN WORLD CIVILIZATION HU LA 1 h g
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Izbicki, Muller 416, Ext. 4-3035
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITES: None.
OBJECTIVES: Why do historians often refer to the years since 1500 C.E. as the modern era? What makes a civilization, a culture, a people, and a person ‘modern’? Modernity is connected to the rise of the nation-state and industrialization, processes that resulted in drastic, fundamental changes in the political, economic, and social structures. It is also related to the expanding interaction among people of all points of the planet that intensified reapidly after about 1500. This course examines the kinds of changes people throughout the globe have undergone in the last 500 years and how and why those changes occurred.
STUDENTS: Open to all students. Not open to students who have completed HIST-10200: Modern Western Civilization.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion, lecture, student presentations.
REQUIREMENTS: Assignments will include a panel presentation organized around problems facing today’s world and a final paper.
HIST-18200-03, MODERN WORLD CIVILIZATION HU LA 1 h g
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Jason Freitag, Muller 423, Ext. 4-5798
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITES: None.
OBJECTIVES: This class is the continuation of HIST-18100, starting roughly at 1500 and moving through to the present day. Topics will include the rise of great empires in the Middle East and Asia (Ming, Ottoman, Mughal) and their relationship to the emerging European global powers. We will then examine the rise of European empires, beginning with the Spanish and Portuguese, and continuing through the Dutch, English and French imperial formations. Special consideration will be given to the encounters with indigenous populations in the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and the rise of independence and nationalist movements across the globe. Finally, we will consider the post-colonial world, the Cold War, the process of "globalization" and the conflicts and relationships that shape our world today.
STUDENTS: Open to all students. Not open to students who have completed HIST-10200: Modern Western Civilization.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, discussion of readings. Each class one student will be responsible for making a brief, thematic presentation of the day's readings.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings, response papers, class attendance and participation, comparative response paper, midterm and final.
GRADING: Based on performance on each of the above requirements.
311-18200-04, 05 MODERN WORLD CIVILIZATION HU LA 1 h g
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Jonathan Ablard, Muller 403, Ext. 4-3558
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITES: None.
OBJECTIVES: This course will provide students with an understanding of world history from 1492 through the present. Global interactions, whether peaceful or violent, have profoundly shaped the course of world history. The major focus of this course, then, is the examination of how different national, religious, ethnic and racial groups have shaped and influenced one another. The course will begin with an examination of the balance of economic and military power in the world before 1492. After examining European exploration and conquest and the variety of responses by Asians, Africans and Native Americans we will consider the growth of the nation-state, the development of trans-Atlantic slavery, and the subsequent rise of revolutionary ideologies, industrialization, and imperialism in the nineteenth century. We will conclude with an examination of the impacts of the First and Second World Wars on global history.
STUDENTS: Open to all students. Not open to students who have completed 311-10200: Modern Western Civilization.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lecture and discussion.
REQUIREMENTS: Two exams and three short papers.
HIST-20800-01 HIDDEN FROM HISTORY: AMERICAN HERSTORY 1 H HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Vivian Conger, Muller 408, Ext. 4-3572
ENROLLMENT: 25
PREREQUISITES: One course in the humanities or social sciences and sophomore standing.
OBJECTIVES: This course is specifically designed to teach you to think critically, analytically, and contextually about women’s lives since the arrival of Europeans on the North American continent. It is intended to introduce students to the methodology of women’s history in addition to exploring the too-often hidden and forgotten gender dimensions of many aspects of the American past. Both continuity and change in women’s lives will be explored from a wide variety of topics including Native American women, African-American women, immigrant women, the family, class, politics, reform movements, religion, sexuality, and the interplay between real and expected social values. Readings will be based on both secondary and primary sources. Because I believe strongly in letting women tell their own stories you will have many opportunities to “hear women’s voices” through letters, diaries, journals, and autobiographies.
STUDENTS: Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors of all majors
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, readings (secondary sources but with an emphasis on primary sources), videos and discussion.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings, class participation, class presentation/research paper and 2 in-class exams
GRADING: Based on attendance and above requirements.
HIST-22200-01 RISE AND FALL OF THE USSR HU LA ab h g
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Zenon Wasyliw, Muller 427, Ext. 4-1587
ENROLLMENT: 25
PREREQUISITES: One course in the humanities or social sciences and sophomore standing.
OBJECTIVES: This course is a comparative, analytical survey of Soviet history. We begin with pre-revolutionary conditions at the turn of the century, appraise the 1917 revolutions and then proceed through the varied stages, policies, leaders and both their internal and global impact through 1991 and beyond. An interdisciplinary approach is the foundation of analysis and critical appraisal. Political, social, cultural, economic and other modes of evaluation are implemented. Soviet history is complex yet extremely fascinating. We will engage in an interesting journey and evaluation of the Soviet past and its influence on the present and future.
STUDENTS: Open to all students.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, discussions and presentations.
REQUIREMENTS: Examinations, a comparative book at critique and class participation.
GRADING: A-F.
HIST-22800-01 ISLAM IN THE MODERN WORLD HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Jason Freitag, Muller 423, Ext. 4-5798
ENROLLMENT: 25
PREREQUISITES: One course in the humanities or social sciences; sophomore standing or above.
OBJECTIVES: This class will examine the histories of Islamic societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and their responses to the challenges of modernity. The course will cover a range of historical moments, including the decline of the Ottoman Empire, European colonialism in Muslim lands, the rise of nationalism and nation-states in the Middle East and Islamic Asia, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the partition of India, the Islamic revolution in Iran, and the Gulf wars in Iraq. We will also cover a range of issues present in Islamic societies including the tension between militancy and quietism, religious extremism, women's economic empowerment and the changing roles of men and women as aspects of traditional Islamic society are transformed over time. Finally, the class will consider the relationship between terrorism and Islamic ideologies, and attempt to contextualize the political dimensions of Islam and its role in shaping Muslim identities worldwide.
STUDENTS: Open to all students.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Interactive lectures, discussion of assigned readings, student presentations.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings, response papers, class attendance and participation, critical essay (which will forms the basis of an end-of-semester presentation).
GRADING: Based on performance on each of the above requirements.
HIST-23400-01 MODERN LATIN AMERICA 1 G H HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Jonathan Ablard, Muller 403, Ext. 4-3558
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in the humanities and/or social sciences and sophomore standing.
OBJECTIVES: This course analyzes major political, economic and social developments that have shaped Latin America since the late colonial period. Important frameworks of analysis will include, class, race and gender. Emphasis will be placed on integrating different forms of historical scholarship in order to gain a more synthetic picture of modern Latin America. Throughout the course, we will also consider Latin America’s relationship with the United States.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, discussions, and presentations
REQUIREMENTS: Two exams, three short papers and a research paper
HIST-27000-01 HISTORY OF AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTTAL THOUGHT HU 1 h
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Smith, Muller 320, Ext. 4-1290
ENROLLMENT: 25
PREREQUISITES: One course in the humanities or social sciences and sophomore standing.
OBJECTIVES: This course traces the evolution of American ideas about nature and the environment from the colonial period to the present. Although rooted in intellectual history, this course will also explore cultural and social history as they relate to environmental thought. Students will examine the changing definition of concepts such as wilderness, conservation, and nature itself. Over the course of the semester students should develop a solid understanding of the ways politics, economics, religion, gender, and race have shaped environmental thought in this country. Students can also expect to practice historical interpretation through short writing assignments and a local environmental history project undertaken in cooperation with The History Center of Tompkins County.
STUDENTS: Sophomore standing and up. Priority given to history and environmental studies majors and minors.
FORMAT AND STYLE: A mix of interactive lecture, discussion, and media presentations.
REQUIREMENTS: Five books, regular attendance, several short papers and film critiques, final paper.
GRADING: A-F, Standard breakdown. Based on performance of each of the above requirements.
HIST-29000-01 THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOREIGN RELATIONS 1 H HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Pearl Ponce, Muller 406, Ext. 4-3606
ENROLLMENT: 25
PREREQUISITE: One course in the humanities or social sciences; sophomore standing and higher
OBJECTIVE: This course will trace the evolution of American foreign policy as the country developed: What drove foreign policy when the United States was a small republic struggling to maintain its independence? Once the Old World withdrew from the American continent, how did a growing regional power treat its neighbors? What drew an isolationist nation onto the world stage? How did the struggle to contain communism change the nation’s policy parameters? Finally, how does the most powerful democracy in the world find its footing in an uncertain global environment? In addition, throughout this course, we will trace how foreign policy has reflected an evolving American sense of mission.
FORMAT AND STYLE: lectures, readings, and discussion.
REQUIREMENTS: weekly readings & discussion, 2 short papers (1 of which is in preparation for a group presentation), and midterm and final examinations.
GRADING: Based on performance of each of the above requirements.
311-30700-01 UNITED STATES – WORLD POWER I, 1900-1945 HU
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Trotti, Muller 412, Ext. 4-1591
ENROLLMENT: 25
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in the humanities and/or social sciences.
OBJECTIVES: Emphasis is upon the response of the United States to a series of crises in the thirty years between the start of World War I and the end of World War II. In this era, the United States became the most important economic, political, and military power in the world, and the nation created the foundations for the postwar growth that has made us what we are today. We will look closely at changes in both domestic and foreign affairs that were important in this rise to the height of American influence. This rise was neither a smooth nor an uncontested development, giving us many different currents of history to explore in both our discussions and in your research papers.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion and lecture, centered upon themes, readings, and the examples of media regularly introduced into the classroom.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings: five books and assorted primary documents; writing: two essay exams, and a research paper.
HIST-35500-01, 02 TOTALITARIANISM IN GERMANY, 1933-1989 HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Karin Breuer, Muller 419, Ext. 4-1489
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITIES: Three courses in the humanities or social sciences; sophomore standing or above.
OBJECTIVES: This class will examine two dictatorships, those of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic (the communist system in East Germany). We will examine the following subjects: origins and goals of the National Socialist and Communist parties, collaboration and resistance, foreign policy, treatment of "racial" and "class" enemies, the role of women in the state, the functions of the police, bureaucracy, and the army, propaganda, and the reasons for the collapses of the respective governments.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Primarily discussion, some lecture.
REQUIREMENTS: Quizzes on course readings, active participation in class
discussions, two take-home exams, and a research paper.
HIST-38300-01 REVOLUTIONARY CHINA HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Izbicki, Muller 416, Ext. 4-3035
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITE: Three courses in the humanities and/or social sciences; sophomore standing.
OBJECTIVES: Study of China’s 19th and 20th century passage from empire to a People’s Republic. Course will include the final century of the Qing dynasty’s imperial rule, the first republic, civil war among warlords, hostilities between new political parties, war against Japanese invasion, civil war between the Guomindang Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party, and the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). A large portion of the course will be about the PRC from inception through the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. The course aimsto provide background for understanding China’s position in the 21st century.
FORMAT AND STYLE: lecture, discussion, student presentations
REQUIREMENTS: quizzes, exams, class presentations, and a 15-page research paper.
HIST-38500-01 SELECTED TOPICS: HISTORICAL STUDIES H HU LA
TOPIC: Ottoman Empire
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Jason Freitag, Muller 423, Ext. 4-5798
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITE: Three courses in the humanities and/or social sciences; sophomore standing.
OBJECTIVES: This course will provide a survey of major aspects of the Ottoman Empire, one of the largest and most enduring empires in modern history. Topics will include the history of the empire, Ottoman political and commercial culture and relations with other world powers, religious culture, art, architecture, literature and music of the Ottoman period. The course will treat the empire as a case study of a diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-religious state composed of aspects of the earlier Byzantine Christian and Jewish cultures with Turkic and Islamic cultural elements. This layering of histories allows students to address long-term issues of cultural interaction and diversity, and helps to shape a discussion on the encounters between peoples and the ways that diverse groups have negotiated their relationships over time. Additionally, this course is designed to provide students the background history that will prepare them for an optional summer short-term trip abroad to Istanbul. The study abroad component seeks to deepen the students’ classroom experience through visits to some of the major historical and cultural sites discussed during the semester.
STUDENTS: : Open to all students.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, discussion of readings, student presentations.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings, response papers, class attendance and participation, research paper and presentation.
GRADING: Based on performance on each of the above requirements
HIST-38600-01 SELECTED TOPICS: HISTORICAL STUDIES HU LA
TOPIC: Coming of the War
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Pearl Ponce, Muller 406, Ext. 4-3606
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITE: Three courses in the humanities and/or social sciences; sophomore standing & higher.
OBJECTIVES: By the time South Carolina Representative Preston S. Brooks brutally beat Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate in retaliation for his “The Crime against Kansas” speech in 1856, some Americans had come to believe the South and the North had developed so differently that separation was both desirable and inevitable. The four decades known as the sectional conflict, from the Missouri Compromise to the election of Abraham Lincoln, are critical to understanding why civil war would rend the country five short years after the caning of Charles Sumner. As such, this course on the coming of the war will address the political, cultural, social, and ideological differences between the North and the South. Among other topics, we will consider the nullification crisis; the impact of the developing western region; the territorial system; slavery and expansionism; the Mexican War; and Bleeding Kansas among others.
Format and Style: lectures, readings, and discussion.
FORMAT AND STYLE: lectures, readings, and discussion.
REQUIREMENTS: weekly readings & discussion, research paper, and midterm and final examinations.
Grading: Based on performance of each of the above requirements.
HIST-48101-01 HISTORY SEMINAR, EUROPEAN HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Karin Breuer, Muller 419, Ext. 4-1489
ENROLLMENT: 10
PREREQUISITE: Senior standing or equivalent; permission of instructor.
OBJECTIVES: Was the French Revolution of 1789 caused by bread shortages or Enlightenment thought? What role did Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI play? In this course, we will read conflicting accounts of the origins of the French Revolution of 1789. We will look at the social, intellectual, cultural, and political factors that contributed to the conflict’s outbreak and path. STUDENTS: Junior and senior history and social studies majors and minors
have preference; other majors welcome.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Weekly discussion of readings.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings, active participation in class discussions, two
drafts of a 20-page research paper.
HIST-48102-01 HISTORY SEMINAR, EUROPEAN HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Zenon Wasyliw, Muller 427, Ext. 4-1587
ENROLLMENT: 10
PREREQUISITE: Junior or Senior standing.
OBJECTIVES: The Stalinist legacy lives on in the former communist states of Eurasia and East Central Europe. Historians hotly debate and assess the impact of Stalinism on the evolution of the USSR and neighboring former Easter Bloc states. This seminar evaluates Stalin’s rise to power and the implementation and impact of his politics that define Stalinism. We will engage the historical debate by closely reading and discussing interdisciplinary-based historical works and sources and through student research papers.
STUDENTS: Junior and Senior history and social studies majors and minors have preference; others welcome.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Qualitative discussion of assigned readings and individual research projects.
REQUIREMENTS: Seminar discussion participation and the completion of a research paper.
HIST-48200-01 HISTORY SEMINAR: GLOBAL HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Smith, Muller 320, Ext. 4-1290
ENROLLMENT: 10
PREREQUISITES: Senior standing or equivalent; permission of instructor.
OBJECTIVES: To better understand history as a both a scholarly discipline and as a way of understanding the world around you; To be able to identify good history, especially but not only written history; To develop a scholarly understanding of some of the issues and problems historians are studying in the field of global environmental history. How has the environment affected the social, political, and economic development of different regions of the world and vice versa? Although it is impossible to cover thoroughly the diverse range of human-environmental interactions throughout the world, you will have the opportunity to survey broadly these interactions on six continents. Mostly we will confine ourselves in time to the period from 1800 to the present, although occasionally we will cast our historical net further into the past; To do original research into some topic in global environmental history since 1800 and write a substantial scholarly paper (20-25 pp.) based on your research. The ultimate goal for each of you should be to write a paper that will be competitive for the History Department’s Hal Emery Writing Award. FORMAT AND STYLE: Seminar with heavy reading load and discussion oriented class meetings. Short response papers and one long research paper.
HIST-49300-01 TUTORIAL IN SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Pearl Ponce, Muller 406, Ext. 4-3606
ENROLLMENT: 5
PREREQUISITES: Permission of instructor and senior standing.
OBJECTIVES: The American Civil War, Mark Twain observed, “uprooted institutions that were centuries old, changed the politics of a people, transformed the social life of half the country, and wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations.” For Twain and those Americans, white and black, who lived through the conflict, the war was a transforming experience, both personally and nationally. This tutorial will allow students to immerse themselves in the literature of this field, to engage in rigorous and intensive dialogue on the tutorial readings, and to write a significant research paper.
Format and Style: weekly, one-on-one discussions of readings; reports on the writing process and progress.
REQUIREMENTS: weekly attendance; discussion of 6 to 8 assigned books; and a 20-25 page research paper as well as shorter papers designed to aid in the development of the final paper.
GRADING: Based on performance of each of the above requirements.
