Spring 2010 Course Descriptions
500-700 Level
500-level courses are for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Prerequisite for ALL 500-level courses: either the completion of six semester hours of 300-level History courses or the permission of the instructor.
SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE! Always check the University online schedule for the latest changes.
HIS 502 - African American History: "Before Civil Rights"
10205 TR 2:00-3:15
Watson Jennison
We typically imagine the 1950s and 1960s, the era of the Civil Rights Movement, as the time in which blacks finally stood up and fought for their rights. This class starts this story of American history earlier by examining the black experience in America between 1900 and 1950. During this era, blacks did not sit idly by while whites invented the system of racial oppression known as Jim Crow segregation. Blacks moved from the countryside to the city, from the South to the North and West, and from the fields to the factory. These movements were all part of the larger struggle for black equality that occurred in the first half of the twentieth century, before the advent of the Civil Rights Movement. Among the topics we will explore are the Great Migration, black participation in WWI and WWII, the emergence of the New Negro, and the Harlem Renaissance. Examining the movements before the Civil Rights Movement uncovers black protest in social, political, economic, and cultural realms, which challenge our narrow focus on civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s.
HIS 511A - Seminar in Historical Research and Writing: "Reverberations of the 'Rights Revolution,' 1941-1981"
10207 W 3:30-6:20
Tom Jackson
Writing and Speaking Intensive. Prerequisite of one 300-level Research Intensive (RI) history course.
Between the battles for equal rights fought during World War II and the rise of conservatism in the 1980s, a broad "rights revolution" brought popular movements, political parties, and policy elites into dynamic tension. These conflicts left every corner of American society changed and influenced reactionary movements that fed into �America's right turn" in the 1980s. They also helped define broad and still unfulfilled political agendas and popular freedom dreams that remain enormously controversial and are very much on the table in our still divided multiracial society. Some researchable student projects: popular movements for "fair employment" during World War II; integration of the military during the Korean War; the Montgomery Bus Boycott; the impact of Brown v. Board of Education on black movements and white resistance; the wave of student led sit-ins and freedom rides that broke over the nation 1960-1962; the extent and limits of desegregation in Greensboro; the impact of the mid-1960s civil rights debate and coalition on immigration reform, the war on poverty, and the women's movement; labor and civil rights; prisoners rights movements, "victims rights" movements, and the language of rights in movements opposed to liberalism.
HIS 511B - Seminar in Historical Research and Writing: "Self and Society in Europe, 1350-1700"
10209 W 3:30-6:20
Jodi Bilinkoff
Writing and Speaking Intensive. Prerequisite of one 300-level Research Intensive (RI) history course.
In this course we will examine biographical and autobiographical texts, which were produced in abundance in Europe and its colonies in the period between 1350 and 1700. At the heart of our inquiry will be what scholars call "the construction of identities," how individuals perceive and present their own lives, or the lives of others. We will read and discuss together some representative texts from the period and identify analytical categories such as class, gender, and religious orientation. Students will then choose a text or group of texts to investigate and contextualize on their own.
HIS 511C - Seminar in Historical Research and Writing: "Town and Country in the Medieval Islamic World"
10421 T 3:30-6:20
Asa Eger
Writing and Speaking Intensive. Prerequisite of one 300-level Research Intensive (RI) history course.
At a time when western Europe was cut off from the rest of the Mediterranean world in a post-Roman insular �Dark Ages�, the Medieval Islamic world, from the 8th to 12th centuries reached a thriving pinnacle of civilization. The Islamic lands included a complex system of cities and subsidiary towns, innovative new agricultural and industrial technologies, and far-flung trading networks from the Mediterranean Sea to East Asia. It is precisely the unifying force and openness of Islamic culture superimposed over these vastly different geographies from Spain to Central Asia that allowed for an expansive yet inter-connected framework of economic and social exchanges. The first goal of the class is to explore the depths and extent of the nature of urbanism and rural settlements, land use and the spread of agricultural crops and techniques, manufacturing industries and trade, and the economy of the Medieval Islamic world. We will contextualize this world in the Late Antique/early Medieval Mediterranean. The second goal in this class is to learn how to use, locate, and analyze a rich body of primary sources including contemporary translated documents and material culture gathered from archaeological reports. Over the course of several stages, you will produce a final research paper on a topic of your choosing which draws upon a synthesis of your historical and archaeological research with secondary sources. No prior knowledge of Islamic history is required for the course.
HIS 530 - History of Sexuality: "Sexuality and Mind in Freud�s Vienna"
10114 TR 5:00-6:15
Cheryl Logan
Note: This course will 'count' as a European 500-level course for History majors.
Sigmund Freud proposed an answer: a revolutionary new view of mind and sexuality that he developed amid great political, artistic, social, and scientific turmoil in the declining Habsburg Imperial capital that was turn of the century Vienna. Freud�s theory transformed psychiatry and sexual identity at a time when slight differences in sexual behavior and interest were considered �degenerate� or �perverse,� and many thought that the sexual mores of the �degenerate� lower classes threatened the social order. But he fused the boundaries between �normal� and �abnormal�, challenging the old sexual science as world war, intense antisemitism, rising socialism and class struggle, and the decline of empire intensified conflicts about sexual identity. How did Vienna�s revolutions in the arts, literature, film, science, and politics clash with tradition to help shape Freud�s view of the unconscious and sexuality as the keys to human personality?
HIS 546 - American Cultural History: "Material Culture and Consumer Culture"
10211 W 6:30-9:20
Lisa Tolbert
This course is designed as an advanced reading seminar focusing on the critical perspectives and methods of historians who study American cultural history. The course is designed with two basic goals in mind: 1. To introduce you to the interdisciplinary practice of cultural history, and 2. To explore key periods in the development of American culture from the colonial era to the early twentieth century. The central theme of the course this semester is "material culture and consumer culture." We will explore the evolution of consumer culture in the United States from the so-called �consumer revolution� of the eighteenth century through the development of a mass consumer market in the twentieth century. We will pay particular attention to the contributions of material culture scholars for our understanding of the social and political dynamics that have shaped consumer culture in American history.
HIS 547 - History Museum Curatorship: Collections Management
10212 R 6:30-9:20
Jon Zachman
Professional practices in the care and management of historic site and history museum collections, including priniciples of collection development, object registration, cataloging, and preservation. Same as IAR 547. Prerequisite: Admission to a graduate program in history or interior architecture, or written permission of instructor.
HIS 548 - Architectural Conservation
10213 R 9:00-11:50
Jo Leimenstoll
Overview of contemporary architectural conservation principles, practice and technology. A series of field exercises, group projects and investigation of an individual research topic expand upon lectures and readings. Same as IAR 548. Prerequisite: IAR 301, IAR 332, or written permission of instructor.
HIS 552: History and Theories of Material Culture
13788 R 2:00-4:50
Patrick Lucas (Interior Architecture)
Open to graduate students only
Material culture as it has been defined and interpreted in the past by scholars from the disciplines of history, anthropology, geography, art history, psychology, linguistics, and archaeology. Same as IAR 552. Prerequisite: Admission to a graduate program in history or interior architecture.
HIS 588: Asian History: "The Conflict and Commemoration in Vietnamese History"
10214 M 3:30-6:20
Jamie Anderson
In the eyes of many Americans, there is little separation between the image of �Vietnam� and the tragic outcome of US involvement in the Second Indochinese War. However, Viet Nam as a nation and the Vietnamese as a people have existed in the region for over two thousand years, fighting during much of this time for both political autonomy and cultural self-identity. During the course of its history, Viet Nam�s military adversary and cultural ally has often been China. Conversely, Chinese leaders have long believed that their empire shared a special bond with Viet Nam, which at times promoted the impulse to subjugate their smaller neighbor. This course will consider the history of wars fought on Vietnamese soil within the larger context of political, social and cultural change. The course themes include; resistance of foreign aggression as an integral part of the Vietnamese nationalist narrative, Vietnamese self-identity in the shadow of Chinese domination, the anti-colonial origins of the Vietnamese nationalist and Communist movements, and Vietnamese government�s uneasy relations with border ethnic groups. It is my desire that, after the completion of this seminar course, we will have a larger historical context in which we can more clearly evaluate the events of the last 50 years.
Prerequisite for all 600- 700 level History courses: Admission to a graduate program in history or interior architecture, or written permission of instructor.
HIS 625 - Preservation, Planning, and Law
10223 W 3:00-5:50
Autumn Michael
An examination and analysis of the relationship of government programs and policies, community and regional planning strategies, and legal case precedents to the field of historic preservation. Same as IAR 625.
HIS 627 - Museum and Historic Site Interpretation: Principles and Practice
10224 T 3:30-6:20
Benjamin Filene
This seminar explores the relationship between history and public audiences, focusing on the theory and practice of telling stories through museums and historic sites. It introduces students to the tools that public historians use to interpret the past, explores key dilemmas in public interpretation and community collaboration, and examines contemporary models for how best to reach audiences in ways that make history meaningful. Topics include learning theory, audience evaluation, oral history, photography and material culture, living history, historic houses, and exhibits. The course will culminate in a collaborative local history project, planned and produced by the students for a public venue. Same as IAR 627.
HIS 628 - ID and Eval. of the Hist. Built Environment
10225 T 2:00-4:50
Heather Fearnbach
Methods, techniques, and theories of researching, analyzing, documenting, and evaluating the historic built environment. Includes architectural survey field methods, documentation techniques, archival research, and approaches to evaluating historic significance. Same as IAR 628.
See the M.A. FAQ for more information about the following:
HIS 690 - Internship
HIS 692 - Advanced Topics
HIS 697 - Independent Study
HIS 699 - Thesis
Written permission is required to register for these courses.
HIS 702 - Colloquium in American History
10230 702-01 Charles Bolton M 6:30-9:20
10231 702-02 Mark Elliott W 6:30-9:20
Issues of historical interpretation from Reconstruction to the present.
HIS 704 - Seminar in American History
10232 Graduate Faculty
Research and writing on selected topics in American history.
HIS 706 - Colloquium in European History since 1789
10233 R 6:30-9:20
Paul Mazgaj
Interpretations of selected historical problems from the French Revolution to the present.
HIS 708 - Seminar in European History
10234 Graduate Faculty
Research and writing on selected topics in European history.
HIS 709 - Introductory Research Seminar
10266 709-01 Phyllis Hunter T 6:30-9:20 (American)
RIOTS AND REVELS IN EARLY AMERICA, 1600-1860
Public gatherings and group rituals provide an important window into social relations and construction of unity or division within communities. In this research seminar, we will examine how other historians have explicated crowd actions, political protests, parades, and celebrations from 1630 to 1860. Students will use extensive primary sources and secondary texts to learn how to gather and process evidence, develop interpretations, and produce a finished piece of work that contributes to the field. Designed for graduate students, the course offers an opportunity to further develop the research and writing skills necessary for advanced work in history. Each student will produce a substantial final paper based on primary sources. Students will be encouraged to select a paper topic related to the theme of riots or revels in a group or community. Ideally the paper you complete for this course may be the beginning of a published article.
HIS 715 - Atlantic World Selected Topics: "'Marvelous Possessions:' How Europeans 'Produced' the Americas"
10267 W 3:30-6:20
Phyllis Hunter
This readings course will examine how Europeans took possession of new lands and peoples and how, on occasion, Americans resisted or adapted European culture for their own ends. For Europeans, enlightenment goals to catalogue uncharted lands and utopian aims to build new societies often collided with longings for riches and missionary crusades to convert souls. Each of these competing impulses generated different ways of possessing, producing, and consuming the idea and experience of America. In effect, this course will address the cultural production of imperialism and the multiple interactions between �old� and �new� worlds. Through reading secondary sources in history, literature, and anthropology this course will explore different motives and methods that shaped cultural encounters with and images of the new world and Africa during the sixteenth through twentieth centuries.
HIS 722 - Early America: "American Indian History"
10268 M 6:30-9:20
Greg O'Brien
This graduate course will explore American Indian history from the colonial period through the early Republic and Indian Removal. Issues we will explore include gender, trade, culture change, warfare, the rise of racial categorization, diplomacy, religion, among others. Students will complete weekly readings as well as a final historiographical or research paper. Grading will be based on discussion participation, book reviews, and the final paper.
HIS 724 - Selected Topics in 20th Century US History: "U.S. Gender and Women's History"
10269 M 3:30-6:20
Lisa Levenstein
This course will examine the evolution and state of the field of twentieth century U.S. gender and women�s history. It will explore intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality, work, politics, social reform, colonialism, and the state.
HIS 740 - Selected Topics in European History: "Lederhosen, Bayonets, and Ballots -- Germany: 1945-1990"
10744 T 6:30-9:20
Karl Schleunes
This seminar will examine critical developments in Germany between the end of World War II in 1945, sometimes called the �Year Zero� and 2000, the end of the first decade following the re-unification of the two post-war German states � the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. Students will be asked to develop a research project (in consultation with the instructor) and, as a final product, submit a 25-30 page paper on the topic they have selected. Possible topics range across the political, cultural, social, and economic spectrum of German life. An extensive list of important and �doable� topics will be provided. A sample listing of topics might include: The Development of a Democratic Germany,� �German Memory of the Holocaust� �The Debate Concerning Ostpolitik,� �Socialism or the �Social Market Economy�,� �The �Economic Miracle� of the 1950s,� �Was the East-West Division of Germany Necessary?� �The Revival of the German Right Wing- the NPD Party,� �Student Radicalism -- The Baader-Meinhof Gang.� �The Re-establishment of a Jewish Community after1945.� �The Westernization of German Culture,� �Divided German Memory -- East and West,� �The Effects of the American (or British, or French, or Soviet) Occupation after WWII.� �The German Sense of Victimization; Justified or Not?� �The Nature of the East German Dictatorship.� A final list would be much longer and student interest will be taken into account in the selection of a topic.
200-300 Level Courses | Advising Center | Catalog | Courses
