FIRST SEMESTER 2009-10
Consult BannerWeb for registration codes.
HST 111 Survey of American History I – M W 8:00-8:50 am
Weekly discussion sections scheduled at various times.
Dr. Carla Pestana
HST 112 Survey of American History II
Dr. Sherman Jackson – MWF 9:05-9:55 (Sec. A)
Dr. Nishani Frazier – T R 5:30-6:45 (Sec. C)
MP Humanities Foundation--Historical Perspective.
MP U.S. Cultures Foundation
History Major: Survey.
Together, HST 111 and 112 provide students with a basic introduction to the major issues and questions in the history of the geographical region covered by the present-day United States of America. Specifically, HST 111 deals with the American past between 1492, the year in which Spain "discovered" the Western Hemisphere, and the Era of Reconstruction (1865-1877). HST 112 covers the past century, during which time the United States industrialized and developed into a world power. While each course will ask you to learn about specific people, places and events, the major concern will be to ask you to think about why we are what we are today. While we will focus on the central events of our collective past--in HST 111 the founding of the colonies, the establishment of black slavery, the American Revolution, the Civil War and Reconstruction; in HST 112 immigration, industrialization, urban growth, 20th century reform, and the impact of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War--we will do so from the perspectives of recent scholarship by historians concerned with questions of gender, race, environmentalism, class and region. Although the basic structure of this course will be traditional, the content will be more unusual. HST 111 and 112 may be taken singly, in sequence or out of sequence.
HST 121 Western Civilization I – MW 11:15-12:05
Weekly discussion sections scheduled at various times.
Dr. Wietse de Boer
HST 122 Western Civilization II
Dr. D.S. Chandler - MWF 12:45-1:35 (Sec. A)
Dr. William Meier - TR 8:00-9:15 (Sec. B)
Dr. William Meier - TR 9:30-10:45 (Sec. C)
MP Humanities Foundation--Historical Perspective.
MP World Cultures Foundation.
History Major: Survey.
In a world of growing specialization and compartmentalization, students face increasing difficulty relating various areas of knowledge to one another and to themselves. HST 121 and 122 cannot provide a complete answer to this problem, but they are a good start. These courses present a broad, multi-faceted approach to the study of western civilization over the course of nearly three millennia. Their purpose is to survey the major societal issues and cultural themes that have defined the concepts of humanity and society in the western world. In aiming at this objective, these courses afford a degree of perspective which assists the student in both relating diverse information to central themes and in understanding his or her relationship to a culture and an age. Texts and techniques will vary with the individual instructor. HST 121 and HST 122 may be taken singly, in sequence or out of sequence.
HST 180.K Honors Seminar: How do we know the Past? Early Jamestown through John Smith’s Eyes – MW 12:45-2:00
Dr. Carla Pestana
HST 197 World History to 1500 – M W 9:05-9:55
Weekly discussion sections scheduled at various times.
Dr. Matthew Gordon
MP World Cultures or Humanities Foundation--Historical Perspective
History Major: Survey.
This course offers an introduction to the origins and early development of individual civilizations prior to the period of Western European hegemony. It stresses the interdependency and interrelations among cultures and compares social, political, and religious experiences of peoples with one another.
HST 198 World History since 1500
Dr. D.S. Chandler – MWF 10:10-11:00 (Sec. A)
Dr. Anne Rose - TR 4:10-5:25 (Sec. B)
Dr. Anne Rose - TR 2:15-3:30 (Sec. C)
MP Humanities or World Cultures Foundation--Historical Perspective
History Major: Survey.
Emphasizes the growing interrelatedness of the regions of the world since the time of the European voyages of exploration and accelerating since the industrial and ideological revolutions of the late eighteenth century.
HST 206 Introduction to Historical Inquiry
Dr. Allan Winkler – T R 9:30-10:45 (Sec. A)
Dr. Osaak Olumwullah – T R 4:10-5:25 (Sec. B)
Dr. Renée Baernstein - T R 2:15-3:30 (Sec. C)
Introduction to essential skills in investigating and interpreting the past. Course stresses active participation, writing, and intensive reading of primary documents and secondary literature. Required of History Majors.
AMS/HST 214 History of Miami University – T R 2:15-3:30
Dr. Curtis Ellison
History Major: U.S. Advanced
How did Miami evolve from a nineteenth century midwestern college for men to a twenty-first century international university where a majority of students are women? This course explores that experience since 1809 from the perspectives of local and community history, national social and economic forces, the development of American higher education, the emergence of organized student life, and the changing character of campus architecture and landscapes.
HST 219 U.S. Diplomatic History to 1914 – W F 8:00-9:15 am
Dr. Amanda McVety
History Major: U.S. Advanced
Thematic Sequence (NSC 2): War–An Extension of Politics.
A history of foreign relations between different groups of peoples on the North American continent and between the United States of America and the rest of the world up to 1914. Emphasis is placed upon identifying, analyzing, and correcting historical myths about selected major events, issues, and themes that have influenced our memory of the past and our lives in the present.
BWS/HST 224 Africa to 1884 – T R 12:45-2:00
Dr. Osaak Olumwullah
MP Humanities or World Cultures Foundation--Historical Perspective
History Majors: Africa; Non-Western Advanced; Pre-Modern.
This course is a general survey of the history of Africa, south of the Sahara, from the earliest times to the end of the nineteenth century. Through a rough chronological order, it concentrates on the examination of six broad themes: ancient and medieval African civilizations; Bantu and Luo migrations; African cultures; East Africa and the Orient; South Africa to 1870; and disorder and readjustment between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Time will also be spent on sources of Africa history so that students can effectively evaluate the methods and approaches used in understanding Africa’s past.
HST/ATH/POL/REL/RUS 254 Introduction to Russian and Eurasian Studies – T R 2:15-3:30
Dr. Stephen Norris
History Major: European Advanced
This course examines the major developments that have shaped Russian and Eurasian culture, society and politics over the last millennium. The course incorporates perspectives from the social sciences, humanities and the fine arts.
HST/LAS 260 Latin America in the United States – M W 12:45-2:00
Dr. José Amador
History Major: U.S. Advanced
Interdisciplinary examination of historical, social, economic, and cultural forces that have shaped the experience of peoples of Latin, Hispanic, Latino/a background in the United States.
HST 275 Twentieth Century European Diplomatic History – T R 8:00-9:15
Dr. Sheldon Anderson
History Major: European Advanced
Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Major: Related Hours
International Studies Major: Core Course alternative
Thematic Sequence (NSC 2): War–An Extension of Politics
Examines the origins of World War I and World War II, the Cold War, European unity, decolonization, the fall of communism and the Yugoslav conflict.
HST 280.A Honors Seminar: History of Interactions between Religion and Science -- W F 9:30-10:45
Dr. Muriel Blaisdell
HST 301 Age of Revolutions: Europe 1750-1850 – W F 2:15-3:30
Dr. Erik Jensen
History Major: European Advanced
Examines the causes of the French and Industrial Revolutions and explores how they changed the social, economic, political, and cultural fabric of a continent.
HST 307 Latin American Civilization: Colonial Period – T R 4:10-5:25
Dr. Tatiana Seijas
History Major: Latin America; Non-Western Advanced; Pre-Modern.
HST 307 begins with the Native American and Hispanic backgrounds of Latin America. During the semester we consider the post-1492 invasions, the emergence and growth of colonial society and institutions in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the nature of the relationship between Europeans and non-whites in America. Also, the impact of the Enlightenment and 18th-century reforms are discussed, leading to the eve of the Era of Independence.
HST 315 The Renaissance – T R 9:30 -10:45
Dr. Renée Baernstein
History Major: European Advanced; Pre-Modern.
Thematic Sequence (ITL 1): Italy in the Renaissance.
Intellectual developments of the period 1350-1550, set in their social, economic, and political contexts. The course will focus on origins and development in Italy, but will also look to the movement's wider European context and impact. Topics to include: the fourteenth-century crisis, humanism, the family, the debate between active and contemplative life, Renaissance court life, and the state as a work of art. Authors read may include Petrarch, Colonna, Valla, Castiglione, Machiavelli, Erasmus, More. Regular participation in discussions required.
HST 318 British Empire - TR 2:15-3:30
Dr. William Meier
History Major: European Advanced
British Empire from the late 18th century to the 1960s. Emphasis is on the interaction of the peoples gathered into the Empire with their imperial rulers.
HST/LAS 319 Revolution in Latin America – MWF 2:15-3:30 (Sprint course September 30-December 11)
Dr. Elena Albarrán
History Major: Latin America; Non-Western Advanced
History of modern Latin America through the experience of revolution and social movement in the 20th century. Focus on popular revolutionary experiences in Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua; top-down revolutions in Argentina and Chile; and new social movements across the region that arose as a response to issues of inequality and injustice.
HST 321 Introduction to Islamic History – M W 12:00-2:00
Dr. Matthew Gordon
History Major: Middle East; Non-Western Advanced; Pre-Modern
The objective of the course is to examine the history of the Islamic community in the early and medieval periods (6th to the 12th century) and the development of the Islamic religious tradition. Among the topics we will consider is the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the themes of the Qur’an, the development of the law (Shari’a), the rise and decline of the early Islamic empire, the emergence of the Sunni and Shi’i branches of Islam and the early period of the Crusades.
HST 330.B Topics in European History: Middlemarch and Modernity (1 credit hour) – W 12:45-2:00 (Sprint course meeting August 26 through October 28)
Dr. Andrew Cayton
Dr. Erik Jensen
Dr. Amanda McVety
"Middlemarch and Modernity" will be devoted to intensive discussion of George Eliot's novel Middlemarch as both a literary and historical text. Eliot narrates the intertwined lives of the ambitious residents of a provincial English town in the 1820s and 1830s, a period of immense transformation in the lives of people in Great Britain and the United States. We will use the novel to explore specific aspects of that transformation (such as, the industrial revolution, medical reforms, urban life, and political reform) and to consider how English-speaking peoples in the nineteenth century made sense of historical change. Students will read Middlemarch, participate in discussions, and write a series of short papers.
HST 331 Industry and Empire: Europe 1850-1914 – W 5:30-8:10
Dr. Martin Johnson
History Major: European Advanced
Explores the period during which Europe came to control the political and economic destiny of much of the world. This was also the period in which great mass movements that were to dominate the 20th century were born, theoretical constructs of the social sciences were created, and a great blossoming of national literatures and cultures occurred. Particular attention paid to the attempts states made to cope with new social and economic dynamics of the industrial world, as well as socialism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism.
HST 345 Survey of Medieval History – MWF 9:05-9:55 am
Dr. Charlotte Goldy
History Major: European Advanced; Pre-Modern.
Thematic Sequence (HST 1): Medieval Studies.
Medieval Studies Minor
There is more to the Middle Ages than just being “in the middle.” HST 345 examines both the High and Later Middle Ages (ca. 1000-ca. 1500) with the expansion of Europe and its encounters with other cultures; the development of the papal and feudal monarchies, representational and authoritarian governments, and national identity; a pan-European culture and a national culture; modern law and persecutions; the Black Death and transition to “modern” Europe. Lectures are integrated with informal discussion and visual images of the time. Your grade will be based on at-home essay exams and short reading responses.
HST 360.1 / AMS 310.1 The History of Celebrity in America – MWF 11:15-12:05
Dr. Sara First
History Major: U.S. Advanced
Have you ever wondered from whence the fascination about celebrities emerged and how it came to dominate our communications and news media? Although there are significant differences in the scale and saturation of celebrity culture in American culture at large, the public enthrallment with compelling figures and their stories is not a new phenomenon. This course is an introduction to the field of celebrity studies as approached by modern historians and scholars of American Studies. In the process, you will also learn quite a bit about how to read the past and to understand the relationship of history to contemporary issues and trends.
We will explore topics including the role of celebrities in politics, crime, scandal and popular entertainment from the early nineteenth century though the present. You will learn to use a variety of historical sources, including not just secondary works, but newspapers, letters, diaries, and visual artifacts.
HST 360.B Cultural History of the Anglo-America World, 1885-1921: Race, Civilization, and Sexuality – T R 11:15-12:30
Dr. Robert Thurston
The Anglo-American world, stretching around the globe and including colonies in India, other parts of Asia, and Africa, was the scene of intense change in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Astonishing technological progress and the First World War occurred in this span, of course, but it was also a time of great debate regarding race, sexuality, and civilization. These intertwined subjects appeared in the work of many writers, from the great ones to the pure hacks. It is in this span that modern psychology and anthropology were born, that profound rethinking of race and the status of women took place, and that white men who held political and sexual power experienced profound challenges and anxiety regarding their dominant role. The course explores these themes, which have hardly disappeared today, through literature, scientific writings, advertisements, and scholarly works that appeared in the period. The emphasis is on encountering primary sources in order to develop your own analyses of the course topics.
AMS/HST 362 Era of the American Revolution – T R 9:30-10:45
Dr. Andrew Cayton
History Major: U.S. Advanced; Pre-Modern
This course will address the nature and extent of the transformation of British American society from the 1730s through 1783. We will talk about the origins of the American Revolution, the conduct of the war, and constitutional changes. Students should not expect much in the way of military history, however. We will spend far more time on questions of political economy and personal relationships than we will on battles. Students will read approximately 100 pages a week and will take in-class essay exams and write several out-of-class papers.
BWS/HST 365 Civil War and Reconstruction Era – MWF 11:15-12:05
Dr. Sherman Jackson
History Major: U.S. Advanced.
The Civil War and Reconstruction era is often compared to the American Revolution. With the exception of the American Revolution, more historical literature has been written about the Civil War and Reconstruction than any other period in American history. The Civil War is historically significant because of the complex social, economic, political and constitutional issues which eventually erupted into the greatest constitutional and military crisis in 19th century America. Reconstruction is commensurately important because of the social and constitutional reforms at the conclusion of the civil war. The primary focus of this course will be to analyze the major issues of the civil war and reconstruction era and present the latest historical interpretations and scholarship for a better comprehensive understanding of a very significant chapter in American history.
HST 367 The United States in the 1960s – T R 12:45-2:00
Dr. Nishani Frazier
History Major: U.S. Advanced.
Thematic Sequence (ENG 3): American Life and Culture Since World War II.
This course examines political, social, and cultural changes in the United States in the turbulent decade of the 1960s. It will begin by describing the consensus that existed in the 1950s, and will then explore such topics as the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the expansion of the welfare state, the war in Vietnam, and the growth of a counter-culture. It will conclude by assessing the long-term impact of this turbulent decade.
HST 387 U.S. Constitutional Development to 1865 – MWF 10:10-11:00
Dr. Sherman Jackson
History Major: U.S. Advanced.
This course examines the development of American constitutional law from the American Revolution to the Civil War/Reconstruction era. Two centuries of Supreme Court decisions are analyzed and discussed. Courses in American history and/or Political Science are suggested as prerequisites.
HST 400.7 Senior Capstone: History Honors
Dr. Tatiana Seijas – T R 11:15-12:30 (Sec. A)
Dr. Mary Cayton – T R 4:10-5:25 (Sec. B)
History Major: Senior Capstone
Capstone for students in the History Departmental Honors program, who have completed HST 359, Junior Honors Colloquium.
HST 400.D Senior Capstone: Darwin – Life, Theories, Controversies – M W 12:45-2:00
Dr. Muriel Blaisdell
History Major: Senior Capstone
How did plants, animals and people come to be as they are now? Do living things change over time? What natural processes are involved in speciation? Was a creator involved in the origin of life and of species? What ethical concerns are raised by biomedical discoveries in the 20th century? We are all aware of the public debates about the relationships between science and ethics (and science and religion). In the 21st century we are not the first people to wonder about how our world came to be as it is nor are we the first to wonder about what answers to these questions mean about human purpose and destiny.
We will look at how these issues have been discussed since the 18th century. What were Charles Darwin’s contributions to science, social thought, philosophy, and religious thought in the 19th century? Our study of 19th century science and society will provide significant background to understand contemporary issues.
HST 400.G Senior Capstone: 16th Century Spanish America: When Worlds Collide – MWF 9:05-9:55
Dr. Sam Chandler
History Major: Senior Capstone
HST 400.S Senior Capstone: American Folk Music – M 12:45-3:25
Dr. Allan Winkler
History Major: Senior Capstone
HST 400.U Senior Capstone: The Black Death in Medieval Europe – W F 2:15-3:30
Dr. Charlotte Goldy
History Major: Senior Capstone
HST 410.A/510.A Topics in Foreign Policy: The U.S. and the Middle East – W F 11:15-12:30
Dr. Amanda McVety
This course is an examination of U.S. involvement in the Middle East since 1776. Throughout, we will examine the roles state and non-state actors played in American missions, travels, investments, and interventions in the region. Along the way, specific attention will be paid to American imaginings about the Middle East, the correspondence between U.S. foreign policy and the rise of radical Islam, and the idea of waging a “war on terror.” I hope that this course will challenge you to think more critically about the history of U.S. involvement in the Middle East and also provide you with a framework for intelligent discussion of current foreign policy concerns in the region.
HST 428/528 Russia’s War and Peace – T R 11:15-12:30
Dr. Stephen Norris
History Major: European Advanced
This course will introduce students to the history of nineteenth-century Russia by using Tolstoy’s War and Peace as a guide. We will discuss society, politics, culture, family life, wars, national identity, and other themes addressed in the novel. In addition to completing War and Peace, we will make use of a wide range of other sources, including memoirs, secondary critiques, films, music, and art that all discuss Russia and Europe during the Napoleonic era.
HST 436/536 Havighurst Colloquium (4 credits) - MW 12:20-2:00
Topic: Politics, Society and Culture in East Europe since 1989
Dr. Venelin Ganev (Department of Political Science
HST/WMS 450.E / 550.E Women and Empire – MWF 10:10-11:00
Dr. Anne Rose
Thematic Sequence (HST 2): Women and Gender in History
This course examines European colonialism, imperialism, decolonization, and postcolonial politics through the lens of women’s history. We will explore women’s agency and oppression in relation to colonialism and imperialism in geographic contexts ranging from Europe to Latin America to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. We will understand how imperial power and resistance was often realized in gender-specific ways. We will investigate the roles of European women in producing imperial discourse. We will explore views of race and identity in travel writing by women. We will investigate gendered contributions to the domestication of empire. We will encounter female pirates, prisoners and slaves, missionaries, aristocrats, ambassadors' wives, and tourists.
HST 471/571 The Age of Bismarck – W F 11:15-12:30
Dr. Erik Jensen
History Major: European Advanced
Survey of German political, social and cultural history in the 19th century.
HST 710 Colloquium in U.S. History – M 12:45-3:25
Topic: The Age of Revolution in North America and Europe, 1750 to 1850
Dr. Andrew Cayton
The course will engage recent scholarship (and some major primary sources) on the origins, progress and outcomes (many of them unanticipated) of the massive political, economic, social and cultural changes that took place around the North Atlantic from the middle of eighteenth century to the middle of the nineteenth century. We will focus on developments in the United States (and to a lesser extent, Great Britain, France, Haiti and Mexico) in order to consider global revolutions in production, consumption, communication, social organization, and political structures. How did things change in this period? Why? What were the consequences? How did men and women make sense of perpetual upheaval? Can historians fashion an overall narrative of revolution in this period (“the birth of the modern world,” for example)? Is it better to think in terms of a series of variations on a theme? Or does the emergence of enforced territorial and cultural borders in the wake of late eighteenth-century experimentation dictate that we stick to national stories?
Students will be asked to read approximately one book a week and write several essays, including one mini-research paper.
HST 720 Colloquium in European History - R 4:10-6:50
HST 780 Colloquium in World and Comparative History - R 4:10-6:50
(Students may register for either course number.)
Topic: The History of Food in Europe and America
Dr. Robert Thurston
“Food” here means comestibles in the broad sense, anything from bread to alcoholic beverages to “street” drugs such as cocaine. We will investigate relationships between food and culture, including patterns of social organization and interaction, the rise of public debate and organized political activity, the construction of gender, and struggles over the morality of eating. We will pay close attention to technological change in farming, transportation, and the media. Imagery of food, especially in advertising, with its messages about proper behavior, will be a particular concern.
HST 793 Historical Methods – T 12:45-3:25
Dr. Daniel Cobb
An introduction to the practice and the discipline of history, for beginning graduate students. Required of all first-year students, this course will develop practice skills needed by history graduate students as well as addressing problems of evidence and interpretation. The course will also serve as an introduction to the history department and to the approaches to history that historians in it typically practice.
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