SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

History Curriculum

Course Descriptions

A minimum of 124 credits is needed to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Students must earn a grade of C or better in each 300- and 400-level course in the major field.

A minor in History requires 18 credits. Students should select these credits in consultation with their academic adviser and the program chair so the courses complement their major.

A typical schedule for a first-year History major includes Western Heritage I and II or American Civilization to 1877; American Civilization since 1877; World History I; and Rhetoric and Composition. These courses and studies in mathematics, a foreign language, arts, science, and exercise science help fulfill the General Education requirement.

Selected Course Descriptions

HIST 001 THE WESTERN HERITAGE I. A survey of the Western heritage from the ancient Mediterranean world to the dawn of modern Europe

HIST 002 THE WESTERN HERITAGE II. A survey of the Western heritage from the dawn of modern Europe in the seventeenth century to the present.

HIST 010 NONWESTERN CIVILIZATIONS. Introduction to social, economic, and political evolution of nonwestern cultures; response to the West; modernization and development.

HIST 011 WORLD HISTORY II. Social, economic, and political evolution of societies and cultures from 1500 to the present.

HIST 020 AMERICAN CIVILIZATION TO 1877. A historical survey of the American experience from its colonial beginnings through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

HIST 021 AMERICAN CIVILIZATION SINCE 1877. A historical survey of the American experience from the emergence of urban-industrial society in the late nineteenth century to the present.

HIST 100 ANCIENT GREECE. Greek world from the earliest Aegean cultures to the death of Alexander the Great and the beginnings of Hellenistic civilization.

HIST 101 ROMAN REPUBLIC AND EMPIRE. History of the Roman Republic and Empire from the origins of Rome to the disintegration of the Empire.

HIST 107 MEDIEVAL EUROPE. Rise and development of the civilization of medieval Europe from the decline of Rome to 1500.

HSTRY 109 GENDER AND HISTORY. Survey of the development of gender roles in Western societies.

HIST 116 FAMILY AND SEX ROLES IN MODERN HISTORY. Historical perspectives on the Western family since 1500: gender roles, marriage, sexuality, child rearing, and old age; emphasis on United States.

HIST 117 WOMEN IN MODERN HISTORY. Modernization and women: changing images and roles since mid-eighteenth century in the family, workshop, politics, society; cross-cultural comparisons.

HIST 143 HISTORY OF FASCISM AND NAZISM. The study of right-wing totalitarianism in the twentieth century, with special emphasis on Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

HIST 175 HISTORY OF MODERN EAST ASIA. Comparative survey of the internal developments and external relations of China and Japan since their contract with the industrialized West.

HIST 178 LATIN-AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1820. Conquest of the New World, development of colonial institutions, impact on native cultures, and origins of independence movements.

HIST 179 LATIN-AMERICAN HISTORY SINCE 1820. Origin, political growth, international relations, and economic status of the Latin-American republics, with emphasis upon present-day condition.

HIST 181 INTRODUCTION TO THE MIDDLE EAST. Origins of Islamic civilization; expansion of Islam; the Ottoman empire; the Middle East since 1918.

HIST 191 EMERGING AFRICA. Indigenous African societies; impact of Rome, Islam, and Europe; slave trade; colonialism; nationalism; problems since independence.

HIST 192 MODERN AFRICAN HISTORY. Impact of the slave trade, expansion of Islam, colonial conquest, social and cultural transformations, resistance, nationalism, independence.

HIST 296 INDEPENDENT STUDIES

HIST 297 SPECIAL TOPICS

HSTRY 301W SCOPE AND METHODS OF HISTORY. A course designed to introduce students to the analysis, methods, and practices of historical writing and research. Prerequisite: 3 credits in History. Hstry 301 is only offered every other year.

HSTRY 401 RESEARCH IN ANCIENT SOURCES. Guided research in the literature of ancient Mediterranean civilizations.

HSTRY 406W RESEARCH IN MEDIEVAL SOURCES. Guided research in the literature of medieval Europe.

HSTRY 410 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEONIC EUROPE. Developments in French and European politics, diplomacy, economics, and society from 1789 to 1815.

HSTRY 415 RECENT EUROPE. Developments in European politics, diplomacy, economics, and society since 1914.

HSTRY 418 EUROPE IN THE AGE OF NATIONALISM, 1789-1815. Emphasizing the role of nationalism in European cultural, diplomatic, and imperial developments; concurrent economic and social changes.

HSTRY 431 EASTERN EUROPE IN MODERN TIMES. Developments in Eastern European politics, diplomacy, economics, and society since 1815.

HSTRY 461 REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA. Forces leading to the withdrawal of the thirteen colonies from the British Empire, the Revolutionary War, the Confederation, and the Constitution.

HSTRY 462 THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC, 1789-1850. The Federalist and Jeffersonian periods; the "Era of Good Feelings"; the "Age of Jackson."

HSTRY 463W THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION, 1850-1877. Causes of the Civil War; conduct of the war, North and south; impact of the war; problems of Reconstruction.

HSTRY 464 THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN AMERICA, 1877-1919. Developments in United States policy, politics, diplomacy, economics, society and cultures from 1877 to 1919.

HSTRY 465 VERSAILLES TO YALTA: AMERICA, 1919-1945. Developments in United States policy, politics, diplomacy, economics, society, and culture since 1945.

HSTRY 466W AMERICA SINCE 1945. Developments in United States policy, politics, diplomacy, economics, society, and culture since 1945.

HSTRY 477 AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY TO 1900. Development of U.S. military policy in the twentieth century, emphasizing conduct of wars, interrelationships of civil and military authority.

HSTRY 478 AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY SINCE 1900. Development of US military policy in the twentieth century, emphasizing conduct of wars, interrelationship of civil and military authority.

HSTRY 480 AMERICAN DIPLOMACY, 1776-1914. Developments in the foreign policy of the United States from Independence to the eve of World War I.

HSTRY 481 AMERICAN DIPLOMACY SINCE 1914. Developments in the foreign policy of the United States since the eve of World War I.

HSTRY 495 INTERNSHIP

HSTRY 496 INDEPENDENT STUDIES

HSTRY 497 SPECIAL TOPICS




Web site contact: hsswebmaster@psu.edu
Updated February 21, 2006
© 2005 The Pennsylvania State University