Course Descriptions

Courses numbered 1000-1999 are open to freshmen; 2000-2999 to sophomores; 3000-3999 to juniors; 4000-4999 to seniors. It is recommended that students elect courses in the years for which they are listed. Freshmen will be admitted to courses above the 2000 level only with the consent of the instructor and the student’s advisor. Juniors and seniors taking freshman courses may be expected to do additional work. Any course above 4999 is a graduate course.

NOTE:
The number in parentheses following the course title indicates the semester hours of credit assigned to the course.
An H following the course number indicates an honors level course.

HIST 1100
The Western Heritage [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This survey of the history of Western civilization from antiquity to the present stresses those experiences that have given shape to Western ideas and institutions. Key questions involve the function of tradition and cultural transmission and the issue of continuity and change in Western values.

HIST 1200
Western Civilization I [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course offers an overview of Western European civilizations including the Ancient Near East, Greece and Rome; medieval civilization; the Italian Renaissance; and the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The course will focus primarily on the religious, social and political aspects of this period.

HIST 1300
Western Civilization II [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course offers an overview of Western Civilization from about AD 1500 to the recent past. The course will acquaint students with basic ideas and events of European history during the so-called Early-Modern and Modern periods and will focus especially on the religious, social and political developments of these periods.

HIST 1400
Western History in Global Context [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course offers a general survey of Western History situated as it is in the global context of sometimes near and sometimes distant neighbors and relatives. The course looks at the ways in which these “neighbors” both shape and challenge the identity of the West from its early formative years to the discovery of new worlds, colonialism, industrialization and global conflict in the modern world.

HIST 2100
American Studies: US I [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This survey of American history from the colonial period through the Civil War deals with both the standard political questions and issues and the social and cultural history.

HIST 2200
American Studies: US II [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
A survey of American history from the Reconstruction period to the present day, this course examines political, social, and cultural questions of the period through textbook and primary source readings, lecture, and discussion.

HIST 2210
The Ancient World [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course is a survey of the classical Greece and Rome from the beginnings of Minoan civilization to the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D. From year to year, special attention will be given to different topics within this time frame. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 2220
Medieval Europe [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course provides an overview of Western Europe during the early and high Middle Ages. Topics will include the decline of the Roman Empire, the barbarian invasions, the Carolingian Empire, feudalism and monarchism, the Crusades, and the Twelfth-Century Renaissance. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 2230
Early Modern Europe [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course is a survey of European history from the Italian Renaissance to Napoleon (roughly A.D. 1400 to 1800). Special attention will be given to intellectual movements such as the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 2240
Modern Europe [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course surveys European history from the defeat of Napoleon to the present. Special attention will be given to cultural, intellectual, and political trends that helped shape the course of modern European society. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 2300
American Studies: Constitutional History [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
(Also listed as POLS 2300) This course covers the background development of American constitutional theory and follows the steps of formation and implementation of the American Constitution. It then traces the development of the Constitution to the present through the examination of important cases. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 2400
American Intellectual & Cultural History [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course seeks to expose the student to some topics within the broad sweep of American intellectual and cultural history through lectures and especially through the reading and interpretation of literary documents (including novels, essays, belles letters, sermons, poems, and speeches) from the four centuries of the American experience. Particular attention may focus from year to year on a specific century. Thematic questions relating to America's peculiar notions of "progress" and "mission" are examined and provide the focus for the course as a whole. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 2500
The Historian's Craft [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course explores how historians research and write history. Of particular interest is the study of historical methodologies or how different scholars have thought about history as a discipline. In addition, students hone their skills at selecting, evaluating, and interpreting different kinds of historical evidence. Students in Teacher Education (Social Studies) programs may use this course as American or European history credit.

HIST 2700
Lincoln & the Civil War [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
The course is meant to immerse the student in the life of Abraham Lincoln and especially in the issues he dealt with surrounding the coming of civil war and the prosecution of that war. This immersion will take place through the reading and discussion of recent and important works on Lincoln.

HIST 2950
Life Learning Experience [Life Learning Paper] (1 - 3) (Liberal Arts)
In this course students apply the theories that support learning from personal experience. Students will draw from the works of educators such as Dewey, Piaget, Lindeman, and Kolb. They will write a life-learning essay on an approved topic.

HIST 3000
Topics in History [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course examines selected topics in history. Historical periods may include anything from the ancient to the modern period.

HIST 3013
Women in Church History [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
Through examination of primary as well as secondary materials, this course surveys the involvement of women in the church from the New Testament era until the present. (Also listed as SGEN 3013) (Offered alternate years)

HIST 3033
History of American Public Address [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
(Also listed as COMM 3033) This course provides historical analysis of rhetorical discourse from American social, religious, and political life. Influential texts (speeches, political documents, sermons, and rhetorical literature) and significant rhetors (both individuals and communities) are explored to illumine characteristics and strategies of persuasive discourse. Prerequisites: COMM 1105, COMP 1010 and 1020. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 3061
History for Adolescence Teachers [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course addresses instructional strategies for teaching to the State Learning Standards for New York State Adolescent Social Studies and will assist the student in gaining an understanding of the History of America as taught to Adolescent students. Topics to be covered include: the economics, geography, government, major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the United States from various perspectives. This is a five-week course open only to Junior and Senior Education majors.

HIST 3100
Latin American History [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
The development of selected Latin American nations since independence is explored, with emphasis on the growth and current problems of these republics. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 3200
The Western Church in the Midlde Ages [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course offers a survey of the Medieval Church from approximately A.D. 500 to 1500. Attention will be given both to the institutional history of the Church as well as popular religion and reform movements. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 3300
Nineteenth Century European History [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course is a study of the French Revolution and Napoleonic era; the conservative reaction; the revolutionary movements; nationalism and liberalism; industrial growth; and political, economic, social, and cultural trends. (Offered on demand)

HIST 3400
Twentieth Century European History [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This course covers developments in Europe from the turn of the century to the present day, with special emphasis placed on such movements as nationalism, democracy, imperialism, and totalitarianism. (Offered on demand)

HIST 3600
History of Christianity [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
The development of the Christian Church is examined from its beginnings to the present, with major attention given to the history of the Church on the Continent. Organizing themes include church/state relations, the question of ecclesiastical and theological "progress," and the interrelationships between historical change and transcendent truth claims. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 3700
Renaissance & Reformation [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
With attention to primary sources, this course considers the intellectual changes, creativity, and values of the Renaissance, as well as the key issues of the Protestant and Roman Catholic Reformations, both on the Continent and in England. Various Renaissance readings to reflect certain key topics are chosen from year to year. The focus of primary source readings for the Protestant Reformation is often either Luther or Calvin. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 3800
Christianity in America [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
Selected topics in the development of American Christianity are explored, with special attention usually given to Puritanism, Jonathan Edwards, Revivalism, the Princeton theology, Rauschenbusch, the social gospel, and the fundamentalist/modernist controversy. (Offered alternate years)

HIST 4200
Seminar in Historical Topics [Course] (3) (Liberal Arts)
This seminar intensively examines certain historical topics. In so doing, it provides the student with a collegial atmosphere for both doing and presenting research. Though topics vary from year to year, key concerns are historiography, methods and techniques of historical research, and the philosophy of history. Open to junior and senior History or Comprehensive Social Studies majors only or with permission of the instructor. (May be repeated if topic differs.)

HIST 4900
History on Location [Course] (1 - 3) (Liberal Arts)
This course will offer students an opportunity to spend some time 'on location' studying a particular topic in American or European history. Students will be expected to participate in some traditional classroom work, but the course will include travel time (from a few days to three weeks) to destinations that relate to the topic of the course. Course topics will change. The travel component of this course will usually take place during a summer term. Students should expect to pay an additional fee to cover travel expenses. (Special Offering)

HIST 4950
IS:History [Course] (1 - 4) (Liberal Arts)
Independent study provides opportunity to pursue advanced or special-interest topics not covered in the curriculum. Prerequisites: 1. Junior standing. 2. A minimum of 9 semester hours in the discipline of the Independent Study. 3. A minimum grade point average of 2.50 in the discipline. 4. Proof of motivation and ability to work independently. 5. Approval of the department in which the study is to be taken. 6. Permission from the student's advisor, the course instructor, the Department Chair, the School Dean, and the Registrar.

HIST 4980
Undergraduate Research [Course] (1 - 3) (Liberal Arts)
Students conduct research in history under supervision of a faculty member. Permission of instructor is required. Guidelines for Independent Study apply. A written report is required. (May be repeated with new research) Prerequisites: 1. Junior standing 2. A minimum of 9 semester hours in the discipline of the Independent Study 3. A minimum grade point average of 2.50 in the discipline 4. Proof of motivation and ability to work independently 5. Approval of the division in which the study is to be taken 6. Permission from the student's advisor, the course instructor, the Division Chair, and the Registrar.