This basic course in U.S. history focuses on American development to the post-Civil War era. Starting with European exploration of the New World, the survey emphasizes the foundation, establishment, and maintenance of the Republic and concentrates on major events and personalities in that process.

 

U.S. history after the Civil War period is the subject of the survey from 1877. Considering major events and personalities, the course traces the development and effects of increased industrialization, growing involvement in world affairs, and greater diversification of American society.

 

This course provides the student with materials for understanding the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of Kansas, from the original people of the central plains, to the modern 21st century state.

 

An introduction to the significant political, economic, diplomatic, military, and social developments in Latin America from the ancient Indian civilizations to the crisis-ridden 1980’s. Special emphasis is placed on twentieth-century Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Central America, and their relations with the United States.

 

An introduction to significant political, economic, social, cultural, and military developments in African-American history from the first landing of slaves in 1619 to the Rainbow Coalition of Jesse Jackson in the 1980’s. Special emphasis is placed on the experience of slavery, the Era of Reconstruction and the New South, and on the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.

 

This course provides the student with the materials for understanding the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of European colonization and native reaction, British reforms and colonial independence, and the creation of an American Republic.

 

This course provides the student with the materials for understanding the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of those periods of time historians refer to as the Early National period, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.

 

This course provides the student with the materials for understanding the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of those periods of time historians refer to as the Guilded Age, the Progressive Era, the Twenties, the Great Depression, and World War II.

 

This course provides the student with the materials for understanding the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of such major development as the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, feminism, the Reagan revolution, and globalism.

                                                                                                     World History

 

The first course in a two part introductory survey of world history. Topics will include the agricultural revolution, the creation of centers of civilization in the Mediterranean, India, China and elsewhere, the origins of religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and others, the interaction among these centers of civilizations and between them and other areas of the world, and the beginnings of Europe’s rise to a position of economic and political preeminence.

 

The second course in a two part introductory survey of world history. Topics include the increasing understanding in Europe and elsewhere of reason as a way of understanding the world, the Industrial Revolution and its political, social and diplomatic effects, European expansion and imperialism, the importance of ideologies such as democracy, communism, nationalism, and fascism, the wars of the Twentieth Century, decolonization, and the westernization and globalization of the world.

 

A sustained examination of a specific topic important in modern history. Topics will vary, but may include issues such as identity and nationality, imperialism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and the world wars of the Twentieth Century. May be repeated for credit if the topic is different. May be offered simultaneously with HI320.

 

A survey of the history of the Middle East from the emergence of Islam to our own age. Main themes will include the life and teachings of Muhammad, the Arab conquests, varieties of Islamic thought, principal medieval Arab kingdoms, the Seljuk and Ottoman Turkish empires, and the rise of modern Arab, Jewish and Iranian nationalism. Special emphasis will be given to the origins and nature of the Arab-Israeli and Lebanese conflicts and to the Islamic revival.

 

Examines the histories of China and Japan. Special attention is given to institutional and cultural development. Lectures also explore the impact of Europe and America on traditional ways of life. The last section of the course focuses on war and revolution in southeast Asia.

 

An examination of the world as a whole over the last 125 years. Although it will discuss individual regions and use individual countries as case studies, the course will emphasize the development of the world as a system, the struggle for power in all its manifestations, and the experience of the “Third World” in the imperial and post-colonial world. It will discuss in detail the important ideologies of the 20th century and the ways in which non-western countries have interpreted and implemented these ideas. It will also give considerable attention to the ways in which the experience of colonialism and decolonization impacted the lives of men and women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It will conclude by discussing the post-1989 move toward globalization.

 

A sustained examination of a specific topic important in modern history. Topics will vary, but may include issues such as identity and nationality, imperialism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and the world wars of the Twentieth Century. May be repeated for credit if the topic is different. Students taking this class for 300 level credit will be expected to complete additional requirements and participate at a higher level than students completing it for 100 level credit. May be offered simultaneously with HI120.

 

An examination of Europe from 1789-1914. This course will emphasize continent-wide developments and ideas, including the revolutionary period from 1789-1848, the Industrial Revolution, imperialism, the success and failure of European efforts to regulate the international system, the rise of nationalism, the role of ideologies like liberalism, socialism and conservatism, and the increasing diplomatic and internal tensions that led to the First World War. The course will also pay some attention to individual countries such as Great Britain, France, and Italy.

 

A survey of problems in European history from the close of World War I to the present. The focal point of the course is the destruction of the old European systems by World War I, the various attempts to replace those systems, the challenge posed by fascism and communism, the impact of World War II, the Cold War and the dismantling of the colonial empires, and the emergence of a new European consciousness.

 

Introductory survey of main themes in German history since 1815, with main emphasis on the period 1870-1945. Key areas covered will include the failure of liberal nationalism in the 1848 revolution, German unification, Bismarck’s domestic and foreign policies after 1871, and the background to German involvement in World War I. Special attention will be given to the inter-war experiment with liberal democracy, the rise of Nazism, and the history of the Third Reich. Some time will also be devoted to post-1945 developments, including the German role in the Cold War, the emergence of two distinct societies in the Federal and Democratic republics, and reunification.

 

Survey of Russian History from the Kievan period to modern times. Main themes include the emergence of early modern Muscovy, the reforms of Peter the Great, the nature of Tsarist society, nineteenth century reforms and radical movements, the revolutions of 1905 and 1917, and the use and decline of the Soviet communist system. The course also examines the Russian cultural heritage, expansion into Asia, and the role of Russia and the Soviet Union in foreign affairs.

 

This is to be a capstone, giving the major student a working knowledge of the techniques of the historical professions. Methods of handling research materials, and an introduction to what prominent historians say about the practice of history are stressed. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing.