Department of History

HIST 5097. Independent Study. 1-3 Hours.

This is a course designed for studies of individually selected topics not specifically provided in any of the formal courses. Variable Creidt (1-3).
Prerequisite: Consent of History Department Chair.

HIST 5098. Special Topic. 1-3 Hours.

This course affords graduate students and faculty within the History Program the opportunity to study, in a seminar format, topics not covered in the current curriculum. Variable Credit (1-3).
Prerequisite: Department Approval.

HIST 5301. Methods in History. 3 Hours.

Students hone their research and writing skills needed for the M.A. in History degree. Students assess the various methodological approaches used by professional historians and learn how to conduct original research, engage in historiographical conversations, and communicate their research findings to a larger public. This course will also prepare students to sit for their comprehensive examinations. A. in History or departmental approval.
Prerequisite: Admission to the M.

HIST 5307. Intellectual History. 3 Hours.

Students examine major themes in intellectual history. Topics include the dynamics and statics of global philosophical traditions as realized in specific locales since the classical periods. Students discuss key texts in a seminar format.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5320. Mesoamerican Civilizations. 3 Hours.

Students examine the origins, growth, and organizational and cultural features of the great New World civilizations of the region, including human inhabitation, nascent agriculture, and the emergence of early complex societies. Students examine native civilizations such as the Aztec, Maya, and Zapotec and assess the role of evidence and theory in conceptualizing the past.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5333. Topics in His of PreModern Wld. 3 Hours.

The topic will vary by semester and pertain to a major historical development in the world prior to the sixteenth century. Topics include War in the Ancient World, Comparative World Religions, and Studies in Islamic Civilization. Readings will include important primary sources as well as secondary sources works.

HIST 5336. Topics in the History of Pre-Modern Europe. 3 Hours.

The topic will vary by semester and pertain to a major historical development in Europe prior to the sixteenth century. Topics include Early Medieval Europe 300-1000, the Roman Empire, and Europe in the Era of Crusades 1000-1500. Readings will include important primary sources as well as secondary works.

HIST 5338. Empires in World History. 3 Hours.

Students examine the role of empires in early modern world history, and focus on the experience and interactions of empires from 1400 to 1800. Topics include the events, strategies, and policies that determined the ability of the empires of the early modern period to respond to challenges, such as political or geographic. Military as well as social and economic developments will receive attention in discussions of success and failure of the empires.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5340. Recent African-American Hist. 3 Hours.

This course will familiarize graduate students with the African-American experience in United States history since the end of the Civil War. Topics include Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, national political leadership and intellectual thought, the Great Migrations, World War I, the "New Negro" and Harlem Renaissance, the labor movement, the Great Depression and World War II, and the modern Civil Rights Movement.

HIST 5342. The Japanese Colonial Empire. 3 Hours.

Students in this course examine the history of Japanese imperialism and colonialism in Asia from the late nineteenth century until the end of World War II. Topics include settler colonialism in Korea, Taiwan, and Manchuria, Japan's militarization, fascist ideology, the Pacific Theater of World War II, and war trials.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

HIST 5351. Early Medieval Europe. 3 Hours.

Students in this course examine Europe during the so-called "Dark Ages" (300-1000), a period of dynamic transformation as the Roman Empire ended, Christian, classical and warrior cultures interfaced, and the search for order met great challenges.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

HIST 5352. High and Late Medieval Europe. 3 Hours.

Students in this course examine Europe across a period (1000-1500) characterized initially by growth and prosperity, diverse religious movements, towering urban constructions, and the Crusades; and then, followed by plague and peasant uprisings, which generated social unrest.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

HIST 5353. Legacies of the Reformations. 3 Hours.

Students in this course examine the sixteenth-century Protestant and Catholic Reformations and their effects on religion, society, politics, culture, and the economy. Particular attention will be given to the competing interpretations of their long-term historical significance.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

HIST 5355. Holocaust & Genocide. 3 Hours.

Students examine various aspects of the Holocaust of European Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies during the Second World War (1939-1945). With particular attention to the years 1941-1943, students focus on different aspects of that genocide and may compare it with other episodes of mass killing in modern history. Numerous primary sources and victim and perpetrator perspectives will be incorporated.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5359. The Audible Past. 3 Hours.

Students examine the meaning and significance of sound, music, and noise in culture and analyze how sound technologies shape, and are shaped by, the values of the cultures that produced them. Students apply the tools of historical analysis to primary sources in the form of recorded sound.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5360. African Environmental History. 3 Hours.

Students examine the local and external forces that have influenced African environmental history from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Students discuss methodological approaches, key themes, and debates in the historiography. Topics may include disease, conservationist ideologies (African and Western), demography, climate change, and the relationship between capitalistic economies (colonial and post-colonial) and environmental change in Africa.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5362. Smnr in Amercn Envirnmntl Hist. 3 Hours.

(Prior SH course id: HIS 562); This course is an examination of the complex relationship between nature and society in American history. Students will study economics, land-use patterns and natural ecosystems along with the corresponding dramatic changes in natural and human communities that engender strong social and political responses.

HIST 5363. Seminar In Military History. 3 Hours.

Selected topics in Military History.

HIST 5364. Seminar in War & Violence. 3 Hours.

Students examine how societies experience military conflict and remember war. Students compare the national memories of war with historical realities, interpret how societal images of war change over time, and appraise how these factors influence society itself.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5365. Film and War in America. 3 Hours.

Students in this course examine how film has altered the perception of warfare in America over the last century. Upon completion students are able to compare the various views of war presented. Students further examine the filmography to demonstrate how perceptions changed over time due to the influence of politics, patriotism, and warfare itself. Credit 3
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

HIST 5366. The Reconstruction Era. 3 Hours.

Students examine the social, cultural, political, and military histories of Reconstruction after the U.S. Civil War. Topics may include the experience of military occupation, African American political activism, violence and terrorism, the retreat from Reconstruction, and sectional reconciliation.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5367. World War II. 3 Hours.

Students examine various aspects of the Second World War (1939-1945). Topics may include the military history of combat zones, the cultural and social history of the war, politics and strategy, technological developments, and economic change. Students evaluate various scholarly interpretations around the topic.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5370. Colonial America. 3 Hours.

(Prior SH course id: HIS 570); This course examines the issues, peoples, and perspectives that shaped Colonial America. Topics will vary by term but may include exploration, settlement, and maturation of the North American colonies.

HIST 5371. Revolutionary America. 3 Hours.

This is essentially a readings oriented course. Broad themes from the colonial-revolutionary period will be singled out. Readings will be assigned to familiarize students with the general themes. More specific readings will be assigned and individual reports will be discussed at length in class.

HIST 5372. Early National America. 3 Hours.

Studies tracing the development of the United States from 1783 to 1840; the failure of the Confederation; organization of government under the Constitution; the Federalist Period; Jeffersonian democracy; the War of 1812; national growth in the post-war period; political and economic change; the party structure; the rise of Jackson; and social reform.

HIST 5373. The Am Civil War & Reconstruct. 3 Hours.

Studies intended to cover selected topics in the political, military, economic, and social institutions of the United States during the Civil War Era. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5374. Seminar in the His of Am South. 3 Hours.

This course examines the diverse history, peoples, and cultures that have occupied the American South. The topic will vary by semester, among those topics are economic and political history, religion, race, literature, the Civil Rights movement, and women's experience. The course constitutes the core of a Southern history concentration.

HIST 5375. Recent America, 1876-1933. 3 Hours.

Studies designed to cover social, economic, cultural, diplomatic and political developments of late-nineteenth and 20th century America. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5376. Contemporary Amer,1933-Present. 3 Hours.

This course will offer a careful survey of United States history since 1933, including such topics as the Great Depression, the New Deal, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement, the Watergate Crisis, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Reagan Era, the End of the Cold War, and the Roots of 9/11. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5377. The American West. 3 Hours.

This course covers the American West as a region with a strong emphasis on the 19th century. It will explore the interpretive development of the field as it has progressed from a traditional focus on Anglo expansion to a more balanced view that embraces race, gender, and the workaday West. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5378. Amer Cultural & Religious His. 3 Hours.

A study of selected topics int he cultural and religious history of the people of North American; the course focuses on the patterns of belief and values held by American men and women which have shaped each major period from colonial times to the present.

HIST 5380. American Historiography. 3 Hours.

This course is an intensive readings course for graduate students in major topics of interest among American historians. Students will understand the complex nature of historical practice and the development of past and current fields within the discipline. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5381. World Historiography. 3 Hours.

This course represents an in-depth examination of the interdisciplinary methodologies of the New World History. Students will investigate the writing of world history as a projection of power and dominace in the era of global imperialism and colonialism; non-Eurocentric explanations for the "rise of the West"; and the latest scholarly efforts to construct a non-privileging world history.

HIST 5382. Topics In the History Of Women. 3 Hours.

A study of selected topics in the history of women; the course focuses on the experiences of women of diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. The course examines women?s responses to social forces during critical periods in their history. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5383. United States Diplomatic Hist. 3 Hours.

This course is a study of selected topics tracing the development of United States foreign policy from 1775 to the present. Topics may include diplomacy of the Revolutionary Era; the Early Republic; Manifest Destiny; the Civil War Era; Imperialism and Expansion; the Great Crusade and after; World War II; and the Cold War. The emphasis is on the forces that have influenced diplomacy and on the changing interpretations of United States foreign policy. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5384. Texas History. 3 Hours.

An in-depth examination of Texas history, including study of indigenous peoples, Spanish colonization, the Mexican era, Anglo- and African- American settlement, the Revolution and Republic period, statehood, Civil War and Reconstruction, the cattle kingdom, the oil industry, and political and economic modernization. The course may be conducted as either a research or reading seminar. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5385. Latin American History. 3 Hours.

The topics for this course will vary from semester to semester among such subjects as the diplomatic, political, social, and intellectual history of specific geographical areas in Latin America; i.e., Mexico, the Caribbean, the Anglo-Spanish border lands, or South America. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5386. African American Civil Rights. 3 Hours.

Students examine the African-American civil rights movement in the United States and discuss the origins, evolution, and continuation of the movement. Topics may include Jim Crow segregation, lynching, the establishment of the NAACP, school desegregation, the origins and evolution of Black Power, and mass incarceration.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

HIST 5388. Public History. 3 Hours.

This course will introduce students to aspects of public history including historic preservation, museum studies, living history interpretation, archival arrangement and description, grant writing, and news media. Student projects vary by semester.

HIST 5389. Great Brit & The Brit Empire. 3 Hours.

The topics for this course will vary from semester to semester among various chronological periods and will deal specifically with British religious, political, social, cultural, economic and imperial history. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5390. China in Revolution. 3 Hours.

Students examine the patterns and contradictions of the social and political revolutions in the making of modern China. They focus on how issues related to the economy, ethnicity, gender, and cultural production shaped Chinese politics and society from the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911 until Mao's death in 1976. Topics include the formative years of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Civil War, the consolidation of the People's Republic of China, the Great Famine, and the Cultural Revolution.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

HIST 5392. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1922. 3 Hours.

Students in this course survey the history of the Ottoman Empire in order to provide a comprehensive outlook to the diverse political and social traditions of the Islamic world. It will explore the numerous historical threads that eventually composed the fabric of societies and states in the modern Middle East. Focusing on the political and ideological history of the Ottoman Empire, this course pays attention to empire formation in the early modern era, European imperialism, modernization, and nation-building.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

HIST 5393. European Diplomatic History. 3 Hours.

Studies covering selected topics in the history of European international politics from the 18th through the 20th century. Alternate emphasis will be placed on Eastern and Western Europe as well as on different eras of diplomacy, at the discretion of the instructor. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5394. Early Modern Europe. 3 Hours.

The course covers the 15th-18th centuries and considers how the foundations for Modern Europe were established amid the dynamic if not wrenching transformation from a medieval way of life characterized by religious concerns, kingdoms, a predominately agrarian economy, and a rigid social order, to a modern one marked by science and secularism, sovereign states, a commercialized and industrializing capitalist economy, and a more socially diverse and mobile world. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations and/or conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5395. Later Modern Europe. 3 Hours.

A study of selected topics in Later Modern European History. Students will explore major recent historical interpretations as well as conduct research in primary sources.

HIST 5396. Cross-Cultural Interactions. 3 Hours.

This course is an advanced, interdisciplinary investigation of the historiography of cross-cultural encounters and exchanges. Students will examine the historiography of three specific case studies; the ancient Silk Roads, the trans-Eurasian Mongol Empire, and the trans-Atlantic Columbian Exchange.

HIST 6098. Thesis I. 1-3 Hours.

HIST 6099. Thesis II. 1-3 Hours.

HIST 6394. Seminar in History. 3 Hours.

This course is a research seminar in which students will develop skills in locating, extracting, evaluating, and synthesizing historical information and writing an article-length paper based on primary sources. Students may also be expected to supplement their research with other readings under the direction of the professor.