Department of History and Political Science

A study of American history from European exploration to the present, with attention to the founding of the United States, the major developments and events, and the role of the citizen in U.S. history. This course is designed for the general student and will not meet major requirements for degrees in history.

An introduction to American history from the period of exploration and colonization to the conclusion of reconstruction. Major themes and events include the European settlement of North America, Native American responses to European development of colonial America, the war for American independence, nation-building in the Early Republic, the development of slavery, Western expansion, and the Civil War and reconstruction.

An introduction to American history from the conclusion of reconstruction to recent times. Major themes include Western expansion, industrialization and urbanization, imperialism, two world wars, American life between the wars, radicalism and revolt, and the post-Cold War world.

An in-depth exploration of modern America from 1945 to the present emphasizing the political, economic, diplomatic, and social aspects of the period. The course will investigate the origins of the Cold War, McCarthyism, increasing presidential power, the U.S. and the Third World, the civil rights struggle, women's movement, student revolts, Vietnam, Watergate, and the New Right and post-Cold War America.

An in-depth exploration of Europe from the political and industrial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries through contemporary European society and culture, including 19th century "isms" (romanticism, liberalism, socialism, nationalism, imperialism) and world wars.

The Holocaust was one of the seminal events of the twentieth century, and has had profound effects on the language and concepts that we use to describe atrocities, the way that we interpret history, and even the ways in which we remember and memorialize the past. To put it simply, the Holocaust was more than a singular tragedy in the middle of the twentieth century. It was much worse than so many other tragedies. It was a watershed that created a new lens for looking at the past, present, and future. In this course, we will study the events that make up the Holocaust, the deeper roots of antisemitism that made it possible, and how the Holocaust has been remembered, portrayed and memorialized. We will think not only about what happened, but about how to make sense of what happened—how to grapple with a history that seems to defy understanding. Fulfills a General Education Cultural Competency (CC) requirement.

A critical examination of U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving constitutional rights and liberties with special attention given to the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. Topics will include religious freedom, freedom of expression, rights in criminal procedure, due process and equal protection, including racial and gender discrimination and sexual harassment.