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Spring 2009 Advanced Courses

The SFA History Department will offer the following advanced and graduate courses during the Spring 2009 semester. For more information about individual courses, see the instructor.

All 300 and 400 level courses have a prerequisite of 6 hours of history.

To help students meet degree requirements, each semester the department will designate certain courses as a Writing Enhanced Courses.


HIS 321 WORLD HISTORY, Dr. Dormady, TR 12:30-1:45, F477
This course surveys major developments in world history from the Neolithic Revolution to Globalization. Models of study will include concepts of meta geography, trade, cross cultural interaction, world systems, diasporas, and biological exchange. Particular attention is paid to the pre-Conquest Americas, Oceania, and the Afro-Eurasian complex. Topics include the rise and maintenance of cities, comparative empires, colonialism, neo-colonialism, modernization, and globalization as evidenced in societies such as Archaic Sumer, the Aztec Empire, Andean South America, Heian Japan, Colonial West Africa, Central Asia, and EZLN occupied Mexico.
Meets an elective requirement for the International Studies second major or minor. Meets a requirement for those seeking teacher certification in History for grades 8-12.

HIS 324 RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION 1350-1648, Dr. Dahmus, MWF 10:00-10:50, F477 This course will cover the period of European history from about 1350 to 1650. We will examine the Italian and Northern Renaissances, early modern politics, early modern science, the Christian Church in the Renaissance and Reformation, and the sixteenth and seventeenth-century wars of religion.

HIS 326 AGE OF NATIONALISM, 1815-1914, Dr. Tebbe, MWF 8:00-8:50, F477
Although a casual observer might see the period from 1815 to 1914 as a peaceful lull between two periods of destructive war, the nineteenth century was overrun with conflict and upheaval. Industrialization pushed millions into cities or to emigrate, and its technology allowed European nations to expand their empires as never before, ushering in a truly global age. The attempts to restore the pre-1789 order in Europe failed, as the fires of revolution burned across the continent time and again throughout the century. Europe’s map changed dramatically with the unifications of Germany and Italy, and nationalism would greatly alter the dynamics of Europe’s politics. Industrialization created entirely new social classes, and during the nineteenth century women would make unprecedented calls for their liberation. Culture and thought would be revolutionized by names well known still today: Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud, Ibsen, and many more. All of these forces would help give birth to the event that destroyed nineteenth-century European culture and society: World War I.

HIS 335 HISTORY OF TEXAS, Dr. Bradford, TR 8:00-9:15, F472
The course is designed as a comprehensive survey course in Texas history beginning with pre-Columbian contact and continuing until the contemporary era. Because the course consists of such an expansive timeframe, a number of topics will only be cursorily covered in class lectures, making it essential that students supplement their understanding of course content with readings in the textbooks. The primary focus of the course will be the various political, social, and cultural themes that have played key roles in the development of Texas and Texans and the emphasized themes will be the ones the instructor feels most essential in gaining an understanding of Texas in a historical perspective. Course themes will include the exploration of the diverse cultural legacies of the state, the place of Texas in the American South, and the role of economic boom-and-bust cycles in shaping the state. Because this is an upper level history course, a key element of the course will be the growth of critical thinking among the students concerning the examination of historical themes and paradigms. Students will also be asked to read historical monographs outside of class and be able to provide a critical analysis of each work within the constraints of an essay quiz. Meets a requirement for those seeking teacher certification in social studies for grades 4-8.

HIS 342 HISTORY OF ENGLAND II, Dr. Malpass, TR 11:00-12:15, F475
This course surveys the History of England from the late Middle Ages through the Tudor-Stuart Era and the influence of the Glorious Revolution on Modern Britain with an emphasis upon constitutional, legal, and monarchial evolution. It is taught as an audio-visual course with slides, films and computers used extensively. Meets an elective requirement for the Gender Studies minor. May count toward the International Business major – see MMIB Department.

HIS 346 AMERICAN INDIANS, Dr. Babcock, MW 1:00-2:15 F480
This course will survey the history of American Indians in North America from pre-Columbian times to the present. It proceeds from the premise that all cultures, regardless of how different their social organization, religion, or economic understanding have value. Other goals are to make students aware of the longevity and continuity of human history in North America and to study American History from the perspective of Indian people so students learn that there are multiple versions of “what really happened.” Since this is a writing-enhanced course, assignments will include an annotated bibliography, a research paper, short response papers on three books, and also two exams.
Writing Enhanced Course

HIS 348 THE NEW SOUTH, Dr. Sosebee, MWF 9:00-9:50, F477
This course will explore the history of this unique region from the end of the Civil War through the present. It will examine political, economic, social, and cultural themes in an attempt to understand how and why the South developed its unique character and history. Writing Enhanced Course

HIS 412 HOLOCAUST, Dr. Jackson, W 4:00-6:30, F480
The first section of the course will deal with the role of anti-Semitism in the rise of the Nazis and the consolidation of Nazi power. The development of the Nazi policy toward the Jews between 1933 and 1938, and the initial steps in the destruction process (definition, expropriation, concentration) will then occupy our attention. The second section of the course will cover the destruction process during World War II and Hitler’s wars (on Europe, Russia, and the Jews). The role of the SS, the growth of resistance among Jews, and the Nuremburg Trials will then end the course. The course will place great emphasis on the Holocaust’s place in history, both in Germany and the rest of the world.

HIS 414 THE FIRST LADIES, Dr. Cooper, MWF 11:00-11:50, F477
Jacqueline Kennedy once said, “The one thing I do not want to be called is First Lady. It sounds like a saddle horse.” Her comment raises the question, “What is the role of the First Lady?” Never has there been such a position in the United States government that holds such potential power without so much as a job description for its occupant. The position was not written into the Constitution; nevertheless, the job has changed over time as presidential spouses have exhibited a range of personas—from begrudgingly playing the “ceremonial” wife to taking on more political duties and public tasks as an “activist” First Lady. Thus, this course seeks to analyze the ever evolving role of the First Lady from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. Meets an elective requirement for the Gender Studies minor.

HIS 416 RELIGION IN LATIN AMERICAN, Dr. Dormady, TR 3:30-4:45, F477
This course examines the major religious movements in colonial and national period Latin America. Such movements include Catholicism and Liberation Theology, Afro/Creole religions in the Caribbean and Brazil such as Candomble, Santeria, Vudou, etc., evangelical and Pentecostal Protestantism, and folk religion. The course pays special attention to power struggles within Latin American society in which religion plays a role. Geographically, topics will touch on the Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English speaking regions of the Non-Canadian/US Western Hemisphere.

HIS 448 GILDED AGE AND PROGRESSIVISM, Dr. Beisel, MW 4:00-5:15, F477
A study of American political, social, and economic history from the Gilded Age through the Progressive Era (1877-1921).

HIS 449 UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR II, Dr. Taaffe, TR 9:30-10:45, F475
This course explains the social, political, economic, diplomatic, and military aspects of American efforts to wage and win World War Two. Most of the course will concentrate on the American military’s role in the war, but nonmilitary elements will be covered as well.

HIS 451 AMERICA SINCE 1945, Dr. Carney, TR 2:00-3:15, F480
This course centers on the cultural, social, and political development of the United States since 1945. Topics of the class will include the origins of Cold War ideologies, postwar youth subcultures, the fight for civil rights, the Vietnam War, mass protests, political realignment, post-Cold War realities, and the impact these historical struggles have had on shaping modern America. Special emphasis will be given to the evolving concepts of equality as many Americans began to challenge conventional definitions of freedom and opportunity. Students in this course will be responsible for writing a research paper in addition to weekly discussions and essay exams.
Writing Enhanced Course

HIS 530 HISTORIOGRAPHY, Dr. Cox, T 6:00-8:30, F477
This seminar aims to introduce graduate students to the central issues faced by the historical profession as well as the various interpretive models that historians have used to evaluate the past. Regular reading and writing assignments will be used to focus on a series of topics such as defining history, the origins of historical professionalization, methods of evaluating the past, and the recent trends in writing history. In addition, this seminar will examine the importance of race, gender, class, and culture in creating an interpretation of the past

HIS 531 HISTORICAL RESEARCH, WRITING AND EDITING PART I, Dr. Sosebee, M 6:00-8:30, F477
Introduction to basic historical research and writing, and information literacy useful for history. Includes lectures, readings and work within ongoing projects. (May be repeated once with change of topic.)

HIS 578 VIETNAM WAR, Dr. Catton, W 6:00-8:30, F477
Examines the origins, evolution, and consequences of the Vietnam conflict, 1945-1975. Within a broadly chronological framework, the course will focus on issues such as anti-colonialism and revolutionary politics, presidential decision-making, military strategy, war crimes, and the contested memories of the conflict. It will also seek to address some of the shortcomings of the current scholarship: as one historian has noted, the literature on the Vietnam War is dominated by “American scholars asking American-oriented questions and seeking answers in documents produced by Americans.” Therefore, considerable attention will be devoted to hitherto neglected aspects, notably the Vietnamese side of events and the conflict’s international dimensions. Students will be introduced to the classic works on the war as well as the latest scholarship.

HIS 580 THE TEACHING OF HISTORY, Dr. Bremer, R 6:00-8:30, F477
An intensive study of the methods and techniques in the teaching of history. Students will learn how to fully prepare to teach college history, including devising syllabi, setting goals, choosing textbooks, delivering lectures, running discussions and writing exam and essay questions.

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