History

A survey of United States history beginning with precontact cultures, examining the varied colonial and native cultures, and tracing the political, economic, social, and cultural development of the United States, and concluding with Reconstruction.

(Normally offered each fall semester.)

A survey of United States history beginning with post-Civil War Reconstruction period, tracing economic, social, and cultural development to the present, emphasizing the emergence of a dominantly urban-industrial society, multiple civil rights movements, the expanded role of government in the lives of individuals, and the increasing involvement of the United States in the world.

(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This is a world-history survey designed to introduce students to the sweep of social, political, economic, and cultural changes that took place around the world over the course of the twentieth century. Using primary sources, the course allows students to investigate in-depth themes such as European colonialism, the First and Second World Wars, fascism and its consequences, the transformation of East Asia, the Cold War and its consequences, and new challenges to global stability in the modern era.

(Normally offered each spring semester.)

A study of Western Civilization from the Ancient World through the era of the Reformation focusing on the history of Western religious beliefs. Through the reading of religious texts, students investigate the varying conceptions of God or the gods as well as the relationship of the divine to the physical universe and humanity. In the process, students will learn basic features of Western religion and how the circumstances of human existence and broader cultural forces have shaped religious belief in the West.

(Normally offered each fall semester.)

A chronological survey of Western Civilization from 1500 to the present, focusing on the literary record which exemplifies changing societies; artistic and literary styles; and philosophical, religious, and political patterns. The course will include a reexamination of Biblical texts in the Reformation, the revival and imitation of classical texts in the Renaissance, absolutism and its critics, the revolutionary and Romantic movements, ethnic minorities, colonialism, the crisis of Western thought in the twentieth century, and the impact of totalitarianism.

(Normally offered each spring semester.)