HIS 101 American History: Colonies to Reconstruction (4)
A description and analysis of the major factors accounting for the transformation of the earliest settlements into a sovereign national power. Emphasis will be placed on the role of immigration, changing institutional values and structures, and the interplay between economic and political forces. Meets new General Education American History requirement.
HIS 102 American History: Reconstruction to the Present (4)
A description and analysis of the principal forces involved in the growth of the U.S. from a society on the eve of massive industrialization into a technological consumer society. Features stressed will include the rise of the corporation, the development of an urban labor force, the changing role of government, and the integration of the United States into a global political and economic system. Meets new General Education American History requirement.
HIS 150 History of Modern Europe (4)
A political and social survey of the period 1815‑present. Primary attention is given to the major Western European states and Russia. Central themes of the course include: the decline of aristocratic dominance and the attempts of first the middle, and then the lower classes, to gain control of society, the origins of World War I, the war itself and its aftermath, the rise of totalitarianism and the coming of World War II, the Cold War, new prosperity, and the global age. Meets new General Education Western Civilization or Humanities requirement.
HIS 240 Latin American Civilizations (4)
A one-semester overview of Latin America, from the first encounters of European, African, and Native American cultures to the diverse and complex societies of the present. Study of the region’s indigenous and colonial past will help explain contemporary politics, economics, social relations, and cultural movements. Repercussions of the independence movements and subsequent democracies, monarchies, dictatorships and reform movements will be tracked. Students will evaluate demographic changes, social upheaval and revolution, industrialization and development, environmental degradation, and foreign intervention. Throughout the course, changes and continuities in race, class, gender, and other social roles will be identified and analyzed. Meets new General Education Other World Civilizations requirement.
HIS 295 Contemporary Topics in History (3-4)
Focuses on how professional history is written, using historical resources about disease and epidemics across world cultures, and material about historiography (the writing of history, what we know/don’t know from evidence from the past and how that is expressed responsibly vs. irresponsibly). Considers relationships between historical analysis and analysis of contemporary problems, and how evidence from the past is collected, interpreted, represented, and used in such discussions.
HIS 304 Technology in American History (4)
A lecture and reading and writing intensive course in American History organized around the theme of technology. History is the understanding of change over time. As such, this course focuses on technology as a central organizing theme to study changes that have happened in America. We will do so by exploring the interrelationships and interactions among technology and the changing political, economic, social, intellectual and cultural contexts in America. As a result, students can become thoughtful analysts of technology in context. Cross-listed with IDS 304.
HIS 306 Science and Technology in World History (4)
An analysis of the histories of science and technology in the context of the broad outlines of world history and the history of western civilization. As such, this course is an exploration of the interrelationships and interactions among technology, different forms of knowledge about nature, and their political, economic, social, intellectual, and cultural contexts. That exploration will lay the foundation for a cross-cultural comparison of science and technology in the West and in other civilizations to analyze the significance of western science and technology’s dominance. Lectures will supplement the text, and will cover themes and issues important to understand the changes that occurred in the histories of science and technology. May not be taken for credit by students who previously took and passed HIS 307. Meets new General Education Western Civilization and Other World Civilizations requirements, or can be used to meet Humanities requirement. Cross-listed with IDS 306.
HIS 308 Latinos in American History (4)
A review and analysis of the major historical developments explaining the presence of the United States’ largest emergent minority group, the Hispanics, or Latinos. Major themes include the colonial activities of the Spanish and Portuguese; subsequent historical developments involving Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other areas of Central and South America; the experience of Latinos in the U.S. in the past 200 years; and the current status and culture of Latino groups in American society. Meets new General Education American History requirement. Only students scoring about 84 on the NYS Regents in American History.
HIS 317 Topics in Black History (4)
Deals with a variety of periods in Black History which have contributed to American life as it exists today. Topics will change each semester and may deal with such diverse matters as the African cultural roots of Afro‑American life, views of Black family life and institutions during slavery. Meets new General Education Western Civilization or Humanities requirement.
HIS 330 American Women’s History: U.S. Historical Experiences in Hemispheric Perspective (4)
An examination of the history of women in the United States from European colonization (ca. 1600) to the present, plus the opportunity to compare American women’s experiences with those of their peers throughout the Western Hemisphere. Themes addressed will include: race and ethnicity in colonization and coexistence, labor (paid and unpaid) and class issues, health and sexuality, religion and spirituality, and legal and political struggles. Meets new General Education American History requirement.
HIS 360 Environmental History (4)
The constantly changing relationship between Americans and the land has been a continuing theme in American history, beginning with the ideas and attitudes the colonists brought with them from Europe and continuing to the current environmental movement and its opposition. This course deals with American attitudes toward land, natural resources, and nature from the roots of our ideas in Western civilization to the present. This course will focus on Native American and European ideas about nature, explore the impact of the ideas of Thoreau, Muir, and Leopold, and analyze how science has changed our understanding of the relationship between Americans and nature. Meets new General Education Western Civilization requirement.
HIS 367 American Protest Movements (4)
An interdisciplinary course that examines the phenomenon of protest movements in America historically and social scientifically, especially sociologically. Protest movements have been studied by scholars for decades. We will explore the history of protest, up to and including the growth of contemporary forms of protest movements. We will examine why people protest, and how they protest, paying particular attention to issues surrounding strategy and tactics, the media, civil disobedience, the relationship between protest movements and the authorities, protest and coalition building, and the institutionalization of protest. Finally, we will analyze whether protest actually matters- why do some movements succeed while others fail, and what is the meaning of success and failure, and for whom. In very general terms, by the end of the course, we will be able to determine whether protest in an inherent part of American society and of the identity of America. This course relies primarily on historical and social scientific approaches to understanding protest movements, but in recognition of the complexity of the phenomenon of dissent, will at times also focus on materials from other disciplines, such as social psychology and the arts. The aim of the course is to introduce the student to key issues, while teaching how to cogently and critically analyze contemporary issues surrounding dissent and protest movements. Students who have completed HIS 367 for credit cannot also take SOC 367 or IDS 367.
HIS 370 Western Civilization and the World (4)
A historical analysis of Western and other world civilizations. Explores the broad outlines of world history by comparing, contrasting, and relating the distinctive features of Western civilization to other world civilizations. Topics covered include the origins and varieties of civilizations, the divergent traditions in world civilizations, European hegemony and the end of European dominance, and globalization. This is a reading-intensive course in which lectures and discussions supplement the assigned reading. Meets new General Education Western Civilization and Other World Civilizations requirements.
HIS 375 Gender Issues in World History (4)
An examination of how gender roles have shaped the experiences of diverse men and women in a range of human societies worldwide, and how those roles have affected experiences of cultural interaction among societies in modern and recent history. Using historical monographs and primary sources, students will employ critical reading and writing skills to gain in-depth knowledge of these experiences and of trends in the field of gender history that can guide independent inquiry. Fulfills the SUNY General Education requirement in Western Civilizations and Other World Civilizations. Cross-listed with IDS 375.
HIS 390 Topics in History (4)
An in-depth examination of particular topics in history. Topics might include World War II, the history of women in America, the Sixties and the Vietnam War, history of presidential elections. Each course will use one or two general textbooks; in addition, every student will be required to perform research on a particular issue related to the topic of the course. May be taken more than once as topics change.
HIS 491 Independent Study (Variable 1‑4)
Extensive study and research on a particular topic of student interest under the supervision of a faculty member. The student is required to submit a written proposal which includes a description of the project, its duration, education, educational goals, methods of evaluation, and number of credits to be earned. Prerequisites: Matriculated students only, permission of instructor and dean of subject matter.