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Upper-Level Courses
HIS 320-401: Advance
Studies in American Military History (Allen Back)
TR 6:00-7:15
Examines American military
campaigns and leaders in the broader context of U.S.
history. If
you’re in ROTC, this is the course for you! (Click here
for background on Lieutenant Colonel Allen Back.)
HIS 350-001: Topics in
U.S. History - Slave Rebellions (Dr. Vanessa Holden)
TR 3:30-4:45
From slave castles on the West African coast to
plantations in the United States and South America,
people of African descent subverted, resisted, and
rebelled against oppressive slave regimes throughout
the Atlantic world. In this reading intensive course
we will examine how enslaved peoples sought to shape
their own lives and define freedom for themselves.
While course content will significantly engage the
American slave experience, students will be challenged
to think comparatively about slavery, enslaved
peoples, and slave revolts across the African
diaspora. (Click here
for background on Dr. Holden.)
HIS 351-001: Topics in U.S.
History - Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Dr. Gerald Smith)
W 3:30-6:00
Using a diverse set of
sources, this course will examine King’s religious
and political thought, culminating in his rise to
national leadership. (Click here
to see Dr. Smith talk about using the early
papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., in his
own research.)
HIS 351-002: Topics in U.S.
History - Global Epidemics and Pandemics (Dr. Eric
Christianson)
TR 2:00-3:15
Come
sing and dance to the tunes of Tom Lehrer: “I got it
from Agnes / She got it from Jim / We all agree it must
have been Louise who gave it to him!” A
history of Black Death, smallpox,
syphilis, TB, malaria, cholera, Flu, Ebola, Hanta,
Dengue fevers, HIV, and Zika. (Click here
for an interview with Dr. Christianson.)
HIS 351-003: Topics in U.S.
History - Kentucky African American History (Dr.
Gerald Smith)
T 3:30-6:00
Come explore the African
American experience in the context of the history of
the Commonwealth. Taught by a professor who has
written a general history of the African American
experience in Kentucky. (Click here
to see Dr. Smith talk about teaching.)
HIS 351-004: Topics in U.S.
History - Television in Post-War America (Dr.
Melanie Goan)
TR
12:30-1:45
This course
will trace how television was introduced and evolved as
a medium in post-war America. We will think about the
influence of television on a macro level, but we will
also spend a lot of time investigating specific
television shows that are emblematic of certain eras.
What do shows like Father Knows Best, All in
the Family, and Cosby Show, among others,
reveal about changing American culture? This course will
involve a lot of watching as well as the usual amount of
reading and writing. You may be required to get a Hulu
subscription. Popcorn is optional. (Click here
to read an interview with Dr. Goan about her research on
the suffrage movement in the history of Kentucky.)
HIS 352-001: Topics in European History -
Christians in the Roman Empire (Dr. David Olster)
TR 12:30-1:45
This course examines the development of early
Christianity from approximately 50 AD - 650 AD It will
consider Christianity primarily as a social and cultural
phenomenon in the Roman Empire whose religious character
was framed and shaped by its historical context. It will
challenge the notion that Christianity was a unique
historical phenomenon whose historical unfolding
transcended the time in which it evolved. This class will
focus not only on theology, but on the ways in which
Christian identity was constructed from Roman identity,
how Christian institutions, particularly the episcopate,
arose to meet the challenge of authority and creating
community hierarchies and organizations, and how
Christianity merged with Romanity to maintain the
continuity of traditional, imperial themes of triumphalism
and the emperor's unique relationship with the divine
powers that protected the Empire and guaranteed its
victories.
HIS 352-002: Topics in
European History - Jewish Thought and Culture I:
From Ancient Israel through the Middle Ages (Dr.
Daniel Frese)
TR 12:30-1:45
In this
course we will trace the major intellectual and cultural
themes in the Israelite/Jewish tradition through 2,500
years of history. We will begin with the Old
Testament/Hebrew Bible and the earliest histories of
ancient Israel, and continue through the Rabbinic
Judaism of late antiquity and into the Middle Ages.
HIS 353-001: Topics in
European History - Crime in History (Dr. Tammy
Whitlock)
TR 2:00-3:15
Need to know how to beat the rap for
witchcraft? How far back to set your time machine so that
dueling is perfectly legal? (RIP Hamilton) Is it true that
women are more murderous than men? Explore these questions
and more in our new history of crime course. Note: No
legal counsel provided. Enroll at your own risk. (Click here
for an interview with Dr. Whitlock about her research on
the history of crime.)
HIS 353-002: Topics in
European History - War, Film, and Memory (Dr. Terri
Crocker)
TR 3:30-4:45
Who doesn't enjoy a good
war movie? Our knowledge of war often starts with a
film: the D-Day invasion means "Saving Private
Ryan," and "Dunkirk" encapsulates the British
retreat in 1940. This course will reflect how movies
reflect, shape, and challenge our shared memories of
history and war, from the Revolutionary War through
Afghanistan. Warning: popcorn not included.
HIS 355-001: Topics in Non Western History -
Africa's Borders in Global Perspective (Dr. Francis
Musoni)
TR 11:00-12:15
This course examines the evolution of
Africa's geopolitical borders and borderland communities
from the 1880s to the present. In addition to studying how
colonial boundary-making processes distorted preexisting
notions of borders in the continent and how measures of
border control have changed since the nineteenth century,
the course will also look at border conflicts, border
economies (including prostitution, human trafficking, and
smuggling), as well as questions of identity and
citizenship in Africa. (Click here
to listen to an interview with Dr. Musoni.)
HIS 355-002: Topics in Non
Western History - Slavery in the Atlantic World (Dr.
Joe Clark)
TR 2:00-3:15
In the 300 years between Christopher
Columbus's arrival in Hispaniola in 1492 and the Haitian
Revolution in 1791, four out of five people who crossed
the Atlantic to the Americas were African slaves. This
course examines their experiences and the institution of
slavery in the Americas, centering on the role of Africa
and Africans in the making of the modern Atlantic world.
HIS
355-003-Honors: Topics in Non Western History - Women
in Modern Japan (Dr. Akiko Takenaka)
TR 2:00-3:15 (Honors
Section)
This honors course covers the history
of women's activism in Japan from the beginning of the
twentieth century to the present. We will read the
writings of activists, oral history interviews, and
analytical and secondary sources. Topics covered include
suffrage and citizenship, gender equality, welfare for
mothers and children, women's liberation movement,
activist against U.S. military bases, and anti-nuclear
activism. The latter half of the course will place an
emphasis on the impact of the U.S. Cold War on peace
activism and gender relations in Japan. (Click here
to watch Dr. Takenaka speak on Japanese
history.)
HIS
355-004-Honors: Topics in Non Western History -
Digital Apartheid (Dr. Stephen Davis)
TR 2:00-3:15 (Honors
Section)
What does the history of apartheid
South Africa look like when we apply the tools of digital
humanities to archival evidence? Find out in this
innovative honors course that combines technology and
history in new and innovative ways. (Click here to
watch a short video on student internship
opportunities in South Africa that Dr. Davis
coordinates each year.)
HIS 370-001: Early Middle Ages (Dr. Abigail
Firey)
TR 2:00-3:15
This course examines Europe following
the end of the Roman Empire, including the formation of
new ethnic identities and the rise of new imperial powers,
including the Carolingians and the Vikings. Read primary sources with
a professor who actually works with manuscripts over
a thousand years old. There will be dragons!
HIS 385-001: History of Russia to 1825 (Dr. Ryan
Voogt)
TR 12:30-1:45
Was Ivan really so terrible? Were Peter
and Catherine really so great? This course examines
politics, culture, and society in Kievan Rus',
Muscovite Russia, and Imperial Russia. It
investigates the relationship of these states with
Europe and Asia, the ways in which the rulers of
Russia maintained control over their vast territory,
and the impact of autocratic rule and the
institution of serfdom on the development of Russian
society and politics up to 1825.
HIS 390-001: Early History
of Christianity to 150 CE (Dr. Bruce Holle)
W 4:00-6:30
In this discussion-filled
class students will discover how three different
elements (Jewish history and culture, Greek culture,
and the Roman Empire) fused to create the nexus for
the origin of Christianity. Taught by an award-winning
teacher with a special interest in undergraduate
teaching. (Click here
to hear Dr. Holle speak about his own experiences in
college.)
HIS 405-001: U.S. Women's
History since 1900 (Dr. Ashley Sorrell)
TR 11:00-12:15
This
course surveys U.S. women's and gender history since
Reconstruction with a special focus on the history of
race, reform, and sexuality.
More specifically, we examine the history of female
oppression, resistance, and agency through an
intersectional lens to uncover a usable past for
analyzing issues of gender and power in the twenty-first
century. (Click here
to see Dr. Sorrell speak about teaching.)
HIS 463-001: Expansion and Conflict in the United
States, 1820-1860 (Dr. Mark Summers)
MWF 11:00-11:50
The Missouri Compromise,
Jacksonian democracy, the Second Great Awakening, Davy
Crockett, the Oregon Trail, Mormon pioneers, gold,
sectionalism, and slavery. From James Monroe to
Abraham Lincoln, from Nat Turner to Dred Scott. Lots
of music, pictures, and movie clips . . . with
occasional hopping and jumping (on tables) for good
measure! (Click here
for an interview with Dr. Summers; additionally, here
is an article on Dr. Summers the cartoonist.)
HIS 466-001: American
History from World War I to Pearl Harbor, 1917-1941
(Dr. David Hamilton)
MWF 10:00-10:50
From the Great War, the Roaring Twenties, and
Prohibition to Black Tuesday, the Great Depression,
isolationism, and Pearl Harbor, a study
of U.S. history during a period of tremendous change
and global upheaval.
HIS 467-001: Modern America,
1941-1974 (Dr. Tracy Campbell)
TR 12:30-1:45
From World War II to Watergate, a study of the United
States during the second half of the twentieth century,
emphasizing America's emergence as a global power. (Click here
for an interview with Dr. Campbell. [Dr. Campbell's part
begins at 2:00.])
Please
note that the History Department does
not distinguish between 300, 400, and
500-level courses; each is weighted
equally in our undergraduate curriculum.
So please don't hesitate to enroll in a
500-level course if it looks of interest—some
of our finest courses are offered at the
500-level!
HIS 509-001: Roman Law (Dr.
Dan Gargola)
MWF 9:00-9:50
An
historical introduction to the development of Roman law
from the Twelve Tables through the Codex Justinianus.
HIS 543-001: German History
since 1918 (Dr. James Albisetti)
MWF 10:00-10:50
This
course examines the history of Germany from the end of
World War I to the present, including the Weimar
Republic, the Third Reich, the occupation regimes after
World War II, the division between East and West, and a
reunified Germany since 1990, primarily focusing on
political and social history. (Click here
to hear Dr. Albisetti speak about teaching.)
HIS 555-001: British
History since 1901 (Dr. Tammy Whitlock)
TR 11:00-12:15
Winston Churchill, Winston Churchill, Winston Churchill. World War I. Winston
Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, World War II. Winston Churchill, Winston
Churchill. Zombie Churchill. Punk Rock. Margaret
Thatcher. And Princess Charlotte. (Click here
for an interview with Dr. Whitlock.)
HIS 562-001: History of
Modern Mexico (Dr. Francie Chassen-López)
TR 2:00-3:15
Following
a brief survey of Mexican political history from
Independence to the present, this course examines major
historical themes in Mexican history, including
landholding and agrarian problems, church and state, and
the 1910 Revolution. (Click here
for an interview that includes Dr. Chassen-López.)
HIS 595-001: Studies in
History - Chocolate Cities: Black Urban History in
the United States (Dr. Anastasia Curwood)
MW 11:00-12:15
A
discussion-intensive seminar with substantial reading,
this class provides an historical
perspective on African Americans' lives in several
major U.S. cities, including Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Houston,
Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland, plus Lexington,
Kentucky. We will consider the political and
economic structures that have constrained black
communities in these places and evaluate how
individuals have tested and resisted these
constraints. (Click
here
to see Dr. Curwood speak about her research on
Shirley Chisholm.)
HIS 595-002: Studies in
History - Apologies for the Past: Coming to Terms
with Historical Misdeeds (Dr. Phil Harling)
R 3:00-5:30
Today
it has become commonplace for nations to acknowledge and
even apologize for the perceived excesses of the
historical past. And yet, this apologetic mode of “coming
to grips” with the sins of the historical past was
virtually unheard of only fifty years ago. Indeed, until
quite recently being a government meant never having to
say you are sorry. What changed? Why and when did nations
and other large collections of people start apologizing
for past injustices? What do historical apologies look
like, and what difference do they make? Can there be such
a thing as “restorative justice” for crimes committed
generations ago? The seminar will explore these and
other questions by taking a close look at three case
studies in the ongoing debate about “coming to terms” with
the past: The legacy of slavery and racial terrorism in
the US, the legacy of World War II and its crimes against
humanity in western Europe, and the legacy of imperialism
and colonialism in contemporary Britain and some of its
former colonial possessions. (Click here
for an interview in which Dr. Harling discusses his own
historical interests and the importance of history in
today's world.)
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Methods and Capstone
Courses
(History and
Secondary Education majors)
HIS
301-001: History Workshop: Introduction to the Study
of History (Dr. Emily Mokros)
TR
12:30-1:45
A
specialist on the late Qing dynasty provides an
introduction to the skills of historical research and
writing from the perspective of global history.
HIS
301-002: History Workshop: Introduction to the Study
of History (Dr. Eric Christianson)
TR
11:00-12:15
An
introduction to the skills of historical research and
writing taught by a specialist on the history of
medicine. Lots
of dry humor! (Click here
for an interview with Dr. Christianson.)
HIS
301-003: History Workshop: Introduction to the Study
of History (Dr. Anastasia Curwood)
MW
2:00-3:15
A
specialist on twentieth century African American
history provides an introduction to the skills of
historical research and writing. (Click here
to see Dr. Curwood speak about her research on Shirley
Chisholm.)
HIS
499-001: Senior Seminar: Biography and History (Dr.
Francie Chassen-Lopez)
T
5:00-7:30
Biography is an extremely
popular genre, yet as David Nasaw lamented, for many
historians, it "remains the profession's unloved
stepchild, occasionally but grudgingly let in the
door, more often shut outside with the riffraff."
Today this attitude is clearly changing and academics
now speak of a "biographical turn" in history. This
class will analyze works on the writing of biography
as well as excerpts from the biographies of people
such as George Washington and Nelson Mandela in order
to strengthen student skills in historical research
and oral and written expression. At the same time, it
will explore the relationship between history and
biography. As their final paper, students will try
their hand at writing biography. (Click here
for an interview that includes Dr. Chassen-López.)
HIS 499-002: Senior
Seminar: U.S. Social Movements in the Twentieth
Century (Dr. Kathryn Newfont)
TR 2:00-3:15
This course guides advanced history students
through the process of producing an independent work
of historical research. We focus attention on
twentieth century social movements, many of which
profoundly shaped and continue to shape the course of
U.S. history. (Click here
to see a sample lecture by Dr. Newfont.)
HIS
499-003: Senior Seminar: Europe and America:
Perceptions and Influences, 1865-1914 (Dr. James
Albisetti)
W
1:00-3:30
Between
the American Civil War and the beginning of World War I,
the United States and much of Europe faced similar
problems stemming from urbanization, industrialization,
democratization of education and other realms, women’s
rights, public health, crime, etc. For many Europeans,
America changed in this era from being a primitive
agrarian society to appearing as the “land of the
future.” And for Americans, Europe appeared both as the
aristocratic “Old World” that had been left behind as
well as the home of “modern” administration, city
government, universities, and social legislation. In this
seminar students will draw upon travel accounts and
other sources to produce a substantive research paper
that focuses upon transnational perceptions and
influences during this era. (Click
here
to hear Dr. Albisetti speak about teaching.)
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