History

Course Descriptions — Geography

GEOG 134 — (S) World Regional Geography — 3 credits

Introduces the major concepts and skills of geography. A regional approach stresses the five themes of geography including location, place, human environment interaction, movement and region.

GEOG 217 — (D, S) Cultural Geography — 3 credits

Study of the influence of geography on the origin, structure, and spread of culture. Focuses on describing and analyzing the ways language, religion, economy, government and other cultural phenomena vary or remain consistent from place to place.

Course Descriptions — History

HIST 110-111 — (CH) History of the United States  — 6 credits

The United States from the time of its European beginnings to the present with special emphasis on the history of Pennsylvania ; colonial origins to Reconstruction; Gilded Age to the modern era.

HIST 120-121 — (CH) Europe , 1500 to the Present — 6 credits

European history with concentration upon the political aspects of European development. The rise of national monarchies; political, social, economic and intellectual developments; industrialism, the new nationalism and liberalism.

HIST 125 — (CH, D) Colonial Latin America  — 3 credits

An introduction to colonial Latin American history: Amerindian civilizations; the Spanish and Portuguese colonial period, with emphasis on the themes of conquest, colonialism, race, class and gender.

HIST 126 — (CH, D) Modern Latin America  — 3 credits

An introduction to modern Latin American history: the Latin American republics, with emphasis on the themes of nation building, dictatorship, cultural identity, revolutionary movements, and inter-American relations.

HIST 140 — (W) The Craft of the Historian — 3 credits

Introduction to the craft of the historian including the techniques of historical study, research and writing as well as historiography. Students will be given various exercises dealing with both primary and secondary sources to enable them to think historically through writing exercises based on historical questions.

HIST 210 — History as Biography — 3 credits

An exploration of the nature of biography and its relationship to the study of the past. Biographies of several major figures from the modern era will be read and studied to exemplify different biographical techniques and their utility as means of historical inquiry.

HIST 211 — The Third World : Empire to Independence  — 3 credits

A study of the developing nations with the developed nations in the contemporary world.

HIST 212 — (D) Rebels, Rogues, and Reformers — 3 credits

A sociological cross-cultural, and psychohistorical approach to those folk heroes, political “expropriators” and bandits whose spectacular exploits have been romanticized and preserved through the centuries. Figures such as Robin Hood, Cartouche, Pancho Villa, Jesse James, Che Guevara and others will be considered.

HIST 213 — (CH, D) Gender and Family in Latin America  — 3 credits

(Prerequisite: HIST 125 or 126) Examines the role of gender and family in Latin America from 1521 to present. Themes of gender roles, marriage, family and licit and illicit sexuality will be highlighted. Individual units will examine machismo, marianism, relations of power and women in the workplace. Distinctions will be made according to race and class.

HIST 214 — (CH, D) History of Contemporary World Politics — 3 credits

Deals directly with the history of the political, economic, and social issues that are current in international affairs including the future possibilities of world order and the crises of foreign policy making.

HIST 215 — (CH, D) Church and Society In Latin America  — 3 credits

(Prerequisite: HIST 125 or 126) Examines the historic role of the Catholic Church in Latin America . Major themes include the conversion of New World peoples to Catholicism, syncretism, Church and State, and Liberation Theology. Other units include indigenous religions and beliefs, Protestantism and Judaism in Latin America .

HIST 216 — (CH, D) Race in American History — 3 credits

The course studies the role of race in American history from the colonial era to the present, focusing on the experience of African-Americans with consideration given to other racial and ethnic groups. Topics include: slavery; “Jim Crow” laws; the Ku Klux Klan; black migration of the 20th century; African-American community life; and the civil rights struggle.

HIST 217 — (CH) History of American Catholicism — 3 credits

A survey of the significant events, trends, and individuals reflecting the Catholic experience in America from the earliest colonial settlements to the post-Vatican II era.

HIST 218 — The War at War, 1939-45 — 3 credits

Examination of the tactics, strategy, and global significance of World War II. The logistics and scope of the conflict. Importance of propaganda, patriotism and the people. Film-seminar approach. Film fee.

HIST 219 — (CH, D) Modern World History — 3 credits

A study of change and development in the world during the 20th century. Emphasis on cultural, economic, and political differences between Western and non-Western states.

HIST 220 — (CH) War and Modern Society — 3 credits

(Formerly H/PS 215) Role of military force in international relations; historical background focusing on wars, American and European, of 19th and 20th century; theories of function of war; arms control and deterrence of war.

HIST 221 — (CH, D) The American West — 3 credits

A study of acquisition, settlement, and development of the Trans-Mississippi West, including the mining, cattleman's and farmer's frontiers; Indian removal, and Manifest Destiny in Texas and Oregon .

HIST 222 — History of American Presidential Elections — 3 credits

A study of the candidates, issues and campaigns in American Presidential elections from Washington to Kennedy. The course will also examine the evolution of the electoral process and the relationship between political parties.

HIST 223 — Introduction to Irish History — 3 credits

An introduction to Irish History which surveys the principal political, social, economic and intellectual changes in Irish life since the time of the pre-Celtic peoples. Topics will include: Celtic civilization; the coming of Christianity; the Norman invasion; the English connection; Irish nationalism; and the “troubles” in Northern Ireland .

HIST 224 — (CH, D) Ethnic and Racial Minorities in Northeastern Pennsylvania  — 3 credits

Film-seminar approach to the study of various ethnic groupings in Northeastern Pennsylvania . Seeks to achieve better understanding of the immigrant's problems and accomplishments through use of documentary and feature films.

HIST 225 — Imperial Russia  — 3 credits

From the crystallization of political forms in the ninth century through the Kievan State, Mongolian Invasion, rise of Muscovy to the Eurasian Empire from the 17th to the end of the 19th century.

HIST 226 — Russian Revolution and Aftermath — 3 credits

An examination of 20th-century Russia and the Soviet Union, beginning with the reign of Tsar Nicholas II and culminating with the breakup of the USSR and its aftermath. Analysis of the pre-revolutionary Russia , the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin and Stalin, World War II, the Cold War, the fall of communism and Russia 's place in world affairs.

HIST 227 — (D) The Civilization of Islam — 3 credits

An introduction to the history of Islamic civilization from the career of the Prophet Muhammed (c. 632 AD) to the eve of European colonization and imperialism.

HIST 228-229 — Ancient History — 6 credits

A survey of ancient civilizations of the Near East and Mediterranean worlds. The culture, society and science of Mesopotamia and Persia ; Egypt – the Gift of the Nile ; the ancient Israelites; heroic, archaic, classical and Hellenistic Greece; republican and imperial Rome ; the origins of Christianity.

HIST 230-231 — Medieval History — 6 credits

The civilization of medieval Christendom from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the 14th century; its religious, social, economic, cultural and political aspects; the relationship between church and society, belief and life style, ideal and reality; the interaction between Western Christendom, Byzantium and Islam.

HIST 232 — (CH) England , 1485 to 1714 — 3 credits

The end of the Wars of the Roses; Tudor Absolutism, Henry VIII and Reformation; Elizabeth I; Renaissance and Elizabethan music and literature; the Stuarts; Colonialism; Commonwealth; Restoration; the Revolution of 1688; Reign of Anne.

HIST 233 — (CH) England , 1714 to Present — 3 credits

Parliamentary rule; Cabinet government; political parties; Industrial Revolution; 19th-century reforms; building of a British Empire; World War I; problems of readjustment; World War II; Britain and the world today.

HIST 236 — Modern Germany : Unification & Empire — 3 credits

The 1815 Confederation; 1848 and the failure of liberalism; the Age of Bismarck; Wilhelm II and the “New Course”; World War I and the Collapse of the Empire.

HIST 237 — Modern Germany : The Twentieth Century — 3 credits

The troubled birth of the Weimar Republic : the Ruhr Crisis; the Stresemann Era; economic collapse and the rise of Nazism; the Third Reich, and World War II; the two Germanies and the “economic miracle.”

HIST 238 — (CH, D) History of American Women: From Colonization to Mid-Nineteenth Century — 3 credits

A study of American women from the colonial era to the mid-19th century. Changes in the family, the workforce, women's participation in politics and reform movements, and Native-American and African-American women.

HIST 239 — (CH, D) History of American Women: From Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present — 3 credits

A study of American women since the mid-19th century. The effects of industrialization on the family, women's participation in the workforce, the Depression and the family, women and war, the feminist movement, and the conservative response.

HIST 240 — (D) Modern Italy  — 3 credits

This course will examine major developments in Italian history from the Napoleonic invasion until current crises of the Republic. Important themes for discussion will be the unification movement, the liberal state, Fascism and anti- Fascist resistance, the postwar Republic, cultural and social change, and economic development.

HIST 241 — Law in the Western Tradition — 3 credits

A survey of ideas about law in Western civilization from antiquity until the Civil War. Emphasis on the legal systems, such as the Hebrew, the Athenian, the Roman, the German, and the Catholic, that influenced the modern ideas about the law.

HIST 295 — (CH) Britain : Past and Present — 3 credits

(Prerequisite: any 100 level History course) Combines with travel experience in Great Britain to introduce the student to the major historical, cultural, political, economic and social events in Britain 's past and present.

HIST 296 — (D) Italian History and Heritage — 3 credits

Combines with a travel experience to introduce the student to Italy 's cultural heritage and the history of the current Italian Republic . Students will visit sites of historic, artistic and religious significance as well as important places of the contemporary Italian republic.

HIST 310 — Colonial America , 1607-1763 — 3 credits

The European background of the Age of Discovery; the founding of the British-American colonies; their political, economic and cultural development; British colonial policy and administration; the development of an American civilization.

HIST 311 — American Revolution, 1763-1789 — 3 credits

Background to the War for Independence; British imperial policy; the development of economic and ideological conflicts; the military contest; British ministerial policy and the parliamentary opposition; the Confederation; the formation of the Constitution.

HIST 312 — The Early National Period of American History, 1789-1824 — 3 credits

Beginning of the New Government; politics and diplomacy in the Federalist Era; Jeffersonian Democracy; the War of 1812; nationalism and sectionalism, Marshall and the rise of the Supreme Court.

HIST 313 — The Age of Andrew Jackson 1824-1850 — 3 credits

Politics and society in the Jacksonian Era, slavery and the antislavery crusade, American expansion in the 1840s; the Mexican War; the emergence of the slavery issue.

HIST 314 — Civil War & Reconstruction — 3 credits

Crisis Decade, disintegration of national bonds; The War: resources, leadership, strategy, politics, monetary policy, diplomacy; Reconstruction: realistic alternatives, presidential and congressional phases, effects in the North and South.

HIST 315 —  America and the World, 1877-1929 — 3 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110 and 111) A study of American society from the end of Reconstruction through the “Roaring Twenties.” Topics include: the emergence of the U.s. as a world power; Populism and Progressivism; women's rights; the Spanish-American War and the First World War; immigration and Prohibition; race riots and cultural conflict.

HIST 316 — (CH) From Depression to Cold War: 1926-1960 — 3 credits

A study of American society from the Great Depression to the election of 1960. The course will focus on the New Deal; American entry into World War II; the origins of the Cold War; and America in the age of “consensus.”

HIST 317 — History of the United States Immigration — 3 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110-111) A study of immigration to the United States with emphasis on the period from the Revolution to the restrictive legislation of the 20th century. Motives and characteristics of immigration. Experiences of newcomers.

HIST 318 — A History of American Assimilation — 3 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110-111) The history of assimilation (or adjustment) of immigrants to American life. Nativism from pre-Civil War days to the 1920s. The “Old Immigration” and the “New Immigration” considered in the social, political, economic, and religious contexts of their eras. Special problems of the second generation from the 1850s to the 1960s.

HIST 319-320 — Byzantine Civilization — 6 credits

The Byzantine Empire from its origins in the fourth century to its collapse in the 15th; the political and economic growth of the Empire with emphasis on its art and religion.

HIST 321-322 — (CH) American Ideas and Culture — 6 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110 for HIST 321, and 111 for HIST 322) History of American art, architecture, literature and thought; Colonial developments; the American enlightenment; the emergence of a national culture; Romanticism, post-Civil War realism in American art and literature; the intellectual response to the industrial order; the American mind in the 1920s; the intellectual and cultural response to the Depression; post-World War II developments.

HIST 323 — The Renaissance — 3 credits

A study of culture in Italy from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Humanism, art, historiography and politics will be emphasized.

HIST 324 — The Reformation — 3 credits

The history of Europe during the era of religious revivalism (16th century). The course will focus on the magisterial Protestant reformers, the Catholic Counter-Reformation and dynastic politics.

HIST 325 — French Revolution to 1815 — 3 credits

(Prerequisite: HIST 120) Historical antecedents; the philosophies; republicanism and the fall of the monarchy; Reign of Terror; the Directory; Napoleon; internal achievements; significance of the Spanish and Russian campaigns; and War of Liberation.

HIST 326 —  Europe in the Age of Absolutism — 3 credits

(Recommended for Background: HIST 120) A study of the major political, social, economic and intellectual movements in Europe from the rise of royal absolutism until the outbreak of the French Revolution.

HIST 327 — (CH, D) The African Experience in Latin America 1500-1900 — 3 credits

(Prerequisite: HIST 125 or 126) Examines the experiences of Africans in the colonies and former colonies of Latin America and the Caribbean with emphasis on Spanish America and Portuguese Brazil. Units will highlight slavery, the response of slaves to subjugation; the role of free Africans and men and women of color, intermarriage, religion and music.

HIST 330 —  Europe , 1815-1914 — 3 credits

(Prerequisite: HIST 121) A study of 19thcentury Europe concentrating on The Congress of Vienna and its aftermath, the Age of Nationalism and Realism, European Dynamism and the non-European world, and the Age of Modernity and Anxiety.

HIST 331 — (C) Recent U.S. History: 1960 to the Present — 3 credits

A study of American society since 1960. The course will focus on the New Frontier and Great Society; the Vietnam War; protest movements; Watergate; and the conservative response to these developments.

HIST 332 — (W) America in the Gilded Age, 1865-1900 — 3 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110-111) American society in the age of industrialization and urbanization. Topics include the emergence of big business and labor conflict, immigration and the growth of cities, Populism, imperialism, and the Spanish- American War.

HIST 333-334 — Twentieth Century Europe  — 6 credits

World War I; Treaty of Versailles; Russia becomes the USSR; the European struggle for security; Italian Fascism; rise of Nazi Germany; Asia between the two wars; World War II; loss of colonial empires in Africa and Asia; development of the Cold War; Marshall Plan and NATO.

HIST 335 — World War II, Cold War & Detente — 3 credits

The diplomacy of World War II; the development of the Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and the adoption of the policy of detente.

HIST 336 — History of American Law — 3 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110-HIST 111) Traces the history of ideas and concepts utilized by the courts, legislature, organized bar and administrative agencies to solve legal problems: and shows how American legal thought and reasoning developed from Colonial days to the present.

HIST 337 — English Constitutional and Legal History — 3 credits

Anglo-Saxon basis; Norman political institutions; Magna Carta; beginnings of common law; jury system; Tudor absolutism; struggle for sovereignty; rise of House of Commons; democratic reforms; extension of administrative law.

HIST 338-339 — American Diplomatic History — 6 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110-111) A study of American diplomatic history and principles; The Revolution; Early American policies on isolation and expansion; The War of 1812; The Monroe Doctrine; Manifest Destiny; The Civil War; American imperialism and the Spanish-American War; Latin American diplomacy in the 20th century; World War I; attempts to preclude further war; World War II; Cold War; Contemporary problems.

HIST 340 — (W) History of Urban America  — 3 credits

(Prerequisites: HIST 110-111) The evolution of cities in the United States from the founding of colonial settlements to the end of the 20th century. The nature of cities and urban life, the process and impact of urban growth, and the problems facing contemporary cities will all be considered.

HIST 382-383 – Guided Independent Study – Variable Credit

Designed for advanced students. Working under the direction of a faculty member, the student will explore a topic in history through a planned program of reading, research, and writing.

HIST 390 — History Internship — 3-6 credits

A practical work experience which exposes the student to the nature of historical investigation, analysis, and/or writing in a museum, historical site, or public agency. Supervision by faculty and agencies.

HIST 490 — (W) Seminar in History — 3 credits

(Restricted to senior History majors and four-year B.A./M.A. History students) An analysis of selected topics in history. Extensive readings. Historical research and writing stressed.

Course Descriptions — International Studies

IS 390 — (W) Seminar in International Studies — 3 credits

Required for International Studies majors. Other advanced undergraduates may take this course with permission of the professor. This course may be used for either History or Political Science credit.