Course Descriptions

Department of History

R. J. Q. Adams, A. C. Alonzo, S. Alpern, T. H. Anderson, D. Baum, R. A. Beaumont, T. O. Bickham, J.K. Blackwelder, C. K. Blanton, D.E. Bornstein, C. A. Bouton, J. C. Bradford, H. W. Brands, C. E. Brooks, A. S.Broussard, W. L. Buenger (Head), L. R. Clay, J. C. Coopersmith, J. G.Dawson, H. C. Dethloff, L. DeVun, O. Dror, T. R. Dunlap, C. S. L. Dunning, L. Halevi, A. L. Hatfield, L. D. Hill, S. Hoffert, W. D. Kamphoefner*, A. J. Kirkendall, Z.J. Kosztolnyik, A. P. Krammer, J. H. Lenihan, B. M. Linn, H. C. Livesay, A. P. Mora, E. M. B. Obadele-Starks, R. R. Reese, R. P. Resch, J.M. Rosenheim, R. H. Schloss, H. C. Schmidt, A. N. Stranges, B. M. Unterberger, D. Vaught, D. Wang, L. W. Yarak

* Graduate Advisor

Graduate study in history leads to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. The graduate program is designed to prepare students for careers in teaching, business, government and social service. Studies toward the PhD are also designed to produce research scholars.

Prerequisites: For a major in history at the master's level, the student must present a minimum of 24 semester hours (including 12 advanced hours) of acceptable undergraduate courses in history. A doctoral student will normally be expected to hold the MA degree. For further information concerning the requirements for the MA or PhD, contact the departmental graduate advisor.

Thesis option: The standard MA degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours, including 24 hours of course work and 6 hours (of History 691-Research) for the thesis. Of the 24 hours of course work, 15 shall be taken in the major area of concentration and 9 in the minor field. The non-thesis MA degree option includes 36 semester hours of course work. The PhD requires a minimum of 64 semester hours, including at least 30 semester hours of formal course work divided into 3 areas of concentration: 1) a major area, 18 hours; 2) a minor area, 6 hours; 3) one field outside history, 6 hours.

MA students must demonstrate a reading knowledge of one foreign language. PhD candidates will normally demonstrate a reading knowledge of two foreign languages. Subject to the approval of the PhD student's advisory committee, a minimum of 6 semester hours of graduate work outside the major and minor fields, completed after filing a degree plan, may be substituted for one language. Courses in statistics or HIST 630 (Quantitative Methods in Historical Research), plus an additional computer methods research course, are especially appropriate for this purpose.

History
(HIST)

601. American Colonial Life and Institutions. (3-0). Credit 3.

The 17th- and 18th-century English American colonies. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

604. Age of Jefferson. (3-0). Credit 3.

Revolutionary movement; organization of the new government; the Federal System; Jeffersonian democracy; the War of 1812; the New Nationalism; political, social and economic problems; territorial expansion. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

613. Twentieth Century United States Diplomacy. (3-0). Credit 3.

U.S. foreign policies from end of Spanish-American War to present; scope, principles, practices, objectives, dangers and lessons learned. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

615. Colonial Latin America. (3-0). Credit 3.

Political, economic, religious, military and related institutions, both in theory and practice, as proposed, developed and applied in Spanish-American colonies and nations. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

617. Latin America: The National Period. (3-0). Credit 3.

Political, institutional and economic history of Latin America from 1810 to the present with special focus on military, urban and rural developments. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

620. The Civil War Era, 1860-1877. (3-0). Credit 3.

Examines the complexity of the Civil War era, including the historiographical debate over the war's causes; military campaigns and political and military leadership; the changing status of African-Americans; analysis stressing the debate over why the South lost and how the North won; Reconstruction. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

621. The United States, 1877-1914. (3-0). Credit 3.

Economic, social, political history of the U.S., 1877-1914: growth of industrialism, disappearance of the frontier, labor and farm organizations, the growth of American imperialism and constitutional development. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

622. The United States, 1914 to 1945. (3-0). Credit 3.

The United States during World War I, the Twenties, the Depression, the New Deal and World War II. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

623. The United States, 1945 to the Present. (3-0). Credit 3.

The Cold War, events and issues in the United States since 1945. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

626. Recent American Cultural and Intellectual History. (3-0). Credit 3.

Contribution of social and political thought, religion, science, scholarship and education to the history of American civilization. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

628. Historiography. (3-0). Credit 3.

Analysis of historical writing and philosophy of history; works of important historians from Herodotus to present; schools, theories and function of history. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

630. Quantitative Methods in Historical Research. (3-0). Credit 3.

Introduction to formal methods of analysis in historical research using computers; and applying quantitative methods to research problems. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

631. Reading Seminar in United States History to 1877. (3-0). Credit 3.

Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

632. Reading Seminar in United States History after 1876. (3-0). Credit 3.

Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

633. Reading Seminar in the American West. (3-0). Credit 3.

Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

634. Reading Seminar in Maritime History and Sea Power. (3-0). Credit 3.

Examines the maritime and naval history of the world with emphasis on the Western World since 1600; trade and communication, exploration, technology, maritime communities and naval warfare. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

636. Reading Seminar in the History of the South. (3-0). Credit 3.

Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

637. Birth of the Middle Ages. (3-0). Credit 3.

Medieval European "beginnings," from the barbarian migrations and the early Christian epoch through the end of the Carolingian line among the east Franks in 911. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

638. Seminar in Medieval Europe. (3-0). Credit 3.

Institutional, social and cultural development in Medieval Europe; the era of Charlemagne to the formation of the English parliament. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

643. Reading Seminar in European History from the Renaissance to the French Revolution. (3-0) Credit 3.

Reading seminar in European history from the Renaissance to the French Revolution, classic and current themes, debates and methodologies in European history from the Renaissance to the French Revolution. Prerequisite: Approval of Department Head.

644. Reading Seminar in European History from the French Revolution to the Present. (3-0) Credit 3.

Reading seminar in European history from the French Revolution to the present; classic and current themes, debates and methodologies in European history from the French Revolution to the present. Prerequisite: Approval of Department Head.

645. Seminar in Modern Military History. (3-0). Credit 3.

Topics in modern military history; provides broad familiarization in current military history studies. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

677. Modern Britain. (3-0). Credit 3.

Political, social, cultural, economic and diplomatic development of the United Kingdom in the 20th century. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

678. Comparative Border Studies. (3-0). Credit 3.

Questions how groups create, articulate, enforce, and challenge difference; brings together disparate historiographies to consider a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches used in understanding borders; examines contact, conflict, and change across various kinds of historical and cultural boundaries. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

679. Topics in Comparative Border Studies. (3-0). Credit 3.

Selected topics and themes in an identified area of Comparative Border Studies. May be taken two times for credit as content varies. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

685. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 6 each semester.

Individual problems of research or scholarly activity not pertaining to thesis or dissertation, or selected instruction not covered by other courses. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

689. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4.

Selected topics in an identified area of American or European history. May be repeated for credit.

691. Research. Credit 1 or more each semester.

Thesis research. Credit given only upon acceptance of completed thesis. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.