34 courses with the subject HIS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
HIS 0110THE RISE OF ANCIENT EMPIRES
This course is a history of the early civilizations of the Mediterranean basin up to 476 C.E. Topics include Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Greek impact on democratic, philosophical, and scientific thought, and the origins of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It is designed both as an introduction to Humanities disciplines and as a venue for teaching Information Literacy skills. No prerequisites; however, students required to take RDG 0050 must complete that course prior to enrolling.
This course provides an overview of piracy in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and East Asia, from ancient times to present. Particular attention is paid to the interaction of economics, politics, and culture as the shape attitudes towards piracy in different historical eras. Major themes of the course include definitions of piracy, why individuals, groups, and nations practice or support piracy, and how the depiction of pirates in popular culture.
This course covers current issues and hot topics in History. Offered as needed. 1, 2 or 3 credits. HIS 0200 - HISTORY OF UNITED STATES TO 1877 A survey of major themes in American history from the colonial period to the end of Reconstruction. Offered every other year, fall semester. 581
Students will engage in theoretical readings about, as well as practice of, the digital humanities. Students will collaborate in the production of a major digital humanities project that involves digital humanities theory and practice through work that incorporates web development, and interface design.
The American Civil War is one of the most pivotal events in our nation’s history. In this course we will begin by examining the political and cultural events that led to the outbreak of war. Special emphasis will be placed on the realities of slavery and its effects on the nation. We will then explore the growing rift between North and South, and the chain of events that led to secession. We will explore the military, political, and social developments of the war, as well as the reasons for and the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation. We will finish with an analysis of the Civil War’s aftermath, and the continuing impact the war has on American society.
This course explores African American history from 1865 to the present with particular emphasis on political, economic, and social forces. Particular attention will be paid to how African American history has been represented both in written histories and in literature, film, museums, and public history sites.
This course looks at how historical events have been portrayed on television and film, and then compares the portrayal with the actual historical event. The purpose is to draw some conclusions about the popularization of history and how modern media have impacted the public’s exposure to and awareness of important historical issues. Students will learn how to do effective research through a hands-on approach. HIS 0231 - HIST. WOMEN IN AMERICA 1600-1865 This course will use the experiences of women through the lens which we examine the history of America from settlement by Europeans to the Civil War. Topics to be covered include changing conditions and ideas about unpaid housework and paid work; relations between different groups of women and the way relations of power have shaped these interactions; the ongoing political struggle to gain increased civil and political rights; and changing notions of “proper” roles for women, especially regarding sexuality. We will consider which ideas and assumptions within American culture have changes and which have stayed the same. HIS 0232 - HIS. WOMEN IN AMERICA 1865-PRESENT This course will use the experience of women as the lens through which we examine the history of America from the end of the civil war until the present. Topics to be covered will include the changing conditions and ideas about unpaid housework and paid work; relations between different groups of women and the way relations of power have shaped these interactions; the ongoing political struggle to gain increased civil and political rights; and changing notions of “proper” roles for women, especially regarding sexuality. We will consider which ideas and assumptions within American culture have changes and which have stayed the same. Prerequisite: none. 582
Students will follow the evolution of informal sporting pursuits into the highly organized athletics of today. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which race, class, and gender, as well as ethnicity have affected sports in different historical eras from the colonial period to the present.
This course examines changing roles for women and men during times of war through the history of World War I, Vietnam, and the First Gulf War. No prerequisites. This course fulfills the Global Awareness/Culture requirement in the Undergraduate College’s General Education program.
A political, cultural, and intellectual history of Europe from 1500 to 1815. Topics covered include the Reformation, scientific and technological change, the rise of international politics, and the French Revolution. Offered every other year, fall semester.
A consideration of the political, social, economic, and intellectual development of the European world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics studied include the Industrial Revolution, the rise of liberal and socialist thought, and the world wars and their impact. Offered every other year, spring semester.
This course will study the causes, major events, and consequences of the Second World War. It will examine “total war” and its impact on civilian populations, and significant moral controversies, including internment and the use of atomic weapons. The course will also address the causes and impact of the Holocaust.
This course invites you to explore Latin America’s fascinating history from independence in the early 1800s to the present day. By delving into key themes, we’ll gain deeper understanding of the forces that shaped Latin American societies and politics. This knowledge will equip you to critically analyze the region's current political, economic, social, and cultural landscape.
How can studying history prepare you for your future career? That is the question that is explored in this skills-based course. There are no tests or quizzes in this offering. Instead, students will receive hands-on assistance in learning valuable skills that will serve them well in the marketplace. Among the skills to be explored are how to conduct basic research, framing questions for research papers, and advanced presentation skills. In the last weeks, students will explore careers that deal with these skills and create strategies to increase their chances of finding employment in area of their choice. 583
This course is a survey of the political, economic, military and cultural development of the lands now known as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. Major topics will include the High Caliphate, the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, Arab nationalism, the rebirth of Israel, the Arab Israeli conflict, the Iranian Revolution and the Gulf Wars.
An intensive study of the causes and course of the German National Socialist movement. Emphasis is placed on the social and intellectual dimensions of Nazism, Hitler’s role in European and world history, World War II and the Holocaust. Offered as needed.
A study of Western expansion and control of the Islamic world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Muslim responses to the West and internal movements of revivalism and reform will be the area of concentration. Offered as needed.
This course takes the city of Philadelphia as its text to expose students to various aspects of public history. Drawing on primary and secondary materials in addition to films and field trips, the course involves students in creating a public history project and exploring careers in public history.
This course presents a survey of activism in the United States to provide students with an understanding of the significance of social movements in shaping society. Topics covered include approaches to analyzing social movements, theoretical profiles of who becomes an activist, and factors that determine the success or failure of a movement. Students will explore a variety of case studies that relate to ethnicity, gender, class, and social justice.
This course explores the history of the American environment and the ways in which different cultural groups have perceived, used, managed, and conserved it from colonial times to the present. Cultures include American Indians and European and African Americans. Natural resources development includes gathering- hunting-fishing; farming, mining, ranching, forestry, and urbanization. Changes in attitudes and behaviors toward nature and past and present conservation and environmental movements are also examined. Offered every other year.
A study of how Europeans responded to the social and economic inequalities created by the industrial age. Topics to be discussed include utopian socialism of Charles Fourier and Robert Owen, Marxism, and anarchism, the nature of nineteenth-century conservatism, social Darwinism, and the origins of fascism. Offered every other year. 584
Students make decisions of war and peace in real time by role-playing as leaders of the major European nations from 1908 to 1914. Thrust into a simulation of the tense pre-war international scene, students will be forced to respond to the crises that led up to the war and in the process discover the role of diplomacy and nationalism played in the coming of Great War. Ultimately, students will come to some conclusions as to how wars are started and who is “at fault” for starting them. Offered every other year. HIS 0363 - EUROPE SINCE 1945 A survey of the political, social, and economic trends that have shaped the present European community. Topics studied include post-war reconstruction, the rise of the common market, unity and diversity on both sides of the “Iron Curtain,” the cultural upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s, and the collapse of communism. Offered every other year, fall semester.
A study of the transformation of thirteen British colonies in North America into the United States republic. Coverage will include the constitutional struggle between England and her colonies, the military, diplomatic and intellectual aspects of the American Revolution, the search for a new framework of government, and the first years of the republic under the Constitution. Offered as needed.
Supervised experience in an institution, corporation, or agency that serves the public in cultural, political and/or historical areas. Interns in the Philadelphia metropolitan area will work with an on-site supervisor in cooperation with the director of the History Internship Program. Interns placed through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Internship Program will be supervised and evaluated according to the conditions of the internship. Open to top junior and senior history majors who are recommended by the history faculty. Credits to be arranged depending on the breadth and duration of the internship as documented in the internship contract.
HIS 1051HISTORY AND SIGIFICANCE OF RACE IN AMERICA
This course will examine not only the historical development and impact of racial issues on day-to-day American society it will look at the roots of racism and how they continue to manifest and impact American society today. We will develop an understanding of the increasing significance of race and racial politics in our everyday lives. Topics may include colonization and the legacy of slavery, the trail of tears and current Native American legislative policy, the African American experience from Dred Scott to ‘Black Lives Matter’, 585
