46 courses with the subject HIST, 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.
This course provides a survey of United States history to 1865. Along the way, we will examine such topics as the European encounter with Native North America, the creation of an American Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 290
This course provides a survey of United States history from 1865 to the near present. Along the way, we will examine such topics as the Reconstruction era, the consolidation of industrial capitalism, the development of the modern American state, the emergence of the United States as a global power, and the trajectories of numerous social movements. An introductory course for building further study, a complete review for those not continuing in the field, and a course designed to meet teacher licensure requirements. Designation: US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (f, w, x, DIV, MOD, DJP)
A front row seat to 1,000 years of medieval drama! We’ll weep at the fall of Rome, applaud the coronation of Charlemagne, scratch our heads in bewilderment at the Investiture Controversy, bemoan the crises of the fourteenth century, and altogether marvel at the sweeping saga of this vast period. This course is an introduction to major developments in medieval history, from the decline of the western Roman empire to the renaissances of the fifteenth century. We'll examine society, politics, culture, and the economy of Europe in the Middle Ages, paying particular attention to such issues as the transition from ancient to medieval, church-state tensions, the rise of feudal monarchy, and cultural conflicts of the late Middle Ages. Through close work with primary sources, you will learn to ask critical research questions, weigh historical evidence, and develop your own interpretations in both writing and discussion. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (w, x, PRE, SMN)
This course surveys European history from the late 18th century to the present. Topics include the French and Industrial revolutions; new ideologies of liberalism, socialism, nationalism, and imperialism; the two world wars; the emergence of totalitarian regimes; and new problems of identity centered around decolonization and immigration. Designation: Non-US. Open to first- year students. No prerequisite. (f, w, x, GLO, MOD, SMN)
Our aim in this course will be to construct a history of America's poor as vivid and precise as the histories that have long been written about wealthier Americans. We will thus explore such topics as changes in the experiences of poverty, changes in the racialized and gendered Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 291
In this course, we will plunge into the uncertain, violent, dirty, inherently spiritual, highly ritualized, and altogether tumultuous history of Europe in early modern times. Massive transformations shaped European history from roughly the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, a period during which Europeans became increasingly interconnected with the wider world culturally, socially, economically, and politically. Through close reading of primary and secondary sources, discussion, and writing, we will explore major developments from the Renaissance to the Age of Revolutions. In particular, we will focus on social and cultural history in order to better understand how significant developments—from the advent of print technology to the upheavals of the Reformation—affected ordinary Europeans’ daily lives. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (SMN)
This course examines the causes, conduct, and consequences of the Holocaust, from the perspective of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (GLO, MOD)
By examining festivals, games, sports, public spectacles, and the evolving concept of "fun," this course offers insight into the social, cultural, and political dimensions of leisure activities across Europe from medieval to early modern times. Through close study of primary sources, students will consider the relationship between leisure and power, the regulation of fun, and the tension between pleasure and morality in premodern Europe. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (SMN) Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 292
This course will examine the causes, conduct, and consequences of the bloody civil war that tore apart the American nation and people in the middle of the nineteenth century. Subjects covered will include the nature of slavery and its role in the war, both the Union and Confederate home fronts, the strategic choices made by both sides, and the war’s legacies. Designation: US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite.
This course surveys the history of American capitalism from the colonial period to the near present. We will pursue questions, including: What is “capitalism?” When did the American economy become a distinctively capitalist economy? Why have the consequences of capitalism differed for different groups of Americans? And how have various Americans endeavored to embrace, reform, and resist capitalism? Designation: US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (MOD)
This course explores women’s lives from ancient Greece through the late Middle Ages, as well as shifting understandings of gender during this period (roughly 600 BCE to 1400 CE). Themes will include views of women in classical philosophy, medical understandings of sexual difference, motherhood, women’s legal status, women’s roles in the development of Christianity and the early Church, women religious, images of women in art and literature, and models of queenship. Also listed and described as GWS 222. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (w, x, PRE)
This course surveys both the experiences of women in early modern Europe and the ways gender structured notions of power and identity in this period. Topics include understandings of sexual difference, family life and organization, sexuality, midwifery, witchcraft, women and religion, women artists and intellectuals, and “queenship.” Also listed and described as GWS 225. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (w, x, PRE)
Explores women’s lives in Europe from the late 18th century through the mid-20th century. Topics include: the birth of feminism during the Enlightenment and the French Revolution; industrialization and women’s relationship to work; the domestic ideal; masculinity; Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 293
This course analyzes European witchcraft beliefs in a comparative and transatlantic perspective. We will examine the ancient origins of witchcraft beliefs in the Mediterranean, cultural reasons for believing certain individuals were witches, and causes and consequences of the waves of trials and executions that embroiled communities. Comparing variations of European witchcraft persecution with the better-known Salem witch trials, and with witchcraft beliefs across the colonial Americas and the Caribbean, deepens our understanding of witchcraft as a global phenomenon and our knowledge of the historical particularity of the early modern European witch craze. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (DJP)
A history of the Greeks from the Bronze Age to the Roman conquest. Special emphasis is given to the golden age of Athens, focusing on the democratic system, the interplay between foreign and domestic politics, social and economic developments, and outstanding cultural achievements. Other topics include The Trojan War, the Spartan state, women in Greek society, the origins of historiography, the empire of Alexander the Great, and the diffusion of Greek ideas. Also listed and described as CLAS 240. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (PRE)
A survey of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the fall of the Roman Empire. Special emphasis will be placed on the social and political changes leading to the collapse of the Republic; on the growth and development of Christianity in the Roman Empire; and on the transition from the ancient world to medieval Europe. Most readings will be taken from Roman sources, which will also provide an opportunity to investigate some of the vivid personalities of Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 294
This course surveys the history of American ideas and culture from the colonial period to the near present. What ideas have Americans held in the past? When, how, and why have cultural convictions changed in the United States? In what ways and to what extent have ideas mattered across U.S. history? We will explore topics, including Puritan theology, Transcendentalism, the civil rights movement, and the "culture wars," drawing on historical sources ranging from autobiographies to paintings to popular music. Designation: US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (MOD, SMN)
This course explores the end of European overseas empires and the emergence of independent states in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East in the 20th century. Among the questions we will consider: what does it mean to decolonize? How did people in colonial and metropolitan societies negotiate these conflicts? What challenges did people in former colonies face in trying to build new states? Open to first-year students. Designation: Non-US. No prerequisite. (w, x, MOD, GLO, DJP)
This course examines the history of Europe and the world from the medieval period to the eighteenth century using commodities as an analytical lens. Each module centers on the production, circulation, and consumption of a group of goods like spices, luxury manufactures, and plantation crops. Focusing on their histories reveals the development and impacts of trade networks, labor systems, environmental change, and imperial power over time. Designation: Non-US. No prerequisite.
This course will focus not on elites but rather on ordinary Americans, the core subjects of social history. Proceeding chronologically and thematically, we will explore how the assumed narrative of American history changes when we center groups ranging from Puritan women to rural farmers, from Native Americans to incarcerated people. We will also consider how to analyze less conventional historical sources, including oral histories, photographs, and songs, Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 295
This course surveys the complicated and often fraught history of human rights. We will explore how various people, governments, and international organizations have answered questions including: what is a “human right?” Are such rights universal? And are they enforceable? In doing so, we will also consider whether human rights are a recent invention or the product of longstanding historical traditions. Designation: Non-US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (w, x, MOD) HIST 264: AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1865 (4) This course provides a survey of African-American history from the era of the transatlantic slave trade to the end of the American Civil War. Subjects covered will include the origins of chattel slavery and racism in North America, the development of distinctive African-American cultures and communities, and the leading role of African Americans in the struggle to abolish slavery. Designation: US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (DIV, MOD, DJP)
This course provides a survey of African-American history from the end of the American Civil War to the near present. Subjects covered will include the emergence of Jim Crow in the wake of Reconstruction’s collapse, the impact of urbanization on African-American life and culture, the origins of the civil rights movement, and the struggle to make Black Lives Matter. Designation: US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (MOD, DIV, DJP)
This course explores the history of American social reform from the era of the Revolutionary War to the near present. How have Americans dissented from the status quo and agitated for change? To address this question, we will focus on reformers and radicals including abolitionists, socialists, environmentalists, anti-war protesters, and LGBTQ activists. Designation: US. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (w, x, MOD)
This proseminar explores key revolutionary movements from the 18th century to the present. What makes these movements ‘revolutionary?’ What visions of the social and political order did revolutionaries attempt to create? To what degree were they successful? What can we learn Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 296
The First World War marked the end of Europe’s “long nineteenth century” and set the stage for the conflicts and transformations of the twentieth century. This course will explore the origins, development, and consequences of the conflict. Topics include the roots of the war, military tactics and strategies, soldiers’ experiences, life on the home- front, the peace settlements, and the war’s legacy. Designation: Non-US. No prerequisites. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (w, x, MOD)
Individual projects below the advanced level arranged with history faculty members. Offered both terms.
This course explores the history of premodern Europe through the lens of the human body and sexuality. How did people in medieval and early modern Europe imagine, regulate, and experience their bodies? What counted as beauty, health, or desire and where did those ideas originate? Focusing on the work of scholars in the fields of the history of the body and sexuality studies and drawing on primary sources, we will investigate how the premodern body was understood, revered, desired, disciplined, cured, othered, and feared. We’ll ask big questions about power, identity, and pleasure in the past and reflect on how premodern ideas about the body still shape the way we think about ourselves now. Also listed and described as GWS 310. Designation: Non-US. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. (w, x, MOD, DJP).
A study of early American society with emphasis on religion, intellectual life, labor systems, family life, and colonial personalities. Opportunity for individual research. Designation: US. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. (w, x, DIV,
This seminar explores the history of the United States from the aftermath of the War of 1812 to the eve of the Civil War. Topics covered will range from economic development to empire- building, from racism to religion, from immigration to sectionalism. Along the way, we will Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 297
This seminar investigates the history of slavery in different times and places. Looking well beyond the United States, we will explore how slavery has been organized and experienced from the ancient world to the present day, in locations ranging from Africa to India to the Caribbean. We will also delve into the global history of slave emancipation. Designation: Non-US. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of instructor. (w, x, GLO,
This course explores both how imperial ideologies were gendered and how empire provided an arena in which gender norms could be rethought. Topics include European women’s experiences in the empire as wives, missionaries, and travelers; empire as a space for sexual transgression; and the role of gender in decolonization movements. Prerequisite: sophomore standing, and a 200-level course in history or GWS. Also listed and described as GWS 334. Designation: Non-US. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. (w, x, GLO, MOD)
Analysis of ancient and modern accounts of Troy’s destruction. We shall read ancient literary sources in translation, such as selections from Homer (Iliad, Odyssey), Vergil (Aeneid), and Greek tragedy (Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, Sophocles’ Ajax, Euripides’ Trojan Women, Hecuba). We shall examine ancient artistic and epigraphic sources and interrogate the archaeological evidence for Troy’s destruction by the Greeks. Readings from modern historical accounts, supplemented by videos, will widen our perspective beyond Troy to examine the systemic collapse of eastern Mediterranean empires in the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. Also listed and described as CLAS 350.
A seminar on American political and social history from 1900 to the present. Topics covered will include the origin and evolution of reform movements (progressivism, women’s rights, civil rights), the effects of war and economic change, and major shifts in political alignments. Designation: US. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of instructor. (w, x)
Reading, discussion, and research into the most cataclysmic war in modern history. Topics covered include origins of the war in both Europe and Asia; the leadership of Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, Mao, and others; the causes, conduct, and consequences of the Holocaust; the birth and first use of atomic weapons; and the effects of the war on empires and civilizations around the globe. Designation: Non-US. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of instructor. (w, x, GLO,
Our aim in this seminar will be to rethink U.S. history by thinking beyond the borders of the United States. As we cover topics including revolutions, borderlands, identities, empires, migrations, and globalization, we will consider how recent transnational scholarship, focused on connections between the U.S. and the wider world, calls into question longstanding assumptions about America’s national history. Designation: US. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of instructor. (w, x, MOD, DIV) Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 299
Individual projects at the advanced level arranged with history faculty members. Offered both terms.
May be proposed in either term.
Required of all senior history majors. Students will write a significant history paper using primary sources. Offered Term 1. (ELR)
Decisions on departmental honors are made at the conclusion of the project. Students should not register for HIST 490. Students achieving honors will be registered for HIST 490 after honors decisions are made. Offered Term 2.
In this class we examine the relationship between character and political leadership based on extensive readings and discussion on the personalities of American presidents, their wives, advisors, and opponents.
In this class we read and discuss major events, personalities, and themes in the study of American history since 1900. Topics covered will include the effects of war on American states and society, the origins, patterns, and consequences of major reform movements (New Deal, civil rights, women’s rights, Great Society, Reagan “Revolution), the evolution of the presidency, and more.
Fifty years ago, the world seemed locked in a struggle for survival. Over 38 million people died in places like Kursk, Imphol, Eniwetok, Bastogne, Dresden, and Auschwitz. That war destroyed governments, shook empires, and radically changed the fundamental structures of societies. This course examines current historical views on the origins, nature, and effects of that war.
This seminar examines the development of the British Empire, which would come to control roughly 25% of the earth’s surface in the early 20th century. We will begin by surveying its origins out of the unification of the British Isles under the English crown, including the colonization of Ireland. We will then address the colonization of North America and the Caribbean before examining the loss of the American colonies and the subsequent birth of the “Second” British Empire, with its global expansion in South Asia, Africa, and Oceania. We will engage in key historiographical debates about the nature of the British Empire, including whether or not it was an “Absent-minded” Empire, the role of slavery and emancipation, and debates over settler colonialism. This seminar will engage with themes of settler colonialism, imperialism, decolonization, slavery, race, and gender.
In this class we’ll read and discuss the causes, crisis, conclusion, and consequences of the Cold War. Topics covered will include the origins of Soviet-American antagonism; the role of the atomic bomb; the nature of anti-communism in America; the leadership styles of Stalin, Truman, Reagan, Gorbachev, and others; the role of economic development; and crisis decision making regarding Cuba, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, and Guatemala.
Source: Hollins University's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 59
