Department of History

History Core Courses:

The history core seeks to introduce the essential background for an educated understanding of the peoples and forces affecting the development of western societies. In a historical context, students examine and discuss issues and questions raised in areas of literature, theology, philosophy, science, politics, art, architecture, economics, and human behavior. Through a study of primary sources and texts relating to these areas, students develop critical reading, writing, and analytical skills. The history core courses address timeless questions of past and present inequalities based on race, religion, class, gender, economic status, and geography and provide insight into the common good of the global human community.

All students take HIS 101 - Western Civilization to 1648.

For their second history core course, the student may choose either HIS 102 - Western Civilization since 1648 or HIS 104 - The United States Since 1876.

Course Descriptions:

HIS 101. Western Civilization to 1648 (3) A survey of western civilization from the Classical Period to the mid-1600s. Emphasis is given to Classical Greece, the Hellenistic Age, Roman History, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the rise of the nation states. Political, social, economic, and geographical relationships are integrated and analyzed.

HIS 102. Western Civilization Since 1648 (3) A survey of western civilization from the Scientific Revolution to the present. Emphasis is given to the Scientific Revolution; the Enlightenment; the French Revolution; industrialization; political, social, and intellectual changes in the nineteenth century; the Russian Revolution; the world wars; the Cold War; and the collapse of Communism. Political, social, economic, and geographical relationships are integrated and analyzed.

HIS 104 The United States Since 1876 (3) An inquiry into America’s development since 1876 including the Gilded Age, Progressivism, the Great Depression, both world wars, Vietnam, and the many diverse social and political developments from the 1950s to the present.