Courses

This course offers an overview of Western European civilizations including the Ancient Near East, Greece and Rome; medieval civilization; the Italian Renaissance; and the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The course will focus primarily on the religious, social and political aspects of this period.

This course offers an overview of Western Civilization from about AD 1500 to the recent past. The course will acquaint students with basic ideas and events of European history during the so-called Early-Modern and Modern periods and will focus especially on the religious, social and political developments of these periods.

This survey of American history from the colonial period through the Civil War deals with both the standard political questions and issues and the social and cultural history.

A survey of American history from the Reconstruction period to the present day, this course examines political, social, and cultural questions of the period through textbook and primary source readings, lecture, and discussion.

This course covers the background development of American constitutional theory and follows the steps of formation and implementation of the American Constitution. It then traces the development of the Constitution to the present through the examination of important cases. Also listed as PSC 203. (Offered alternate years)

This course seeks to expose the student to some topics within the broad sweep of American intellectual and cultural history through lectures and especially through the reading and interpretation of literary documents (including novels, essays, belles letters, sermons, poems, and speeches) from the four centuries of the American experience. Particular attention may focus from year to year on a specific century. Thematic questions relating to America's peculiar notions of "progress" and "mission" are examined and provide the focus for the course as a whole. (Offered alternate years)

This course explores how historians research and write history. Of particular interest is the study of historical methodologies or how different scholars have thought about history as a discipline. In addition, students hone their skills at selecting, evaluating, and interpreting different kinds of historical evidence. Students in the Comprehensive Social Studies and Teacher Education (Social Studies) programs may use this course as American or European history credit.

The course is meant to immerse the student in the life of Abraham Lincoln and especially in the issues he dealt with surrounding the coming of civil war and the prosecution of that war. This immersion will take place through the reading and discussion of recent and important works on Lincoln.

This course is a survey of classical Greece and Rome from the beginnings of Minoan civilization to the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D. From year to year, special attention will be given to different topics within this time frame. (Offered alternate years)

This course provides an overview of Western Europe during the early and high Middle Ages. Topics will include the decline of the Roman Empire, the barbarian invasions, the Carolingian Empire, feudalism and monarchism, the Crusades, and the Twelfth-Century Renaissance. (Offered alternate years)

This course is a survey of European history from the Italian Renaissance to Napoleon (roughly A.D. 1400 to 1800). Special attention will be given to intellectual movements such as the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. (Offered alternate years)

This course surveys European history from the defeat of Napoleon to the present. Special attention will be given to cultural, intellectual, and political trends that helped shape the course of modern European society. (Offered on demand)

This course will examine particular topics in non-Western history. The topics, as the geographical areas, will change from year to year. Areas covered may include Africa, China, Japan, the Middle East, and India. Historical periods may include anything from the ancient to the modern period. (Offered alternate years)

The development of selected Latin American nations since independence is explored, with emphasis on the growth and current problems of these republics. (Offered alternate years)

This course offers a survey of the Medieval Church from approximately A.D. 500 to 1500. Attention will be given both to the institutional history of the Church as well as popular religion and reform movements. (Offered alternate years)

This course is a study of the French Revolution and Napoleonic era; the conservative reaction; the revolutionary movements; nationalism and liberalism; industrial growth; and political, economic, social, and cultural trends. (Offered on demand)

This course covers developments in Europe from the turn of the century to the present day, with special emphasis placed on such movements as nationalism, democracy, imperialism, and totalitarianism. (Offered on demand)

Selected topics in the political, economic, social, and religious life of England from 1485 to the present are examined. Normally, attention is focused on the Tudor and Stuart periods. (Offered alternate years)

The development of the Christian Church is examined from its beginnings to the present, with major attention given to the history of the Church on the Continent. Organizing themes include church/state relations, the question of ecclesiastical and theological "progress," and the interrelationships between historical change and transcendent truth claims. (Offered alternate years)

With attention to primary sources, this course considers the intellectual changes, creativity, and values of the Renaissance, as well as the key issues of the Protestant and Roman Catholic Reformations, both on the Continent and in England. Various Renaissance readings to reflect certain key topics are chosen from year to year. The focus of primary source readings for the Protestant Reformation is often either Luther or Calvin. (Offered alternate years)

Selected topics in the development of American Christianity are explored, with special attention usually given to Puritanism, Jonathan Edwards, Revivalism, the Princeton theology, Rauschenbusch, the social gospel, and the fundamentalist/modernist controversy. (Offered alternate years)

This course examines selected topics in the history of Asia, with particular emphasis on economic, demographic, and political developments. (Offered alternate years)

This course examines selected topics in the history of Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on economic, demographic, and political developments. (Offered alternate years)

Through examination of primary as well as secondary materials, this course surveys the involvement of women in the church from the New Testament era until the present. Also listed as WST 313. (Offered alternate years)

This course will offer students an opportunity to spend some time 'on location' studying a particular topic in American or European history. Students will be expected to participate in some traditional classroom work, but the course will include travel time (from a few days to three weeks) to destinations that relate to the topic of the course. Course topics will change. The travel component of this course will usually take place during a summer term. Students should expect to pay an additional fee to cover travel expenses. (Special offering)

(See CMC 333 for description)

To ensure each student seeking certification in Students with Disabilities 7-12 has 6 hours of Social Studies content and linked pedagogical skills, this course will address instructional strategies for teaching to the State Learning Standards for New York State Adolescent Social Studies and will assist the student in gaining an understanding of the History of America as taught to Adolescent students. Topics to be covered will include: the economics, geography, government, major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the United States from various perspectives.

To ensure each student seeking certification in Students with Disabilities 7-12 has 6 hours of Social Studies content and linked pedagogical skills, this course will address instructional strategies for teaching to the State Learning Standards for New York State Adolescent Social Studies and will assist the student in gaining an understanding of the History of America as taught to Adolescent students. Topics to be covered will include: the economics, geography, government, major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the United States from various perspectives.

(See SOC 401 for description)

This seminar intensively examines certain historical topics. In so doing, it provides the student with a collegial atmosphere for both doing and presenting research. Though topics vary from year to year, key concerns are historiography, methods and techniques of historical research, and the philosophy of history. Open to junior and senior History or Comprehensive Social Studies majors only or with permission of the instructor. (May be repeated if topic differs.)

Independent study provides opportunity to pursue advanced or special-interest topics not covered in the curriculum. Prerequisites: 1. Junior standing. 2. A minimum of 9 semester hours in the discipline of the Independent Study. 3. A minimum grade point average of 2.50 in the discipline. 4. Proof of motivation and ability to work independently. 5. Approval of the department in which the study is to be taken. 6. Permission from the student's advisor, the course instructor, the Department Chair, the School Dean, and the Registrar.