History

History is the written record of the human past, dealing with the people and events that helped make us what we are today. History courses enable students to investigate the ideas, problems, and actions of past generations as they directly affect the present. Through a variety of survey and specialized courses, students are encouraged to examine various cultures and historical periods, their distinctiveness as well as their particular responses to similar problems.

In a time of instant news and high technology, it is tempting to ignore the past, but those who attempt to understand history have a distinct advantage. Such an advantage is obvious for those seeking jobs in teaching, journalism, government service, or communications. A good historical background also serves well for those who enter the world of law, business, banking, archival and library work, or museums and historical societies.

Degrees

Courses

HI130: AMERICAN HISTORY I: BEFORE 1865

Credits 4
This course examines the early history of the United States, starting with the settlement of the North American continent by nomadic hunter-gatheres and concluding with the American Civil War and its aftermath. The first half of the course will focus on the European incursion into North America. We will explore cultural encounters and conflicts between Europeans and Native Americans, the competition between empires for dominion over the New World, the settlement and development of British colonies, and the struggle for American independence. In the second half of the course, we will examine the formation and consolidation of the American nation-state in the early republic and antebellum era, focusing specifically on capitalist development, political democratization, slavery and race, westward expansion, and reform movements. The course will conclude by examining the growing conflict over slavery that would eventually lead to a crisis of disunion and the American Civil War.

HI131: AMERICAN HISTORY II: AFTER 1865

Credits 4
This course examines the history of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the twenty-first century. At the beginning of this period, America was a predominantly agrarian nation coming out of a devastating internal conflict, a second-class international player that could not assert military or political control over the continental territory it claimes as its own. Yet, by the end of the twentieth century, the United States was the world’s only superpower, able to confidently exert its power at home and abroad, while also boasting the most advanced economy on the face of the earth. This class will examine America’s dramatic tranformation over the last century and a half, surveying broad developments in modern US history along with close analysis of the lived experiences of individual historical figures and social groups.

HI160G: WORLD CIVILIZATIONS I

Credits 4
An overview of the development of the world’s civilizations from earliest times to the European Renaissance. The major focus is on developments in the West, but societies in China, India, Southwest Asia, and Africa are also examined.

HI161G: WORLD CIVILIZATIONS II

Credits 4
A continuation of HI160G, this course examines the development of societies in and beyond Europe since the Reformation. Special emphasis is given to the emergence of "modern" or "developed" forms of social, economic, and political organization and their spread around the globe after the mid-nineteenth century.

HI170: THE HISTORY OF OHIO

Credits 4
This course aims to provide students with a functional knowledge of Ohio history, tracing developments from the ancient Indian civilizations of North America to the post-industrial era of the late twentieth century. The class will examine the dramatic economic transformation of Ohio, exploring how a land of nomadic hunter-gatherers successively transformed into a frontier economy, a market society, an industrial powerhouse, and finally a post-industrial landscape. The course will approach Ohio as a zone of cultural interchange, a place throughout history where different peoples, communities, and cultures have come into contact and conflict.

HI342: PUBLIC HISTORY

Credits 4
Public history defines a constellation of historical work outside the academy. It most often refers to historians who work in institutions like museums, preservation offices, and cultural resource agencies. It also refers to popular history or the various ways the public constructs and maintains ideas about the past.

HI350: TOPICS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

Credits 4
This course focuses on the in-depth examination of varying topics in United States history. Topics may include, but are not limited to Andrew Jackson, Native-American History, Race, Gender, and Ethnicity in American History, Depression-Era America, and The Sixties. May be repeated when topics vary.

HI351G: TOPICS IN WORLD HISTORY

Credits 4
A thematically focused examination of a selected topic in the history of an area other than the United States. Course content will emphasize the experiences of people from the Global South and/or marginalized backgrounds and encourage students to trace the origins of global inequality. Examples include, but are not limited to, U.S./Latin American Relations, the African Diaspora, and Latin American Agricultural History. May be repeated when topics vary.

HI353G: Turning points in History

Credits 4
Skill
W

Turning Points in History examines critical junctures in history, examining moments and periods in the past when the old appeared to give way to the new. In this class, students will be forced to consider the concepts of contingency and causality, reckoning with why history moved in a certain direction and whether those changes might have played out differently. Examining different areas of the world and historical epochs, Turning Points in History ponders why things change and what forces ultimately move history.

This course examines a single era in world history from a global perspective. Examples may include the Ancient World, the Early Modern World, the Long Nineteenth Century, and the Post-War Era. Regardless of the period studied, both primary and secondary sources related to the era will be used to advance students’ knowledge of the historical chronology and to introduce students to the major historiographical debates in the discipline. May be repeated when topics vary.

HI353G - Cloned: ERAS IN WORLD HISTORY

Credits 4
Skill
W
This course examines a single era in world history from a global perspective. Examples may include the Ancient World, the Early Modern World, the Long Nineteenth Century, and the Post-War Era. Regardless of the period studied, both primary and secondary sources related to the era will be used to advance students’ knowledge of the historical chronology and to introduce students to the major historiographical debates in the discipline. May be repeated when topics vary.

HI381: HISTORICAL RESEARCH METHODS

Credits 4
An introduction to historical research with emphasis on identifying and locating primary and secondary sources, conducting basic research, and exposing students to the challenges of preparing and presenting a research paper in a seminar setting.

HI495: SENIOR SEMINAR

Credits 4
The capstone seminar for the major focuses upon historiography and methodology in the discipline. A major research paper is required.