History 501 – Fundamentals of American History I
An intensive study of the origins and the development of what is now the United States from 1450 to 1865/1877. Learning with the primary documents and historical scholarship is emphasized. The course is designed to develop knowledge needed for successful teaching of U.S. history in the schools and emphasizes the National History Standards. Prerequisite(s): Baccalaureate degree and teaching experience, or permission of the instructor.
History 502 – Fundamentals of American History II
An intensive study of the origins and the development of what is now the United States from 1865/1877 to the present. Learning with primary documents and historical scholarship is emphasized. The course is designed to develop knowledge needed for successful teaching of U.S. history in the schools and emphasizes the National History Standards. Prerequisite(s): Baccalaureate degree, teaching experience, History 501, or permission of the instructor.
History 518 – America between the World Wars
An examination of the United States in the crucial period from 1918-1941. These years witnessed an almost unprecedented number of upheavals in American society over a relatively short period of time, including the retreat from progressivism and rise of a culture in conflict in the 1920s and the massive government reforms of the New Deal as a response to the Great Depression. Students will: 1) examine and evaluate the cultural conflicts of the 1920s as a means to understand the shift of moral and social control from local hands into the realm of national political debate 2) examine the development of the New Deal and the new liberalism it inspired to grasp the creation of modern political identities and voting behavior/party loyalty 3) compare and contrast American reactions to the fallout from World War I and the Great Depression with reactions in other countries as a means toward understanding the causes of World War II 4) write critically and analytically about these and other related issues.
History 520 – Recent American History, 1960-Present
This course will examine recent United States history from 1960 to the present. The course will examine recent events and trends in the United States and attempt to place them within larger historical contexts. Major topics will include: the Cold War and it’s aftermath, the American war in Vietnam, the collapse of Great Society liberalism, the emergence and triumph of the new conservatism, the latter years of the Civil Rights Movement, second-wave feminism, the rise of identity politics, the Reagan presidency, the role of media in the so-called Information Age, the culture wars and political scandals of the 1990s, and the pst-9/11 American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Attention also will be given to differentiating History from "current events" and whether we can meaningfully compare recent events to the more distant past. Learning objectives and assessment of the course will conform to those in the MAHS Assessment Plan. Prerequisite(s): History 502.
History 562 – American Creeds: The Idea of an American Nation
This course examines what one scholar has called “the story of American freedom.” We will explore the different ways that the concept of freedom has been defined and contested by different people or groups in the American past and will attempt to improve our understanding of the political ideas and ideologies that have shaped the way Americans have understood themselves and their national enterprise. In exploring these topics, we will gain a better understanding of whether the ideological assumptions that continue to shape American political culture actually make the United States exceptional. Learning objectives and assessment of this course will conform to those in the Historical Studies Assessment Plan.
History 570 – The Civil Rights Movement in Modern America
An examination of the issue of civil rights for minorities in the twentieth century United States. This course will explore a variety of developments, issues, and trends related to the struggle for civil rights in the twentieth century. Students will: 1) understand the role that issues of race have played in concepts of the American nation and the rights and responsibilities of citizenships 2) examine and evaluate different concepts of race, ethnicity, gender and nation and how they have contributed to the evolution and formation of American society and the role of government 3) investigate the continued place of these issues in American life 4) write analytically and critically.
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