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2008-10 Catalog » History

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Department Office: SS 103
Phone Number: 507-537-6224
Faculty: Joan Gittens, Jeffrey Kolnick, Michael Hofstetter, Thomas Williford
Directory Entry:History
Website: /Academics/Programs/History/

The study of history helps students acquire the historical perspective which places human events in a chronological sequence, emphasizing the dimension of time and causality. History students explore a broad spectrum of ideas, such as nationalism, romanticism, and Marxism, as well as such themes as national and social histories, progress, industrialization, the history of women, war, rural life, and death and dying through the ages. History students develop the ability to analyze, synthesize, and make informed judgments. Open to history graduates are careers in law, teaching, county, state and national government, historical societies, the ministry, business, and others. They might also choose to become archivists or professional historians.

For teacher certification requirements, see the Education section.

Bachelor of Arts: History Expand

HIST 221 Early Amer: Col-Civil Wr Credits: 3 View Info A survey of American civilization with emphasis on the political, economic, and social aspects of our development prior to 1865.
HIST 222 Modern America: 1865-Pre Credits: 3 View Info A survey of American civilization with emphasis on the social, economic, and political history of the United States from 1865 to the present.
HIST 242 Eur Civ I:Ancient & Medieval Europe Credits: 3 View Info Course surveys European civilization from the time of the Greeks and Romans to the Renaissance.
HIST 243 Eur Civ II:Modern & Contemporary Europe Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys European history from the Renaissance to the 20th century.
HIST 301 Historiography Credits: 3 View Info This course is a basic introduction to the history of history and the philosophy of history. This course should be taken as soon as possible after a student declares a history major.
HIST 387 Pro-Seminar Credits: 3 View Info This course is designed to provide reading and discussion of selected topics not covered in the regular curriculum and an introduction to research techniques. Must be taken the term before senior seminar.
HIST 487 Senior Seminar Credits: 3 View Info In this capstone course, topics are considered through reading, discussion, and primary research. This course will include a paper based on primary resources.

Pre-Requisites: HIST 387
Footnotes:

Students majoring in history are strongly encouraged to devote themselves seriously to the study of a foreign language.
History majors shall maintain an overall GPA of 2.8 with no grade lower than a “C” in classes for the major.

Take one of the following:

HIST 201 Rural World Credits: 3 View Info This course will survey the origins and development of agriculture from neolithic times to the mechanization and rationalization of agricultural production in the 19th and 20th centuries. It will also concentrate on the social, political, cultural and economic structures of European village life and on the special development of American agricultural society from colonial times to the 20th century.
HIST 210 World Hist 20th Century Credits: 3 View Info This course is a broadly based survey of major developments in the 20th century world history. Major topics will include colonialism and nation building, war, genocide, free trade, socialism, communism, capitalism, democracy, dictatorships, national liberation, human rights, racism, gender, and freedom. Expect units on Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

Five elective courses in History: (15 Credits)

Notes:

One of the five electives shall be selected from the following courses in non-western History:
HIST 311 World in War & Crisis: 1910-1945 Credits: 3 View Info In the first half of the twentieth century, two world wars and the Great Depression revealed the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution and European, U.S., and Japanese imperialism and competition. Through books, and films from the time period, students in this course will examine world history, politics, and culture; going beyond the borders and the conflicts of Europe and the U.S. to investigate Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
HIST 314 Modern Latin America Credits: 3 View Info This course covers the history of Latin America since Independence, with an emphasis on the problems of reform and revolution, the socioeconomic challenges of globalization, and the cultural ferment of the region.
HIST 315 Mexico & Central America Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys the history of Mexico and Central America. It will focus on Amerindian societies before conquest by Spain and other European powers. It will examine the creation of "New Spain," a colonial world neither Spanish nor Amerindian, but a combination of both. For modern times, beginning with independence in the early 19th century, the course will focus upon the successes and failures of modernization in Mexico and Central America.
HIST 321 U.S.-Latin American Relations Credits: 3 View Info This course covers the history of the relations between Latin America and the United States, addressing the development and execution of U.S. foreign policy in the region, Latin American cooperation with and resistance to the U.S. and the socioeconomic challenges of globalization, and the cultural ferment of the region.
HIST 322 Development in the Post-Colonial World Credits: 3 View Info This course explores issues of economic development and nation-building in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, focusing primarily on the mid- to late-twentieth century. Topics covered include theories of modernization and underdevelopment, the legacy of the colonial experience and decolonization, and case studies of developments strategies and their consequences.
HIST 324 Comparative Colonialisms Credits: 3 View Info This course explores comparatively the colonial experiences of societies in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Topics include comparative examination of cross-cultural encounters, types of colonialization and their purposes, methods and consequences, and the formation and course of movements for independence.
HIST 325 Africa Since 1800 Credits: 3 View Info This course explores the history of concepts of race and their consequences in the Americas and West Africa between the 25th and the 21st Centuries.
HIST 328 History of Cuba Credits: 3 View Info This course will examine the history of Cuba, from pre-colonial times to today, including such topics as the institution of slavery, the sugar business, the struggle for independence from Spain, economic and political relations with the US, the Revolution, and the Castro regime.
HIST 351 Origins of Islamic Civil Credits: 3 View Info This course will examine the origins of Islamic civilization and the beginnings of some of its key traditions. Topics will include pre-Islamic Arabia, Muhammed as a religious and political leader, Islamic law, sufism (Islamic mysticism), popular piety in the Islamic world, and Muslim social organization.

Students who are not seeking a Social Science licensure may substitute one of the following courses for a history elective:

INDS 325 Genocide, Survival, and Indigenous Peoples Credits: 3 View Info A survey of the history of the indigenous peoples of the United States from antiquity to the Dawes Allotment Act of 1887. Course will focus on the native peoples of the U.S. and their thousands of years of separate cultural development before the arrival of colonizers. Special emphasis will be given to origin accounts; native world views; interaction among Native Nations, the various European powers and the United States; imperialism; colonialism; treaties; the struggle for the land and resources; genocide; and the development of federal Indian policy and its impact.
INDS 326 Decolonization, Recovery, and Indigenous Peoples Credits: 3 View Info A survey of the history of the indigenous peoples of the U.S. from 1887 (the Dawes Allotment Act) to the present. Special emphasis will be placed on native-white relations and the continuing development of federal Indian policy and its impact. Attention will be given to persistence, change, and adaptation in native cultures to contemporarysocial conditions. Also, topics such as self-determination, decolonization, urbanization, activism, gaming, and other crucial issues regarding the environment, energy, and treaty rights will be studied.
PHIL 331 History of Philosophy II: Human Institutions Credits: 3 View Info A historical survey of political philosophy. Reading will be drawn from such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Rawls. Topics covered will include natural law, theory of justice, and political systems.

Bachelor of Arts: History Notes:

Students majoring in history are strongly encouraged to devote themselves seriously to the study of a foreign language.
History majors shall maintain an overall GPA of 2.8 with no grade lower than a “C” in classes for the major.

Total Credits for Bachelor of Arts: History:39

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Minor: History Expand

I. Take a total of 6 credits from this section. Only one course per grouping

HIST 201 Rural World Credits: 3 View Info This course will survey the origins and development of agriculture from neolithic times to the mechanization and rationalization of agricultural production in the 19th and 20th centuries. It will also concentrate on the social, political, cultural and economic structures of European village life and on the special development of American agricultural society from colonial times to the 20th century.
HIST 210 World Hist 20th Century Credits: 3 View Info This course is a broadly based survey of major developments in the 20th century world history. Major topics will include colonialism and nation building, war, genocide, free trade, socialism, communism, capitalism, democracy, dictatorships, national liberation, human rights, racism, gender, and freedom. Expect units on Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

HIST 221 Early Amer: Col-Civil Wr Credits: 3 View Info A survey of American civilization with emphasis on the political, economic, and social aspects of our development prior to 1865.
HIST 222 Modern America: 1865-Pre Credits: 3 View Info A survey of American civilization with emphasis on the social, economic, and political history of the United States from 1865 to the present.

HIST 242 Eur Civ I:Ancient & Medieval Europe Credits: 3 View Info Course surveys European civilization from the time of the Greeks and Romans to the Renaissance.
HIST 243 Eur Civ II:Modern & Contemporary Europe Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys European history from the Renaissance to the 20th century.

II. Required:

HIST 301 Historiography Credits: 3 View Info This course is a basic introduction to the history of history and the philosophy of history. This course should be taken as soon as possible after a student declares a history major.

III. Take one elective from each category: (9 Credits)

a. Non-Western History

b. European History

c. United States History

Minor: History Notes:

Students minoring in history are strongly encouraged to devote themselves seriously to the study of a foreign language.

Total Credits for Minor: History:18

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Course Descriptions Expand

HIST 121 Local & Regional History Credits: 3 View Info An introduction to local and regional histories, and histories of everyday and rural lives.
HIST 150 Perspectives in History Credits: 3 View Info Selected topics viewed in historical perspective.
HIST 201 Rural World Credits: 3 View Info This course will survey the origins and development of agriculture from neolithic times to the mechanization and rationalization of agricultural production in the 19th and 20th centuries. It will also concentrate on the social, political, cultural and economic structures of European village life and on the special development of American agricultural society from colonial times to the 20th century.
HIST 210 World Hist 20th Century Credits: 3 View Info This course is a broadly based survey of major developments in the 20th century world history. Major topics will include colonialism and nation building, war, genocide, free trade, socialism, communism, capitalism, democracy, dictatorships, national liberation, human rights, racism, gender, and freedom. Expect units on Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
HIST 221 Early Amer: Col-Civil Wr Credits: 3 View Info A survey of American civilization with emphasis on the political, economic, and social aspects of our development prior to 1865.
HIST 222 Modern America: 1865-Pre Credits: 3 View Info A survey of American civilization with emphasis on the social, economic, and political history of the United States from 1865 to the present.
HIST 242 Eur Civ I:Ancient & Medieval Europe Credits: 3 View Info Course surveys European civilization from the time of the Greeks and Romans to the Renaissance.
HIST 243 Eur Civ II:Modern & Contemporary Europe Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys European history from the Renaissance to the 20th century.
HIST 286 Special Topics Credits: 1 - 4
HIST 292 Honors Credit in History Credits: 1 View Info An independent study course designed primarily for Honors Program students. This course allows more indepth or comprehensive study or research by certain students concurrently enrolled in at least one other history course.
HIST 301 Historiography Credits: 3 View Info This course is a basic introduction to the history of history and the philosophy of history. This course should be taken as soon as possible after a student declares a history major.
HIST 310 Environmental History Credits: 3 View Info This course explores processes of environmental change, examining them in their proper ecological, geographical, and historal contexts. This course also addresses the multi-faceted relationship between human beings and their surroundings as well as chaning definitions of environment and nature.
HIST 311 World in War & Crisis: 1910-1945 Credits: 3 View Info In the first half of the twentieth century, two world wars and the Great Depression revealed the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution and European, U.S., and Japanese imperialism and competition. Through books, and films from the time period, students in this course will examine world history, politics, and culture; going beyond the borders and the conflicts of Europe and the U.S. to investigate Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
HIST 314 Modern Latin America Credits: 3 View Info This course covers the history of Latin America since Independence, with an emphasis on the problems of reform and revolution, the socioeconomic challenges of globalization, and the cultural ferment of the region.
HIST 315 Mexico & Central America Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys the history of Mexico and Central America. It will focus on Amerindian societies before conquest by Spain and other European powers. It will examine the creation of "New Spain," a colonial world neither Spanish nor Amerindian, but a combination of both. For modern times, beginning with independence in the early 19th century, the course will focus upon the successes and failures of modernization in Mexico and Central America.
HIST 318 Portugual in the Atlantic World Credits: 3 View Info This course explores the formation, nature and decline of Portuguese contact and empire in Africa, Asia and the Americas from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. Topics include cross-cultural interaction, religious influences, local and long-distance trade, slavery, and diasporas in historical context.
HIST 320 Race in the Atlantic World Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys African history from the nineteenth century to the present. It examines the effects of abolition of the slave trade and of commercial and religious revolutions in West Africa; the Scramble for Africa; the social, cultural and economic ramifications of colonial rule and resistance to it; struggles for liberation and the challenges of independence.
HIST 321 U.S.-Latin American Relations Credits: 3 View Info This course covers the history of the relations between Latin America and the United States, addressing the development and execution of U.S. foreign policy in the region, Latin American cooperation with and resistance to the U.S. and the socioeconomic challenges of globalization, and the cultural ferment of the region.
HIST 322 Development in the Post-Colonial World Credits: 3 View Info This course explores issues of economic development and nation-building in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, focusing primarily on the mid- to late-twentieth century. Topics covered include theories of modernization and underdevelopment, the legacy of the colonial experience and decolonization, and case studies of developments strategies and their consequences.
HIST 324 Comparative Colonialisms Credits: 3 View Info This course explores comparatively the colonial experiences of societies in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Topics include comparative examination of cross-cultural encounters, types of colonialization and their purposes, methods and consequences, and the formation and course of movements for independence.
HIST 325 Africa Since 1800 Credits: 3 View Info This course explores the history of concepts of race and their consequences in the Americas and West Africa between the 25th and the 21st Centuries.
HIST 326 Slavery, Race, and Gender in the Atlantic World Credits: 3 View Info This course explores the encounter of the peoples of the Americas, Africa, and Europe in the Atlantic World, from 1492 to 1800, with a special emphasis on gender issues.
HIST 328 History of Cuba Credits: 3 View Info This course will examine the history of Cuba, from pre-colonial times to today, including such topics as the institution of slavery, the sugar business, the struggle for independence from Spain, economic and political relations with the US, the Revolution, and the Castro regime.
HIST 331 U.S. Since 1945 Credits: 3 View Info A broad look at American social, cultural, and political history in a crucial modern period.
HIST 337 European Women's History Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys the history of women's participation in the development of modern European politics, culture, and economy, and re-examines the traditional assumptions, categories, and periodizations of European history in light of women's experiences.
HIST 350 The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1975 Credits: 3 View Info This course examines the experience of Vietnamese and American women and man as they endured the Vietnam War. Critical examination of the Cold War, Colonialism, and Independence movements, and the experience of soldiers will be expected. The course makes extensive use of primary and secondary sources.
HIST 351 Origins of Islamic Civil Credits: 3 View Info This course will examine the origins of Islamic civilization and the beginnings of some of its key traditions. Topics will include pre-Islamic Arabia, Muhammed as a religious and political leader, Islamic law, sufism (Islamic mysticism), popular piety in the Islamic world, and Muslim social organization.
HIST 352 American Revolution and the Early Republic, 1763-1816 Credits: 3 View Info This course covers the years from 1763-1816, the beginnings of the American Revolution through the War of 1812. It focuses on the intellectual, social, economic and political developments that brought about the American colonies' break from Britain, the founding of the republic, and the launching of the republican experiment.
HIST 354 Growing Up in America Credits: 3 View Info This course is a history of children and youth in America from colonial times to the present. It looks across time at the role of the family, the school, and the state in relation to children.
HIST 355 Growth of U.S. Foreign Policy Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys American diplomatic history and the development of America's foreign policy with emphasis on the factors influencing those policies and their impact on the development of the United States.
HIST 356 Civil War & Reconstruction Credits: 3 View Info This course will study events leading up to the United States Civil War, the impact of the war itself, and its aftermath. Special attention will be paid to issues of race, territorial expansion, the law, and economic development.
HIST 359 African-American History, Civil War to the Present Credits: 3 View Info This course examines the experience of African American women and men from the Civil War to the present by focusing briefly on the slave experience and emancipation with a more intensive focus on Reconstruction, the era of Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement. The course will feature the use of primary documents and use as its interpretative framework the concept of struggle.
HIST 360 American Women's History Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys American women's history from thecolonial era through the modern era. The course will focus on the evolution of women's roles within American society and women's contributions to the development of American society. The texts used cover the stories of women from various ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds.
HIST 361 Introduction to East Asia in Modern Times Credits: 3 View Info The political, economic, social, and intellectual history of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam from the seventeenth century through the present.
HIST 362 Making of Modern America Credits: 3 View Info This course will focus on the thirty crucial years from 1890 to 1920 when the United States began to come to terms with itself as an urban, industrial nation and a world power.
HIST 363 Hist Soc Welfare in US Credits: 3 View Info This course focuses on the situation of vulnerable people and American society's response to them from colonial times to the present, considering both the state and private response to those in need.
HIST 364 Immigration&Ethnic in US Credits: 3 View Info This course provides a broad historical survey of the process of migration and its impact on U.S. social, political, and cultural development.
HIST 365 Roman Civilization Credits: 3 View Info This course will examine the origins and development of Roman Civilization from Etruscan times to the fall of the Western Empire. It will rely mainly on readings from primary sources.
HIST 370 History of Capitalism Credits: 3 View Info This course will chart the development of capitalism from Adam Smith to the Global Economy of our own time.
HIST 371 History of American West Credits: 3 View Info This is a course about Indians and Mountain Men, Cowboys and Outlaws, Farmers and Pioneer Mormons. The course attempts to develop an understanding of the important cultures and personalities of the West. It will also study the physical environment, mythology, fiction and history of the West.
HIST 375 Middle Ages & Renaissanc Credits: 3 View Info This course will examine the political institutions, the economy, the art, and the society of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
HIST 376 Modern France Credits: 3 View Info A survey of French history from 1750 with emphasis on various social, intellectual, and international aspects. Comparative method will place French history in its European and world context. Students will become familiar with the local and global significance of major trends and events in France such as the enlightenment, the 1789 revolution, the rise of nationalism, the 1848 revolution, World War I, World War II and France's evolving role in European unification. This course welcomes students from all academic disciplines and students from all stages of their university participation. Reading level will be moderate with several smaller writing assignments and two examinations.
HIST 377 Modern Germany Credits: 3 View Info A history of Germany from 1815 to the present. Major topics will include the impact of the Napoleonic invasion, German nationalism, the revolution of 1848, unification, the first and second world wars, the Nazi movement, and contemporary Germany.
HIST 378 US:1920-1945 Credits: 3 View Info This course is designed to give the student a concentrated study of a crucial period in American history, 1920 through World War II. Emphasis will be placed on the political, economic, and social issues of the time.
HIST 380 The Examined Life: American History through Autobiography Credits: 3 View Info The Examined Life is a study of the intellectual history of the United States from colonial times to the twentieth century through the medium of autobiography.
HIST 381 History of Russia I Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys Russian civilization from earliest beginnings to the 19th century.
HIST 382 History of Russia II Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys Russian civilization from the 19th century to the present.
HIST 383 History of England I Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys British civilization from the beginning to the 18th century.
HIST 384 History of England II Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys British civilization since the 18th century.
HIST 387 Pro-Seminar Credits: 3 View Info This course is designed to provide reading and discussion of selected topics not covered in the regular curriculum and an introduction to research techniques. Must be taken the term before senior seminar.
HIST 395 Minnesota History Credits: 3 View Info This course surveys the social, economic, and political development of Minnesota.
HIST 486 Adv Spec Topics History Credits: 1 - 4
HIST 487 Senior Seminar Credits: 3 View Info In this capstone course, topics are considered through reading, discussion, and primary research. This course will include a paper based on primary resources.
HIST 494 Individual Study in History Credits: 1 - 4 View Info Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Student must propose topic and offer a preliminary bibliography.
HIST 510 GS:T&I in History Credits: 3 View Info The purpose of this course is to introduce students to recent trends in the writing of history. Special attention will be dedicated to the new practice of social, cultural, and intellectual history. Some time will be dedicated to new forms of researching and writing local and regional history, with which we have so much experience and expertise.
HIST 520 GS:Is in History Credits: 1 - 3

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