Catalog 2019-2020

HIS - History

HIS 102 World History to 1500

This course examines topics from the Paleolithic Era to the dawn of the Age of Globalization, including: early foraging, pastoral, and agricultural societies; the emergence of urban societies in Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas; trade and cultural transmission; concepts of gender; technological transfers; and the emergence of transcontinental and global interconnections through the Saharan trade, the Pax Mongolica, and Malay, Chinese and Iberian ocean explorations. Equally importantly, the course introduces students to the methods of the historian, involving critical thinking, the analysis of source texts, and the use of evidence to address historical questions.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 103 World History from 1500 to the Present

This course examines topics from the 16th through 20th centuries, including: state-building, commerce, and society in Eurasia and Africa; the creation and integration of the Atlantic World; new ideologies; industrial revolutions; changing conceptions of gender, class, race, ethnicity, and nation; political revolutions, genocides, and wars; imperialism and decolonization; and the global impact of the Cold War. Equally importantly, the course engages students in the methods of the historian, involving critical thinking, the analysis of source texts, and the use of evidence to address historical questions.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 201 The Historian's Craft

This course introduces undergraduate majors and minors to the exercise of thinking, researching and writing historically, focusing on the technical, methodological and theoretical skills that guide professional practice in diverse settings: museums, archives, secondary education and universities. Students will learn how to distinguish between evidence and interpretation and how to assess different kinds of evidence. Class meetings will sample representative fields, approaches and primary sources to provide the foundations for independent research in the capstone course.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 202 The United States to 1877

Surveys the cultural, political, social and economic developments in this country from the discovery of America through Reconstruction.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 203 The United States Since 1877

Surveys the urbanization and industrialization of the nation and its rise to world power.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 204 Twentieth Century Europe

European History in the 1900s.
Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

HIS 205 Native American Histories: Colonialism and Resistance

A survey of the history of Native Americans in the Caribbean, North America, and South America from the pre-Columbian period through the twentieth century. By focusing comparatively on the themes of colonialism and resistance over five centuries, students will study the range of tactics that Native Americans have adopted to create and preserve their communities, cultures, and sovereignty since 1492.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 206 Slavery and Racism in the Early Americas: A Comparative Perspective

A study of the development of slavery and relations between European Americans and African Americans in British, Spanish, and Portuguese America from the beginning of European settlement in the New World until the abolition of slavery in the mid-19th century.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 210 American Military History

A study of the development of American military institutions, policies, experience and traditions in peace and war from colonial times to the present.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 212 Witchcraft and Magic in the Early Modern Atlantic World

A study of the development of witchcraft accusations, beginning with continental Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries and continuing with the later scares in England and New England. Particular emphasis will be given to international comparisons and to the changing social, cultural and economic positions of women.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

HIS 214 Russia's Modern Centuries

This course surveys the political, economic, social, intellectual, cultural and diplomatic history of Russia in the Imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet periods.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS) (W)

HIS 215 Women in American History

A survey of women's accomplishments, lifestyles, changing image and struggle for equality and recognition from colonial times to the present.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS) (W)

HIS 217 China's Modern Centuries

This course surveys the interplay between China and the outside world from before the Opium War through the late Imperial period, early Republic, Nationalist regime, Japanese invasion, Nationalist-Communist civil war, and the People's Republic, to the present.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS) (W)

HIS 218 History of the Islamic World

A study of Muslims in world history from the 7th to the 21st centuries. This course explores the history of Islamic societies and of Muslims in local and global contexts, including the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia, and the West. The course addresses selected topics such as politics and statecraft; religious and cultural traditions and varieties; gender roles; and the challenges and choices that Muslim societies and individuals have faced in classical, early modern, and modern times. Materials include film, fiction and political writing as well as primary historical documents and secondary history textbooks.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 220 Introduction to African History

An exploration of the history of Africa from the rise of the great Sahel empires to the struggle for independence from European imperialism, with an emphasis on the period from 1500 to 1975. Major topics include the role of Islam, colonialism, nationalist movements, Pan-Africanism, decolonization and the challenges facing newly independent states and societies.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 221 Japan's Modern Centuries

This course surveys Japanese history from the coming of the Western gunboats in the 1850s through the Meiji restoration, the early development of international trade and democracy, the rise of militarism in the 1930s, World War II, the American Occupation, the economic "miracle" and the troubled 2000s.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS) (W)

HIS 225 The Age of the Civil War

A study of mid-19th century America, with particular emphases on the political developments, changing regional economies, patterns of interracial, interethnic and interclass relationships, as well as the course of military events during the Civil War.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 227 Traditional China

This course covers an examination and analysis of traditional Chinese history.

Credit Hours: 4
(NW) (SS)

HIS 228 Traditional Japan

This course examines the history of Japan from its pre-historical origins until the rise of modern Japan in the mid-nineteenth century. Special focus is given to indigenous Japanese beliefs, the influence of Chinese political and social values on Japanese life, Buddhist religious culture, the military ethos of the samurai, and the material cultural and attistic achievements of the Tokugawa period. In addition to a conventional textbook, literature and film are used to immerse students in the worldviews of traditional Japan. Group work and collaborative learning is emphasized. 

Credit Hours: 4
(NW) (SS)

HIS 229 History of Sexuality

This course surveys major trends and turning points in the history of sexuality since 1500. We will examine the governing regimes (legal, religious, medical, etc.) that defined sexual behavior and reproductive practices in mainland North America, paying particular attention to the changing relationship between sexual regulation and politics over time. The course will also explore the ways that official pronouncements differed from the actual practices and perceptions of ordinary woman and men. We will ask how factors such as race and ethnicity, class, and gender shaped sexual understandings and behavior.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 260 The Holocaust

This course covers the abuse and systematic extermination by the Nazis and their collaborators of millions of Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and other peoples of Europe. It deals with Germany and other parts of Europe under Nazi domination.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS) (W)

HIS 275 The Civil Rights Movement

This course focuses on the struggle for racial equality and freedom in the American South after World War II. It also helps students comprehend this struggle within the broader context of post-Civil War American race relations.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 290 Special Studies

Special courses are offered each year.

Credit Hours: 2-4
(SS)

HIS 296 America and Vietnam

An examination and analysis of America's role in the Vietnam Conflict.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 300 The Modern Middle East and North Africa

This course examines the Modern Middle East and North Africa from the 1500's to the era of modern revolutions and recent conflicts.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

Prerequisites

class='sc-courselink' href='/en/2019-2020/catalog/course-descriptions/his-history/100/his-102'>HIS 102 and HIS 103, or HIS 218.

HIS 302 Revolutionary Europe 1712 to 1919

Revolutionary thought and action in Europe from the birth of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to the death of Rosa Luxemburg. This course examines revolutionary ideas, groups, and individuals, from the French Revolution to the Russian Revolution and post-WWI Europe. Students will develop their abilities to write essays analyzing the ideas of the women and men who shaped Europe in the revolutionary era.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS) (W)

Prerequisites

Any two HIS courses, including one of the following: HIS 102, HIS 103, HIS 202, HIS 203.

HIS 304 History of Florida

The objectives of this course are to develop historical analysis beyond the level of the lower-division survey and to introduce students to experiential learning within the arena of local history practice. Students should master the historiography that structures the study of Florida’s past, gaining an awareness of how, over time, political history, social history, spatial theory and transnational studies have altered state history. Student research topics will be drawn from local history sources and celebrations, encouraging community engagement as well as independent analysis.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 305 The Ancient World

HIS 305 surveys the political, social, economic, and cultural development of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world from the prehistory to the fall of the Roman Empires. Students will learn about the rise and fall of ancient and classical civilizations, their political and social institutions, their economic and trade practices, their religions and cultural traditions. Readings will be extensive and include text, scholarly articles, primary sources, art and archeology. This is a writing intensive class and students will be expected to produce papers in style of historical writing.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS) (W)

Prerequisites

One History course

HIS 306 The Middle Ages

A study of European society from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 308 Renaissance and Reformation

A study of the origins, progress, interrelationships and impact of new forms and ideas that characterized the Renaissance and the Reformation in Europe from 1400 to 1650.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 313 Latin America

A study of Latin American history from the colonial period to the present.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 320 Museums, Historic Sites and Archives

This course offers an introduction to the methods and approaches that structure the presentation of history in public venues, including museums, historic venues and archives. Tools that facilitate collaboration between historians and communities to preserve local memory will also be examined. Finally, we will explore critically the political, financial and professional pressures that have shaped some of the most prominent displays of the nation’s past as well as the pressures that structure representations of history in Tampa. Students will attempt to reconcile these concerns by crafting exhibition proposals that would allow a local museum to engage multiple history publics.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 321 Revolutionary America

A study of the history of the United States before, during and after the Revolutionary War. Focuses on the role of ideology and the patterns of change in religion, racial relations and the status of women.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS) (W)

HIS 322 Spanish Caribbean and its Diasporas

This course surveys the Spanish-speaking Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic) from the Taino world of the pre-Columbian period to today. Topics include the creation of colonial plantation societies and the rise of sugar and coffee economies; movements for abolition, reform, and national self-determination; the persistence of Caribbean borderlands in the U.S. gulf south; the Caribbean’s neo-imperial economies, social structures, and political institutions; the impact of the Cuban Revolution; and the Caribbean’s tourist trade and diasporas in the global economy.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

HIS 323 Age of Revolutions in the Americas

A comparative study of the revolutions and independence movements that swept the Americas between 1776 and 1826, focusing on the American, Haitian, and Latin American Revolutions. Topics include the political, economic, social, and cultural changes experienced by white, black, and indigenous Americans.
Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

Prerequisites

One History course

HIS 325 Narcotic Drugs and Modern Society

This course explores the history of narcotic drugs and modern society, focusing on America. The course also examines the history of U.S. drug policy.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

HIS 326 The History of U.S. Foreign Relations

Studies the formulation of American foreign policy and issues in American diplomatic history.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS) (W)

HIS 330 America in the 1960s

This course covers the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis, the war in Vietnam, the concern about nuclear warfare, the civil rights movement, and the student movement of the late 1960s.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 335 U.S. Constitutional History

This class broadly surveys the chronological span of U.S. Constitutional history, from the 18th century to the 1970s, studying Supreme Court decisions and dissenting opinions as primary documents that can be used to understand the past. Students will determine how relationships between people and legal regimes changed over time, and they will assess the ways that specific political, economic, social and cultural contexts affected the development of American constitutional thought, the role of the Supreme Court and the evolving relations between law and society.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

One History survey course (HIS 102, HIS 103, HIS 202 or HIS 203)

HIS 400 History Capstone Research Seminar

This course represents the culmination of the history major. With the guidance of the instructor, students consider historiographic and methodological models and carry out a complete research project related to a common theme or body of source material. The final written product is graded by the instructor in consultation with a second reader, a faculty member assigned by the History faculty. This course is offered in the fall semester and is normally taken in the senior year.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

HIS 201

HIS 401 Field Work

Involves practical work in museums, historical preservation and historical archives. Requires permission of area coordinator. Graded on a pass/fail basis. This course counts as a history major elective.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

HIS 402 Natural and Unnatural Disasters in Modern World History

This course investigates the impact of catastrophes — earthquakes, epidemics, hurricanes, fires, accidents — on society, politics and culture in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas since 1624. Natural disasters often transform relations between nations and among social groups, while revealing social conditions and cultural attitudes kept hidden under normal circumstances. Natural disasters can create the conditions for revolutions, lead to wars over scarce resources, provide pretexts for imperial intrusions and expose the inequalities and tensions in society. Students will develop their knowledge of world history and disaster studies by reading and writing about selected case studies.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS) (W)

Prerequisites

Any two History courses.

HIS 413 The Era of World War I

The course traces the diplomatic and economic events leading to the outbreak of war in 1914 and follows the progress of the war, revolution and peace.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

HIS 414 The Era of World War II

The course traces the political, economic, social and diplomatic events leading to the outbreak of hostilities and the military and diplomatic aspects of the war itself. It concludes with the Nuremburg Trials.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

HIS 450 Independent Study

Involves guided readings, research and criticism.  Materials covered must be different from those included in current courses.  May be repeated for credit if subject matter varies.

Credit Hours: 2-4
(SS)

Prerequisites

Minimum 3.0 GPA, 12 hours of history. Independent studies must be taken under the direction of a full-time HIS professor. Subject matter must be determined through student-faculty consultation.

HIS 451 Senior Thesis

A substantial research and writing project.  The subject matter must be determined through student-faculty consultation.  A senior thesis can be written under the guidance of any full-time professor in the HIS department.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

Senior standing, minimum 3.0 GPA.

HIS 460 Advanced Special Topics

Advanced study of a selected historical topic. This course will count toward the upper-level requirement for the History major, and, depending on the topic, may fulfill other requirements, with approval of the Associate Chair for History, Sociology, Geography and Legal Studies. May be repeated for credit if the topic differs.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)