Courses and Syllabi
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.
History Fall 2022
Undergraduate
History of Western civilization from ancient Mediterranean origins through medieval and modern development of Europe to contemporary world. Notes: Students who take HIST 100 may not receive credit for HIST 101 or HIST 102. Equivalent to HIST 101, HIST 102.
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16 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Social, political, economic, and intellectual growth of American institutions from colonization through Reconstruction. Notes: Students may not receive credit for HIST 121 if they have taken HIST 120. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Analytical approach to world history overview that surveys major features of principal existing civilizations of world, as originally formed and as altered by key global processes including forces of modernity. Limited to three attempts.
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24 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Focuses on skills, methods of learning, and subject matter to introduce discipline of history. Notes: Topics vary. Equivalent to SYST 202.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Surveys history of China and Japan from prehistoric times to ca. 1600. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Focuses on the sub-Saharan region and examines evolving systems of kinship power, spirituality, and slavery. Explores the interactions between Africans and global influences from the religions of the book and colonialism to the politics of development and continuities and changes in production. HIST 261 surveys African history from the earliest times to 1800. HIST 262 surveys African history from 1800 to the present. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Surveys colonial era to 1825. Emphasizes interactions of United States, Latin America. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Survey of Middle Eastern history from rise of Islam to present, emphasizing processes that led to emergence of economic, cultural, social, and political institutions that characterize region today. Surveys period from rise of Islam in 570 to medieval period (ca. 1258) Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Introduces research skills and methods, as well as historical interpretation, culminating in written and oral presentations. Notes: Topics vary according to instructor. History majors strongly urged to take HIST 300 as soon as possible after reaching 30 credits. Grade of C or better is required to graduate with BA in history. Students may repeat HIST 300 only with permission from the Department of History and Art History and repetitions are limited. Limited to three attempts.
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3 Sections Currently Scheduled
Political, social, economic, and cultural history of classical Greece from development of the city-state through 5th century. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
History of Europe from Congress of Vienna to outbreak of World War I. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Two world wars, the Great Depression, and political and cultural revolutions transformed Europe as never before. Explores causes and consequences of these tumultuous events, and concludes with consideration of reconstruction that caps period. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Examines history of modern Eastern Europe from mid-19th century through collapse of communist regimes in 1989, and includes focus on Yugoslav wars of 1990s. Nationalism provides organizing theme; topic approached through literature, political, social, cultural, and new media sources. Class sessions emphasize discussion of central issues and sources. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Political, diplomatic, economic, social, and cultural development of Germany from dissolution of Holy Roman Empire to present. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Students will use case histories to explore the cultural and social aspects of global STEM development during the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, roughly the period from 1700 to 1900. Students will be required to critically analyze articles, books chapters, other readings and media, and articulate their findings and viewpoints in classroom and online discussions and presentations. They will also work in a team project which will present its results to the class in live and online formats. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Russia and the Soviet Union from the early 20th century to the present. Focuses on the Russian Revolution and the political, social, cultural, and economic developments of the Soviet and post-Soviet eras. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Examines the roots of American sport in colonial play and recreation, the emergence of organized and national sports, issues of gender and race in the sporting world, and the intersection of U.S. sport with events such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
At the turn of the 20th century popular culture categorized African American women as desexualized Mammies or immoral Jezebels. These devastating depictions were also linked to the myth of black men as hypersexual rapists of white women whose image was infused with a heightened purity. This course examines the simultaneous struggles of black women to defend their name and fight all forms of race and sex proscriptions from the turn of the century period of Jim Crow segregation and disfranchisement through the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements of the 1960s. This course establishes that the activism of women was central to struggles to overturn segregation, end lynching, and secure political and civil rights. The course explores the effects of sexist and racist ideologies on their lives and activism, the changes in their economic and political status, the legal and social barriers they faced, and the ways in which they were defined within families and within popular culture. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
China from 1644 to the People's Republic of China. Emphasizes coming of West and various stages of Chinese reaction. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Japan from Meiji Restoration to World War II. Emphasizes Japan's modernization in face of challenge. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Examines systems of slavery from ancient world to modern world, with special emphasis on Atlantic slave trade and slave societies in Latin America and Anglo America. Considers impact of slaves and slavery on cultural, economic, and political systems in Africa and Americas from 16th to 19th centuries. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Examines war and American society from the colonial period to the post-Cold War era, including how military institutions, war, and the preparation for war have affected American society, and how Americans have thought about military service, experience war, and made peace through their history. Special emphasis on civil-military relations and the role of war and militarism in American culture. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Focuses on career choices and effective self-presentation for soon-to-be graduating students with majors in the humanities. Explores how skills typically learned in humanities majors can be leveraged for a successful transition to post-graduation employment. Equivalent to ENGH 303, FRLN 309, PHIL 393, UNIV 420.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest in global, Latin American, African, Asian, or Middle Eastern history. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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8 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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3 Sections Currently Scheduled
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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5 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Teaches the fundamentals of information technology within the context of a history course. Students learn fundamentals and skills as well as how our society became so enamored of and dependent on these knowledge and information tools. Understanding a new technology requires understanding how new technologies transform the societies that embrace them. Emphasizes the use of free and open-source software whenever possible. Limited to three attempts.
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5 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Introduces students to issues and methods in digital history through study of a particular topic May be repeated within the term for a maximum 15 credits.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Explores the role of historical memory in shaping public perceptions of the past, with emphasis on museums , monuments, and other public and popular culture expressions of historical information and themes. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Approved work-study programs in cooperation with specific organizations including area museums; archives; historic sites; and local, state, and federal agencies. Notes: Credit determined by department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Research on specialized historical topic culminating in seminar paper and oral presentation. Synthesis course; students expected to integrate knowledge and skills acquired in Mason Core courses. Notes: Subject determined by instructor. Student may present no more than 3 credits for graduation credit. Must receive passing grade to graduate with BA in history. Limited to three attempts.
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3 Sections Currently Scheduled
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest in global, Latin American, African, Asian, or Middle Eastern history. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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8 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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3 Sections Currently Scheduled
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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5 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Graduate
Investigates selected problems in global and comparative history, covering multiple countries or world regions. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Discussion of readings and historical interpretations and compilation of a comprehensive bibliography on given theme. Notes: Topics announced by instructor. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Introduces students to the central issues and debates surrounding the study of the Middle East, Islam, and Muslim societies. Covers key methodological issues including the role of area studies vis-a-vis disciplinary approaches and debates on the politics of knowledge production and historiography. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Methodology of the historian including techniques of research, use of documentation and other sources, development of bibliography, and synthesis of material. May not be repeated for credit.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Readings and discussion of bibliographies, interpretations, and research trends in topics selected by instructor. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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4 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Examines disasters as lived experiences and cultural constructions from the seventeenth century to the industrial era. Presents so-called natural disasters as partly the result of human agency. Shows how that storms, fires, and other unfortunate events become “disasters” only when they intersect with human lives. Uses case studies of disasters to explore their larger cultural and social contexts. (Chronological fields: US pre-1861, US 1861-1914, US since 1914, Europe pre-1789, Europe 1789-1914, Europe since 1914, LatAm/Caribbean) May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Investigates selected problems. Readings, discussions, development of bibliographies. Primary sources used where possible. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Focuses on changes in social conditions and ramifications in political life. Attention to urbanization of workers, changes in peasantry, growth of middle classes, decline of nobility, and major political developments and expansion of liberal reforms. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores differing interpretations of the history of Stalinism. Topics include Soviet ideology, terror, Stalinist culture and society, the politicization of everyday life, industrialization and urbanization, family and gender politics, nationalities policies, and foreign policy—all of which combined to create the strange new culture that has been called Stalinism. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Addresses specific topics in applied history selected by the instructor, with emphasis on combining theoretical analysis and readings with attention to practices and skills of applied history. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 15 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Covers specific topics in history and new media selected by the instructor, with an emphasis on combining theoretical analysis and readings with hands-on projects and problem-solving. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Students with limited computer competency should consult department before enrolling. Introduces changes that new media and technologies are bringing to how we research, write, present, and teach about the past. Students explore theoretical and historical issues as well as learn hands-on skills in digital history. Notes: Students with limited computer competency should consult with department before enrolling. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
All internship placements must be approved by the department to ensure suitability to student's program. Introduces applied history through work and study at historical museum, site, library archive, editing project, or other approved agency. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Research in specialized topics using primary sources. May be repeated for credit when topic is different, or with same topic with permission of the department. Equivalent to HIST 711.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Introduces array of scholars and scholarship through discussions of innovative historical events, important theories, and significant methodological breakthroughs in history. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Doctoral dissertation research and writing under direction of student's dissertation committee. May be repeated within the degree.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Investigates selected problems in global and comparative history, covering multiple countries or world regions. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Read More »
1 Section Currently Scheduled
Discussion of readings and historical interpretations and compilation of a comprehensive bibliography on given theme. Notes: Topics announced by instructor. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Readings and discussion of bibliographies, interpretations, and research trends in topics selected by instructor. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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4 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Investigates selected problems. Readings, discussions, development of bibliographies. Primary sources used where possible. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
