HIST 499: RS: Senior Seminar in History

HIST 499-001: Senior Seminar: The World the Civil War Made
(Spring 2026)

10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR

Music Theater Building 1008

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Section Information for Spring 2026

This course examines the Reconstruction Era and its aftermath, a time characterized by federal expansion, grassroots resistance, and the rise of liberal individualism. Recent scholarship has gone beyond Eric Foner’s framing of Reconstruction as an “unfinished revolution,” highlighting its contradictions and regional complexities, where rights and freedoms were contested by freed people, former rebels, western settlers, and Native communities. Students will learn the methods and practice of doing history by closely engaging with both classic and new works of Reconstruction historiography. We will explore how historians have studied key individuals, groups, and ideas in the post–Civil War United States, while student research projects will focus on the lives and struggles of people who shaped the contested meanings of freedom and power in the late nineteenth century.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

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. Offered by History & Art History. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Mason Apex, Writing Intensive in Major
Specialized Designation: Research/Scholarship Intensive, Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: History majors with 90 credits
Registration Restrictions:

Required Prerequisites: (HIST 300C or 300XS) and (ENGH 302C, ENGL 302C, ENGH 302XS, HNRS 110C, 110XS, 210C, 302C or 302XS).
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.

Enrollment is limited to students with a major in History.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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.