Public History Concentration

Catalog Year: 2020-2021

The Bachelor of Arts in History looks at the range of human experience: how people have lived in the past, how they live and coexist in the present, and the links between the two. Students learn to interpret the past by examining a variety of original sources: newspapers, letters and diaries, literature, government records, images, films, oral interviews, and more. Majors hone their skills in collecting, interpreting, and communicating information. Majors move on to careers in government, law, and management, as well as teaching and graduate study.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on program requirements and 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. Requirements may be different for earlier catalog years. See the University Catalog archives.

Honors in the Major

History majors who have completed 75 credits (a minimum of 15 in history, 6 of which must have been taken at Mason) with an overall GPA of 3.50 and a GPA of 3.50 in history courses are eligible to apply to graduate with honors in history. Applicants must have completed or be enrolled in HIST 300 Introduction to Historical Method (Mason Core). The statement of application should include references from at least one Mason history faculty member. If a major part of the student’s work includes transfer credit, transcripts may be required. Not all applicants who meet the minimum requirements are guaranteed acceptance into honors in the major.

Students pursuing honors in the major will take a two-semester course sequence: HIST 490 Honors Directed Readings and HIST 491 Honors Directed Research. HIST 490 Honors Directed Readings will focus on the design of a major research project and HIST 491 Honors Directed Research will focus on completing that project. To graduate with honors in the major, students must earn a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the honors courses and a minimum GPA of 3.50 in history courses applied to the degree. A grade of B or higher in HIST 490 Honors Directed Readings is required to proceed to HIST 491 Honors Directed Research. The two honors courses (6 credits) may be applied to the requirement of 36 credits in history and successful completion of HIST 491 Honors Directed Research satisfies the seminar course requirement in place of HIST 499 RS: Senior Seminar in History (Mason Core).

Degree Requirements

Total credits: minimum 120

Students should be aware of the specific policies associated with this program, located on the Admissions & Policies tab.

Before registering, students should see an advisor to help plan their history program to meet Mason Core and college-level requirements. The advisor also can help students choose electives or a minor.

Concentration in Public History (HISP)

In this concentration, students explore a variety of issues related to preserving historical materials and presenting historical information to a broader public. Students interested in graduate education in public history or in working in public history institutions such as museums, libraries, archives, and historic sites should consider this concentration.

Core Courses

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
HIST 300	Introduction to Historical Method (Mason Core)	3
HIST 499	RS: Senior Seminar in History (Mason Core)	3
HIST 396	Introduction to Public History	3
HIST 390	The Digital Past	3
HIST 399	Internship ¹	3
Select one elective from the following:		3
HIST 397	Topics in Public History
HIST 380	Uncovering the U.S. Past Through Film
ARTH 394	The Museum (Mason Core)
ENGH 370	Introduction to Documentary (Mason Core)
other coursework, not including internships, approved by the program director
Total Credits		18

Students work individually with the department's internship coordinator to find appropriate internships. HIST 399 may be repeated up to a maximum of 9 credits, and students in the public history concentration are encouraged to take more than 3 credits of internships, with additional credits beyond the first 3 counting as general electives.

U.S. History

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select two courses from the following:		6
HIST 121	Formation of the American Republic (Mason Core)
HIST 122	Development of Modern America (Mason Core)
HIST 334	American Scriptures (Mason Core)
HIST 335	The African American Experience in the United States: African Background to 1885
HIST 336	The African American Experience in the United States: Reconstruction to the Present
HIST 339	History of Baseball
HIST 340	Basketball and the American Experience
HIST 341	History of Sport in the United States
HIST 342	History of the Olympics and the United States
HIST 343	Women during the Enslavement Era
HIST 344	Black Social Movements
HIST 345	Women's Activism: From Jim Crow to Black Power
HIST 350	U.S. Women's History
HIST 351	History of the Old South
HIST 352	The South since 1865
HIST 370	War and American Society
HIST 373	The Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 377	The Vietnam War
HIST 378	History of Aviation
HIST 380	Uncovering the U.S. Past Through Film
HIST 389	Topics in U.S. History
HIST 391	History of Virginia to 1800
HIST 392	History of Virginia Since 1800
HIST 401	Colonial America
HIST 403	Revolutionary Era in American History, 1763-1812
HIST 404	Jacksonian America, 1812-1854
Total Credits		6

European History

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select two courses from the following:		6
HIST 100	History of Western Civilization (Mason Core) ¹
HIST 101	Foundations of Western Civilization
HIST 102	Development of Western Civilization
HIST 301	Classical Greece
HIST 302	Classical Rome
HIST 304	Western Europe in the Middle Ages
HIST 305	The Renaissance
HIST 306	The Reformation
HIST 307	Old Regime and Revolutionary Europe
HIST 308	Nineteenth-Century Europe
HIST 309	Europe in Crisis: 1914-1948
HIST 312	Nationalism in Eastern Europe
HIST 314	History of Germany
HIST 322	Modern Britain
HIST 326	Stalinism
HIST 327	The Soviet Union and Russia Since World War II
HIST 328	Rise of Russia (Mason Core)
HIST 329	Modern Russia and the Soviet Union (Mason Core)
HIST 388	Topics in European History
HIST 426	The Russian Revolution
HIST 436	European Society and Culture: 19th and 20th Centuries
Total Credits		6

Used to fulfill the Mason Core requirement in Western civilization may also fulfill 3 credits of this requirement

Global, Latin American, African, Asian, or Middle Eastern History

Approved courses in history used to fulfill the Mason Core requirement in global understanding and the college-level requirement in non-Western culture may be used to fulfill this requirement.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select two courses from the following:		6
HIST 125	Introduction to World History (Mason Core)
HIST 202	Freshman/Sophomore Seminar in Global History
HIST 251	Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core)
HIST 252	Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core)
HIST 261	Survey of African History (Mason Core)
HIST 262	Survey of African History (Mason Core)
HIST 271	Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core)
HIST 272	Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core)
HIST 281	Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core)
HIST 282	Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core)
HIST 353	History of Traditional China
HIST 354	Modern China (Mason Core)
HIST 356	Modern Japan (Mason Core)
HIST 357	Postwar Japan (Mason Core)
HIST 358	Post-1949 China (Mason Core)
HIST 359	Modern Iraq
HIST 360	History of South Africa (Mason Core)
HIST 364	Revolution and Radical Politics in Latin America (Mason Core)
HIST 365	Conquest and Colonization in Latin America (Mason Core)
HIST 366	Comparative Slavery
HIST 367	History, Fiction, and Film in Latin America
HIST 384	Global History of Christianity (Mason Core)
HIST 387	Topics in Global History (Mason Core)
HIST 394	Globalization and History
HIST 460	Modern Iran (Mason Core)
HIST 461	Arab-Israeli Conflict
HIST 462	Women in Islamic Society (Mason Core)
HIST 465	The Middle East in the 20th Century
Total Credits		6

Writing-Intensive Requirement

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated as "writing intensive" in their majors at the 300 level or above. Students majoring in history may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing:

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
HIST 300	Introduction to Historical Method (Mason Core)	3
or HIST 499	RS: Senior Seminar in History (Mason Core)
Total Credits		3

Upper Level Requirement

Students seeking a bachelor’s degree must apply at least 45 credits of upper-level courses (numbered 300 or above) toward graduation requirements.

Additional Electives

Any remaining credits may be completed with elective courses to bring the degree total to 120.

College Level Requirements for the BA Degree

In addition to the Mason Core program, students pursuing a BA degree must complete the coursework below. Except where expressly prohibited, a course used to fulfill a college level requirement may also be used simultaneously to satisfy other requirements (Mason Core requirements or requirements for the major).

Philosophy or Religious Studies

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select 3 credits from the following:		3
PHIL ¹
RELI

Note that the following courses may not be used to fulfill this requirement:

PHIL 323 Classical Western Political Theory
PHIL 324 Modern Western Political Theory
PHIL 327 Contemporary Western Political Theory
PHIL 393 Humanities College to Career
PHIL 460 Senior Seminar in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Additionally, PHIL 253 Philosophy and Literature (Mason Core), RELI 235 Religion and Literature (Mason Core), and RELI 333 Spiritual Autobiography (Mason Core) cannot be used to fulfill both the philosophy/religious studies requirement and the Mason Core literature requirement.

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select 3 credits of social and behavioral sciences from the following (additional to the Mason Core social and behavioral sciences requirement) ¹		3
ANTH
CRIM
ECON
GOVT
HIST ²
LING
PSYC
SOCI
Or choose from the following GGS courses:
GGS 101	Major World Regions
GGS 103	Human Geography (Mason Core)
GGS 110	Introduction to Geoinformation Technologies
GGS 301	Political Geography
GGS 303	Geography of Resource Conservation (Mason Core)
GGS 304	Population Geography (Mason Core)
GGS 305	Economic Geography
GGS 306	Urban Geography
GGS 315	Geography of the United States
GGS 316	Geography of Latin America
GGS 320	Geography of Europe
GGS 325	Geography of North Africa and the Middle East
GGS 330	Geography of the Soviet Succession States
GGS 357	Urban Planning
GGS 380	Geography of Virginia

The two courses used to fulfill the combined college and Mason Core requirements must be from different disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.

HIST 100 History of Western Civilization (Mason Core) and HIST 125 Introduction to World History (Mason Core) may not be used to fulfill this requirement.

Foreign Language

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Intermediate-level proficiency in one foreign language, fulfilled by: ¹
Completing 3 credits in a foreign language numbered 202 (or higher level courses taught in the language)
Or achieving a satisfactory score on an approved proficiency test
Or completing the following ASL three course sequence:
EDSE 115	American Sign Language (ASL) I
EDSE 116	American Sign Language (ASL) II
EDSE 219	American Sign Language (ASL) III

Students who are already proficient in a second language may be eligible for a waiver of this requirement. Additional information on waivers can be found at the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Non-Western Culture

Select 3 credits of an approved course in the study of a non-Western culture (additional to the Mason Core requirement in global understanding)

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select 3 credits (additional to Mason Core Global Understanding requirement) ¹

ANTH 114	Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Mason Core)	3
ANTH 300	Civilizations	3
ANTH 302	Peoples and Cultures of Latin America (Mason Core)	3
ANTH 307	Ancient Mesoamerica (Mason Core)	3
ANTH 308	Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East (Mason Core)	3
ANTH 309	Peoples and Cultures of India (Mason Core)	3
ANTH 313	Myth, Magic, and Mind (Mason Core)	3
ANTH 314	Zombies	3
ANTH 330	Peoples and Cultures of Selected Regions: Non-Western	3
ANTH 332	Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Globalization (Mason Core)	3
ANTH 381	Medical Anthropology	3
ANTH 396	Issues in Anthropology: Social Sciences (Mason Core)	3
ARAB 360	Topics in Arabic Cultural Production	3
ARAB 420	Survey of Arabic Literature	3
ARAB 440	Topics in Arabic Religious Thought and Texts (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 203	Survey of Asian Art (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 204	Survey of Latin American Art (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 206	Survey of African Art (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 318	Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt	3
ARTH 319	Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 320	Art of the Islamic World (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 382	Arts of India (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 383	Arts of Southeast Asia (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 384	Arts of China (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 385	Arts of Japan (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 386	The Silk Road (Mason Core)	3
ARTH 482	RS: Advanced Studies in Asian Art	3
CHIN 318	Introduction to Classical Chinese (Mason Core)	3
CHIN 320	Contemporary Chinese Film	3
CHIN 325	Major Chinese Writers (Mason Core)	3
CHIN 470	Special Topics in Chinese Studies	3
DANC 118	World Dance (Mason Core)	3
ECON 361	Economic Development of Latin America (Mason Core)	3
ECON 362	African Economic Development (Mason Core)	3
FREN 451	Topics in Sub-Saharan Francophone Literature and Culture	3
FREN 454	Topics in Caribbean Francophone Literature and Culture	3
GGS 316	Geography of Latin America	3
GGS 325	Geography of North Africa and the Middle East	3
GGS 330	Geography of the Soviet Succession States	3
GGS 399	Select Topics in GGS	3
GOVT 328	Global Political Theory	3
GOVT 332	Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa	3
GOVT 333	Government and Politics of Asia	3
GOVT 338	Government and Politics of Russia	3
GOVT 340	Central Asian Politics	3
GOVT 341	Chinese Foreign Policy	3
GOVT 345	Islam and Politics	3
GOVT 433	Political Economy of East Asia	3
HIST 251	Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core)	3
HIST 252	Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core)	3
HIST 261	Survey of African History (Mason Core)	3
HIST 262	Survey of African History (Mason Core)	3
HIST 271	Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core)	3
HIST 272	Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core)	3
HIST 281	Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core)	3
HIST 282	Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core)	3
HIST 326	Stalinism	3
HIST 327	The Soviet Union and Russia Since World War II	3
HIST 328	Rise of Russia (Mason Core)	3
HIST 329	Modern Russia and the Soviet Union (Mason Core)	3
HIST 353	History of Traditional China	3
HIST 354	Modern China (Mason Core)	3
HIST 356	Modern Japan (Mason Core)	3
HIST 357	Postwar Japan (Mason Core)	3
HIST 358	Post-1949 China (Mason Core)	3
HIST 360	History of South Africa (Mason Core)	3
HIST 364	Revolution and Radical Politics in Latin America (Mason Core)	3
HIST 365	Conquest and Colonization in Latin America (Mason Core)	3
HIST 366	Comparative Slavery	3
HIST 367	History, Fiction, and Film in Latin America	3
HIST 387	Topics in Global History (Mason Core)	3-6
HIST 426	The Russian Revolution	3
HIST 460	Modern Iran (Mason Core)	3
HIST 461	Arab-Israeli Conflict	3
HIST 462	Women in Islamic Society (Mason Core)	3
HIST 465	The Middle East in the 20th Century	3
JAPA 310	Japanese Culture in a Global World (Mason Core)	3
JAPA 340	Topics in Japanese Literature (Mason Core)	3
KORE 320	Korean Popular Culture in a Global World	3
MUSI 103	Musics of the World (Mason Core)	3
RELI 211	Religions of the West (Mason Core)	3
RELI 212	Religions of Asia	3
RELI 240	Death and the Afterlife in World Religions	3
RELI 272	Islam	3
RELI 313	Hinduism (Mason Core)	3
RELI 314	Chinese Philosophies and Religious Traditions	3
RELI 315	Buddhism (Mason Core)	3
RELI 337	Mysticism: East and West	3
RELI 365	Muhammad: Life and Legacy	3
RELI 374	Islamic Thought (Mason Core)	3
RELI 375	Qur'an and Hadith	3
RELI 379	Islamic Law, Society, and Ethics	3
RELI 387	Islam, Democracy, and Human Rights	3
RELI 490	Comparative Study of Religions (Mason Core)	3
RUSS 353	Russian Civilization (Mason Core)	3
RUSS 354	Contemporary Post-Soviet Life (Mason Core)	3

A course used to fulfill the Mason Core global understanding requirement may not be simultaneously used to satisfy this college-level requirement. A course used to fulfill this requirement may be used simultaneously to fulfill any other requirements (Mason Core requirements, college-level requirements, or requirements for the major). Additional information on waivers can be found at the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Mason Core

Some Mason Core requirements may already be fulfilled by the major requirements listed above. Students are strongly encouraged to consult their advisors to ensure they fulfill all remaining Mason Core requirements.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Foundation Requirements
Written Communication (ENGH 101)		3
Oral Communication		3
Quantitative Reasoning		3
Information Technology and Computing		3
Exploration Requirements
Arts		3
Global Understanding		3
Literature		3
Natural Science		7
Social and Behavioral Sciences		3
Western Civilization/World History		3
Integration Requirements
Written Communications (ENGH 302)		3
Writing-Intensive ¹		3
Synthesis/Capstone ²		3
Total Credits		40

Most programs include the writing-intensive course designated for the major as part of the major requirements; this course is therefore not counted towards the total required for Mason Core.

Minimum 3 credits required.

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