Curriculum

HIST 1050 - The United States: From Settlement to Superpower (3 credits)

This course provides an overview of American history from European exploration to the present, with a particular emphasis on the creation and evolution of the United States. The instructor will identify a number of themes highlighting key developments, episodes or periods in American history that have proved critical in shaping the state, culture and society of the contemporary United States. These themes will serve as the focal point for all classroom activities and assignments.

HIPS 2900 - Research Methods in History and Political Science (3 credits)

This course provides an introduction to the research methods that political scientists, historians, and international studies scholars use to answer questions. The course is intended to provide students with analytic tools with which they can critically evaluate research in these fields and train the student to pose and answer research questions of their own. Students complete a semester-long research assignment with an emphasis on using appropriate methodology, employing original sources, developing interpretative skills grounded in creative and responsible scholarship, improving writing skills, using discipline specific citation, and delivering oral presentations. Prerequisites: POLS 1200 or INST 1500 or one HIST course and COMP 2000 or 2020 or COMP 2000H. 

HIST 4999 - Senior Seminar in History (3 credits)

This course is a capstone experience for all history majors. Students will draw on everything they have learned in their prior courses by means of an intensive study of a single topic of historical concern or controversy. The learning method employed in this class will combine extensive readings in primary and secondary historical texts with a major research paper that is subject to rigorous academic standards. Topics will vary. Prerequisites: Senior standing and HIST 2900. 

HIST 1120 - The West: Patricians, Serfs, and Citizens (3 credits)

This course provides an overview of western history from Greek and Roman civilization to the present, with a particular emphasis on the evolution of western political institutions, legal systems, social structures and culture. The course will develop themes highlighting key developments, episodes or periods in western history that have proved critical in shaping the political, legal, and social systems of modern Europe. These themes will serve as the focal point for all classroom activities and assignments.

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HIST 1170 - The World: From Gatherers to Globalization (3 credits)

This course examines the theme of how the modern, interconnected world is rooted in a complex interplay of factors that have shaped the global human story. The course will develop this theme by highlighting key developments, episodes or periods in history that have proved critical in shaping the make-up of the modern world, including states, cultures and societies. These changes and developments will serve as the focal point for all classroom activities and assignments.

HIST 2150 - Latin American and Caribbean History (3 credits)

This course involves a survey of Latin America and the Caribbean history from the 15th century to the present. Beginning with an examination of indigenous cultures at the time of European arrival, the course will trace the impact of colonialism, slavery, and political revolution on the history of Latin America and the Caribbean. The course will also provide an overview of modern American systems and societies and their place in a rapidly changing, increasingly interdependent world. Prerequisite: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020.

HIST 2400 - African History (3 credits)

This class will focus on Africa as a vast continent that is characterized by enormous ethnic, religious, geographic, and historical diversity. Emphasis will be on the transatlantic slave trade and its impact on Africa and Africa's relations with the outside world. European colonization of Africa and the extent to which it shaped the modern history of the continent; and the history of South Africa and the rise and fall of the Apartheid Regime. Prerequisite: COMP 1500 or COMP 1500H.

HIST 2500 - Topics in Asian History (3 credits)

The course explores different themes and issues in African and Asian history. The instructor will introduce students to key themes and ideas through lectures and readings, and engage with students in exploring selected topics through in-class discussions and. Exercises. Student assignments will emphasize the examination of historical evidence in an effort to assess how these key themes and issues have shaped specific African and/or Asian peoples, states, and societies. Prerequisite: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020.

HIST 3010 - Constitutional History I (3 credits)

A study of the origin and development of the American constitutional system from the colonial period to 1870. The course will examine seminal decisions of the United States Supreme Court during this period in their political, social, and economic context. Prerequisites: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020 or COMP 2000H.

HIST 3020 - Constitutional History II (3 credits)

Continuation of the study of the constitutional system of the United States. The course covers the period 1870 to the present with special emphasis on Supreme Court decisions in the areas of federal-state relations, individual liberties, and civil rights. Prerequisite: HIST 3010.

HIST 3130 - Vietnam (3 credits)

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the origins and causes of the Vietnam War, explore the ways it was fought, and evaluate its impact on American society, politics, and life. Specific focus will be on the way that the Vietnam conflict inspired feelings of strife and anger, confusion and frustration to an entire generation of Americans as America's first "lost" war. Prerequisites: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020.

HIST 3140 - The Holocaust (3 credits)

A study of the history of the Holocaust. This course will look at the causes, reasons, results, and implications of the Holocaust from both a European and American perspective. Prerequisites: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020.

HIST 3240 - Irish History (3 credits)

This course will study Irish history from the Neolithic era to the 21st century, focusing on the colonial relation between Britain and Ireland, including the 17th-century Plantation, the Cromwellian and Williamite wars, the United Irishmen and the 1798 Rising, the Act of Union, the Great Hunger (Famine) and emigration to America, and the formation of the Irish Republic and the Northern Irish state in 1922. Experiential Education and Learning (ExEL): Successful completion of this course satisfies 1 ExEL unit. Prerequisites: COMP 2000 or COMP 2010 or COMP 2020 or COMP 2000H.

HIST 3400 - U.S. Foreign Relations (3 credits)

This course will examine the emergence of the United States as the dominant political, economic, and military power on the world stage in the twentieth century. Students will attempt to identify reasons for this development and endeavor to come to a fuller understanding of the nature and scope of America’s global commitments. The course will trace the development of American foreign relations from the Spanish-America War of 1898 through the Cold War, concluding with an examination of the evolution of American foreign policy in the post-Cold War and the ramifications of recent developments at home and abroad. Prerequisite: COMP 2000, 2010, or 2020 or COMP 2000H.

HIST 3550 - America Transformed: Slavery, Populism, and Empire (3 credits)

This course follows a thematic approach to the history of the United States from the 1850s to the end of World War I. The course will emphasize the political, cultural, and social transformation of the U.S. throughout this period, focusing on various episodes or developments that profoundly shaped U.S. history in that era e.g. the slavery and abolition, the Civil War, industrial revolution and immigration, the Gilded Age, the Progressive era, WWI, etc. Prerequisite: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020.

HIST 3650 - America Remade: From the Great Migration to 9/11 (3 credits)

This course follows a thematic approach to the history of the United States from the 1920s into the twenty-first century. The course will emphasize the political, cultural, and social transformation of the U.S. throughout this period by focusing on major episodes or developments that have shaped the modern United States e.g. the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, McCarthyism, the Civil Rights movement, the Watergate era, etc. Prerequisite: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020.

PHIL 3530 - Gods and Chariots (3 credits)

A study of the classic works of philosophy focusing on Plato and Aristotle, and might include discussion of various Pre-Socratic and Hellenistic philosophers. The emphasis throughout will be on understanding, analyzing, and evaluating arguments of the philosophers and placing their work into the historical context of the respective eras in which they lived. Prerequisite: COMP 2000, 2010, or 2020 or COMP 2000H.

PHIL 3540 - Revolution and Ideology (3 credits)

A study of the classic works of philosophy focusing on the rationalists, the empiricists, and Kant. The emphasis throughout will be on understanding, analyzing, and evaluating arguments of the philosophers and placing their work into the historical context of the respective eras in which they lived. Prerequisite: COMP 2000, 2010, or 2020 or COMP 2000H.

POLS 4100 - European Union (3 credits)

This course will examine the historical development, the political parties, and the institutions (Commission, Parliament, Council of Ministers) of the European Union. Attention will be given to how European Union policies are developed, enacted and enforced as well as the effect of European rules upon the domestic legal systems of the twenty-seven member states. Students will consider to what extent the European Union will continue its development in terms of both increased horizontal and vertical integration. Students will also appraise to what extent the European Union protects the human rights and economic interests of its citizens and how effectively it functions as a unit in the international arena. Prerequisites: POLS 1200 and COMP 2000 or 2020 or COMP 2000H.

HIST 3850 - The Civil Rights Trail (travel study) (3 credits)

This travel will meet as a regular sixteen-week ground course every fall semester and involves two mandatory travel trips. The course will involve an in depth exploration of the history of Civil Rights movement, from the historic Supreme Court Brown decision in 1945 until the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. The travel portion of the course will involve visits to locations on the Civil Rights Trail such Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama. The course may also involve some shorter day trips in Florida to sites such as Dodgertown in Vero Beach, the African-American Research Library in Fort Lauderdale, St. Augustine Civil Rights Museum or Mims in Brevard County. Experiential Education and Learning (ExEL): Successful completion of this course satisfies 1 ExEL unit. Prerequisites: COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020.

HIST 4700 - Genocide in the 20th Century and Beyond (travel study) (3 credits)

This course will examine the history of genocide beginning in the 20th century focusing mostly on Europe and Africa: the Holocaust, the Balkans, Rwanda and Darfur. As part of this study, students will travel to see the first-hand manifestations and implications of genocide. Experiential Education and Learning (ExEL): Successful completion of this course satisfies 1 ExEL unit. Prerequisites: COMP 2000, 2010, or 2020 or COMP 2000H.

HIPS 4500 - Special Topics in History and Politics (3 credits)

An advanced course in selected topics in history and political science. Specific focus to be announced. May be repeated once for credit, if content changes and with written consent of division director. Prerequisites: One POLS or one HIST class, plus COMP 2000, COMP 2010, or COMP 2020

HIST 4950 - Internship in History (3 credits)

A 10-20 hour per week field or work experience for 16 weeks (or more) in the student's major area of study. Consult academic division for specific details and requirements. Prerequisite: cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher, completion of 60 or more credit hours, and permission of department chair.