Saint Louis University
Course Descriptions
Fall 2012(201310)
Undergraduate Course Offerings…...Page 2
Graduate Course Offerings………….Page 6
Tentative Future Offerings…….……Page 8
Undergraduate Courses
Lower Division
Fall 2012
HIST 111: Origins of the Modern World to 1500.
A developmental and conceptual approach to Europe as the confluence of classical and oriental civilizations. The course will cover ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and the Near East: Greece, Rome, Islam, Byzantium, and Germanic tribal society: the contributions of each to the European Middle Ages, Renaissance, European Expansion, Scientific Revolution, and Reformation.
Section:
01 Dr. Thomas Finan MW 11:00-11:50 Discussion Section Required (HIST 101-112)
02 Dr. James Naus MW 12:00-12:50 Discussion Section Required (HIST 201-212)
03 TBA TR 9:30-10:45
05 Mr. Scott McDermott MWF 1:10-2:00
06 Mr. Daniel Webb TR 12:45-2:00
07 Ms. Anne Romine TR 9:30-10:45
08 Dr. Filippo Marsili MWF 10:00-10:50
09 Ms. Anne Romine TR 2:15-3:30
10 Mr. James Naus TR 11:00-12:15
11 Dr. Christopher Probst MWF 12:00-12:50
HIST 111: Origins of the Modern World to 1500: SLU Inquiry (Freshmen & Sophomores Only)
This is a survey of global history tracing the formation of the modern world from the origins of human societies through the 16th century. We will proceed chronologically and thematically, exploring political, economic, social, religious and intellectual change over time. We will study early urbanization and empire; the origin and spread of world religious traditions; the diffusion of scientific knowledge across diverse cultures and societies. As we discuss the human past we will also consider how historians have dealt with history over the centuries. This course aims at widening our knowledge not only historically but also geographically so that we appreciate the globe not as a series of disconnected structures but as interrelated and interdependent polities and cultures.
Section:
04 Dr. Steven Schoenig MWF 2:10-3:00
HIST 111-01H: Honors - Origins of the Modern World to 1500 (Honor students only)
This course surveys the major forces which have shaped our world from the origins of humanity to about 1500. It includes religion, politics, and culture, as well as social and economic developments. Emphasis is placed on those elements which, for better or worse, have made Western Civilization the dominant force in the modern world. After a brief look at prehistory and the transition to agriculture, we consider the first two organized civilizations-Mesopotamia and Egypt. Next a reading and analysis of the books of Genesis and Exodus provide insight into the world view of the ancient Hebrews, a basis for both Christianity and Islam and which has continued to shape our world until today. More time is spent on the ancient Greeks, including reading three tragedies to illuminate what also has been a continuing influence. Rome built upon the Greek heritage, contributed new concepts of law and government, and also dominated the Mediterranean basin and far beyond it. Christianity, growing out of Judaism, introduced a radical new concept of humanity into the Greco-Roman world. Our course then considers the new synthesis of Christianity, pagan Rome, and the values of the German barbarians in Western Europe. We look at the different forms Christianity took in the eastern half of the old Roman Empire and their impact on Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe, as well as Islam--the non-Western faith which has had the greatest impact on the West. In the period of the high middle ages we see the impact of a religious value system, the emergence of modern nation states, and the continuing dynamism of Western Europe. We conclude with the Renaissance challenge to the medieval synthesis and the beginning of the so-called modern era. This also is the time that Europe begins the exploration and conquest of much of the rest of the world.
Format Limited to 20 honors students. Class participation is an integral part of the course. Short textbook and outside readings. Short papers on the outside readings. Three essay exams in the course of the semester plus a cumulative essay final.
Section:
01 Dr. Daniel Schlafly MWF 9:00-9:50
HIST 112: Origins of the Modern World Since 1500
A developmental and conceptual approach emphasizing increasing awareness of and contact with the rest of the world. The course will cover transatlantic encounters, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, the Scientific Revolution, Absolutism, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, Modernism, and imperialism.
Section
01 Ms. Elizabeth Sherman TR 2:15-3:30
02 Dr. George Ndege TR 11:00-12:15
03 Mr. Scott McDermott MWF 10:00-10:50
04 Dr. James Naus TR 9:30-10:45
05 Ms. Amy Wallhermfechtel MWF 9:00-9:50
06 Mr. Frank Krajewski MWF 11:00-11:50
07 Mr. Aleksey Kazakevich MWF 2:10-3:00
08 Mr. Matthew Morgan TR 12:45-2:00
HIST 112-01H: Honors - Origins of the Modern World since 1600 (Honor students only)
This course will examine the origins and development of the major ideological movements in the Western world since the Reformation: confessionalism, liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, imperialism, socialism, Communism, Fascism and Islamism. It will focus on the attempts to use these ideologies as blueprints for restructuring society and the violence that ensued
Section
01 Mr. Daniel Webb TR 2:15-3:30
HIST 260: History of the United States to 1865
This course covers American history from the period of contact through the Civil War. Topics include the collision of European, African, and Native American cultures in the age of contact and settlement; colonial British North America; the American Revolution and the Constitution; geographic expansion and social, economic, and cultural change in the Jacksonian era; slavery and the sectional conflict, and the Civil War.
Section:
02 Dr. Lorri Glover MWF 11:00-11:50
HIST 261: History of the United States Since 1865
This course will survey the major historical development in American history as the United States emerged as a major world power. The course will examine such issues as the shift from a rural agrarian to an urban industrial nation, the shifting view of the role of government in society and the economy, and the evolution of foreign policy from nineteenth century isolation to world super power in the years after World War II. The format of the course will be lecture and discussion.
Section:
02 Dr. Torrie Hester MWF 12:00-12:50
03 Dr. Michael Ruddy TR 11:00-12:15
Undergraduate Courses
Upper Division
Fall 2012
HIST 270: China and Japan to 1600
This course will introduce students to the histories and cultures of China and Japan from the origins to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868). Students will be guided in analyzing pieces of archaeological, historical, literary, and artistic evidence and in developing a comparative perspective with the West. Funerary and ritual practices, warfare, state formation, ideology, and the influence of Confucianism, Daoism, Shintoism, and Buddhism on institutions and society will be among the main themes treated in class.
Section:
01 Dr. Filippo Marsili MWF 12:00-12:50
HIST 301: Roman Republic
The history of Rome from its origins to the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. An examination of Roman myth associated with the city’s foundation, the Roman monarchy, the founding of the Republic, the conquest of the Mediterranean and the establishment of the provincial system, the gradual loss of senatorial effectiveness, and the eventual dominance of Caesar’s Dictatorship.
Section:
01 Dr. Neil Hackett MWF 11:00-11:50
HIST 303: The Byzantine Empire
This course will survey the history of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire from AD 285 to 1461 in lectures and discussions. Readings will include St. Athanasius' Life of St. Anthony, Procopius' Secret History, the epic poem Digenes Acrites, Michael Psellus' memoirs, and Geoffrey de Villehardouin's Conquest of Constantinople. There will be a midterm examination, a final examination, and a research paper of about 3000 words.
Section:
01 Dr. Warren Treadgold TR 12:45-2:00
HIST 316: History of Eastern Europe
Survey of the lands and peoples between Germany and Russia, from the Baltic to the Black Seas from the fall of Rome in the West until the present. Emphasizes those religious, cultural, political, and economic elements which have shaped Eastern Europe today, including the impact of such outside entities as the Byzantine, Ottoman, German, Habsburg, and Russian Empires. Special attention is paid to the role of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia and to the changes in the region since the fall of Communism. Textbooks plus some outside readings. Short reports on the outside readings. Essay mid-term and cumulative final exams. One long (10-15 typed pp.) or two short (5-8 typed pp.) research papers. Counts towards the European requirement for a history major or minor, towards a major in International Studies, and as an honors course. Requirement for the Certificate in Russian and East European Studies.
Section:
01 Dr. Daniel Schlafly MWF 10:00-10:50
HIST 317: Colonial Latin America
This course will examine the history, society, culture and political structures of Latin America beginning with the indigenous peoples of the Americas prior to the arrival of the Europeans and continue through the colonial period to the wars for Independence, beginning in 1808. While the primary focus of the course will be on the expansive empire created by Spain, including a study of the history, administration and governance of the colonies by the Spanish monarchy, due consideration will also be given to the Portuguese nation of Brazil, along with the creation of colonies by France and the Netherlands. The course will conclude with discussion of the problems faced by the rise of autonomous nations and governments after the independence movements of the nineteenth-century.
Section:
01 Dr. Nathaniel Millett TR 11:00-12:15
HIST 323: Africa to 1884
This course explores the history of Africa to 1884. It delves into the major events that have shaped the evolution and development of African societies in the pre-colonial period. The inventory of themes include early cultures and civilizations, internal dynamics of political and socio-economic change, contacts with European and Asian societies, slave trade and African Diasporas, and prelude to colonization.
Section:
01 Dr. George Ndege TR 9:30-10:45
HIST 351: Prosperity, Depression, and War, 1920-1945
This course will examine America’s political, social, and international evolution from the end of World War I to the end of World War II. It was focus on such topics as the causes of the 1929 Depression, the New Deal and its impact on the federal government and presidency, and the diplomacy of World War II, culminating with President Harry Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb to end the war with Japan
Section:
01 Dr. Michael Ruddy TR 9:00-10:45
HIST 393: American Youth Activism, 1945-1995
This course will cover some of the most fascinating and challenging issues that America has faced in the years since WWII. With its participation in the war, the United States had done its part to rid the world of fascism, but America still confronted issues of domestic discrimination. Changes in demographics, migratory shifts, and new educational opportunities created fertile soil for the social movements that grew in the decades after WWII. In this course, young historians will have the opportunity to identify, analyze, and evaluate the activities of the young people who participated in the Civil Rights, Black Power, Student Power, Antiwar, Conservative Ascendancy, and Hip Hop movements. Assessments will include quizzes, tests, a review, a group project, and a research paper.
Section:
01 Dr. Stefan Bradley TR 2:15-3:30
HIST 393: Spirituals, Motown & Hip Hop: African American Social History in Music
The history and evolution of African-American music is as rich and complex as the history of African Americans themselves. The essence of music lies in its expression of the human experience. Although the different styles vary widely in their tone, topic and the tools used to produce them, African-American music has the ability to enhance a social and cultural understanding of race, class, and gender in American society. Music genres such as the blues, jazz, Rhythm and Blues, gospel, reggae, and hip hop will be explored within the historical time frame to fully understand the origins, growth and development of black music and the manner it reflects the experiences of African Americans.
Section:
02 Dr. Katrina Thompson W 2:30-5:00
HIST 393: History of Nazi Germany
This class provides an introduction to Nazi Germany. We will discuss and analyze the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), the rise of Nazism, the Republic’s collapse and the Nazi “seizure of power”, the importance of Hitler and the “Führer principle”, German society under the Nazi regime, popular support and political dissent, Jewish life under the Nazis, the creation and maintenance of a "racial state", National Socialist ideology, anti-Judaism and antisemitism in Weimar Germany and the Third Reich, the role of religion and the churches, Germany’s role in the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the interconnectedness between war and genocide.
Section:
03 Dr. Christopher Probst MWF 1:10-2:00
Undergraduate Fall 2012
Seminar Courses
HIST 490: Seminar: The Early StuartsA study of English history 1603-60, with emphasis on the revolutionary events of the period l629-60. The focus will bepolitical, religious, and social, exploring the Civil War and the overthrow and restoration of the monarchy. Students are expected to come prepared to discuss each day’s assigned reading. There will be short quizzes, three short papers, and a final long paper of about 20 pages.
Section:
01 Dr. James Hitchcock TR 2:15-3:30
HIST 490: Seminar: War and Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World
An examination of the causes, patterns, and results of war and warfare in the ancient Mediterranean world, from the earliest civilizations of the ancient Near East to the end of the Western Roman Empire. The seminar will explore not only actual warfare and the evolution of strategy and tactics, but also the ideology of war, its psychological and sociological effects on both participants and non-combatants, and war’s religious significance in the ancient Mediterranean world.
Section:
02 Dr. Neil Hackett MWF 1:10-2:00
HIST 491: Seminar: History of American Freedom
Although the quest for freedom has been central to America's history and cultural identity, liberty has never been a fixed and timeless right, but an idea whose meaning underwent profound changes over the centuries. It has also been the object of many, often very dramatic, conflicts and disagreements about what exactly it implied, and who should be included in its benefits. This seminar will examine how the cultural meanings and political uses of liberty developed in America by discussing the various stages of this evolution in their specific, historical circumstances. The course will have two parallel trajectories. One will involve reading and analyzing primary and secondary texts related to the evolution of liberty in America in order that you become familiar with the topic as well as the various historical schools of thought and methods of interpretation. The other will be devoted to your research paper, and will involve formulating its topic, assembling the initial bibliography, preparing a written conceptualization of the argument, presenting your findings in class for critical discussion, and writing the paper.