The courses and times listed below are subject to change. Please refer to the schedule of classes in GoSolar for the most current information.
Multiple sections offered on various days/times. Consult the schedule in GoSolar for a detailed schedule.
History 3000: Introduction to Historical Studies (multiple sections listed below)
• CRN 13475, MW 2:50-4:35, Dr. Allen Fromherz
The Torah, The Gospel, The Qur'an: sacred texts have inspired generations of followers even has they have challenged historians who attempt to think critically and impartially about the texts as historical sources. This course examines how historians use scripture as a primary source. Even as new texts emerge from the Qumran scrolls and the ancient stores of Egypt, there are many obstacles faced by specialists who attempt to contextualize the original meaning and social context of scriptural revelations. Also, regardless of debates over historical accuracy (what is "true" means something different for faith and for history) scholars must examine the belief in scripture has on later historical developments. This course will introduce students to various historical debates and interpretations of the "words of God."• CRN 14733 / (Honors Section CRN 15840), TR 5:30 – 7:15, Dr. Doug Reynolds
Introduction to Historical Studies-CTW. (History majors should take History 3000 as the first course among their upper-division selections.) The nature of historical knowledge and analysis, historical resources in Atlanta-area research libraries and archives, and exercises in historical writing and thinking. Serves as one of the two Critical Thinking Through Writing (CTW) courses required of all History majors.
History 3220: U.S. in the 20th Century, CRN 13478, TR 2:50 – 4:35, John McMillian
United States in the Twentieth Century. Major developments in the United States from 1900 to the present.
History 3230: American Environmental History, CRN 17452, TR 5:30 – 7:15, Eliza Martin
This course explores the interactions between people and their environment in North America from before human habitation to the present, with a special focus on the 20th century. Not only people, but other living entities such as plants and animals, as well as resources such as water and fossil fuels, play central roles in history. Using both primary and secondary sources, we will examine themes such as energy use, suburbanization, and commodification to look at how American's relationships to nature change over time.
History 3240: Sport & Leisure in America, CRN 17599, MW 1:00 – 2:45, Larry Youngs
This course will cover the history of leisure in the United States from the colonial era to the present, emphasizing sports, tourism, and entertainment. The course should appeal to history majors and non-majors interested in investigating such aspects of American society as the Super Bowl and March Madness, minstrelsy and Christian Masculinity, rat pits and cock fights, prize fighting and Title IX, the Cotton Club and the country club, skateboarding and Coney Island.
History 3400: History of Sex, CRN 17601, TR 1:00 – 2:45, Michelle Brattain/Jared Poley
Sex has a history. Topics include the theory and history of sexuality; the history of the body and of anatomy; the intersection of state control and human sexuality; how the enlightenment viewed sex;the creation, manipulation, and expression of various desires and fantasies of sexual interaction between European colonizers and colonial subjects; how sexuality produced various forms of knowledge, indicated fears, affected institutions, and legitimized various interventions. We also consider topics like the science of sexual difference, the social and cultural ramifications of the “sexual revolution” and the historical dimensions of disease, population management, and “family planning.”
History 3510: Medieval Mediterranean/Islam, CRN 17437, MW 1:00 – 2:45, Allen Fromherz
Medieval Mediterranean/Islamic World. Overview of the history of the Medieval Mediterranean World, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the rise of the Atlantic World (500-1500). Topics will include the origins and spread of Islam, cross-cultural contacts around the Mediterranean, the Crusades, and the other examples of Islamic/Christian/Jewish interaction.
History 3610: Pacific World, CRN 17448, TR 1:00 – 2:45, Christine Skwiot
Pacific World. Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas have long been studied separately. This course traces explores how the Pacific Rim and Oceania became connected to one another and to the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds. It ranges across time and space to consider from early migrations and first settlement sto nuclear testing and global warming. We will develop an understanding of major themes: exploration and settlement, cross-cultural exchanges, social organizations, ethnic diasporas, ecological and biological crises, European, Japanese, and U.S. colonialism, integration into the global capitalist economy, nation-building, struggles for sovereignty and identity, legacies of colonialism and tourism.
History 3620: Atlantic World, CRN 15861, TR 10:00 – 11:45, David McCreery
The Atlantic World: Encounters, Empires, Diasporas, Revolutions. The Atlantic World as a space of cross-cultural contact, empire and nation-building, diasporas, and revolutions since the fifteenth century; transatlantic encounters in Africa, Europe, and the Americas; conquest, colonialism, and creolization; slavery, emancipation, and capitalism; indigenous survival, subaltern resistance, and popular religion; Atlantic world legacies in cultural and political identities.
History 3650: Africa and the World, CRN 17600, TR 2:50-4:35, Harcourt Fuller
This interdisciplinary course explores the long and extensive international history of Africa, focusing on its relations with other civilizations and regions of the world, from ancient times to the present. The weekly inter-related and inter-woven topics will include Medieval African Kingdoms and the Trans-Saharan Trade; the Indian Ocean Trade; European colonialism; Africa, the World Wars and the Cold War; African relations with the US, Western Europe and the former USSR; China and India in Africa; the UN and other global IGOs/NGOs in Africa; Africa and the global economy; globalization and Africa; Africa and the African Diaspora in the Americas; and African immigrants in the US.
History 3710: China and Japan since 1600, CRN 17442, TR 2:50 – 4:35, Doug Reynolds
China and Japan since 1600. East Asia in modern transformation from 1600 to the present, emphasizing pre-nineteenth century prosperity, nineteenth-century crises, and twentieth-century change.
History 3730: Latin America since 1810, CRN 17438, MW 1:00-2:45, John T. Way
With a special focus on Native American, African American, and working-class women and men, this class explores development, underdevelopment, and the making of modern Latin America. Starting with waves of imperialism and liberalism in the 19th century, we move on to an exploration of the revolutions of the 20th—from the Mexican Revolution to the guerrilla warfare of the Cold War era and more contemporary movements. Issues and phenomena examined include state terror and torture, drug traffic, street gangs, migration, gender relations and identity politics, and cultural expressions such as popular music in Spanish-speaking America and Brazil.
History 3810: South Asia Since 1757, CRN 17447, TR 1:00 – 2:45, Ghulam Nadri
This course covers the history of modern South Asia (comprising of nation states of Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka) from the beginning of British colonialism in the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Two centuries of colonial rule, first under the English East India Company and then under the British Crown, were followed by national independence, partition, and large-scale human migration. Today, South Asia is a mosaic of religious, social, political, and economic cultures. The region has experienced varying levels of economic growth and institutional development. Some countries have, in the recent past, experienced high rates of economic growth yet, paradoxically, they are also confronted with serious challenges of acute poverty, ethnic violence, corruption, inter-state disputes, religious fanaticism, and terrorism. In this course, we will examine if these issues have their roots in the region’s colonial and post-colonial past.
History 4200: U.S. Cultural History, CRN 17440, MW 1:00-2:45, David Sehat
This course will consider American culture and ideas from, roughly, the Civil War to the present. We will be reading a source book of American intellectual history and trying to answer the questions: Is there a distinctly American cultural and intellectual tradition? If so, what is it and what are its themes? Among the many things we will discuss: Christianity, feminism, the black intellectual tradition, communism and the Red Scare, multiculturalism, and much more.
History 4230: Foreign Relations of U.S., CRN 17443, TR 8:00 – 9:45, Larry Grubbs
Exploring America’s foreign relations, we will reflect on wars, visions of Americanization, and opportunities and frustrations in the life of a global superpower. The Cold War era will be a particular focus. Concurrent with the 50th anniversary of his presidency, our research project will examine the foreign policy of John F. Kennedy (1961-1963). The Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, and the building of the Berlin Wall are among the major events navigated by JFK, and we will consider Kennedy’s place in the larger American tradition.
History 4255: U.S. Civil War & Reconstruction, CRN 17644, TR 1:00 – 2:45, Wendy Venet
This class will focus on the Civil War era, including the war's causes, the war itself, and Reconstruction after the war. We will cover the military narrative (strategies of the armies, military leadership, major battles, and the experience of being a soldier). Of equal importance, we will analyze political leadership, economics, constitutional issues, and the role of African Americans, women, and children.
History 4270: Topics in African American History, CRN 17451, TR 1:00-2:45, Jacqueline Rouse
Topics in African American History explores varies issues in African American Life and History. This semester will explore the southern civil rights movement, from 1940 to 1965. This era covers the major civil rights organizations and their leadership as well as indigenous communities and their empowerment. The course will examine the role of the black church, black colleges and universities, and civic and fraternal orders in challenging injustices and in grooming young leaders. A specific highlight will be the contributions of women and students in the civil rights movement. The course will conclude with the passage of key legislations- the Civil Rights Bill and the Voting Rights Act- and the rise of black power and black nationalist thought.
HIST 4280: Enslavement and Resistance in North America, CRN 17436 / (Honors Section CRN 17435) (Crosslisted as African American Studies 4600), MW 3:00 – 4:15, Jeffrey Young
This class will explore the creation and ultimate demise of chattel slavery in Colonial America and the United States. We will examine the economic and legal underpinnings of the plantation system as well as the role played by racial dynamics. Our particular focus will be the ways in which power operated in the master-slave relationship. We will consider both the attempts by slaveholders to create a proslavery culture and the ongoing (and ultimately successful) campaign of resistance waged by African Americans who were fighting to protect their humanity.
History 4310: Georgia, CRN 13943, TR 2:50-4:35, Glenn Eskew
The class will explore various manifestations of Georgia's past. Students will approach the history of the state from several perspectives including those of race, class and gender. Different methodologies will be used to study Georgia: the traditional lecture, the printed word, multimedia, and field trips. Through an introduction to Georgia's history, students will enhance their analytical and writing skills while developing an appreciation for interdisciplinary scholarship cast within a comparative/global/transnational perspective.
History 4320: Metropolitan Atlanta, CRN 13816, W 4:30 – 7:00, Charles Steffen
Metropolitan Atlanta is a three credit-hour course using the concepts, perspectives, and knowledge base of history, geography, and sociology to focus on and analyze the urban environment in general and the Atlanta metropolitan area in particular. This course uses Atlanta as a laboratory to study urban change. In doing this we will delineate and analyze the forces that have shaped our city and suburbs and created today’s metropolitan configuration. More specifically, we study the changing roles of the downtown, the evolution of race/ethnic relations, growth and renewal of neighborhoods, issues and problems related to housing, the relationship between Atlanta’s image and its reality, the shifting alliances of political power, transportation developments, the significance of immigration, and the contrasts among city and suburban areas. We conclude by discussing the prospects for future developments in metropolitan Atlanta.
History 4350: Film and History, CRN 17446, F 1:00 – 4:25, Ian Fletcher
This course explores the interaction of women, gender, cinema, and society from the 1900s to the 1940s. As film became a powerful creative medium around the world during these years, women struggled for recognition and rights as citizens, played growing roles as workers and consumers, took part in social movements, and contributed to changes in subjectivity, sexuality, mass culture, and everyday life. How did women, as actors, directors, writers, and viewers, participate in film? How did representations of gender on screen intersect with the experiences of women and men off screen, from the U.S. and Europe to the Soviet Union to China and Japan? How did women and cinema engage with issues of political conflict, economic crisis, race and colonialism, war and peace? We will seek answers to these questions with the help of classic films from the period and the innovative collections The Modern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization and Red Velvet Seat: Women’s Writings on the First Fifty Years of Cinema.
History 4490: Topics in American History/Media, Technology, and Pop Culture, CRN 15866, MW 2:50-4:35, Alex Cummings
This seminar examines the complex history of media and popular culture in the United States, from the earliest newspapers and radio to hip hop and contemporary social media. It engages with issues of race, gender, sexuality, inequality, democracy, and human agency to consider how the technologies and institutions through which people express themselves have changed over time. Course readings focus particularly on print culture, the telegraph, radio, television, the music industry, piracy, and Twitter.
History 4575: German History to 1900, CRN 17618, TR 2:50-4:35, Jared Poley
This course introduces students to the history of Germany from the late medieval period to 1900. We will consider a range of topics: the political and social structure of the Holy Roman Empire, the ramifications of the Reformation, the counter-Reformation, and confessionalization, the structures of Baroque society and the legacies of the Thirty Years War. We consider the problems of state formation and court society, examine the development of the German Enlightenment, and take up the problem of German Romanticism, which had a number of important political consequences. The class concludes with a study of events and trends in the 19th century: the consequences of the Napoleonic wars on the German states, the development of German nationalism, the effects of the 1848 revolutions, and the drive toward national unification. We finish by examining the creation of the German Empire – both internally and overseas – through a close study of Bismarkian policies and their legacies.
History 4610: Modern Eastern Europe, CRN 17450, TR 1:00-2:45, Hugh Hudson
HIST 4610 examines the socio economic and political environment of Eastern Europe during the last two centuries with particular focus on the Balkans. Emphasis is placed on the factors that have made for instability in the region following the collapse of the four empires that ruled the area for most of its history. Nationalism, its development and its fruits, is a major subject of investigation.
History 4615: Scientific Revolutions, CRN 17449, TR 10:00 – 11:45, Nick Wilding
Between 1500 and 1700 the relationship between humans and nature underwent a profound reorientation. Part of this change came to be characterized as the Scientific Revolution. In this course, we will ask what kind of changes occurred, and why. We will analyse intellectual shifts and the social reorganisations connected with these shifts. Special attention will be payed to the case of Galileo. No prior specialization in the natural sciences is required. This course will also provide a basic introduction to the historiography and methodology of the history of science.
History 4620: Europe: Culture and Ideas, CRN 17439, MW 1:00 – 2:45, Greg Moore
This course explores the conception and reception of the most important scientific discovery of the modern era: Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. We shall explore the intellectual and historical context that shaped Darwin’s ideas; the development of Darwin’s theory in the mid-1800s and the major arguments of The Origin of Species; the impact of Darwinism not only on biology but also on the wider culture; rival evolutionary hypotheses; and the emergence of genetics in the early twentieth century.
History 4650: Gender and Sexuality European History, CRN 17445, TR 10:00- 11:45, Denise Davidson
This course surveys the evolution of ideas about gender roles and sexuality in Europe from the medieval period to the present. It traces the social, political, and cultural landscape that shaped those ideas, as well as the emergence of new political movements like feminism that worked to address gender inequalities in the modern era. Attitudes towards women’s roles in society and politics will be a particular emphasis, as well as the impact of various kinds of political and religious systems on sexual norms and behavior. The course ends with a discussion of how gender and sexuality enters into discussions of European multiculturalism in the contemporary period.
History 4990*: Historical Research- CTW- Alcohol, CRN 13479, TR 10:00-11:45, Marni Davis
This is the department's "capstone" course, and an opportunity for you to employ the research and writing skills you have learned as a history major. The theme of our course is alcohol -- making it, drinking it, regulating it, and worrying about other people drinking too much of it. The first half of the semester will be spent reading and discussing a range of scholarly examinations of the history of alcohol in the United States and around the world. During the second half, students will organize and write an original research paper (20-25 pages) on a topic related to alcohol: the methods of its production, the cultural practices of its consumption, political and religious efforts to prohibit it, the social or economic effects of its prohibition, or any other approach to the history of alcohol.
History 4990*: Historical Research- CTW - Order and Disorder in Early Modern Britain, CRN 13477, MW 2:50-4:35, Jacob Selwood
History 4990 will address how the people of early modern Britain (c. 1500-1700) dealt with the tension between order and disorder. You will produce a major research paper, drawing on your own work with primary sources from the period. Particular emphasis will be placed on use of the Early English Books Online database, which gives you access to over 100,000 works printed between 1473 and 1700. In preparation for your research, we will read scholarship that discusses the various tensions in early modern culture, ranging from religion and gender to civil war and sexuality. This will give you the context needed to pick a focused research topic. Assignments throughout the semester will guide you through the necessary steps for the production of your final paper. This course is the culmination of your work as a history major and, as such, it will be both one of the most challenging and one of the most rewarding courses that you have taken.
*Requires Departmental Approval