College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
Department of History
110 Armstrong Hall
Phone: 507-389-1618
Website: History
Chair: Margaretta S. Handke
Melodie J. Andrews, Christopher R. Corley, Kathleen L. Gorman, Erwin P. Grieshaber, Lori Lanium, Matthew Loayza, Tao Peng, Charles K. Piehl, Rebecca Shumway, Larry L. Witherell
The study of history is the attempt to understand and interpret past human societies. It provides both the joy and anguish of contemplating collective experiences, and presents insights that could produce a better future for the human race. History also opens a panorama of enormous variety in human experiences, values, and customs, which provide enjoyment and from which society can also learn wisdom, mutual respect, and tolerance.
Admission to Major. Admission to major is granted by the department. Minimum university admission requirements are:
Contact the department for application procedures.
The BS degree requires 36 semester hours with the following stipulations:
At least one 300 or 400 level course must be taken from each of the following areas: United States, European and Third World (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East.)
Of the 36 credits, 24 must be at the 300 and 400 level, including HIST 495
The BA Degree requires all of the above plus 8 credits in a Foreign Language.
A minor in history consists of 18 semester hours with a minimum of 9 semester hours at the 300-400 level.
GPA Policy. A minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 is required in the major.
Pass/No Credit Policy. Undergraduate history courses may be taken either for P/N or letter grading except HIST 490 (workshops), HIST 497(1-6 credits), HIST 498(1-6 credits) and HIST 499(1-3 credits), which are available only on P/N grading. However, majors and minors in history and majors in social studies (history core) must take all history courses, other than those enumerated, for a letter grade. No more than one-fourth of the credits in a history major or minor may be taken as P/N.
Transfer Policy. Transfer students should come to the Department of History to have their transfer credits reviewed prior to registration for classes. All transfer students are required to take at least 9 semester credits at the Minnesota State University, Mankato Department of History.
In order to provide broad preparation for graduate study, history majors of superior ability may read for honors in three different areas [see HIST 390(1)-392(1)]. To be eligible, a student must have completed at least 14 credits of history courses and have earned a grade-point average of 3.5 in history. The student may enroll for one honors course a semester. Honors credit may be counted for the history major and social studies (history core). Students who successfully complete these three courses with a grade-point average of 3.5 for all history courses (and who have met the other degree requirements) will be eligible for graduation "with distinction in history."
Students interested in teaching history should see the Social Studies section for information on the major in Social Studies with a History Concentration BS, Teaching.
HIST 150 (1-3) Historical Perspectives
Selected topics in United States or World History depending on interests of the instructor.
Variable
HIST 151 (3) African-American History
A survey of African-American history from African origins to the present.
Variable
GE-5, 7 CD-Core
HIST 153 (3) War & Peace in the 20th Century
An examination of the cause and consequences of war in the twentieth century with focus on World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.
Variable
GE-5, 8
HIST 150 (1-3) Historical Perspectives
Selected topics in United States or World History depending on interests of the instructor.
Variable
HIST 151 (3) African-American History
A survey of African-American history from African origins to the present.
Variable
GE-5, 7 CD-Core
HIST 153 (3) War & Peace in the 20th Century
An examination of the cause and consequences of war in the twentieth century with focus on World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.
Variable
GE-5, 8
HIST 171W (4) World Civilization, 1500-Present
Review of major changes in World Civilization since 1500. Same content as HIST 171, except this course satisfies the writing intensive, GE-1c. Students may not take both HIST 171 and HIST 171W for credit.
GE-1C, 5, 8 CD-Related
HIST 180W (4) European History to 1648
A survey of European civilization from Egypt to the end of the Thirty Years War.
F, S
GE-1C, 5, 9 CD-Core
HIST 181 (4) European History: 1648 to the Present
A survey of European history from the end of the Thirty Years War to the present.
F, S
GE-5, 8
HIST 190 (4) United States to 1877
This course is designed to provide an overview of America's political, social, economic, and cultural development from earliest colonization to 1877.
F, S
GE-5, 7 CD-Core
HIST 190W (4) United States to 1877
This course is designed to provide an overview of America's political, social, economic, and cultural development from earliest colonization to 1877. Same content as HIST 190, except this is a writing intensive course and satisfies GE-1c. Students may not take both HIST 190 and HIST 190W for credit.
GE-1C, 5, 7 CD-Core
HIST 191 (4) United States Since 1877
A survey of American History from the end of Reconstruction to the present with a special emphasis on political and social developments.
F, S
GE-5, 7 CD-Core
HIST 191W (4) United States Since 1877
This course is designed to provide an overview of America's political, social, economic, and cultural development from 1877 to the present. This course has the same content as HIST 191, but is approved as fulfilling GE-1c. Students may not take both HIST 191 and HIST 191W for credit.
F, S
GE-1C, 5, 7 CD-Core
HIST 302 (4) World History: An Overview
Review of World History as a field of study.
F, S
CD-Related
HIST 390 (1) Readings for Honors: United States History
Pre: 14 semester credits of History with minimum GPA of 3.5 F, S
HIST 391 (1) Reading for Honors: European History
Pre: 14 semester credits of History with minimum GPA of 3.5 F, S
HIST 392 (1) Reading for Honors: World History
Pre: 14 semester credits of History with minimum GPA of 3.5 F, S
HIST 401 (4) Classical World of Greece & Rome
The history of Greece and Rome stressing political, social and economic institutions and cultural and intellectual achievements.
Variable
HIST 402 (4) Foundations of Judaism, Christianity, & Islam
A history of western monotheistic religions and their interactions with the secular world and each other from the beginnings of Judaism to the Crusades.
Variable
CD-Related
HIST 403 (4) The Middle Ages
A history of the Middle Ages stressing political, social and economic interactions and cultural achievements.
Variable
HIST 406 (3) Renaissance & Reformation
Intellectual, social and cultural developments in Western Europe, 1300-1600.
Variable
HIST 407 (3) Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment
Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries when science and reason replaced religion as the intellectual authority.
Variable
HIST 412 (4) Modern Germany since 1500
Review of German history from the Reformation and Thirty Years War to the present, including such topics as Rise of Prussia, Revolution of 1848, Bismarck and the formation of a German Empire, World War I, Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler, World War II and Germany since 1945.
Variable
HIST 414 (4) Early England to 1603
England from ancient times to the death of Elizabeth I.
Variable
HIST 415 (4) England since 1603
Political, social and economic development of England and Great Britain since the death of Elizabeth I.
Variable
HIST 419 (4) France since the Revolution in 1789
Review of French history from the Revolution of 1789 to the present, including such topics as origins and course of the Revolution, Napoleon, Louis XVIII to Third Republic, World War I, World War II and France since 1945.
Variable
HIST 421 (4) Modern Russia
A history of Russia and surrounding areas from the fall of Tsarism in 1917 to the modern era.
Variable
HIST 424 (4) Scandinavian History
Political, economic, social, cultural, and emigration immigration history of the Scandinavian countries, including major themes in the mass migration and history of Scandinavians in America. Emphasis on the period, 1500-present.
Variable
HIST 427 (4) Eastern Europe
A history of Eastern Europe from the middle ages to the present.
Variable
HIST 430 (1-4) United States: Selected Topics
This seminar course will deal with a specific aspect of United States history as announced by the departmental course description.
Variable
HIST 431 (1-4) European History: Selected Topics
This seminar course will deal with a specific aspect of European history as announced by the departmental course description.
Variable
HIST 432 (1-4) World History: Selected Topics
This seminar course will deal with a specific aspect of World History as announced by the departmental course description.
Variable
HIST 434 (4) East Asian History: 1800-1945
A comparative history of the Chinese and Japanese nations from the 19th century to 1945.
CD-Related
HIST 435 (4) East Asian History: 1945 - The Present
A comparative history of the rise of the Chinese and Japanese nations from 1945 to the present.
HIST 436 (4) History of East Asian Relations with the United States
History of relations of major East Asian countries with the United States from the late 18th century to the present.
HIST 437 (4) African History
Review of African history from the earliest civilization of Africa to the present, including such topics as Empires of West Africa and East Africa, spread of Islam in Africa, Bantu migrations, European contact and slave trade, European Colonization and independent Africa.
Variable
CD-Related
HIST 442 (4) History of Latin America
Review of Latin American history from Ancient American Civilizations to the present.
F
CD-Related
HIST 450 (3) Minnesota to 1880
Survey of Minnesota's frontier history with emphasis on Indian-white contacts, exploration and settlement.
Variable
HIST 451 (3) Minnesota since 1880
Modern political, economic and social history of the state, emphasizing both its uniqueness and its relationship tonational and regional developments.
Variable
HIST 454 (4) Early America to 1763
This course will examine America's political, social, economic, and cultural development from the earliest settlement of the continent by indigenous peoples to 1763, when provincial Americans began to demand more than token equality in the British Empire.
Variable
HIST 455 (4) Revolutionary & Early National America 1763-1820
This course will examine the social, economic, ideological, political, diplomatic, and military experiences of theUnited States between 1763 and 1820, in order to understand the creation of the American political nation and the culture which developed within it.
Variable
HIST 458 (4) U.S. History 1820-1861
This course will discuss the social, economic, and political issues from the rise of Jackson through the beginning of the civil War. Major issues to be covered include: Jacksonian Democracy, Industrialization, Reform, Westward Expansion, Slavery, and the 1850s.
F
CD-Related
HIST 459 (4) U.S. History 1861-1900
This course will explore the immediate causes and consequences of the Civil War as well as the rise of an industrial/urban United States. Major issues to be covered include: causes of the civil War, the war itself, Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and Populism.
S
CD-Related
HIST 462 (4) U.S. History, 1900-1945
Reform/domestic themes and U.S. foreign policies during the Progressive Era, the "Roaring 20's," the Great Depression and the New Deal, and the two world wars.
Variable
HIST 463 (4) U.S. History, 1945-Present
Social, political and foreign affairs since World War II.
F
CD-Core
HIST 465 (4) History of U.S. Foreign Relations, 1775-1900
This course will explore the economic, strategic, and ideological factors shaping American foreign policy from 1775 to 1900. Students will examine how U.S. policymakers defined their goals and how their assumptions led the United States to pursue territorial and commercial expansion.
HIST 466 (4) History of U.S. Foreign Relations in the Twentieth Century
An examination of the major factors influencing U.S. diplomacy since 1900. Students will examine how influential policymakers defined their diplomatic goals, and how both domestic and external factors have contributed to America's reaction to wars and revolutions around the world.
HIST 470 (4) American Frontier
Occupation of the area between the Mississippi and the Pacific from Spanish exploration to the late 19th century.
Variable
HIST 475 (3) The American South
A course which attempts to identify the major themes in southern history and tackles the question whether the South has been un-American or ultra-American.
Variable
CD-Related
HIST 476 (4) Comparative Slavery and Emancipation
This course will discuss slavery and emancipation in the Atlantic World (Africa, Latin America, and the United States). Students will discover how slavery and emancipation differed in various regions and over time.
HIST 477 (3) Advanced African-American History
A course which deals with the main themes in African-American history and their interpretations.
Variable
CD-Core
HIST 478 (4) America in Vietnam
This course will examine the Vietnam War. Students will discover how and why the U.S. became involved in Vietnam, examine the specific problems faced by American diplomats and military officials, and how the war affected American society.
HIST 481 (4) U.S. Civil Rights Since 1945
This course will examine the Civil Rights Movement, broadly defined, from 1945 to the present, but focusing on the period from 1945 to 1970. We will also explore the way in which African Americans and their white supporters mobilized for equality in the face of massive white resistance and seeming federal indifference.
F
CD-Core
HIST 483 (4) American Social and Cultural History
Topics in intellectual history or popular and traditional culture.
Variable
HIST 484 (4) American Labor History
An examination of the history of labor and the emergence of social welfare within the context of the modernization of western society and the diversity of the United States.
Variable
CD-Related
HIST 485 (4) History of American Immigration and Ethnicity
A historical study of the immigration and ethnic experience in America. Includes an examination of political, social, and economic changes that resulted in population movements to the U.S. and of the development of immigration laws in response to the arrival of "outsiders." Attention is given to the rise of anti-immigrant movements at various times in American history.
S
CD-Related
HIST 487 (4) United States Women's History
This course is designed to provide a survey and analysis of the historical experiences of women in the United States from earliest settlement by indigenous peoples to the present in order to aid students in understanding the contemporary situation of women in American society.
Variable
CD-Core
HIST 490 (1-4) Workshops
Specific titles to be announced in departmental course descriptions.
P/N only.
F, S
HIST 495 (4) Senior Seminar
This seminar course will include a discussion of the history of the discipline of history, an introduction to research methodologies, and the nature of historical writing. Each student will write a research paper as part of the course. Required for history majors.
F, S
HIST 497 (1-6) Internship
Practical work experience in an historical agency.
P/N only
F, S
HIST 498 (1-6) Internship
Practical work experience in an historical agency.
P/N only.
F, S
HIST 499 (1-3) Individual Study
Advanced independent study and research. P/N only.
F, S
