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Jan 02, 2025
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2011-2012 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
History Major
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 Return to: Programs of Study
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Overview
Undergraduate Program
The History Department offers a traditional major, a minor and elective courses for nonmajors. Undergraduate majors must choose one of three areas of geographic specialization—United States, European or global history. These specializations may be linked to course work in interdisciplinary concentrations such as Asian studies, Holocaust studies or women’s studies. The History Department also offers a general track within the major for those seeking certification in elementary education. The major exposes students to different fields of knowledge, offering training in critical thinking; the accumulation, organization and analysis of information; and clear and concise writing. The major provides an excellent background for graduate school, teaching, careers in law, government, journalism, international affairs, museum, library and archival work, and business. With courses on every major geographical area of the world, and with conceptual approaches ranging from political and diplomatic to social, intellectual and cultural, the History Department offers a rich and diverse curriculum. The department also participates in Clark’s Higgins School of Humanities, allowing students to enjoy the support and benefits of the school. Program Faculty
Taner Akçam, Ph.D. Norman Apter Debórah Dwork, Ph.D. Janette T. Greenwood, Ph.D. Willem Klooster, Ph.D. Thomas Kuehne, Ph.D. Nina Kushner, Ph.D. Douglas Little, Ph.D. Olga Litvak, Ph.D. Drew McCoy, Ph.D. Ousmane Power-Greene, Ph.D. Amy Richter, Ph.D. Courses
- HIST 011 - Survey of U.S. History to 1865
- HIST 012 - Survey of U.S. History Since 1865
- HIST 016 - American Race and Ethnicity
- HIST 033 - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism: The Cultural Heritage Of China
- HIST 037 - 19th-Century America Through Women’s Eyes
- HIST 039 - At Home in 19th Century America: Domesticity and American Culture
- HIST 040 - The Witchcraze: Witch Hunts in Early Modern Europe
- HIST 042 - Nazi Germany: Rise and Fall
- HIST 045 - Reconsidering the Harlem Renaissance
- HIST 048 - Baseball and American Society
- HIST 055 - 9/11 in Fact and Fiction
- HIST 070 - Introduction to European Histor: Part I, to 1600
- HIST 071 - Introduction to European History, Part II, Since 1600
- HIST 080 - Introduction to Modern East Asia
- HIST 081 - Modern East Asia, 1600-Present
- HIST 090 - Twentieth Century Global History
- HIST 104 - Introduction to Russian History
- HIST 106 - Modern Europe, 19th & 20th Centuries: Ethnicity, War, and Genocide
- HIST 110 - Early Modern Europe
- HIST 113 - American Urban History
- HIST 114 - African-American History, 1865-Present
- HIST 115 - Authority and Democracy: The History of Modern Central Europe
- HIST 118 - Revolutionary Europe, 1789-1918
- HIST 120 - Writing History
- HIST 128 - History of Modern Israel
- HIST 130 - Introduction to History of Genocide
- HIST 135 - History of Armenia
- HIST 142 - Central Europe in the Long 19th century (1756-1914)
- HIST 143 - War and Peace: Central Europe, 1914-2003
- HIST 145 - U.S. History Through the Novel
- HIST 153 - Europe in the Age of Extremes: the 20th Century
- HIST 162 - The History of the Modern Middle East
- HIST 165 - Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
- HIST 175 - Holocaust: Agency and Action
- HIST 181 - Chinese Civilization
- HIST 182 - Modern China
- HIST 185 - The Russian Revolution, 1890-1938
- HIST 191 - Pirates and Smugglers in the Atlantic World
- HIST 201 - Era of the American Revolution
- HIST 202 - The Early American Republic
- HIST 203 - U.S. Urban History
- HIST 204 - Special Topics in American History
- HIST 205 - Renaissance and Reformation
- HIST 206 - Africans in the Americas, 1500-1888
- HIST 207 - Exploring Early American History at Old Sturbridge Village
- HIST 210 - Research Seminar
- HIST 211 - American Consumer Culture
- HIST 212 - History of Sexuality: 1750 to the Present
- HIST 213 - Gender and the American City
- HIST 214 - The American Civil War
- HIST 215 - The Age of Lincoln
- HIST 216 - Special Topics: U.S. History
- HIST 217 - Reconstruction: America after the Civil War, 1865-1877
- HIST 219 - History of American Women
- HIST 220 - The Black Radical Tradition
- HIST 222 - History of the American South
- HIST 223 - The Civil Rights Movement
- HIST 224 - Russian Visual Culture
- HIST 225 - Blacks & Reds: African Americans, Socialists, and Communists in the 20th Century
- HIST 226 - Comparative Colonialism
- HIST 227 - The Caribbean in the Era of Slavery, 1492-1886
- HIST 228 - Early Modern Britain
- HIST 229 - Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe
- HIST 230 - History of the Armenian Genocide
- HIST 231 - Origins of Modern America, 1877-1914 (formerly America in the Gilded Age)
- HIST 232 - Finding the Subject: Comparative Histories of Prostitution
- HIST 233 - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism: Intellectual History of China
- HIST 234 - Racial Thought and Body Politics in Modern Europe (1500-2000)
- HIST 235 - The Atlantic World
- HIST 236 - Gender, War and Genocide in 20th Century Europe
- HIST 237 - The Holocaust Perpetrators
- HIST 238 - America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1917-1991
- HIST 241 - Jewish Popular Culture
- HIST 243 - American Antiquarian Society Seminar in American Studies
- HIST 245 - U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East Since 1945
- HIST 250 - Baseball in the Blackstone Valley
- HIST 252 - The Sephardi Jews in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America
- HIST 253 - 20th-Century Europe
- HIST 254 - The Age of Atlantic Revolutions
- HIST 255 - History of the Jews in Eastern Europe
- HIST 256 - The British Empire
- HIST 260 - Rescue and Resistance During the Holocaust
- HIST 261 - Jewish Children in Nazi-Occupied Europe
- HIST 262 - Genocide, Denial, Facing History and Reconciliation
- HIST 264 - The European Mind, History & Theory, 1700-2000
- HIST 265 - Life and Death in the City: Occupied Europe, 1939-1945
- HIST 266 - Refugees
- HIST 268 - Special Topics: Advanced Topics in the Study of Genocide
- HIST 270 - Jewish Responses to Modernity: The Enlightenment and Its Critics
- HIST 273 - Life Under Occupation
- HIST 277 - America’s Founding Fathers: Memory and Meaning
- HIST 280 - Women in Chinese History, 1000 CE to Present
- HIST 281 - China Rising: The People’s Republic of China since 1949
- HIST 282 - Chinese Women in Literature and Society
- HIST 283 - Eastern European Jewish Diaspora: Culture and Community in Twentieth Century US, USSR and Israel
- HIST 286 - The Vietnam War
- HIST 288 - Seminar in Chinese History
- HIST 290 - Political Dissent in Chinese History
- HIST 291 - Advanced Topics in International Relations
- HIST 292 - Yiddish Literature and the History of Jewish Secular Culture
- HIST 293 - African American Social and Political Movements
- HIST 294 - A Culture of Dissent: Russian Radicalism in Historical Perspective
- HIST 295 - Dangerous Women
- HIST 297 - Honors Thesis Research
- HIST 299 - Directed Study
- HIST 366 - Refugees
- JS 117 - Reading the Narratives of the Hebrew Bible
- PSCI 103 - Africa and the World
- PSCI 178 - South Africa: History and Contemporary Politics
- PSCI 256 - Russian Politics: From Dictatorship to Democracy..and Back Again
- PSCI 272 - U.S. Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties
- PSCI 273 - U.S. Constitutional Law: Governmental Powers
- UDSC 232 - Population, Environment and Development
Teacher Certification
Students may receive certification to teach high-school history in Massachusetts and perhaps other states. Interested students should speak to the department chair.
Course Offerings by Geographic Area
European History
- HIST 040 - The Witchcraze: Witch Hunts in Early Modern Europe
- HIST 042 - Nazi Germany: Rise and Fall
- HIST 070 - Introduction to European Histor: Part I, to 1600
- HIST 071 - Introduction to European History, Part II, Since 1600
- HIST 104 - Introduction to Russian History
- HIST 110 - Early Modern Europe
- HIST 115 - Authority and Democracy: The History of Modern Central Europe
- HIST 118 - Revolutionary Europe, 1789-1918
- HIST 142 - Central Europe in the Long 19th century (1756-1914)
- HIST 143 - War and Peace: Central Europe, 1914-2003
- HIST 152 - Jews in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America
- HIST 153 - Europe in the Age of Extremes: the 20th Century
- HIST 165 - Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
- HIST 175 - Holocaust: Agency and Action
- HIST 185 - The Russian Revolution, 1890-1938
- HIST 205 - Renaissance and Reformation
- HIST 212 - History of Sexuality: 1750 to the Present
- HIST 228 - Early Modern Britain
- HIST 232 - Finding the Subject: Comparative Histories of Prostitution
- HIST 234 - Racial Thought and Body Politics in Modern Europe (1500-2000)
- HIST 236 - Gender, War and Genocide in 20th Century Europe
- HIST 237 - The Holocaust Perpetrators
- HIST 252 - The Sephardi Jews in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America
- HIST 253 - 20th-Century Europe
- HIST 255 - History of the Jews in Eastern Europe
- HIST 256 - The British Empire
- HIST 260 - Rescue and Resistance During the Holocaust
- HIST 261 - Jewish Children in Nazi-Occupied Europe
- HIST 264 - The European Mind, History & Theory, 1700-2000
- HIST 265 - Life and Death in the City: Occupied Europe, 1939-1945
- HIST 266 - Refugees
- HIST 268 - Special Topics: Advanced Topics in the Study of Genocide
- HIST 270 - Jewish Responses to Modernity: The Enlightenment and Its Critics
- HIST 273 - Life Under Occupation
- HIST 276 - Collective Memory and Mass Violence
- HIST 283 - Eastern European Jewish Diaspora: Culture and Community in Twentieth Century US, USSR and Israel
- HIST 292 - Yiddish Literature and the History of Jewish Secular Culture
- HIST 294 - A Culture of Dissent: Russian Radicalism in Historical Perspective
- HIST 295 - Dangerous Women
Global History
- HIST 033 - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism: The Cultural Heritage Of China
- HIST 080 - Introduction to Modern East Asia
- HIST 090 - Twentieth Century Global History
- HIST 128 - History of Modern Israel
- HIST 135 - History of Armenia
- HIST 162 - The History of the Modern Middle East
- HIST 181 - Chinese Civilization
- HIST 182 - Modern China
- HIST 191 - Pirates and Smugglers in the Atlantic World
- HIST 206 - Africans in the Americas, 1500-1888
- HIST 226 - Comparative Colonialism
- HIST 227 - The Caribbean in the Era of Slavery, 1492-1886
- HIST 230 - History of the Armenian Genocide
- HIST 233 - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism: Intellectual History of China
- HIST 235 - The Atlantic World
- HIST 238 - America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1917-1991
- HIST 254 - The Age of Atlantic Revolutions
- HIST 262 - Genocide, Denial, Facing History and Reconciliation
- HIST 276 - Collective Memory and Mass Violence
- HIST 279 - Late Imperial China/Seminar
- HIST 281 - China Rising: The People’s Republic of China since 1949
- HIST 282 - Chinese Women in Literature and Society
- HIST 283 - Eastern European Jewish Diaspora: Culture and Community in Twentieth Century US, USSR and Israel
- HIST 286 - The Vietnam War
- HIST 288 - Seminar in Chinese History
- HIST 290 - Political Dissent in Chinese History
Program Requirements
Please note that the requirements described below apply to students who declare their History major in or after the Fall 2010 semester. Those History majors who declared prior to Fall 2010 have the option of meeting either the requirements below or completing their degree under the requirements described in the 2009-2010 Undergraduate Handbook for History Majors. All history majors must take ten history courses and two related nonhistory courses distributed as follows:
- HIST 120 - Writing History , should be taken, if possible, before the junior year and before enrolling in a research seminar.
- Five courses inside the student’s area of specialization. Of these five courses, at least three must be at the 200 level and at least one must be a seminar or a proseminar.
- At least one course in each of the three geographic areas (U.S., European or Global). Two of these courses must be at the 200 level and one may count toward the student’s area of specialization.
- At least one course, either inside or outside their area of specialization, devoted primarily to the period before 1800. An up-to-date list of courses that meets this requirement may be found in the History Department Handbook.
- A capstone course during the senior year. This requirement is intended to serve as the intellectual culmination of your undergraduate education. It may be fulfilled through a directed readings course or research seminar in your area of specialization or by entering the honors program and writing an honors thesis.
- Two courses outside history in fields related to the student’s area of specialization. These courses must be approved in advance by the student’s history adviser and must be taken after the student has declared herself or himself to be a History major.
Majors select an adviser from the history faculty and they consult regularly, especially before registering each semester. The student and adviser design a coherent sequence of courses, and choose nonhistory courses that enhance the area of concentration. They also can make decisions about advanced research courses and enrollment in the departmental honors program.
Honors
The Honors Program in History provides outstanding majors with an opportunity to pursue independant research on a larger scale. Honors can be immensely rewarding and enjoyable because of the excitement of original research and the chance to work closely with a professor on an individual basis. The History Honors Program requires the complettion of an honors thesis during the senior year. Students interested in honors should discuss the matter with their advisor during the fall of their junior year, to ensure that they have the requisite skills, initiative, and experience to complete the program. Students who apply are required to have successfully completed a history research seminar in preparation for the honors program. The Prehonors Seminar or Proseminar To enroll in the honors program, students must take one of the department’s seminars or proseminars that emphasize the development of research, analytical and writing skills. A significant part of these courses is devoted to the writing and revising of research papers. Students should consult with their advisers or the department chair in selecting a course that satisfies the prehonors requirement. This course is normally taken during the junior year. |
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