History
Office: 3094 Faculty/Administration Building; 313-577-2525
Acting Chairperson: Eric Ash
https://clas.wayne.edu/history
Why study history? Because it is a vital way to understand the world we live in and how it came to be. Historians explore the past, in all its diversity and complexity, by looking at cause and effect, investigating change, and examining human agency.
History is far from being just about memorizing “names and dates.” The 21st century is a complicated place. Change comes fast and happens continually. The skills and tools we use in studying the past can also help us to make sense of our rapidly changing world and to find our place within it. Knowing our history is about knowing ourselves!
Studying History also gives students the tools they need to succeed in the future. An education in history promises an array of versatile and valuable skills that employers in many fields are looking for. History students at Wayne State conduct exciting research in archives, in Detroit and across the world. They learn to evaluate and interpret evidence, think critically, and communicate clearly and persuasively. They have opportunities to intern at museums and archives and to showcase their research at conferences and in public exhibits. They work with our department’s award-winning faculty, who bring their cutting-edge scholarship on race, gender, economics, labor, colonialism, citizenship, culture, science, family networks, the environment, and so much more into the classroom. Many students pair their History education with double-majors and minors in a range of other disciplines such as anthropology, biological sciences, English, and political science. That interdisciplinary grounding combined with critical analysis, which lies at the heart of historical inquiry, prepares students for a host of different careers.
History at Wayne State opens doors! Our alumni have put their talents and skills to use in a range of professions, including in business, education, museums, public policy, intelligence, the nonprofit sector, publishing, and tourism. A history degree also provides a strong foundation for graduate work in the social sciences and humanities, and for professional programs in law and medicine.
Why study history? Because it is a vehicle for understanding the present, making the world a better place, and acquiring valuable skills that translate directly to successful and rewarding careers. Those are not the only reasons, though; studying history is fun, intellectually stimulating, and always rewarding!
ASH, ERIC H.: Ph.D., M.A., Princeton University; B.A., Harvard University; Professor
BUKOWCYZK, JOHN: Ph.D., Harvard University; B.A., Northwestern University; Professor Emeritus
CHINEA, JORGE L.: Ph.D., University of Minnesota; M.A., B.A., State University of New York at Binghamton; Distinguished Service Professor
ESQUIVEL-KING, REYNA: Ph.D., The Ohio State University; M.A., New York University; B.A., University of Michigan-Dearborn; Assistant Professor
FAUE, ELIZABETH V.: Ph.D., M.A., B.A., University of Minnesota; Professor
GIDLOW, LIETTE: Ph.D., Cornell University; M.A., Ohio State University; B.A., University of Chicago; Professor
HERNANDEZ, CARLOS: Ph.D., Yale University; M.A., University of Florida; B.A., Texas A&M University; Assistant Professor
HUMMER, HANS: Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles; M.A., University of Florida; B.S., Kansas State University; Professor
KRAUSE, THIAGO: Ph.D., Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro; M.A., Federal Fluminense University.; Associate Professor
KRUMAN, MARC W.: Ph.D., M.A., Yale University; B.S., Cornell University; Professor
LANZA, JANINE: Ph.D., M.A., Cornell University; B.A., University of Chicago; Associate Professor
LIKAKA, OSUMAKA: Ph.D., University of Minnesota; M.A., B.A., University of Lubumbashi; Associate Professor
LUBLIN, ELIZABETH DORN: Ph.D., University of Hawaii; M.A., University of Michigan; B.A., Yale University; Associate Professor
LUPOVITCH, HOWARD: Ph.D., Columbia University; M.A., B.A., University of Michigan; Associate Professor
LYNCH, WILLIAM: Ph.D., M.A., Cornell University; M.S., Virginia Polytechnic Institute; B.A., Rensselear Polytechnic Institute; Professor
MARRERO, KAREN: Ph.D., M.A., M.Phil, Yale University; M.A., B.A., University of Windsor; Associate Professor
MICHAEL, MIA: Ph.D., Boston College; M.A., Marquette University; B.A., University of Missouri-St. Louis; Assistant Professor
MILLOY, JEREMY: Ph.D, M.A., Simon Fraser University ; Associate Professor
PORT, ANDREW: Ph.D., A.M., Harvard University; B.A., Yale University; Professor
RETISH, AARON: Ph.D., M.A., The Ohio State University; B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison; Professor
SPENCER_ANTOINE, ROBYN: Ph.D., M.Phil., M.A., Columbia University; B.A., SUNY Binghamton; Associate Professor
TASCHKA, SYLVIA: Ph.D., M.A., Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen; Assistant Professor of Teaching
VAN BURKLEO, SANDRA: Ph.D., M.A., University of Minnesota - Minneapolis; B.A., Hamline University; Professor Emerita
WILLIAMS, KIDADA: Ph.D. University of Michigan; M.A., B.S., Central Michigan University; Associate Professor
HIS 1000 World Civilization to 1500 Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
Survey of ancient and medieval history from the Neolithic Revolution to 1500. Offered Every Term.
HIS 1001 Introduction to History Cr. 3
History is facts and dates, but it’s also much more than that. History is produced by historians who marshal evidence to tell stories about those who came before us and make arguments about the past. We work with an ever-growing range of sources – from material culture and popular culture to archival documents and beyond. We think historically. In the process, we attempt to reconstruct and understand the decisions that individuals made and the consequences of those decisions – what happened and why/how does it matter? These are questions about both the past and the present. This course helps break down the act of producing history, introducing you to this process and helping you begin to hone your skills as a historian. Offered Fall.
HIS 1050 History of the Headlines: United States Since World War II Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: American Society Institution, Civic Literacy, Social Inquiry
Recent American social issues, political movements, institutions, and policy developments within the broad context of global change and conflict. Offered Every Term.
HIS 1060 Law, Citizenship, and American Culture Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Civic Literacy
Explores the foundations, development, and evolution of relations among law, constitutionalism, and American society from early England into the late 20th century. Emphasis on the emergence and expansion first of a republic and then of republican citizenship with its incidents and privileges. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 1110 Work and Democracy: An Introduction Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Civic Literacy
The course explores the role that labor and the labor movement have played in shaping democracy in the United States over the past two centuries and the limits of democracy in the workplace. It covers key political achievements of labor and workers' organizations and the contemporary challenges they face today. Key themes include labor and citizenship, industrial democracy, the role of the state in mediating labor relations, gender, race, sexuality and labor, the labor movement as a social movement, and power and politics in the workplace. Offered Every Term.
HIS 1300 Europe and the World: 1500-1945 Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
The rise of the modern West and the response of the non-West from the age of exploration to the end of World War II. The foundations of the contemporary world. Offered Every Term.
HIS 1400 The World Since 1945 Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
Selected topics in world history since 1945, including: impact of World War II on Europe and European empires; bipolar division of the world between the United States and the Soviet Union; the international order and relations between the industrial nations (First World) and the developing nations (Third World). Offered Every Term.
HIS 1600 African Civilizations to 1800 Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
Africa from ancient Egypt to the Atlantic slave trade. Emphasis on state-building; regional and international commercial networks and their role in economic, political, and socio-cultural change. Offered Fall, Winter.
HIS 1610 African Civilizations Since 1800 Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
The origins of contemporary Africa, nineteenth century state-building, spread of Islamic religion, establishment of European empires, independence struggles, and problems of independence. Offered Fall, Winter.
HIS 1700 East Asia to the 1700s Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Social Inquiry
From antiquity to the 1700s; emphasis on political, economic, social, and cultural developments in China, Japan, and Korea, and the nature and impact of their interactions. Offered Intermittently.
Equivalent: ASN 1700
HIS 1710 History of Modern East Asia Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
From beginning of nineteenth century to the present; emphasis on political, social and economic developments in China, Japan and Korea. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: ASN 1710
HIS 1800 The Age of Islamic Empires: 600-1600 Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Cultural Inquiry, Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies
Historical evolution of the Islamic world from birth of Islam to height of Ottoman Empire. Islamic history and civilization in a world-historical context; developments indigenous to specific regions, such as Islamic Spain. Offered Every Term.
Equivalent: NE 2030
HIS 1810 The Modern Middle East Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Cultural Inquiry, Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies
Survey of Middle East history in modern era, focusing on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ottoman history from 1600: impact of European imperialism and nationalist movements, resulting in development of modern state systems, regional/national conflicts, and Islamic response to modernization. Offered Every Term.
Equivalent: NE 2040
HIS 1900 History of Colonial Latin America Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
The Spanish and Portuguese conquests in the Americas; the multi-racial and class social structures they established as colonies, and the movements for independence, 1492-1822. Offered Yearly.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate level students.
Equivalent: LAS 1900
HIS 1910 Latin America from Independence to the Present Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry, Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
Latin America from early nineteenth century to the 1980s. Major themes include: 1) colonial pasts and political independence; 2) state formation, and the construction of identities at local and national levels; 3) elite and popular relations, including cases of rebellion, revolution, and state repression; 4) forms of capitalist development and transformations in class relations, ideologies of economic development, and linkages to the United States. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: LAS 1910
HIS 1995 Nature and Societal Transitions Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Historical Studies, Social Inquiry
A survey of the historical evolution of human societies and the accompanying technological transformations of our relationship with the natural world. Examines the most significant transformations in our way of life as a species: our evolutionary development as hunter-gatherers, the invention of agriculture, the rise of civilizations, and the industrial revolution. Offered Yearly.
HIS 2000 Introduction to Urban Studies Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry, Social Inquiry, Social Sciences
In this introductory urban studies course, students learn about the historic and contemporary forces driving urbanization with an emphasis on US cities and urban areas; the effects of these forces on diverse population groups; and challenges facing cities and strategies to resolve them. Although the course will draw from international contexts, wherever possible, experiences of and from the Detroit metro—city and suburbs—will be used to illustrate particular themes. Student learning centers on an examination of issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and broader social phenomena. Offered Every Term.
HIS 2040 American Foundations to 1877 Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Civic Literacy, Social Inquiry
A survey of America's experience with colonialism, revolution, and nation building, with special attention paid to freedom and slavery, democracy and citizenship, social and cultural change, American identity, and institutional responses to political, social, and economic issues. Offered Every Term.
HIS 2050 Modern America: Since 1877 Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Civic Literacy, Social Inquiry
A survey of America's modern experience, with a focus on industrialization, urbanization, social change, cultural development, and political life during the emergence and evolution of the United States as a world power. Offered Every Term.
HIS 2240 History of Michigan Cr. 3-4
Social and economic development of the state, from French explorations to the present. Offered Every Term.
HIS 2350 Black Detroit Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
Explores the historical, cultural and structural aspects of the Black urban experience in Detroit from the late 19th Century to the present, including the role that racism, urbanization and suburbanization have played in shaping racial, spatial and economic inequality in the Detroit Metropolitan area. Utilizes an interdisciplinary approach: to interrogate the social and cultural history of Black Detroit, to examine the various forms of Black social movement activism used by Black Detroiters in the 20th Century, and to analyze ways the shifting economic and political currents shaped, and reshaped racism, class, space, and resistance in the Detroit metropolitan area. Offered Fall, Winter.
HIS 2420 History of Puerto Rico and Cuba Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry, Foreign Culture, Global Learning Inquiry
Historical development of Puerto Rico and Cuba from the pre-Columbian period to the present. Interaction of political, social, economic and cultural influences. Offered Intermittently.
Equivalent: LAS 2420
HIS 2430 History of Latino/as in the United States Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
Historical development of people of Hispanic descent in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present. Cultural conflict, and interaction of political, social, and economic forces. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: LAS 2430
HIS 2435 Introduction to Digital Humanities Cr. 3
Digital humanities scholarship has exploded over the last ten years. Early DH scholarship represented a niche in humanities fields like English and History, dominated by unique individuals who had both technical programming skills and experience in humanities research. Since its early days, the field of digital humanities has expanded significantly. New tools and platforms make DH research more accessible. Today, DH scholars work in a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary environment that place programmers and developers, information science specialists, and humanities scholars in active conversation. In this course, students will be introduced to these different elements – tools, methods, theories, and critical analysis – of the digital humanities in order to learn new ways to interpret artistic or cultural objects or ideas, social relationships, and historical processes. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: ENG 2435
HIS 2440 History of Mexico Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Foreign Culture, Global Learning Inquiry
Historical development of Mexico and the Mexican people from the Spanish conquest to the present. Interaction of political, social, economic and cultural influences. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: LAS 2410
HIS 2500 Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies Cr. 3
Introduction to the peace and conflict studies co-major. Survey, ranging from biology and conflict among animals to disputes involving the individual, the family, the neighborhood and region, the nation and global or international community. Definitions and approaches to peace. (Some sections linked to Peace and Justice Learning Community.) Offered Yearly.
HIS 2510 Science, Technology, and War Cr. 4
Modern weapons, nuclear and otherwise are becoming increasingly available and dangerous; people with grievances seem eager to use them. Science and technology, as well as constraints of bureaucracy and society underpin weapons development and use, as technologies affect prospects and results of war and peace. History of humanity and its tools of war. Offered Yearly.
HIS 2520 Topics in Peace and Conflict Studies Cr. 1-4
Special topics relating to peace and conflict studies. Offered Every Term.
Repeatable for 12 Credits
HIS 2530 The Study of Non-Violence Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
Intellectual and social roots of non-violence and the practice of non-violence in different people's life styles. Historical and political forces and movements related to non-violence. (Some sections linked to Peace and Justice Learning Community.) Offered Every Term.
HIS 2605 History of Women, Gender and Sexuality in the Modern World Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry, Global Learning Inquiry, Historical Studies
Examination of change over time, using different historical approaches to try to account for change as specifically applicable from a comparative perspective to the experiences of women and constructions of gender and sexual identity. Offered Every Term.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate level students.
Equivalent: GSW 2600
HIS 2700 Introduction to Canadian Studies Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Foreign Culture, Global Learning Inquiry
Survey of Canada in its cultural, literary, historical, geographical and political aspects; key concepts and social patterns that define the Canadian experience. Offered Intermittently.
HIS 2800 Introduction to Global Issues and Institutions Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Global Learning Inquiry, Social Inquiry, Social Sciences
Provides a broad overview of some of the big and controversial questions facing our increasingly globalized world today and introduces some of the tools we have to confront these issues. Topics include the conflict and security threats, protection of human rights, global warming, and resource management. Offered Fall, Winter.
Equivalent: GLS 2800
HIS 3000 The Historian's Craft Cr. 3
Provides an introduction to the discipline of history and the methodological skills that historians need to explore their areas of interest. Offered Fall, Winter.
HIS 3010 Jewish History from the Bible to Present Cr. 3
This course will survey the 3000-year history of the Jews from biblical antiquity to the present. The course will explore a wide variety of topics, but will focus around three central themes: the emergence of Judaism and the Jewish life in the diaspora out of the religious and social matrix of ancient Israelite society, in response to the challenges of Hellenistic culture; the disparities between Jewish life under Christianity and Islam; and the challenges of being Jewish in the modern world. Throughout the course, the dual emphasis will be placed on the broader context in which Jews lived as an ethnic and religious minority — the Ancient Near East, the Hellenistic world, the Roman Empire, Christendom, Islam, Europe, Russia, America, and the modern Middle East — and the internal development of Judaism and the Jewish community in these diverse situations. Offered Intermittently.
Equivalent: NE 3010
HIS 3140 African American History I: 1400-1865 Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
African origins of African Americans; transition from freedom to slavery; status of African Americans under slavery. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: AFS 3140
HIS 3150 African American History II: 1865-1968 Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
African American history from Reconstruction through the Civil Rights Movement. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: AFS 3150
HIS 3155 African American History III: 1968 - Present Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
History of African Americans' struggle against persistent and stubborn racism, efforts to achieve full citizenship, and legal and economic justice after 1968. Offered Intermittently.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate level students.
Equivalent: AFS 3155
HIS 3160 Black Urban History Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
Historical experience of African Americans in urban areas; impact of their communities on urban development from 1860 to contemporary times. Offered Fall, Winter.
Equivalent: AFS 3160
HIS 3170 Ethnicity and Race in American Life Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
Exploration of complicated relationship between ethnic and racial diversity and the making of America. Using historical, literary, and cultural readings and sources to examine key themes: Who was the ""Other""? What is an ""American""? Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: AFS 3170
HIS 3180 Black Social Movements Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
Survey of mass or popular Black movements with emphasis on their political and cultural impact, historical continuity and organization. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: AFS 3180
HIS 3205 Queer American History Cr. 3
Queer American History will provide students with a comprehensive course on US History from a queer theoretical framework, introducing students to core concepts in queer history, LGBTQ+ history, gender history and gender studies in the process. Topics addressed in this course range across a variety of interdisciplinary subjects including discussions pertaining to sexual and family politics, bodily autonomy, federal welfare and employment policy, public health, psychological approaches to identity, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, intersectional identity, and gender and sexual performativity, among others. Offered Yearly.
HIS 3220 Labor in Media and Popular Culture Cr. 3
The course explores labor behind and in popular culture in the United States. We will use themes of race, gender, technology, and class to explore popular culture, cultural workers, and their relationship to labor organizations in the 20th and 21st centuries. Our topics include music, video games, television and films, animation, streaming and influencer culture, the fast food industry, fashion, sports, and more. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: ELR 3220
HIS 3240 Detroit Politics: Continuity and Change in City and Suburbs Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
Detroit area political systems and processes; historical, economic, and social influences on local politics. Traditions, changes, and future challenges in Detroit and metropolitan area. Offered Every Other Year.
Equivalent: PS 3250
HIS 3250 The Family in History Cr. 3-4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Social Inquiry
Comparative survey emphasizing the transformation from traditional patterns of family life to family and kin in modern industrial society; students research their own family histories. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 3320 Twentieth Century Middle East Cr. 3
The contemporary Middle East; emphasis on social and economic development. Investigation of issues that identify the region, such as oil, gender issues, fundamentalism, and regional conflicts. Offered Every Term.
Equivalent: NE 3040
HIS 3330 Civilizations of the Nile Valley: Egypt and Nubia Cr. 4
From Neolithic era to the seventh century of our era. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 3360 Black Workers in American History Cr. 4
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Social Inquiry
Survey course. Slave and free workers during antebellum period; skill trades, sharecropping, menial labor, and coal mining during Reconstruction; labor struggles and job discrimination in the twentieth century. Offered Fall, Winter.
Equivalent: AFS 3360
HIS 3431 Revolutionary Movements in Latin America Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Global Learning Inquiry, Social Inquiry
This course examines revolutionary movements in twentieth-century Latin America with special emphasis on Central America, the Caribbean, and the Southern Cone. The course also explores the relationship between these movements, U.S. involvement in the region, and the Latin American diaspora. Offered Fall.
Equivalent: LAS 3431
HIS 3434 Labor in Latin America Cr. 3
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the history of labor and the working-class throughout Latin America from pre-Hispanic times to the present. The class begins by looking at indigenous labor in the pre-Colombian context. This section will include readings on communal labor with emphasis on peasant classes. The second section moves to the Conquest of Latin America. Students will learn how colonialism influenced and drastically changed how people participated in the workforce. There will be readings on slave and indigenous labor. The third section deals with the independence and nation-building periods of the 19th and 20th centuries. Here students will examine how the working-class and peasants negotiated aspects of national identity in several case studies. This will involve exploring labor activism and other labor movements in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and Mexico.Finally, the class will end with the neoliberal period and its impact on workers. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 3445 History of the Future Cr. 3
Explores how writers, politicians, historians, and ordinary people think about time—how we think about history and how we imagine the past and future in time travel stories, science fiction, scientific research, and public predictions about the future. It uses the history of technologies—and technological changes—as a means of anchoring our discussion of how writings (and visual media such as film and television) view past and future work, war and conflict, environmental change, reproduction, and human community. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 3490 History of Russia and Eurasia to 1917 Cr. 4
Interaction of cultures, politics and societies of Russia and Eurasia to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Offered Yearly.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate level students.
HIS 3570 The Emerald Isle: A History of Ireland Cr. 3
Ireland is a small place, but it has a great deal of history! This class will present a broad sweep of Irish history from the Iron Age down to the present day, with particular emphasis on the cultural mixing (and clashing) that has always characterized the place--Celts, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Highland Scots, and many other peoples have made Ireland their home through the centuries. We’ll look at prominent events, personalities, battles, and milestones, but also at the day-to-day life of common Irishmen and women across the ages, as we consider what it means to be Irish and how that idea has changed over time. Offered Every Other Winter.
HIS 3585 Science, Technology, and Society Cr. 3
Introduction to the field of Science and Technology Studies; how conflicts about science and technology are generated and resolved; how broader societal institutions help shape, and are shaped by, science and technology. Offered Winter.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate level students.
HIS 3650 History of Detroit Cr. 3
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Diversity Equity Incl Inquiry
History of Detroit from European contact to the present, with emphasis on the late-19th and 20th centuries. Offered Fall, Winter.
Equivalent: US 3650
HIS 3870 History of Japanese Pop Culture Cr. 3
Explores the history of Japanese pop culture and its global spread, with both an emphasis on historical influences, intended messages, and appeal in Japan and around the world, and examination of manga, anime, video games, sports, fashion, literature, music, film, and food. Offered Every Other Year.
Equivalent: ASN 3870
HIS 3991 Directed Study: Salford - WSU Exchange Cr. 3-9
Directed study at University of Salford, England. Offered Fall, Winter.
Repeatable for 9 Credits
HIS 3995 Special Topics in History Cr. 1-4
Specialized and topical studies in historical events, personalities and themes. Topics to be announced in Schedule of Classes . Offered Every Term.
Repeatable for 8 Credits
HIS 3998 Topics in American History Cr. 1-4
Topics to be announced in Schedule of Classes . Offered Intermittently.
Repeatable for 8 Credits
HIS 4435 Beyond Human Nature: The New Sciences of Cultural Evolution Cr. 3
Examines the history of debates in biology and the social sciences over the biological roots of human nature and culture. Traces the emergence of hybrid, interdisciplinary approaches since the 1970s employing the concept of cultural evolution, understood as distinct from genetic evolution. Considers how cultural evolution theory sheds new light on the historical transformation of egalitarian foraging societies into complex, hierarchical states after the development of agriculture, tracing their development to the present day. Offered Fall.
HIS 4990 Directed Study Cr. 1-6
Offered Every Term.
Repeatable for 6 Credits
HIS 4993 History Communication Cr. 3
This course examines the challenges associated with communicating about the past in today’s media-saturated environment. Case studies include analysis of communication surrounding controversial historical issues such as slavery and race, to the examination of successful history communicators operating in various media. An important sub-theme focuses on best practices and ethics when it comes to communicating history to non-experts through emerging media. Students also learn how to “economize” the history communicator skillset for the workplace. Offered Fall.
Equivalent: ANT 4993
HIS 4994 Digital History Seminar Cr. 3
Explores both the opportunities and the challenges of digital history. Throughout the semester, students work in groups to construct a digital project for the Reuther Archive in which they will digitize sources and create content based on distinct parts of the Reuther’s collection. The end goal is a digital exhibit that will both make these materials more accessible and help communicate their significance for the general public. Offered Every Other Fall.
HIS 4997 Internship in Public History Cr. 3
Professional experience in public history under the supervision of a public history practitioner and a departmental advisor. Offered Every Term.
Prerequisites: HIS 3000 with a minimum grade of C and HIS 4000-ZZZZ with a minimum grade of C
HIS 5010 Colonial North America Cr. 4
European expansion to North America, interaction among European, Native American, and African peoples, and imperial competition over the New World through the Seven Years' War. Offered Intermittently.
HIS 5020 Revolutionary America Cr. 4
Social, political, and cultural background to America's independence movement; development of American national identity, social relations, and early politics through the election of 1800. Offered Intermittently.
HIS 5070 Contemporary American History: 1945 to the Present Cr. 4
Social, political, intellectual, economic, diplomatic, and cultural trends in the United States since World War II. Offered Yearly.
HIS 5130 American Foreign Relations Since 1933 Cr. 4
United States involvement in the international system from the twenties to the present. Emphasis on World War II to Vietnam and the role of the United States in the Cold War and the Third World. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5200 Women, Gender, and Sexuality in US History Cr. 3
the history of women in the United States and the role of gender and sexuality in shaping women/qs and men/qs experience and identity. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5205 Queer American History Cr. 3
Queer American History will provide students with a comprehensive course on US History from a queer theoretical framework, introducing students to core concepts in queer/LGBTQ+ history, gender history and gender studies in the process. Topics addressed in this course include sexual and family politics, bodily autonomy, federal welfare and employment policy, public health, psychological approaches to identity, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, intersectional identity, and gender and sexual performativity. Offered Yearly.
HIS 5231 The Conquest in Latin America Cr. 3
Varying perspectives on European conquests in Latin America. Offered Intermittently.
Equivalent: LAS 5231
HIS 5240 Michigan History in Perspective Cr. 3
Social, economic, environmental, and political history of Michigan from prehistory to the present. Offered Winter.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Graduate or Undergraduate level students.
HIS 5251 History of Feminism Cr. 4
An upper-division/graduate-level course on the main ideological, intellectual, and political sources and developments in the history of feminism in the United States. Offered Every Other Year.
Restriction(s): Enrollment limited to students with a class of Unranked Grad, Junior or Senior; enrollment is limited to Graduate or Undergraduate level students.
HIS 5261 African American History and Memory Cr. 3
An examination of the ways different groups and institutions remember and forget African American history. Each term the course will have a specific focus that will be advertised in advance. Offered Fall.
Equivalent: AFS 5261
Repeatable for 6 Credits
HIS 5290 American Labor History Cr. 4
Analysis of American workers and unions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Offered Every Other Year.
Equivalent: ECO 5490
HIS 5300 History of American Capitalism Cr. 4
History and development of American capitalism from the colonial period through the 2008 financial crisis. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5330 History of Ancient Greece Cr. 3
Ancient Greek culture, emphasizing political events, social and economic institutions, and cultural achievements. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5340 History of Ancient Rome Cr. 3
Institutional and cultural development. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5345 Rome and the Barbarians Cr. 3
The relationship between ancient Rome and the pre-state societies that existed beyond its frontiers from about 300 B.C.E to about 500 C.E. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5360 The Early Middle Ages: 300-1000 Cr. 3
Interaction of Roman, Christian, and barbarian elements in the emergence of Europe as a cultural entity between the fourth and tenth centuries. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5370 The High Middle Ages: 1000-1300 Cr. 3
Economic, social, and cultural developments that transformed Western European civilization during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5385 History of Christianity to the Reformation Cr. 3
Survey of Christianity from Jesus to the Reformation. Balanced coverage of Christianity in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Offered Yearly.
HIS 5407 The Scientific Revolution Cr. 3
Rise of modern science; major changes in study of astronomy, medicine, physics, mathematics, and other sciences from 1500 to 1700. Offered Intermittently.
HIS 5410 France's Global Revolutions Cr. 4
Beginning at the end of the eighteenth century, France experienced a series of political and social revolutions, resulting in the overthrow of the monarchy and the long process of establishing a democratic form of government. At the same time, France's colonial settlements pursued a path of revolution, one eventually leading to the emancipation of Haiti. This course will examine the ideas, process and outcome of the Revolution that began in Paris and ended in Port-au-Prince, creating a global era of political change. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5440 Twentieth Century Europe Cr. 4
Total war and disillusionment, attempts to restore stability and security, totalitarianism as an answer, more war and reconstruction, a divided Europe, and the search for Europe's place in the world. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5460 History of the Holocaust Cr. 4
Holocaust as a tragic conjuncture of general European and Jewish history. Topics include: development of anti-Semitism in Europe and the rise of Nazism; European Jewry in the interwar period; the Third Reich's treatment of the ""Jewish Question"" in the 1930s; Jewish resistance; fate of the survivors; implications of the Holocaust for contemporary society. Offered Yearly.
HIS 5470 Modern Germany Cr. 3-4
The history of modern Germany against the background of its tradition and culture. Concentration on the Prussian-Austrian conflict, the emergence of German intellectual life, unification and modernization, and the crises and wars of the twentieth century. Offered Intermittently.
HIS 5480 Nazi Germany Cr. 3-4
Hitler and Nazi Germany. Topics include: impact of World War I, the Weimar Republic, the growth of the Nazi party, the seizure of power, internal and foreign policies, and the war experience. Offered Every Other Year.
Equivalent: HIS 7480
HIS 5490 History of Russia and Eurasia to 1917 Cr. 4
Interaction of cultures, politics and societies of Russia and Eurasia to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Offered Intermittently.
HIS 5495 History of the Russian Revolution Cr. 3-4
The Russian Revolution, including fall of tsarist Russia, reign of the Provisional Government, and establishment of power by the Communist Party. Offered Yearly.
HIS 5500 The Soviet Union Cr. 4
Bolshevik seizure of power, collectivization of agriculture and forced-draft industrialization, Nazi German invasion, Khrushchev and deStalinization, predominance of the new middle class, nationality problems, and problems of detente. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5530 History of World War I and II: A Social and Political History of Two World Wars Cr. 4
Provides an in-depth and truly global look at the history of both wars. Topics will include the political events leading up to the wars and their political aftermath, as well as their short- and long-term effects on societies. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5535 History of Terrorism Cr. 3
Examines terrorism from its beginnings until its most recent manifestations. It starts with a critical examination of the term terrorism itself, but the main focus of this course will not be on discussions about the concept and its various meanings, but rather on high profile instances of what is commonly referred to as terrorism. The course will take a transnational approach and engage in comparative history. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5540 World Environmental History since 1900 Cr. 4
This course examines the transformation of the relationship between human society and the natural environment in global context since 1900. Available for undergraduate credit only. Offered Fall.
Equivalent: GLS 5540
HIS 5550 Britain 1485-1714 Cr. 4
Impact of religious, political and social change on British people during sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eighteenth centuries. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5555 Britain in the Age of Empire Cr. 4
History of Britain and the rise of the British Empire, 1700-1800, focusing on political, economic, intellectual, and social developments. Special emphasis on shifting notions of what it meant to be ""British"" during the period. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5556 History of Modern Britain Cr. 4
Modern British history from 1815 to the present day: political, economic, intellectual, and social developments, in Britain itself and across the Empire. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5585 Studies in Science, Technology, and Society Cr. 3
Introduction to the field of Science and Technology Studies; how conflicts about science and technology are generated and resolved; how broader societal institutions help shape, and are shaped by, science and technology. Offered for graduate credit only. Offered Winter.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
HIS 5670 Modern American Cities Cr. 3
History of U.S. cities since World War II. Topics include suburbanization, deindustrialization, gentrification, and globalization. Offered Intermittently.
Equivalent: UP 5670
HIS 5825 Readings in the History of Modern China Cr. 4
From early 1600s to the present; political, economic, and social changes. Offered Every Other Year.
Equivalent: ASN 5825
HIS 5855 Pre-Modern Japan Cr. 4
Japanese history from its mythical origins to early nineteenth century; political, economic, social, cultural developments. Offered Every Other Year.
Equivalent: ASN 5855
HIS 5865 Modern Japan Cr. 4
Japanese history from the early nineteenth century to the present; emphasis on political, economic, and social developments. Offered Yearly.
Equivalent: ASN 5865
HIS 5875 Gender in Modern East Asia Cr. 4
History of gender in China, Japan, and Korea, with topics to include Confucianism, the state's role in gender construction, nationalism, imperialism, marriage, family, labor, sexuality, and feminism. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 5960 Globalization, Social History and Gender in the Arabian Gulf Cr. 3
Social history of the Arabian Gulf (especially Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE) in the age of globalization. Contemporary history with special emphasis on gender relations as an index of current social developments in the region. Offered Every Other Year.
Equivalent: NE 5000
HIS 5991 Directed Study: Salford - WSU Exchange Cr. 3-9
Directed study at University of Salford, England. Offered for undergraduate credit only. Offered Fall, Winter.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate level students.
HIS 5993 Writing Intensive Course in History Cr. 0
Satisfies General Education Requirement: Writing Intensive Competency
Must be selected in conjunction with HIS 5996: Junior/Senior Research Seminar. For HIS 5996, students write a research paper of approximately twenty typed pages, including footnotes and a bibliography, and using primary sources. A C or higher on that paper is required to earn a Satisfactory for HIS 5993 and to fulfill the University General Education Writing Intensive requirement for the History major and History Honors major. Offered Fall, Winter.
Prerequisites: AFS 2390 with a minimum grade of C, ENG 2390 with a minimum grade of C, ENG 3010 with a minimum grade of C, ENG 3020 with a minimum grade of C, or ENG 3050 with a minimum grade of C
Restriction(s): Enrollment limited to students with a class of Junior or Senior; enrollment is limited to students with a major in History or History Honors.
HIS 5995 Honors Seminar Cr. 3
Offered Every Term.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to students with a major in History Honors; enrollment limited to students in a Bachelor of Arts degree.
HIS 5996 Junior or Senior Research Seminar Cr. 3
Examines what historians have written about a particular topic, theme, or period, along with what has shaped their interpretations. Students will also conduct independent research on a self-chosen aspect of that topic, theme, or period using primary sources and construct a paper based on that research. Offered for undergraduate credit only. Offered Intermittently.
Prerequisites: HIS 3000 with a minimum grade of C and HIS 3001-6999 with a minimum grade of C
Restriction(s): Enrollment limited to students with a class of Junior or Senior.
HIS 6000 Studies in Comparative History Cr. 2-4
Topics to be announced in Schedule of Classes. Offered Every Other Year.
HIS 6440 Studies in American Medicine in the Twentieth Century Cr. 3
Major historical benchmarks in the making of the medical system in the U.S., including developments in medicine and medical knowledge, as well as social and political factors that influenced their reception and implementation. Offered for graduate credit only. Offered Winter.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
HIS 6780 Introduction to Records and Information Management Cr. 3
Management of information, including records creation, records inventory and appraisal, retention/disposition scheduling, filing systems, maintenance of inactive records, micrographics, vital records protection, and electronic impact on records management. Offered for graduate credit only. Offered Yearly.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Equivalent: INF 6780
HIS 6993 History Communication Cr. 3
This course examines the challenges associated with communicating about the past in today’s media-saturated environment. Case studies include analysis of communication surrounding controversial historical issues such as slavery and race, to the examination of successful history communicators operating in various media. An important sub-theme focuses on best practices and ethics when it comes to communicating history to non-experts through emerging media. Students also learn how to “economize” the history communicator skillset for the workplace. Offered Every Other Fall.
Restriction(s): Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Equivalent: ANT 6993