1000-level Course Descriptions

Image of acid-free archive box with contents.

HIST 1100W, The Historian As Detective

Uses historical documents focusing on a single incident in the past to reconstruct what happened and why. Emphasizes development of historical research skills such as evaluating evidence, explaining cause and effect, and understanding events in their larger social, political, cultural, and economic contexts. CA 1.

early sailing vessel on the sea

HIST 1200, World History, 1200-1800

A global approach to human history, 1200CE to 1800CE, emphasizing political, intellectual, economic, and social interactions among peoples with diverse cultures, ideas, and values. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

painting of a 19th century European city

HIST 1201, Modern World History

This course explores themes in global history since 1870: the rise and fall of modern empires; colonialism and the emergence of independent nation-states; 20th C revolutions; the environment; and globalization. Students will practice some of the thinking and writing skills that historians use to ask and answer important questions and to connect these to their own lives. CA 1

Collage of women's faces, slightly blurred.

HIST 1203, Women in History

The historical roots of challenges faced by contemporary women as revealed in the Western and/or non-Western experience: the political, economic, legal, religious, intellectual and family life of women. CA 1. CA 4.

Sports stadium in the US in 1974

HIST 1250, Sports in History

The sports peoples around the globe have played and watched from ancient Greece to the present and the meanings of athletic performance and spectacle. CA 1.

Medieval era illustration of travel

HIST 1300, Western Traditions Before 1500

An analysis of the traditions and changes which have shaped Western political institutions, economic systems, social structures and culture in ancient and medieval times. CA 1.

Detail of "Pirna: The Obertor from the South" by Bernardo Bellotto

HIST 1400, Modern Western Traditions

History of political institutions, economic systems, social structures, and cultures in the modern Western world. CA 1.

black and white photo of a World War II era plane, flying

HIST 1450, Global History of the Second World War

In this course we will approach the Second World War from a global perspective, one that focuses on traditional theaters such as Europe and the Pacific but also gives attention to areas (such as South Asia and Africa) and populations that played significant roles in the war but are rarely studied in this context. We will explore the origins of the war and its development on both the battlefield and the home front. The course will also cover the strategies and tactics used in the war, as well as the role of technology—including specific weapons systems—in the various countries’ efforts to wage ‘total war’. Students will also explore the end and ‘afterlife’ of the war, studying in particular how postwar societies sought to make sense of and give meaning to the global conflict. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

Color drawing of a sailboat marina

HIST 1501, U.S. History to 1877

Surveys political, economic, social, and cultural developments in American history through the Civil War and Reconstruction. CA 1.

Black and white photo of a 1950s drive-in with parked cars

HIST 1502, U.S. History from 1877

Surveys political, economic, social, and cultural developments in American history from 1877 to the present. CA 1.

Picture of a topographical map of the Caribbean and the top half of South America.

HIST 1600/W, Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean

Multidisciplinary exploration of the historical development of such aspects of Latin America and the Caribbean as colonization and nation formation; geography and the environment; immigration and migration; race, ethnicity, and gender in society, politics, economy, and culture. CA 1. CA 4-INT. Also offered as LLAS 1190.