This semester we're excited to introduce a special group of 200-level courses designed for non-majors as well as our majors and minors. These courses- focused on exciting topics ranging from The Tudors to Latin American Crime to American Icons- offer a great step up from introductory 100-level courses but remain less reading and writing intensive than 300-level options. Look for HIST 258-291 below to see what we're exploring this semester.

For those who want to learn more deeply about a specific subject, we have a particularly interesting range of 300-level courses available this Fall in Pre-Modern, Modern European, Asian, World, and American History. Look for HIST 300-398 below to learn more!

Course: HIST 258A-001: Blood, Heresy and Treason Under the Tudors and Stuarts

Instructor: Dr. Robert Bucholz

Time: MW 2:45-4:00 PM

Cross-Listing: European Studies

Description: Welcome to a course about how England transformed itself from a puny, third rate monarchy wracked by the Wars of the Roses into the most powerful country on earth, defeating Philip II and his Spanish Armada, humiliating Louis XIV of France, and inventing, by way of several revolutions (Reformation, Commercial, Financial, Civil Wars, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89), what some have called the first modern society. Along the way, we shall meet meet such intriguing personalities as Richard III, Henry VIII, Sir Thomas More, Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, Nell Gwynn, and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. You will never forget them.

Course: HIST 267B-001: 20th Century German Politics and Culture

Instructor: Dr. David Dennis

Time: MWF 11:30-12:20

Cross-Listing: German Studies, European Studies, Global & International Studies

Description: History 267 covers the central role of Germany in the modern world, including its politics and culture! Not only was Germany at the center of the First World War, the rise of Totalitarianism, the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Cold War. German writers, artists, composers and filmmakers responded to all of these developments by constructing modernist responses to modernity. Great literature, art, music, and films provide the best way to feel the impact of 20th century history, and this blended course of online lectures and in-class discussions will raise your understanding of all these.

Course: HIST 278A-001: Violence, Drug Trafficking and Crime in Latin America

Instructor: Dr. Gema Santamaria

Time: TTR 10:00-11:15 AM

Cross-Listing: Latin American Studies, Global & International Studies

Description: Latin America is considered one of the most violent and insecure regions in the world today. The aim of this course is to examine the historical factors behind Latin America’s contemporary security crisis with a particular focus on the region’s process of modernization, state building, and democratization.

Course: HIST 280A-001: Pirates and Sailors in the Revolutionary Atlantic

Instructor: Dr. John Donoghue

Time: TTR 11:30-12:45

Description: What was the life of a sailor like? Why did thousands choose to become pirates? What compelled others to lead “liberty mobs” in the age of the American Revolution? How did the history of capitalism intersect with the lives of pirates and sailors on the saltwater frontier? And how do all of these questions relate to one of the most important raised by the course: Who was the real “Captain Morgan”?

Course: HIST 291A-001: American Icons: Heroes, Images, Ideas

Instructor: Dr. Elliott Gorn

Time: TTR 1:00-2:15 PM

Description: American Icons explores twentieth century United States history through popular and iconic movies, novels, sporting events, news stories, celebrities, etc. Why was Upton Sinclair's The Jungle a sensation in 1906? How does the bank robber John Dillinger help us understand the Great Depression? What does The Godfather tell us about America in the 70s? Lecture and discussion.

Course: HIST 300B-001: Humor and Satire in Western History

Instructor: Dr. John McManamon, SJ

Time: TTR 8:30-9:45 AM

Course: HIST 300B-002: Love and Violence in Middle Ages

Instructor: Dr. Tanya Stabler Miller

Time: TTR 10:00-11:15 AM

Description: Was chivalry a positive force in medieval society? Or was it merely a “protection racket” that forced women to rely on men for protection? Did chivalry promote peace or encourage violence? How have chivalric ideals shaped modern conceptions of love, violence, honor, and sexuality? This course will investigate the extent to which chivalric ideas controlled or encouraged aristocratic violence; the relationship between violence and courtliness; the extent to which chivalry threatened or strengthened royal government; and the influence of courtly love on gender.

Course: HIST 300D-002: Italian Americans in Chicago

Instructor: Dr. Dominic Candeloro

Time: TTR 1:00-2:15 PM

Cross-Listing: Italian American Studies

Description: The History of Italians in Chicago offers an in-depth look at one of Chicago's important ethnic groups. Student projects will include oral history interviews and hands-on digital archiving/exhibiting of Casa Italia artifacts and photos. Other topics include women's history, the immigration process, neighborhood history, social mobility, the labor movement, radicalism, politics, business, organized crime, the impact of Fascism and World War II, and the post World War II migration of Italians to Chicago. extended mid-semester break with independent work at Casa Italia. Dominic Candeloro, author of Chicago's Italians: Immigrants, Ethnic, Americans and Curator of the Casa Italia Library, is the instructor.

Course: HIST 310G-001: Medieval Supernatural

Instructor: Dr. Theresa Gross-Diaz

Time: MW 2:45-4:00 PM

Cross-Listing: Catholic Studies, Medieval Studies, European Studies

Description: Werewolves and zombies. Sorcerers and saints. This course in intellectual and cultural history will explore the richness and complexity of ideas about the supernatural in the medieval world. We will do this through close readings of artistic, literary and archaeological primary source evidence, along with recent scholarly explorations of the medieval supernatural.
*Please note: course includes a field trip (TBA)

Sample Syllabus: HIST 310G Medieval Supernatural Draft Syllabus

Course: HIST 316-01W: History of Poland

Instructor: Dr. Marek Suszko

Time: MWF 9:20-10:10 AM

Cross-Listing: Global & International Studies, Polish Studies

Description: This course examines political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments of Poland since the first Polish state to the present. Major themes are: The Consolidation of the Polish State under the Piasts; The Union with Lithuania; The Nobility; The Fall of the Old Polish State; The Growth of the Polish Nation and the Struggle for Independence; World War I and World War II; Communist Rule in Poland; Solidarity; Populism and Democracy in Today’s Poland. Considerable emphasis will be devoted to questions of culture and society.

Course: HIST 325A-001: British Empire: Barbados to Brexit

Instructor: Dr. Aidan Forth

Time: TTR 10:00-11:15 AM

Cross-Listing: European Studies, Global & International Studies

Description: Why does a quarter of the world speak English? Why is parliamentary democracy a favored political system? How did the labor of slaves and profits from the slave trade foster industrialization and economic growth? Where did modern racism come from? Learn the answer to these questions and many more with History 325A, History of the British Empire: From Barbados to Brexit!

Course: HIST 328-001: Russia Before 1917: Empire Building

Instructor: Dr. Michael Khodarkovsky

Time: TTR 11:30-12:45

Cross-Listing: European Studies

Course: HIST 330-001: Age of Catastrophe: Europe 1900-1945

Instructor: Dr. Anthony Cardoza

Time: TTR 1:00-2:15 PM

Cross-Listing: European Studies, Global & International Studies, German Studies

Description: In the span of little more than three decades, Europeans went from unparalleled prosperity and global dominance to economic ruin, destroyed cities, mass murder, and devastating poverty, hunger and starvation. This course examines the historical developments that provoked and accelerated Europe’s rapid and dramatic decline. Topics will include the Second Wave of the industrial revolution and its accompanying social advances and disruptions, the rise of mass politics and ethnic nationalism, total war, revolution and counter-revolution in the inter-war period, economic crisis, genocide and the decline of Europe’s empires. At the same time we will explore how this age of catastrophe set the stage for a new Western European “Golden Age” in the decades after 1945.

Course: HIST 338A-01W: History of European Communism

Instructor: Dr. Marek Suszko

Time: MWF 1:40-2:30

Cross-Listing: Global & International Studies, German Studies

Description: Although brief, the extraordinary success that Communism had enjoyed over the last century among European as well as non-European societies makes it necessary to study this phenomenon in a great detail. The course will begin by tracing the origins of Communism, continue with the establishment of Communist states in Europe, and end with a discussion of the causes of its downfall.

Course: HIST 343-01W: Modern South Asia

Instructor: Dr. John Pincince

Time: T 2:30-5:00 PM

Cross-Listing: Asian Studies, Global & International Studies, Islamic World Studies

Description: Topics covered include the Mughal Empire, regional Indian states and kingdoms, interaction between South Asia and the world, European colonialism, indigenous collaboration and resistance, reformist and nationalist responses to British colonialism, independence and Partition of the sub-continent into two independent nation-states.

Course: HIST 346B-001: Reform and Revolution in China, 1800-1949

Instructor: Dr. Mark Allee

Time: MWF 10:25-11:15 AM

Cross-Listing: Asian Studies, Chinese Language and Culture, Global & International Studies

Description: During 150 years of “external disaster and internal chaos” China faced the challenges of an increasingly dangerous world even as domestic conditions worsened. Efforts reform and renewal seemed unavailing, only revolutionary change appeared to offer a way out of the its dilemma. Ultimately a nation forged in civil war and revolutionary struggle, resistance to foreign invasion, and survival during global war embarked on a new path toward the future.

Course: HIST 347D-201: Modern Chinese History Through Film

Instructor: Dr. Elena Valussi

Time: MW 12:35-1:50 PM

Cross-Listing: Asian Studies, Chinese Language and Culture, Film & Digital Media Studies, Global & International Studies, International Film and Media Studies

Description: War, Passion, intrigue, love, death... all of this and more will be the topic of Chinese Modern History through Film in Spring 2019! In this course, we will discuss momentous changes in Chinese Modern and Contemporary History, from the fall of the Qing dynasty, through WW2, the civil war, the communist era and contemporary capitalist society, through the lens of movies and documentaries. We will approach historical and contemporary topics from the point of view of filmmakers and documentarists; we will use historical documents in conjunction with the films so students can judge their accuracy and learn how to approach historical films critically.

Course: HIST 359-001: Teaching World History:Pedagogy and Curricula for a Global Twenty-first Century

Instructor: Dr. John Pincince

Time: TR 2:30-5:00 PM

Cross-Listing: Global & International Studies

Description: This course aims to prepare students, undergraduate and graduate alike, to teach the global and/or world history courses at the secondary (including AP World History) and university and college levels. This course has two primary and inter-dependent components: pedagogy and curricula. In the first instance, we will engage in an in-depth review of world history literature through an examination of historiographical literature, which includes examination of world history textbooks and thematic approaches to world and global history. Secondly, we will discuss and prepare specific course preparation, such as lectures and powerpoint presentations. Included in this curricula aspect will be discussion of thematic, regional, and chronological approaches to teaching, bridging pedagogy with curricula.

Course: HIST 359C-001: Global Nationalism

Instructor: Dr. Edin Hajdarpasic

Time: TTR 1:00-2:15 PM

Cross-Listing: European Studies, Global & International Studies, Peace Studies

Course: HIST 361-01W: American Revolution: Revolution will be Digitized

Instructor: Dr. Kyle Roberts

Time: TTR 4:15-5:30 PM

Description: When British colonists in North America declared themselves independent from the British Crown in 1776, they affected the most successful revolution in modern history. To this day, historians continue to try to make sense of their actions. In this hands-on, project-based course we will use digital tools and sources to conduct research on primary sources, analyze and interpret our findings, and communicate our results. Prof. Benjamin Bankhurst (Shepherd University) and Prof. Kyle Roberts (Loyola University Chicago) are team-teaching this multi-site course allowing Shepherd and Loyola students to hear lectures, engage in discussions, and participate on group projects in this innovative digital history class.

Course: HIST 389G-01W: North American Environmental History

Instructor: Dr. Ben Johnson

Time: MWF 11:30-12:20

Description:
•How did we kill off the passenger pigeon?
•Why do so many Indians hate national parks? Why did white environmentalists used to hate Indians, but now love them?
•What did environmentalists in the 1970s think a sustainable society would look like?
•Why are the air and water cleaner now than when your parents were born?
•Is there hope that we can solve the climate change crisis?

All of these questions and more will be answered in this ground-level romp through United States history.

Course: HIST 398-23E: History Internship

Instructor: Dr. Patricia Mooney-Melvin

Description: Interested in gaining valuable professional experience while also earning three course credits? Want to earn your Engaged Learning Credit by working with institutions engaged in history-related projects? Consider continuing your education outside the traditional classroom with an internship this fall! Internship possibilities include historical associations and societies; oral history projects; museums and halls of fame; entrepreneurial history firms; genealogical services; preservation agencies; and archives and libraries. Interns work for a minimum of five hours per week in an internship position jointly agreed upon by the student and the internship director. Interns are also required to attend seminar meetings, keep a weekly journal, and write a paper related to the internship experience. Want to learn more? Check out these stories of graduate and undergraduate-level history interns and reach out to Dr. Patricia Mooney-Melvin for more details.