History Degree Requirements
Major Requirements for a BA in History
In addition to meeting the course requirements for each respective major, all students must also fulfill the General Education requirements for the Undergraduate College. The Bachelor of Arts degree in History requires 120 credits.
Students who plan to seek teaching certification at the secondary (high school) level along with a major in History should consult with the history faculty early in their sophomore year about their program of study.
General Education Requirements (57 to 58 Credits)
Six credits of courses required for the History major can be applied to General Education requirements.
Required Courses (39 Credits)
This course is a history of the early civilizations of the Mediterranean basin up to 476 C.E. Topics include Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Greek impact on democratic, philosophical, and scientific thought, and the origins of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It 241 is designed both as an introduction to Humanities disciplines and as a venue for teaching Information Literacy skills. No prerequisites; however, students required to take RDG 0050 must complete that course prior to enrolling. (3 credits)
A survey of major themes in American history from the colonial period to the end of Reconstruction. Offered every other year, fall semester. (3 credits)
Two European History Electives (6 Credits)
An in-depth study of the history of Germany from the unification under Kaiser Wilhelm I and Chancellor Bismarck to the reunification in 1990. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of the First World War, the cultural legacy of the Weimar Republic, and the socio-intellectual climate that gave rise to Nazism. (3 credits)
An intensive study of the causes and course of the German National Socialist movement. Emphasis is placed on the social and intellectual dimensions of Nazism, Hitler’s role in European and world history, World War II and the Holocaust. (3 credits)
A study of how Europeans responded to the social and economic inequalities created by the industrial age. Topics to be discussed include utopian socialism of Charles Fourier and Robert Owen, Marxism, and anarchism, the nature of nineteenthcentury conservatism, social Darwinism, and the origins of fascism. (3 credits)
Students make decisions of war and peace in real time by role-playing as leaders of the major European nations from 1908 to 1914. Thrust into a simulation of the tense pre-war international scene, students will be forced to respond to the crises that led up to the war and in the process discover the role of diplomacy and nationalism played in the coming of Great War. Ultimately, students will come to some conclusions as to how wars are started and who is “at fault” for starting them. (3 credits)
A survey of the political, social, and economic trends that have shaped the present European community. Topics studied include post-war reconstruction, the rise of the common market, unity and diversity on both sides of the “Iron Curtain,” the cultural upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s, and the collapse of communism. (3 credits)
Two American History Electives (6 Credits)
This course will use the experience of women as the lens through which we examine the history of America from the end of the civil war until the present. Topics to be covered will include the changing conditions and ideas about unpaid housework and paid work; relations between different groups of women and the way relations of power have shaped these interactions; the ongoing political struggle to gain increased civil and political rights; and changing notions of “proper” roles for women, especially regarding sexuality. We will consider which ideas and assumptions within American culture have changes and which have stayed the same. (3 credits)
This course will use the experiences of women through the lens which we examine the history of America from settlement by Europeans to the Civil War. Topics to be covered include changing conditions and ideas about unpaid housework and paid work; relations between different groups of women and the way relations of power have shaped these interactions; the ongoing political struggle to gain increased civil and political rights; and changing notions of “proper” roles for women, especially regarding sexuality. We will consider which ideas and assumptions within American culture have changes and which have stayed the same. Prerequisite: none. (3 credits)
Required Supporting Courses (6 Credits)
Work with your major mentor to choose two courses in Political Science or Economics.
Recommended Supporting Courses (6 Credits)
- INT-0200: Research Methods Across the Disciplines
- One course in Philosophy
Electives
The remaining credit hours are electives and can consist of History courses, but should not be limited to those particular disciplines.