History Degree Requirements

 

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)

A survey of major themes in American history in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Offered every other year, spring semester. (3 credits)

HIS 209: Students will engage theoretical readings about, as well as practice of, the digital humanities. Students will collaborate in the production of a major digital humanities project that involves digital humanities theory and practice through work that incorporates web development, and interface design. (3 credits)

HIS 274: How can studying history prepare you for your future career? That is the question that is explored in this skills-based course. There are no tests or quizzes in this offering. Instead, students will receive hands-on assistance in learning valuable skills that will serve them well in the marketplace. Among the skills to be explored are how to conduct basic research, framing questions for research papers, and advanced presentation skills. In the last weeks, students will explore careers that deal with these skills and create strategies to increase their chances of finding employment in area of their choice. Open to History majors and minors, to anyone who has still not declared a major, or with Permission of Instructor. No prerequisites. (3 credits)

HIS 340: This course takes the city of Philadelphia as its text to expose students to various aspects of public history. Drawing on primary and secondary materials in addition to films and field trips, the course involves students in creating a public history project and exploring careers in public history. (3 credits)

Supervised experience in an institution, corporation, or agency that serves the public in cultural, political and/or historical areas. Interns in the Philadelphia metropolitan area will work with an on-site supervisor in cooperation with the director of the History Internship Program. Interns placed through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Internship Program will be supervised and evaluated according to the conditions of the particular internship. Open to top junior and senior history majors who are recommended by the history faculty. Credits to be arranged depending on the breadth and duration of the internship as documented in the internship contract.

An investigation of the ways historian’s collect, process, an disseminate information.
Offered spring semester. (3 credits)

A survey of western visual culture from prehistory through the Middle Ages, in architecture, sculpture, painting, and minor arts. Class lecture and discussion will be integrated with visits to area museums, such as the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and/or New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, to view art of the ancient through medieval world. Offered fall semester. No prerequisites. This course fulfills a Global Awareness/Culture requirement in the UC General Education program (3 credits)

A survey of architecture, painting, sculpture, and minor arts, from the 12th century Gothic through the mid-to late nineteenth century. Class lecture and discussion will be integrated with visits to museums, such as: Glencairn Museum and Bryn Athyn’s New Church, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and/or New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art and The Cloisters. No prerequisites. Offered spring semester. This course fulfills a Global Awareness/Culture requirement in the UC General Education program. During designated semesters, this course will have a travel/study component, featuring an eight-day experience in Florence, Rome, and Paris, to trace the visual culture of the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries in architecture, painting, sculpture, and minor arts. Visits to the major monuments and museums in these cities will accompany lecture/discussion on site. (3 credits)

In this course you will gain an understanding of environmental problems and learn the theories
necessary for engaging in solution focused outcomes. Since environmental problems are multifaceted, you will develop solutions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives (SEES: Science, Economics, Ethics and Spirituality). Using our campus as a living laboratory, you will build the skills necessary to solve environmental problems. Working in teams, you will create solutions for our community to live sustainably. This course is designed to facilitate your development as an integral ecologist. Prerequisites: none. Offered fall semester.  (3 credits)

The study of selected current environmental issues and their scientific, social, economic and
philosophical origin and implications for the global community as it works toward a sustainable future. (3 credits)

An introduction to the areas of anthropology; archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural
anthropology, and linguistics. Topics include methods of dating archaeological finds; origins of humankind; theories of culture; relationship between language and culture, modern societies and anthropological concepts. Offered spring semester. (3 credits)

Theories, research, and methods/practices of Forensic Anthropology. Topics include crime detection; forensic context and recovery methods; initial treatment and examination of evidence;
forensic attributions (ancestry, age, and sex); trauma study; pathological conditions, and skeletal malies; post-mortem analysis and other aspects of individualization; record keeping and utilization; forensic ethics; testimony (preparation/presentation of evidence in legal and other settings). This course is cross listed with BIO 0243. Prerequisites: SOC 0100 or SOC 0110 and one Biology or Chemistry course or POI. (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)

A survey of major themes in American history in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Offered every other year, spring semester. (3 credits)

This course introduces pre-service secondary social studies and/or citizenship students to instructional strategies based upon an understanding of adolescent behavior and PA Academic Standards. Students will be placed in a secondary classroom where they will create lesson plans related to the PA Academic Standard. Competencies for the inclusive classroom are addressed. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. (3 credits)

An investigation of the ways historian’s collect, process, an disseminate information.
Offered spring semester. (3 credits)

Any five history courses
EDU 200 Development of Education in the United States may be substituted for one elective.

An introduction to the economic theories which explain national economic conditions in the United States. Topics include unemployment, inflation, economic fluctuations, productivity, and economic growth in the context of a global economy. Offered fall semester. (3 credits)

This course introduces students to the systematic study of politics and crucial concepts in the
discipline, including government, democracy, power, justice, and collective action. Course materials consist of philosophical and theoretical texts, case studies, political analyses, and documentaries. Upon completion, students will better understand the practice of politics on local, national, and international levels. Prerequisite: None. Open to First-Year students only. Offered fall semester. (3 credits)

Analysis of how the American Government works and why it works the way it does. We will consider what problems we think our government should solve and how it should solve those problems. We will examine the principal institutions of American Government: The Presidency, Congress, the Court system, the media, political parties, interest groups and elections. Each student will pick a current issue of special interest and follow it for the semester.
Prerequisites: None. (3 credits)

A study of the interaction in the major social institutions: the family, military, economy, religion,
education, government / legal, leisure, mass media, peer group, community, and social stratification. How everyday life is influenced by culture, status, and role constructs. Sociology as an applied/problem solving discipline is emphasized. Offered fall semester. (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)

A survey of major themes in American history in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Offered every other year, spring semester. (3 credits)

This course introduces students to the systematic study of politics and crucial concepts in the
discipline, including government, democracy, power, justice, and collective action. Course materials consist of philosophical and theoretical texts, case studies, political analyses, and documentaries. Upon completion, students will better understand the practice of politics on local, national, and international levels. Prerequisite: None. Open to First-Year students only. Offered fall semester. (3 credits)

Analysis of how the American Government works and why it works the way it does. We will consider what problems we think our government should solve and how it should solve those problems. We will examine the principal institutions of American Government: The Presidency, Congress, the Court system, the media, political parties, interest groups and elections. Each student will pick a current issue of special interest and follow it for the semester.
Prerequisites: None. (3 credits)

This course introduces students to the study of fforeign governments, foreign political behavior,
foreign political economy, and foreign political culture across the globe. It focuses on the objective comparison of how other societies organize their governments, how their people vote, how they solve common problems, and how their cultures influence their political behavior. The course surveys major democracies in the Western world as well as prominent non-Western countries. (3 credits)

HIS 274: How can studying history prepare you for your future career? That is the question that is explored in this skills-based course. There are no tests or quizzes in this offering. Instead, students will receive hands-on assistance in learning valuable skills that will serve them well in the marketplace. Among the skills to be explored are how to conduct basic research, framing questions for research papers, and advanced presentation skills. In the last weeks, students will explore careers that deal with these skills and create strategies to increase their chances of finding employment in area of their choice. Open to History majors and minors, to anyone who has still not declared a major, or with Permission of Instructor. No prerequisites.

PSC 350: This course introduces students to the planning and conduct of research in political science. The class, under the direction of the instructor, will devise and execute a small research project. By the end of the term, successful students will have learned the logic of social scientific inquiry, be familiar with political science methodology, and have completed a professional and publishable research project. (3 credits)

HIS-0482: Supervised experience in an institution, corporation, or agency that serves the public in cultural, political and/or historical areas. Interns in the Philadelphia metropolitan area will work with an on-site supervisor in cooperation with the director of the History Internship Program. Interns placed through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Internship Program will be supervised and evaluated according to the conditions of the particular internship. Open to top junior and senior history majors who are recommended by the history faculty. Credits to be arranged depending on the breadth and duration of the internship as documented in the internship contract.

PSC 455: Supervised experience in a legal or governmental agency or organization concerned with political issues. Students may intern in the RosemontAmerican University collaborative or a number of other internship possibilities in Washington and other locations across the country. Available during the school year or during the summer. Credit depends on particular internship and school year or summer options. Open to junior and senior Political Science majors. 

HIS 451: An investigation of the ways historian’s collect, process, an disseminate information.
Offered spring semester.

PSC-0455: PSC 400: The senior seminar is the culminating point of the political science major. Students partake in three critically important tasks: 1) participate in a weekly discussion of a mutually agreed course theme and lead at least one weekly class meeting. 2) Write a term paper related to the mutually agreed seminar theme. 3) Explore career options for political science majors.

Five Electives in American History or American Political Science

 

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)

A survey of major themes in American history in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Offered every other year, spring semester. (3 credits)

HIS 274: How can studying history prepare you for your future career? That is the question that is explored in this skills-based course. There are no tests or quizzes in this offering. Instead, students will receive hands-on assistance in learning valuable skills that will serve them well in the marketplace. Among the skills to be explored are how to conduct basic research, framing questions for research papers, and advanced presentation skills. In the last weeks, students will explore careers that deal with these skills and create strategies to increase their chances of finding employment in area of their choice. Open to History majors and minors, to anyone who has still not declared a major, or with Permission of Instructor. No prerequisites. (3 credits)

HIS 340: This course takes the city of Philadelphia as its text to expose students to various aspects of public history. Drawing on primary and secondary materials in addition to films and field trips, the course involves students in creating a public history project and exploring careers in public history. (3 credits)

An investigation of the ways historian’s collect, process, an disseminate information.
Offered spring semester. (3 credits)

Supervised experience in an institution, corporation, or agency that serves the public in cultural, political and/or historical areas. Interns in the Philadelphia metropolitan area will work with an on-site supervisor in cooperation with the director of the History Internship Program. Interns placed through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Internship Program will be supervised and evaluated according to the conditions of the particular internship. Open to top junior and senior history majors who are recommended by the history faculty. Credits to be arranged depending on the breadth and duration of the internship as documented in the internship contract.

Any five history courses

ARH-0175 - History of Art I and ARH-0176 - History Of Art II

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)

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)

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)

What is Latino? What is Latina? What historical forces in the American experience have brought together peoples and communities as diverse as, for instance, Chicanas from Los Angeles, Cuban Americans from Miami, and Dominican Americans and Puerto Ricans from New York City? Beginning in the sixteenth century and stretching to the present, this course will map the varied terrains of Latina/o history, exploring the Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, and Dominican American experiences in New Mexico, California, Texas, New York, the Midwest, and Florida. (3 credits)

America’s cultural identity embraces people of diverse backgrounds including many groups that we do not think of as having no “ethnic identity” since ethnicity has become synonymous with discourses of race in this country. This course will attempt to tease out the more complicated arguments underlying these national discussions by exploring how many “ethnic” groups, such as Irish Americans, German Americans, Italian Americans, and Jewish Americans, who were identified as ethnically “distinct” in the 19th and early 20th century America, and came to be seen as “white” or having “no” ethnicity by the mid-20th century. (3 credits)

In this seminar, we will examine childbirth in the United States from the colonial period to today. We will explore how control of childbirth has moved from women themselves to medical professionals. We will discuss the ways in which women have sought to re-assert control of childbirth in recent years. We will examine how a woman's religious, socio-economic, and ethnic status influence her experience of childbirth in various historical epochs. Students will work with both primary and secondary sources to complete an extensive term paper. (3 credits)

What historical forces have shaped the society we live in today? This course explores trends in American artistic, political, and social practices over the past century in order to understand the culture of the modern United States. Prerequisite: WRT 0110. (3 credits)

This course focuses on how Americans from diverse backgrounds have organized their sexual, reproductive, and social lives within the institution known as the family. Particular attention will be paid to the ways that experiences of the family differ along lines of class, race, ethnicity, and region. We will also consider changes over time to definitions of sexuality, expectations for reproduction, to prescriptive gender roles and gender ideologies, and to the sexual division of labor. Drawing on a variety of primary sources rooted in private life (diaries, letters, memoirs) as well as the social history, we will emphasize above all efforts by individuals to shape their lives, their communities, and American society more generally. (3 credits)