HISTORY DEPARTMENT
GRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Fall 2016
HIS 500 (6115) (1cr)
Practicum in College Teaching
D. Hochfelder (dhochfelder@albany.edu)
ARR
Discussion and analysis in a workshop setting of teaching techniques and aims as well as of various
aspects of the historical professions, such as job interviews, ethics, departmental responsibilities,
and non-academic careers. Required of, and limited to, doctoral candidates. The course will be
taken over two semesters for one credit each semester.
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HIS 500 (10224) (1cr)
S. Bernard (sbernard@albany.edu)
BBB 003
Tues 6-9 pm (not every week)
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Writing the Successful Proposal
[NOTE: This section of HIS 500 is for History doctoral students who have already completed or are
currently enrolled in Prof. Hochfelder’s HIS 500, in addition to History M.A. students.] This
workshop is for students who may soon be applying for research or travel grants, fellowships, or
book contracts, and for those seeking to learn more about what it takes to raise funds for projects,
such as conferences, exhibits, or media productions. How do you find opportunities, analyze RFPs,
and present yourself and your work in their strongest light? In addition to various tasks and
writing exercises, students will share, analyze, revise, and rewrite proposals (whether actual or
invented) of their own. S/U grading.
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HIS 501 (1976) (3crs)
R. Campbell (rcampbell@albany.edu)
Mon 2:45pm-5:35pm
HU 113
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Introduction to Public History
Ever wondered what you can do with a degree in history? This course introduces students to the
ways that historians create historical narratives for broad audiences outside of academia including:
history as entertainment, historic preservation, museums, archeology, family genealogy, and more.
Through readings, multi-media, papers, projects, and discussions we explore what public historians
do and the career opportunities that exist in the field. While this course might inspire some of you
to become imaginative and effective public historians in the future, it will hopefully help all of you
to be astute consumers of the many historical venues vying for your attention.
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HIS 504 (10226) (3crs)
Curatorial Practices for Historical Agencies
J. Lemak (jlemak@albany.edu)
Wed 4:15pm-7:05pm
***Class meets at the New York State Museum. Meet the instructor in the main lobby of the
museum. Late students will not have access to class for the evening.
This course will focus on all aspects of collection development and collection management for
museums. Topics covered include the development of collections policies, procedures related to
the acquisition of objects, collection record keeping including computerization, de-accessioning,
inventories, loans, insurance and collection access. Issues related to collections care such as
maintaining a museum environment, proper storage and handling techniques, object conservations,
security, and disaster preparedness will be covered. There will also be an introduction to the
planning of exhibitions, artifact selection and interpretation, and exhibition design. The class will
utilize and learn from the History Collections at the New York State Museum.
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HIS 599 (1978) (1-4crs)
Special Projects in History, Public History, and History & Media
D. Hochfelder (dhochfelder@albany.edu)
ARR
Supervised work on projects in coordination with local museums, historical agencies, or
organizations engaged in history-focused media production. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and department chair. Students working with outside agencies
must have lined up an internship in advance of requesting permission to register for HIS 599;
students proposing an independent research or media project must submit a written proposal and
demonstrate competency in necessary technical skills prior to requesting permission.
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HIS 599 (4119) (1-4crs)
Special Projects in History, Public History, and History & Media
G. Zahavi (gzahavi@albany.edu)
ARR
Supervised work on projects in coordination with local museums, historical agencies, or
organizations engaged in history-focused media production. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and department chair. Students working with outside agencies
must have lined up an internship in advance of requesting permission to register for HIS 599;
students proposing an independent research or media project must submit a written proposal and
demonstrate competency in necessary technical skills prior to requesting permission.
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HIS 600 (1979) (4crs)
Colloquium on the Theory and Practice of History
N. Kizenko (nkizenko@albany.edu)
Tue 5:45pm-8:35pm
SS 145
This course does two things. First, it reviews the broadest contours of historiography. Second, it
introduces the Ph.D. program’s thematic fields: Cultural History, Gender History, International,
Global and Comparative History, Public Policy History, and Social and Economic History. We also
make forays into Public/Digital Media History. Department faculty members lead class sessions on
their respective areas of expertise, and students begin developing a reading expertise in one of
these fields. Taken together, the two parts of this course should give you a novice’s grounding in
professional history as practiced in the United States today. Open only to incoming doctoral
students in history. Permission of the instructor required.
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HIS 603 (10014) (4crs)
Readings in United States History
R. Hamm (rhamm@albany.edu)
Thu 5:45pm-8:35pm
SS 255
*Also taught as History 630 (10015)
From the colonial period through today, the American legal system has produced notable or
notorious trials which tell historians much about the workings of American society. This reading
seminar will sweep through American history looking at number of different trials, both civil and
criminal, both trials of first instance and trials that were carried to courts of last resorts. The goal is
to use these trials to explore a number of themes in the American past: You will read basically a
book a week, participate in class discussion, and write some short papers.
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HIS 603 (10018) (4crs)
Readings in United States History: Readings in U.S. Local and
Regional History
G. Zahavi (gzahavi@albany.edu)
Mon 5:45pm-8:35pm
SS 117
*Also taught as History 621 (10019), 628 (10020), & 642 (10021)
This readings course will introduce students to seminal and recent historical works representative
of a variety of approaches and methodologies in the study of U.S. local and regional history. While
global history has taken center stage in recent years, there can be no adequate understanding of
historical change in the world, or in the U.S., without also understanding the regional patterns that
continue to separate and define smaller geographical territories, and especially localized
communities. In this course, we’ll examine the nature and forms of community and local and
regional identities – and the social, economic, cultural, and political relationships that shape and
transform them. We’ll focus on such topics as regional economies, frontiers, borderlands (and the
phenomena of cultural resistance, diffusion, and amalgamation), community formation and decline,
regionally- and locally-focused political, social, and religious movements, regional cultural
movements, and much more. We’ll look especially at major historical controversies that have
engaged and continue to engage researchers and writers focusing on local and regional identity and
history. We’ll also explore the variety of primary sources that local and regional historians heavily
rely on -- and the strengths and limitations of these sources. Finally, we will examine how media
producers have utilized non-textual mediums to represent and define local and regional history.
Each week we will read at least one monograph in common. Additional readings, films, and radio
documentaries will complement the core monographs.
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HIS 609 (10580) (4crs)
Seminar in American History
K. Graves (kgraves@albany.edu)
Wed 2:45pm-5:35pm
BBB 362
*Also taught as History 629 (10582) & 640 (10583)
This research seminar will allow students to explore a wide range of topics that relate to some
aspect of U.S. social, economic, and/or gender history. Students will conduct original research with
the goal of producing a 25-page essay that could become a dissertation chapter or an article for a
peer-reviewed journal. In the first weeks of the course, students will craft a research question,
outline a research plan, and identify the primary evidence they plan to use. While each of these
elements might change throughout the semester, students will work from the foundation they
establish in the first weeks to complete a thorough and thoughtful analysis of sources. In class
meetings and individual meeting with the professor throughout the research and writing phases of
the semester, students will engage in discussions and research activities that will enable them to
devise strategies to address research and writing challenges. Students will also work in pairs and
groups to hone their skills as editors and peer reviewers. Students should contact the professor
before the fall semester begins to discuss topics and preliminary research activities to help them
prepare for the demanding schedule they will need to follow once the semester begins.
4
HIS 611 (10022) (4crs)
Readings in European History: The Crusades
D. Korobeynikov (dkorobeynikov@albany.edu)
Wed 4:15pm-7:05pm
SLG 24
The course will review the recent boom in historical scholarship on the Crusades and on the
medieval interaction of Christianity and Islam more generally. Topics to be included are: crusader
motivations, criticism against the crusade and propaganda for it, the Spanish Reconquista, monastic
military orders, spin-off ‘crusades’ in Northern Europe and Southern France. We will also look at
non-violent European approaches to Islam such as trade, mission, or academic argument.
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HIS 628 (10020) (4crs)
Readings in U.S. Local and Regional History
G. Zahavi (gzahavi@albany.edu)
Mon 5:45pm-8:35pm
SS 117
*Also taught as History 603 (10018), 621 (10019), & 642 (10021)
This readings course will introduce students to seminal and recent historical works representative
of a variety of approaches and methodologies in the study of U.S. local and regional history. While
global history has taken center stage in recent years, there can be no adequate understanding of
historical change in the world, or in the U.S., without also understanding the regional patterns that
continue to separate and define smaller geographical territories, and especially localized
communities. In this course, we’ll examine the nature and forms of community and local and
regional identities – and the social, economic, cultural, and political relationships that shape and
transform them. We’ll focus on such topics as regional economies, frontiers, borderlands (and the
phenomena of cultural resistance, diffusion, and amalgamation), community formation and decline,
regionally- and locally-focused political, social, and religious movements, regional cultural
movements, and much more. We’ll look especially at major historical controversies that have
engaged and continue to engage researchers and writers focusing on local and regional identity and
history. We’ll also explore the variety of primary sources that local and regional historians heavily
rely on -- and the strengths and limitations of these sources. Finally, we will examine how media
producers have utilized non-textual mediums to represent and define local and regional history.
Each week we will read at least one monograph in common. Additional readings, films, and radio
documentaries will complement the core monographs.
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HIS 629 (10582) (4crs)
Seminar in Social and Economic History
K. Graves (kgraves@albany.edu)
Tue 2:45pm-5:35pm
BBB 362
*Also taught as History 609 (10580) & 640 (10583)
This research seminar will allow students to explore a wide range of topics that relate to some
aspect of U.S. social, economic, and/or gender history. Students will conduct original research with
the goal of producing a 25-page essay that could become a dissertation chapter or an article for a
peer-reviewed journal. In the first weeks of the course, students will craft a research question,
outline a research plan, and identify the primary evidence they plan to use. While each of these
elements might change throughout the semester, students will work from the foundation they
establish in the first weeks to complete a thorough and thoughtful analysis of sources. In class
meetings and individual meeting with the professor throughout the research and writing phases of
the semester, students will engage in discussions and research activities that will enable them to
devise strategies to address research and writing challenges. Students will also work in pairs and
groups to hone their skills as editors and peer reviewers. Students should contact the professor
before the fall semester begins to discuss topics and preliminary research activities to help them
prepare for the demanding schedule they will need to follow once the semester begins.
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HIS 630 (10015) (4crs)
Readings in Public Policy
R. Hamm (rhamm@albany.edu)
Thu 5:45pm-8:35pm
SS 255
*Also taught as History 603 (10014)
From the colonial period through today, the American legal system has produced notable or
notorious trials which tell historians much about the workings of American society. This reading
seminar will sweep through American history looking at number of different trials, both civil and
criminal, both trials of first instance and trials that were carried to courts of last resorts. The goal is
to use these trials to explore a number of themes in the American past: You will read basically a
book a week, participate in class discussion, and write some short papers.
*
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HIS 633 (9099) (4crs)
Readings in International History: World History & the
Enviroment
M. Aso (maso@albany.edu)
Mon 2:45pm-5:35pm
BBB 004
This course is a graduate reading seminar that explores recent approaches to writing world
environmental history. The readings for this course will include both articles and monographs that
adopt comparative and world perspectives as well as those that focus on particular locations across
the globe.
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HIS 640 (10583) (4crs)
Seminar in Gender and Society
K. Graves (kgraves@albany.edu)
Tue 2:45pm-5:35pm
BBB 362
*Also taught as History 609 (10580) & 629 (10582)
This research seminar will allow students to explore a wide range of topics that relate to some
aspect of U.S. social, economic, and/or gender history. Students will conduct original research with
the goal of producing a 25-page essay that could become a dissertation chapter or an article for a
peer-reviewed journal. In the first weeks of the course, students will craft a research question,
outline a research plan, and identify the primary evidence they plan to use. While each of these
elements might change throughout the semester, students will work from the foundation they
establish in the first weeks to complete a thorough and thoughtful analysis of sources. In class
meetings and individual meeting with the professor throughout the research and writing phases of
the semester, students will engage in discussions and research activities that will enable them to
devise strategies to address research and writing challenges. Students will also work in pairs and
groups to hone their skills as editors and peer reviewers. Students should contact the professor
before the fall semester begins to discuss topics and preliminary research activities to help them
prepare for the demanding schedule they will need to follow once the semester begins.
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HIS 642 (10021) (4crs)
Readings in Culture and Society: Readings in U.S. Local and
Regional History
G. Zahavi (gzahavi@albany.edu)
Mon 5:45pm-8:35pm
SS 117
*Also taught as History 603 (10018), 621 (10019), & 628 (10020)
This readings course will introduce students to seminal and recent historical works representative
of a variety of approaches and methodologies in the study of U.S. local and regional history. While
global history has taken center stage in recent years, there can be no adequate understanding of
historical change in the world, or in the U.S., without also understanding the regional patterns that
continue to separate and define smaller geographical territories, and especially localized
communities. In this course, we’ll examine the nature and forms of community and local and
regional identities – and the social, economic, cultural, and political relationships that shape and
transform them. We’ll focus on such topics as regional economies, frontiers, borderlands (and the
phenomena of cultural resistance, diffusion, and amalgamation), community formation and decline,
regionally- and locally-focused political, social, and religious movements, regional cultural
movements, and much more. We’ll look especially at major historical controversies that have
engaged and continue to engage researchers and writers focusing on local and regional identity and
history. We’ll also explore the variety of primary sources that local and regional historians heavily
rely on -- and the strengths and limitations of these sources. Finally, we will examine how media
producers have utilized non-textual mediums to represent and define local and regional history.
Each week we will read at least one monograph in common. Additional readings, films, and radio
documentaries will complement the core monographs.
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HIS 697 (XXXX) (1-4crs)
TBD
Arranged
TBD
Independent Study in History
Directed reading and conferences on selected topics in history for the M.A. student. Prerequisite:
Consent of Instructor and department chair.
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HIS 698 (6790) (2-6crs)
G. Zahavi (GZahavi@albany.edu)
Arranged
TBD
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History and Media Masters Project
This course provides MA students concentrating in History and Media [declared prior to the
streamlining of the public history MA, effective Fall 2015] or MA students concentrating in Public
History, an opportunity to plan, conduct research, and produce a substantial media project
reflecting their area of expertise and interest. Faculty have individual class numbers for HIS 698:
Permission of Supervising Instructor Required.
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HIS 699 (2-6crs)
TBD
Arranged
TBD
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Master’s Thesis in History
Independent research leading to an acceptable thesis for a master's degree. Prerequisite: Consent
of department chair.
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HIS 797 (2crs)
Directed Readings in Public History
S. Bernard (sbernard@albany.edu)
Arranged
TBD
Supervised reading related to the student's project in His 798B. Prerequisite: Registration in 798B
and consent of the director of the program in public history.
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HIS 798A (2023) (6crs)
Directed Readings in Public History
S. Bernard (sbernard@albany.edu)
Arranged
TBD
Full-time internship with an agency concerned with historical and cultural resource policy. All
interns are required to participate in regularly scheduled internship colloquium meetings. Interns
are expected to undertake and complete a major project. Required of all students in the public
history certificate program. Prerequisite: Consent of the director of the program in public history.
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HIS 798B (2024)(6crs)
Directed Readings in Public History
S. Bernard (sbernard@albany.edu)
Arranged
TBD
Full-time internship with an agency concerned with historical and cultural resource policy. All
interns are required to participate in regularly scheduled internship colloquium meetings. Interns
are expected to undertake and complete a major project. Required of all students in the public
history certificate program. Prerequisite: Consent of the director of the program in public history.
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HIS 799 (6crs)
Public History Project Thesis
G. Zahavi (gzahavi@albany.edu)
Arranged
TBD
A major work on an aspect of historical and cultural resource policy, deriving from the project in
His 798A, B. Required of all students in the public history certificate program. Prerequisites:
Student must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in His 798A, B, and must have consent of
the director of the program in public history.
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HIS 897 (1-6crs)
TBD
Arranged
TBD
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Directed Reading in History
Supervised reading in history to prepare students for the general examinations in the history Ph.D.
program. Prerequisite: Consent of the student's advisor and instructor.
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HIS 898 (1-4crs)
Dissertation Proposal
Supervised study in history in which doctoral students prepare the dissertation proposal.
Prerequisite: Consent of the student's advisor and instructor. By permission only. May be taken
for a maximum of four credits.
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HIS 899 (1crs)
TBD
Arranged
TBD
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Doctoral Dissertation
Load graded. Appropriate for doctoral students engaged in research and writing of the dissertation.
Prerequisite: Admission to doctoral candidacy.
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