Saint Louis University
Course Descriptions
Fall 2016(201710)REV 4/11/16
Undergraduate Course Offerings…...Page 2
Graduate Course Offerings………….Page 7
Undergraduate Courses
Lower Division-Fall 2016
HIST 1110: Origins of the Modern World to 1500
History is dynamic—a series of people coming into contact with others, a story of travel, trade, the exchange of the ideas and,
sometimes, even tragic war. To do history, then, requires that we recognize the complexities of other people’s lives and times
in addition to learning who they were and when they died. Our goal will be to do just that, and our focus will be on the
origins of the Mediterranean world to c. 1500 C.E. covering nearly three thousand years, ours is an epic story. In our class,
you will learn how and where to find the evidence that tells us about the people of the Mediterranean past, from the Bronze
Age to the Renaissance. Sometimes this evidence is textual and documentary. Other times, it is archaeological and visual. Yet
each piece of evidence—whether from Athens or Africa—preserves the voice of someone who can tell us about the politics,
economy, family life, or religious concerns of their time. When taken together, they provide a complex answer to a seemingly
simple question that people have been asking for millennia when they first began to encounter people who were different
from themselves: “Tell me where you come from,” they would ask. We will explore the range of their answers together.
HIST
1110
01
10034
1100
1150
MWF
Boin
HIST 1110: Origins of the Modern World to 1500
A developmental and conceptual approach to Europe as the confluence of classical and oriental civilizations. The course will
cover ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and the Near East: Greece, Rome, Islam, Byzantium, and Germanic tribal
society: the contributions of each to the European Middle Ages, Renaissance, European Expansion, Scientific Revolution,
and Reformation.
HIST
1110
02
10118
1200
1250
MW
HIST
1110
03
16272
0930
1045
TR
Finan
HIST
1110
04
10637
1410
1500
MWF
HIST
1110
05
11500
1310
1400
MWF
Ruff - Inquiry
HIST
1110
06H
13132
1245
1400
TR
Gilbert
HIST
1110
07
13133
0930
1045
TR
HIST
1110
09
15158
1415
1530
TR
HIST
1110
10
13134
1100
1215
TR
HIST
1110
11
13135
0900
0950
MWF
HIST
1110
12
15176
1730
2000
T
HIST
1110
13
16277
1100
12:15
TR
Schlafly
HIST 1120: Origins of the Modern World 1500 to Present
A developmental and conceptual approach emphasizing increasing awareness of and contact with the rest of the world. The
course will cover transatlantic encounters, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, the Scientific Revolution, Absolutism,
the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, Modernism, and imperialism.
HIST
1120
01H
10655
1415
1530
TR
Dr. Philp Gavitt
HIST
1120
02
10656
1100
1215
TR
Dr. George Ndege
HIST
1120
03
10657
1000
1050
MWF
Dr. Jennifer Popiel
HIST
1120
04
10658
1200
1250
MWF
HIST
1120
05
10659
0900
0950
MWF
HIST
1120
06
13140
0930
1045
TR
HIST
1120
07
13141
1310
1400
MWF
HIST
1120
08
13142
0930
1045
TR
HIST
1120
09
15182
0930
1045
TR
HIST
1120
11
15182
1730
2000
R
2
HIST 2600: US History to 1865:
This course covers American history from the period of contact through the Civil War. Topics include the collision of
European, African, and Native American cultures in the age of contact and settlement; colonial British North America; the
American Revolution and the Constitution; geographic expansion and social, economic, and cultural change in the
Jacksonian era; slavery and the sectional conflict, and the Civil War.
HIST
2600
01
15495
09:30
1045
TR
Rozbicki
HIST 2610: History of the United States Since 1865:
This course will survey the major historical development in American history as the United States emerged as a major world
power. The course will examine such issues as the shift from a rural agrarian to an urban industrial nation, the shifting view
of the role of government in society and the economy, and the evolution of foreign policy from nineteenth century isolation
to world super power in the years after World War II. The format of the course will be lecture and discussion.
HIST
2610
01
13145
2:15
3:30
TR
HIST
2610
02
15500
1000
1050
MWF
TBD
TBD
HIST 2700: China to Japan up to 1600:
This course will introduce students to the histories and cultures of China and Japan from the origins to the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644) and the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868). Students will be guided in analyzing pieces of
archaeological, historical, literary, and artistic evidence and in developing a comparative perspective with the
West. Funerary and ritual practices, warfare, state formation, ideology, and the influence of Confucianism, Daoism,
Shintoism, and Buddhism on institutions and society will be among the main themes treated in class.
HIST
2700
01
16393
1100
1215
TR
Marsilli
3
Undergraduate Courses
Upper Division
Fall 2016
HIST 2800: Historian’s Craft: The goal of the History Workshop is to equip students to do the work of historians and
to prepare them for a successful career as a history major (and a vocation after college, no matter what that job might be.
More precisely, this course will help develop the reading, writing, analytical, and research skills necessary for tackling
assignments and research projects in 300-level courses and in the senior seminar. To that end, we will read books from a
variety of fields using a variety of historical methodologies and address different career paths that employ disciplined
historical thinking. The idea is to learn how to think critically about sources and arguments and to hone your analytical skills
in our seminars and your weekly assignments. Along the way we’ll read some great books and learn about a lot of different
historical fields too!
.
HIST
2800
01
1415
1530
12:15
TR
Marsili
HIST 3000: Ancient Greece:
This course, with lectures and discussions, will cover ancient Greek history from the Mycenaean age through the Hellenistic
period (roughly 1600BC to 30BC). Readings will include Homer’s Odyssey, Sappho, Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes,
Plato, and Plutarch. There will be a midterm examination, a final examination, and a research paper of about 4000 words.
HIST
3000
01
18191
1415
1530
TR
Treadgold
HIST
3000
01H
18201
1415
1530
TR
Treadgold
HIST 3010: Roman Republic
The history of Rome from its origins to the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. An examination of Roman myth
associated with the city’s foundation, the Roman monarchy, the founding of the Republic, the conquest of the Mediterranean
and the establishment of the provincial system, the gradual loss of senatorial effectiveness, and the eventual dominance of
Caesar’s Dictatorship.
HIST
3010
01
18200
1310
1400
MWF
Boin
HIST
3010
01 H
18201
1310
1400
MWF
Boin
HIST 3140: Twentieth Century Europe: Era of World Wars, 1914-1945
Background and events of World War I; the inter-war period and the rise of Fascism and Nazism; the origins and events of
World War II.
HIST
3140
01
18203
1310
1400
MWF
Ruff
HIST
3140
01 H
18204
1310
1400
MWF
Ruff
HIST 3240: Africa Since 1884
This course explores the modern history of Africa since 1884. It focuses on the political, economic, and socio-cultural
developments that have defined and characterized African societies since the late nineteenth century. Inventory of themes
include: Africa in the age of New Imperialism, colonialism and its effects as well as misrepresentations, Africa and its
Diaspora, trends and patterns in African nationalisms, Decolonization, and postcolonial challenges including, but not limited
to, state and conflict, health and society, and economic development.
HIST
3240
01
18203
1310
1400
MWF
HIST
3240
01 H
18204
1310
1400
MWF
Ndege
Ndege
4
HIST 3280: HISTORY OF RUSSIA TO 1905
This course covers the history of Russia from its origins through the 1905 Revolution. After a brief survey of the land and the
peoples of the region, we examine how the introduction of Christianity from Byzantium in 988 shaped the religious, cultural,
and political character of Kievan Rus’ and its successors. The Mongol invasion of the 13 th century destroyed the Kievan state,
enabled the rise of Moscow, and largely isolated Russia from the West. The Muscovite grand dukes, later tsars, established
autocratic rule in union with the Russian Orthodox Church and expanded their control in Russian and non-Russian areas, as
far as the Pacific in the 17th century. Also in the 17th century, Russia survived civil war and a Polish invasion. In the 18 th
century, Peter the Great and his successors, especially Catherine the Great, continued Russia’s expansion west and south,
westernized key areas of Russian life, and strengthened autocratic rule. The 19 th century saw victory over Napoleon in 1812
and further expansion in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Far East, as well notable cultural and scientific achievements.
After Alexander II abolished serfdom in 1861, industry and commerce developed, but Russia remained overwhelmingly rural
and backward, lagging behind other powers. Opposition and revolutionary movements increasingly challenged the regime.
Defeat by Japan in 1904-1905 inspired the 1905 Revolution, which, although unsuccessful laid bare weakness of tsarist
Russia and foreshadowed the successful revolutions of 1917 which ended over 300 years of Romanov rule and brought the
Communists to power for almost 75 years. A general textbook, plus several primary to explore particular political and
cultural topics in more depth. There will be three essay exams in the course of the semester, plus a research paper and shorter
papers on the assigned readings.
HIST
3280
01
18207
1000
1050
MWF
HIST
3280
01 H
18208
1000
1050
MWF
Schlafly
Schlafly
HIST 3500: Progressive Era to the Jazz Age, 1890-1920
What was progressive about the turn of the 20th century? What do we mean by the Jazz Age? To answer these two
overarching questions, this class will study U.S. history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During these years, the
U.S. became the largest industrial power in the world and students will examine the dramatic changes that accompanied
enormous economic power—immigration unlike anything the country had seen to that date, urbanization that changed the
face of U.S. cities, and a new foreign policy unprecedented in its expansion of U.S. influence globally. Students will also
scrutinize fights against and for racial segregation, the Great Migration, and the ways racism worked in U.S. law. The class
will explore the music and the movies of these years, studying just what people did with their free time. Students will address
why the U.S. government put land, roughly equal to the size of France, into a system of national parks and forests. Students
will also answer questions ranging from why some labor laws protected women and children, but not men, and why, in 1919,
Americans amended the Constitution to ban alcohol. The course will conclude by examining the U.S. role in World War I
and its domestic and foreign policy legacies.
HIST
3500
01
18209
1410
1500
MWF
Hester
HIST 3930: Ancient China: A Social and Cultural History
This course provides a social and cultural history of the civilizations of China from the Neolithic era (ca. 7000 BCE) to the
early Middle Period (ca. 3rd - 6th cent. CE). The class explores several aspects of the public and private lives of Chinese elites,
commoners, and outsiders through the analysis of material evidence, primary documents, and scholarly essays. Among the
themes treated in class are political and philosophical speculations, the relationship with spirits and ghosts, afterlife, gender
and sexuality, conceptions about the body, the family, food, trade, labor, slavery, violence, martial arts, justice, and so on.
The course also offers the opportunity of acquiring a deeper understanding of cultural traditions such as Daoism,
Confucianism, and Buddhism both from a theoretical and a ritual point of view.
At the end of the semester, in addition to mastering basic information about ancient Chinese societies and developing
analytical skills specific to the study of the past, students will be able to engage in informed conversations on ethical and
moral themes in a cross-cultural perspective. The course will consist of both lectures and discussion sessions. The final
grades will be based on class participation, brief in-class questionnaires, and a final paper.
*No previous knowledge of Mandarin or classical Chinese is required.
HIST
3930
01
16442
930
1045
TR
Marsili
5
HIST 3930: Slavery in Film and Popular Culture History
The institution of slavery had a profound impact on the Atlantic world. Yet it has not always been the easiest topic for public
discussion. Outside of the classroom much of what we know, or think we know, about slavery often comes from popular
media--especially film and television. Classics like Gone with the Wind, television miniseries like Roots and most recently
blockbuster films such as Django and 12 Years a Slave have done much to shape our perspective and however "remember"
the slave system, its victims and its participants. This course seeks to examine slavery in the Atlantic world as displayed in
films, television, advertisement and other depictions in popular culture over the past century.
HIST
3930
02
18210
1415
1530
TR
Thompson
Undergraduate Fall 2016
Seminar Courses
HIST4900: Race, Rights, and Revolutions in the Atlantic World
The age of Atlantic Revolutions was decisive in shaping the modern West. It implemented the ideals of the Enlightenment,
promoted the interests of the middle classes, quickened the growth of the modern state, and gave birth to nationalism. And
yet, even as Enlightenment ideals foregrounded human rights, revolutions based on the philosophy of the eighteenth
century often failed to confront the promises implicit in phrases like “liberté, egalité, et fraternité.”
In this course, each student will examine the American, French, and Haitian revolutions and use primary and secondary
sources to explore an aspect of the debate over rights and revolution. By the end of the course, each student will have
developed an individual interpretation that culminates in a research paper.
HIST
4900
01
16449
1310
1400
MWF
Popiel
HIST 4910: Internship/History in Practice
This course gives students the opportunity to serve as unpaid interns in the area of public history, historic preservation,
archives, library and museum science. Students work an equivalent of 8-10 hours per week for the semester, keep a journal of
their activities, and receive an evaluation by the professional in charge of supervising their work. Students may undertake an
internship with organizations in the St. Louis area or most anywhere in the world. The instructor works with students to
identify internship work that matches their interests and to place them with appropriate organizations .
Section:
30
Dr. Silvana Siddali
6
Graduate Courses
Fall 2016
HIST 5000: Theory and Practice of History: An Introduction
This course will examine some of the most influential theories of today's intellectual marketplace that affect the study of
history. From historical materialism, through structuralism, semiotics, post structuralism, postmodernism, postcolonial and
critical theory, to gender and narrative history, we will discuss their premises, rationales, and their usefulness in terms of the
insights they offer to the historian. Apart from reviewing various theoretical approaches, we will also discuss their
applications by examining selected cases of scholarship that employ them as tools of interpretation and as forms of writing
about the past.
HIST
5000
01
10660
1630
1900
T
Gavitt
HIST 5200: Introduction to Byzantine History
This course is designed to introduce you to the main reference works and other secondary and primary literature needed to
study Byzantine history at the graduate level, including scholarly journals and Internet resources. In the first part of the
course, each week you will prepare, present in class, and hand in a report of about 1500 words on an assigned book or books.
In the second part of the course, you will write, present in class, and hand in a paper of about 7500 words on a topic of your
choice related to Byzantine history (subject to my approval), using whatever works we have already discussed that are
relevant to your topic. The weekly reports will determine 50% of your grade and the paper will determine the remaining
50%, subject to adjustment for class participation if it is noticeably better or worse than the reports and paper.
HIST
5200
01
18270
1630
1900
R
Treadgold
HIST 5300: Introduction to Medieval History
An examination of the most important topics in medieval history including historiographic background, literature, and current
trends. This course will acquaint the student with the work and thought of the leading scholars in medieval studies as well as
differing perspectives.
HIST
5300
01
13167
1310
1600
M
Madden
HIST 5310: Myth and Reality in Medieval Iberia
This course explores the history of the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages, where the three religions of Christianity, Islam
and Judaism for a long time co-existed, sometimes in conflict, sometimes by compromise. We will develop a command of the
historiography concerning Medieval Spain and through careful use of a range of primary sources, we will look at how the
three sides viewed themselves and understood (or more often misunderstood) each other. Discussing questions of faith and
tolerance, we also examine how modern historians superimpose their values on the societies of the past. The course consists
of weekly essays and text commentaries.
HIST
5310
01
13549
1630
1900
W
Smith
7
HIST 5410: Adv. Studies Early Mod Euro History -Economies and Exchanges: Credit, Trust, and
Reputation from the Late Medieval to the Dawn of the Modern Period
This Advanced Studies Seminar explores the mechanisms by which credit, trust, and reputation were created and maintained
in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic World from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Though credit, trust, and
reputation will be primarily defined in terms of their role in economic exchanges, throughout the semester we will also
examine how such concepts might be applied to other contexts of exchange (social, political, cultural, even linguistic). The
class will study the development of these mechanisms in the context of trade diasporas, guilds, banks, cross-cultural trade,
commodity circulation, monetary theory, royal and imperial administration, international relations, port institutions, etc. We
will consider the most recent work being done in economic history of this period, including questions of how economic
exchange affected social networks and political relationships, as well as how exchange took place in contexts of legal
pluralism. We will also read some of the foundational social science literature on exchange (economic and otherwise) to
evaluate how historians have and can use these theories in concert with archival research. In the last weeks of class we will
compare recent scholarship with classic works of twentieth-century economic history.
HIST
5410
01
15519
1630
1900
R
Gilbert
HIST 5600: Studies in American History
5600 introduces students to major trends and interpretations in American historiography. Required course readings reflect a
wide range of fields (gender, foreign policy, race, economy) and approaches (monograph, synthesis, narrative). Some books
are by first-time authors—revised dissertations—while others represent the culmination of long careers. All are models of the
historical craft: deeply researched, imaginatively structured, and eloquently written. Students engage in weekly class
conversations, offer a digital humanities presentation, and complete the following writing assignments: one-page summaries
of all common books; 700-word scholarly reviews for individually-chosen books; a 3000-word essay based on individuallychosen secondary readings.
HIST
5600
01
15522
1630
1900
M
Glover
HIST 5610: Adv. Studies American History -History of the American West
By using the American West as their object of study and their inspiration, historians of the American West have offered
innovative interpretations of race relations in North American history, pioneered (so to speak) transnational approaches to
U.S. history, provided detailed explanations of the expansion of the power of the federal government in the twentieth century,
and incorporated environmental history into studies of rural and urban areas alike. Not surprisingly, western historians have
been the recipients of numerous awards in the past two decades. The field is vibrant and growing. This class will introduce
students to classic works in western history and to new, cutting-edge scholarship, particularly in the fields of indigenous
studies, regionalism, utopian communities, and land use. Writing assignments will be tailored to students’ needs so that
students may choose between furthering a research project, designing teaching materials about the West, proposing a
museum exhibit, or writing history for a general audience.
HIST
5610
01
16457
1630
1900
W
Burke
HIST 6900: Professional Writing for Historians
Professional Writing for Historians is the first half (3crs) of a two-semester program (6crs) designed to assist students in
making the critical transition from coursework to professional writing and dissertation research as efficiently and effectively
as possible. Graduate study in the first two years of a student’s program has followed the well-delineated lines of course
requirements and language training. Building on this phase, a student must now use that knowledge and skill to carry out a
more amorphous task, namely to conduct original research somewhat independently in order to complete the Ph.D. program
successfully and to launch a career as a publishing professional historian. At this point, a student faces three challenges: to
conceptualize the dissertation, to fund a year of research, and to begin establishing a record of scholarship.
This two-semester course of study will help students achieve these objectives by providing hands-on mentoring and a
collaborative network so that by the end of the academic year they will have completed an accepted dissertation prospectus,
tendered a competitive application for an external grant, and submitted an article to a respected academic journal for
publication. In this first semester course, students will gain strategies to the challenges of competing in the academic job
market, complete and submit a grant proposal, and begin their dissertation prospectus
HIST
6900
01
13564
1630
1900
T
Parker
8