Department
of History
“The past is a foreign country; they do
things differently there.” -J.P. Hartley
Join the History Department! Travel to
exotic, distant lands. Meet exciting, unusual
people….your ancestors.
Everybody needs History.
So you want to be a History major.
What you can do with a History
degree.
Graduate History at TAMUK.
Meet the History department.
Course Descriptions.
Student Organizations
History Fits Your Degree Plan
• General Education Requirements
– U.S. History: HIST 1301 and HIST 1302
– Any HIST exclusive of Texas and/or U.S. History
• Most education majors take HIST 3346 Texas
History
• Engineers must take one advanced history or
political science course. See Course Listings
• Business Majors
• Ag & Human Sciences: HIST 2321 or 2322 fulfills
Gen Ed requirements.
What can you do with an
undergraduate degree in history?
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A history degree is leadership training.
History prepares communicators.
Historians and business.
Historians in the legal professions.
Information Management.
Teaching History.
Majoring in History*
• Introductory Courses.
– U.S. History Surveys (6 credits)
– World Civilization Courses (6 credits)
• HIST 3301 Historical Methods.
• One advanced course each from three of
the following areas: U.S., Latin American,
European, or Non-Western history.
• One Topics Course.
33 credit hours of history (21 advanced)
*Degree Plans vary: B.A. History, B.A. History with Teaching
Cert.; B.A. Social Studies Composite (see advisor for details).
History outside the United States
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HIST 2321 The Development of World Civilization (to 1500)
HIST 2322 The Development of World Civilization (since 1500)
HIST 3312 Europe in the Middle Ages
HIST 3314 Great Britain since 1603
HIST 3316 Europe, 1815-1914
HIST 3318 Europe since 1914
HIST 3320 Russia
HIST 3350 Latin America
HIST 3356 Mexico
HIST 3360 Women in History
HIST 3370 Asian History
HIST 4324 Technology and Society
Topics courses in European, Latin American, and NonWestern History
U.S. HISTORY COURSES
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HIST 1301 U.S. History to 1877
HIST 1302 U.S. History since 1877
HIST 3332 American Controversy and Conflict
HIST 3334 The Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 3336 America’s Rise to World Power
HIST 3338 The United States Since 1945
HIST 3340 United States Social and Cultural History
HIST 3342 United States Foreign Policy
HIST 3344 American Frontier
HIST 3346 Texas History
HIST 3348 History of the Mexican American
Topics courses
Topics Courses
These courses are intensive seminars on specialized
topics, culminating in the production of a significant
research paper. For examples of previous offerings, see
below.
•HIST 4370
•HIST 4392
•HIST 4396
•HIST 4380
Crucial Topics
Crucial Topics
Crucial Topics
Crucial Topics
in European History
in Latin American History
in Non-Western History
in United States History
Each history major must take at least one topics
course to graduate.
Professor Terrence J. Barragy
Russia, U.S. Military, Diplomatic, Texas Longhorns
Professor Sonny B. Davis
Brazil, South America, Latin America-United States Relations,
Latin American Military, Portugal and Spain
Professor Harry R. Huebel
American Social and Cultural, Environmental, American
Culture of the 1950s and 1960s.
Regents Professor Leslie Gene Hunter
American West, Southwest, Methods of Historical Research.
Associate Professor Dean T. Ferguson
France, Early Modern and Medieval Europe, Cultural History
Associate Professor Larry Knight
Texas, Urban History, Gilded Age, U.S. Civil War
Associate Professor Brenda Melendy
Germany, Modern Europe, Holocaust, Africa
Assistant Professor Michael Houf
China/Asia, Middle East, Hong Kong
Assistant Professor Shannon L. Baker
Mexican History, with an emphasis on early 19th century;
Mexican American History.
Assistant Professor Roger Tuller
U.S. Constitutional and Legal History; U.S. to 1815; Texas
History
Emeritus Professor Ward Sloan Albro III
Mexican-American, Latin America, Mexican Revolution,
Mexican Culture.
Administrative Assistant Carolyn Kupke
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Recent Books from the History
Department *
*Since 1996
TAMUK History trains leaders
“History is management
training by example.”
Famous History Majors
George W. Bush
Woodrow Wilson
Lt. General Ricardo
Sanchez
Newt Gingrich
TAMUK History
Graduate
Teddy Roosevelt
Richard Nixon
Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.
History develops great
communicators.
“Anybody can make history.
Only a great man, [or woman]
can write it.” –Oscar Wilde
Chris Berman
ESPN founder
If you want to
write, edit or
produce, history
training is a good
place to start.
Michael
Palin of
Monty
Python
Historians in business.
Skills Historians Bring to Business
•Archives and records management.
•Research and writing company histories.
•Record evaluation and reporting.
•Researching land use histories or prior mineral claims.
•Providing company background for promotional campaigns.
Historians and the Legal Professions
A history degree trains graduates to read and
understand large quantities of information,
to think critically and problem solve, to
communicate effectively, and to research
efficiently. These are all skills needed in legal
professions.
Majors with
most Law School
Applicants
Nancy Carter (1963)
Professor of Law and
Director of Pardee Legal
Research Center, San
Diego California
Percent Admitted to Law
School
History
76.0
English
75.3
Psychology
72.1
Political Science
71.1
Criminology
51.7
HISTORIANS AS INFORMATION MANAGERS
Archivists
Records
Managers
Librarians
Information
Managers
Cecilia Aros Hunter,
(1976)
Archivist
South Texas Archives
Bruce Schueneman
Professor, Systems Librarian
and Head of Systems
Department
James C. Jernigan Library
Teaching History : A Noble
Profession
TAMUK History Department trains
South Texas Teachers*
Gavin Levy (2001) Austin ISD
Marshall Schlessiger (2002) George West ISD
Max DeBoard (2000) Floresville ISD
Alex Richards (2000) Tuloso Midway ISD
Steven Greek (1999) Harlingen ISD
Cassie Rincones (2001) Alice ISD
Wyndi Hanzelka (2002) Orange Grove ISD
David Charles (2000) Eagle Pass ISD
Jackie Hunter (2000) Premont ISD
Donna J. Weber (2000) Calallen ISD
Julie L. Brandt (1999) Alice ISD
*partial list of recent graduates
Carlos Blanton (1993)
Assistant Professor of
History
Texas A&M
HIST 1301: American History to
1877
Required course for all majors.
Narrates the story of American
history from before Columbus to
the end of Reconstruction.
Subject Matter
Conquest and colonization of North
America.
The American Revolution and formation of
the United States.
Manifest destiny and western expansion.
Economic and social development of U.S.
Development of sectional crises.
Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 1302: American History since
1877
Required course for all students
United States’ history from the
end of Reconstruction to the
present.
Subject Matter
Gilded Age Industrialization
Conflict from the Indian Wars to the Gulf
War
“Roaring 20s” to the “Great Depression”
Segregation and the Civil Rights movement
Rise of suburban America
HIST 2321 World Civilization to 1500
Subject Matter
Stone Age Economics
Early River Valley Civilizations
Ancient Greece and Rome
Early Chinese and Indian Society
History of the Great Religions
Trade and Urbanization
Medieval Society
IT FULFILLS YOUR DEGREE PLAN
** Literature, Philosophy, Modern or Classical Language/Literature and
Cultural Studies
Required: 3 semester credit hours see Note 1 (Literature/philosophy**)
See TAMUK Catalog p. 67 and consult your advisor.
Subjects include
1492: The Columbian Encounter
HIST 2322: World
Civilization SINCE 1500
Renaissance and Reformation
Atlantic Slave Trade
Industrial Revolution in Europe
1776-1848 The Atlantic Revolutions
World Wars 1914-1945
Comparative Genocides
Globalization and Global Commerce
Literature, Philosophy, Modern or Classical Language/Literature and
Cultural Studies Required: 3 semester credit hours see Note 1
(Literature/philosophy**)
See TAMUK Catalog p. 67 and consult your advisor.
HIST 3301: Historical Methods
South Texas
Archives
Procedures and
methods of
historical research.
Introduction to
types of historical
data, the analysis
of sources, the use
of computer
techniques in
historical research,
and the methods
of historical
writing.
Required for all History Majors and Minors
HIST 3312 Europe
in the Middle Ages
Political, economic, and
cultural developments
in Europe from the fall
of Rome to the
Renaissance.
The age
of
chivalry,
romance,
and faith.
HIST 3338:
The United
States Since
1945
Topics:
Post-war abundance,
the Cold War, social
and cultural changes,
the Vietnam era, and
the post-Nixon years.
Let us study invisibility, webworking, psychic nomadism—and who knows what we might attain?
HIST 3344 American Frontier
The influence of successive
frontiers upon American political,
economic, and social developments
from the earliest settlements to
1890.
Native Peoples of Texas.
HIST 3346
Texas
History
Spanish/Mexican background of Texas
history.
What really happened at the Alamo?
The Cattle Kingdoms
Black Gold
Texas Politics from LBJ to “Dubya”
HIST 3348: History of the Mexican
American
Topics of interest
include:
– Affects of the
U.S.-Mexican War
– The Great Migration
– The Impact of World
War II
– The Chicano
Movement
HIST 3350 Latin America
Topics
Indian and Iberian Roots of Latin America
Conquest and colonization
Religious, economic, and political
foundations
Independence movements
Revolution and counter-revolution
U.S. and Latin American Relations
The future of Latin America
HIST 3356: History of Mexico
Topics of interest
include:
– The Mayas and Aztecs
– The Independence
Wars
– Santa Anna
– The Revolution
– The Modern Political
System
HIST 4324 Technology and Society
A study of technology and society from
the perspective of social values, ethics,
sociology, social environment, politics
and economics.
HIST 4370:
TOPICS
IN Topics in
HIST
4370
EUROPEAN
European
History
HISTORY
Blood, sex, and magic: Histories of private ritual in
early modern Europe
History 4380 Biography as History:
The Revolutionary Generation
Examine the lives of the
men and women who
invented America
•What can their lives tell us
about the times in which they
lived?
•How did their personalities
affect the nation they created?
•How has the way we have told
their stories changed over
time?
HIST 4380: Topics in
American History-U.S. MILITARY
HISTORY
Potential Topics:
Principles of Warfare
Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New
Orleans
Custer’s Last Stand
Trench Warfare during World War I
General George S. Patton
Carlos Hathcock, America’s Greatest
Sniper
The Persian Gulf War (I and II)
**Fulfills
Social Science or Humanities Elective
Consult your advisor before enrolling.
Student Organizations
Phi Alpha Theta Honorary Society
Robert J. Kleberg History Society
Robert J. Kleberg History Club
The oldest student club at
TAMUK is open to all
students, regardless of
major.
RJK visit to Mexico 1926
(since 1925)
RJK visit to Monterrey
(2001)
In recent years, members have
participated in the Hispanic
Heritage Festival, and have
organized trips to professional
conferences in Monterrey,
Mexico and New Orleans.
Phi Alpha Theta
Phi Alpha Theta is
the international
honor society for
history students.
ΦАθ
Open to History Majors with at least 60 hours towards a
BA degree, rank in the upper 1/3rd of their class, have at
least 12 hours in history with a 3.00 GPA, and maintain at
least a 3.0 overall.
For more information: www.phalphatheta.org
Graduate Study in History at TAMUK
The Masters program of the
Department of History has
been in existence for almost
sixty years beginning
graduate teaching in June,
1936. The first seven
departments to offer
Masters of Arts and Masters
of Science degrees were:
Agricultural Education,
Chemistry, Economics,
Education, History,
Mathematics, and Physics.
Since 1936 the History
Department has
successfully prepared
graduate students for further
study or positions in
secondary and postsecondary education.
BACK
Distinguished Graduates
Calvin Blacklock, MA; administrator with CCISD
Mario Cardenas, MA; Instructor, Southwest Texas Junior
College
Lee Carter, BA, MA; Professor, University of Oklahoma
John Gonzalez, MA; Professor, Texas Southern University
William Leckie, BA, MA; Academic Vice President,
University of Toledo
Jim Marcum, MA; Professor, Oklahoma Baptist University
Manuel Medrano, BA, MA; Associate Professor, UT
Brownsville
Michelle Riley, MA; Instructor, Del Mar College
Mary Jo O’Rear, MA; Instructor, Del Mar College
Howard Stansell, MA; PhD. Vanderbilt University