History Graduate Course Descriptions

 

HIS 416/516: World War II 
M/W 1:00 – 2:15 PM 
Dr. Kenneth Swope 
At the time it was fought World War I (1914-1918), then known as the Great War, was considered “the war to end all wars.”  It was the most far reaching conflict in world history and its terrible costs in human life and money and materials profoundly affected Europe in particular and signaled the beginning of the end of the colonial empires that had been built up since the fifteenth century.  Yet within two decades the world found itself embroiled in yet another conflict, one which was even more wide ranging than the first.  How did this happen?  That question and many others will be answered in this course, which covers the history of the Second World War, beginning with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and continuing through the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan and the War Crimes Trials afterwards. Topics covered include the rise of fascism and militarism in Europe and Asia, the demise of collective security and appeasement, the grand strategies of the major participants, war crimes and atrocities, and the enduring memories of the war around the globe.  Rather than just examining the generally accepted frameworks of the conflict, which usually date from the 1930s, we will attempt to find the true roots of the war, which, as you will see, were rooted in far older events and conflicts.  We will also examine the war from the perspective of all its participants and demonstrate how events in Europe and Asia were intimately related from the signing of the Versailles Treaty.  In addition to looking at the major battles and military dimensions of the war, we will also look at the larger socio-economic and demographic impact of the conflict.  Finally, we will discuss the legacy of World War II and how the war is still affecting geopolitics today.   
 
 
HIS 422/522: History of Medicine 
M/W 2:30 – 3:45 PM 
Dr. Kevin McQueeney 
In this course we will examine American history from the period after Reconstruction through the present. Instead of the typical approach of using a textbook to go chapter by chapter through each decade, we will focus instead on specific topics from each period. We will start by looking at the rise of Jim Crow and America’s ascent as an imperial power at the turn of the twentieth century, including acquisitions of Hawaii and the Philippines as well as the forced assimilation of Indigenous Americans. Next we will analyze the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919, civil liberties in World War I, and Women’s Suffrage in the 1910s. We will look at the Roaring Twenties through the lens of the Great Migration, the Tulsa Massacre, urbanization, eugenics, and immigration restriction. We will detail the everyday experiences of Americans during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl; American isolationism in the 1930s; and the changing American homefront, the Arsenal of Democracy, and Japanese interment in World War II. In the postwar period, we will explore the Red Scare in the Cold War, Lavendar Scare, the Space Race, and the suburbanization of America and rise of 1950s consumer culture. Finally, we will examine America in the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s, including the Civil Rights Movements and the Conservative backlash.  
 
 
HIS 722: War Historiography  
T 6:00 – 9:00 PM 

This course, required of all War and Society Masters students and required/highly recommended for all other graduate students taking a field in War & Society, will explore the various fields and themes of War and Society historiography.  The field of War & Society (or what used to be called “New Military History”) has grown tremendously since its inception in the 1980s.  Less concerned with strategy, tactics, and weapons than traditional military historians, War & Society scholars study the historic effect of conflict on various aspects of society, as well as the way societal values and culture influenced how wars were fought.   
  
In this class, we will examine representative works on themes such as war and race, gender, and culture/mentalité, as well as issues such as the cultural turn in military history, soldier recruitment and motivation, unit histories, the experience of battle and army life, home fronts, military leadership, and the Military Revolution debate.  In addition to the course being a good introduction to the diversity of the field, many of the books/articles for the class are on the War & Society Graduate Reading List, which will allow students the opportunity to read these vital works and then discuss them in class–an excellent preparation for comprehensive exams. 
  
The book list for this class is not complete at this time, although it will be ready with plenty of time for students to purchase copies on their own.  A few of the books we will read are: 
  
Morillo, Stephen and Michael F. Pavkovic.  What is Military History?  3rd rev. ed. (Cambridge (UK): Polity Press, 2017). 
  
Clifford J. Rogers, The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on The Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe. (Boulder: Westview Press, (1995). 
  
Lynn, John A., Battle: A History of Combat and Culture. Boulder: Westview  
Press,  2003. 
 
Assignments will tentatively include several book reviews of assigned readings, class discussion, a historiographical paper, and a take-home final exam question which will prepare students for their comprehensive exams. 
 
 
HIS 726: American Historiography  
W 2:30 – 5:15 PM 
Dr. Heather Stur 
This graduate seminar examines the historiographical debates over major issues in U.S. history since the end of Reconstruction. It is a reading-intensive, discussion-based course in which students will read at least one book a week. Grades will be based on class participation, presentations, book reviews, and a mock comprehensive exam essay. 
 
 
HIS 734: Seminar in Western European History  
Th 6:00 – 9:00 PM 
Dr. Laura Mammina 
This course focuses on gender and sexuality in European History (mainly Great Britain, Germany, and France) from the Enlightenment through the end of colonization. We will examine the gender theory that has shaped the field, from Joan Wallach Scott to Michel Foucault to Judith Butler, and how historians have used these theories to add nuance to gender history. We will pay special attention to the interplay of gender with ideas of race and class, and examine gender and politics, society, culture, imperialism, sexuality, disability, medicine, and bodies. 
 
The reading list includes: 
 
Thomas Laqueur. Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud 
Barbara Duden. The Woman Beneath the Skin: A Doctor’s Patients in Eighteenth-Century Germany 
Robin Mitchell, Vénus Noire: Black Women and Colonial Fantasies in Nineteenth-Century France 
Ann Laura Stoler. Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule 
Rachel Mesch. Before Trans: Three Gender Stories from Nineteenth-Century France 
Dagmar Herzog. Sex after Fascism: Memory and Morality in Twentieth-Century Germany 
Emmanuelle Saada. Empire’s Children: Race, Filiation, and Citizenship in the French Colonies 
 
Assignments have yet to be finalized but will include one-page reading response papers, participation in discussion, and at least one book review as well as a comparative book review. 

 
HIS 736: Modern War and Society – The Global Cold War 
W 6:00 – 9:00 
Dr. Heather Stur 
This graduate seminar will explore the events and historiography of the Cold War in a global context. In addition to the ideological conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, we will also examine decolonization, cultural influences, and non-state actors in shaping global affairs from the end of the World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Students will read at least one book a week and will be graded on participation/discussion leading, book reviews, and a research paper. 
 
 
HIS 771: U.S. History to 1877 
M 6:00 – 9:00 
Dr. Laura Mammina 
This course will focus on the Civil War-Era United States, from slavery’s antebellum expansion to the war itself and the war’s aftermath. The scholarship of this period is rich and diverse, and the topics covered will reflect that: political violence, cowardice, guerrilla warfare, environment and medicine, the war in the west, gender, slavery, emancipation, diplomacy, and veterans and addiction. Throughout, we’ll consider age-old questions, from “what caused the Civil War?” to “why did the North win the military conflict while the South won the peace?” We’ll do this while analyzing and evaluating the best of recent scholarship on the conflict that continues to fascinate and bedevil historians. 
 
The reading list includes:  
Walter Johnson, River of Dark Dreams: Slavery and Empire in the Cotton Kingdom 
Lesley J. Gordon. Dread Danger: Cowardice and Combat in the American Civil War 
Joseph M. Beilein Jr. Bushwhackers: Guerrilla Warfare, Manhood, and the Household in Civil War Missouri 
Thavolia Glymph. The Women’s Fight: The Civil War’s Battles for Home, Freedom 
Beau Cleland. Between King Cotton and Queen Victoria: How Pirates, Smugglers, and Scoundrels Almost Saved the Confederacy 
Jonathan S. Jones. Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis 

Students will be graded on weekly discussion questions, participation in discussion, and several short (four-to-six page) comparative papers. 

 
HUM 402/502: Digital Humanities Practicum 
T/Th 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM 
Dr. Jennifer Andrella  
In this course, students will work collaboratively on a Digital Humanities project while learning digital methods, community-engaged best practices, and archival research. We will engage in the entire process of constructing a digital project, from idea to public launch. Through this course, students will gain valuable skills in web authoring, team-based learning, and project management. By working closely with local archives, special collections, and/or community partners, students will explore how the digital humanities can connect scholarship with public audiences in meaningful ways.