School of Humanities
School of Humanities
HIS 423/523
Out: A Queer History of America
M/W 2:30 – 3:45
Dr. Andrew Haley
Out: A Queer History of America is a reading and discussion course that examines how
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer Americans have constructed identities
and fostered communities and how American attitudes toward LGBTQ+ peoples have changed
since the nineteenth century.
The course is divided into five segments. In the first section, we will explore LGBTQ+
relationships in the nineteenth century before science and society labeled these bonds
and identities. In the second period, we look at how science defined gay and lesbian
romance, the elusiveness of concepts of gender and sexuality, and the earliest American
gay communities. In the third segment, we will study the development of gay, lesbian,
bisexual and trans subcultures in the United States and the Cold War-era repression
that queer Americans suffered. In the fourth, we examine LGBTQ+ activism, focusing
special attention on the Stonewall riots and the backlash that followed. Finally,
at the close of the semester, we look at the effects of AIDS on the gay community,
the historic roots of same sex marriage, and the rise of trans visibility and the
backlash of transphobic violence.
By the end of the class, you should have a better understanding of how sexual and
gender minority groups have shaped American values and rights, how attitudes towards
sexuality and gender have changed (and not changed) over the course of the past hundred
and fifty years, and how efforts to exclude LGBTQ+ Americans from public life have
played a decisive role in shaping the history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Throughout the course, we will also discuss the challenges of documenting the history
of queer America. Students in the course will have the opportunity to explore historical
(primary source) documents and do hands-on research.
HIS 552
History of Russia 1440-1894
T/TH 11:00 – 12:15
Dr. Brian LaPierre
HIS 572
American Environmental History
T/TH 1:00 – 2:15
Dr. Andrew Gutkowski
HIS 710
Research and Methods
W 6:00-9:00
Dr. Matthew Casey
HIS 711
Research Seminar in American History
W 6:00 – 9:00pm
Dr. Heather Stur
HIS 712
Research Seminar in European History
W 6:00 – 9:00pm
Dr. Heather Stur
HIS 720
Modern European Historiography
T 2:30 – 5:15
TBA
HIS 725
U.S. Historiography I Seminar
T 6:00 – 9:00pm
Dr. Kyle Zelner
Historiographic study, or the study of the study of history, is an incredibly important
part of being a historian. Historians do not begin a single project without first
learning what came before—what other historians have said on the topic, how they said
it, and what the state of the field is at the moment. As beginning professional historians,
students will be expected to talk about the historical debates surrounding their topics
and how their work intersects with those debates. Students will be expected in their
classes, and especially during their comprehensive exams, not only to know what happened
in the past and why, but who argued what and the methods they used to come up with
those arguments. This course will start you down the historiographical road. We will
examine some of the main debates in early American history as a way to “jump start”
each student’s historiographical knowledge. Once students have successfully completed
this course, they will know some of the important highlights of the field—but also
come to the realization that they have just started what will likely be a lifelong
task.
Students in the class will read deeply and widely on each debate and will come to
class prepared to debate the topic at hand. NOTE: Students should come to the first
class before purchasing any books for the various weeks, as we will choose individual
books for the course during the first class meeting.
Assignments:
Students will write numerous book reviews, write a short historiographical paper,
lead a few and participate in all class discussions, and write a comprehensive exam-type
answer for their final exam.
Some of the topics we will explore:
-Native Americans, Contact, and Ethnohistory
-The Puritans of Colonial New England
- Slavery in the Colonial Chesapeake
-Coming of the Revolution
-Women in the Early Republic
-The Market Revolution
-Antebellum Slavery
-The Civil War: Who Fought and Why?
HIS 736
Modern War and Society
M 6:00 – 9:00pm
Dr. Ken Swope
This seminar introduces students to salient literature pertaining to Asia's "Century
of Revolution." Topics examined include the rise and fall of Western & Japanese Imperialism,
the emergence of communist China and the origins of the Cold War in Asia.
HIS 796
Practicum in the Teaching of History in Colleges and Universities
TH 2:30 – 5:15
Dr. Kyle Zelner
Required for all first-time teaching and graduate assistants and optional for others,
this class is designed to encourage graduate students to think about the major issues
of teaching at the college level, both as teaching assistants and as independent instructors.
Different faculty members will visit to lead discussions on a different topic each
class period. The course covers basic issues of teaching and learning strategies,
classroom philosophy and management, technology in the classroom, testing and other
assignments, issues of diversity, effective classroom presentation, and how to construct
one’s own course.
Required Text:
Barbara Gross Davis, Tools for Teaching, 2nd ed. Wiley: Jossey-Bass; 2009.
Assignments:
Students will engage in weekly discussions, write several short reaction papers, and
design and execute a sample lecture for an introductory History class.