History - HIS
HIS 106 The Medieval World 3 Credits
The development of a distinctive European civilization between 500 and 1500. Emphasis on Europe's contacts and conflicts with the 'competing' cultures of Byzantium and Islam. This course may be used for the American history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 107 History of Modern Europe to 1815 3 Credits
The major political, economic, social and intellectual currents in Western Civilization from 1500 to 1815. This course may be used for the European history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 108 History of Modern Europe since 1815 3 Credits
The major political, economic, social and intellectual currents in Western Civilization from 1815 to the present. This course may be used for the European history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 109 History of Asia to 1800 3 Credits
Comparative study of civilizations, cultures, religions and institutions of the Far East, and South Asia. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: fall.
HIS 110 History of Asia Since 1800 3 Credits
The various independence and revolutionary movements and their evolution into the modern nation-states of Asia. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: spring.
HIS 123 History of the United States: The Colonial Period to Reconstruction 3 Credits
Introduction to major themes of American history through the Civil War including: the Columbian Exchange and colonization, American Revolution, paradox of freedom and slavery, emergence of a market economy, secession and Reconstruction. This course may be used for the American history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Diversity, Field 4 (History)
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 124 History of the United States: 1877 to the Present 3 Credits
Industrialization and urbanization of the United States with the accompanying social, economic and political problems; America's emergence as a major power in world affairs. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Restriction: Not open to students taking or who have received credit for HIS 126.
Fulfills College Core: Diversity, Field 4 (History)
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 126 America's Story II: The Later Years 3 Credits
The American Story is a course in American history that covers the late 19th century into the late 20th century as the U.S. evolved into a major industrial and international power. This course satisfies the oral communication attribute. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Restriction: Not open to students taking or who have received credit for HIS 124.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Oral Communication
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 131 Latin American History to 1830 3 Credits
Pre-Columbian Indian civilizations. Conquest and colonization. Economy, society, and the Church. Eighteenth century reforms and independence. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: fall.
HIS 132 Latin American History since 1830 3 Credits
Overview of economy and society. Upheavals and revolutions in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Chile and Mexico. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: spring.
HIS 200 Introduction to History 1 Credit
This course is an introduction to the study of history. The course will explore the ways historians think about the past and practice their craft, the relationship between the study of history, careers in history, and how to begin thinking about putting a history degree to use in the marketplace. This course is required of all first-year history majors.
Offered: every fall.
HIS 201 United States Military History 3 Credits
The course encompasses traditional U.S. military history; strategy, battles, technology. However, it also focuses on sociopolitical and justice issues of the U.S. armed forces. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Justice
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 204 Soccer in Global History 3 Credits
This course examines the history of soccer in its global perspective. Students will explore the game from its ancient origins, to its popularity as an upper-class game played in British boarding schools, to its global diffusion with the spread of empire, to the recent discussions about gender equality in the game. Topics to be addressed include imperialism and globalization, nationalism and identity politics, hooliganism and racism, corruption in the sport’s governing bodies, and football diplomacy in international relations. As a global history of the sport, students will engage with materials from wherever the game is played, from Argentina to Zimbabwe. This course may be used for the European or African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History)
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 206 History of the Crusades 3 Credits
In this class, we will explore the history of the crusades, with a primary focus on the years 1095 to 1291. What was the motivation for a movement that displaced millions of people throughout the medieval Mediterranean world? How did the establishment of the crusader states impact the evolving relationship between Christians, Jews and Muslims? Who were the figures that determined the course of the movement, and is the image of the crusades in modern thought justified? Through analysis of written material from the period, this course will examine the cultural, economic, religious and political consequences of the crusading movement. Students will explore the precedents for the crusading movement, its origin, and its implications for our modern world.
Corequisite: none.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 211 Women In The Western World 3 Credits
Comparative history of women in Europe, Britain and America from Renaissance to present. Deals with the changing role of women in society, politics and the economy and on the development of feminism as an intellectual and political force. This course may be used for the European or American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 212 Power, Politics, and the People: Nineteenth Century Europe 3 Credits
Major political, economic, social and intellectual currents in Europe from the end of the French Revolution to 1900. Emphasis on the impact of industrialization and on the emergence of modern political systems and ideas including liberalism, socialism, democracy, and nationalism. This course may be used for the European history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 213 Europe and the World in a Century of Conflict 3 Credits
This course is an introduction to Europe and its place in the world from the Second World War to the present. Among the themes to be considered are the political, social, economic and cultural changes during this critical period in the modern world. This course may be used for the European history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 220 The History of Food 3 Credits
Explores the evolving role of food in western societies from the middle ages to the present. Topics will include the medieval fascination with spices, Europe's adoption of 'New World' foods like potatoes and tomatoes, the role of food shortages and rationing in wartime, and the recent emergence of a diverse international 'foodie culture.' This course may be used for the European or African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 226 History of Ireland 3 Credits
Examines political, social and cultural developments from medieval origins through invasion, conquest, colonization and finally independence from Great Britain. Special emphasis on the development of Irish nationalism and on the emergence of Eire as a modern European state. This course may be used for the European history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 229 The Violent Century in Films 3 Credits
The major events of the 20th century, including World Wars I and II, the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, the rise of Fascism and the Vietnam War. This course may be used for the European or African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History)
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 230 The Holocaust in Historical Perspective 3 Credits
A historical survey of the Holocaust that places Nazi Germany's campaign to exterminate European Jewry during World War II (1939-45) in a broader historical context by tracing the history of anti-Semitism from its origins in late antiquity to the emergence of racial anti-Semitism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This course may be used for the European history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History)
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 233 America and the Holocaust 3 Credits
This course explores how the United States responded to the Nazi racial state from its inception, through the war, and in seeking justice for the crimes committed against humanity. It uses a critical lens to examine the historical context of these events specifically with regard to the laws that circumscribed African American and Native American participation in American life as well as the immigration policies that affected United States actions. Finally the course will address the lessons and legacies of the period.
Prerequisite: none. Corequisite: none.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History)
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 235 From Jamestown to Yorktown: Making the United States 3 Credits
Explores the political, economic, social, and cultural stories of North America from the era of pre-European contact through the settlement of the English colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the 'revolutions' of the late seventeenth century, including the period of the American Revolution. This course may be used for the American history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Diversity, Field 4 (History)
Offered: fall.
HIS 236 From Washington to Lincoln: The Making of American Democracy 3 Credits
Class focuses on the story of American history from the end of the Revolutionary War to the end of the American Civil War, especially examining political, economic, social, and cultural issues. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Diversity, Field 4 (History)
Offered: spring.
HIS 241 Women in American History 1880 to Present 3 Credits
This course explores how American women experienced urbanization, industrialization, immigration, war, and the revolution in Civil Rights during the past century. It draws from a wide range of primary sources to understand and evaluate the many ways that women participated in the economic, political, social, and cultural life of America. It considers the impact of class, race, ethnicity, sexuality on how women shaped themselves as mothers, wives, citizens, workers, and individuals.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History)
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 251 Sport in America 3 Credits
Investigates sporting endeavors from informal folk games to today's multi-billion dollar entertainment industry. Looks at the decline of amateurism, use of steroids, and practice of stadium welfare, as well as how America's sporting culture has shaped society and been influenced by industrialization, urbanization, and commercialization. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Prerequisite: None. Corequisite: None.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History)
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 255 African American History 3 Credits
This is an introductory course on African American history which receives credit for Area Studies IV and International & Cultural Diversity within the college's Core Curriculum. In largely chronological fashion, it covers a wide variety of topics, including the motherland of Africa, enslavement in British North America, emancipation, Jim Crow, and the varying strategies to achieve justice and equality, including black nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and the civil rights movement. Besides influential African Americans, attention is paid to cultural expression, the world of work, family structure, coping mechanisms, and political gains. The course's focus is less on how whites controlled African Americans than on black life, struggles, and creativity
Fulfills College Core: Diversity, Field 4 (History)
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 260 Canada and the World 3 Credits
A survey of Canada's place in world history from the colonial period to the present. Among the topics examined are Native-Canadians, the British-French rivalry for North America, Canada's emergence as a nation within the British Empire, Canada-U.S. relations and the modern multicultural Canadian state. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 263 Wars of Latin America 3 Credits
Wars of independence and major conflicts of the nineteenth century. Military history of Mexican, Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions. Border clashes and guerilla insurgencies of the twentieth century. Argentina's war with England. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: every other year.
HIS 280 The Making of Modern Africa 3 Credits
Development of modern Africa from the diverse societies of pre-colonial Africa through the impact of imperialism to an examination of the problems facing modern African states. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 4 (History), Global Awareness
Offered: every other year.
HIS 299 Historian's Craft 3 Credits
These courses are designed to introduce students systematically to the analysis of historical texts, the standards of historical writing, and the methods of historical research while exploring specific topics of historical interest. Topics vary each semester; a course in this category will be offered each year. Recent topics have included the Civil Rights Movement Revisited, The History of Everyday Life, and Stalinism and Nazism.
Fulfills College Core: Advanced Writing-Intensive
Offered: fall and/or spring.
HIS 300 Historical Geography 3 Credits
Examines the interaction between the historical process and human, physical and cultural geography. Required for dual major in history and social studies education. This course may be used for the European or African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Offered: every third semester.
HIS 302 Life and Theology in Colonial Atlantic 3 Credits
Investigates the story of the colonial Atlantic world through the life and experiences of one of America's founding fathers, such as the philosopher and theologian Jonathan Edwards, focusing on the early modern European context of which most colonists were heirs, the founding of the New England colonies in the 17th century. This course may be used for the American history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Field 1 (Religious Studies and Theology)
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 309 World War I 3 Credits
A study of the origins, conduct and aftermath of the Great War from a global perspective. Emphasis on social, cultural, political, and military aspects of the War. This course may be used for the European history requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Oral Communication
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 317 Insurrection and Revolution in European History 3 Credits
This course examines how social and economic developments, coupled with evolving ideas about governance, justice, and freedom, played out in a series of protests, insurrections, and full-scale revolutions that shaped modern Europe and (through Europe’s imperial expansion) the wider world. Topics will include the changing language of protest, the application of the term “revolution” to political and historical events, and the role of ideas as both motives for and consequences of revolutionary movements in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 321 Russian History and Culture from Ivan the Terrible to Vladimir Putin 3 Credits
This faculty-led seminar in Moscow and St. Petersburg will focus on Russian and Soviet history from the Muscovite period of the 1300s to the Putin era of today. In preparation, students will complete a series of readings giving a broad overview of Russian history and culture. During the trip, they will read brief texts for daily discussions on visits to historic landmarks, museums, cultural sites, and lectures from Russian scholars. Each evening students will gather in a group to discuss their impressions, the readings, and broader questions relating to the experiences of the day. Please contact the instructor ASAP about the fees associated with this course.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 331 British Monarchy 3 Credits
The history of Britain's monarchy from the end of the middle ages to the present. Emphasis on the transformation of the monarchy from the center of government in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to a largely symbolic, even vestigial constitutional mechanism in the twenty-first. This course may be used for the European history or pre-1800 period requirement for the history major or minor.
Fulfills College Core: Oral Communication
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 335 A United Kingdom? From Britons to Brexit 3 Credits
Examines the social, cultural, and political history of Britain from the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801 to the UK's controversial departure from the European Union. Themes will include the evolution of a "British" identity, the influence of social, economic and ethnic divisions within Britain, and evolving debates about Britain's place in world affairs.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 345 Russia and the Soviet Union in the Twentieth Century 3 Credits
This course examines the social, political, and cultural history of Russia and the Soviet Union in the twentieth century. Special emphasis will be placed on the causes and consequences of the 1917 revolutions, the development of Stalinism, the Cold War, and late Soviet society. Students will also explore the fall of Communism, the rise of the “mafia state” in the 1990s, and contemporary Russia under Vladimir Putin.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 350 America and the Holocaust 3 Credits
Explores the response of the United States to the Holocaust, the systematic extermination of an estimated ten to twelve million people, of whom six million were Jews, during World War II. It examines the implications of the American response to the Holocaust for the inequities and prejudices that remained at the core of American life in the mid-twentieth century.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 356 Modern China 3 Credits
Examines the evolution of Chinese society from the imperial era, through the world wars, the Communist Revolution and the re-emergence of China as a major economic and political power. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 365 U.S.-Latin American Relations since 1898 3 Credits
U.S. occupations in the Caribbean and Central America. The Mexican Revolution. The CIA operations in Guatemala and Cuba. The Cold War in Latin America. The Nicaraguan Revolution and turmoil in Mexico. This course may be used for the American or African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 382 New York State History 3 Credits
This course explores the history of New York State from its colonial origins through the twentieth century in the context of major themes in American history. Special attention paid to slavery, ante-bellum reform movements, New York City, progressivism, immigration. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Offered: every other year.
HIS 386 The Civil War Era 3 Credits
Covers the events leading up to the War, including abolitionism and Bleeding Kansas. There will also be an in-depth examination of the military strategies and tactics of the War as well as the process of modernization that War engendered. The course will conclude with an analysis of the successes and failures of Reconstruction. This course may be used for the American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Offered: every other year.
HIS 394 Modern Middle East 3 Credits
History of Middle East from the last days of the Ottoman Empire through mandate system established by Versailles Peace Conference to struggle for independence during and after World War II. This course may be used for the African/Asian/Latin American history requirement for the history major or minor.
Offered: every other year.
HIS 395 History of American Women 3 Credits
As the nation commemorates the centennial of the passage of the 19th amendment, this course this explores the historical experiences of women in the United States from its founding to the present. Shaped by institutions including family, work, law, politics, and religion American women have played an active role in all of the significant events that delineate the American past such as industrialization, the Civil War, World War II, and the Civil Rights Revolution of the 1960s. They have made their voices heard and have left a legacy in physical artifacts. Drawing from that literature – memoir, autobiography, political tracts, letters, and fiction – and with an eye to the domestic spaces that informed much of women’s lives in the past, this course will delve into the rich diversity of American women’s history.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 397 Trust No One: Paranoia and Conspiracy in American History 3 Credits
This upper-level course will explore specific instances of conspiracy theories and paranoia in American history. Starting from the foundation of the “paranoid style,” a theory proposed in the works of Richard Hofstadter, we will analyze specific events in American history, such as the colonial witch trials, the First Great Awakening, colonial slave riots, the American Revolution, the Burr conspiracy, the Illuminati, anti-Masonry, anti-Catholicism, the slave power conspiracy, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, concerns about a fifth column, the assassination of Kennedy, and Q-Anon. A goal of this analysis, which will be based both on primary and secondary sources, will be to see how a persistent belief in conspiracies throughout America history has shaped politics, society, religion, and culture.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 401 Historical Methodology 1 Credit
Methods of historical research and criticism, including consideration of basic bibliographical and reference works, note-taking, and evaluation of sources. Research paper and production of prospectus to fulfill requirements of History with a Research Concentration.
Prerequisite: HIS 299.
Offered: As needed for students on the History with a Research Concentration.
HIS 402 Seminar: Selected Topics in American History 3 Credits
This seminar will focus on selected topics in American history, allowing students to demonstrate their mastery of the tasks of the historian—both in how historians read, analyze, and write about historical subjects.
Prerequisite: HIS 299.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 403 Seminar: Selected Topics in World History 3 Credits
This seminar will focus on selected topics in World history, allowing students to demonstrate their mastery of the tasks of the historian—both in how historians read, analyze, and write about historical subjects.
Prerequisite: HIS 299.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 407 History Seminar: Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South 3 Credits
This seminar will explore the similarities and differences in racial theory and practice as it developed in Germany and the United States in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Using the tools of the historian and with attention to the specifics of time and place, we will analyze how racism in Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South challenged each nation. Further, we will examine how racial politics and the use of mass media, the economy, and terror evolved in each historical context provides the central question. The responses to persecution both at home and abroad -- sometimes from the same voices --provide a strong counterpoint to the racial violence that plagued the two societies.
Prerequisite: HIS 299 or HIS 401.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 410 Topic Research and Proposal 1 Credit
HIS 410 is designed to introduce students systematically to the practice and experience of historical research—from analysis of historical texts to the standards of historical writing to the methods of historical research to art of writing history. In this course students will specifically use those skills to conduct preliminary research on a selected topic of their choice and work with a faculty adviser to produce an approved prospectus for the thesis that they will work to complete in HIS 411
Prerequisite: HIS 299.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 411 History Thesis and Defense 3 Credits
Research and writing of a thesis to satisfy requirements for History with a Research Concentration
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and/or the chair.
Fulfills College Core: Advanced Writing-Intensive
Offered: Department will work with Research Concentration students to offer this thesis experience tutorial as needed to fulfill their requirements.
HIS 415 History Seminar: Global Cold War 3 Credits
This seminar examines the history of the Cold War between 1945 and 1991. It focuses on the multi-polar attempts of the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and other international actors to extend their influence and models of development into Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe through armed interventions, covert operations, espionage, and propaganda. Some of the events and topics covered in the course include the origins of the Cold War, the Korean, Vietnamese, and Afghan Wars, the Cuban Revolution, the Arms Race, Détente, decolonization, and the fall of the Soviet Union. Other topics include Cold War culture: sport, film, literature, and daily life. Through discussions and close readings of primary and secondary sources, and film screenings, The Global Cold War seeks to engage students with the origins, events, and implications of the struggle between Communism and Capitalism in the second half of the twentieth century.
Prerequisite: HIS 299.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 420 Food in Time and Place: Culture, Society, Power, and Politics 3 Credits
Topics will include the influence of the “Columbian Exchange,” the effects of industrialization, the impact of famine and food shortages, the development of nutritional science and dietary reform movements, and the recent emergence of both global and locavore“foodie cultures.” By investigating how food supplies, food policies, and even individual diets have changed over time, we will examine relationships of power and class, the impact of trade and technology, and the process of economic and cultural globalization. The course will focus primarily on developments in Europe and the Americas, but discussion of trade and globalization will lead us to consider non-western traditions as well. As an upper-level seminar, this course is designed to introduce students to literature in the growing field of food history, and also to the nature of historical research. Consequently, Students will explore the topic through a variety of primary and secondary readings as well as images and (sometimes edible) artifacts, and will engage in their own research projects. Seminars normally open to seniors and juniors.
Prerequisite: HIS 299.
Offered: occasionally.
HIS 497 History Beyond the Classroom 3 Credits
This course represents one option for the experiential learning component of the Department of History. In this class, students and faculty customize specific ways that a student's knowledge of the historical past can intersect with their experience. This course will be offered in a tutorial fashion as specific students need to fulfill the experiential learning component of their history major.
Offered: As needed.
HIS 498 Internship 3 Credits
Internships may be arranged with a variety of organizations including the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Foundation, the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, and the Coloured Musicians Club museum. Internships require an application and approval by the associate dean.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor, department chair, & associate dean.
Offered: Department of History faculty will work with History major students to offer this course as needed to fulfill their requirements for the major.
HIS 499 Independent Study 3 Credits
Offers the opportunity to conduct a program of independent readings and/ or research on a topic of the student's choice under the supervision of a member of the History Department. Independent studies require an application and approval by the associate dean.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor, department chair, & associate dean.
