Departmental Curriculum

Major

Eleven courses distributed as follows:

• 2 Courses in American history
• 2 Courses in European history
• 3 Courses Selected from African, Middle Eastern or Chinese history
• 3 Elective Courses in history
• HIST 300 Historiography 

These 11 courses must include:

1 course in Pre-modern history (that is, a course which treats in a substantial way the period before 1800.) These courses are denoted by a (PM).

1 seminar course (that is, a small discussion based course focusing on important historical texts.) These courses are denoted by a (S).

1 research course (that is, a course in which students produce a research paper of at least 25 pages.) These courses are denoted by a (R).

Students may satisfy only one of the above requirements in a single course. (Thus, a student may not take American Revolutionary Era as both a research course and a pre-modern course but would have to decide on one designation or the other.)

Students who contemplate taking the senior-level HIST 497 Advanced Research and Writing are urged to complete their research course as well as Historiography during the junior year.

Minor

Students seeking a minor in history will take 6 courses distributed in the following manner:

• 1 course in American history
• 1 course in European history
• 2 courses selected from African, Chinese, or Middle Eastern history
• 2 elective courses in history

Senior Capstone Experience

The Senior Capstone Experience for the history major consists of a comprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination is the standardized Major Field Achievement Test ( MFAT). The grade for the Senior Capstone Experience is based on the standardized test score.

General Topics Courses

HIST 190 - History & Film (HP)

This course subjects films on historical topics to discussion and analysis. It probes how filmmakers treat historical subjects and introduces students to the methods historians might use in evaluating the accuracy and impact of such films.

HIST 300 - Historiography (HP, W2)

This course focuses on two major topics: ways of historical thinking and methods of historical research. Among the varied topics of consideration are: historical method, the philosophy of history, the history of historical writing, the life and works of several historians, and conflicting interpretations of historical events.

HIST 350 - Environmental History (HP, CW)

This is a reading and research seminar in environmental history from the United States, Europe and Africa. Topics include ideas about the environment, environmental degradation, misreading the landscape, race and the environment, and African environmental concerns. (S, R)

HIST 374 - Nature’s Conquest (HP) 

This course is an advanced seminar focused upon the environmental implications of Europe’s expansion into the Western Hemisphere from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Readings will explore how the “Columbian exchange” impacted indigenous peoples and influenced the emergence of colonial economies, societies, and cultures throughout the Americas. (PM, S)

HIST 497 - Advanced Research and Writing (HP)

This year-long course begins in the fall semester of the senior year. It is directed toward the production of a substantial piece of historical writing based, in large part, on primary sources. Working closely with an advisor, students devise a topic and conduct research. They also meet together with other students in the course and their mentors in a seminar format in which they will read each other’s work and offer their evaluation of that work. Students interested in enrolling in this course should consult their advisor during the spring semester of the junior year. Students who wish to enroll in this course should also have their basic departmental research requirement (an R course) completed by the end of the junior year. Prerequisite: consent of the department.

American History Courses

HIST 110-A - America to 1865 (HP)

This course is an introduction to United States history and to history as a scholarly discipline. The course focuses on the theme of "defining American community" and will span from pre-Columbian Native America to the American Civil War. We will come to an understanding of early America by considering how different American communities sought to shape society, economy, culture, and the natural environment to reflect their experiences, needs, and aspirations. We also will consider the nature of historical interpretation and learn to evaluate historical arguments.

HIST 111-A - America since 1865 (HP) 

The course examines the major political, social, cultural, and economic themes in American History since the end of the Civil War. Special attention will be given to the increasingly significant role played by the United States in international affairs in this era. The course will also introduce students to how historians work to construct interpretations of the past.

HIST 214-A - Poverty and Welfare in America (HP)

This class uses primary and secondary sources to examine the many ways in which Americans have understood the existence of poverty and the poor. With emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we will investigate the roots of poverty in the American economic system, in order to examine why so many people remain poor in the richest nation on earth. We will also look at the evolution and larger macroeconomic purposes of the American welfare state. Whenever possible, we will also use first hand accounts by poor people and antipoverty activists themselves, in order to let them tell their own stories in their own voices.

HIST 216-A - The American Century, 1945-Present (HP)

The post-1945 period was an era of dramatic change in American history, one whose repercussions still shape the world in which we live today. In this course, we will focus on some of the major developments of the period, including the Cold War, the civil Rights Movement, and the dramatic shift in gender roles that has changed the lives of both women and men. We will also cover related subjects, such as the domestic war on poverty, and the foreign war in Vietnam.

HIST 218-A - Progressive Era Reform, 1890-1920 (HP)

Over the past thirty or forty years, historians have gone from idolizing Progressive-Era reformers and demonizing political bosses, to practically the reverse. In this course, we will use primary and secondary sources to examine the creation of the boss-reformer paradigm during the Progressive Era, and its rediscovery by historians in the 1960s and 70s. Then we will look at more recent attempts to unpack the ethnic, racial, class, and gender dynamics behind the paradigm. We will investigate who had what kind of power in Progressive-Era cities, and what we can learn from the past about the society in which we live today. (S)

HIST 230-A - Native North America until 1815 (HP) 

This course will study the diverse experiences of American Indians from their initial peopling of the continent until 1815. Topics that will be addressed include the development of prehistoric cultural traditions, Indian responses to colonialism, and Indian influences on the emergence of Euroamerican communities in North America. In addition, the course will introduce students to the various scholarly methods associated with ethnohistory. (PM)

HIST 231-A - Native North America since 1815 (HP)

This course will study the diverse experiences of American Indians since the era of Removal. Topics that will be addressed include the development of the reservation system, Western expansion and the Indians of the Trans-Mississippi West, and persistence and adaptation in the Twentieth Century.

HIST 270-A - Arkansas History (HP)

A history of Arkansas from earliest times to the present.

HIST 351-A - American Revolutionary Era (HP)

An exploration of the political, social, and intellectual forces that propelled the North American British colonies into rebellion. The course also examines the war itself and evaluates the revolutionary settlement defined in the making of the Constitution. (R, PM)

HIST 353-A - American Civil War and Reconstruction (HP)

Offers an analysis of the sectional conflict leading to the secession crisis, the impact of the war on American society, and the reunification of the nation during Reconstruction. Within all three topics the course will be fundamentally concerned with the shifting meanings of freedom in American life. (R)

HIST 360-A - Vietnam and the 60’s (HP, CW)

This course will examine the Vietnam War in the context of the social upheavals of the 1960s. Starting with the supposedly quiescent periods of the late 1940s and 1950s, we will look at the war in the context of Cold War politics, the Civil Rights Movement, and other domestic conflicts. We will think about the class, racial, and gender dynamics of the war. Last but not least, we will read Vietnamese perspectives on the war, in order to illuminate why our involvement there had such tragic results. (R)

HIST 380-A - City and Nation in American History (HP)

From the beginning of American History, cities have played an integral role in the life of the nation. They have been vital centers of trade since before the arrival of Europeans in North America. They have been economic engines, spurring the westward movement of Europeans across the continent. They have been centers of culture and sites of conflict. They have raised questions of regional and national identity. They have housed a diverse array of class, ethnic, and racial groups. In this course, we will examine the growth of the American urban system from the Colonial Era to the present. Course requirements include a research paper on some aspect of the city of Little Rock using primary source documents. Students will receive plentiful help in finding a topic. Past topics include: Boxing in the 1870s, the Little Rock electric trolley system, Little Rock women’s clubs, and race relations in the 1960s. (S, R)

HIST 385-A - American Social History to 1865 (HP)

This course examines important American diaries, journals, and autobiographies from the colonial period through the era of the Civil War and explores the historical context in which these texts were written. It stresses, especially, the importance of gender, class, and race in the shaping of American life. (S, PM)

HIST 390-A - African American History to 1865 (HP)

This course examines the major topics in African American history from the emergence of the ancient African Kingdoms to the Civil War. Emphasis will be placed on the use of a multidimensional approach to analyze African American culture, lifestyles, and related issues. Major themes related to the African American experience in America, as well as experiences throughout antebellum society, will be examined. (PM)

HIST 395-A - African American History since 1865 (HP)

This course examines the major topics in African American history from the Civil War to the end of the Civil Rights era. Emphasis will be placed on the use of a multidimensional approach to analyze African American culture, lifestyles, and related issues. Major themes such as racism, assimilation, separatism, Pan-Africanism, desegregation, and civil rights will be examined. (S)

HIST 402-A - American Women’s History (HP)

A seminar and discussion course centered on important texts in the history of American women from the colonial period to the present. (S)

HIST 403-A - History of Death in America (HP, VA)

Some would argue that America is inherently a “death-denying” culture. This course investigates that assertion by exploring critical texts in the history of death in America from the colonial period to the present. It includes such topics as Puritan view(s) of death, the social construction of disease, death and warfare, the rise of the hospital, and an examination of the modern funeral industry. (S)

HIST 420-A - Topics in American History (HP)

A seminar or research course devoted to a particular topic in American history. Student suggestions for the selection of a topic are especially encouraged. Topics might focus on particular historical epochs, individuals, movements or themes. (S or R, depending upon the topic and structure of the course)

European History Courses

HIST 170-E - Contemporary Europe (CW, HP)

This course aims to provide students with historical perspective on a variety of current problems and issues. Concentrating on the period since 1945, major topics covered include the decline and fall of the Soviet Union, the Cold War and its aftermath, welfare state democracy and its prospects, European responses to environmental problems, and the ongoing development of the European Union. Political, diplomatic, and economic developments are stressed.

HIST 221-E - England to 1688 (HP)

Beginning with Roman Britain, this course traces the social, cultural, political and religious evolution of England up to the Glorious Revolution. Particular attention is given to the growth of the Common Law, the rise of parliament, and other developments of significance to our own country. (PM)

HIST 222-E - England since 1688 (HP)

This course will trace the process of England’s transformation to modernity, concentrating on social and cultural, as well as political and economic changes. Students will also consider the rise and fall of England as an imperial power and as a great power in Europe’s state system.

HIST 301-E - Greek Civilization (HP)

An integrated survey of the history, society, art, and literature of ancient Greece, from the Bronze Age through Alexander the Great. No prerequisite. Cross-listed as CLAS 301.

HIST 302-E - Roman Civilization (HP)

An integrated survey of the history, society, art, and literature of ancient Rome, from the early Republic to the height of the Roman Empire. No prerequisite. Cross-listed as CLAS 302.

HIST 311-E - Medieval Europe (HP)

Beginning with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, this course will focus on Western Europe from about 400 to 1300. Particular attention will be given to the intertwining of Classical, Christian, and Germanic cultures which resulted in the birth and early development of Western Civilization. (PM)

HIST 312-E - Renaissance Europe (HP)

This course will focus on the social, political, economic, and cultural developments in Western Europe (with particular concentration on Italy) in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and early sixteenth centuries. Emphasis will be given to the questions of whether these developments are best understood as a repudiation or as a continuation of Medieval culture, and whether they should be seen as the origins of Modernity. (PM, R)

HIST 313-E - Reformation and Baroque Europe (HP)

Among the topics stressed in the study of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Revolution, with the cultural changes associated with them. The development of the modern State system of Europe is also considered. (PM)

HIST 314-E - Age of Democratic Revolutions (HP)

Eighteenth-century Europe is examined with an eye toward determining the causes of the upheavals which followed. The French Revolution of 1789 and subsequent revolts against the status quo through the Revolutions of 1848 are then considered, with particular attention to their political and diplomatic aspects. (R)

HIST 315-E - Age of the Nation State (HP)

This course treats the history of Europe from the Revolutions of 1848 to the end of the First World War. Particular emphasis falls on the five major powers of Europe, and the intellectual changes during this period. (R)

HIST 316-E - Europe: 1918-1945 (HP)

This course focuses primarily on the problems of political and cultural breakdown in the inter-war years, on the rise of the dictators, and on the origins of World War II. (R)

HIST 332-E - Russia: 1689-1917 (HP)

This course traces the development of the Russian Empire from the reign of Peter the Great to the February Revolution. Special emphasis is placed on Russia’s struggle to modernize. (PM)

HIST 333-E - Russia since 1917 (HP, CW)

This course begins at the turn of the century and attempts to explain the success of the Bolsheviks, the development and dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the current condition of Russia. (R)

HIST 370-E - Communism, Fascism, and Democracy (HP)

This is a course in intellectual history. The basic ideas, and historical development of Liberal Democracy, Fascism, and Communism, are considered. History 170, Contemporary Europe, is recommended. (R)

HIST 440-E - Seminar in the History of Europe, 1890-1940 (HP)

This course focuses on some of the important conflicts and changes in Western and Central Europe in the half century preceding World War II. Prerequisite: HIST 315, or HIST 316, or consent of instructor . (S)

HIST 445-E - Seminar in Soviet History (HP)

This course focuses in more detail on some of the major problems in the development of the Soviet Union and its successors. Prerequisite: Hist 333, or consent of instructor . (S)

African, Chinese, and Middle Eastern History Courses

HIST 120-G - Early African History (HP)

An introductory course with continent-wide scope. Covers the major trends and events in Africa to the imposition of colonialism, including the development of agriculture, cities and states, technology, and religious life. (PM)

HIST 130-G - Colonial African History (HP)

The second half of the general survey course takes African history up to independence. Covers such topics as the colonial state, resistance movements, problems of independence, and development.

HIST 235-G - Colonial Latin America (HP) 

This course is an introduction to the history of Latin America in the period between late pre-history (circa A.D 1250) and the end of the Wars of Independence in Spanish America in 1826. This course will take a broad definition of Latin America to include much of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Our study will begin with the Native Americans who created a diverse set of societies across an environmentally diverse landscape. We will then study the classic Age of Conquest in which Spanish conquistadors brought much of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America into the Spanish Empire. Then we will study the development of colonial societies throughout not only Spanish America, but also in Portuguese Brazil and the French Caribbean. Finally we will study the Age of Independence from which a plethora of independent states emerged throughout Central and South America. (PM)

HIST 236-G - Colonial Brazil (HP) 

This course is an introduction to Brazil’s colonial past. The course will cover the initial emergence of the colony as a commercial outpost the dye wood trade to its place as the seat of the Portuguese Empire in the eighteenth century. Topics addressed will include: mameluco society, the emergence of a plantation economy, the Brazilian frontier, and the emergence of Luso-African cultural traditions. (PM)

HIST 240-G - History of the Islamic World (HP)

This survey course follows the rise of Islam as a world religion from the time of the Prophet Muhammad, into the Classical Age of expansion and cultural development, and on into the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Topics include Muslim piety, Sunni and Shi’ia Islam, Sufism, gender and African forms of Islam. We consider briefly the contemporary era in the last section of the course. (PM)

HIST 242-G - China since the Ming (HP)

This course emphasizes three elements of Modern Chinese history: The collapse of Imperial China under the impact of the West; the failure of the Nationalist Government to modernize China; and the mixed success of the Chinese Communist government in bringing China toward the 21st Century.

HIST 250-G - History of Southern Africa (HP)

This course explores the History of South Africa as a regional powerhouse in the sub-continent. The course begins with the history of the Khoisan, the earliest inhabitants of the sub-continent, and traces developments in the economy, culture and politics to the end of the Apartheid era in 1994. (PM)

HIST 280-G - Contemporary Africa (HP, CW)

This course focuses on the challenges of political independence in Africa. Using case studies of selected African countries, this course examines the prospects for democracy, the problems of economic development, the challenges of political corruption, and the legacy of colonialism in Africa today. (R)

HIST 325-G - Africa and the Americas (HP)

This is an introduction to the interconnected history of the Americas (Brazil, Caribbean, United States) and Africa. We will examine the impact of the Atlantic slave trade on African peoples, and follow the transportation and settlement of enslaved Africans to the Americas. Our focus is the contribution of African peoples to the history, culture and politics of the Americas. (PM, R)

HIST 330-G - Culture and Colonialism (HP, CW)

This seminar focuses on selected readings concerning the cultural impact of colonialism in Africa. Topics include domesticity, health and medicine, etiquette, music and clothing styles, gangsters, films, and Christianity. (S, R)

HIST 377-G - Indians and Iberians in the Americas (HP)

This course is a reading intensive seminar designed to introduce students to the study of the colonial encounter between Indians and Iberians in Latin America. It will focus on the various methods used by ethnohistorians to understand these encounters from indigenous perspective. (S, PM)