His 111 Foundations of the Modern Age. An introduction to the ideas, institutions and events which shaped modern Western civilization, focusing on Western Europe and North America but also giving attention to the relationship between the West and the rest of the world. Satisfies General Degree Requirement IV.B. Syllabus -- Professor M. Vosmeier, Professor Thornton, Professor Murphy, Professor Lian
His 213J. Western Civilization, 1750-1914 An examination of fairy tales, beheadings and terror, children at work in coal mines, and the emergence of the quests for universal suffrage as well as revolutionary conspiracies and national unification. This course presents topics that span the dramatic transition from feudal and colonial societies to the beginnings of the modern age. Professor Thornton
His 231J. American Military History, 1903 to the Present A survey of American military from 1903 to the present, studying the military campaigns conducted by Americans during this period. In addition to studying strategy, tactics, and weapons, issues such as the social composition of the armed forces, the influence of new technologies on warfare, the tension between "professional" and "citizen" soldiers, popular attitudes toward war and the military, and the effects of war on American society will be explored. Professor Murphy
His 246J. German History from the Beginnings to World War I A survey of events, developments, and personalities that shaped German-speaking Europe from Roman times to the early twentieth century, focusing on the major political organizers: the Franks, Stauffers, the Hapsburgs, and the Hohenzollerns; on the sociopolitical legacy of the Holy Roman Empire; on German unification and the "German question" and on the events leading to World War I. Professor Wichmann
His 260J. The Family in Western Civilization This course examines the changing character of family life in Europe and America, from ancient times to the present. Giving special attention to the American experience, we will consider gender roles, childrearing practices, family strategies, and the material conditions of everyday life. Professor S. Vosmeier
His 263J. Latin American History A study of the history of political, economic, and cultural developments of Latin America, including the American and European backgrounds, the European discovery and conquest, colonial period, independence, and the growth of modern nations. Satisfies General Degree Requirement IV.C. Professor Enriquez
His 267J. History of Japan An introduction to the history of Japan from the beginning of Japanese civilization through the modern era. Satisfies General Degree Requirement IV.C. Professor Lian
His 330J. History of American Thought: American Countercultures In this course we will study some influential twentieth-century American literary and artistic countercultures. Topics will include the Beat Movement, the Merry pranksters, and the warhol circle. We will read books by Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Ken Kesey, Tom Wolfe, Andy Warhol, and John Rechy. Berets, bongos, and tie-dye shirts are optional. Professor Murphy
His 341J. History of the Classical World I A survey of ancient history from the Bronze Age to the death of Alexander the Great. Identical to Classics 341. Professor Carrell
His 352J. Genocide and the Holocaust An in-depth examination of the ideological underpinnings, implementation, and legacy of the Nazi effort to exterminate every Jew in Europe. The course will also consider the question of the uniqueness of the Holocaust in the context of examples of other manifestations of genocide. Professor Thornton
His 371J. Historical Research A seminar exploring historiographical traditions and methods of historical analysis. Professor Lian
His 234S. Studies in American Culture: The Call of the Wild At the turn of the twentieth century, many Americans feared that their newly urbanized countrymen were losing the hardy and democratic virtues of their frontier forebears. Frederick Jackson Turner pondered the consequences of the closing of the frontier, while Theodore Roosevelt extolled "the strenuous life" and the bracing effects of a good war. We will examine this rambunctious dimension of the Progressive Era by looking at books such as Theodore Roosevelt's The Rough Riders, Owen Wister's The Virginian, Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage, and Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan and A Princess of Mars. In this course, speak softly and carry a big stick. Professor Murphy
His 245S. Studies in Modern Europe Our topic for this Spring Term is the end of Communism in Eastern Europe. We will examine the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Velvet Revolution, the travails in Poland, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The class will range in time from the late 1980s when communist parties were constitutionally guaranteed the "leading" roles in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Soviet Union through the dismantling of the party apparatuses and the emergence of multi-party political systems. Professor Thornton
His 260S. Christianity and Modern China This course explores the role of Protestant Christianity in the political and social upheavals as well as cultural transformations of post-Opium War China. It examines in particular the violent peasant uprisings of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of the 1850s and 1860s and of the Boxers at the turn of the century, both of which found Christianity to be at the heart of the tragedies---whether as the inspiration for the failed peasant rebellion with a loss of millions of lives or as the prime target for desperate and bloody antiforeignism. And in the context of China's search for civil society in the first half of the twentieth century, we look at the evolution of Christian higher education and its impact on Chinese efforts to come to terms with the West and with modernity. Professor Lian.
His 260S. Your Family in Twentieth-Century America This course is about how YOUR family fits into the material you might study in a traditional U.S. history class. Discussions and assignments will center on information you and your fellow students have gathered through interviews with your parents, grandparents, and other family members. The focus of the course will be on a final paper that makes an argument about the connection between your informant(s) and a major theme or event in the American experience. Before registering, you will need at least two family members to agree to be interviewed. You should all have a great time reminiscing! Professor S. Vosmeier