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2009 - 2010 Catalog
History
Taylor 133
541-552-6130
Paul Pavlich, Chair
The history program is part of the History and Political Science Department. The mission of the history program is twofold: to support SOU’s University Studies program and to teach advanced courses for students desiring to make history the major focus of their baccalaureate program.
To this end, the history program offers courses that help fulfill SOU University Studies requirements, elective requirements for many other programs, and requirements for a major or minor in history.
The goals of the history baccalaureate degree are to:
- increase students’ understanding of themselves and their society by introducing them to scholarship on the historical foundations of world societies;
- prepare students for public life by familiarizing them with the current professional views of history;
- augment the intellectual capacities of students by encouraging critical thinking and analysis from multiple perspectives, preparing them for whatever path they may choose;
- improve students’ abilities to search for, locate, and appropriately use valid sources of information and knowledge as historical evidence through both printed and electronic media;
- build student familiarity with the appropriate use of computers and computer networks in the fields of history, social science, and humanities;
- enhance the writing skills of students by offering them opportunities to write and receive professional feedback on what they have written; and
- acquaint students with the realities, standards, and expectations of the professional world.
Studying history is excellent preparation for teaching and advanced study in the humanities and social sciences, law and library schools, and seminaries. The history major also provides a solid foundation for government service, business administration, public history and museum work, and various other areas of communication, journalism, and writing. History courses are an integral part of many other degree programs at Southern Oregon University.
In addition, the department offers minors in designated fields of historical study.
Degrees
BA or BS in History
Minor
History
Phi Alpha Theta
Membership in the local chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the international honor society in history, is open to qualified students. The purposes of the society are to encourage, stimulate, and help maintain excellence in the historical scholarship of students and faculty. Phi Alpha Theta also has a number of programs, scholarship awards, and publications available to member students. For more information, contact Dr. Dustin Walcher.
Teacher Licensing
Students who want to teach history at the middle school and high school level in Oregon public schools must complete a bachelor’s degree in history before applying for admission to a postgraduate licensure program such as the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at SOU. Interested students should consult the School of Education regarding admission requirements.
Foreign Language
The history program strongly recommends that majors complete at least two years of college-level foreign language. Students who complete their second year of foreign language will likely qualify for a bachelor of arts degree at SOU (see BA/BS Requirements). Graduate and professional schools, scholarship-granting agencies and foundations, and private-sector employers consider the bachelor of arts degree as most appropriate within the history field. Additionally, taking courses at the 300- or 400-level in a foreign language will aid students in their post-graduation careers.
Requirements for the Major
The history program urges students completing a history major to fulfill all University Studies requirements and prerequisites for upper division courses by the end of their sophomore year.
For a bachelor’s degree in history, students must complete a program planned in cooperation with and approved by a History Department faculty advisor. The department requires the following:
- Fulfill the baccalaureate degree requirements.
- Required courses (20 credits):
| World Civilizations (HST 110, 111) | 8 |
| American History and Life (HST 250, 251) | 8 |
| Research and Writing (HST 300) | 4 |
| Capstone (HST 415) | 4 |
| Demonstration of mastery of lower division survey courses without enrolling in HST 110, 111, 250, and 251. | |
| Score 3 or higher on the high school Advanced Placement (AP) exams in World History or European history and United States history, or pass the appropriate CLEP exam, or pass standardized exams administered by the history program in world and United States history with scores of 70 percent or better. | |
- Three courses from United States History (12 credits):
| The Constitution and the Supreme Court (HST 388) | 4 |
| The Constitution and the Presidency (HST 389) | 4 |
| American Foreign Relations to 1898 (HST 451) | 4 |
| American Foreign Relations, 1880s to 1945 (HST 452) | 4 |
| American Foreign Relations since WWII (HST 453) | 4 |
| U.S.-Latin American Relations (HST 454) | 4 |
| Colonial America (HST 455) | 4 |
| American Revolution, 1763 to 1800 (HST 456) | 4 |
| Antebellum America (HST 457) | 4 |
| Civil War and Reconstruction (HST 458) | 4 |
| Rise of Industrial America (HST 459) | 4 |
| American West to 1865 (HST 476) | 4 |
| Twentieth-Century United States to the 1950s (HST 481) | 4 |
| Twentieth-Century United States since the 1950s (HST 482) | 4 |
| Appropriate topical courses from HST 399, 401, 405, 408, and 484 | varies |
- Two courses from three of the following four categories (24 credits):
Note: Students select three categories from a, b, c, or d. Students then complete two courses from each of the selected categories. For example: A student selects categories a, b, and d. The student is required to take two courses from each of those categories but none from category c.
- Transnational, Comparative, and International History
| World Biography and Autobiography (HST 370) | 4 |
| War in the Modern World (HST 380) | 4 |
| Nazi Germany and Film* (HST 381) | 4 |
| Vietnam War and Film* (HST 382) | 4 |
| Environmental History (HST 421) | 4 |
| Twentieth-Century Revolutions (HST 372) | 4 |
| Appropriate topical courses from HST 399, 401, 405, 408, and 490 | varies |
| *Only one film course counts for this category. | |
- European History
| Tudor and Stuart England (HST 305) | 4 |
| England since 1688 (HST 306) | 4 |
| Ancient Greece (HST 315) | 4 |
| Ancient Rome (HST 316) | 4 |
| French Revolution and Napoleon (HST 341) | 4 |
| Revolutions and Imperialism (HST 342) | 4 |
| Europe in the Twentieth Century (HST 343) | 4 |
| The Nazi Party and the Third Reich (HST 344) | 4 |
| Imperial Russia (HST 448) | 4 |
| Spain since 1808 (HST 450) | 4 |
| World War I (HST 472) | 4 |
| Appropriate topical courses from HST 399, 401, 405, 408, and 490 | varies |
- African or Middle Eastern History
| Sudanic and Forest States (HST 361) | 4 |
| Colonial Africa (HST 362) | 4 |
| Modern Africa since Independence (HST 363) | 4 |
| Islamic and Arab Expansion, 600 to 1517 (HST 431) | 4 |
| Ottoman Empire (HST 432) | 4 |
| Islamic Middle East since 1914 (HST 433) | 4 |
| Appropriate topical courses from HST 399, 401, 405, 408, and 490 | varies |
- Asian or Latin American History
| Pre-Columbian and Colonial Latin America (HST 350) | 4 |
| Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean since Independence (HST 351) | 4 |
| South America since Independence (HST 352) | 4 |
| China: 1279 to 1900 (HST 395) | 4 |
| China: Twentieth Century (HST 396) | 4 |
| Japan since 1800 (HST 397) | 4 |
| U.S.-Latin American Relations (HST 454) | 4 |
| Colonial Mexico (HST 464) | 4 |
| Modern Mexico (HST 465) | 4 |
| Appropriate topical courses from HST 399, 401, 405, 408, and 490 | varies |
- Electives: three additional upper-division history courses (12 credits).
- Achieve a 2.5 GPA in all history courses taken at SOU.
Capstone
History majors who are within 12 credits of completing the history requirements for their bachelor’s degree may register for the capstone experience. Students will produce a lengthy and properly documented paper to demonstrate their command of the research process.
Requirements for the Minor
(28 credits)
| One elective in Transnational, Comparative, and International History | 4 |
| One elective in European History | 4 |
| One elective in United States History | 4 |
| One elective in African or Middle Eastern History | 4 |
| One elective in Asian or Latin American History | 4 |
| Two additional electives in any two areas above | 8 |
History Courses
See Course Prerequisites PolicyLower Division Courses
| HST 110, 111 World Civilizations |
| 4 credits each |
| Examines the development of world civilizations. Emphasizes political, economic, social, religious, and cultural factors. Relates earlier patterns of world civilization to present conditions and problems. Includes lecture, discussion of readings, video documentaries, feature film analysis, and small group activities. HST 110: Development of world civilizations from their emergence to 1500 c.e. HST 111: since 1500 c.e. Courses may be taken out of sequence. Approved for University Studies (Explorations). |
| HST 250, 251 American History and Life |
| 4 credits each |
| Explores United States history and culture from indigenous times to the present. HST 250 begins with indigenous life and culture before European contact and ends with the Civil War and Reconstruction. HST 251 begins with the rise of big business and examines major themes in U.S. history through the present. Course methods include lecture and discussion of readings and videos. Approved for University Studies (Explorations). |
Upper Division Courses
| HST 300 Research and Writing |
| 4 credits |
| Addresses the methodologies of research and writing for history and political science. Develops research skills, using both primary and secondary sources; explores basics techniques of data analysis and the use and interpretation of descriptive statistics; and teaches how to structure written assignments appropriate to the production of university-quality historical and political analysis. Required course for all history and political science majors. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. (Cross-listed with PS 300). |
| HST 305, 306 English History |
| 4 credits each |
| Provides a general survey of English history from the fifteenth century to the present. Emphasizes major political, economic, constitutional, legal, social, intellectual, and religious developments. HST 305 explores Tudor-Stuart England to 1689. HST 306 examines Britain from 1690 to the present, with attention to Empire and Commonwealth. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 315 Ancient Greece |
| 4 credits |
| Examines ancient Greece from the Minoans and Mycenaeans through the death of Alexander the Great in 323 b.c.e. Topics include Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, the so-called "Dark Ages," archaic Greece, the emergence of the poleis, the Persian Wars, the rise of Athens, the Peloponnesian War, and Alexander the Great. Features economic, social, political, and intellectual developments. Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Explorations courses. |
| HST 316 Ancient Rome |
| 4 credits |
| Surveys the political, military, economic, social, cultural, and religious institutions of Ancient Rome from the beginning of the Republic (fifth century b.c.e.) to the fall of the Empire (fifth century c.e.). Focuses on the period from the rise of Julius Caesar during the first century b.c.e. through the reign of Augustus (27 b.c.e. to 14 c.e.) and to the period of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (161 to 180 c.e.). Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Explorations courses. |
| HST 341, 342, 343 Modern Europe |
| 4 credits each |
| Presents major European political, social, economic, and cultural trends since the French Revolution. HST 341 examines Europe on the eve of revolution, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Era. HST 342 focuses on 1815 to 1914. HST 343 explores the years since the outbreak of World War I. Emphasizes the effect of the French Revolution and Napoleon on modern history. Studies the influence of ideologies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. May be taken out of sequence. Prerequisites: HST 110, 111. |
| HST 344 The Nazi Party and the Third Reich |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the rise and fall of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party between 1919 and 1945 and compares German fascism with similar movements around the world in the twentieth century. Open to all majors. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 350, 351, 352 History of Latin America |
| 4 credits each |
| Compares and surveys economic, social, and political developments in Latin America. HST 350 examines pre-Columbian cultures and the Iberian colonial period to 1810. HST 351 surveys the modern economic, social, political, and cultural history of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. HST 352 surveys the modern economic, social, political, and cultural history of the nations of South America. |
| HST 361, 362, 363 History of Africa |
| 4 credits each |
| Surveys the historical development of African societies. Includes topical analyses of Sudanic and forest states, comparative colonial experiences, and politics and societies in modern nation-states. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 370 World Biography and Autobiography |
| 4 credits |
| Examines biography and autobiography as a prism to world history by linking individual lives with social/political conditions and cultural mentalities of societies to understand Western and non-western worldviews and cultural practices. Assesses the ways biography as a genre can serve as a vital form of history. Explores historical writing by examining innovations in biography, such as collective biography and prosopography, which places it at the forefront of new historical methodology. Open to all majors. Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Explorations courses. |
| HST 372 Twentieth-Century Revolutions |
| 4 credits |
| Assesses historical developments, individuals, and transformations of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through the prism of revolutions and revolutionary movements. Focuses on revolutions in Mexico (1910 to 1940), Russia (1905 to 1928), China (1911 to 1958), and Cuba (1933 to 1970). Provides a thematic and comparative approach to the study of modern global history. Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Explorations courses. (Cross-listed with PS 372.) |
| HST 380 War in the Modern World |
| 4 credits |
| Explores and examines the modern history of one of the most common of all human social experiences: war. Explores war and its connection with human aggression; the emotional and psychological experience of war; the professionalism of war; and the roles of public opinion, technology, and medical advances in war. Examines peace movements and other concerted attempts to eliminate war from human history. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 381 Nazi Germany and Film |
| 4 credits |
| Uses film to approach Nazi Germany while examining the relationship between reality and representation. Promotes the reconceptualization of the boundaries between history and film. Demonstrates how the economic, social, and political conditions of the Nazi era affected the cultural views and beliefs of the German people and the historical interpretations of them and their government. Open to all majors. Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Explorations courses. |
| HST 382 Vietnam War and Film |
| 4 credits |
| Focuses on the impact of popular American motion pictures and major documentaries of the Vietnam War on American history and culture thirty years after the end of the conflict. Promotes critical thinking about the Vietnam War to understand how historical, economic, social, and political conditions affected American cultural values and beliefs. Open to all majors. Approved for University Studies (Integration). Prerequisites: Upper-division standing and completion of Explorations sequences in Humanities and Social Sciences. (Cross-listed with PS 382.) |
| HST 388 The Constitution and the Supreme Court |
| 4 credits |
| Analyzes the Supreme Court as a political and legal institution. Examines the relationship between the Supreme Court and other courts, as well as other branches of government. Includes an examination of recent decisions of the Supreme Court interpreting the Constitution. (Cross-listed with PS 341.) |
| HST 389 The Constitution and the Presidency |
| 4 credits |
| Examines political and legal disputes involving presidential powers or prerogatives, beginning with the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Charts the development of and changes to the presidency within the American political and constitutional system. (Cross-listed with PS 343.) |
| HST 395 China: 1279–1900 |
| 4 credits |
| Studies political, economic, social, cultural, and religious developments in Chinese civilization from 1279 to 1900. |
| HST 396 China: Twentieth Century |
| 4 credits |
| Covers political, economic, social, cultural, and religious developments in twentieth-century Chinese civilization. |
| HST 397 Japan since 1800 |
| 4 credits each |
| Analyzes the history of Japan from 1800 to the present. Emphasizes political, economic, social, religious, and cultural institutions. |
| HST 399 Special Studies |
| Credits to be arranged |
| HST 401 Research |
| Credits to be arranged |
| HST 403 Thesis |
| Credits to be arranged |
| HST 405/505 Reading and Conference |
| Credits to be arranged |
| HST 407/507 Seminar |
| Credits to be arranged |
| HST 408 Colloquium |
| Credits to be arranged |
| HST 415 History Capstone |
| 4 credits |
| History majors who are within 12 credit hours of completing the history requirements for their bachelor’s degree may register for the capstone experience. Students will produce a lengthy and properly documented paper to demonstrate their command of the research process. |
| HST 421/521 Environmental History |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the historical relationship between the earth and human societies in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas from earliest times to the present. Combines lecture, video presentations, and discussion. Approved for University Studies (Integration). Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 431, 432, 433 Islamic Middle East |
| 4 credits each |
| HST 431 covers the rise of Islam and Arab expansion in the Middle East, North Africa, Persia, India, and Spain, 600 to 1517 c.e. HST 432 examines the rise and decline of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, as well as the advent of European imperialism in the region to 1914. HST 433 explores the Middle East since 1914, emphasizing such themes as independence and decolonization, state formation, Zionism, Islamic fundamentalism, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Prerequisites: HST 110, 111. |
| HST 448 Imperial Russia |
| 4 credits |
| Provides in-depth examination of Russia from the time of Peter the Great in 1682 to the end of the Czarist Russia in World War I and the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Major themes include westernization and expansion under Peter and Catherine the Great, as well as Alexander I and the Napoleonic Wars. Analyzes relations with Britain or the "Eastern Question" and the Crimean War, abolition of serfdom, industrialization, and failure to reform at the time of the Russo-Japanese War, as well as rising nationalism on the eve of World War I and the revolution and collapse of the Romanov Dynasty. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 450 Spain since 1808 |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the economic, social, political, and cultural history of Spain in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Covers the French invasion and the most recent democratic period, including topics such as the Isabeline regime and the consolidation of Spanish liberalism and constitutionalism, the Civil War, and the Franco era. Investigates how Spanish history reflects the broader framework of the European experience. Examines the problems of industrialization, modernity, mass political mobilization, and the post-World War II transformation of European society. Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Explorations courses. |
| HST 451, 452, 453 United States Foreign Relations |
| 4 credits |
| Surveys the international affairs of the United States, analyzing political economic, strategic, and ideological factors. Also examines the effects of U.S. foreign policy at home and abroad; HST 451 covers the position of the British North American colonies in the international system, the diplomacy of independence, free, trade, Civil War, and continental expansion. HST 452 explores imperialism, progressive internationalism, political and economic expansion, and two world wars; HST 453 analyzes the Cold War, decolonization, globalization, and terrorism. Prerequisites: Upper division standing. (HST 451 cross-listed with PS 451; HST 452 cross-listed with PS 452; HST 453 cross-listed with PS 453). |
| HST 454 U.S.-Latin American Relations |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the history of relations between Latin American nations and the United States, focusing on the last half of the twentieth century. Focuses on the impact of Latin America's nationalist, anti-imperialist, class, racial, and economic struggles on foreign relations, while recognizing the asymmetrical hegemonic relationships between the United States and other nations in the hemisphere. Analyzes American policies in terms of the domestic and global contexts within which leaders defined national economic, strategic, and ideological interests and their regional policy objectives. Prerequisites: Upper division standing. (Cross-listed with PS 454.) |
| HST 455 Colonial America |
| 4 credits |
| Explores British and French settlement and colonial development in North America to 1763. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 456 American Revolution, 1763–1800 |
| 4 credits |
| Investigates the British imperial crisis and the American movement toward war and independence, the background and controversy regarding the Constitution, critical issues during the 1790s, and the emergence of political parties. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 457 Jefferson to Civil War |
| 4 credits |
| Traces United States history during the antebellum (before the war) period (1800 to 1850) from the election of Thomas Jefferson to the aftermath of the war with Mexico. Examines the development of democracy in American life, the westward expansion of the United States, and the subsequent divergence of Northern and Southern interests. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 458 Civil War and Reconstruction |
| 4 credits |
| Analyzes the causes, nature, and effects of the American Civil War and its Reconstruction aftermath. Provides an overview of the military aspects of the war and traces the social, political, and economic changes brought about by what historians have called the "Second American Revolution." Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 459 U.S. History, 1877 through 1929 |
| 4 credits |
| Advanced examination of the emergence of the industrial United States. Covers political, economic, social, cultural, and foreign relations history from the end of the Reconstruction to the onset of the Great Depression. Emphasizes industrialization, labor movements, agrarian problems, urbanization, populism, progressivism, overseas expansion, the U.S. experience in World War I, consumerism, and the boom and bust of the 1920s. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 464 Colonial Mexico |
| 4 credits |
| Explores colonial Mexico from the pre-Columbian era through independence from Spain in 1821. Emphasizes the continuity of indigenous lifeways; the emergence of a new mestizo culture based on contributions from the Indian, European, and African elements of Mexican society; the partnership between church and state; exports; labor; and the rise of incipient nationalism at the end of the eighteenth century. Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Explorations courses. |
| HST 465 Modern Mexico |
| 4 credits |
| Designed to give an overview of the economic, social, political, and cultural history of Mexico from the era of independence (roughly 1810) to the present. Includes lectures that outline basic theoretical models for analyzing historical trends. Presents a basic chronological historical narrative combined with a discussion of targeted primary and secondary works. Prerequisites: Upper division standing and completion of Social Sciences and Humanities Exploration courses. |
| HST 472 World War I |
| 4 credits |
| Explores the history of the first of two "world wars" in the twentieth century. Addresses themes such as European competition and tensions that led to war, the role of modern technology on the scale and severity of the war, the mass mobilization of the civilian economy, and attempts to end the war through diplomatic means. Examines the impact of the "Great War" on future developments in Europe and around the world. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 476 American West |
| 4 credits |
| Examines ancient and native civilizations, the Spanish empire, westward expansion of Anglo Americans, construction of railroads, irrigation development, and industrialization in the twentieth century. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 481, 482 Twentieth-Century United States |
| 4 credits |
| Advanced examination of the "American century." HST 481 explores the American involvement in the first World War, the boom and bust of the 1920s, the New Deal, World War II, the early years of the atomic era, the Eisenhower presidency, the 1960s, Nixon and Watergate. HST 482 begins with the "malaise" of the 1970s, the Reagan-Bush era of the 1980s and early 1990s, and the Clinton presidency to the present. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 484/584 Topics in American History |
| 4 credits |
| Analyzes a major historical issue or topic in American history. The focus of the course changes each time. May be repeated for credit with varying topics. |
| HST 485 Topics in Latin American History |
| 4 credits |
| Analyzes a major issue in Latin American history. Topic changes each time the course is offered. May be repeated for credit with varying topics. Prerequisite: Upper division standing. |
| HST 486 Topics in Ancient Mediterranean History |
| 4 credits |
| Examines a major historical issue or topic in Ancient Mediterranean history. The focus of the course changes each time. May be repeated for credit with varying topics. Topics include: Alexander the Great, the Julio-Claudian Emperors, Julius Caesar, and Historical Films of the Ancient Mediterranean. Prerequisite: HST 110. |
| HST 487 Topics in European History |
| 4 credits |
| Analyzes a major historical issue or topic in European history. The focus of the course changes each time. May be repeated for credit with varying topics. Topics include: European Expansion and Interaction, World War I, and Hitler and the Third Reich. Prerequisites: HST 111, 112. |
| HST 488 Topics in Middle Eastern History |
| 4 credits |
| Covers a major historical issue or topic in Middle-Eastern history. The focus of the course changes each time. May be repeated for credit with varying topics. Topics include: Egypt under the British, Israel and Palestine, and the Legacy of Colonialism. Prerequisites: HST 111, 112. |
| HST 489 Topics in African History |
| 4 credits |
| Analyzes a major historical issue or topic in African history. The focus of the course changes each time. May be repeated for credit with varying topics. Topics include: Dictatorship in the Postcolonial Period, Comparative Imperial Systems, and the Legacy of Colonialism. Prerequisites: HST 111, 112. |
| HST 490 Topics in World History |
| 4 credits |
| Explores a major historical issue or topic in world history. The focus of the course changes each time. May be repeated for credit with varying topics. Topics include: Empires, Colonialism, Atlantic World, Industrialization, Revolutions, and Environmental History. Prerequisites: HST 110, 111, 112. |
