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This course is a survey of major civilizations from Paleolithic times through the fifteenth century. It is intended to introduce students to some of the most prominent events, people, governments, ideas, beliefs, and cultures during this long period and across a broad geographical range that encompasses the Near East, Asia, India, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Students will also learn to appreciate the methods of historians in studying the past. Participants will have the opportunity to read and evaluate sources from the societies that we study. Topics covered in this class include the formation and development of the societies and governments; religious and philosophical systems; cultural and societal practices; and the economy. (HI, GP, WP)

This course offers a survey of the political, intellectual, social, religious, and economic history of the modern world from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. It emphasizes the growing interrelatedness of the major geopolitical regions of the world as they move toward global interdependence. (HI, GP, WP)

This course surveys the history of the peoples who came to make up the United States from the early discoveries of the New World to the end of the Civil War in 1865. Special attention is devoted to the development of national institutions, military and political history, ideological trends, and the impact of slavery on the nation's development. (HI, WP)

Continuing the developments in U.S. history beyond 1865, this course carries the story to contemporary times. Special attention is devoted to America's rise to global power, cultural diversity in society, and the attendant developments in domestic policy. (HI, WP)

This course introduces students to the different methods and approaches that historians use in their work. Students will gain a greater knowledge of what history and historiography are, and appreciate how insights imparted by historians continue to inform how we debate about the past. Students will learn the art of the historian, including how to think about the meaning of historical events and trends; how to locate and evaluate primary and secondary sources; and how to analyze and discuss the past with peers. Learning the steps to compose papers and to cite properly is especially important. This class is normally only open to students who are majoring or minoring in History. Students are urged to take this course as a sophomore or junior.(WC)

This course traces the development of American diplomacy in the wars of the eighteenth century and the American Revolution through 1901, and examines the course of American diplomacy from Theodore Roosevelt's administration to America's achievement of world leadership at mid-twentieth century. (HI, WP)

This course examines various travel accounts of the Middle Ages, from the fourth to the fifteenth century, both as a window into the authors' civilizations and the lands to which they journeyed. Western and Eastern travelers will be considered and compared. Students will contemplate what cultural interaction meant in the pre-modern world, the different purposes and experiences of travel, how religion informed travelers' observations, and the extent to which the different accounts are realistic or fantastic. Students will read a series of medieval travelers in a roughly chronological progression. Special emphasis will be placed on Marco Polo's Travels, which will form the basis for the term paper. (HI, GP)

This course examines the Crusading movement from its origins in the eleventh century to its decline in the sixteenth century. Emphasis will be laid not only on the Crusades of Western Europeans in the Near East, but also their exploits in Spain and Eastern Europe. Themes covered include traditional ideas about Jerusalem and pilgrimage; description and analysis of the events of the major Crusades; the creation and development of ideas about Crusading; notions of just and holy war; life in the Crusader kingdoms of the Near East; relations between Western Christians and Jews, Byzantines, Muslims, and heretics; religion and liturgy in the Crusades; and the role of women in the Crusades. Assignments focus on significant texts and other material produced by medieval civilization. (HI)

To understand the contemporary world, it is important to have a perspective on the history of the nations of the Pacific Rim. This course surveys events in Asia, especially China and Japan, from the nineteenth century to the present. (GP)

The History of Kansas provides a detailed overview of Kansas history since the arrival of humans to the area. The course, structured chronologically, follows the process of settlement by indigenous people, the dispossession of those first Kansans by people of European descent, the struggles over freedom during the territorial period, the achievement of statehood, the rush to turn Kansas into an agricultural garden, social and political reform movements, and the state's modern struggles as an agricultural, industrial, and corporate producer. The course covers these myriad topics while also focusing on the changing image of Kansas in the minds of its residents and outsiders.

This survey intends to introduce students to the entire range of the American military experience from the Indian wars of the early colonial period to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Special emphasis will be placed on how the United States morphed from a nation hostile to standing armies into the greatest military power the world has ever known. To that end, students will learn how the modern U.S. armed forces developed within a distinct American context and tradition. The course will also give students insights into the way wars and the military have transformed American society and culture, and conversely how American culture has impacted the American military tradition. (HI)

This course introduces students to Native North American cultures through 1864. Topics covered include pre-Columbian Native American societies and cultural traditions, the impact of European colonization, the fur trade, military and religious conquest, Indian Removal, and Native American resistance.

This course will study in depth certain topics in the pre- and post-revolutionary era of American history, including special emphasis on the colonial history of North America through the French and Indian War, to the Revolution and the Founding.

Major themes in this course are the territorial expansion of the United States and the dramatic consequences of political, demographic, social, and economic changes. These changes gave rise to sectional tensions within American society that threatened to dissolve the union, especially the debates over slavery. (HI).

Students will explore the various aspects of the U.S. Civil War in the context of previous sectional conflict and explore ideological, political, diplomatic, socioeconomic, and military issues related to the war. They will also explore the memory of the conflict as well as its meaning and relevance to modern America. (HI)

The period from the end of the Civil War to World War I was characterized by reconstruction, the rise of industrial capitalism, the creation of a powerful federal government, and confrontations among different social classes in American society. The period culminated in the rise of progressivism and President Woodrow Wilson's crusade to remake global politics along American democratic principles.

Students will investigate how the United States emerged from World War I as one of the most advanced and prosperous countries in the world, only to lose its confidence and self-esteem following the stock market crash of 1929. This course analyzes the dramatic rise and spectacular collapse of the American nation, and the subsequent attempts by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to restore the promise of what is usually called the "American dream."

Beginning with World War II, this course traces the rise of the United States as the dominant power in the world and the problems it faces as its hegemony was and is challenged both domestically and internationally. Among the topics covered are the Cold War, the struggle for minority civil rights, domestic political developments, international politics, environmental and social issues, the collapse of Soviet communism, and the rise of international terrorism.

This course is an American cultural history as represented through some of the nation's most important and influential films. Movie making is an original American art form that illuminates the shifting values and priorities of the United States over the last century. Films are often a social critique or a celebration of the zeitgeist and thereby contain within them a deeper, more lasting importance than simple entertainment. (VC)

This course is a survey of Latin American history from 1492 to the present with emphasis on comparative social and institutional development of Latin American nations.

This course is a survey of ancient Greek history from the Greek Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE) to the end of the Hellenistic Age (ca. 146 BCE). The geographical focus of the course is the world of the Aegean Sea, but we will also study the interactions among Greeks and surrounding cultures like the Persian Empire. Students will learn the major events that formed this civilization as well as the unique culture and thought produced within it. Students will have the opportunity to read and analyze the evidence produced by ancient civilization. Sessions will be devoted to the study of coins and archaeology. (HI, WP)

This course is a survey of ancient Rome focusing on the period from the foundation of Rome in the eighth century BCE to the dissolution of the Western half of the Roman Empire in the fifth century CE. Sessions are roughly divided into two halves, the first covers the Roman Republic and the second covers the Roman Empire. This course sketches a narrative of ancient Rome's history, particularly its political history, although some sessions and readings will handle social, religious, military, and cultural history. Emphasis will further be placed on the archaeology and coins from the ancient Roman world. Assignments focus on significant texts and other materials produced by ancient Roman civilization. (HI, WP)

This course is a survey of the ancient Greek and Roman world from the civilization of Mycenae (ca. 2000 BCE) to the end of the Roman Empire (ca. 500 CE). The class teaches students to interpret the evidence from this period. Topics covered include the methods of studying classical history; the formation, development, and dissolution of the Greek and Roman worlds; the paramount political events, rulers, and wars of the ancient world; classical culture and social history including the role of women, artistic and philosophical achievements, and the position of slaves; and pagan and Christian religious traditions. Assignments will focus on significant texts and other material produced by ancient Greek and Roman civilization. (HI, WP)

This course covers the foundational period in European history from ca. 500 to ca. 1450, a time that would later be dubbed "the Middle Ages." Topics covered in this class include the transition from the Roman to the early medieval world; the emergence of Barbarian kingdoms; Viking invasions; feudalism; European expansion; late-medieval government; the disasters of the late Middle Ages; religious thought and practice; women's roles; highlights of medieval culture; the contribution of archaeology to studying the period; and the legacy of the Middle Ages. The assignments focus on texts and other material produced by medieval civilization. (HI, WP)

This course is a survey of the history of the Byzantine Empire, the successor state to the Roman Empire, located mainly in Asia Minor. It focuses on the period from the foundation of Constantinople in the fourth century to the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, although it will also include material before and after this span to place Byzantine history in context. The course will sketch a narrative of Byzantium's history, particularly its political history, although some sessions will handle social, cultural, and religious history. The assignments will focus on significant texts and other materials produced by Byzantine civilization. (HI, GP, WP)

A survey of the major developments in the Italian Renaissance from ca. 1300 to ca. 1550, the course emphasizes the nature of Renaissance humanism from Petrarch to Machiavelli, as well as the economic, political, social, and religious life of the Italian city-states. Topics covered include education, family and marriage, religion and the Church, the economy, war, social class, government, art, and architecture. (HI, AE, WP)

This course examines the society of England from ca. 500 to ca. 1500. The course will focus on the political, social, and religious history of England in this period, as well as their interactions with the rest of the medieval world. Topics that will receive particular emphasis are the spread and influence of Christianity, the development of government, conflicts over power, and clashes among different cultures. The assignments will focus on significant texts and other materials produced by medieval English civilization. Part of the work involves appreciating the challenges of reading and interpreting medieval sources. Non-written sources like manuscripts and the Bayeux Tapestry will also receive attention. (HI)

This course examines the participation and experience of the laity in medieval Christianity. It is mainly a foray into the history of religion and social history, although elements from institutional and political history will be incorporated when relevant. The chronological emphasis is on the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries. The geographical concentration is on Western Europe and England in particular. The themes selected illustrate the experience of Christians, but some of the material refers to interaction of Christians and non-Christians or heretics. The emphasis will be placed on the lived practice of faith rather than theology. (F, WP)

A systematic consideration of the Protestant and Roman Catholic reformations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, this course will emphasize theological and political developments of the period, and the impact of the fragmentation of Latin Christendom on European civilization. In addition to written primary sources, important works of religious art will be studied in this course. (HI, AE, WP)

This course is a survey of dynastic politics and diplomacy, and of economic, social, and intellectual developments in the principal European states between 1618 and 1789. Political topics include the Age of Absolutism, the Thirty Years' War, the English Civil War, and the French Revolution, while cultural and intellectual topics include the Scientific Revolution, the Baroque, and the Enlightenment. (HI, WP)

The Enlightenment, French Revolution, and the consolidation of the two by Napoleon and the First Empire are watershed events in human history, ending the early-modern Ancien regime and usheringin the modern age. This course is designed to familiarize the student with the causes of the French Revolution, its major events, the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the creation and dissolution of the First Empire, and the impact of all this on Europe and the world. (HI)

The course will examine European history from the Congress of Vienna to the outbreak of World War I. Topics and themes include the Concert of Europe, the Romantic movement, industrialization, nationalism, imperialism, and the impact of intellectuals such as Marx, Darwin, and Nietzsche. (HI, WP)

Events in Europe since the close of World War II are surveyed with special emphasis on the growing economic and political cooperation on the continent. (HI, WP)

This is a survey of Russian history in the imperial, revolutionary, Soviet, and contemporary periods with an emphasis on political and cultural history. The course begins with a geographical introduction and a synopsis of medieval Russian history. The first half of the course will focus on Imperial Russia. The second half of the course will follow the course of Soviet and post-Soviet history from the revolutionary year 1917 to the present. (HI, GP, WP)

The Great War caused unprecedented destruction and left crisis and conflict in its wake. This is due, in part, to the global scope of the war, and in part to the intensity of the war, both on the front and in the home areas. This course, therefore, is designed to ask the following questions: Why was the war different than previous wars? How did it come about? Why was it so difficult to win or lose? Why did it last as long as it did? What was its legacy for the twentieth century? (HI)

The Second World War is one of the most transformative of recent world events. It reshaped the balance of power in the world; it forced peoples of all nations to reevaluate traditional relationships between themselves and their government, their social assumptions, and their cultural perceptions. This course examines the war in a social, military, and diplomatic context. Socially, this course will examine the rise of totalitarian societies, life during wartime, and the impact of "total war." We will be discussing life in Japan, the US, the USSR, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the areas of occupation in Asia, Africa, and Europe. (HI, GP, WP)

This course explores the following topics: the long roots of antisemitism; the rise of the Third Reich; prewar policies implemented against German Jews; the responses of Jewish people to antisemitic prejudice and persecution; Germany's expansionist foreign policy and the outbreak of World War II in Europe; the decision of Hitler and the Nazi leadership to implement a policy of extermination throughout Europe; the deportations, ghettos, and death camps; questions of resistance and rescue; and the issues associated with liberation, survival, remembrance, and the recurrence of genocide. (HI)

This course concentrates on the Pharaonic period of ancient Egypt, from ca. 3400 BCE to the inclusion of Egypt in the Roman Empire in 31 BCE. The geographical focus will be the lands on the banks of the Nile River and the desert surrounding them, but attention will also be paid to Egypt's interactions with surrounding civilizations. The course will sketch a narrative account of Egyptian history, especially its political history, but some sessions will handle social and religious history as well. The assignments will focus on significant texts and other material produced by ancient Egyptian civilization. (GP, HI))

This senior seminar in history reviews developments in historiography, seeks to enhance research skills, and encourages the student to write at an advanced level. Each student writes a research paperbased on primary sources. (OC, WC)