Course Offerings

Fall 2024▲

See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.

European History, 325-1517

HIST 100 - Chalmers, Matthew J.

An introductory survey, featuring lectures and discussions of European culture, politics, religion and social life, and of Europe's relations with neighboring societies, from the rise of Christianity in Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance, to the beginnings of the 16th-century Protestant and Catholic Reformations.

European History, 1500-1789

HIST 101 - Fernandez-Fontecha, Leticia

An individual who died in 1500 would have been surprised, if not bewildered, by many aspects of European life and thought in 1800. What changed over these three centuries? What stayed the same? Why should we in the 21st century, care? This course examines the history of Europe from the Renaissance through the beginning of the French Revolution. It explores the interplay of religion, politics, society, culture, and economy at a time when Europe underwent great turmoil and change: the Reformation, the consolidation of state power, the rise of constitutionalism, global expansion and encounters with others," perpetual warfare, the rise of the market economy, the spread of the slave trade, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. This course discusses how these processes transformed Europe into the Western world of today, while also challenging ideas about what "Western," "European," and "Civilization" actually mean.

History of the United States to 1876

HIST 107 - Sammons, Franklin

A survey of United States history from the colonial period through Reconstruction with emphasis on the American Revolution, the formation of the Constitution, the rise of parties, western expansion, the slavery controversy, sectionalism, secession, Civil War and Reconstruction.

History of the United States to 1876

HIST 107 - Myers, Barton A.

A survey of United States history from the colonial period through Reconstruction with emphasis on the American Revolution, the formation of the Constitution, the rise of parties, western expansion, the slavery controversy, sectionalism, secession, Civil War and Reconstruction.

The World of Islam: Origins to 1500

HIST 170 - Atanasova, Kameliya N.

This course surveys the political, social, and cultural history of the Islamic World from the 7th to 15th centuries, with particular attention paid to the diverse geographical and cultural contexts in which pre-modern Islamic civilization flourished. Topics include the origins of Islam in late Antiquity; the development of Islamic religious, political, and cultural institutions; the flourishing of medieval Islamic education, science, and literature; the tension among state, ethnic, sectarian, and global Muslim identities; and the emergence of a distinctly Muslim approach to historiography.

African History Since 1800

HIST 176 - Ballah, Henryatta L.

Examination of the history and historiography of Africa from the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present. Topics include precolonial states and societies, European colonial intrusions and African responses, development of modern political and social movements, decolonization, and the history of independent African nation-states during the Cold War and into the 21st century.

First-Year Seminar: Youth and Social Movements in Africa

HIST 180D - Ballah, Henryatta L.

First-Year seminar. While Africa is always represented as a place of “backwardness” and “barbarity,” rarely do media reports focus on the life and lived experiences of African youth.  When the youth are discussed, they are often presented from the dominant trope of victimhood, thus neglecting the complexities and diversity of their lived experience, as well as their contribution to democratization efforts on the continent.  Thus, the aim of this course is to provide a critical analysis and discussion of Sub-Saharan African youth activism and social movements in the context of globalization and the crisis of “post” colonial authoritarianism, from the 1960s into the twenty-first century.

FS: First-Year Seminar: The Fall of Rome

HIST 180E - Chalmers, Matthew J.

How many times a day do you think about the Roman Empire? And, more importantly, how many times a day do you think about the Roman Empire’s fall? This course examines the multiple falls of Rome as well as the failures of Rome to fall. It addresses the basic questions – did Rome fall? What would that even mean? – as well as the more complex – who claimed Rome fell? Why do people talk about this at all? Finally, it tackles the legacy of Rome. Popes, priests, emperors, lawyers, bankers, and kings have all presented themselves as the rightful successors of the Romans. What does that legacy mean, and how should we understand it today?

Introduction to Russian History

HIST 195E - Holland, Alana

Survey of Russian history from its 9th century beginnings in early Rus to the present, focusing on the role of empire in shaping Russia’s ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural diversity and the intersection of these identities with class, gender, sexuality, and national belonging. This course contextualizes the geopolitics of Russia’s place between Europe and Asia within the broader social, cultural, economic, and political trends of European and global history. Students are introduced to major historical events in Russia, including the development and changing nature of the Russian state, the consequences of its expansion, and the impact of revolutionary movements and utopian ideologies in and beyond Russia.  

Gender Outlaws: An Introduction to Trans History

HIST 195F - Rosenthal, G S. (Samantha)

This course introduces the historical method by using transness as the central lens through which we investigate the past, with a focus on the twentieth century. Students will analyze works by transgender and intersex authors, as well as research, write, and present on topics related to twentieth-century U.S. history. 

From Muhammad to Malcolm X: Islamic Thought throughout History

HIST 195G - Atanasova, Kameliya N.

What is the nature of the soul? Who gets to interpret the Qur’an? How can Islam be an antidote to racism? We will examine how Muslim thinkers from the Middle Ages till the 20th century wrestled with these and other existential questions by reading historical and literary sources in translation. We will pay particular attention to biographies and autobiographies. 

Scandal, Crime, and Spectacle in the 19th Century

HIST 211 - Horowitz, Sarah

This course examines the intersection between scandal, crime, and spectacle in 19th-century France and Britain. We discuss the nature of scandals, the connection between scandals and political change, and how scandals and ideas about crime were used to articulate new ideas about class, gender, and sexuality. In addition, this class covers the rise of new theories of criminality in the 19th century and the popular fascination with crime and violence. Crime and scandal also became interwoven into the fabric of the city as sources of urban spectacle. Students are introduced to text analysis and data mining for the humanities.

History of the Holocaust

HIST 229G - Holland, Alana

The Holocaust was the persecution and murder of Europe’s Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies and collaborators from 1933-1945. The deep social, cultural, legal, and political legacies of the Holocaust remain with us, and it continues to inform the politics of memory in the world today. This course examines the history of the Holocaust from its premodern religious origins to its modern race-based legacies. Topics include the history of Jewish life in Europe, the relationship between antisemitism and racism, the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany, and the implementation and aftermath of the Holocaust in different settings. We also examine the fate of non-Jewish victims and minorities persecuted by the Third Reich, the role of Germans and non-Germans in the murder of Jews, and the place of the Holocaust in the context of the First and Second World Wars to gain a deeper understanding of the event that defined the concept of genocide.

The American Civil War

HIST 245 - Myers, Barton A.

The sectional crisis. The election of 1860 and the secession of the southern states. Military strategy and tactics. Weapons, battles, leaders. Life of the common soldier. The politics of war. The economics of growth and destruction. Emancipation. Life behind the lines. Victory and defeat.

The Scientist as National Hero

HIST 249 - Rupke, Nicolaas A.

In this course we discuss the place of scientists in Western society, from the time of the Victorian professionalization of science till today, and we pay attention to the formation of a twentieth-century elite of Nobel Laureates and their role in national politics as well as, to a lesser extent, in international affairs. The course begins by discussing issues of historiography, giving special attention to scientific biography and metabiography. We thus "locate" science by looking at it as an embodied phenomenon, not just as a set of ideas and theories. The practitioners of science are dealt with, their institutions, their image in society and their role in contributing to politics and the public good. How/why have some scientists gained extraordinary leadership status in our culture; how/why have some become national heroes, a few even international ones? Can scientists provide the moral and political leadership to deal with the challenges in society that their very successes have created?

Building a Suburban Nation: Race, Class, and Politics in Postwar America

HIST 268 - Michelmore, Mary (Molly)

Together, the overdevelopment of the suburbs and the underdevelopment of urban centers have profoundly shaped American culture, politics and society in the post-WWII period. This course examines the origins and consequences of suburbanization after 1945. Topics include the growth of the national state, the origins and consequences of suburbanization, the making of the white middle class, the War on Poverty, welfare and taxpayers rights" movements, "black power," and how popular culture has engaged with questions about race and class. In the process of understanding the historical roots of contemporary racial and class advantage and disadvantage, this course will shed new light on contemporary public policy dilemmas.

Introduction to Public History

HIST 269K - Rosenthal, G S. (Samantha)

This course offers an introduction to the field of public history, including museum studies, historic preservation, oral history, and community organizing. Students will explore what the past means to different publics, as well as how to work ethically alongside community members and stakeholders in telling diverse stories.

African Women in Comparative Perspective

HIST 275 - Ballah, Henryatta L.

In this course, we will widen our appreciation of African Women's experiences, including history, legal and socio-economic status, religious and political roles, productive and reproductive roles, and the impact of colonialism and post-independence development and representation issues. The course will move across time and space to examine the aforementioned in pre-colonial, colonial and 'post'-colonial Africa. We will begin with the question: What common beliefs/images about African women did/do Euro-Americans share?

Topics in History: Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient World

HIST 295C - Chalmers, Matthew J.

What was it like to see through an ancient person’s eyes? What energized them? How did they understand themselves and others? This course explores the history of race and ethnicity with special attention to ancient Greece and Rome. It examines ancient claims about ancestry, appearance, culture, and physiology, as well as the uses of the classical past in more recent history. In addition to familiarity with the most relevant premodern evidence and the methods used in its study, we think through what it means to responsibly tackle concepts of race and ethnicity in what is ancient history. How can comparison with times that are not our own clarify our understanding of bodily and cultural difference?

Science & Anti-Racism, 1750-Today

HIST 295L - Rupke, Nicolaas A.

The topic of “science, race and racism” has been, and continues to be, extensively covered in scholarly monographs, collected volumes, and professional articles. Oddly, the history of scientific anti-racism has received little coverage. In this course, we will explore why this is so by focusing on Stephen Jay Gould’s popular yet partly misconceived The Mismeasure of Man and similar treatises. Among the forgotten heroes of scientific anti-racism to whom special attention will be paid are Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, Friedrich Tiedemann, and Richard Owen. Also, we shall locate the origins of scientific racism in the efforts by Charles Darwin’s “Rottweilers,” T.H. Huxley and Ernst Haeckel, to apply Darwinian natural selection to the phenomenon of human variety.

Introduction to the History of Medicine

HIST 295M - Fernandez-Fontecha, Leticia

Injury, disease, and bodily decay predate modern medicine and have interested individuals other than medical doctors for centuries. This course deals with how knowledge about disease has been represented, and how it has changed us as it circulates worldwide. It is about the variety of ways people have thought about pain and the relief of pain. We will discuss the origins and evolution of major medical theories (e.g. humors, germs) and forms of intervention (e.g. vaccination, anesthesia) in relation to their historical context (e.g. colonialism, the Cold War). Along the way, students will be exposed to the wide array of groups and individuals who have played a role in our contemporary knowledge of illness and pain, including unlicensed practitioners, the military, ministers and nuns, device manufacturers, and, especially, the patients themselves. Focusing on the sick and the ways they have confronted disease, bodily decay, and physical discomfort enriches our understanding of modern medicine and helps explain why modern medicine co-exists with other self-care practices, including diet, alternative medicine, and prayer.

Slavery & Capitalism

HIST 369D - Sammons, Franklin

This course surveys American economic history from colonization to emancipation by focusing on the entangled relationship between slavery and capitalism. Although slavery existed across ancient societies, the expansion of commerce and colonialism in the early modern Atlantic world helped transform the institution into the race-based chattel form with which it is now associated. Together we will explore how and why this transformation occurred, the development of slavery and capitalism in the British colonies and the early United States, and the legal and economic dimensions of emancipation. We will also examine some of the theoretical and historiographical debates surrounding slavery’s relationship to capitalism. Weekly readings will introduce students to a variety of approaches used by historians to understand economic change, as well as the lived experiences of those who labored, traded, and profited amidst this transforming world. 

Honors Thesis

HIST 493 - Michelmore, Mary (Molly)

Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .

Honors Thesis

HIST 493 - Green, Romina A.

Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .

Spring 2024▲

See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.

Scenes from Chinese History

HIST 105 - Bello, David A.

Film is one of the 20th century's most influential forms of mass communication and, consequently, has been one medium for the creation and maintenance of nation-states. In this sense, no film can be considered as mere entertainment entirely divorced from the social, political, economic and, ultimately, historical context in which it was produced. This is particularly true of modern nation-states invented during the 20th century like the People's Republic of China (PRC). This course is intended to explore how contemporary PRC cinema has interpreted Chinese history, as represented by some of that history's pre-PRC milestones of conflict in the Qin and Qing dynasties as well as the Republican period. Students evaluate the films critically as historical products of their own times as well as current historical narratives of the past by examining each event through a pair of films produced at different times in PRC history. Students also examine post-1949 changes in China and its interpretation of its pre-1949 history, and so, by seeing how a country interprets its history at a given time.

HIST172-01/REL172-01 Muslims in the Movies

HIST 172 - Atanasova, Kameliya N.

An examination of the history of visual representation of Islam and Muslims in classical and modern cinema. We approach movies produced by both Muslims and non-Muslims over the last century as historical sources: visual monuments that have captured the specific cultural and political context in which they were produced. We examine a selection of these movies through the lens of critical theory and the study of religion in order to pay attention to how questions surrounding identity and representation, race and gender, Orientalism and perceptions of difference have historically influenced and continue to influence cinematic images of Islam.

Topics in European History: Illegal Republics: Self-governance in the Middle Ages

HIST 229F - Vise, Melissa E.

It’s the eleventh century and Europe’s political imagination is dominated by single leaders: popes and bishops, monarchs and local rulers. But you’re a city in the north of Italy where a vacuum of power, a memory of Rome, and a vibrant mercantile community conspire to form something not seen in centuries: the republic. How do you do it? Max Weber famously termed these cities “illegal republics” as they stood completely outside the scope of extant medieval jurisprudence. Church officials and emperors were inclined to agree with him. But that did not stop the political reimagining that these cities effected. In this Spring Term course, students will encounter the history of these first Western republics since Rome turned imperial. They will construct a final group project that imagines something that the cities themselves never experienced: a medieval constitutional convention.

HIST238-01/SOAN238-01 Anthropology of American History

HIST 238 - Bell, Alison K.

This course explores issues within historic American communities that ethnographers often investigate among living groups, including cultural values, religious ideologies, class structures, kinship networks, gender roles, and interethnic relations. Although the communities of interest in this course ceased to exist generations ago, many of their characteristic dynamics are accessible through such means as archaeology, architectural history, and the study of documents. Case studies include early English settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts; the 18th-century plantation world of Virginia and South Carolina; the post-Revolutionary Maine frontier; and 19th-century California.

The Art of Command during the American Civil War

HIST 244 - Myers, Barton A.

This seminar examines the role of military decision-making, the factors that shape it and determine its successes and failures, by focusing on four Civil War battles: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Wilderness. Extensive reading and writing. Battlefield tours. Most appropriate for students who have completed HIST 245 or HIST 269. Additional course fee required, for which the student is responsible after Friday of the 7th week of winter term.

Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: History of West African Food

HIST 289D - Ballah, Henryatta L.

Across the continent of Africa, food serves a greater purpose than simply providing nutritional needs.  This course explores the socio-economic, religious and political significance of various West African dishes in their specific locales.  Some of the countries under study include, Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.  Employing an interdisciplinary approach including culinary arts, students will learn first hand how to cook dishes for naming ceremonies, community festivals, birthdays, weddings and much more.

Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: Blasphemy

HIST 289I - Chalmers, Matthew J.

Can a divine being be offended? If so, what sort of god is that? If not, who does blasphemy hurt? This course explores blasphemy as a concept, a fear, and a practice. We examine its cultural and legal history, its social functions, as well as some key instances of blasphemy, law, and violence in (allegedly) “secular” societies. Far from being a relic of the premodern world, blasphemy takes on its sharpest and most coercive forms in modernity. And through modern ideas about blasphemy, we’ll grapple with the place of religious speech in society and the limits of our ideas about secularization. 

Seminar: Topics in History: Animal Experimentation & Animal Rights Since 1750

HIST 295K - Rupke, Nicolaas A.

The place of animals in Western society is our focus in this course. More particularly, we trace the history of the use of animals as living objects of laboratory experimentation, and explore the controversies that vivisectional practices have engendered. To what extent has animal experimentation been essential to the progress of science, especially medical science? And, assuming it has been essential, does this justify the mistreatment of sentient creatures? Do animals have rights? What to think of animal liberation activism? We will look at these questions in the wider context of humane movements, and of organisations/societies that have been established for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Also, we link up with today’s activist issues over the treatment of animals by the food industry, and discuss vegetarian and vegan alternatives.

Directed Individual Study

HIST 403 - Bello, David A.

A course which permits the student to follow a program of directed reading or research in an area not covered in other courses.

Winter 2024▲

See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.

European History, 1789 to the Present

HIST 102 - Horowitz, Sarah

The French Revolution and Napoleon, the era of nationalism, the rise of socialism, imperialism, World Wars I and II, the Cold War, and European Union.

Japan: Origins to Atomic Aftermath

HIST 104 - Bello, David A.

This course traces the span of Japan's historical development from its origins through the Cold War, with a special, but not exclusive, emphasis on an environmental perspective. The first half of the course covers the emergence of indigenous Japanese society and its adaptation to cultural and political influences from mainland East Asia, including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese concepts of empire. The second half covers Japan's successful transition from a declining Tokugawa Shogunate to a modern imperial nation to a reluctant U.S. Cold War ally from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.

History of the United States Since 1876

HIST 108 - Michelmore, Mary (Molly)

A survey of United States History from Reconstruction to the present with emphasis on industrialization, urbanization, domestic and international developments, wars, and social and cultural movements.

Modern Latin America: Independence to Today

HIST 131 - Green, Romina A.

This course surveys Latin American history from the 1791 Haitian Revolution to the present. It covers important cultural, political, economic, and social developments in conversation with topics such as class, race, gender, sexuality, religion, and governance. We will examine an array of secondary and primary sources including podcasts, documentaries, and poetry/music lyrics to understand localized experiences within the context of regional historical developments such as the Cold War.

African History Since 1800

HIST 176 - Ballah, Henryatta L.

Examination of the history and historiography of Africa from the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present. Topics include precolonial states and societies, European colonial intrusions and African responses, development of modern political and social movements, decolonization, and the history of independent African nation-states during the Cold War and into the 21st century.

France in the 19th and 20th Centuries

HIST 209 - Horowitz, Sarah

Historical study of France from the Revolution through the present, tracing France's revolutionary tradition and the continuing Franco-French war it spawned, and the construction of and challenges to French national identity. Topics include the successive revolutions of the 19th century, the acquisition and loss of two empires, and the transformations in French society brought by wars, industrialization, and immigration.

Soviet Russia, 1917 to 1991

HIST 221 - Bidlack, Richard H. (Rich)

The revolutions of 1917, the emergence of the Soviet system, the Stalinist period, Stalin's successors, and the eventual collapse of the USSR.

Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union and the Resurgence of Russia

HIST 222 - Bidlack, Richard H. (Rich)

This course analyzes the reasons for the decline of the Soviet Union commencing in the latter part of the Brezhnev era and its collapse under the weight of the failed reforms of Gorbachev. It further traces the fragmentation of the USSR into 15 republics and the simultaneous devolution of authority within the Russian Republic under Yeltsin. The course concludes with the remarkable reassertion of state power under Putin up to the present. Substantial attention will be devoted to Russia’s war against Ukraine over the past year.

Topics in European History: History of Poverty in Britain

HIST 229E - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)

Popular Culture in Latin America

HIST 232 - Green, Romina A.

This course explores Latin America's diversity in cultures, focusing on the everyday expressions and experiences of working-class, Indigenous, Black, and Asian descent peoples. The course will first examine how economic and social relationships related to class, race, gender, and religion are experienced through labor, dance, dress, and forms of worship. The second half of the course examines the culturalexpressions of those relationships by scrutinizing themes such as music, sports, beauty, film, protest culture, and the internet. We will analyze the syncretic reality of cultural mixing, as well as the tension between the desire to maintain an authentic popular culture and the pressure to conform to the global culture industry.

The Indigenous South

HIST 236 - Sammons, Franklin

This course is about the history of Indigenous people and nations in the Southeast from the pre-contact period to the present. Comprised of diverse peoples, speaking different languages, and with a range of customs and beliefs, the people of the Native South nevertheless share common cultural traditions, social systems, and histories. In this course, we will cover the Mississippian mound building civilizations; Native southerners encounters with Europeans; the American Revolution, Civil War, and Jim Crow as experienced in the Native Southeast; and contemporary struggles over for Native sovereignty and identity. Students will be introduced to the methodologies used by archeologists, historians, ethnohistorians and those working in the discipline of Native American and Indigenous Studies, to recover Indigenous perspectives and history. Students will develop a research project of their choosing about the Native Southeast that examines issues of Indigenous sovereignty, representation, erasure, resistance, cultural adaptation, and resilience. 

HIST239-01/SOAN239-01 Collective Memory: Society, Culture, Identity and Power

HIST 239 - Bell, Alison K.

Why do some places, events, objects, symbols, and individuals become central to understandings of heritage, while others seem ignored or forgotten? How do people use material objects - including landscapes, monuments and artifacts - in negotiations of memory and history, identity and belonging, or debates about good and evil? This course examines cultural, social, political, and economic processes of shared remembrance through case studies from regional, national, and global contexts. We aim to expand understandings of ways that our own society as well as those distant from us in time and space have selectively incorporated their past into the present with an eye to the future. This exploration of collective, contested memory considers heritage tourism, dark tourism, memorialization as witnessing, ethics of remembrance, and relationships between memorialization and power.

Empire of Liberty? Revolutionary America 1763-1830

HIST 241 - Sammons, Franklin

Thomas Jefferson famously referred to the fledgling United States as an "empire of liberty," a seemingly contradictory characterization. But was it? To explore this question and many others, this course examines the causes, character, and consequences of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. We will focus on the key events, people, documents, and interpretations of the Revolutionary era but also on the experiences and perspectives of those who sometimes appear only at the margins of this story: loyalists, women, African Americans, Indigenous nations, artisans, and others. In addition to reading historical scholarship, each week we will scrutinize a variety of primary sources, not only to improve your understanding of the history of Revolutionary America but to develop your own ability to interpret the past. 

The Evolution of American Warfare

HIST 243 - Myers, Barton A.

This course examines U.S. military history from the colonial period to the post-9/11 American military experience. Since this is a period of more than four hundred years, the course limits its focus to major topics and central questions facing the men and women who have fought in American wars. We trace the course of American military history by focusing on three themes: the early development of American military institutions, the evolution of military policy toward civilian populations, and the changing face of battle in which Americans have fought. All three of these themes relate to the central goal of this course, which is to gain a better understanding of how America's military developed in conjunction with and sometimes in conflict with American democracy.

England in the Age of Shakespeare

HIST 255 - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)

"This class uses the dates of Shakespeare's life (1564-1616) as our chronological frame to explore the history of England during the profoundly important reigns of Elizabeth I and James VI and I. Together we examine the era of personal monarchy and the growing resistance of parliament, the encounters with "others" beyond England's shores, the relationship between gender and power, the spread of religious convictions and contradictions, colonialism and the beginnings of the British Empire, and the great literary and artistic figures of the day. We also investigate what life was like for the average men and women who lived and died during England's "golden age." "

Women and Slavery in the Black Atlantic

HIST 261 - Dennie, Nneka D.

From the 16th century to the 19th century, over 12 million Africans were shipped to the New World. Of those who survived the Middle Passage, fewer than 500,000 arrived in the United States; the vast majority were dispersed throughout the Caribbean and South America. The experiences of enslaved women, as well as the relationships between free and enslaved women, are as diverse as the African diaspora. Given the broad geographical scope of Africans' arrivals in the New World, this course offers a comparative examination of women and slavery in the Black Atlantic. Topics for consideration include black women's gendered experiences of slavery, white women's roles in slave societies, and women abolitionists. Students also examine how African and European conceptions of gender shaped the institution of slavery in the New World. Particular attention is devoted to slavery in West Africa, Barbados, Cuba, Brazil, and the United States.

HIST271-01/REL271-01 Islam in America: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

HIST 271 - Atanasova, Kameliya N.

Same as HIST 271. From the discourse on the War on Terror, to debates about Muslim women's dress, Islam in America has attracted the attention of journalists, activists, government officials, and scholars of religion. This course takes a critical-historical approach to the topic by examining key themes in the history of Islam in America: the lives of enslaved African Muslims in the Antebellum period and the Founding Fathers' visions of Islam; the immigrant experience of Arab Muslims at the turn of the 20th century; the role of Muslim organizations in the Civil Rights movement; and, the changing representations of American Muslims after the Gulf War and post-9/11. In interrogating the history of Islam in America, we specifically pay attention to the ways in which religion, gender, class, race, and citizenship continue to inform representations of Muslims in the U.S.

Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: Liberia and the American South: The Making of a Black Settlers' Colony, 1816-1900

HIST 289C - Ballah, Henryatta L.

In 1822, the first group of emancipated slaves from the United States arrived on the Malaquette Coast, which they renamed Liberia in 1824.  Between 1822 and 1892, over sixteen thousand predominantly emancipated slaves from the U.S and some from the Caribbean settled in Liberia.  Their settlement was orchestrated by the American Colonization Society—A Christian based organization whose membership included many slave –owners, including senators, congressmen, and other prominent government officials such as Thomas Jefferson.  Confederate General and former Washington and Lee University president, Robert E. Lee also supported colonization and his wife sold paintings to raise funds for the ACS.  Although freed slaves and free blacks who settled in Liberia came from across the United States, most came from the American South.  While the course will examine ACS initiatives, it will allow for more specificity—focusing primarily on the southern states of VA, NC, and GA.  For example, over half of the emigrants who settled in Liberia came from the state of Georgia.  And settlers from various parts of Virginia, including Rockbridge County and Loudon County, also settled there.  Thus, the course begins with the following questions: Why was the ACS founded? What were the goals and objectives of the organization in removing blacks from the U.S. to Liberia?  What views did settlers and blacks in general have about emigration to Liberia?  To address these questions and others, the course will analyze primary sources, including newspapers, the annual reports of the ACS from 1817 to 1892, personal correspondence between missionaries, as well as personal correspondence between formerly enslaved persons residing in Liberia to their former owners, friends, and families in the U.S.  The Mars and Jesse Lucas Letters from Liberia, 1820-1836, which contains eight letters between formerly enslaved Mars and Jesse with the Heaton Family in Loudon County, VA and The Hugh Adams Papers 1857-1860 about the Adams estate and the forced emigration of nineteen enslaved individuals from Rockbridge County, VA to Liberia are few of the sources we will examine.

Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: Mongols, Manchus & Muslims: China's Frontier History 

HIST 289F - Bello, David A.

The unprecedented expansionism of China’s last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), produced an ethnically and geographically diverse empire whose legacy is the current map and multiethnic society of today’s People’s Republic of China. The Qing Empire’s establishment, extension and consolidation were inextricably bound up with the ethnic identity of its Manchu progenitors. The Manchu attempt to unify diversity resulted in a unique imperial project linking East, Inner and Southeast Asia. This course explores the multiethnic nature and limits of this unification, as well as its 20th-century transformations.

Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: History of Empires in the Middle East

HIST 289G - Chalmers, Matthew J.

One of the most decisive forces to shape what we call “the Middle East” is the operation of empire. But too often we limit our analysis of the region to European powers without a fuller grasp on the geopolitics or deep history involved. What does it mean to be an empire in the Middle East? How does that change over time? What is the role of religion? What about foreign powers? In this course, we explore foundational claims about legitimate rule, legislation, identity, and popular politics in the region. We do so via case studies that stretch from the origins of known civilization to current affairs. 

Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History: Israel: History, Politics, Society

HIST 289H - Chalmers, Matthew J.

Israel is everywhere in America. From campus politics to Capitol Hill, it matters what you say. And there’s good reasons why people debate it. The politics of Israel (domestic and foreign) are complicated; it occupies a strategic geopolitical position in the Middle East; it is a new nation-state with ancient claims to identity. This course equips students with the necessary historical knowledge and methodological skillset to understand recent events in the region, as well as a thorough grasp on its long history, social dynamics, and political complexity.

Seminar: Topics in History: Science & Religion from Galileo til Today

HIST 295J - Rupke, Nicolaas A.

The focal point of our presentations/essays/discussions is the encounter of science and Christian belief in the Western tradition during the period stretching from the time of the Renaissance to the present day. With respect to historiographical approaches, the so-called warfare model will not be used – in fact we deconstruct the warfare thesis – and instead we look at the relationship between science & religion in terms of several parallel discourses, only one of which is to be understood as conflict.

Seminar: Speech and Censorship in the Middle Ages

HIST 310 - Vise, Melissa E.

What is censorship, where does it happen, and why? To most U.S. Americans, the Middle Ages is an era known for Inquisition, book burning, and the brutal silencing of political and religious dissent. Yet, compared to more modern censoring institutions, the institutions of medieval Europe held much weaker powers of enforcement, different motives for censoring, and ambiguous technologies to do so. What and who could censor (or be censored) in a society without the printing press? Among other topics, we cover the public vs. private spheres; artistic liberty; religious vs. political concerns; gender; and the role of and limitations upon the modern historian investigating a censored past.

Seminar: Sectionalism & Secession, 1840-1861

HIST 344 - Myers, Barton A.

An intensive examination of the sectional conflict: the Mexican War, Manifest Destiny, slavery and the territories, the abolition movement, the failure of compromise, and secession. Emphasis on the study of primary sources and class discussion of assigned reading.

Seminar: Managing Mongols, Manchus, and Muslims: China's Frontier History (16th-20th Centuries)

HIST 386 - Bello, David A.

The unprecedented expansionism of China's last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), produced an ethnically and geographically diverse empire whose legacy is the current map and multiethnic society of today's People's Republic of China. The Qing Empire's establishment, extension and consolidation were inextricably bound up with the ethnic identity of its Manchu progenitors. The Manchu attempt to unify diversity resulted in a unique imperial project linking East, Inner and Southeast Asia. This course explores the multiethnic nature and limits of this unification, as well as its 20th-century transformations.

Honors Thesis

HIST 493 - Brock, Michelle D. (Mikki)

Honors Thesis. Additional information is available at www.wlu.edu/history-department/about-the-program/honors-in-history .