HST 605. Medieval and Early Modern Iberia. (3 h)

Examines the variety of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures that flourished on the Iberian peninsula between the years 700 and 1700. Themes include religious diversity and the imposition of orthodoxy, the formation of nation-states and empires, geographic exploration and discovery, and the economics of empire in the early modern period.

HST 606. Science, Magic, and Alchemy in Europe, 1400-1700. (3 h)

Examines scientists and magicians in medieval Europe, who developed theoretical models and practical approaches to understand and to manipulate the natural world. Looks at alchemists, who transformed matter to understand it as well as to make things for practical purposes: metals, gems, medicines, and the philosopher's stone.

HST 607. Italian Renaissance. (3 h)

Examination of the economic, political, intellectual, artistic, and social developments in the Italian world from 1350-1550.

HST 608. World of Alexander the Great. (3 h)

An examination of Alexander the Great's conquests and the fusion of Greek culture with those of the Near East, Central Asia, and India. Special emphasis placed on the creation of new political institutions and social customs, modes of addressing philosophical and religious issues, as well as the achievements and limitations of Hellenistic Civilization.

HST 609. European International Relations since World War I. (3 h)

Surveys European international relations in the 20th century beyond treaties and alliances to examine the economic, social, and demogaphic factors that shaped formal arranges between states. Covers the impact of new forms of international cooperation, pooled sovereignty, and nongovernemtal organizations on European diplomacy and internal relations.

HST 610. 20th Century Eastern Europe. (3 h)

Examination of the history of 20th century Eastern Europe, including the creation of nation-states, World War II, and the nature of Communist regimes established in the postwar period. Course includes a discussion of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the challenges of European intergration.

HST 612. Jews, Greeks, and Romans. (3 h)

Largely from a Jewish context, the course explores the political, religious, social and philosophical values shaped by the collision between Jews, Greeks, and Romans, from the Hellenistic Period to the Middle Ages.

HST 613. The History of European Jewry from the Middle Ages to the Present. (3 h)

Examines the Jewish historical experience in Europe from the medieval period to the Holocaust and its aftermath. Includes a consideration of social, cultural, economic and political history, and places the particular experience of Jews within the context of changes occurring in Europe from the medieval to the modern period.

HST 614. European Economic and Social History, 1700-1990. (3 h)

Changes in Europe's economic structures and how they affected Europeans' lives.Emphasizes how economic forces interacted with social and institutional factors.

HST 615. Greek History. (3 h)

The development of ancient Greek civilization from the Bronze Age to the end of the Classical Period stressing social institutions, individual character, and freedom of social choice within the framework of cultural, political, and intellectual history.

HST 616. Rome: Republic and Empire. (3 h)

Survey of Roman history and civilization from its beginning to about 500 C.E., with emphasis on the conquest of the Mediterranean world, the evolution of the Republican state, the growth of autocracy, the administration of the empire, and the interaction between Romans and non-Romans.

HST 617. The French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire. (3 h)

The revolution and wars that constitute one of the pivotal points in modern history.

HST 618. Weimar Germany. (3 h)

Art, literature, music, and film of Weimar Germany, 1919-1933, in historical context.

HST 619. Poland and the Baltic Region. (3 h)

Introduction to the history of Poland and the eastern Baltic littoral since 1760, covering the territory that later became Estonia, Lativia, Lithuania, and Poland; emergence of independence after World War I; the Soviet experience; and re-establishment of independence during the break-up of the Soviet Union.

HST 620. Write and Record! Diaries and Memoirs of the Nazi Holocaust. (3 h)

Examines a wide range of diaries and memoirs to illuminate the historical period of Nazism, seeking to understand daily life under Nazi rule, the brutality of the perpetrators, and the many responses of Jews forced to live in such circumstances. From Anne Frank's account of hiding in an Amsterdam secret annex to Art Spiegelman's graphic novel of his parent's experience in Auschwitz, the diaries and memoirs of Holocaust victims provide an invaluable resource for historians.

HST 621. Zionism, Palestine, and Israel in Historical Perspective. (3 h)

Investigates both the European causes of Zionism and the Middle Eastern consequences of the establishment of the State of Israel. Through our discussion, students will be introduced to many of the scholarly debates over the history, practices, and consequences of Zionism, the State of Israel, and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

HST 622. Migrants and Refugees in Modern History. (3 h)

Explores forced migrations and the development of the concepts of refuge from the 16th to 20th centuries, drawing on cases from around the world. Considers how states, empires, and non-governmental organizations have handled migrants and refugees, as well as the lived experiences of displaced individuals.

HST 624. Fashion in the Eighteenth Century. (3 h)

Examines the relationship between consumer culture and democratic politics in the eighteenth-century, focusing on Britain, North America, France, and Haiti. Considers laws regulating dress; the relationship between democracy, political resistance, and costume; the construction of political allegiance through clothes and symbols; and the ways fashion mediated ideas about empire, race, and gender.

HST 625. English Kings, Queens, and Spectacle. (3 h)

Examines how English royal authority was created, legitimized, performed, and challenged between the reigns of Henry VIII and George III through ritual, image, and text. Topics include: gender and power; court culture; the press and political revolution; popular politics and propaganda; graphic satire; and the commercialization of politics.

HST 627. Profit and Power in Britain. (3 h)

Examines economic ideas and British society between 1688 and 1914. Topics include connections between consumption and identity; the relationship of morals to markets; the role of gender and the household; knowledge, technology, and the industrial revolution; and the place of free trade in the political imagination.

HST 628. History of the English Common Law. (3 h)

Study of the origins and development of the English common law and its legacy to modern legal processes and principles.

HST 631. The United States in Age of Empire, 1877-1919. (3 h)

Explores the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the United States joined in the global scramble for empire. Examines the domestic and international causes of American imperial expansion; the modes of rule that the U.S. exercised in its formal and informal possessions; and the political and intellectual debates at home and abroad about America's expansion as a world power.

HST 632. The United States and the Global Cold War. (3 h)

Considers United States efforts to secure its perceived interests through "nation building" and economic development in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and much of Asia during the Cold War and after. Emphasizes the ideological and cultural dimensions of American intervention.

HST 633. European Diplomacy, 1848-1914. (3 h)

The diplomacy of the great powers, with some attention given to the role of publicity in international affairs. Topics include the unification of Italy and of Germany, the Bismarckian system, and the coming of World War I.

HST 634. Mystics, Monarchs, and Masses in South Asian Islam. (3 h)

An introduction to Islam through South Asian social, political, cultural, and intellectual history.

HST 635. Hindus and Muslims in India, Pakistan, and Beyond. (3 h)

Examines the shared yet different, intertwined yet separate histories of the Hindus and Muslims of modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka primarily over the last two centuries. Explores the checkered existence of the two communities in order to understand diversity and questions of coexistence and conflict.

HST 636. Gender in African History. (3 h)

Examines the close relationship between understandings of gender and power in African societies, with particular focus on the last several hundred years. After addressing the sources and methods scholars have used to address these topics, the course examines conceptions of gender and power in pre-colonial African societies, the impact of the colonial period on men and women, the gendered nature of nationalism and independence, and the importance of gender and power to many of Africa’s post-colonial challenges.

HST 637. Women and Gender in Early America. (3 h)

History of women and gender roles from 1600 through the Civil War, including the social constructions of femininity and masculinity and their political, economic, and cultural significance.

HST 638. Sexuality, Race and Class in the U.S. since 1850. (3 h)

The history of gender relations from the late nineteenth century to the present. Analyzes the varying definitions of femininity and masculinity, the changing notions of sexuality, and the continuity and diversity of gender roles, with special attention to race, class, and ethnicity.

HST 639. Sickness and Health in American History. (3 h)

Analysis of major trends in health, sickness, and disease within the broad context of social, political, and economic developments. Examines indigenous healing; colonial medicine; emergence of hospitals and asylums; public health; medical ethics; race, class and gender issues; and natural versus high-tech approaches to health care in the 20th century.

HST 640. Social and Cultural Change in Urban Africa. (3 h)

While popular imagination suggests that the African past is largely a rural one, many of the continent's most explosive social and cultural transformations have taken place in its cities. This course examines how urban residents have worked to creatively shapre some of sub-Sahran Africa's major transformations. Major topics include the social and cultural fabric of pre-colonial African cities, the impact of colonialism on African towns, cities as sites of revolution and independence, and the contemporary conditions and challenges facing urban residents.

HST 641. Africans in the Atlantic World, 1750-1815. (3 h)

Course explores Africans' experience in the Atlantic world (Africa, Europe and the Americas) during the era of the slave trade by examining their encounters with Indians and Europeans and their adjustment to slave traders in West Africa.

HST 643. The Silk Roads. (3 h)

Explores the global exchanges across land and sea from the Bronze Age to the Early Modern Era, and their impact on the states and stateless societies connected by the Silk Road from China and Japan to the Mediterranean and the British Isles.

HST 644. Early Modernity in China. (3 h)

Explores historic transformations in Chinese economy, society, thought and culture from 1500 to 1800. These developments are placed within their local, global and comparative context. Students read a wide variety of Chinese primary sources in English translation, including philosophical treatises, literary works, diaries, and memoirs, some of which were written by Jesuit missionaries from Catholic Europe.

HST 645. Early Modern Global Encounters: China and the World, 1400-1800. (3 h)

Studies the impact of China's encounters with the wider early modern world by exploring the following questions: how did the arrival of New World silver and crops, European firearms, Catholicism, and Renaissance learning in China help transform Chinese economy, modes of warfare and empire-building, thought, and culture, and how did the global circulation of Chinese commodities, aesthetic, philosophies, and healing arts in turn shape the early modern experiences in Europe and elsewhere? All required readings are in English.

HST 647. Rise of Asian Economic Power. (3 h)

An exploration of how Japan, South Korea, and China became dominant in world economies. Focus on business practices, foreign trade, government policy, and consumer and labor markets in the process of high-speed economic growth. Concludes with examination of recent challenges of national debt, international competition, and aging societies.

HST 648. Samurai and Geisha: Fact, Film, and Fiction. (3 h)

Focuses on two well-known groups in Japanese history, the samurai (warriors) and geisha (entertainers). By analyzing historical studies and primary sources, as well as works of fiction and films about samurai and geisha, the course considers how Japanese and Western historians, novelists, and filmmakers have portrayed the two groups and by implication Japan and its history in the modern period.

HST 650. World Economic History: Globalization, Wealth and Poverty, 1500-Present. (3 h)

Explores the growth of globalization and its role in the creation of wealth and poverty in both developed and underdeveloped nations. Focus on trade, industrialization, and agricultural and technological advances in global contexts.

HST 651. The American Revolution. (3 h)

Examines the transformation that unfolded during the struggles for sovereignty in North America between 1765 and 1800. Considers the political upheavals that converted some British colonists into insurgents and explores the unlikely unification of disparate provinces into a confederated republic.

HST 652. Ten Years of Madness: The Chinese Cultural Revolution, 1966 to 1976. (3 h)

A history of the Chinese Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. Examines the origins, consequences, and collective memories of the catastrophic political events and the social and cultural transformations that took place in China during the last decade of Mao's leadership.

HST 653. War and Society in Early America. (3 h)

Examines the evolution of warfare among the indigenous and colonial societies of North America between 1500 and 1800 and considers the roles of economics, class, gender, race, religion, and ideology in cultures of violence.

HST 654. The Early American Republic. (3 h)

A history of the formative generation of the United States. Considers the dramatic transformations of the constitutional, economic, and racial orders, as well as new performances in politics, national identity, gender, and culture.

HST 655. History of Nature Conservation in Latin America. (3 h)

Explores human dimensions of nature conservation in Latin America in a global perspective. It engages the historical rise of ideas about wildness and the social consequences of environmental protection, including the different implications for rural and urban areas, for resident peoples, for particular species, and for international relations. Special attention is given to the ways different cultures and societies in Central and South America and the Caribbean conserved natural resources (including forests, fields, waterways, and animals) and how conservation and ideas about conservation changed over time. Taught only in conjunction with field experience in Peru or other sites in Latin America.

HST 656. Jacksonian America, 1815-1850. (3 h)

The U.S. in the age of Jackson, Clay, Calhoun, and Webster.

HST 658. Race, Gender and the Courts. (3 h)

Examines the impact of state and federal court cases upon the evolution of race and gender relations in the U.S from 1789 to the present. Each case is placed within the political, economic and social historical context for the given time periods. Race includes Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans. This class will analyze government intervention, inaction, and creative interpretation.

HST 659. Prostitutes, Machos, and Travestis: Sex and Gender in Latin-American History. (3 h)

Explores gender and sexuality across 20th century Latin America and the Caribbean. Applies new theoretical developments in gender, masculinity, and LGBT studies to the region's history of race, revolution, labor, dictatorship, and social movements. Cases include the Mexican, Cuban, and Nicaraguan Revolutions and the Dominican and Argentine dictatorships.

HST 660. Jewish Migrations to the Americas. (3 h)

Compares Jewish migrations to the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean from the colonial period to the present, focusing on the peak mobility of the 1880s-1920s. Topics include changing conceptions of identity (national, racial, ethnic, religious), class, gender, assimiilation, institutions, and relations both among Jews and between Jews and other groups.

HST 662. American Constitutional History. (3 h)

Origins of the Constitution, the controversies involving the nature of the Union, and constitutional readjustments to meet the new American industrialism.

HST 665. Modern Native American History. (3 h)

Considers broad historical issues and debates about native American identity, experiences with and memories of colonialism, cultural preservation and dynamism, and political sovereignty from 1830 to the present. Focuses on individual accounts, tribal case studies, and popular representations of Native people.

HST 666. Historic Preservation and Conservation. (3 h)

Explores the history of the preservation and conservation movements organized to save historic buildings and landscapes in the U.S. and other nations. Examines the laws, international charters, national, statewide, and local agencies, practices, collabroations, and emerging challenges of historic preservation and conservation.

HST 667. Public History. (3 h)

Introduces students to the major issues involved in the practice, interpretation, and display of history for nonacademic audiences in public settings. Central themes include controversial historical interpretations, the role of history in popular culture, issues and aims in exhibiting history, and the politics of historical memory. Explores some of the many ways people create, convey, and contest history, major themes in community and local history, and the problems and possibilities of working as historians in public settings.

HST 668. US Environmental History. (3 h)

Focuses on human actors and actions while highlighting how the material, or natural, world impacted Americans and shaped the nation. Investigates U.S. politics, society, and culture through the lens of the environment while exploring how American defined, represented, and used their natural environment over time.

HST 669. Modern Military History. (3 h)

Making war in the modern era, with special attention to the social context of military activity.

HST 670. Topics North Carolina History. (3 h)

A general chronologial survey of North Carolina with emphasis on selected topics. May be repeated for credit if topic varies.

HST 671. Transgender History, Identity, and Politics in the U.S.. (3 h)

This course explores the experiences of and responses to transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGI) people in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. We will examine how scientific/medical authorities, legal authorities, and everyday people have understood and responded to various kinds of gender non-conformity.

HST 672. Queer Public Histories. (3 h)

Explores how public history projects (oral histories, museums, archives, documentaries) document gay, lesbian, and queer communities in the U.S. Discusses how historical and contemporary LGBTQ stories have been collected and examines the various queer identities that emerge through this process.

HST 674. Protest and Rebellion in Latin. (3 h)

Study of the history of protest movements and rebellions in Latin America from primitive and agrarian revolts to mass working class and socialist organizations.

HST 675. Black Lives. (3 h)

Explores both the lived experience and the historical reality of African Americans. Black lives are profoundly shaped by their group experience, influenced in no small part by the role of racism. The biographical approach individuates historical figures struggling to fashion identity. Topics include character development, intimacy, gender roles, public and private personas, self-deceptions or defenses, and personal perceptions and biases. The craft of writing biography is taught throughout the semester.

HST 676. Civil Rights and Black Consciousness Movements. (3 h)

A social and religious history of the African-American struggle for citizenship rights and freedom from World War II to the present.

HST 678. Race, Memory, and Identity. (3 h)

Explores the collective memory and identity of American-Indian and African-American communitites and their response to historical trauma in their cultural imagination, spirituality, and political and social activism.

HST 680. America at Work. (3 h)

Examines the American entrepreneurial spirit within the broader context of industrial, social, and economic change from the colonial period to the present and explores the social and cultural meanings attached to work and workers, owners and innovators, businesses and technologies, management and leadership.

HST 681. Religious Utopias and the American Experience. (3 h)

Religious groups of many different origins have found in North America an open space for creating settlements that would embody their ideals. This course surveys a range of such 18th- and 19th-century communities, including Moravians, Rappites, Shakers, and the Oneida and Amana colonies.

HST 682. Religion in the Development of Higher Education. (3 h)

Examines the role of religious groups in the founding of American colleges and universities, and explores how their role has changed across history up through contemporary trends and issues. Major themes include the heritage of religion in European higher education; institutions of higher education founded by specific American religious groups; religion in the liberal arts curriculum; religious activities in student life; the relationship of colleges and universities with religious sponsors and constituents, focusing on controversies such as science and religion; the impact of universtities on liberal art colleges; and the trends toward growth and 'secularization' in the last 50 years.

HST 684. Global Outlaws in History since 1500. (3 h)

Examines the motivations, ideologies, goals, and behavior of those who have been deemed 'outlaws' to international society since 1500, including pirates, terrorists, smugglers, war criminals, and violators of copyright. Analyzes the role of power in creating the global regimes that define and target such activities.

HST 685. History of Film: Bollywood and the Making of Modern India. (3 h)

This course juxtaposes historical films made by the world's largest film industry based out ot Bombay/Mumbai with the textual primary sources and secondary historical works and seeks to understand films as both interpretations and sources of history. It also explores specific themes such as nation, gender, caste, and community characteristics that are critical to understanding modern India.

HST 687. The Last Great Muslim Empires. (3 h)

Examines, in a comparative way, central themes in the history of the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid Empires in the early modern period (1400-1800). Considers the ways in which Muslim rulers fostered political legitimacy, ruled over non-Muslim and heterodox subject populations, and recruited persons of diverse religious and ethnic background into state service.

HST 688. Nation, Faith and Gender in the Middle East. (3 h)

Traces the development of nationalism and its interaction with religious, transnational, and gender identitites in the Middle East in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics include Zionism, Arabism, Turkish nationalism and Islamic revivalism.

HST 689. The British Empire in the Middle East. (3 h)

Covering the period from the late eighteenth to late twentieth centuries, this course considers British involvement in the Middle East, exploring the political, economic, social, and cultural facets of imperial power, decolonization and post-colonial international relations.

HST 690. Research Seminar. (3 h)

Offered by members of the faculty on topics of their choice. A paper is required.

HST 691. Making History. (3 h)

Seminar explores how historians make history through analysis, synthesis, and interpretation. Open to all students.

HST 692. Individual Research. (3 h)

Writing of a major research paper. May be taken in lieu of HST 690. P-POI.

HST 693. American Foundations I. (3 h)

Interdisciplinary study of American art, history, literature, and music. Using its collection of American art as the basis for study, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, in cooperation with Wake Forest University, accepts a limited number of students to study with professors from various disciplines through lectures, discussions, and concerts. Includes a study tour to New York City. (Taught in summer; students enroll for both courses. Students may enroll in either HST 693 or HST 763)

HST 697. Historical Writing Tutorial. (1.5 h)

Individual supervision of historical writing to improve a project initiated in HST 690 or HST 692. P-POI.

HST 698. Individual Study. (3 h)

Project for a qualified student in an area of study not otherwise available in the department; subject to approval. Work must be equivalent to an upper-level course.

HST 699. Directed Reading. (1-3 h)

Concentrated reading in an area of study not otherwise available. May be repeated for credit if topic varies. P-POI.

HST 763. American Foundations I. (3 h)

Interdisciplinary study of American art, history, literature, and music. Using its collection of American art as the basis for study, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, in cooperation with Wake Forest University, accepts a limited number of students to study with professors from various disciplines through lectures, discussions, and concerts. Includes a study tour to New York City. (Taught in summer; students enroll for both courses. Students may enroll in either HST 693 or HST 763).

HST 765. Management of Cultural Organizations. (3 h)

The structure and management of not-for-profit institutions, with emphasis on museums, historical societies and preservation organizations, libraries, archives, and research institutions.

HST 771. Internship. (1-3 h)

A project involving supervised work in a historical organization or scholarly effort; permitted only upon approval by the graduate committee of a petition presented by a qualified student. 

HST 798. Individual Study. (3 h)

A project in an area of study not otherwise available in the department; permitted upon approval by the graduate committee of a petition presented by a qualified student.