HISTORY CORE

Take five (4.00 credit) History courses at the 100-200 level:

HS-104 Medieval Europe

This course will examine the history of Western Europe from the Roman Empire to approximately 1450. This 1000-year period was the setting for both large and small changes in the way people inEurope thought about themselves, governed each other, and lived everyday lives. During the course, we will follow a chronological timeline, but we will frequently stop, look, and enjoy thescenery. (Formerly titled: European History to 1550)

4 CreditsH, I, WK-HTPre- or Co-Req: FYC-101 or EN-110 orEN-109

HS-109 China and Japan to 1800

Introduces students to the major themes in the histories of China and Japan from antiquity to about 1800. Special emphasis will be paid to the religious and philosophical foundations of Confucian civilization. $110 course fee for overnight trip to New York City, Washington, DC or Philadelphia for visit to a major art museum. Trip fee includes Asian dinner, transportation & accommodations.

4 CreditsH, I 

HS-115 United States to 1877

Concentrates on the broad sweep of U.S. history from colonial beginnings through Reconstruction using a variety of perspectives and sources. The ideas and realities of freedom shape nearly every part of our lives. How did this develop in the United States from its earliest European settlements to the aftermath of the Civil War? HS-115 focuses on this central theme of freedom - how people have defined and pursued it, as well as expanded and restricted it, in different places. You will also learn how to analyze primary sources (those created during the time period under study)and apply a historical perspective to issues that shape your life today.

4 CreditsH, SW-USPre- or Co-Requisite: FYC-101

HS-116 The U.S. Since 1877

This course uses original documents to explore major themes of US history since 1877, to examine the consequences of actions taken at the national and local level through a lens of ethical responsibility.

4 CreditsH, SW-ERPre- or co-requisite: FYC-101

HS-152 World Civilizations From 1500

This course will trace the development of world civilizations from the 16th century to the present.

4 CreditsH, I 

HS-199 Special Topics

Allows the department to offer special topics not normally offered. Departments may offer more than one special topic. 

1-4 Credits Prerequisites vary by title.

HS-200 The Great War

This class is a social, cultural, and political history of the First World War. While the course will examine the different combatants and theaters of the war, we will focus on the perspective of Britain and the British Empire, as we seek to understand what it was like for soldiers and civilians to live through the war.

4 CreditsI, H, CW,WK-HT 

HS-201 Samurai Legends & Lives

In this course, students analyze the ways in which the mythic images of the samurai warriors of Japan have been constructed in both Japan and the West. Students will read medieval Japanese war tales, administrative and legal documents, memoirs and reminiscences, puppet plays, and view films to understand how these ideas and images were created, and changed, through time.

3 CreditsCA, H, IPrerequisites: EN110 or EN109.

HS-204 Australia/New Zealand

This course is a comparative introduction to the history of New Zealand and Australia. We will begin the course by studying the indigenous people of the region: Australian Aborigines in Australia and Maoris in New Zealand, before moving to think about the arrival of white settlers. During the semester, we will pay particular attention to the process of colonization and dispossession, race and gender relations, the search for national identity, popular culture, and politics in the two countries.

4 CreditsI, H 

HS-213 History of Ireland

This course is an introduction to the history of Ireland, beginning with an overview of the early history. We will explore the Tudor revolutions, English colonialism, the question of identity in the island, Irish Republicanism. home rule movements, the partition of Ireland, and the " troubles " in the North of the island of Ireland.

4 CreditsH, WK-HT 

HS-215 Rome: Republic to Empire

People through history have imagined Rome in different ways, and it conjures up lots of different images for us: civilization; barbarism; conquest; freedom; slavery; technology; virtue and vice. In this course, we will explore the period between the founding of Roman civilization and the year 325 A.D., examining what the Romans thought and said about themselves and what they mean to us today.

4 CreditsH, WK-HT 

HS-217 The Lowcountry and the Gullah Culture

The course examines the origins and development of the Gullah Geechee cultures of the Lowcountry. How did these members of the African diaspora develop a creole culture within the profound and brutal limitations of slavery, and how did they sustain it and change under Jim Crow and into the climate and development challenges of the present?

3 CreditsH, CA, SW-US 

HS-221 Gender and Sexuality

In this introduction to the critical study of gender and sexuality, we will examine the ways in which gender and sexuality have been fundamentally reorganized since the 18th century. Focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on Britain and the United States, we will use history, literature, and theory to deepen our understanding of these transformations.

4 CreditsH 

HS-262 North American Environmental History

Our troubling relationship with the natural world might well be the most important issue human societies will face in your lifetime. HS-262 examines one root of this relationship: how and why we have shaped, and been shaped by, different North American environments over time. Through discussion, lectures, readings, and films, we will examine the social, cultural, economic, and political spheres of these human activities since the fifteenth century.

3 CreditsH 

HS-266 History of South Africa

This course covers the history of South Africa from the 17th century to the present. We will focus our attention on specific themes, including imperialism, race and ethnicity, crime and punishment, resistance to apartheid, and the limits of forgiveness. The class will be taught inside SCI Smithfield. This Inside-Out Course is an opportunity for a group of students from Juniata College and an equal number of students from SCI Smithfield to learn together and to exchange ideas and perceptions about the history of South Africa. Bringing incarcerated and non-incarcerated students together for engaged and informed dialogue allows for transformative learning experiences that facilitates an exchange of ideas in a dialogic format. Instructor permission required for all students.

4 CreditsI, H 

HS-268 Sword & Scimitar: Islam & West 500-1300

When discussing culture in a historical context, we must be careful to avoid the stereotypes that may leap to mind. In the twenty-first-century United States, the mention of Islam or the Near East provokes stereotypes that are inaccurate and misleading. In this course, we will learn about the early history of Islam and its intersection with western Christianity and the society of the European Middle Ages. In doing so we will discover the similarities and differences between the cultures and learn (modern prejudices notwithstanding) how they depended on one another both culturally and economically.

3 CreditsSW-GH1 

HS-272 Natives & Colonists in Early N. America

Love, hate, fear, confusion, respect, admiration, wonder: these are just some of the powerful feelings that infused the relationships between Native Americans and European colonists, and that shaped the history of North America from about 1500 to the eve of the American Revolution. Through extensive discussion, reading, writing, and a role-playing game, HS-272 will help you understand relationships that still affect American society today.

4 CreditsH, CW, SW-US 

HS-277 History of Food

This course will take a transnational view of the history of food from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century. We will examine food as a part of human experience including its roles as sustenance, commodity, cultural artifact, signifier of identity, and art. While the early emphasis of the course will be on the Atlantic World and the global exchange of foods and cooking techniques, particular attention will be on the United States' regional cuisines and food movements. The course will use scholarly texts, films, field-trips and will require some cooking and tasting of food on some evenings. 

4 CreditsHPrerequisites: Sophomore Standing. Note: There is a fee assessed on this course.

HS-280 Victorian Science, Sexuality & Medicine

This class investigates the changing meanings and entanglements of Victorian science and medical practice through the lens of class, gender, and race. We will examine ideas about the body and disease, the changing role of medicine and the social construction of scientific knowledge.

4 CreditsWK-HT,HPre- or Co-Req: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109.


HISTORY COLLOQUIUM

Take the following course:

HS-293 Sophomore Colloquium

This colloquium exposes students to employment opportunities available to them through the study of history. It focuses upon the development of the skills necessary for success in the history classroom. The Sophomore Colloquium is designed for students with strong interest in history, including education students and students with secondary emphases in history.

4 CreditsH, CWPre-requisites: sophomore standing and two courses in History or permission of the instructor.


UPPER-LEVEL HISTORY ELECTIVES

Take five (4.00 credit) History courses at the 300-400 level:

HS-306 People's Republic of China

This course is an upper-level seminar on the history of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China. This is a College Writing course (CW), so a principle aim of the course is to instruct students in the techniques of writing papers in history. Work in the course will culminate in a term paper on a topic in 20th-century Chinese History. To that end, considerable effort will be spent in introducing students to tools and strategies for understanding the English-language historiography of Modern China. Some prior knowledge of Chinese history and civilization is recommended.

4 CreditsI, H, CW 

HS-309 Civil War and Reconstruction

Examines the political, social, military, economic and ideological origins and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The course looks deeply into several important questions. What caused the Civil War? Why was the Union victorious? Why did the war proceed as it did? What was the nature and legacy of reconstruction? What does this period in our history mean to us now?

4 CreditsH, CW, CTDHPrerequisites: HS115 or HS116 and SO, JR, or SR standing.

HS-312 The New South: 1877-1990

This seminar will cover the years 1877-1900 and explore the themes on the cultural, political, economic and social history of the U.S. South. Among the important questions covered in the class are: What is the South? How did the South change through significant events such as the Populist movement, the rise of Jim Crow, the Great Depression, the second World War, economic development, and the Civil Rights movement. We will ask how the South's arts, especially music, reflect its history and culture.

4 CreditsHPrerequisites: HS116 or permission of the instructor.

HS-313 Disease, Medicine & Empire

What can the study of the history of medicine tell us about the nature of rule and the politics of race in European empires? How did medical theoriesof disease and healing shape ideas about colonial environments, populations, bodies, and racialdifferences in the imaginations of European colonizers? How did medicine and science function as tools of colonial domination and as part of broader "civilizing" projects, and what were thelimits of such efforts at social control? Can the study of medical reforms and everyday life shed light on how colonial subjects conceptualized, challenged, and defined their own positions in thesocial order?

4 CreditsCA, I, H, SW-GE, CTGESPre- or Co-Requisite: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109.

HS-314 Medieval Medicine

Despite our popular understanding of the European middle ages as a dirty, disease-ridden, hopelessly backward period, the sources show us quite a different picture. Although a lack of understanding of the means of genetic change and the cause of viral and bacterial disease caused medieval people to understand the human body very differently than we do, that system was not without its logic and efficacy. This course will explore the human body and its diseases in the middle ages through a series of connected readings that introduce the body as a conceptual system and medieval science's attempts to understand it. We will then look at the growing field of genomic research as a way of understanding and comparing our modern systems of understanding the body.

4 CreditsH, CW, SW-GE,CTGESPre- or Co-Requisite: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109.

HS-316 WWII in Asia and Pacific

Students will study Japan's war in Asia & the Pacific (1937-45), China's War to Resist Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the US in the Pacific War (1941-45), all part of the larger world-historical conflict. The war will be examined from the perspectives of the main combatants, but also from the perspective of colonial subjects, and from the points of view of elites and commoners. Much attention will be paid to roles of race and culture in (mis-)understandings of " the enemy. "

3 CreditsI, H 

HS-317 Medicine in World War I

The class will explore the challenges faced by medical professionals during the First World War by looking at the medical innovations that emerged over the course of the war; the impact of violence, disease, and dislocation on civilian populations; and the enduring changes in medical practices following the war.

4 CreditsSW-ERPrerequisite: FYC-101

HS-319 Glorious Cause: American Revolutionary Era

At the start of the War of Independence, General George Washington called the defense of American liberties the " glorious cause. " This course examines central questions such as: What caused the American Revolution? How did the United States win the War of Independence? What resulted from the American Revolution?

4 CreditsHPre-requisite: Any one history or art history course

HS-320 Interpreting Terrorism

You have grown up in a world shaped by terrorism. How did this happen? What is terrorism, how has it developed, and how have people responded to it? In this course, we will analyze (interpret) terrorism from different directions: its many definitions, its general history beginning with the French Revolution, and the many ways in which people have responded to it. You will also dive into specific topics and present (interpret) your research for a non-academic audience. It is important for us historians to communicate effectively. If we can broaden and deepen the public's understanding of, and appreciation for, the past, we enrich our society. You will learn how to convey your knowledge in a way that the public will find accessible, and even enjoyable or exciting. Course requirements include a field trip.

3 CreditsSW-ER 

HS-322 Women in Medieval Life

What did women do in the Middle Ages? What was it like to be a nun? Was anyone really a witch? By reading medieval women’s own accounts and the accounts of people who knew (or claimed to know) them, we can learn a great deal. In this course we will look at various aspects of women's lives during the Middle Ages and try to answer as many questions as we can. While we’re at it, we will have to examine medieval ideas of what it meant to be a man – ideas that, much of the time, were conceptualized as the opposites of ideas about women. The course is topical instead of chronological and is organized around themes and ideas.

4 CreditsH, CW, WK-HTPrerequisite: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109

HS-324 Gendering the Raj

This course looks at the real and symbolic roles that British and Indian women and men played in colonial India, providing an opportunity to explore wider theoretical issues relating to race, sex, gender, colonialism, and culture.

4 CreditsCA, I, H 

HS-325 The U.S. Since 1945

Covers the social, political and economic history since the Second World War. Themes include: the Cold War, suburbanization, the rise of consumer society, and more.

4 CreditsHPrerequisite: HS116.

HS-326 Modern China

China over the past hundred years has played a major role in global affairs and is positioned to remain a dominant presence well into the 21st century. This course examines the rise of modern China focusing on its transition from a traditional Confucian state to a potent economic and political power.

4 CreditsH, I 

HS-327 Modern Japan

This course traces the history of Japan's rise as a modern nation state beginning with the Meiji Restoration of 1868 up to the present with an emphasis on the cultural, economic and political factors which aided the rapid industrialization in the nineteenth century, Japanese imperialism in the first half of the twentieth century, and Japan's economic " miracle " in postwar Japan.

3 CreditsH, I 

HS-367 Women in Africa

This course will provide students with an understanding of women in sub-Saharan African cultures, their history, traditions, diversity, resilience and adaptability. To do this we will be looking at social structure, kinship networks, economic systems, gender relations, ethnicity and ethnic conflicts, traditional religion, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other health issues.

4 CreditsCA, H, I, CTDH 

HS-399 Special Topics

Provides supplements to the regular departmental program, exploring topics and areas not regularly scheduled. Note: Students may take each ST: course for credit.

1-4 Credits  

HS-400 Crimes Against Humanity

This course explores the emergence, evolution, varieties, underlying causes, and means of confronting and coming to terms with genocide and other crimes against humanity. During the course of the semester, we will examine a range of historical contexts and we will also confront tough questions about ethics, resistance, and responsibility. 

4 CreditsI, HPrerequisites: Junior or Senior standing. Sophomores require permission.

HS-490 History Internship

 

2-9 CreditsHPrerequisite: Instructor permission and Junior or Senior standing. Co-requisite: HS-495.

HS-495 Senior History Research/Seminar

Serves as a capstone experience that synthesizes materials from history and other disciplines into a substantial written thesis. The senior seminar can be done as an independent study or in conjunction with an internship. When completed the thesis is presented at a public oral defense.

1 CreditHPrerequisite: Completion of all core courses and/or permission of instructor.

HS-496 Senior History Research/Seminar II

If a student needs to work further on the senior thesis, this will allow three further hours of study.

3 CreditsHPrerequisites: HS493 and Senior standing.

HS-499 Special Topics

Allows departments to offer topics not normally taught.

1-3 Credits Prerequisites and corequisites vary by topic.


CAPSTONE

Take the following courses:

HS-492 Sr History Research/Seminar I

(see the chapter, Special Programs under Internships.) 

3 CreditsHPrerequisite: None

HS-493 The Historian's Craft

This course is a seminar-style introduction to historiography and a forum in which senior history students complete part or all of their senior thesis. Students taking the course are expected to work simultaneously with the course instructor, as well as a thesis advisor from within the history department. Students may select a member of the faculty outside the department as a secondary advisor if that complements their thesis topic. Students who elect to write a year-long thesis take HS496 in the Spring semester after taking HS493. Students from other departments who take the course will be expected to complete a paper of comparable length to a senior thesis under the supervision of the course instructor. 

3 CreditsH, CWPrerequisites: One 300 level history course and Senior status.


NOTE: Three courses in your POE must cover topics that are based outside the US and Europe.  IC 202: The Shaping of the American Mind may be listed as part of the designated history POE:  Other courses may be considered by petition to the history department


At least 3 of the above courses must address history of a region that is neither Europe nor the United States. See the department for a complete list of courses that fulfill the non-western requirement.  At least 2 of your history courses must be writing based, with one at the 300 level or above.


Because the History & Art History Department believes that all seniors should participate in a capstone experience, students who have history as part of their POEs should plan to participate either in HS 493, the history department’s senior seminar, or in a similar experience in another department. Each student should consult his or her History Department advisor regarding what activities will fulfill this requirement.


POE Credit Total = 48-51

Students must complete at least 18 credits at the 300/400-level.  Any course exception must be approved by the advisor and/or department chair.