History (HI)

Introductory course intended for first-semester students majoring in History and Social Studies Education or any student new to the major. Students learn about the wide range of career paths and professional skills enabled by college-level historical study; get acquainted with historical resources on campus through a local history project; and gain enhanced advising for SSE and HI degree options. Falls.

Prerequisite(s): History and Social Studies Education majors or permission of the instructor.

Studies the causes and effects of select wars, examining particular battles and extant home front issues. Connects past strategies, events and debates to later times, along themes of politics, society and culture. Addresses the question: Has the US become a warrior nation? Not open to students who have earned credit in HIDI1208. Springs and Falls.

Human encounters with animals have both shaped our society and impacted the environment. This course studies how medieval Europeans dealt with other species in comparison to today. We will look at “real life” treatment of animals, from house cats to forest wolves, from farming to hunting, as well as imagined creatures in legends, bestiaries, and more. Springs.

This course explains the way people imagined, attempted to use, and reacted to magic in ancient, medieval, and modem western culture. We will study the frameworks by which various eras have regarded magic as legitimate or forbidden practice, the ways in which it has been incorporated or excluded from academic study, and its role in entertainment and fantasy. Falls.

This course examines the historic origins of several global conflicts, both regionally and thematically. Examines historic themes such as war, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, and dictatorship from political, economic and cultural perspectives. Students examine how these issues impact their own lives and develop humanitarian responses and proposals for peace. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI1450 or HIDI1455. Springs and Falls.

This course explores civilizations from their emergence to around 1500 AD/CE, with particular focus on the geographic regions of China, India, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe. Students will learn to interpret images and historical documents and the ways the environment influences cultural development from the areas under study. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 2005 or HI 1110. Falls. (GACO)

An introduction to world history since 1500. Traces global patterns, historical change, and interactions of people and geography. Themes include commercial exchange and economic development, human migrations and encounters, transportation and communication technologies, and the emergence of the modern world’s political landscape. Not open to students who earned credit for HI 1160 or HI 2010. Springs and Falls. (GACO)

Introduction to the development of major geographic, political, economic, and cultural events in European society, from the Late Middle Ages (14th century) to the present. Traces major ideas and institutions that helped shape the modern world and concludes with an analysis of current shifts in global relations between nations, regions, classes, and cultures. Not open to students who have earned credits for HI 2015. Springs.

This course prepares students to be informed citizens. It provides insight into the foundations of modern US culture through an analysis of social, racial, economic, and political history to provide a background for our evolving US society. Students study the difficulties and rewards in investigating and understanding the past and how the past has an impact on the present.

This course prepares students to be informed citizens. It provides insight into the foundations of modern US culture through an analysis of social, racial, economic, and political history to provide a background for our evolving US society. Students study the difficulties and rewards in investigating and understanding the past and how the past has an impact on the present.

Surveys the major skills, issues, and applications of the field of history. Students work with historical primary sources, including textual documents and numerical data, and they learn how to select and analyze scholarly sources. Covers the history of the field, its main subfields, and key theoretical approaches; differences among academic, public, and popular historical media; and careers for which historical study is a particularly useful preparation. Not open to students who have earned credits for HI 2222. Falls. (QRCO) (WRCO)

Prerequisite(s): Sophomore status.

The American Revolution unleashed changes that reverberate to today. Explores the Revolution chiefly as an American event, considering its origins, the extent to which it altered American society and politics, and the ways in which the forces driving the Revolution influenced the history of the United States during its early years as a nation. Not open to students who have earned credits for HI 3116. US Group. Spring of odd years.

This course examines the Civil War era in a broad social and cultural perspective. Topics include the roots of the conflict such as slavery, the market revolution, westward expansion, cultural differences, and political clashes. Coverage of the war years will focus on battles and servicemen’s experiences, but also on various home fronts, political and economic aspects of the war, and concurrent events. The course also studies the varieties and end of Reconstruction. Readings will include primary sources such as newspaper accounts, personal chronicles, and photographs. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 3150. Spring of even years.

Provides an overview of Chinese history from its beginning to present. Through extensive reading, class discussion, lecturing, and writing, students understand Chinese political structure, economic system, social framework, and ideologies over time. They explore why and how these systems developed over centuries and their legacies today. World Group. Spring of odd years. (GACO)

Invites students to the history of gender, race, and social class through studying the European attempt to colonize the world, 1700-1900. Covers ethnic cleansings, weaponizing sexuality, themes of agency, resistance, solidarity, and social justice activism; and the heroic struggles of indigenous women, women of color, and LBGQT populations. Explores poetry, film, fiction, memoir, art, and web pages. World Group. Fall of odd years. (GACO)

Specialized topics in the history of Europe not normally covered in depth in other history courses. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. Europe Group. Falls and Springs. (GACO)

This course offers an interdisciplinary, historical overview of society and culture in Latin America – Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean, and South America – from the pre-colonial era to the present. Topics include indigenous peoples, European conquests, encounters between Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans, arts and popular culture, political change and revolutions, and Latin American identities today. Falls.

This course explores the rich and diverse history of our state and region. It also shows how past events at the local level interacted with national and international events and cultural changes. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 3340 or HI 3341. Falls.

Examines women’s experience on its own terms by exploring women’s societal positions, roles and role models, achievements and failures. Also examines gender as a changing cultural construct affecting men’s experiences, and considers varieties of sexual experience, orientation, and identity over time. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 2680 or HI 3350. US Group. Spring of even years. (DICO)

Traces the history of health, illness and the pursuit of wellness throughout American history. Deals with illness and medical care as well as sport and physical exercise. Focusing on 3 distinct eras – the early 19th century, the decades around 1900 and the period following World War II – examines varieties of health experience and explores how individuals and communities have negotiated their health concerns. Offers a critical consideration of various definitions and models of wellness as they have changed over time, particularly in the physical, intellectual, social and environmental dimensions. Not open to students who have earned credit in HI 3354.US Group. Spring of odd years. (WECO)

Why do laws change over time? Does the American legal system reinforce or challenge societal power structures? This course explores how law and legal systems have shaped and been shaped by US cultural, political, economic, and social forces from settlement to the modern era. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 3358. US Group. Unscheduled. (DICO)

Everyone comes from a family of some kind, but the ideas, practices, and values surrounding sex and reproduction can vary between cultures. This research seminar will study love and family in medieval Europe, including its Roman and Christian background. Topics will include law, kinship, medieval marriage and consent, courtly love, childbearing and -raising, and alternative sexualities. Springs Odd.

Between 1789 and 1815, cataclysmic events centered on France shook the existing social order, redrew the map of Europe, and triggered movements and institutions that shaped the modern world. This course analyzes historical dynamics of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era and their long global legacy, from gender to law to warfare. Falls Even. (GACO)

Using the themes of race, class, gender, and ethnicity, this course examines the changes Americans created as they moved towards fighting a total war, engaged multiple enemies, and declared many victories. Some call WWII “the Good War.” Exploring ts home-front history allows us to appreciate this, if also ask whether it is the best way to remember the era. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 3530. US Group. Fall of even years. (DICO)

Using websites, textbooks, and other types of narratives presenting themselves as "mainstream,” this course critically examines the ways "history" (US & NH) has been selectively constructed and the results. Provides students with materials to re-construct themes and topics in light of contemporary critiques and the use of modern technologies. Not open to students who have earned credits for HI 3570. Springs. (DICO) (TECO)

Introduces students to the religious conflicts Europeans engaged, 1400 - 1650 AD. We will look at both Protestant and Catholic Reformations as well as radical reform movements, witchcraft, Judaism in early modern Europe, and early colonial contact with Native Americans. The course will mainly proceed through discussion of modern scholarly perspectives on the era, along with a substantial research project. Falls. (GACO)

Studies the formation and development of imperial institutions and cultures in the Islamic world from the era of the first conquests to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century CE. Students will explore the interaction of politics with areas such as religion, culture, ethnicity, gender, economy, and intellectual life over this period. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 3770. World Group. Springs Even. (GACO)

Specialized topics in history not normally covered in depth in other history courses. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. US Group. Offered occasionally.

Specialized topics of world history (not US or European history) not normally covered in-depth by the history curriculum. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. Not open to students who have earned credits for HI 3820. World Group. (GACO)

Students apply historical skills and knowledge to work activities as determined by the student, a supervising faculty member, and a site supervisor. Expectations include 40 hours per credit, including on-site time, documentation, and background reading and writing. 16 credits including credits earned in HI 4001. Pass/No Pass. Springs, Falls, Summers, Winterims. Instructor permission required.

Integrates historical knowledge and skills as a culminating experience in the major. Students write an original historical research paper using secondary literature and primary sources. They present their work in a formal setting using state-of-the-art technology. Assignments guide students through the process of formulating, researching, and writing the paper, as well as develop students' technological acumen. Not open to students who have earned credit for HI 4450. (TECO)

Allows independent study in history on a topic of student interest, with faculty guidance. Customized syllabus could include reading (generally one book per credit), written work, research, and/or a digital humanities project. Student must seek approval from the supervising faculty member, program coordinator, and advisor if applicable. Repeatable up to 4 times or 16 credits. Instructor permission required.