History (HIDI)

Surveys American military history, using select wars to investigate the relationship of the past to the present. 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 HIDI 1208. (PPDI)

Considers the American West as a shifting location, a social process and a potent idea. Topics include Native American groups and colonizing encounters; the Lewis and Clark expedition; Manifest Destiny, the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War; the Gold Rush; the Oregon Trail; diversity; the West's natural resources and economic development. Explores the West as an ongoing subject of film, literature, art and television and as a presumed key to the American character. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1207. Springs. (PPDI)

Prepares students to be informed citizens. 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. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1209. Springs. (PPDI)

Examines several broad themes and problems in modern US history from Reconstruction through the present, such as industrialization and its social, economic, and political ramifications; westward expansion; immigration; the emergence of the US as a world power; cultural and intellectual developments; movements for social change. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1211. Springs. (PPDI)

Explores the complex dynamics and diverse aspects of the US in the Vietnam Era (ca. 1960-75) and the emergence of rights consciousness. Events in this era transformed US perceptions of freedom, foreign policy, race, equality, politics, and legal identity. Examines President Johnson’s Great Society, the civil rights movement, the Women’s Liberation Movement, the Vietnam War, and political activism. Not open to students who have earned credits for HIDI 1210. Unscheduled. (PPDI)

Explores the history of American childhood as an analytical tool for assessing the relationship between self and society. Students reconsider their own childhood, as shaped by historical and social factors. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1305. Falls. (SSDI)

Explores the history of world-wide interactions and exchanges since the 15th century, including the transference of culture (locally and globally) across time and space. Discusses definitions of key periods of cross-cultural contact. Investigates and applies theories such as diffusion, synthesis, and syncretism to explain how sharing information, technology, and innovations across regional boundaries have shaped our human past. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1315. Fall of odd years and Spring of odd years. (SSDI)

By defining some conditions as “madness,” societies also define what is “normal.” This class explores how mental conditions have been classified, diagnosed, sequestered and treated from ancient to modern times, responses shaped by shifting cultural and intellectual paradigms. We will investigate how treatments bizarre to us, from exorcisms to cranial drills, arose from cultures of expert authority of their time. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1430. Falls. (PPDI)

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. Falls Even. (PPDI)

How would your life have been different in another era? In this course, students will brainstorm areas of life that concern them - such as family, education, health, or other topics - and compare those themes to the same areas of life in medieval Europe (500-1500 AD). Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1350. (PPDI)

Uses twentieth-century United States history and popular literature, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, to explore how identity structures like race, class, and gender shape individuals’ experiences within regional, national, and cultural communities. Students deepen understanding of their personal relationship to society, civic responsibility, and justice. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1360. Springs and Falls. (SSDI)

African American history is rich, uplifting, and at times even triumphant, while its struggles and set-backs can shed light upon contemporary issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Approximately 4/5 of the course moves chronologically from Medieval Africa to the present; 1/5 allows students (working in small groups) to research a subtopic chosen in consultation with the instructor. Springs. (PPDI)

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 Odd. (PPDI)

Societies have classified individuals as mentally “healthy” or “ill” in varying ways. Using historical documents and basic data analysis, we will investigate how mental illness has been defined, institutionalized, and treated. Students also explore how evolving representations of mental health shape conceptions of individuality and belonging. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1330 or ISDI 2000. Springs. (SSDI)

In order to comprehend the present and envision the future, we must understand the past. Examines the historic origins of several global conflicts, both regionally and thematically, so that we may better comprehend the past and envision the future. Historic themes such as famine, ethnic cleansing, terrorism and dictatorship are examined from a political, economic and cultural perspective. Discusses conflicts in the Middle East, nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan and the ethnic nationalist strife that continues to haunt Serbia and Croatia, among other regions. Discusses how these issues impact our own lives and why we should care. Not open to students who have earned credit for HIDI 1450. Falls. (PPDI)

The Holocaust remains a watershed event in 20th century history. Through a study of the Holocaust, students begin to develop an understanding of how it was not an inevitable event, but rather a culmination of human choice, social situations, hatred, and consequences of post-WWI Europe. Students then apply this learning to their own lives today. (PPDI)