Undergraduate Courses

The history department is revising its curriculum! For a sneak peek at new course listings, click here.

100-level courses are open to all students.

101 Western Civilization Origins and Development of the Contemporary World, Part I (3 hrs.)

Major western civilizations to 1560. Taught every semester.

102 Western Civilization Origins and Development of the Contemporary World, Part II (3 hrs.)

Major western civilizations since 1560. Taught every semester.

103 World History to 1500 (3 hrs.)

This course is a comparative survey of the historical development of peoples and cultures from their beginnings to 1500. It explores cross-cultural interactions among societies, states, and economies of Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania.

104 World History from 1500 (3 hrs.)

This course is a comparative survey of the global interdependence of the world from the period of transoceanic exploration to the present. It explores cross-cultural interactions among societies,states, and economies of Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania.

200-level courses are open to all students other than beginning freshmen, with exceptions as indicated.

221 The United States to 1877 (3 hrs.)

Discovery of America through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

222 The United States Since 1877 (3 hrs.)

United States from the end of the Civil War era to the present.

229 Survey of Ancient Times (3 hrs.)

Ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome. Prerequisites: HY 101-102 or approval of instructor.

230 Early Middle Ages in Western Europe (3 hrs.)

Survey of the origins and development of medieval society in the West, with attention given to Byzantium and the Islamic world as well as to the Latin west. Prerequisites: HY 101 and 102 or permission of instructor.

290 Historical Methods (3 hrs.)

Introduction to historical methodology and historiography, designed to prepare history majors for Liberal Arts upper-level coursework. Required of all history majors, including transfer students. Open to non-history majors.

300-level courses are open to students who have completed 9 semester hours in history or have junior standing and permission of the instructor.

306 Collapse of Civilizations (3 hrs.)

This course will investigate why some cultures succeed and others fail. From the archeological and historical record of past civilizations we will examine the factors which lead to collapse in an attempt to address a question that is relevant to the contemporary worldnamely, how severe do internal stresses have to become in a civilization before relatively minor climate shifts can trigger a widespread cultural collapse?

310 Introduction to Public History (3 hrs.)

This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of public history. Students will learn about historic preservation, cultural resource management, local and state history, methodology, historical archaeology, museum studies, oral history, and archival management trhough academic training and practical experience.

311 Historic Archaeology (3 hrs.)

Historic Archaeology will introduce intellectural and practical concepts using elements of research, fieldwork, analysis, and interpretation to explore and recreate the documented and undocumented past.

312 Cultural Resource Management (3 hrs.)

Cultural resource management encompasses recognition, description, maintenance, security, and overall management of historical items, places, and ideas through preservation and protection.

318 Constitutional History of the United States (3 hrs.)

Growth and development of the American constitutional system with emphasis on those aspects, which relate to the fundamental structure of American government and social order.

325 History of Alabama (3 hrs.)

The state's past from colonial times to the present with emphasis on its place in United States history.

329 Imperial Rome (3 hrs.)

Roman Empire from the Principate to the barbarian invasions.

330 The History of the Christian Church (3 hrs.)

A study of the Church from Biblical times through the Protestant Reformation. The course examines the Church as a social, political, and religious institution largely within Western Europe. Heavy emphasis on primary souces and on how to interpret religious sources for historical purposes.

347 Early Modern England (3 hrs.)

Course surveys the political and religious history of England under the Tudors and Stuarts. Topics covered will include the Reformation under Henry VIII, the reign of Elizabeth I, the English Civil Wars and the revolutions of the seventeenth century.

363 Indigenous Peoples of America (3 hrs.)

Surveys the history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the fifteenth century to the present.

365 American Labor History (3 hrs.)

American labor relations from colonial times but concentrating on post-Civil War topics.

366 African-American History (3 hrs.)

This course  explores African Americans’ experiences in and contributions to the United States.

367 Women in U.S. History (3 hrs.)

Women in the United States from the colonial period to the present.

370 Social History of American Technology (3 hrs.)

Explores the history of the interrelationship of people and technology in American history from 1600 to the present.

373 Foreign Relations of the U. S. to 1920 (3 hrs.)

American foreign relations from the Revolutionary era through World War I. American territorial and commercial expansion, imperialism, and emergence as a world power.

374 Foreign Relations of the U. S. since 1920 (3 hrs.)

United States as a world power. American involvement in World War II, Vietnam, and the Cold War, and the growth of American presence in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

375 Imperial Russia (3 hrs.)

Survey of the social, political and cultural history of Russia from its beginnings to 1917, with particular emphasis on the imperial period of the 18th and 19th centuries. Major themes include the evolution of the Russian state, state-society relations, and the multiethnic nature of the empire.

376 Soviet Russia (3 hrs.)

Russian history from the collapse of autocracy to the collapse of communism with special emphasis on the revolutions of 1917, the formation and evolution of the Soviet state in the 1920s and 30s, the multi-national nature of the state, and the successes and failures of the post-1945 era. Prerequisites: HY 101and 102.

380 China since 1600 (3 hrs.)

Survey of Chinese history from the late Ming Dynasty through Mao's Communist regime. Focus on political culture, Confucianism, Maoism, relations with the West, women, and society.

HY 390 Women in Modern European History

Survey of European women's history from the Enlightenment to the present. Focus on how women have supported, challenged, and revised expected roles for women in different historical contexts, as well as how nationality, social class, and ethnicity have shaped women's lives.

391 Europe, 1500-1789 (3 hrs.)

Examination of the economic, scientific, social, political, and cultural developments in Europe from the Renaissance to the French Revolution.

392 Europe Since 1789 (3 hrs.)

Europe from the French Revolution to the present.

399 Special Topics in History (3 hrs.)

Intensive examination of particular problems, periods, or topics in history.

400-level courses are open to students who have completed 12 semester hours in history or have senior standing or have permission of the instructor.

HY 410 Public History (3 hrs.)

Public history and its application in areas such as public policy, historical editing, local and community history (including historical societies), archival collection (including electronic databasing) and historic preservation, oral history, museum programs, and historical sites interpretation.

413 The Old South (3 hrs.)

Southern society, economics, politics and culture concentrating on the nineteenth century South through Reconstruction.

414 The New South (3 hrs.)

Post-reconstruction South emphasizing the economic, social, and political readjustments made during the twentieth century.

424 The Atlantic World (3 hrs.)

Comparative survey of the western European colonial empires from 1450 to 1763, emphasizing the cultural interactions of African, Native American, and European peoples in the Americas. This course meets the requirements for either American or non-American credit in the history major.

427 The Age of the American Revolution (3 hrs.)

Politics, society, economy, culture, and international conflicts from 1700 through the Revolutionary War to 1812.

428 The Republic in Crisis (3 hrs.)

Political, social, and economic changes in the United States and its sections from 1812 through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

437 The Rise of Modern America (3 hrs.)

Economic and social changes, imperialism, and the growth in government in the United States from 1877 to the 1920s.

438 Modern America (3 hrs.)

American society, politics, economics, and foreign affairs from the end of World War I to the origins of the Cold War.

439 Recent America (3 hrs.)

Contemporary America from the 1950s to the present, analyzing both domestic and foreign affairs.

473 The High Middle Ages (3 hrs.)

Political, economic, and cultural features of Europe when medieval civilization was at its height.

474 The Renaissance and Reformation (3 hrs.)

Selected topics in the Italian Renaissance and European Reformation.

475 Crisis in Europe, 1560-1660 (3 hrs.)

Europe in an age of anxiety, religious wars, political upheaval, witch-hunts, and the early scientific revolution.

476 Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1660-1763 (3 hrs.)

Europe from Louis XIV to the Peace of Paris, an age of political stability and intellectual innovation.

477 The French Revolution and Napoleon (3 hrs.)

European ideas, institutions, and events from the beginning of the French Revolution to the demise of the Napoleonic Empire.

478 Europe in the Nineteenth Century (3 hrs.)

Major political, social, economic, and intellectual developments in Europe from the Congress of Vienna to World War I.

479 Europe in the Twentieth Century (3 hrs.)

Major developments in Europe from 1914 to the present, including the two World Wars and postwar reconstruction.

490 Research Seminar in History (3 hrs.)

Historiography, research and writing, and recent interpretations in the field of history. Required of all history majors. Taught once annually.