HIS 12103 American History I
Political, diplomatic, social, and economic development of Anglo-America through the colonial period and early national era of the United States to Reconstruction.
Offered Fall, Spring for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 12203 (TM) American History II
Political, diplomatic, social, and economic development of the United States from Reconstruction through the present.
Offered Fall, Spring for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 13103 (TM) World Civilization I
Survey of intellectual, religious, philosophical, political, economic, scientific, and social achievements of World Civilizations from the ancient world to the emergence of new world patterns at the beginning of the sixteenth century. This course includes the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Offered Fall, Spring for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 13203 (TM) World Civilization II
Survey of intellectual, religious, cultural, philosophical, political, economic, scientific, and social achievements of World Civilizations from the sixteenth century to present. This course includes the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Offered Fall, Spring for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 22503 History of Ohio
HIS 22503 History of Ohio through the present with an emphasis on the geographic, governmental, cultural, and economic aspects of Ohio’s history.
Offered Fall for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 22603 Native Americans
This course is intended to introduce students to the major events related to the history of Native Americans. The focus of the course will be on those native peoples living in the area that is the current United States, their distinct cultures, and the effect on them of European colonization. Students will address the material through lectures, primary documents, secondary readings, discussions, and films.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 23703 Introduction to the Study of History
This course introduces key historical concepts and skills, such as the nature and types of History; historical periodization; the reading and analysis of primary and secondary sources; research, writing, and documentation styles; the basic use of the computer for historical research and writing; and History as a profession.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 26303 The Habsburg Empire 1526-1918
The Habsburg Empire ruled much of Central Europe from the Reformation to the beginning of the 20th century. This course explores the empire from its beginning under Emperor Maximilian I, who built the empire with his marriage alliances and constant warring, to the empire’s collapse following the end of World War I. Students will examine the empire’s battles with the Ottoman Empire, its wars against Napoleon, the crisis of nationalism in a multinational state, and the breakup of the empire following the Great War. Attention will also be given to “Fin-de-siecle” Vienna, which saw an unprecedented cultural and intellectual flowering that produced the birth of modernism.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 26403 The Ottomans
This course covers the history of the Ottoman Empire. Students will study the formation and consolidation of the Ottoman polity as an imperial entity, its gradual transformation into an imperial power, the complex social and political transformations it went through, the emergence of independent nation-states in its former territories, and the legacy it left behind. Even though the course is mainly chronological in its structure, extensive discussions of social and economic life, law, practices of government, ideology, arts and sciences, and historiography will be included.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 36103 Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries
This course is designed to provide students with the fundamental understanding of European political, cultural, intellectual and economic developments since the French Revolution. Along with the consideration of major events and figures, attention will be paid to the experience of ordinary people in times of upheaval and transition. The period will be thus be viewed neither in terms of historical inevitability nor as a procession of great men, but rather through the lens of the complex interrelations between demographic change, political revolution, and cultural development.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 36203 The Great Powers and the Eastern Question
This diplomatic history course will look at the Eastern Mediterranean as a center of Great Power confrontation. The Eastern Question refers to the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the consequences of its decline on the European continent. It was the most significant diplomatic problem posed in the 19th and 20th centuries by the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, centering on the contest for control of former Ottoman territories. Any internal change in the Turkish domains caused tension among the European powers, each of which feared that one of the others might take advantage of the political disarray to increase its own influence. It was the cause of the Crimean War, the only war involving the Great Powers in the 19th century, and a direct cause of the Great War.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 37103 The West in Crisis, 1900-1945
This course provides an in-depth study of European history from 1900 through 1945, with emphasis on Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. Topics include Belle Epoque politics, society, and culture; the Great War of 1914; the politics of peace-making and the Treaty of Versailles; he 1917 revolutions in Russia, the civil war, and Stalin’s Revolution; inter-war culture and society; the depression of 1929; fascism, with special emphasis on the Nazi Movement in Germany; the diplomacy of the 1930s; and the Second World War.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 37203 Nazi Germany
This course is an in-depth analysis of Germany during the Nazi period (1933-1945). It begins with a chronological overview of Nazi Germany, from its origins during the Weimar Republic to its destruction at the end of World War II. The course’s central section focuses on the discussion and analysis of primary materials dealing with selected aspects of the Nazi period, such as ideology, family life and women, education, propaganda, the arts, the war, and the Holocaust. The course concludes with an evaluation of the Nazi legacy, and it considers, among other topics, the problem of writing the history of Nazi Germany.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 37303 The Interwar Period, 1919-1939
This course examines the history of Europe during the interwar period which begins at the end of the First World War and continues to the outbreak of the Second World War. The course covers the major political, social, and cultural developments as well as the diplomatic and economic crises of the period. The course aims to engage in the various interpretations and complexities of inter-war Europe. It begins with a discussion of the effects of the Treaty of Versailles, the collapse of empires, and the creation of new national states. It will pay close attention to the rise of totalitarian ideologies and the failure of liberal democracy and capitalism. While this period witnessed an increase in political violence, it also saw an explosion of creativity, technological expansion, and utopian social cultural projects.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 37403 The Cold War
The course will introduce students to the history of the Cold War from 1945 to 1991. We will study the Cold War as a political, ideological, economic, cultural, and military contest on a global scale. This course will examine specific problems such as how to rethink area divisions rooted in the ColdWar and colonial eras. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the conclusion of the Cold War, students have the opportunity to study this conflict as a finite historical period from beginning to end, and to use new documentary sources to study the viewpoints and perspectives of all the major participants.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 41103 War and Genocide
For years, genocide mainly referred to the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews during World War II. However, events in Eastern Europe, Central Africa, and elsewhere have drawn scholars’ attention to genocide as a political phenomenon that may be studies across regions and time periods. This course will examine war and genocide in the 20th century. It is designed to introduce students to the major debates surrounding the study of genocide. This course will examine the psychological, cultural, and societal roots of human cruelty, mass violence, and genocide. We will examine the questions of what enables individuals collectively and individually to perpetrate evil and examine the impact of apathetic bystanders on human violence.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 41803 Europe
Topical Studies in History. Prerequisite: Nine (9) credit hours in history or permission of instructor. At least one topical studies course is offered each semester. History in Europe are added to these general categories .
Offered On Demand for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 42803 United States
Topical Studies in History. Prerequisite: Nine (9) credit hours in history or permission of instructor. At least one topical studies course is offered each semester. History in the United States are added to these general categories .
Offered On Demand for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 43703 History and Historians Seminar
An examination of historians and historiographic problems with an emphasis on research methodology and changing attitudes towards the discipline of historical research. Open to seniors majoring in history or with permission of the instructor. Prerequisite: ENG 11203.
Offered Spring for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 44803 Writing the History Paper
In this class you will apply what you have learned over the last three years at Rio Grande and produce a major piece of research and writing on a historical topics, otherwise known as a senior thesis. You will meet with your professor during the first week of class to decide upon an appropriate topic for this assignment. This course will be run as a research seminar. You will be expected to participate in class discussion, but also in critiquing your classmate’s work. Central to the process of researching and writing a history paper is engagement with how historians go about exploring and writing about the past. Classroom discussions and activities, as well as homework assignments and independent research work, will build the skills necessary for students to “do” history. One additional goal of the major project for this course, the research paper, is for students to prepare papers that are able to be presented at a regional history conference.
Offered for 3 Semester hours.
HIS 48101-03 History Internship
The History Intern Program offers training and direct experience working in one of several archives, historical and genealogical societies, or museums in southern Ohio and Kentucky. Students can choose to work at a number of different locations throughout the area. These include Ross County Historical Society in Chillicothe, the Campus Martius Museum in Marietta, the Highland Museum and Discovery Center in Ashland, Kentucky, the Southeast Ohio History Center in Athens, and the Our House Tavern in Gallipolis, Ohio. Internships are also available at the University of Rio Grande Archives and Museum on the main campus. Interns work with professional staff, interact with the public, conduct research, provide administrative support, and learn about local and regional history. Students considering a career in museum or archival studies are encouraged to apply.
Offered for 1-3 Semester hours.
HIS 48801-03 Selected Topics in History
Topics to be announced in the schedule.
Offered On Demand for 1-3 Semester hours.
HIS 49901-03 Directed Studies in History
Independent study and/or research under the supervision of an instructor in History. May include directed research and readings, formal in-depth study of a topic of special interest to the student, individual projects, special educational experiences, or a practicum in which theories and their practical applications are brought together in a single educational experience. Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing and the completion of at least twelve (12) hours in the discipline, as well as sponsorship by an instructor and approval of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Offered On Demand for 1-3 Semester hours.