Quad Cities Campus

Minor in History: 18 s.h.

  1. Select three courses from: HIST 105, 106, 125, 126: 9 s.h.
  2. History Electives: 9 s.h.

Note: At least 6 s.h. must be earned at the upper division level at a senior institution.

Note: Transfer students may use world history credits to satisfy the major or minor requirements for HIST 125 and 126.

Course Descriptions

HISTORY (HIST)

105 American History to 1877. (3) (General Education/Humanities) A survey of American history from European backgrounds to the close of Reconstruction. IAI: H2 904.

106 American History since 1877. (3) (General Education/Humanities) A survey of American history from the end of Reconstruction to the present. IAI: H2 905.

125 Western Civilization to 1648. (3) (General Education/Humanities) (Global Issues) A survey of western social and political institutions, thought, and culture from the ancient world to 1648. IAI: H2 901.

126 Western Civilization since 1648. (3) (General Education/Humanities) (Global Issues) A survey of western social and political institutions, thought, and culture from 1648 to the present, with attention to non-western forces as they helped shape the growth of western civilization. IAI: H2 902.

144 History of the Middle East. (3) (General Education/Humanities or Multicultural Studies) (Global Issues) A survey of the history of Middle Eastern social and political institutions, thought, and cultures from ancient times to the present.

145 History of Asia. (3) (General Education/ Humanities or Multicultural Studies) (Global Issues) A survey of Asian history from ancient times to the present. Directed Elective Area III.

201 Historical Methods. (3) This course introduces students to the scope and methods of History and historiography, including the fundamental research, analytical, and writing skills required of all historians. Prerequisites: History major; at least three of HIST 105, 106, 125, and 126; ENG 280; and permission of department advisor.

300 Urban America. (3) A survey of the growth and development of American urban society. The course is designed to show both how technological, economic, social, and political forces have shaped our cities over time and how cities have affected American life. No prerequisite. Directed Elective Area I.

302 American Indian History, Pre-Contact to the Present. (3) (General Education/Multicultural Studies) This course surveys the history of American Indians from pre-contact to recent times within the current area of the U.S. Prerequisite: HIST 105 or 106, or consent of instructor.

303 American Legal History. (3) A study of American law, emphasizing the origins and development of fields of law and legal institutions, and the relationship between the law and American society and politics. Prerequisite: 3 s.h. of U.S. History or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

304 United States Military History. (3) (Global Issues) A survey of the military policies and engagements which had significance in America’s independence, expansion, and present world position. Prerequisites: HIST 105 and 106 or enrollment in or completion of MS 311, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

306 Vietnam War. (3) A survey of the origins of the Vietnam War, and the domestic, social, diplomatic, and political impact of the war in the U.S. Directed Elective Area I or III.

307 (Formerly HIST 401) U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1898. (3) (Global Issues) A history of American foreign relations with emphasis on the period from the war with Spain to the present, stressing the behavior of the United States as a world power. Prerequisite: HIST 106 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

308 American West. (3) The settlement and development of the West from the Appalachian Range to the Pacific Ocean. Prerequisite: HIST 105 or 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

309 American South. (3) A survey of the American South from the colonization period to the present. Prerequisite: HIST 105 or 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

310 Crime, Policing, and Punishment. (3) An exploration of criminal justice in territories now composing the United Kingdom, the United States, and the nations of continental Europe, with emphasis on the integration of nation-state criminal codes and courts, professional police forces, and standardized state punishments. Prerequisite: HIST 105 or 106 or 125 or 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I or II.

311 (Formerly HIST 424) History of Flight Culture. (3) (General Education/Multicultural Studies) (Global Issues) A cross-cultural survey of the origins, development, and representation of human flight from the ancient world to the present. Prerequisite: HIST 106 or 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I or II.

312 Technology, Culture, and Society. (3) (Global Issues) A history of key technological developments from the Industrial Revolution to the present, with an emphasis on how these innovations have transformed human culture and society. Directed Elective Area I or II.

313 (Cross-listed with AAS 313) African American History, 1400–1877. (3) (General Education/ Multicultural Studies) A survey of African American experiences in North America from 1400 to 1877. Not open to students with credit for AAS 313. Prerequisite: HIST 105 or AAS 100 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

314 (Cross-listed with AAS 314) African American History, 1877–Present. (3) (General Education/ Multicultural Studies) A survey of the African American experiences in the United States since 1877. Not open to students with credit for AAS 314. Prerequisite: HIST 106 or AAS 100 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

317 (Cross-listed with WS 317) Women in American History. (3) (General Education/Multicultural Studies) A multicultural and historical survey of women in the United States, from 1500 to the present. Not open to students with credit in WS 317. Prerequisite: HIST 105 or 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

318 (Cross-listed with WS 318) Women and Gender in European History. (3) (General Education/ Multicultural Studies) (Global Issues) A study of women and gender in Europe, from antiquity to the present, focusing on changes in culture, society, the economy, and politics. Not open to students with credit in WS 318. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

319 Ancient Near East and Egypt. (3) Intermediate survey covering several ancient civilizations in an area that includes the modern Middle East, Egypt, Persia, and Turkey, beginning with the emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia and continuing to the conquest of Alexander the Great. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

320 Ancient Greece. (3) A study of Hellenic civilization and the institutional and cultural life of the Greeks. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

321 Ancient Rome. (3) A study of Roman civilization from the Republic through the Empire. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

322 Pre-Modern Military History. (3) Intermediate survey of military history from the ancient world through the Renaissance. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

324 Middle Ages. (3) A study of the political, economic, and cultural institutions of Europe from the Germanic invasions and the fall of Rome to 1300. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or consent of the instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

325 (Formerly HIST 425) Early Modern Europe, 1350–1648. (3) Study of political, economic, social, and cultural developments of early modern Europe from the mid-fourteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries, including the Renaissance, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, the age of religious wars, state-building, witchcraft persecution, and the Age of Discovery. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

326 Old-Regime Europe, 1648–1789. (3) An intermediate survey emphasizing the politics of state-building, absolutism, and constitutionalism; the economics of burgeoning consumerism, imperialism, and global trade; the social dynamics of attenuating hierarchies and privileges; and the nascent cultures of science, the Enlightenment, and religious reform. Prerequisite: HIST 126 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

329 Great-Power Diplomacy. (3) A history of relations between the great powers from the 1890s to the present. In addition to the major European powers, the course includes the U.S., China, and Japan. Prerequisite: HIST 126 or 145, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II or III.

333 Britain to 1688. (3) A survey of British social and political history, with emphasis on constitutional development. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

334 Britain since 1688. (3) A survey of the political, social, and economic factors behind the rise and decline of Britain as a world power. Prerequisite: HIST 126 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

337 (Cross-listed with GER 337) The Holocaust. (3) (General Education/Multicultural Studies) (Global Issues) Examines the pre-history, history, and posthistory of the Holocaust and its representations from a German Studies perspective and within the broader context of European culture. Not open to students with credit for GER 337. Prerequisite: HIST 126 or GER 224 or consent of instructor.

338 Germany. (3) A survey of German history from beginnings to the present time. Prerequisite: HIST 125 or 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

340 Latin America to 1860. (3) (General Education/ Multicultural Studies) A survey of the history and culture of Latin America from the pre-colonial era through the national revolutions to the mid-nineteenth century. Prerequisite: HIST 105 or 125, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

341 Latin America since 1860. (3) (General Education/Multicultural Studies) (Global Issues) A survey of the history and culture of Latin America from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Prerequisite: HIST 106 or 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

344 Modern Middle East. (3) (General Education/ Multicultural Studies) (Global Issues) An intensive study of the history of the Middle East in the modern era. Prerequisite: HIST 144 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

345 China. (3) A survey of Chinese history from ancient times to the present, with emphasis from the late dynastic (Ching) period through the Cultural Revolution. Prerequisite: HIST 145 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

346 Japan. (3) (Global Issues) A survey of Japanese history from ancient times to the present, with emphasis on the period from the late feudal (Tokugawa) period. Prerequisite: HIST 145 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

349 (Cross-listed with AAS 349) Africa since 1800. (3) (General Education/Multicultural Studies) A study of major themes from 1800 to the present from an African perspective: slave trade and its abolition, European colonialism, independence movements, and problems of independence. Not open to students with credit for AAS 349. Prerequisite: HIST 126 or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

399 Imperial Russia, 1689–1917. (3) A survey of major cultural, intellectual, and political developments within the Russian Empire from the reign of Peter the Great to the fall of the Romanov dynasty. Prerequisite: HIST 126. Directed Elective Area II.

400 Soviet Union, 1917–1991. (3) An intensive study of political, diplomatic, economic, social, and cultural developments in the Soviet Union from the Bolshevik revolution to the USSR’s collapse. Prerequisite: at least junior standing and HIST 126 or 399, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

402 The Civil Rights Movement. (3) An intensive study of the history of the African American civil rights movement, concentrating on the period from World War II through the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1978 Bakke decision. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

412 American Colonial History. (3) A history of the discovery, settlement, and development of the American colonies to 1763. Prerequisite: at least junior standing and HIST 105, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

413 American Revolution and the New Nation. (3) A study of developments which caused the Revolution, examination of the War of Independence, the Confederation, the Federal Constitution, and subsequent events to 1800. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 105, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

414 Early American Republic, 1800–1848. (3) An intensive study of the development of the United States from 1800 to 1848, emphasizing the development of political culture within the expanding nation, among post-revolutionary Americans. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 105, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

415 Civil War and Reconstruction. (3) An intensive study of the political, social, economic, military, and diplomatic history of the period 1848 to 1877, focusing on the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War (1861–1865). Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 105, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

416 America in Transition, 1877–1914. (3) An examination of the forces transforming America from Reconstruction to the Wilson administration. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

418 Emergence of Modern America, 1914–1945. (3) A study of American history from World War I to the end of World War II. Prerequisite: at least junior standing and HIST 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

419 Recent America, 1945 to Present. (3) An examination of American History from the end of World War II to the present. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

420 Capstone Seminar: Illinois History. (3) A study of periods and themes in the history of Illinois including social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental change. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. Prerequisites: HIST 105, 106, and 201; ENG 280; and at least junior standing; or consent of instructor.

422 American Environmental History. (3) A history of Americans’ interaction with their natural environment from pre-contact to the present with special emphasis on the last two hundred years. BGS online writing course. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 105 or 106, or consent of instructor.

423 The Vietnam War and Its Times. (3) A seminar on the Vietnam War, with particular emphasis on domestic social and political aspects during the 1960s. Research in primary sources will be required. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 106, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area I or III.

426 The Enlightenment, 1721–1784. (3) Advanced study of a cultural revolution in the Atlantic world; a “republic” of philosophers, ideas, and debates; social institutions promoting reform; emergence of new media, mass literacy, public opinion, and private sentiment, and the broader context in which these flourished. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

427 French Revolution and Napoleon. (3) A detailed examination of the period from 1789 to 1815 in Europe. Prerequisite: at least junior standing and HIST 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

428 Nineteenth-Century Europe. (3) A study of Europe from 1815 to 1914. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

429 Europe, 1914–1968. (3) A study of Europe from 1914 to 1968. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 126, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

430 Topics in Ancient History. (3, repeatable to 6 with permission of department chairperson)Study of a theme or chronological period in Greek or Roman History. Topics will vary. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 125, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

431 Alexander the Great. (3) Advanced study of the life, achievements, and historical context of Alexander III of Macedon, with particular focus on his impact outside Europe. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 319 or320, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

433 Tudor/Stuart England: 1485–1714. (3) Political, economic, cultural, and social history of early modern England during the reigns of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs, emphasizing social structures, cultural movements, religious continuity and change, and constitutional developments. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 125 or 325 or 333, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

434 Topics in British History. (3, repeatable to 6 with permission of department chairperson)Selected topics dealing with the political, social, and economic development of Britain. Topics will vary. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 125 or 126 or 333 or 334 (as appropriate), or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

438 Hitler’s Germany, 1919 to 1949. (3) Study of Germany from the end of World War I to its division following World War II, focusing on the Weimar Republic, the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, the Holocaust, and Germany’s postwar breakup. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 126 or 338, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

440 Topics in Latin American History. (3, repeatable to 6, for different topics, with permission of department chairperson) Selected topics in the social, political, economic, or intellectual history of Latin America. Topics will vary. Prerequisite: at least junior standing and HIST 105 or 106 or 126 or 340 or 341 (as appropriate), or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

444 Topics in Middle Eastern History. (3, repeatable to 6 with permission of department chairperson) Selected topics in the political, social, economic, and intellectual history of the Middle East. Topics may vary. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 144 or 344, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

445 Modern East Asia. (3) (Global Issues) A study of China, Japan, and Korea in the 20th century. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 145 or 345 or 346, or consent of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

451 Problems in History. (1–6, repeatable to 6) Research into areas not specifically covered in other courses. Course credit depends on the nature of the problem and the length of time required to complete the project. Only 3 s.h. may be applied to major or minor requirements. Prerequisites: 9 s.h. of History, 3 s.h. of which must be from WIU, junior standing, and consent of instructor.

452 Readings in History. (1–3, repeatable to 3) Prerequisites: 9 s.h. of History, 3 s.h. of which must be from WIU, junior standing, and consent of instructor.

482 Topics in European History. (3, repeatable to 6) In-depth study of a theme or chronological period in European history. Topics will vary. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 125 or 126 (as appropriate), or permission of instructor. Directed Elective Area II.

485 Topics in Asian History. (3, repeatable to 6) In-depth study of a theme or chronological period in Asian History. Topics will vary. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 145 or 345 or 346 or 445, or permission of instructor. Directed Elective Area III.

488 Topics in U.S. History. (3, repeatable to 6) In-depth study of a theme or chronological period in U.S. history, from the colonial period to the present. Topics will vary. Prerequisites: at least junior standing and HIST 105 or 106 (as appropriate), or permission of instructor. Directed Elective Area I.

490 Honors Thesis in History. (3) The preparation by an honors student of an undergraduate History thesis under the direction of one or more members of the History Department. Prerequisite: Honors major in History with junior or senior standing.

491 (Formerly HIST 301) Capstone Seminar in History. (3) This course focuses on writing and research in the discipline of History. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. Prerequisites: History major; HIST 105, 106, 125, and 201; at least two upperdivision History courses; ENG 280; junior or senior standing; and permission of department advisor.

494 Internship. (1–12, repeatable to 12) Supervised experience of work in archives, historical institutions, or other institutions requiring historical expertise. Prerequisites: permission of department chairperson and junior or senior standing.