Courses at the 300-level
The development of the city-state from the archaic period to the death of Alexander the Great is examined. Topics include constitutional development, colonization, the Persian and Peloponnesian wars, and slavery.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
This is an examination of the political, economic, social, and philosophical changes that took place in Greece, the eastern Mediterranean, and Asia Minor in the period from the unification of Macedon to the Roman conquest.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The development of Rome is explored from its eighth-century B.C. founding to the end of the Roman Republic, with emphasis on constitutional development, imperial expansion, and changing economic and social conditions.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
The development of the Roman Empire is explored from the founding of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to the end of Roman rule in the West.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
Western civilization is explored from the breakup of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the fourteenth century. Topics include the rise of Christianity, feudalism, and economic and technological developments.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Europe's transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period is studied. Focus is on changing patterns of thought and art forms that occur in the Italian city-states of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The religious crisis of the sixteenth century is studied, including the political, economic, and intellectual context within which the Reformation occurred.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Essential themes, from the Peace of Westphalia to the eve of the French Revolution, are examined. Topics include absolutism, the Age of Louis XIV, the scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
The political and industrial revolutions of the era are examined for their social and economic impact. Included are the roots of liberalism, nationalism, and socialism.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
This is an examination of the unification of Germany and Italy, the political institutions of the European nation-states, and the emergence of nationalism and imperialism.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
Beginning with the First World War, students explore such topics as the Treaty of Versailles, the Roaring Twenties, the rise of communism and fascism, the Second World War, and the Cold War.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Students explore the histories and cultures of peoples inhabiting the territories of the former U.S.S.R. from antiquity to Peter the Great. Topics include state formation, social institutions and practices, and territorial expansion.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
Russian history during westernization is examined. Topics include elite and non-elite social development, serfdom, autocratic state, modernization, the Russian Revolutionary movement, non-Russian peoples, warfare, and diplomacy.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
Major issues and events of Soviet and post-Soviet history are discussed, including 1917 and the Bolsheviks, Stalin's revolution, World War II and the Cold War, and the Soviet Union's collapse.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
European women's political roles, economic activities, and social and cultural contributions are examined. This course may be repeated for credit with a change in content.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
This is a comparative study of English common law and continental European civil law. Students cannot receive credit for both POL 315 and HIST 315.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The ideas of major Western political thinkers, including the Greeks, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Hegel, and Marx, are reviewed. Students cannot receive credit for both HIST 316 and POL 316.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
- or consent of the department chair
Relationships of power and authority and their social foundations are examined. Students cannot receive credit for more than one of the following: HIST 317, POL 317, and SOC 317.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
- or consent of the department chair
British history is studied from the Tudors to the Stuarts, including Henry VIII, Elizabeth, the Puritans, the Civil War, and the Glorious Revolution. Topics include social, cultural, legal, military, economic, and medieval history.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The colonial era is examined as a formative period in American history. Emphasis is on how the colonial experience contributed to the development of American social, religious, and political customs and institutions.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
Emphasis is on the origins and development of the revolution, its critical role in the formation of American nationhood, and its legacy for the early nineteenth century.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Focus is on the creation of competing political, economic, social, and moral identities in the North and South, from the Constitution to the Mexican War. (Formerly The Era of American Expansion and Civil War.)
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Major developments in U.S. history from 1865 to 1920 are studied. Reconstruction, industrialization, urbanization, reform movements, and American foreign policy through World War I are considered.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
The beginning of World War I to the end of World War II was a period of significant change for America. This is an examination of major social, economic, political, and foreign policy events and trends that contributed to that change.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Major post–World War II developments are examined, with particular focus on political, social, and economic issues, and the historical importance of people, events, and trends.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The development of American culture from the Revolution to the end of the nineteenth century is studied. Topics include nationalism, religious movements, social reform, and popular culture.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The development of American culture from the turn-of-the-century to the present is explored. Topics include pluralism, popular culture, feminism, working-class movements, and competing social and political ideologies.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Themes in American Western history are examined, including cross-cultural encounters, social and class conflict, environmental use and misuse, and the significance of the west and "frontier" in American politics, society, and popular culture.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Topics include the conflicts of the 1850s; the Civil War's impact on American politics, economy, culture, and society; postwar political, economic, and racial reconstruction; and the contested memory of the war.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
The role of immigrants and ethnic groups in the development of the United States is examined. Topics include the causes of immigration, nativism, impact on the city, cultural conflict, and assimilation.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Rhode Island's colonial and revolutionary origins, the problems of nineteenth- and twentieth-century industrial growth and social change, and other topics are surveyed.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The evolution of the institution and function of the presidency is examined. Students cannot receive credit for both HIST 332 and POL 357.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Focus is on the social, cultural, and public role of women in the United States. Topics include women's political roles, economic activities, and social and cultural experiences.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Topics include the African background of Black Americans, the development of slavery, the abolitionist movement, the legislative and judicial drive to equality, and the social and cultural contributions of Black Americans.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
American foreign policy from 1945 to the present is surveyed. Topics include the Cold War, relationships among international organizations, decolonization, and theories of modernization.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
American diplomacy directed at a specific region or a certain time frame is examined. Topics may include the Vietnam era, demise of the Soviet Empire, and problems of modernization.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The emergence of Islamic civilization in the Middle East is traced from the appearance of Islam in the seventh century to the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the diversity of cultural phenomena.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The Middle East and the Muslim areas of Central Asia from the nineteenth century to the present are surveyed, with emphasis on the breakdown of traditional societies and the emergence of a regional state system.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
The causes, manifestations, and forms of Islamic resurgence since the nineteenth century are studied. Islam's role in relationship to sociopolitical changes is analyzed through selected case studies.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
The traditional culture and history of East Asia is examined. Emphasis is on major systems of thought, such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism; traditional social institutions; and the imperial system.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Focus is on the Ch'ing dynasty; the impact of the West; the ensuing conflict between traditionalists, reformers, and revolutionaries; and the rise of nationalism and communism.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
The Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration are examined. Emphasis is on the development of democracy, militarism, the Japanese Empire through World War II, and the rise of the new Japan.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Focus is on diplomacy and foreign relations in East Asia from the early nineteenth century to the present. Topics include the Opium War, the opening of Japan, the two Sino-Japanese Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Russo-Japanese War.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
African societies and institutions of the early nineteenth century are examined. Topics include imperialism, the intrusion of European powers, the African response, and African nationalism and independence.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Africa from 1960 to the present is examined. Topics include the nature of independence, Africa in world affairs, problems of nation building, and the search for unity, stability, and regional cooperation.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The period from 1492 to independence's eve is examined. Topics include Amerindian culture, Iberian colonization, forced labor systems, and women's roles in the development of multiethnic societies in the post-conquest period.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Topics in Latin American history are surveyed, including Wars of independence, state building, neocolonialism, labor and agrarian conflicts, immigration, revolutionary movements, human rights, and democratization.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
The factors that shaped national identities, such as language, culture, religion, education, labor, and regionalism, are explored. This course may be repeated for credit with a change in content.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair.
Traditional and modern societies are examined from the bottom up. Attention is given to material well-being; sexuality, marriage, family, and childhood; crime, disease, and death; and leisure and escapism.
3 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Students examine the potential, promise, and problems of public history by collectively defining and articulating visions for the field, studying how memory relates to history and exploring social roles for history.
4 credit hours
- completion of one of the following: HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, or 161; or consent of department chair
Building on the students' experience in HIST 200, emphasis is on issues in historiography, the identification and definition of historical problems, the researching and writing of a substantial paper, and historical criticism.
4 credit hours
- HIST 200
- 15 additional credit hours of history courses
Building on history and social science courses, this seminar involves extensive reading and discussion of selected historical themes. Focus is on historiographical issues.
4 credit hours
- HIST 200
- 15 additional credit hours of history courses
- 12 credit hours of social sciences courses
This independent study places students in organizations appropriate to their studies, such as historical museums and societies, archives, preservation organizations, government agencies, and private businesses.
3-6 credit hours
- HIST 200
- 3 additional 300-level history courses
- Minimal overall GPA of 2.75
- Written proposal listing objectives, program of study, and evaluation criteria approved by advisor, faculty supervisor, and department chair
In this independent study, students read selected materials under the careful guidance of a historian.
3 credit hours
- Open only to seniors who have had suitable course work and who have the consent of the instructor and department chair
Students visit historic sites and museums around Rhode Island and discuss how to prepare elementary school students for field trips to these sites to enhance the learning experience.
1 credit hours
- HIST 200
- HIST 201
- HIST 202