Course Descriptions for Spring 2019
Below, you’ll find course descriptions for the undergraduate courses we’re offering during spring 2019.
HST 120: Intro to European History to 1648
Various Instructors and Times
This course is an introduction to European history from the Classical era to 1648. Topics covered might include Classical Greece and Rome, Early Christianity, Medieval Europe, the Renaissance, the Age of Exploration, and the Reformation.
HST 121: Intro to European History since 1648
Various Instructors and Times
This course is an introduction to European history since 1648. Topics covered might include the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, Industrialization, the Unification of Germany and Italy, Imperialism, the World Wars, the Cold War and the collapse of Communism.
HST 130: Intro to United States History to 1877
Various Instructors and Times
This course is an introduction to the political, cultural, social, and economic development of colonial America and the United States through the end of Reconstruction.
HST 131: Intro to United States History since 1877
Various Instructors and Times
This course is an introduction to the political, cultural, social, and economic development of the United States since the end of Reconstruction.
HST 150: Intro to Middle Eastern History
T TH 1:00PM-2:15PM
Bishop Room 101
Dr. Nicolas Trepanier
Every day on the news we hear of the Middle East, yet the region never seems to become familiar or understandable. This course offers a basic introduction to the region and of Islam by looking at a number of key themes in a historical perspective. It also gives students an opportunity to develop their own critical perspectives on popular representations of the Middle East. Themes surveyed include the basic tenets of Islam as a religion, key moments in the history of the Middle East, the Sunni/Shi’i split, gender, Islamic law, the evolution of relations between the Muslim world and the West, and many others.
HST 170: Intro to African History
T TH 11:00AM-12:15PM
Bishop Room 101
Dr. Zachary Kagan Guthrie
This course offers an introduction to the economic, social, political and cultural history of the African continent, using historical case studies to illustrate central themes and important debates: the rise of large states; the impact of slavery and its abolition; the dynamics of colonial rule; and the opportunities and constraints facing postcolonial Africa.
HST 180: Intro to East Asian History
M W F 10:00AM-10:50AM
Bishop Room 103
Dr. Peter Thilly
This course is an introduction to the history of East Asia – a region covering the present-day nations of China, Korea and Japan. The purpose of the course is to introduce the cultural foundations and modern history of one of the most important regions of the world today. Whether or not the twenty-first century will be the “Asian century,” as some say, no responsible person can afford to be ignorant of that part of the world. Nor is it sufficient simply to examine the situation as it exists today; an understanding of the tradition, of the historical roots of East Asian societies is essential for anything more than a superficial acquaintance with Asia’s current state and future prospects.
The course is designed chronologically: it begins with a brief introduction to the ancient foundations of East Asian civilization, and then places a more prolonged focus on the Early Modern and Modern periods. We begin the course by asking why: why, given the unique national histories of these three places, do we consider East Asia a region? What is “East Asian” about East Asian civilization? As we move into the age of empires and nation-states, we will use this foundational knowledge to try and understand the tumultuous history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
HST 309: The Middle Ages
T TH 1:00PM-2:15PM
Guyton Annex Room 207
Dr. Lester Field
Those who regard history as easy know very little about it. Although such students have found this course “extremely difficult,” serious students generally enjoy it, because it is a serious course. Students who successfully complete it will have gained an elementary knowledge of Europe’s seminal millennium. One can hope that this cultural literacy coincides with improved critical thinking.
In seminar and lecture format, this course surveys the major events and trends of the Early and High Middle Ages. It therefore covers “European” history from the “decline and fall” of the Roman empire to the fourteenth century, which, by various reckonings, begins the Late Middle Ages or Renaissance. The relationship between medieval thought and political action receives special attention.
HST 334: France since 1789
M W 3:00PM-4:15PM
Bishop Room 105
Dr. Joseph Peterson
Last summer when France’s racially-diverse soccer team won the World Cup, Trevor Noah of the Daily Show joked that in fact it was “Africa” that had won the tournament. Noah intended the joke to emphasize the diversity of France’s team and his pride in the African ancestry of so many of the players. But in France, Noah’s remarks were perceived as racist—as unnecessarily singling out those players as less-than-French. France’s ambassador to the US even protested. Why such a negative reaction to the joke in France? Is it because the French definition of citizenship is more universal, more egalitarian, more colorblind than the American? Or, on the contrary, is it because France refuses to confront its own long-term history of colonialism and racial discrimination?
Ever since the French Revolution declared in 1789 that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights,” French leaders have argued about the limits of that political community, about who really deserves that equality. In 1789, the Republic still excluded women, the property-less working classes, slaves, and the colonized from the full rights of citizenship. Today, it is Muslim, LGBTQ, and racial minorities that often find themselves excluded from the promises of 1789. The history of France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is a story of conflict; conflict over how to interpret the heritage and expand the ideals of the French Revolution; conflict over what it means to be French.
HST 352: The Middle East since 1914
T TH 9:30A-10:45A
Bishop Room 103
Dr. Vivian Ibrahim
This course deals with the history of the Middle East from the First World War to the present. It explores the transition from empires to nation states in the Arab world, Israel, Turkey and Iran through processes of modernization in the political, social and cultural realm. The course is organized chronologically and thematically. We will examine the emergence of a state system after the First World War, colonial societies in the interwar period, and the consolidation of Arab, Turkish and Iranian Nationalism in the first half of the 20th century. In the second half of the century, we will look at developmentalist projects and their impact on state formation, as well as the role of oil, revolutions and international relations in the Middle East.
Learning and teaching methods: Classes will consist of lectures, class discussion, written work and group work. It is expected that all students actively participate in discussions. Students are expected to complete all the readings assigned for week by the Tuesday class. I will call on individuals for their opinions and interpretation of the readings. By the end of this course you will:
• Be familiar with the chronology of the region, linking the Middle East to global events
• Identify key movements and individuals
• Be able to critically analyze an unseen source
HST 371: History of Southern Africa
T TH 1:00PM-2:15PM
Bishop Room 324
Dr. Zachary Kagan Guthrie
Overwhelming racial oppression and triumphant democratic liberation. Fabulous mineral riches and brutal economic exploitation. Glittering wealth and grinding poverty. An exceptionally violent past and a Rainbow Nation present. The history of South Africa is definitely exciting; it is also much richer and much deeper than these black and white images suggest. By examining the historical complexities of southern Africa, students who take this course will be equipped to answer difficult questions about the burdens of the past and the possibilities of the present in societies confronting the legacies of economic exploitation and racial oppression. What historical factors led South Africa to adopt a system of official state racism? What policies were used to create and enforce that system? How did that system change from the 19th to the 20th century? Finally, what does this history mean for the region’s present-day challenges?
HST 375: History of Islam in Africa
M W F 1:00PM-1:50PM
Bishop Room 324
Dr. Bashir Salau
This course will explore the history of Islam in Africa from the seventh century to the twentieth century. Attention will be given to examining, first, the diverse local forms of Islam and how historical, cultural, and environmental factors influenced their growth; second, the social, economic and political contexts that facilitated the growth of Islam from relative insignificance to one of the two leading religions in Africa; and, finally, the impact of Islam on Africa. The primary focus will be on West and East Africa. Topics will include Muslim minorities in non-Muslim societies, Islam and slavery, women in Muslim societies, Jihad movements in Africa, Muslim responses to nineteenth century European expansion, Islam and colonialism, and Islam and post-colonial developments. By the end of the course students must have embraced critical reading and writing skills. They will also appreciate the diversity of Islam and its importance in social, economic and political developments in Africa during the pre-colonial, colonial and the post-colonial eras
HST 381: Late Imperial and Modern China
T TH 1:00PM-2:15PM
Bryant Room 111
Dr. Joshua Howard
This course surveys the main political, social, and cultural developments in late imperial and modern Chinese history since the mid 17th century. We will focus on two broad themes: the rise and fall of the Qing empire and China’s road to revolution. We first examine how the Manchu as an ethnic minority conquered China and then established one of the world’s largest land-based empires. During the nineteenth century, the interaction of domestic and foreign pressures weakened the Qing dynasty and ushered in the collapse of an entire civilization. The focus will then shift to the great revolution, the struggle to transform the world’s most ancient dynastic order and to create a revolutionary society. We close with a consideration of how the legacy of revolution has helped shape contemporary China. Lectures, film, and readings will introduce students to the people, places and events that have shaped China’s modern history. The instructor will also encourage students to develop their ability to interpret and analyze documents that shed light on the experiences of those who lived in the past.
HST 400: Early America to 1715
T TH 4:00PM-5:15PM
Bishop Room 112
Dr. Kristofer Ray
This course explores North America from the late pre-contact period through 1715. The course is intended to sharpen your understanding of what early North America was like, and to help you discover more about the nature of the historical discipline from an expanded knowledge of this period. Over the course of the semester four broad themes will emerge:
1) An introduction to eastern Indigenous cultures, customs, and geopolitical realities.
2) The centrality of Indigenous polities to European invasion and settlement.
3) The creation of an Atlantic network of cultural, economic, intellectual, and political exchange.
4) English, French, Dutch, and Spanish social, cultural and institutional formation.
HST 407: US—The Nation since 1945
M W F 1:00PM-1:50PM
Lamar Room 404
Staff
This course examines the major developments in age of Cold War, domestic reform, and world power responsibilities.
HST 410: Native America, Pre-contact to 1850
M W F 10:00A-10:50A
Bishop Room 324
Mr. Jeffrey Washburn
This course surveys American Indian history from the period of first European contact to the 1850s, focusing on how the continent’s indigenous people negotiated dramatic changes in their lives. Using an ethnohistorical methodology, which considers the writings of anthropologists and archaeologists as well as historians, students will develop an understanding of and appreciation for Native and non-Native cultures, federal policies and local adaptations, systems of domination, and efforts at resistance.
The course will begin by introducing the methodology of ethnohistory as well as a basic introduction of the social, political, and economic views of Indian communities. Students will examine how Native people interacted with the newcomers, formed alliances, and engaged in warfare and trade. Following the American Revolution, the United States formally recognized the political status of Native nations through treaties. Nevertheless, Americans worried about the ramifications of having sovereign Indian nations within the new country’s territorial boundaries. Students will learn how Indians responded to “civilization programs” and other efforts to end their tribal identities. Students will explore the connections between American expansion and Indian removal, and how eastern Indians dealt with threats to their lands and resources. The class will end in the decades after Indian removal by examining how Native people rebuilt their lives in Indian Territory, and how Indians further to the west managed the arrival of the first American settlers to the region.
HST 422/AAS 438: The Rise and Fall of American Slavery, 1619-1877
T TH 1:00PM-2:15PM
Bishop Room 324
Dr. Anne Twitty
This course will explore the rise and fall of slavery in what became the United States from its colonial origins in 1619 through the end of Reconstruction in 1877, with an eye toward placing American slavery in a broader Atlantic context. We will examine the economic, racial, religious, cultural, legal, and political underpinnings of the institution, and evaluate the profound ways in which it shaped—and continues to shape—American society. We will analyze how American slavery was understood and experienced by both black and white people alike and consider the ways in which the stories we tell ourselves about American slaves and slavery have evolved over time. This course will conclude with a look at the impact of emancipation on black life in America.
The centerpiece of this course will be the completion of a research paper that asks students to explore how their own family may have encountered or experienced the institution of slavery. Early in the semester, students will collect information about their grandparents and great-grandparents that will allow them to begin tracing their ancestry through ancestry.com. Using census records, students will identify one particular ancestor who lived in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Students will then try to place their ancestor’s experiences in the context of the experiences of other individuals of the same age, sex, race, class, and location.
HST 451: The South in the Twentieth Century
T TH 1:00PM-2:15PM
Lamar Room 404
Dr. Darren Grem
Hiram Revels, dead Confederates, Red Shirts, moonshine, lynching, Ben Tillman, the Beauregard flag, “the New South,” the blues, segregated cemeteries, Texas A&M, the new slavery, vote suppression, Birmingham coal, Bob Jones University, political corruption, Delta hot tamales, Dixie Highway, sharecropping, Storyville prostitutes, the Tulsa massacre, Great Migrations, Stone Mountain, the KKK, “the Great Flood,” Sardis Lake, Charlie Poole, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Huey Long, TVA, General Textile Strike, Gone With the Wind, B-29 bombers, Oak Ridge, the Grand Ole Opry, Esquerita, Strom Thurmond, “Dixiecrats,” Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, “Ole Miss” football, Sun Ra, White Citizens’ Council, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, James Meredith, Billy Graham, Lyndon B. Johnson, Graceland, R.G. LeTourneau, Houston Oilers, the Atlanta Braves, James Brown, Barry Goldwater, air conditioning, Anne Moody, Muhammad Ali, white flight, Robert F. Williams, Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dixie Mafia, Otis Redding, Flannery O’Connor, Bear Bryant, Aretha Franklin, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Christian private schools, NASCAR, Sunbelt, Michael Jackson, Burt Reynolds, R.E.M., Heritage USA, Dukes of Hazzard, Jerry Falwell, Chick-Fil-A, the Houston Colt .45s, Ronald Reagan, Designing Women, Disneyworld, cocaine cowboys, Lee Atwater, Southern Living magazine, Alice Walker, Dorothy Allison, Walmart, Newt Gingrich, Bank of America, Bill and Hillary Clinton, OutKast, TBS, George W. Bush, Dollar General, the Hamlet Fire, Lee Bains III, Oxford’s gentrification, and Donald Trump as just another George Wallace with some Ric Flair thrown in – if you want to study all this (and much more) and why it matters, then take this course.
HST 452-1: The History of Mississippi
M W F 9:00A-9:50A
Bishop Room 324
Staff
This course examines the political, economic, and cultural developments from Indian settlement through contemporary society.
HST 452-2: The History of Mississippi
M W F 11:00A-11:50A
Lamar Room 404
Staff
This course examines the political, economic, and cultural developments from Indian settlement through contemporary society.
HST 455: History of Religion in the South
T TH 11:00A-12:15PM
Lamar Room 404
Dr. Ted Ownby
The history of religion in the South will study religion from several perspectives. We will study theology—religious ideas. We will study religious demography—numbers of members of different religious groups. We will study the sociology of religion—the ways religion fits into or challenges social and political institutions and gender relations. We will study the anthropology of religion—the rituals, behaviors, and expectations of religious life inside and outside religious institutions. And we will study the history of religion—how things have changed or not changed between the early 1600s and the present. The course will study both the “evangelical center” that consists of Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and the many groups that formed out of those three denominations, and it will also the history of groups that are outside that center. Students should learn about the differences among many different Christian denominations and non-Christian groups, learn how, when, and why religion has been a major issue in southern public life, learn about leading individuals, movements, and moments, and learn to think broadly about religious life in the South. Students will have the opportunity (but not the requirement) to visit religious gatherings and write about those visits.
HST 471: The Second World War
M W F 11:00A-11:50A
Bishop Room 101
Dr. Chiarella Esposito
The premise of this course is that the Second World War was a global disruptive force that shattered domestic and international power systems, ushered in or reinforced new political and economic cultures, and deeply altered many traditional societies. The course will examine the causes of the war, its course on battlefields in Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, as well as civilians’ lives behind the lines. The war harnessed the totality of economic and human resources of all belligerent nations, as well as most of those of neutral countries. At the end, despite or perhaps because of the carnage and many horrors of the war, the world was transformed into the interconnected global system we still live in today. Students will acquire knowledge of the war’s major events; they will analyze and discuss a number of primary and secondary sources; and they will write a term paper on a research topic of their choice in consultation with the instructor.
HST 490-1: Problems in History—America, “The American Civil War in History and Literature”
T TH 2:30PM-3:45PM
Barnard Observatory Room 105
Drs. John Neff and Kathryn McKee
Team-taught by a history professor and an English professor, this cross-listed class will explore how contemporaries recorded and experienced the Civil War, as well as consider how this crisis of national identity figures in subsequent historical and literary accounts of the period. We will cluster readings and assignments around a series of topics, including slavery and race; valor and cowardice; death, trauma, and displacement; masculinity and femininity; and the politics of remembrance. Assignments will include fictional and non-fictional readings, regular quizzes and exams, and a semester-long project culminating in a research paper. Students wishing to earn English credit should register for ENG 340; students wishing to earn History credit should register for HST 490.
HST 490-2H: Problems in History—America, “Slavery, Race, and Freedom in America”
T TH 11:00A-12:15PM
Bishop Room 333
Dr. Paul Polgar
In August of 1619, some 20 persons referred to as Africans stepped onto the shores of Jamestown, Virginia; brought to the colony by English privateers. 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first recorded persons of African descent in British North America. As part of the University of Mississippi’s recognition during the 2018-2019 academic year of this seminal event in American history, this course will trace the origins of racial slavery in what became the United States, examine how slavery became a central institution in American life, and explore the legacies of human bondage in the present day. Some of the semester’s major themes will be the emergence of and contest over ideas of race, the battles between slavery’s defenders and opponents, and how slavery has informed ideas of American freedom and citizenship. Were American forms of slavery and concepts of race similar to or different from other slave societies in the rest of the world? How has slavery and race influenced the American experience? Course objectives will include gaining comprehensive knowledge of the history of American slavery and race, learning to read closely and critically primary and secondary sources, and developing analytical writing skills.
HST 492-1H: Problems in History—World, “Representations of History in Videogames”
T TH 9:30A-10:45A
Hume Room 108
Dr. Nicolas Trépanier
From Civilization to Assassin’s Creed and from Total War to an increasing number of independent titles, many videogames claim to “accurately” represent history. In what ways are they right, and in what ways are they wrong? And what can historians themselves learn from videogames?
In this seminar, you will play several different games, read the work of historians and discuss how these two ways of viewing history relate to each other. Because academics have only recently begun exploring videogames, these conversations will bring you closer to the cutting edge of scholarship than in almost any other undergraduate humanities course.
HST 498-2: Undergrad Research Seminar in History, “US Gender History, 1877-Present”
TH 1:00PM-3:30PM
Bishop Room 326
Dr. Eva Payne
This is a capstone undergraduate seminar for history majors that explores U.S. gender history from 1877-present and gives students an opportunity to conduct original archival research in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Mississippi Library. What is a man? What is a woman? How should each act? What is “natural” and what is “cultural” about gender? And what is the relationship between gender, sex, and sexuality? This course examines the surprisingly diverse and changing ways that Americans have answered these questions over the last 150 years, as well as the ways that conflicts over gender in the past have shaped those of the present. The first weeks of the course will provide a broad overview of U.S. gender history. We will explore some of the major questions gender historians have asked about the past and the important debates and trends in gender history. Themes of the course include the relationship between gender and citizenship, and gender and social movements. During the second part of the course we will spend much of our time in the archives, where students will have the chance to examine archival sources such as letters, diaries, memos, newsletters, photographs, and use them to write an original research paper.
HST 498-3: Undergrad Research Seminar in History, “Disasters in World History”
W 1:00PM-03:30PM
Bishop Room 326
Dr. Noell Wilson
This capstone research seminar for History majors explores how the idea of disaster can be a useful lens for understanding the past. For the first several weeks we will discuss common readings to consider the relationship between “natural” events like earthquakes and tsunamis, biological catastrophes such as species extinction and epidemics, and man-made disasters such as the sinking of the Titanic, nuclear meltdowns, and war. These conversations will address topics such as what historians mean when they say disasters are “constructed,” the kinds of evidence can we use to investigate the history of disasters, and the ways we can use the same evidence to tell different stories. For the second half of the course students will conduct an independent research project, based on analysis of both primary and secondary sources, and apply the historical lenses of our readings to frame analysis. Research topics might include events such as the Great Kanto (Japanese) earthquake of 1923 in which over 100, 000 people died, the US Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the Chernobyl accident of 1986, or the near extinction of select bee species worldwide. The final course assignments will be a 20-25 page research paper and a class presentation.
HST 498-4: Undergrad Research Seminar in History, “Africa and World War II”
W 4:00PM-6:30PM
Bishop Room 326
Dr. Bashir Salau
This seminar course will mainly engage the class in exploring two things: the role of Africa in World War II and the consequences of the war on African individuals and societies. We will begin by considering some important historiographical and methodological issues before exploring the history of Africa during World War II. Major topics to be addressed include: Africa in 1939; major World II conflicts in Africa; African soldiers in war campaigns in Europe and the Far East; American participation in African conflicts; colonial policies in Africa in a time of war; wartime experiences of combatants; race, gender and the shaping of African societies during World War II; and the relationship between the historical experience of World War II and anti-colonialism in Africa. Readings will consist of important historical works that will provide both macro and micro views on how African contributions shaped the war and how the war, in turn, impacted Africa. These readings might serve as models for students’ research. On successful completion of this course students will:
1) Understand the major historiographical debates related to Africa and World War II.
2) Better grasp the methods used in the reconstruction of African history.
3) Have a sound appreciation of the pervasive impact of World War II in Africa
4) Have an understanding of the significant role that Africa played in World War II.
