• Courses on the 100 level are introductory and are designed to fulfill the general education requirement in Historical Perspectives.
• Courses on the 200 level are introductory courses designed to prepare students for advanced study in history; HST 203 also fulfills the general education requirement in Historical Perspectives.
• Courses on the 300 level focus on particular regions, era or themes; they are intended for history majors and minors, social studies majors, and other interested students.  All 300-and 400-level courses have prerequisites
• 600-level courses are intended for graduate students and very-well qualified seniors. 

HST 101 Introduction to World Civilization Designed to support general education goals and develop historical perspectives, this course emphasizes the comparison of selected African, American, Asian, and European civilizations from ancient times to the present, exploring the variety of activities that divide human beings across cultures, time, and space. Fulfills Historical Perspectives Foundation. Three credits. Offered every semester.

HST 102 Introduction to European Civilizations Designed to support general education goals and develop historical capabilities, this course examines the history of Europe from the later Middle Ages to the present, emphasizing the interaction of political, social, economic, intellectual and cultural factors to produce historical change and alter Europe's relationship with the rest of the world. Fulfills Historical Perspectives Foundation. Three credits. Offered every semester.

HST 103 Introduction to American Civilizations Designed to support general education goals and develop historical capabilities.  This course examines American history from European contact with the Native Americans to the present, emphasizing the interaction of political, social, economic, intellectual and cultural factors that shaped the United States and the nation's interactions with the world. Fulfills Historical Perspectives Foundation. Three credits. Offered every semester. 

HST 203 World History to 1500 A.D. Basic content and methods of history through an introductory study of world cultures before 1500. The course focuses on specific societies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere, analyzing and comparing the ways in which political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic factors influenced the development of these various cultures.  Required for majors.  Fulfills Historical Perspectives Foundation.  Supplemental writing skills course.  Three credits. Offered every semester.

HST 204 World History Since 1500. Basic content and methods of history through an introductory study of world cultures from 1500 to present. The course focuses on specific societies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere, analyzing and comparing the ways in which political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic factors influenced the development of these various cultures.  Required for majors. Supplemental writing skills course.  Three credits. Offered every semester.  

HST 205 American History to 1877. The formation of American character and society, the role of democracy and the impact of the Revolution and Civil War on values and political institutions.  Required for majors. Supplemental writing skills course.  Three credits. Offered every semester.  

HST 206 American History Since 1877. Political systems in an urban industrial society, a mass production economy, emergence of America as a world power and the quest for social equality.  Required for majors. Supplemental writing skills course.  Three credits. Offered every semester.

HST 210 Empire, Culture and Conflict. An introduction to the history of non-Western cultures and the development of their relationships with Western Europe and the United States. Regional emphasis varies. Course may not be repeated for additional credit. Supplemental writing skills course. Fulfills World Perspectives requirement. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters. 

HST 211 History of Islamic Civilization. An introduction to the history of Islamic civilization and the development of its relationships with Western Europe and the United States. Supplemental writing skills course. Fulfills World Perspectives requirement. Part of Religion theme. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters.

HST 300 Writing History. Students will learn about the writing of history by writing it, basing their accounts on primary sources. They will engage in careful, objective consideration and criticism of the writing of other students in the class, and their own work will receive the same kind of attention.  Writing topics may vary from semester to semester. A supplemental writing skills course. Required for majors. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: Completion of writing skills course.

HST 301 Colonial U.S. History to 1763. A history of the British North American colonies through the conclusion of the Seven Years War.  Topics include the origins of the colonies, relations with the Native Americans, British colonial policy, the origins of slavery, and social, political and cultural development of the colonies.  Three credits. Offered winter semester, odd numbered years.  Prerequisites: HST 205, 206, or junior standing. 

HST 302 American Revolution and Federalist Era. Topics include changes in British colonial policy following the Seven Years War and the ensuing crisis, the political, military, and social histories of the American Revolution, the drafting and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and foreign and domestic crises of the 1790's.  Three credits. Offered winter semester, even numbered years.  Prerequisites: HST 205 or junior standing. 

HST 303 Era of Sectional Conflict and Civil War.  Examination of U.S. social, political, and cultural history from 1800 to 1877.  Emphasis on the rise of sectionalism and the causes and consequences of the American Civil War.  Three credits.  Offered winter semester, even-numbered years.  Prerequisite: HST 205 or junior standing. 

HST 305 The United States Transformed. An in-depth chronological survey of the United States during the years 1877 to 1929. Emphasis will be given to changes in the social, industrial, agricultural and urban structures as the United States was transformed from an agricultural nation to an industrial world power. Three credits. Offered fall semester, even numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 206 or junior standing. 

HST 306 Recent US History, 1930 to Present. Analysis of the forces that have shaped society in contemporary America: the Cold War, consumer economy, the civil rights movement, youth culture, the new woman, development of the welfare state, new left and neo-conservatism. Three credits. Offered fall semester, odd numbered years.  Prerequisite:  HST 206 or junior standing. 

HST 311 History of Religion in the United States.  This course is a study of the major developments in the religious history of the United States from the first North American colonies to the start of the twenty-first century, concentrating on the relationship between religion and other aspects of American history.  Part of Religion Theme.  Offered fall semester.  Prerequisite: WRT 150.

HST 312 History of American Women. Analysis of the political, social, economic, and cultural history of women in American society from the colonial era through the present. Topics include domesticity, suffrage, health, employment, race, war and feminism. Three credits. Offered winter semester, even numbered years.  Prerequisites:  HST 205, 206 or junior standing.  

HST 314 African-American History. Examines the history of African Americans from forced migration through the Civil Rights Movement. Issues studied include race relations, black culture in slavery, emancipation, the origins of segregation, the "great migration," and the Civil Rights Movement.  Three credits. Offered fall semester, even numbered years. Prerequisites: HST 205, 206 or junior standing or consent of the instructor. 

HST 315 Latinos: The Forging of Ethnic Identities. Examination of the ways in which Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Central Americans and others have over time created ethnic identities in the United States out of their transnational experiences. Also explores the impact of this process on American political, economic, and social structures. Three credits. Offered winter semester.  Part of American Mosaic theme.  Prerequisite: HST 206 or junior standing.  

HST 316 U.S. Civil Rights Movement History. This course will focus on United States civil rights leaders and their rhetoric of resistance, and focus on the social and cultural formations that undermined racial segregation. It will also examine the events and forces that created space for a successful movement. Part of Civil and Human Rights Movements theme. Three credits. Offered fall semesters.  Prerequisite: Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. 

HST 317 History of American Foreign Relations. Historical development of United States relations with foreign powers focusing on issues of war and peace. Concentration on significant periods of policy formation and change, with attention to factors determining policy. Part of the Making War and Peace theme.  Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters.    Prerequisite:  Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. 

HST 318 History of Democracy in America. Examines the historical development of democratic principles, ideologies, and practices in American history.  Period varies.  Focuses on the range and limits of democracy in American history, debates among Americans over democracy and the practice of democracy in a variety of areas, including parties, voting, citizenship, and the presidency.  Part of Democracy theme.  Three credits.  Offered winter semester.  Prerequisite: Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing.  

HST 320 American Indians. An examination of selected topics and peoples from among the diverse Native American peoples north of Mexico from the mythic beginnings to the modern era. Topics include problems of writing Indian history, ethnohistory, Indian-white relations, environmentalism, survival, assimilation, and Indian perspectives on American history. Three credits. Offered winter semester.  Part of Perception theme. Prerequisites: HST 205, 206 or junior standing.

HST 323 Michigan History. A survey of the major economic, political, and social themes in Michigan. Special emphasis will be placed on the urban development of Detroit and Grand Rapids, the auto industry, race relations, and modern political trends. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters.  Prerequisite: HST 206 or junior standing.

HST 325 History of American Sports.  Course examines the history of American sports from folk games and blood sports to the modern era of professional sports.  Course will explore impact of broad, social, political, and economic changes upon the development of America's sporting culture.  Special emphasis placed upon issues of race, class, and gender.  Part of the Sport and Life General Education Theme.  Offered Fall and Winter semesters.  Three credits.  Prerequisite: Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. 

HST 326 Industrializing America. Examines labor and working- class culture from the artisan republic through the industrial revolution and beyond. Topics studied include the evolution of class relations, working-class culture, the labor movement, labor and gender, labor and race. Three credits. Offered winter semester, odd numbered years. Prerequisites:  HST 205, 206 or junior standing.

HST 327 History of American Urban Society. An historical analysis of American urban structures including the commercial city, the industrial city, the suburbs, and the edge city. These structures will be seen as metaphorical theatrical stages upon which ethnic, racial, gender, and economic groups create social and cultural formations. Part of Cities theme.  Offered fall and winter semesters.  Three credits.  Prerequisite: Completion of  Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. 

HST 328 Constitutional History of the US. Introduction to the constitutional history of the United States, with particular focus on the creation of the Constitution, the role of judicial review and the changing meaning of the Constitution. Three credits. Offered winter semester, even numbered years.  Prerequisites: HST 205, 206 or junior standing.  

HST 329 Intellectual History of the United States. A study of the major intellectual traditions includes the Puritan synthesis of the 17th Century, the republican ideologies of the 18th Century, the romantic movement of the 19th Century, and the existentialist ethos of the 20th Century.  Three credits. Offered winter semester, odd numbered years. Prerequisites: HST 205, 206 or junior standing. 

HST 330 Early Latin America. A comparative examination of common Latin America socio-economic, political, and cultural topics from pre-Columbian times to the nineteenth century.  Three credits. Offered fall semester, even numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 210 or junior standing. 

HST 331 Modern Latin America. A comparative examination of common socio-economic, political, and cultural topics in 19th and 20th century Latin American societies. Three credits. Offered fall semester, odd numbered years.  Prerequisite: HST 210 or junior standing. 

HST 333 Survey of Modern Chinese History. Introduction to Modern Chinese History from the late Ch'ing Dynasty to the present. Particular emphasis will be in China's two revolutions in 1911 and 1949 and the rise of Communism. Three credits.  Offered fall semester, odd-numbered years.  Prerequisite: Junior standing. 

HST 334 The Making of the West Indies.  A survey of Caribbean history from the pre-colonial era to the rise of nationalism and independence.  Course will empahsize specific islands and will cover a wide range of topics, such as the rise of the plantation system, slavery and emancipation, cultural retention, resistance, migration, and inter-regional relations.  Three credits.  Offered fall semester of even-numbered years.   Prerequisite: HST 210 or junior standing.

HST 335 African Civilizations Before 1870. African civilizations to the nineteenth century. It will concentrate on the economic, cultural, social, and religious characteristics of specific African societies before European conquest of the continent. Topics include human evolution, languages, dress, social organization, Atlantic slave trade, slavery in Africa, and state formation. Three credits. Offered winter semester, even numbered years. Prerequisite:  HST 210 or junior standing. 

HST 336 Africa after 1870. A study of Africa from late nineteenth century to the present. It will focus on African societies on the eve of European colonial conquest; conquest and the Africans' response, transformation of African societies under colonial rule; the rise of nationalism and the process of decolonization and post-independence developments. Three credits.  Offered winter semester, odd numbered years.  Prerequisites: HST 210 or junior standing; students are encouraged to take HST 335.  

HST 337 The Age of Islamic Empire. A historical and cultural examination of the Islamic peoples from pre-Islamic Arabia to the end of World War I. Emphasis on social, religious, economic, and political factors during each phase in Islam's development since the eighth century.  Three credits.  Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: HST 203 and 204 or junior standing.  

HST 338 Modern Middle East. A survey of cultural, economic, and political developments in the Middle East and North Africa from the end of World War I, with particular attention to the rise of nationalism and issues of modernization.  Three credits.  Offered winter semester.  Prerequisite: HST 204 and 206 or junior standing.  

HST 340 A History of East Asia to 1800. Introduces major themes of the history of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam) from prehistory to 1800.  Explores cultural interactions among East Asian countries as well as their indigenous cultural traits.  Some basic skills, such as critical reading and writing, will also be practiced.  Three credits.  Offered winter semesters, odd-numbered years. 

HST 341 A history of East Asia Since 1800. Introduces major themes of the history of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam) from 1800 to the present.  Explores socio-political interactions with the West as well as the changing identities of East Asia in the modern world.  Also involves basic skills, such as critical reading and writing.  Three credits.  Offered winter semesters, even-numbered years. 

HST 342 History of East Asian Religions.  Introduces the major East Asian religious traditiohns and their modern developments through historical perspectives; also explores religious primary materials and interpretative secondary scholarship.  Part of Religion theme.  Three credits.  Offered fall and winter semesters.  Prerequisite: Completion of  Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing.  

HST 345 Ancient Mediterranean & Orient. Examination of literate civilizations of the ancient world from their origins in the Mesopotamian, Nile, Indus, and Yellow River Valleys through Classical Greece to the culmination in the great empires of Han China, Parthian Persia, and Rome.  Includes comparative study of institutional, social, economic, intellectual and religious developments and trends.  Three credits. Offered fall semester, odd numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 203 or junior standing. 

HST 350 Classical Greece and Rome. Study of the historical developments of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, including examination of the social, religious, economic, literary and artistic aspects of these cultures. Three credits. Offered fall semester.  Prerequisites: HST 203 or junior standing.  

HST 355 The Middle Ages. Cultural, political, and economic aspects of medieval Europe. Emphasis on the intellectual, social, artistic, and spiritual uniqueness of medieval civilization.  Three credits.  Offered winter semester.  Prerequisite: HST 203 or junior standing.

HST 360 Tudor and Stuart England. English history from 1485 to 1714 with appropriate attention to political, constitutional, and religious issues. Three credits. Offered winter semester, even numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 204 or junior standing. 

HST 361 Modern Britain. Examines Britain's social, political, and economic history from 1688 to the present. Topics include: industrialization, building and collapse of empire, two world wars and other major political and social changes in modern British history. Three credits. Offered winter semester, even numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 204 or junior standing. 

HST 363 European Social and Cultural History. Survey of European social and cultural history in the period 1300-1800, combining primary sources with modern studies of specific topics such as popular culture, women's history, witchcraft, and peasant rebellions. Three credits. Offered fall semester, even- numbered years. Prerequisites: HST 203 or 204 or junior standing.

HST 364 Renaissance and Reformation Europe. Survey of European history from 1350 to 1560. Topics include political, social, intellectual and religious history, with emphasis on Renaissance Italy and Reformation Germany, and on the connections between these changes.  Three credits.  Offered fall semester.  Prerequisite: Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. Part of Changing Ideas: Changing Worlds theme.

HST 365 Early Modern Europe. Major emphases are the development of the early modern state and the crisis of the seventeenth century. Appropriate attention is given to economic, social, and intellectual developments. Three credits. Offered fall semester, odd numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 204 or junior standing. 

HST 370 History of Medicine and Health. Survey of medical and health related topics from ancient Greece through the present. Course units will include disease migration, unorthodox medicine, professionalization, sanitary science, bacteriology, medicalization of deviance, nursing, philanthropy, gender, colonialism, environmental/industrial medicine, Medicare/Medicaid, and AIDS. A supplemental writing skills course. Part of Health, Illness, and Healing theme.  Three credits.  Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisites: Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing.  

HST 371 History of Gender, Family, Sexuality. Explores the history of gender, family and sexuality in selected modern European and North American countries. It will examine how men's and women's role, the deomgraphics of and ideas about family life, and understandings of sexuality have changed over time. Part of Gender, Society, and Culture theme. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters.  Prerequisite: HST 204 or junior standing. 

HST 372 From Slavery to Freedom. Ironicall, modern concepts of freedom emerged from societies deeply investin in its opposite, slavery. This course looks at the history of slavery and its abolition in four American socieites - Haiti, the U.S., Cuba, and Brazil - to distinguish the distinctive ways in which each of them defined and constructed freedom. Part of Freedom and Social Control theme. Three credits.  Offered fall semester.  Prerequisite: 210, LAS 210 or junior standing. 

HST 374 Revolution in the Americas. Men and women make history, sometimes through gradual, passive means and sometimes through sudden, active means. In the Americas, both categories of history-making have been common. This course explores international relations in the hemisphere by comparing revolutionary and evolutionary processes of change from Tierra del Fuego to the Northwest Territories. Part of the Continuity of Change in the Americans theme. Three credits.  Offered winter semester.  Prerequisite: 210, LAS 210 or junior standing. 

HST 376 History of Witches. Examines the wave of witch trials in Europe and New England in the 16th and 17th centuries, from its origins in medieval Christianity and folklore to the Salem witch trials of 1692, from a variety of perspectives with emphasis on the marginalization of the accused witches within their communities. Part of Marginality and Difference theme. Three credits.  Offered fall and winter semesters.  Prerequisite: Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. 

HST 377 History of Warfare.  Survery of the role of warfare in world history from prehistory to the beginning of the industrial era. Uses a variety of media and sources to examine why and how humans have fought wars and how warfare has affected different aspects of human experience in different world regions and eras. Part of Making War and Peace theme. Three credits.  Offered fall and winter semesters.  Prerequisite: Completion of Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. 

HST 380 Special Topics in History. A study of special topics, areas, or periods of history not offered in the regular curriculum. The selected focus will be described in the class schedule. Expectations of students in this course approximate those of other 300-level history courses. One to four credits. Prerequisite: Junior standing.  

HST 384 Revolutionary Europe, 1789-1900. Europe from the French Revolution to 1900. Topics include thought, politics, foreign affairs, culture, war and revolution in the age of industrialization and nationalism. Three credits. Offered winter semester, odd numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 204 or junior standing.

HST 385 Europe 1900-1945. Examination of European history 1900 to 1945, including Belle Epoque politics, society and culture; World War I; politics of peace-making; revolution and civil war in Russia; inter-war era; Stalin's rise to power; European fascism, with emphasis on Nazi Germany; diplomacy of the 1930's; and World War II. A supplemental writing skills course. Three credits. Offered fall semester, odd numbered years. Prerequisite: HST 204 or junior standing.

HST 386 Europe Since World War II. Examines Europe from the end of the Second World War to the present. Topics include: post-war Europe; the Soviet bloc; the Cold War; decolonization; political, social, and cultural developments in East and West Europe; the European Economic Community; the disintegration of the Communist bloc; contemporary Europe. A supplemental writing skills course. Part of Global Change theme.  Three credits.  Offered fall or winter semesters.  Prerequisite: Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing.  

HST 387 Modern Germany.  A survey of German history and culture since 1870, including the Imperial period of Bismarck and Wilhelm II, World War I, the Weimar Republic, Hitler's Third Reich, World War II, post-war division, and reunified Germany. Three credits.  Offered winter semesters, odd numbered years.  Prerequisite: Completion of the Historical Perspectives Foundation or junior standing. 

HST 389 Russian History. From the ninth through the nineteenth century. Topics include the origins of Russian expansion, the development of Russian civilization, and the origins of Revolution.  Three credits.  Offered fall semester, even numbered years.  Prerequisites: HST 203 and 204 or junior standing.  

HST 390 Soviet History. From the Russian Revolution to the recent past. Topics include Lenin, Stalin, World War II, and the Cold War.  Three credits.  Offered winter semester, odd numbered years.  Prerequisite: HST 204 or junior standing.  

HST 391 Russian Thought - Ninth to Twentieth Centuries. History of Russian thought from the ninth to the twentieth century, including Byzantine, Mongol, and Western influences. Three credits. Offered fall semester, odd numbered years.  Prerequisites: HST 203 and 204 or junior standing.  

HST 399 Independent Study. Intensive study of a topic, arranged as to credit and content with a member of the department. No more than three credits of History 399 may be applied to the major or minor. One to three credits. Offered on arrangement. Prerequisite: Junior standing. 

HST 490 History Internship. Supervised work experience in a history related field, initiated by the student who must prepare a proposal in consulation with a faculty advisor and a work-site supervisor. The student will submit a final report; both the work-site supervisor and the faculty advisor will evaluate the internship.  One to three credits.  Offered every semester.  Prerequisite: 15 hours of course work in history and permission of the department chair.  

HST 495 Varieties of History (Capstone). Examines the development of historical writing and various approaches to interpretation. Case studies will vary from year to year. For history majors only except by permission of the chair. Required for majors. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters.  Prerequisite: HST 300 and senior standing.

HST 498 Senior Thesis. Working with a faculty advisor, the student conceives and completes an individualized historical research project resulting in a written paper evaluated by the faculty advisor. 

Graduate Courses

History majors who have completed 85 or more credits and who have maintained a GPA of 3.5 or higher may enroll in graduate courses with permission of the instructor and the chair. 

HST 600 Historiography. An examination of the rise and development of historical writing, problems of historical interpretation, and the philosophy of history. Offered every third year. 

HST 605 Techniques in Local and Archival History. An introduction to techniques of using material from local archives and other nearby sources for research and preparation of classroom materials. Three credits. Offered summers of even numbered years. 

HST 625 The United States in the Nuclear Age. A study of major political and diplomatic developments in U.S. history, 1945-1975. Three credits. Offered every third year. 

HST 630 The Middle East in the Twentieth Century. An introduction to the contemporary history of the Middle East, focusing on the recent crisis areas and problems of modernization. Three credits. Offered every third year. 

HST 632 A History of Brazil. Larger than the continental United States, Brazil offers much to the study of the modern world. The course uses Brazilian history from 1500 to the present to examine major questions which continue to perplex analysts of the human condition. Course requires no prior knowledge of the history of Brazil.  Three credits.  Offered every other year.  Prerequisites: Consent of the instructor or graduate standing.  

HST 633 Issues in Third World History. An introduction to major debates in modern Asian, African, and/or Latin American history, emphasizing the critical analysis of Third World interpretations of history, modernization, politics, colonialism, nationalism, and society. Three credits. Offered every other year. 

HST 643 The French Revolution. An examination of both the history and historiography of the French Revolution of 1789, emphasizing critical analysis of sources and their interpretation. Three credits. Offered every third year. 

HST 648 European Origins of World Wars I and II. An investigation of the causes, both long-term and proximate, of the two world wars fought during the first half of the twentieth century, emphasizing varying interpretations of the origins of the wars. Three credits. Offered every third year. 

HST 680 Selected Topics in History. Study of selected historical topics or periods not offered in the regular curriculum. Topics vary between United States and World History.  Three credits.  Offered every year.  Prerequsites: Consent of instructor.