History

Department Description

The goals of the Department of History are to illuminate the past and the creative contributions of humanity for our students; to clarify the issues of the present in the light of their historical origins; and to engage students in the critical process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting historical information.

Previous graduates in history are engaged in a wide spectrum of activities in the business, professional, and academic worlds. Their careers range from finance to journalism, from insurance management to politics, from librarian and museum work to editing, from teaching on every level to the various fields within the legal profession.

Study Abroad

Saint Mary’s has a long history of providing quality international programs as an essential part of our educational mission—forming women leaders who will make a difference in the world. As this world becomes increasingly interdependent, the College offers an expanding range of semester, year, semester break, and summer study and service programs in a wide variety of countries, and encourages students to take advantage of them. Learn more about the various Study Abroad opportunities.

Teacher Preparation

The History Department in conjunction with the Education Department offers courses leading to state licensing for History/Social Studies.

Programs

Program in History

The department has long encouraged dual majors, combining history with another discipline. The interdepartmental major with humanistic studies may omit the course requirements of Division II.

Department Chair

Jamie Wagman
228 Spes Unica Hall
574-284-4476

Faculty

K. Hamilton, Z. Shuk-man Lee, W. Svelmoe, J. Wagman

Student Learning Outcomes

  • A Saint Mary’s history major identifies and understands salient developments in world and United States history.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major analyzes the historical development of human cultures in their response to their physical, social, intellectual, and political environments and seeks explanations for those developments.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major identifies and understands evidence of historical change from primary sources/records of the past and assesses historical interpretations in secondary sources.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major analyzes how her assumptions about human identity have been influenced by her historical context, and how human identities have been constructed in history.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major researches topics of historical interest based upon critically assessed primary sources and significant secondary sources representing the state of knowledge in the field.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major constructs and critiques her own historical interpretations, based upon a substantial body of research and convincing use of appropriate historical evidence.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major presents her research and historical arguments in a clearly structured, convincing, and professionally acceptable manner in oral presentations.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major writes major research papers following the appropriate professional standards in the historical discipline. Her work displays a clear and convincing writing style and an appropriate understanding of grammar and the principles of writing composition. She writes research papers with a clearly states thesis, reflecting her interpretation of her research, and a convincingly constructed logical argument in defense of that thesis. She articulates her argument and presents her evidence clearly.

Additional Student Learning Outcomes for Women’s History

  • A Saint Mary’s history major with a concentration in women’s history understands the history of feminist movements and women’s contributions to knowledge and achievement.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major with a concentration in women’s history understands the intersectionalities of gender, race, class, sexualities, and other identity categories from historical and contemporary transnational perspectives.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major with a concentration in women’s history understands and can articulate feminist theoretical concepts and terminology.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major with a concentration in women’s history evaluates sources, analyzes discourse, and considers context from a feminist perspective, using feminist methodologies to conduct research about women’s history. She examines and critiques cultural representations and claims about women and gendered identities.
  • A Saint Mary’s history major with a concentration in women’s history uses gender analysis to understand the complex ways in which race, class, religion, and gender come together in different historical moments and places to shape women’s identities.

History Courses

HIST 103  World History I  (3)  

A study of human civilization from its origins to about 1500 A.D. The story of the human spirit arising from the primitive environs of the earliest societies to develop the ideas, institutions and tools that assured all humanity a meaningful existence will be told. The trials and triumphs of humanity everywhere will be highlighted through detailed discussions and audiovisual presentations about the great civilizations of the past. While lectures and discussions will be within a chronological framework, emphasis will be on the rise and fulfillment of cultures and the people who created them.

HIST 104   World History II  (3)  

A study of the modern world from about 1500 A.D. to the present. The great civilizations of Europe, America, Asia and Africa will be discussed with detailed descriptions and audio-visual presentations on the vast empires under which they thrived and the energetic leaders who created them. While lectures and discussions will be within a chronological framework, emphasis will be on the new developments in philosophy, religion, politics, arts, literature, ethics, society, and science and technology—all of which resulted in the creation of the world we live in today.

HIST 168  Great Cities of Europe: The Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Worlds  (3)  

What would it have been like to live in ancient Athens, medieval Paris, or Shakespearean London? What would it have been like to live in Michelangelo's Rome or Botticelli's Florence? This course will tell the story of the great cities of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance Europe, focusing on their social, cultural, intellectual, and women's history. One important learning outcome for the class will be a thorough knowledge of the geography of these cities. By the end of the course, students should know how these cities were shaped over time, as well as understand how their great monuments and artistic achievements reflected European culture. They should also know about daily life in the city. What would a woman making her way through these streets have seen, and how would she have felt about her world? How would it have shaped her identity and opportunities? Dr. Hamilton will use her own photographs to create a visual journey through our cities. The course will satisfy the pre 1648 Division II requirement in the history major and the European requirement of the Women's History Concentration. Also listed as HIST 368.

HIST 171  Modern London and Paris  (3)  

The primary focus of this course will be the history of London and Paris in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries; with a special emphasis on women's history. Can not get credit for both HIST 171 and 371.

HIST 190  Special Topics  (1-3)  
HIST 201  United States History to 1865  (3)  

This course will trace America from multiple beginnings—Native American, African, and European—through the major developments and events that led to the Civil War. It focuses on conquest, slavery, the development of colonial economies and societies, politics, culture, and the lived experiences of everyday women and men.

HIST 202  United States History Since 1865  (3)  

What does it mean to be American? Whatever your answer to this question, chances are it is deeply connected to the themes and events we will discuss in this class. Starting with Reconstruction and ending in the late 20th century, the course will explore major political, social, and cultural transformations. Important themes include urbanization, immigration, consumerism, warfare and America’s rise to global power, civil rights and other social movements, and political culture.

HIST 290  Special Topics  (1-3)  

This course presents selected topics chosen by the professor which are not included in the regular departmental offerings. May be repeated.

HIST 312  Recent America: 1960 to the Present  (3)  

A study of the events, crises, and developments in American history from the turbulent sixties to our own day. The transformation of an ebullient superpower to a nation struggling to recognize and cope with its own limitations.

HIST 314  Southeast Asia and the World  (3)  

How is the black feminist movement in the United States related to Buddhism from Southeast Asia? What roles did Indian migrant workers play in the anticolonial resistance in Southeast Asia during the First and Second World Wars? These are two of the many questions this course will address in order to explore the intimate yet oft-overlooked connections between Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. Moving chronologically from the 18th century onwards, this course explores significant events and issues that have confronted Southeast Asia and the rest of the world up to the present.

HIST 321  The American West  (3)  

Americans are fascinated by their Western heritage, and cowboys and Indians are among our mythic heroes. Emphasis in this course is on the settlement and development of the American West and the role of the West in shaping the American character.

HIST 324  History of Women in the United States  (3)  

A study of how race, class, and gender come together to shape the identities of American women from Colonial times to the present.

HIST 331   The American South  (3)  

This course studies the history and culture of the southern region of the United States from its colonial origins through the late 20th century, and covers the broader categories of southern history such as economics, politics, slavery and race relations, and society. In addition, various expressions of southern culture, such as literature, music, religion, and folklore will be explored.

HIST 333  History of Sexuality in the United States  (3)  

This class will examine histories of sexuality, race, politics and power in the United States. Students will study themes such as histories of courtship and marriage, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender histories, histories of the body, and histories of contraception, reproduction and prostitution. We will discuss the varied debates that have shaped our national understanding of sexuality, and our use of texts, primary sources, fiction and nonfiction will help familiarize students with the process of historical interpretation and also help them gain a deeper understanding of the United States today. Our discussions will draw on critical race theory and feminist theory, and the course will enhance students’ critical writing and speaking skills.

HIST 341  African-American History  (3)  

This course examines African-American history since emancipation. We will read nonfiction and several fictive works on the Reconstruction, the Great War, the Great Migration, the feminist movements, Garveyism, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights movement, among other topics. We will discuss the intersections of race with citizenship, gender, class, and sexuality, and we will draw on critical race theory and feminist theory. We will also examine what kinds of archival sources exist for writing African-American history, and we will discuss the varied debates that have shaped our national understanding of African-American history. Through the use of texts, primary sources, and documentaries, the course aims to familiarize students with the process of historical interpretation and to help students gain a deeper understanding of the United States today.

HIST 342  History of Classical Greece  (3)  

The story of ancient Greece from Minos to Alexander the Great with emphasis on the rivalry between Athens and Sparta. The class is a blend of social, political and military history with particular attention paid to the Golden Age of Pericles, the role of women in Greece, and Greek influence in Asia and Africa.

HIST 343  Classical Rome  (3)  

A critical analysis of the rise of Rome from an agricultural city-state to the urban center of the classical world. The purpose of the course is to show the influence of Rome, not only in laying the basis of Western civilization, but as the progenitor of the Byzantine Empire and the civilization to which it gave birth. In a word, the course deals with the origins of much of the world we live in.

HIST 344  Medieval Civilization  (3)  

The study and interpretation of the nature and contributions of medieval civilization to Western culture with a focus on social, religious, and cultural history.

HIST 347  Renaissance and Reformation  (3)  

The intellectual, cultural and artistic ferment of the 15th-century Europe that launched the modern era will be discussed, along with the deep religious divisions that occurred in the 16th century.

HIST 349  Great Lives and Minds: From Renaissance to Enlightenment  (3)  

European intellectual history from the 13th through the 18th centuries, considered through the lives and works of important thinkers.

HIST 350  Great Lives and Minds: From Enlightenment to Existentialism  (3)  

European intellectual history from the 18th through the 20th centuries, considered through the lives and works of important thinkers.

HIST 359  Europe in the 19th Century: 1815–1914  (3)  

Development and effects of nationalism, liberalism, industrialization, imperialism and socialism on forms of government and currents of thought.

HIST 360  Europe in the 20th Century: 1914–Present  (3)  

The two World Wars and subsequent efforts at achieving a just peace; the rise of the dictators; colonialism and its decline in Asia and Africa; the Cold War; the United States as a world power.

HIST 365  A History of Great Britain to 1600: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Cornwall  (3)  

A survey of the early history of Great Britain, covering its Celtic origins to the Renaissance, focusing primarily on the cultural, social, political, and religious development of medieval Britain.

HIST 366  A History of Great Britain from 1600 to Pres: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, & Cornwell  (3)  

A survey of Great Britain from the Stuart period to the present, this course integrates the social, political, religious, and cultural history of Great Britain as it becomes a dominant world power.

HIST 367  History of Ireland  (3)  

The history of Ireland beginning with the medieval background and the English domination to the modern period. Special emphasis will be given to the movements toward independence and the creation of Northern Ireland.

HIST 368  Great Cities of Europe: The Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Worlds  (3)  

What would it have been like to live in ancient Athens, medieval Paris, or Shakespearean London? What would it have been like to live in Michelangelo's Rome or Botticelli's Florence? This course will tell the story of the great cities of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance Europe, focusing on their social, cultural, intellectual, and women's history. One important learning outcome for the class will be a thorough knowledge of the geography of these cities. By the end of the course, students should know how these cities were shaped over time, as well as understand how their great monuments and artistic achievements reflected European culture. They should also know about daily life in the city. What would a woman making her way through these streets have seen, and how would she have felt about her world? How would it have shaped her identity and opportunities? Dr. Hamilton will use her own photographs to create a visual journey through our cities. The course will satisfy the pre 1648 Division II requirement in the history major and the European requirement of the Women's History Concentration.

HIST 369  History of Revolutionary France  (3)  

Revolutionary France from 1750 to 1871. Political, social and cultural history of the Enlightenment, early attempts at reform, the middle class revolution, the Terror, Napoleon, the Restoration, revolutions in 1830 and 1848, Napoleon III, and the Second Republic.

HIST 370  A History of Modern European Women  (3)  

A study of how ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, and gender come together to shape the identities of modern European women.

HIST 371  Modern London and Paris  (3)  

The primary focus of this course will be the history of London and Paris in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries; with a special emphasis on women's history. Can not get credit for both HIST 171 and 371.

HIST 372  The ‘70s: U.S. Women’s Conferences, Conventions and Confrontations in the 1970s  (3)  

The U.S. women’s history course will examine themes in America in the 1970s such as national anxieties about family decline/concern over the nuclear family, backlash against social movements, nationalism and Democracy, environmental consciousness and racism, and sexual politics and feminism. Selected readings will provide students with historical review of the ‘70s that will help students understand the American past, in addition to current 21st century divides. Students will examine Saint Mary’s College secondary scholarship and primary documents, write several books reviews, and write an article for Wikipedia they will also present before the class during finals week. Through the use of texts, primary sources, and documentaries, the course aims to familiarize students with the process of historical interpretation and to help students gain a deeper understanding of the United States today.

HIST 376  Chinese Women and Society  (3)  

This course introduces the herstory of Chinese women and current social issues in China. Students will gain knowledge about Chinese culture, and skills to compare the development and cross-cultural issues of Chinese and American women as well as global/transnational/international feminism. Topics covered include race, gender and class issues in China as well as concerns for social justice for women in the world.

HIST 377  Russia  (3)  

The emergence of Russia as a state and a nation in the Middle Ages, Christianization of the country, its rise as a Western power in the 17th century, its role in the age of imperialism, the glory of the czars and their decline, the rise of Communist power in Russia, its emergence as a super-power, and its role in the Cold War and after.

HIST 378  The Middle East  (3)  

From the rise of Islam to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries and the emergence of the modern Middle Eastern states.

HIST 382  Modern East/Central Europe  (3)  

The course primarily covers the history of Poland, Bohemia and Hungary from the French Revolution and Napoleon to the transition from communism at the end of the twentieth century. Other countries of the region are considered but less extensively. Topics included are the rise of nationalism, the struggles for independence, and the problem of inter-regional relations.

HIST 384  Africa Since 1800  (3)  

The course examines the major political, economic, and cultural developments of Africa since 1800, including significant external forces, internal developments, and how Africa attempts to cope with forces of change.

HIST 385  Latin America  (3)  

A study of the history and culture of Latin America.

HIST 390  Special Topics  (1-3)  

This course presents selected topics chosen by the professor which are not included in the regular departmental offerings. May be repeated.

HIST 392  Doing History: Oral and Public Histories  (3)  

The research methods course will prepare you for the Senior Seminar, which will be the capstone of your career as a history major. The Advanced Writing and Senior Comprehensive requirements in the history major are designed to give majors experience with the two most important professional activities required of academic historians: writing research articles and presenting that research at professional conferences. In the research methods course you will work as apprentice historians, and our most important objective will be for you to learn to write an excellent research paper.

HIST 397  Independent Study  (1-3)  

Provides an opportunity for properly qualified students to do independent study. Content dependent on student background and interests. Approval of the department chair is required. May be repeated.

HIST 399  Internship  (1-3)  

Practical off-campus experience with an approved history-related institution. Jointly supervised by a faculty member and a representative of the sponsor. Graded S/U. Prerequisites: Junior standing and permission of the department chair. May be repeated.

HIST 401  Medieval Christendom I  (3)  

(For description see HUST 321, 322)

HIST 402  Medieval Christendom II  (3)  

(For description see HUST 321, 322)

HIST 405  Age of Religious Division I  (3)  

(For description see HUST 461, 462)

HIST 406  Age of Religious Division II  (3)  

(For description see HUST 461, 462)

HIST 413  Women in Revolutions  (3)  

The purpose of this class is to look at revolutions and study how they impact on the lives and identities of individuals and groups. The emphasis of the class is on how women observe and participate in what is often a life altering experience. The readings come from women historians who give their take on the various revolutions.

HIST 416  History of Religion in America  (3)  

This course examines the impact that religion has had on American history and culture. The course emphasizes the role that religious subcultures have played and continue to play in shaping the lives of individuals and communities in this country.

HIST 422  Living with the Enemy  (3)  

How did Europeans respond to fascism? What would your response have been to live in Hitler?s Europe? Who resisted? Who collaborated? What were their reasons, and what did they do? This course will be concerned with the European response to fascism. We will study the establishment, triumph, and failure of the natural rights tradition of Classical Liberalism in the West, and the major focus of the course will be on resistance, rescue, and collaboration in Occupied Europe and the Holocaust.

HIST 425  History of Women in Science  (3)  

This course offers an historical perspective on women in the natural, social, applied, and formal sciences, as well as in medicine. We will look at the ways in which women have pursued scientific knowledge, the domestic circumstances and personal relationships that either aided or inhibited their work, and the social and cultural factors that established an environment sometimes hostile to women in science.

HIST 490  Special Topics  (1-3)  

This course presents selected topics chosen by the professor which are not included in the regular departmental offerings. May be repeated.

HIST 495  Senior Seminar  (2)  

In the Senior Seminar, majors completing their Advanced Writing Requirement in the History Department will complete an original research paper based on primary and secondary source interpretation. Students may write on a subject of their choice and are encouraged to identify a potential topic before the beginning of the semester.

HIST 497  Independent Study  (1-3)  

Provides an opportunity for properly qualified students to do independent study. Content dependent on student background and interests. Approval of the department chair is required. May be repeated.

Four-Year Plan for History Major

This is a sample 4-year path, and you may contact History chair Jamie Wagman at jwagman@saintmarys.edu for individualized advising in the major.

Please note that we have three categories of European History courses, based on their content and time period (Medieval, Modern, and an elective category), and students need one course in all three categories.

If you decide to study abroad and you are comping in History, please note that HIST 392 is only offered in the Spring and HIST 495 Senior Seminar is only offered in the Fall. We do not have any pre-requisites other than students enrolling in HIST 492 before taking HIST 495.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
First SemesterCredits
Sophia Language I
Sophia CTS or W
SPLL 101
Sophia
Sophia
Elective
 Credits0
Second Semester
Sophia Language II
Sophia CTS or W
Sophia
Sophia
Sophia
 Credits0
Second Year
First Semester
Sophia
Sophia
HIST 201
United States History to 1865 1
or World History I
3
 Credits3
Second Semester
Sophia
Sophia
HIST 202
United States History Since 1865
or World History II
3
 Credits3
Third Year
First Semester
Sophia
HIST 201
United States History to 1865
or World History I
3
Upper elective in U.S. 3
Upper elective in European History 3
 Credits9
Second Semester
Sophia
HIST 202
United States History Since 1865
or World History II
3
Upper elective in Africa, Asia, Middle East, or Latin America 3
HIST 392 Doing History: Oral and Public Histories 3
 Credits9
Fourth Year
First Semester
HIST 495 Senior Seminar (IF comping in HIST) 2
Upper elective in Africa, Asia, Middle East, or Latin America 3
 Credits5
Second Semester
Upper elective in European History 3
Upper elective in European History 3
 Credits6
 Total Credits35
1

HIST 103 and 104 are LO1: Humanities/History and LO3: Global Learning B courses.

HIST 201 is a LO1: Humanities, History, LO2: Women's Voices, and LO3: Social Responsibility A course, and HIST 202 is a LO1 Humanities/History and LO2: Women's Voices course.

HIST 201 is offered as a CTS class and as a W class. Many of our electives are also certified as LO1, LO2 and LO3 courses.