History Course Guide Spring 2012

HIST 110          History Outside the Classroom, Required Course                                                    

 

All History and History Education majors who entered Siena under the 2008-2009 catalog or later must complete (pass) this course by the end of their senior year. It is a departmental requirement for graduation. The course is designed to give History and History Education majors an opportunity to experience history-related activities beyond the normal classroom. To complete this requirement, students must consult their advisor about an experience and complete the departmental forms. See the catalog for examples of what may qualify to fulfill the requirement. The course is graded P/F and carries 0 credits.

                        Instructors: Dr. Barbara Reeves-Ellington OR Dr. Claire Parham

                        PERMISSION REQUIRED

This is the honors level section of HIST101. Permission is required.

 

 

 

This is the second of two courses dealing with world history offered at Siena College (I do not include here HIST101, The Shaping of the Contemporary World). It covers the period between the emergence of the modern world, starting in 1500 C.E. and the advent of the twentieth century. This is a broad survey that emphasizes certain themes: the increasing contacts among civilizations, “technology and the environment,” and “diversity and dominance.”

Course Objectives:

(1)           to introduce the student to the broad patterns in the emergence of human societies and of an increasingly integrated world;

(2)           to allow students to appreciate the importance of technology and the environment in human history;

(3) to appreciate the diversity of human societies and the tragic effects of their efforts to dominate one another

 

This course explores American history from early European settlement through the end of the Civil War in 1865. Some of the key topics for this course include: the reasons for and the nature of settlement in the various colonies; the collision of English and Native American cultures; the origins and development of African slavery in North America; the development of distinctly American political, social, and economic institutions; the ideology of American Independence; the creation of a new political order; economic and geographic expansion; growing sectional division; and the causes of the Civil War. These topics will be explored from political, economic, and social perspectives. Tentative requirements will include substantial reading from a survey text, a document reader, and one or two monographs, a mid-term examination, a final examination, class participation, a class debate, and two short papers.

 

A survey of the political, economic, cultural, and social history of the United States from 1865 to the present.  Themes include the question of "who is an American?" examining how race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and culture has served to divide and unite those residing in the United States, as well as the growth of the US as a global power in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.   Two textbooks are required:  Henretta, et. al., America's History, v. 2, Since 1865, 7th edition, and Fernlund, Documents for America's History, v. 2, Since 1865, 7th ed.  Assignments include weekly reading questions (1 page each), two essay exams, and a book review.

 

A survey of the origins and development of the American Revolution and the United States from the British imperial crisis of the 1760s through the conclusion of the War of 1812. Topics will include the political, social, and economic causes of the American Revolution, the military course of the Revolutionary War, the importance of the Atlantic World in the Revolutionary Era, the effect of the Revolution on slavery, gender, Native Americans, religious freedom, and representative government, and the early diplomatic relations between the United States and the Atlantic World.

 

Course Description: This is the second of two courses dealing with the history of the Middle East offered here at Siena. It covers the period between about 1800 and the present; it provides the student with historical knowledge to appreciate the modern experience of Middle Eastern peoples; and it offers broad generalizations rather than a highly specialized and narrowly-focused approach. No specialized preparation or prerequisite is needed, other than HIST101 or its equivalent. Curiosity and a willingness to work with unfamiliar and new materials are essential, however.

Course Objectives: These conform to the broader college learning goals that are reproduced below.

(1)   to introduce the student to a major world region with a long history and tradition;

(2)   to illumine present conditions at least in part by acquiring knowledge and understanding of the recent past, the modern period;

(3)   to study the emergence since 1800 of the regional Middle Eastern state system, deep economic transformation, and wrenching social and cultural change. Particular attention is given to the causes of conflict and war.

And more broadly:

(4) Doing history – demonstrating and understanding the methods of finding things out about the past, even a remote and unfamiliar past;

(5)  Analysis and synthesis – taking apart a primary source and reading between the lines; reconstructing a portion of the past based on one’s reading and reflection; weighing evidence and making informed judgments;

(6) Application of knowledge - handling large blocks of content and using one’s own words to explain what one has studied and understood;

(7) Geographical knowledge: to identify the principal topographical, political, and cultural-geographical features of the Middle East before modern times.

 

 

This course will familiarize the student with the persons, events and ideas that have inspired the Franciscan Movement.  The student will come to understand the background of Franciscanism in the context of the High Middle Ages, and in contrast to earlier forms of religious life within the Christian tradition.  The student will learn about the role of Franciscans in the development of western art; in higher education; in politics; in the age of exploration; and in the development of Christian Spirituality over the past 800 years.  Appropriate attention will be paid to the internal struggles of Franciscans; to the role of women in the Franciscan family; and to the place of Franciscans in the Anglican Communion. The course will culminate in a look at the founding of Siena College as a Franciscan contribution to higher education.

 

This course will examine the history of medieval Europe from 800 to1350, including feudalism, the crusades, the development of medieval kingdoms, the expansion of Europe, and the crises of the late Middle Ages. Knights, Popes, kings, saints, heretics, Jews, Muslims, peasants, merchants, and beggars will all make an appearance, and the history of women in the Middle Ages will also be a topic of study. Emphasis will be placed on the social and cultural history of the era, including politics, social trends, the economy, gender, wars, religion, and daily life. The course will be based heavily on reading and discussion, with material actually written during the Middle Ages given high priority.

 

The cultural reach of Disney companies is impossible to overestimate.  Beginning with Mickey Mouse cartoons in the late 1920s, the Disney empire quickly spread from cartoons to films, television shows, and, of course, Disney theme parks. The Disney message was, and perhaps still is, based on his version of the American dream:  how the individual in America, through sheer will and innate goodness, could achieve perfection.  Regarded as a genius in the 1930s, by the 1960s, social critics at home took aim at Disney’s nostalgia-driven ideology and his corporate-sponsored history, while observers abroad accused the Disney Company of cultural imperialism.  Was Disney, his films, and his expansive company evil, or not?  What about today’s Disney? This course will consider Disney himself, the cartoons, films, television shows, and theme parks, and look at the stories they tell and the stories they do not.  It will also consider the physical impact of Disney’s theme parks and his utopian visions of urban planning. As an honors seminar, it will be a discussion-based course that will require extensive reading and writing, including an original research paper of 12-15 pages.  No exams.

 

Warning:  Students do not need to agree with Disney’s critics, but they do need to take their arguments seriously.  If you are not ready to criticize as well as praise Disney, you may not be ready for this course.

 

TRAVEL COURSE:  March 9-15 (Friday-Weds. Spring Break) to Disney World, Orlando, Florida.  Cost:  approx. $1,600.00.  Includes airfare, hotel, ground transportation, park passes

This course considers Europe between 1914 and 1945 as an age of extremes, characterized by violence and peace movements, increasing living standards and devastating depressions, and technological wonders and horrors. The emphasis of this course is on human experiences, and we will concentrate on analyzing the role of war, revolutions, and popular movements in shaping the politics and culture of modern Europe. Against this background of political upheaval and renewal, we will pay particular attention to the changing roles of women, the impact that a heightened awareness of class and ethnicity had on people's everyday lives, and Europe's changing place in the world. This course is meant to provide students with an overview of European history during this turbulent time. Course requirements include readings and discussions of secondary and primary sources, essay exams, a geography quiz, and a semester-long research project that will require a class presentation.

 

Most Americans have heard of Canada and could probably locate our vast northern neighbor on a map of the world. However, few have taken the time to learn something of substance about the history of the United States’ largest trading partner and closest political ally. In this course, students will be introduced to the differing social, political, and economic makeup of Canada and the United States from the end of the American Revolution to the present day. Even though, these two North American neighbors have been leading participants in many of the military and economic crises of the twentieth century, often the leaders of these two nations have taken divergent paths. Through the use of national, ideological, cultural, and economic scholarship, students will consider whether Americans and Canadians are similar to one another or completely different on all levels; address the impact of geography on this interpretation; and contemplate how contemporary events, including September 11th 2001, highlight the importance of our mutual national security and borders and have made the histories of these two ambivalent neighbors forever intertwined.

 

This is a course that will appeal to anyone who has ever heard of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great or Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. We will trace the rise of the Russian State from its earliest origins in Kievan Rus, through the period of domination by Moscow, to the rise and fall of St. Petersburg as the Imperial Capital. Attention will be paid to the minority groups within the Russian Empire and to social, intellectual, religious and cultural contributions arising from the Russian lands and peoples. We will begin with legendary events such as Prince Vladimir's Christianization of the Russians in 988, and end with the overthrow of the last Tsar in 1917.
 

An examination of the military experience of the United States from the early European settlements to the post-Cold War period. Emphasis will be placed on the challenges posed by war and the nation’s response. The role of the military in a democracy, the influence of English civil-military traditions, the impact of war on society, the campaigns and battles of the major conflicts,

and America’s role in the international arena will also be discussed. The lectures and readings are supplemented by a field trip to the Gettysburg battlefield (this is optional).

 

 

Internships are open to second-semester Juniors and Seniors who have completed a minimum of 9 credit hours in history, including U.S. history, and who present a GPA of 2.75 or higher. Internships involve work in local historical societies, museums, archival and resource centers, etc. The places where past interns have most often served include

¨       Historic Cherry Hill (a house museum in Albany)

¨       Rensselaer County Junior Museum,

¨       New York State Museum,

¨       Historic Albany Project-New York State Museum

¨       National Museum of Racing

¨       Saratoga National Battlefield.

 

 

 

This honors course will attempt to separate historical fact from popular myth regarding two of the most well known figures in Japanese history: the samurai and the geisha. We will examine their historical origins and social transformations, as well as their depiction in both Western and Japanese popular culture. Our task will be to understand the historical importance of the allure that these figures continue to hold on our imaginations. Students will lead classroom discussions for this reading and writing-intensive honors course. Additional requirements will include written responses to readings, presentations, and a series of analytical papers.
 

This seminar aims to introduce history students to both the methods and philosophical problems of history. That is why it is called a proseminar, because it is rooted in problems of a particular academic discipline. The seminar will first consider the way history is done (or history as a way of thinking), then turn to the philosophy of history and the questions historians have asked about their discipline. Students will complete readings in the theory and practice of history and assignments will include a primary source analysis, an annotated bibliography, and a research prospectus in preparation for the capstone.

 

The capstone course is focused on the production of a thesis paper of approximately 30 pages that will be based on primary and secondary sources.  Students will be writing and researching their own papers as well as acting as peer reviewers.

 

 

 

1. Do your research: Please read the online information about HIST/AMST480 at www.siena.edu/history under “History and American Studies Internships.”  

 

Second-semester Juniors and Seniors who have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours in history, including U.S. history, and who present at least a 3.0 GPA in History and 2.9 overall.

 

 

Name_____________________________________

 

Major ____________________________________

 

Overall GPA _________ GPA in major ________

 

Projected graduation date_____________________

 

4. Tell us why you want an internship. Tell us 1) why you wish to take an internship rather than a regular class, 2) what you hope to gain from it, and 3) what local historical societies or museums you may be interested in.