Below is a partial list of courses. For the semester's complete offerings, see the Registrar's iGPS site. The IUB Course Bulletin also has full list of History Department courses past, present, and future.
What is America and how did it come to be? Who are Americans? What is our “founding” legacy? What is “freedom” in the context of history? We'll explore the writings, images, and oral testimonies by or about people of African descent in Early America up through 1865 to reconstruct Black voices and to understand the wider context of early America. These voices offer critical perspectives on both historical and present-day American origins, identity, and ideals. MTWR 11am-12:15pm, online. Fulfills GenEd S&H and COLL CASE S&H.
HIST-H101 with Professor Guardino
Momentous changes in the early twentieth century affected people all over the world and laid the groundwork for much of the human experience today. We will consider themes like industrialism, colonialism, gender, racism, nationalism, fascism, socialism and war. Students will learn to interpret evidence and form arguments.
HIST-D103 with Professor Saburova
If you want to understand Russian politics now, start with the Russian history in the 20th century. We will look at late Imperial Russia, the Russian Revolution and Stalinism; the emergence, evolution and final collapse of the Soviet Union, and Putin's rise to power. We combine a survey of political events, economic and social processes at the 'macro' level with a search to understand the lived experience of those people who made up this vast and diverse country.
HIST-H105 with Professor Ransford
Evolution of American society: political, economic social structure; racial and ethnic groups, sex roles; Indian, inter-American, and world diplomacy of United States; evolution of ideology, war, territorial expansion, industrialization, urbanization, international events and their impact on American history. English colonization through Civil War.
HIST-H106 with Professor Ortega
Amid the debates on what constitutes U.S. history and what should be taught--students, instructors, and learning institutions--have grappled with the social, cultural, political, and economic events that have shaped U.S. history since the late nineteenth century. As this course engages contemporary events, I invite students to approach history as a dynamic relationship between the past and the present. The central purpose of this course is to encourage informed, thoughtful, and critical perspectives on the U.S. experience as encountered by diverse groups of people.
HIST-W200 with Professor McGraw
Let's read, write, and talk about: Mexican tamales and tacos, Italian and Chinese food; Cold War jazz and Soviet rock 'n' roll; movies in the US, Europe, India, & Nigeria; international hip hop; the world of Hello Kitty; the fashion industry; the refugee crisis today. Through these case studies--figuratively and literally all over the map--we will see people and culture popping up in interesting places. And by thinking about global pop culture from the perspective of change over time, we hope to gain insight into the workings of today's world.
HIST-W203 with Professor Hsia
World War I is not only the Ur-catastrophe for 20th Century Europe, but also a shattering and revolutionary moment around the globe. We look at the western front and its trenches, but also the battles on land and at sea across the globe. We consider the experiences of soldiers, laborers, and non-combatants on the front and at home, both within and outside of Europe.
HIST-A205 with Professor Wu
What's the difference between an 'Oriental' and an 'Asian American'? If Americans usually think about race in black-white terms, where do 'brown' or 'yellow' people fit in? Why might asking someone who 'appears' Asian, Arab, or Muslim 'Where are you from?' be a loaded question? This course spotlights Asian American stories and vantage points to shake up conventional assumptions about being and belonging in US history.
HIST-H206 with Professor Deliyannis
Cities and villages, castles and cathedrals and mosques, from AD 400-1500 -- learn what they looked like, who lived there, and what aspects of medieval life, politics, and culture they represented.
HIST-W210 with Professor Machado
Played, watched and enjoyed by millions, soccer (or football as it is known outside the US) is without doubt the most popular team sport on the planet. The 'beautiful game' attracts the passions of men and women from different social classes, races, religions and nationalities who regularly who gather at stadiums around the world in support of their local or national teams. Soccer is played professionally in nearly every country and has become a form of mass entertainment and big business, generating vast sums of money for sponsors, leagues, teams and the players themselves. Yet soccer is much more than simply a sport -- it reflects and is shaped by broader historical, economic, social, political and cultural trends that affect the lives of fans, their areas and nations. In this course, we will use soccer as a lens through which to explore questions of race, gender, ethnicity, class, nationalism and empire to understand both how the beautiful game offers us an alternative way to study themes such as religious animosities, dictatorship, decolonization and industrialization, and can illuminate the many intersections between the personal and the social, and the local and the global.
HIST-H211 with Professor Díaz
This course is part one of a two-course sequence on the history of Latin America from pre-conquest times to the present. It will survey the history of Latin America from its first inhabitation to the independence period in the nineteenth century. Six major themes will be addressed: the development of the great Native American civilizations, the encounter between Europeans and Amerindians, the making of a colonial society in Spanish America and Brazil, and the struggles leading to the collapse of colonial rule. The overriding concern of this survey is to provide an understanding of how the complex interaction between the different cultures that met in the Americas shaped these colonial societies, and how some elements of this legacy persisted and/or were transformed by different social groups before and after independence.
HIST-W215 with Professor O'Bryan
HIST-C220 with Professor Elliott
We investigate the lives and leadership of a diverse group of ancient Mediterranean leaders. How did these individuals rise to preeminence? Which ethical and cultural values shaped their choices? How did they change their world? Our subjects include Artemisia, Pericles, Socrates, Demosthenes, Alexander the Great, the Gracchi brothers, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Agrippina, Marcus Aurelius, Perpetua, Hypatia and Justinian the Great, among others. In addition to such leaders, Ancient Greek and Roman societies left behind compelling studies of leadership itself--a skill as valuable then as it is now. Leadership is fundamental to being human, and to cultivate leadership is to cultivate the best in humanity. Students should expect to attend weekly lectures and discussion sections, read around 30-60 pages of primary sources on ancient leaders, write around 8 short papers and complete a final essay which evaluates the leadership qualities of an ancient leader.
HIST-A222 with Professor Gregg
This course uses judicial rulings to examine U.S. history, focusing on how the Supreme Court has confronted critical issues of political, economic, and environmental importance over the centuries. Students will explore how the implementation of the law affects American society, gaining greater insight into the social, cultural, and political changes that emerged from legal arguments. This course will encourage critical reading, engaged and civil discussion, and analytical writing, all tools for an informed citizenry; it is not a pre-law course, per se. Instead, over the course of the semester we will investigate federal jurisprudence as a means to better understand historical causality and the evolution of the nation-state and its legal system.
HIST-H251 with Professor vanden Bogerd
This course examines the emergence of Judaism in ancient and medieval worlds. It explores both the preservation of Jewish traditions and their transformations over time and space. The course focuses on the time periods that produced some of the most influential scriptural, legal, literary, philosophical, and mystical texts of the Jewish tradition such as the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the compendium of law and narrative called the Talmud. Some questions students will consider in the course include: What is the difference between Israelites and Jews? Where did ancient Jews live, and how did they relate to practices from their surrounding cultures? How did gender relations shape the daily lives of ancient and medieval Jews? What representations of religious and political power appear in the textual and material records of ancient and medieval Judaism? How did ancient Jews think about their relationship to the land of Israel? What did they think about Jewish political autonomy? How did they interact with rulers and empires?
HIST-A207 with Professor Black
History A207 will explore stories of the Americas from time immemorial to European colonization and into the present and future of Indigenous resistance. Through lectures and discussions, primary source readings and short analytical essays, students will gain a deeper understanding of Native North America's past, present, and future.
HIST-B270 with Professor Pergher
To speak of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany is to conjure up images of marching automatons, extreme violence, war and genocide, all at the behest of a charismatic but perverse, brutal, deluded, and crazed dictator. But could this gigantic project really have been summoned into being by one man? What were the promises and goals that persuaded millions of Germans to support and fight for such a regime? Sign up and find out!
with Professor Foray
This class introduces students to the practices, practicalities, and implications of studying history in today's society. Over the course of the semester, we will examine and seek to answer the following types of questions: What is history, and who writes it? Why should we study the past? Whose voices are left out of the historical record, and how can we recover them?
with Professor McGraw
What Is History delves into the ideas, practices, and joys of history common to the study of all places, time periods, and themes. Emphasis will be on developing the skills historians use in research and writing, including locating and interpreting sources, using scholarly resources, and arguing persuasively. We will engage with stories that offer a fascinating way to think about past worlds and our own.
HIST-G300 with Professor Wang
Why has Taiwan become ""the most dangerous place on earth""? How might its past and present affect the future of the world? Come learn the complex history of Taiwan, the small Asian island that gives the world microchips and bubble tea!
HIST-J300 with Professor Mora
References to the U.S. Midwest as 'the heartland' in popular culture, national politics, and mass media evoke a romanticized regional past where the descendants of European settlers and immigrants populated small-towns and family farms. Through reading, writing, and discussion, we will disrupt these associations by exploring the history of Latinx migration, place-making, and politics throughout the Midwest. Focusing on a range of social, cultural, and economic transformations across urban and rural spaces, we will emphasize the Midwest as a crucial site for understanding 20th century Latinx and U.S. History.
HIST-J300 with Professor Roos
This class is not a course in military history. Instead, its primary focus is on the social, economic, cultural, and political legacies of World War I for 1920s and 1930s Europe. We will explore the war's contradictory legacies for European society, and the role of these tensions in the coming of World War II.
HIST-J300 with Professor Wang
China has emerged as a super economic power in today's world. Does China offer an alternative path to development and capitalism? In this course, we will use case study method to explore the historical development of business practices and economic life in China from the 16th century to the present.
HIST-W300 with Professor Foray
What is decolonization, and what does it have to do with museums? How has imperialism shaped our interactions with museums, artifacts, and historic sites, and how can we (re)imagine current and future exhibitions in the wake of decolonization? By working with local institutions and collections, students will also have the opportunity to put into practice the ideas and policies covered in class readings and discussions.
HIST-A301 with Professor Irvin
Little more than five hundred years ago, European navigators ventured into the Atlantic Ocean and quickly engaged the peoples of Africa and the Americas in trade, diplomacy, and war. Their voyages set in motion a transoceanic exchange of plants, animals, and microbial diseases, gave rise to an Atlantic market economy, and fueled the expansion of slavery across the globe. In Colonial America, we will explore this so-called Age of Discovery and its enormous consequences for our planet.
HIST-D 308 with Professor Saburova
Learn about one of the largest empires and its history in the "long" nineteenth century to understand the role of imperial legacy in the current Russian politics. Can you compare Russian serfdom with American slavery? We will learn how the Great Reforms changed the society, about the revolutionary movement in Russia and the origins of terrorism, daily life of the Russian nobility and peasants, a "woman question" and intellectual debates about socialism and Russia's role in the world. We will examine Russia's foreign policy from the Napoleonic wars to the World War One, studying the Crimean war, the conquest of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and how the Russian empire ruled by the Tsars became a "Gendarme of Europe" but collapsed in 1917.
HIST-C320 with Professor Elliott
Why do political systems collapse? The Roman Republic lasted for centuries before an onslaught of civil wars brought it crashing down. Historians suspect that political changes in the city of Rome were tied directly to the perils and benefits that came from Rome’s hegemony over its Mediterranean empire. The tensions inherent in the system ultimately led Romans to accept and even demand autocratic rule. What were these tensions and how did they bring down one of the most enduring Republics in human history? Students will read both ancient and modern authors (between 60-100 pages per week). Since this course is certified as writing intensive, students will complete three short position papers, one of which will be expanded and revised as a final paper.
HIST-D327 with Professor Hsia
You can't find it on the map, but it started WWI and shaped your world! The Habsburg Empire in its last stage, the modernization of Central and Eastern Europe. Was it a prison of nations? Was it a wasted opportunity of liberal multiculturalism? Was it a doomed anachronism, or a unique modernizing state?
HIST-D330 with Professor Bucur-Deckard
Examines origins of communism in Eastern Europe, brutal takeover and Stalinization, attempts to reform communism, the fall of communism and ensuing battles for privatization, democratization, the Wars in Yugoslavia, and accession to the European Union. Looks at political institutions that shaped communist and post-communist Eastern Europe and important social and cultural developments in the larger context of the Cold War.
HIST-A348 with Professor Andrews
The Civil War was a turning point in the history of the United States; it saw the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans, the end of slavery, and a reorganization of U.S. politics, economy, and society. In the aftermath of the war, Americans fought over reconstructing the union and whether the United States would fulfill the promises made during the war. This class will explore why the Civil War happened, show how it changed the nation, and trace the struggle -- up to the current day -- to define what the war meant (and means) for Americans.
HIST-B351 with Professor Deliyannis
Barbarians, Islam, Charlemagne, the Vikings! The Early Middle Ages (c. 500-1000 AD) was a time of dramatic cultural, political, and social change. After the Roman Empire had disintegrated, western Europe experienced invasion, plague, religious conversion, and other upheavals that shaped entirely new political, social, and cultural systems.
HIST-A363 with Professor Nichols
Hoosier Nation tells the story (and stories) of the diverse peoples of Indiana. The class examines Indianans' interactions with one another, with their physical environment, and with the national and international communities. Students will also learn about the sources available for the ongoing study of Indiana and Midwestern history: documents, maps, artifacts, and oral testimony.
HIST-C377 with Professor Robinson
Students will explore ancient Greek history from the Classical age to the Hellenistic era. Topics will include the Athenian Empire, artistic and architectural advances, democracy as experienced in Athens and other city-states, philosophy from the Pre-Socratics to Plato and Aristotle, the eclipse of the city-state and rise of Macedonia, and the cultural flourishing of the Hellenistic age.
HIST-A383 with Professor McGerr
Does music matter? Music is everywhere in American life, but it’s “just” music, only entertainment, right? Not necessarily. This course explores how music, partly because it is seemingly so unimportant, has played a critical role in the transformation of Americ an society from World War II to the present.
HIST-C390 with Professor Caner
HIST-K392 with Professor Schlesinger
K392 is a course about doing history for yourself at an advanced level. There are no textbooks, no assigned readings, no pre-designated problems. Instead, Honors students learn how to choose a problem of their own, discover compelling sources about it, make rigorous arguments about what they learn, and present their findings as compellingly as possible.
HIST-A398 with Professor Irvin
Disability is a nearly universal condition. Everyone becomes disabled if they live long enough. Yet, not until recently have historians recognized that disability changes over time and in relation to the specific societies in which it is experienced. In this reading-intensive seminar, we will explore disability as it has pertained to a variety of institutions, eras, and events in U.S. history, including slavery and emancipation, immigration, the Progressive Era, World Wars I and II, and the Great Depression. We will also examine several phenomena that have particularly defined or shaped disability in the United States, including the birth of the asylum, the rise and fall of eugenic science, and modern campaigns for veterans' health care.
HIST-J400 with Professor McGerr
The greatest pleasure of history is doing it yourself. In this capstone course, you will have the freedom to research and present the topic of most interest to you with the benefit of step-by-step faculty guidance, a supportive peer community, and outside expertise. Using skills you've acquired in the major, you'll create an original work of scholarship either by substantially developing an earlier paper with new research or by pursuing a brand-new topic. Drawing on your research, you will write an essay, prepare a detailed secondary school lesson plan, mount an exhibition, create a website, or use another relevant medium to present your evidence and ideas.
HIST-J400 with Professor Saburova
We will examine the history of the exploration, following different expeditions around the world which aimed to "discover" new lands, collect flora and fauna, map and name new territories, incorporating them into empires through cartography, science and political power and satisfying curiosity about "unknown" lands and peoples. We will read travelogues and expeditionary reports, look at the maps and images, discuss "the great explorers" and their role in history, using methods of spatial and digital humanities.
HIST-J400 with Professor Shopkow
A widow is accused of poisoning her husband. A midwife cares for a rural community, eyes open to its secrets. A husband disappears and reappears. A community participates in a lynching. Microhistory looks at ordinary people and how they are connected to the big picture that we think of as history.
HIST-J425 with Professor Díaz
This History Capstone Seminar is your opportunity to work on an original, primary-source-based research project that you are curious and passionate about and that is relevant and usefully related to your future career plans. This class will provide a comprehensive research experience and help enhance your ability to formulate research questions, analyze information, generate new knowledge based on evidence, and effectively present your work in written, visual, and oral formats. All of these essential skills will be helpful in almost any job you hold in the future.
HIST-J425 with Professor Guardino
The greatest pleasure of history is doing it yourself. In this capstone course, you will have the freedom to research and present the topic of most interest to you -- with the benefit of step-by-step faculty guidance, a supportive peer community, and outside expertise. Using skills you've acquired in the history major, you'll create an original work of scholarship in the form of a research paper, a lesson plan, an online museum exhibit, et cetera -- whatever format is most usefully related to your future career plans.
HIST-X444 with Professor Andrei
The College of Arts + Sciences
