History Course Descriptions • History • Carthage College

History courses at Carthage seek to challenge students’ prior assumptions of how the world works, ideas evolve, and peoples and nations move through time and space. Scroll down to read descriptions of the history courses offered at Carthage, or click on the following links for additional resources.

Issues in American History (HUM)

HIS 1000 / 4 credits
A topical survey of American history from the colonial beginnings to the present with special emphasis on major themes, turning points, and historical interpretations. Introduction to historical method through the study of primary sources also is emphasized.
Fall/J-Term/Spring/Summer

Ancient Greece II: Alexander the Great to Cleopatra (HUM)

HIS 1040 / 4 credits
An introduction to the history and culture of ancient Greece from the rise of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE to the conflicts with Rome and the death of Cleopatra, the last Ptolemaic queen. Students will be introduced to the various developments in Greek civilization, including art, mythology and religion, archaeology, and literature.
Prerequisite: None

Issues in European History I (HUM)

HIS 1110 / 4 credits
A topical survey of Western civilization from earliest times to the Renaissance, with special emphasis on major themes, turning points, and historical interpretations. Introduction to historical method through the study of primary sources also is emphasized.
Fall

Issues in European History II (HUM)

HIS 1120 / 4 credits
A topical survey of Western civilization from the Reformation to the present with special emphasis on major themes, turning points, and historical interpretations. Introduction to historical method through the study of primary sources also is emphasized.
Spring

Issues in Asian History (HUM)

HIS 1200 / 4 credits
A survey of the cultural, social, political, and economic history of Asia from the 15th century to the present.
Fall/Spring

Issues in South America: Dictatorship and Democracy (HUM)

HIS 1410 / 4 credits
A survey of the political and social history of South America from colonization through the 1980s.
Spring

Shamanism (HUM)

HIS 2050 / 4 credits
This course will examine the variety of religious experiences, rituals, and belief systems commonly referred to as shamanism. The course will look at these phenomena across history and geographic boundaries. Close attention will be paid to the particular historical and political contexts within which these various experiences have developed.
Prerequisite: None

World War II (HUM)

HIS 2100 / 4 credits
Students in this course will examine World War II as a global conflict. Students will assess the origins of the world’s bloodiest and most costly war in Europe and Asia, as well as how the war spread to Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Students will learn about the military, economic, and social consequences of total global conflict. In addition, students will evaluate the effects of the war upon civilian populations, the strategies pursued by the participants, and the major events in both the Pacific and European theaters from the 1930s until 1945. Above all, students will examine the extent to which theories of race and culture contributed to and exacerbated the war. Finally, students will consider the significance of the war for the history of Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the United States.

Modern Caribbean: From Pirates to the Cuban Missile Crisis (HUM)

HIS 2140 / 4 credits
Beginning in 1492, the Caribbean region has vacillated between the periphery and center stage of global history. Its strategic location within the Atlantic basin has, at various points, propelled nations in the Caribbean into importance disproportionate to the nations’ size, wealth, or political influence. Examples of this phenomenon include the Encounter (arguably the most important event in world history); the Haitian Revolution, with its profound consequences for the United States, Europe, and Africa; and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which served as a historical fulcrum in the trajectory of the Cold War. This course follows the dramatic trajectory of Caribbean history from 1492 to the present, introducing themes that include the European conquest; transformation into sugar colonies; slavery; the Haitian revolution; abolition; the introduction of U.S. economic, military, and political hegemony; the Cuban revolution and subsequent crises; and some contemporary issues.

Modern Britain (HUM)

HIS 2150 / 4 credits
A study of British history from the beginning of the Tudor dynasty in 1485 to the present with emphasis on constitutional, social, and cultural developments.

Historical Methods (HUM)

HIS 2200 / 4 credits
An introduction to historical research, writing, and criticism through concentrated study of a selected topic or period. Recent topics include the Irish Potato Famine and the Cold War.
Fall/Spring

20th Century Europe (HUM)

HIS 2250 / 4 credits
The study of recent European history with emphasis on political, social, economic, and cultural developments.

The Greeks (HUM)

HIS 2310 / 4 credits
A survey of Greek culture that introduces students to the achievements (political, social, intellectual, artistic, etc.) and ideas of the ancient Greeks. This course covers the sweep of Greek culture from the Mycenaean period (1600-1200 BCE) to the world of Alexander the Great and his successors.

The Romans (HUM)

HIS 2350 / 4 credits
A survey of Roman culture that introduces students to the achievements (political, social, intellectual, artistic, etc.) and ideas of ancient Rome. This course covers Rome from its foundation in 753 BCE to its transformation in late antiquity. Within the chronological sweep of Roman history, the class focuses on special aspects of Roman society: class and status, daily life, slavery, etc.

A Social History of 20th Century Japan Through Film (HUM)

HIS 2450 / 4 credits
This course will examine the changing representations of women, family, work, and duty, as well as issues such as identity and alienation, as presented in the popular media of Japanese cinema. Through critical viewing of films by directors such as Akira Kurasawa, Mizoguchi, and Teshigahara, students will investigate the relationship of history and its filmic/cinematic representation. Lectures and selected readings will provide the students with the necessary background and tools for critical analysis. It is the goal of this class to come to an understanding, through the lens of a director’s camera, of how social networks and their corresponding obligations are created and perpetuated in modern Japanese society. No prior knowledge of either Japanese history or Japanese language is required.

Early Medieval History (HUM)

HIS 2500 / 4 credits
From the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century to the creation of the Carolingian Empire by Charlemagne in the ninth century, early medieval Europe was hardly the dark age it has traditionally been presumed to be. This course will survey major political, social, economic, and cultural developments of Western Europe in the first half of the medieval period.

Later Medieval Europe (HUM)

HIS 2550 / 4 credits
Knights in shining armor. Robin Hood and Friar Tuck. Majestic cathedrals. Heretics burned at the stake. The medieval world that lives in our imaginations derives from the flowering of Western Europe between the 11th and 14th centuries. But how much of what we think of as medieval is actually medieval? This course will answer this question by surveying major political, social, economic, and cultural developments of Western Europe in the second half of the medieval period.

America in the 1960s (HUM)

HIS 2620 / 4 credits
A survey of the major themes, events, and individuals in America in the 1960s.

Comparative History: Chicago and Milwaukee (HUM)

HIS 2850 / 4 credits
A comprehensive history of two major Midwestern cities from the earliest European settlements to the present. Students will prepare three papers for class, presentations, and discussions: one on the history of Chicago, one on the history of Milwaukee, and one comparing the two cities. Field trips to Chicago and Milwaukee are a required part of the course.

19th Century American History (HUM)

HIS 2890 / 4 credits
This course surveys the long 19th century, from the ratification of the U.S. Constitution to the entry of the United States into the Spanish-American War. General themes include politics, expansion, technology, slavery, gender, immigration, and social change in the American republic. More specific attention will be paid to the development of nationalism and sectionalism, agriculture and industry, reform impulses, the origins of the Civil War and Reconstruction, westward expansion, the rise of big business, populism and progressivism, and the increasing engagement of the United States with the rest of the world.

20th Century U.S. History (HUM)

HIS 2900 / 4 credits
A study of the major political, economic, diplomatic, and social changes in the United States from 1890 to the present.

The American Founding (HUM)

HIS 3000 / 4 credits
This course examines the events and ideas that contributed to the American founding. Topics covered include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitutional Convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, the creation of the Bill of Rights, and the formation of a national government.

Modern Central America: Inevitable Revolutions (HUM)

HIS 3040 / 4 credits
By focusing on the theme of revolution, students will gain a general understanding of the political and social history of Central America from colonization through the contemporary period. Students will learn to take information and form critical analyses of historical trends and events, using both primary and secondary source material.

History of Mexico (HUM)

HIS 3050 / 4 credits
We share almost 2,000 miles of border with Mexico, and nearly eight million Mexicans live in the United States, yet many of us learn next to nothing about this fascinating country’s history. This course attempts to address this gap in our education system by providing an in-depth look at Mexican history, with an emphasis on the period from independence to the present. The course will also look at the borderlands between our two countries and the Mexican diaspora living in the United States today.

The Age of Augustus (HUM)

HIS 3100 / 4 credits
An intensive and interdisciplinary approach to one of the most important and seminal periods of Western history, the age of the emperor Augustus. Students study the process of transformation from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire during the Augustan principate. They also encounter the Augustan authors and creators of the Golden Age of Latin literature (Virgil, Horace, Livy, etc.), as well as the major works of art and the imperial monuments of Augustus.
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor

International Relations (HUM)

HIS 3150 / 4 credits
This course examines the engagement of the United States in international affairs during the 20th century. Topics include the emergence of the United States as a global power after the Spanish-American War, the involvement of the United States in World War I and World War II, the emergence of U.S. power during the Cold War, the role of gender and race in the making of U.S. foreign policy, and globalization.

Seminar in Roman Studies (HUM)

HIS 3260 / 4 credits
An in-depth exploration of a particular topic in Roman history or culture. Possible topics include the Fall of the Roman Republic, the Poetry of Virgil, Roman Historians, the Early Roman Emperors, and the Age of Constantine.

Seminar in Medieval Studies (HUM)

HIS 3270 / 4 credits
An in-depth exploration of a particular topic in medieval history or culture. Possible topics include the Fall of Rome, Medieval Monasticism, Crusades, Age of Justinian, and Augustine and His World. The seminar will build on topics covered in a more general way in the World of Late Antiquity, Early Medieval Europe, Later Medieval Europe, and Byzantine History.

Modern China (HUM)

HIS 3400 / 4 credits
An in-depth study of Chinese history from the early 19th century to the present with special emphasis on the role of Mao Tse-tung in shaping the People’s Republic of China.
Spring

Modern India (HUM)

HIS 3410 / 4 credits
This course tracks India’s development from the Mughal Empire, to the establishment of the British Empire in the 1700s, through independence in 1947, to its present status as a regional superpower and global economic force. Students will assess the many ironies of Indian history, particularly how India has been simultaneously globalized by invaders and outsiders, but has also acted as a globalizer, initiating significant changes in the international political and economic order.

Modern Japan (HUM)

HIS 3450 / 4 credits
A study of Japanese history from the early 19th century to the present with emphasis on native Japanese culture, Western influences, modernization, imperialism, militaristic and democratic forces, World War II, and the recent emergence of the nation as a world economic leader.

Fall

Historiography (HUM)

HIS 3990 / 4 credits
An introduction to the method and history of historical writing, acquainting the student with aspects of research and writing and with the work of representative historians and philosophers of history of various periods and approaches, from antiquity to the present.
Prerequisite: Three courses in history or consent of the instructor
Spring

Senior Seminar

HIS 4000 / 4 credits
The capstone of the history major. Each seminar member produces a research paper on a topic of his or her own choosing, in consultation with the seminar leader and based in part on primary material.
Prerequisites: Four courses in history and consent of the instructor
Fall