Graduate Course Descriptions:

Course Levels: 500 | 600 | 700 | 800

Areas of Concentration: U.S. | European | Asian,African,Latin American

HIST 502 Colonial America and the American Revolution to 1789 (3)
The motives of colonization; the evolution of self-government; the extension of the frontier; economic, social, and religious life; imperial rivalries; the causes of the Revolution; the War for American Independence; problems of the Confederation; and the establishment of the Federal Union.

HIST 504 Civil War and Reconstruction (3)
The political, economic, diplomatic and military history of the United States, 1850-1877, emphasizing the forces that tended to bind or disrupt the Union and including a detailed account of the war and its consequences.

HIST 506 The U. S. in the Twentieth Century (3)
A study of the efforts to fulfill the democratic vision in the era of wars and depressions, accelerating technological innovation, material progress, and cultural change.

HIST 521 The American South (3)
The political, social, and economic development of the South from the 1820's to the present with an emphasis on the region within the national context as one of both change and continuity.

HIST 522 South Carolina History (3)
A survey of the political, economic, social, and intellectual development of South Carolina from its discovery to the present, with emphasis on the relation of the state to the South and to the nation.

HIST 523 Afro-American History (3)
An introduction to the history of black Americans in the United States, with emphasis on the social forces underlying transitions from West Africa to the New World, from slavery to freedom, and from rural to urban life. Topics to be discussed include the Atlantic slave trade, American slave societies, maroon communities, free blacks in the antebellum United States, Reconstruction and free labor, colonization, emigration, and urban migrations.

HIST 590 Special Topics in U.S. History
Examples include: Turning Points in American History; the Progressive Era; The Social and Cultural Transformation of the 1920's back to top

HIST 532 Ancient Greece (3)
Greek civilization from its beginning to Alexander the Great. Emphasis on political, economic, social and intellectual movements.

HIST 533 Ancient Rome (3)
Roman history from its beginnings until the Age of Constantine. Emphasis on political and social developments in the Republic and the early empire.
HIS 535 Medieval Europe (3)
European social, political, economic and religious institutions and cultural and intellectual phenomena in the light of the changing historical environment from the end of the Ancient World to the Renaissance.

HIST 537 Renaissance and Reformation (3)
The Renaissance as a European wide movement emanating from the Italian peninsula; the crisis of the church medieval and the rise of the Renaissance papacy; Humanism, with special emphasis on the great painters, architects, and sculptors such as Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli, da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo; the Renaissance city-states, Machiavelli, and the Renaissance monarchies of France, England, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire; the continuing crisis of the church medieval and the religious upheavals of Protestantism; the work of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and the Anabaptists; the Catholic Reformation; the age of civil and religious wars.

HIST 541 Enlightenment and French Revolution (3)
The major social, political and cultural changes in Europe from the death of Louis XIV to the fall of Napoleon. Topics include the intellectual history of the Enlightenment, the causes of the Revolution, the development of radical ideologies, social and political instability, the French impact on Europe, and the achievements of Napoleon as civil administrator, military strategist, and commander.

HIST 542 Nineteenth-Century Europe (3)
Europe from Waterloo to Sarajevo; political reaction and reform; the Industrial Revolution with its economic, social, and political effects; nationalism and the renewed interest in imperialism; other factors in international rivalries and the coming of World War I.

HIST 543 Twentieth-Century Europe (3)
An examination of the origins and consequences of two World Wars on the major European states; the political, social, and economic development of those states and their relative positions today.

HIST 545 History of Modern Russia (3)
History of the development of Tsarist absolutism under the Romanov dynasty and of the religious, social, and economic institutions of the Tsarist state. Intensive treatment of the 1917 Revolution and the institutional development of the Soviet state to world power status. back to top

HIST 551 Women in the Western World (3)
An examination of the ideas, institutions, and events in Western Civilization which specifically affected women. Lectures and readings will be organized topically rather than geographically or chronologically. Areas to be examined include religion, education, sex and marriage, the family, work, feminist and suffragist movements.

HIST 562 Colonial Latin America (3)
A survey of Spanish and Portuguese colonial America to 1825. Topics include native populations on the eve of conquest; exploration and conquest by Europeans; the development of multiracial societies; the colonial economies; the institutions of Ibero-American empires; the social, economic, and intellectual roots of revolution; independence movements.

HIST 563 Modern Latin America (3)
A survey of Spanish and Portuguese America since the wars for independence. Topics include the aftermath of the independence movements, incorporation into the international economy, changing social organization, race relations, the search for political stability, the role of the military, 20th century revolutionary movements, intellectual currents.

HIST 572 Precolonial Africa (3)
An introduction to the precolonial history of sub-Saharan Africa. Special attention will be focused on the growth of Islam in West Africa, the East African city-states and kingdoms, and the upheaval in nineteenth-century southern Africa. African slavery and the slave-trade will also be considered.

HIS 573 Modern Africa (3)
A history of the development of Africa during the modern period, including European penetration, the Colonial era, African resistance and independence, and contemporary issues.

HIST 577 Modern Middle East (3)
Tradition, modernization, and change in the contemporary Islamic World. The impact of nationalism, secularism, and westernization in the Middle East, from the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of successor states, to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the oil crisis, and Great Power confrontation.

HIST 591 Special Topics in European History (3)
Examples include: Georgian Britain; Edwardian Britain; the European Left and Labor.

HIST 593 Special Topics in Peace, War and Diplomacy (3)
Examples include: the Depression and New Deal; Business, Labor and Economic History; Social and Cultural History.
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HIST 582 China to 1800 (3)
A survey of traditional Chinese history from earliest times to 1800. Emphasis is placed upon intellectual development against the background of social, political, and economic transformations.

HIST 583 Modern China (3)
A study of Chinese history from 1800 to the present, emphasizing the transformation of the Confucian universal empire into a modern national state. The course will focus on the problems of imperialism, nationalism, and revolution, the rise of communism, the proletarian Cultural Revolution, and the Four Modernizations in post-Mao China.
HIST 586 Japan to 1800 (3)
A survey of the political, economic, and cultural development of Japan from earliest times to 1800, with emphasis on the borrowing and adaptation of Chinese culture and the development of a unique Japanese civilization.

HIST 587 Modern Japan (3)
A study of modern Japanese history from 1800 to the present, with emphasis on the creation of the modern state, the impact of Western civilization on Japanese culture, Japan's experience with liberalism and militarism, with Japanese imperialism, and the post-war transformation.

HIST 592 Special Topics in Asian/African/Latin American History (3)
This course concentrates on an important historical period or topic within one of four principal regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, or the Middle East. back to top

600 Level

HIST 610 Special Topics in U. S. History (3)
Examples include: the Depression and New Deal; Business, Labor and Economic History; Social and Cultural History, etc.

HIST 620 Special Topics in Low Country Studies (3)
An interdisciplinary course organized around a specific topic, e.g., Education, the environment of the Low Country, Plantation Culture, Gullah, the Caribbean origins of the Low Country. This interdisciplinary course will allow a student to explore an area of specific interest.

HIST 630 Special Topics in Peace, War, and Diplomacy (3)
Examples include: The Diplomacy of the American Revolution; Disarmament during the 1920's, etc. This course may be offered as HIST 660 (3) for topics in European history and as HIST 680 (3) for topics in Asian, African or Latin American history.

HIST 640 Special Topics in European History (3)
Examples include: Social and Cultural History; the Scientific Revolution; the Age of Louis XIV, etc.

HIST 650 Special Topics in British History (3)
Examples include: The English Reformation, the English Civil War, the Victorian Age, etc.

HIST 660 Special Topics in Peace, War, and Diplomacy (3)
HIST 670 Special Topics in Asian/African/Latin American History (3)
A course that concentrates upon an important historical period or topic within one of four principal regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa or the Middle East.

HIST 680 Special Topics in Peace, War, and Diplomacy (3)
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HIST 691 Historiography (3) [REQUIRED]
The core course. Examines various methods of gathering historical data and issues of conceptualization and interpretation. The course thus seeks to develop in students critical awareness and expertise based on familiarity with a variety of historical techniques, methods, and concepts.

HIST 692 Teaching of History and Social Sciences (3)
Organization, methods, and procedures for teaching history and the social studies in the secondary and middle schools.

HIST 693 Historical Geography (3)
A study of differing economic and social patterns, with emphasis on such fundamental determinants of economic activities as climate, raw materials and locations and the interrelationships of these to each other and to world affairs generally. Construction and use of simplified models and diagrams to illustrate the foregoing will be a basic part of the course.
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700/800 Level

HIST 710 Research Seminar in U. S. History (3)
A topical seminar focused upon a central historical problem with a major research paper required. Primary sources will be utilized whenever possible.

HIST 720 Research Seminar in Low Country Studies (3)
An interdisciplinary seminar designed to acquaint students with the historical methods necessary to pursue successfully a research topic. This will entail an introduction to primary sources.

HIST 740 Research Seminar in European History (3)
A topical seminar focused upon a central historical problem with a major research paper required.

HIST 760 Research Seminar in Asian/African/Latin American History (3)
A topical seminar focused upon a central historical problem within one of four principal regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa or the Middle East. A major research paper will be required.

HIST 770 Independent Study in History (3)
Repeatable once. back to top

HIST 801-802 Masters Thesis (6)

Courses by Areas of Concentration
U.S. - European - Asian,African,Latin American