History (HIS)

A survey of the principal historical events, forces, and movements from the Dawn of Man to the Reformation; ancient, medieval, and early modern developments.

This course will examine significant violations of human rights within their historical context. The evolution of human rights as entities within a global political thought and practice will provide philosophical context. There will be a specific focus on human rights law and moral pressures concerning the relief, remedy, and prevention of injustices to victims of society from diverse perspectives. Students will be encouraged to rely on reasonable evidence and critical thinking when studying these historical controversies, rather than on biased accounts or emotional arguments. Each of these topics will be carefully studies to identify root causes and sources of problems and then to retrace the pathways of movements and policies that were developed to address them and improve societies.

The major economic, social, intellectual, and political movements of the twentieth century in the United States.

This course explores the history of the Brooklyn waterfront from the colonial period to the present, using it as a lens to understand key events in American history. It emphasizes primary source research and serves as an introduction to the disciplinary methods in the field of history.

Examines major developments in the economic, political, technological, cultural, and social history of world civilizations from the rise of world trade around the turn of the sixteenth century up until the present. In the process it examines the events, ideas, institutions, and people that have helped make the world what it is today.

An interdisciplinary lecture series with invited scholars exploring selected themes in NYC history, literature, and culture from colonial times to the present. Lectures are open to the public. For credit students attend both lectures and a weekly discussion section. Occasional walking tours of NYC landmarks and neighborhoods are also given.

Christianity is one of the worlds leading religions. It is fitting that is should be objectively studied to understand its origins, leaders, values and effects.

An interdisciplinary lecture series with invited scholars exploring selected themes in Brooklyn history, politics and culture from colonial times to the present. Lectures are open to the public. For credit students attend both lectures and a weekly discussion section. Occasional walking tours of Brooklyn landmarks and neighborhoods are also given. Prerequisite: Hist.1201.

An overview of the major social and cultural movements in the United States from 1830 to the present. Co- taught by faculty of the history and sociology departments , this course will address movements of both the Left and the Right, from 19th century Abolitionism, Women's Rights, and Civil Rights on the Left, to Prohibition and the current resurgence of Tea Party conservativism on the Right. Major nineteenth and twentieth century artistic, architectural and literary movements will also be addressed. Prerequisite: HIS-1201.

A survey of East Asian history from the 19th century to the present with a focus on China, Japan, and Korea. Topics covered will include East Asian responses to Western imperialism during the 19th century and the impact of revolution, international conflict, and modernization on East Asia during the 20th century.

This course is an overview of the social, economic, political, and cultural history of southeastern Europe, starting with the Ottoman conquest in the 15th century and ending with the post communist transitions after 1989. Course emphasizes the Ottoman millet system, village household structure, the practice of multiple religions, the influences that various Euro-Asian empires had on this region, the rise of regional and Mediterranean trading networks, 19th-century national revolutions, pre-World War I modernization without industrialization, the state socialist system, and the challenge of post-socialist European integration.

This course focuses on post-war movements for social change in the United States. Co-taught by faculty in the history and sociology departments, this course analyzes the shift from traditional New Left movements for social change (civil rights, anti-war, and free speech) to movements focusing on identity (women's rights, Black Power, and gay liberation). This course will also explore recent non-traditional social movements, including battles for marriage equality, against police brutality, violence against women, and mass incarceration, and broadening definitions of sexual, racial, and ethnic identities.

At the close of the 20th century, The Economist magazine labeled Africa the hopeless continent. This course moves beyond such blanket assessments by exploring the changes that Africans experienced during the colonial and post-colonial periods and the diverse attempts to deal with these challenges. It examines colonial and post-colonial African issues, including the colonial legacy and neocolonialism; conflict and human rights; development, poverty, and the debt problem; healthcare infrastructure; globalization, democracy, and multiparty politics; and how these relate to the world at large.

One of the best ways to experience New York City is on foot. In multiple wide-ranging walking tours led by their instructor students explore the rich history, architecture, and neighborhoods of New York City. Assigned background reading precedes each site visit. Past locations have included Central Park, Governor's Island, DUMBO, Green-Wood Cemetery, and assorted New York City cultural institutions, museums, and communities.

A study of ancient history from the origin of man to the fall of Rome; contributions made by the ancient world to modern civilization.

This introductory course surveys the history of international human rights and humanitarian law both from a theoretical perspective as well as a case law perspective.

A survey of the history of the Middle Ages; feudalism, universities, monarchy, the Church, the Hundred Years' War.

A study of the evolution of the nation-state system in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Concepts and world events such as imperialism, nationalism, fascism, communism, the Great Depression, the two World Wars, the Cold War, decolonization, and globalization are studied.

A survey of Latin American history from pre-conquest days to the present.

This course introduces students to many fields of public history through field trips, readings and discussion on best practices, issues, and theories of public history, and engagement in a public history term project. Students will meet public history practitioners in a range of fields, learn about methods, and gain exposure to a range of career opportunities that draw on their academic knowledge of the past. In addition, the students will acquire public history experience by conducting an oral history project with a member of the St. Francis College community that will become a part of a multi-year St. Francis College Oral History Project digital exhibition

Cross-listed with: PSC 2335. An examination of the political ideologies in American films dealing with war, government corruption, related conspiracy theories, political figures, electoral campaigns, the incorporation of minorities and immigrants into American society, the media, economics, and foreign policy. Course will focus on the historical narrative presented by the filmmakers and ask whether the films convey history or mythology.

A survey from the earliest explorations and discoveries to government under the Constitution; the colonial struggle; the dominance of Great Britain; the Revolutionary War; and the Critical Period.

A study of the United States as it struggled to set its new government into motion; political, economic, cultural and diplomatic developments in the nineteenth century.

A study of the history of Europe from the end of the religious revolts to the end of the Seven Years' War; the Thirty Years' War; the commercial revolution; the rise of the nation-state; and the age of absolutism and enlightenment.

This course examines European history during what is often referred to as the long nineteenth century, a period that began with the French Revolution in 1789 and ended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Many important changes took place in Europe during this period: everything from industrialization and the creation of the modern nation-state to the great expansion of European power around the globe and emergence of new intellectual movements such as romanticism, liberalism, and nationalism.

Cross-listed with: SOC-3196. This course is designed as an intensive study of the politics, culture, and social movements of the 1960s. In addition to learning about the historical events of the decade, students will be also exposed to the transformative cultural, artistic, and social movements of the period. The course will begin with an exploration of the 1950s as prelude including the early civil rights movements. It will then move onto the Kennedy administration, Freedom Summer, the legislative and policy initiatives of the Great Society, an analysis of the social movements and culture of the second half of the decade, with particular focus on the anti-war, feminist, and Black power movements, and concluding with an assessment of the cultural changes initiated by the counter-cultural youth movements.

Examines America's racial and cultural diversity through the historical experiences of major American minority populations: Native Americans, Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, and others. Prerequisite:HIS 1201. 3 credits. Spring semester.

This course explores the global history of sexuality, with an emphasis on cultural and social ideas about sex, gender, and sexuality; the scholarship of sexuality; the relationship between sexuality, politics, and the economy; and how sexuality coincides with other analytical frameworks including class, race, and religion. The course will move from 1500 to the present, and will address the history of sexuality around the world.

A study of African-American life from 1619 to the present, with emphasis placed on the African-American experience in the United States during the twentieth century.

Intellectual and religious movements during the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times.

This course provides students with an introduction to comparative women's history in the twentieth century. Moving thematically and geographically, the course examines how women both influenced and responded to major political, cultural, and social trends around the world, including efforts for suffrage, moral reform, and peace, the world wars, the Cold War, feminisms, migration, colonialism, and decolonization. Conversations will include particular focus on race, class, religion, nation, and sexuality, and explore how women in various cultures understood and utilized those categories in distinct ways.

Dedicated to the study of the American worker, this course begins with a study of colonial labor systems, the emergence of nineteeth-century workingmen's parties, and the origin and development of industrial and craft unions. IT also treats working-class culture and the work ethic in American history. American labor leaders and labor ideologies are assessed. Labor-management relations and the federal role in labor-manangement disputes are also studied.

A survey of American diplomacy from 1775 to the present: Manifest Destiny, the Civil War, the United States as a world power, and the United States after two world wars.

Identifies foundational themes as: place, individualism/community, ethnic identities, race, gender, and popular culture and media. All of these recurring themes will be explored here as we examine the larger intellectual, cultural, and popular forces, conflicts, and mythologies that have shaped American identity and destiny from colonial times to the present: questions of race and ethnicity, national character and exceptionalism, republicanism, egalitarianism, Manifest Destiny, the myth of Rags to Riches, and the American dream. More immediate issues that have commanded national attention in recent decades -- questions surrounding immigration and multiculturalism, and movements for racial and sexual equality -- are also addressed. Because history is interdisciplinary by its very nature, this course will also closely adhere to the methodology employed in by the American Studies program: Students will draw from a variety of primary texts and genres, including fiction and poetry, public policy and political speeches, autobiography and diaries, art and architecture, music and media, and other sources as they explore such wide-ranging topics as citizenship, race and ethnicity, the built environment, migration and labor, and social and cultural movements.

Beginning with the Roman conquest of Great Britain, this course traces the political, economic, and cultural evolution of Britain to the present day. It examines the significant changes brought about by the Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquests, the Wars of the Roses, the English Renaissance and Reformation, and the revolutions of the seventeenth century. The Industrial Revolution, society and culture during the Victorian Era, and the development and decline of the British Empire are also significant units.

This course employs an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the American city. Utilizing New York City as a prism through which to study the evolving urban metropolis, it explores selected themes in the American urban development from colonial times to the present. Includes assorted walking tours of city sites and neighborhoods.

Selected legal controversies from the Colonial era to the present are examined against their broader relationship to American culture.

A survey of the multiple contacts between the societies of Africa, the Americas, and Europe from the time of Columbus through the early nineteenth century. The course examines the effects of European expansion, migration, the creation of a new Atlantic economy, slavery and abolition, cultural and intellectual exchanges among the continents, and the emergence of new independent states during the Age of Revolution.

This course provides a critical introduction to the methods of historical research and writing and to the history of historical writing over time (historiography). Required of all history majors as a prerequisite to their Senior History Project.

Students may intern at approved sites under professional supervision. Internships are available at the national, state, and local governments. In addition, internships are available with the law firms, museums, and historical societies. Internships must be approved by the department Chairperson and are subject to availability.

This course is for students who have a special subject interest not available among the published catalogue offerings. It is usually limited to students with 3.0 indices or above. Students who believe they qualify must meet with the department chairperson. After approval of the project, the student will seek a departmental professor and they will draw up a contract specifying the nature of the work. A paper is usually required in this course.

Advanced instruction in the methods and skills of critical analysis, research, and writing. A research paper is a major requirement of the course. Under the direction of the course instructor, students select a topic suitable for investigation. Students then communicate their results in a clearly presented, properly documented essay.

In this course, we will examine the political ideologies in American films dealing with war, government corruption, related conspiracy theories political figures, electoral campaigns, the incorporation of minorities and immigrants into American society, the media, economics, and foreign policy. We will specifically focus on the historical narrative presented to us by the filmmakers. Depending on the film director, the film's argument or stance on a political issue may be either explicit or subtle. We will also ask if these films really convey history or mythology. Films from virtually every era of American History will be studied- from the 1910s to the present. Readings will include, when necessary, biographical information on the individual directors in addition to explaining the historical and political context for each individual film.

The seventeenth-century Netherlands is best remembered today for the great artistic achievement of individuals such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Judith Leyster. But this time was a Golden Age for the Netherlands and its vibrant port city of Amsterdam in many other ways as well. During the seventeenth century, this small, waterlogged nation emerged as an economic powerhouse and one of the leading states in Europe complete with a worldwide colonial empire. The Netherlands was also important as a republic in a continent dominated by monarchies, as the first heavily urbanized society in Northern Europe, and as a country that granted broad toleration to religious minorities earlier than any of its neighbors. Open to students in the honors program.

This course examines how cults and conspiracy theories have both emerged from and influenced life in the United States. Drawing on historical and sociological perspectives, this course offers insight into why individuals are drawn to fringe ideas and how specific historical, social, economic, and cultural contexts fuel particular sorts of cults and conspiracy theories. In exploring this topic, we will also build strong information literacy by examining how leaders and promoters of cults and conspiracy theories use disinformation, mistrust, and fear to build followings. Students will read articles, listen to podcasts, and view documentaries that offer insight into this wide and fascinating field of inquiry.

This honors course examines the role of race in Brooklyn's history from European contact through the present. Students will read scholarly works on the history of Native Americans, slavery, immigration, and civil rights in Brooklyn, all with an emphasis on the development of the divisions and connections between different groups, neighborhoods, and spaces. Students will also have the opportunity to conduct primary source research at Brooklyn Historical Society and engage with other institutions and events in the broader community.

This course employs an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the American city. Utilizing New York City as a model for the evolving urban metropolis, it explorers selected themes in the American urban experience from colonial times to the present. Images of the city as portrayed in literature and the popular media are also considered. Guest speakers and walking tours and visits to New York City museums, landmarks and neighborhoods are important methodological components of the course. Open to students in the college honors program only.