Department of History and Philosophy
College of Liberal Arts

 

Geography Courses:

GEOG 103 (3) Introduction to Physical Geography. Knowledge of basic concepts and techniques in studying the physical features of the earth.

GEOG 105 (3) Introduction to Cultural Geography.  Knowledge of the basic concepts characterizing each culture with emphasis on past population and global problems; patterns and spatial aspects of fertility and mortality; migration; social customers on the landscape; and urban patterns. Students are required to do two cultural field based projects.

GEOG 209 (3) World Regional Geography.  Study of the different geographical regions of the world consisting of early settlement; people and economic development; physical environment; resources; and future.  This class is a lecture-lab. Students are required to do lab activities in class, the library, and community field based as well.

GEOG 210 (3) Economic Geography.  Analysis of the interrelationship of economics and geography, with emphasis on international economic activity.

GEOG 211 (3) Population Geography.  Analysis of population trends and the geographical conditions necessary to support certain types of populations.

GEOG 212 (3) Transportation Geography.  Analysis of the role of geography in the volume and types of transportation characteristics of certain areas.

GEOG 224 (3) Aerial Photo Interpretation.  An introduction to the techniques of interpreting data from aerial photographs and other remotely sensed media of geographic information.

GEOG 227 (3) Quantitative Methods in Geography.  An introduction to the methods and techniques of data collection, geographic sampling and data analysis in geography.

GEOG 251 (3) Climatology.  An introductory study of the characteristics and causes of climatic conditions and changes.

GEOG 315 (3) Conservation of Natural Resources.  Exploration of ways to conserve natural resources as well as the need for such.

GEOG 321 (3) Field Methods in Geography.  Acquaintance with techniques utilized by geographers in field study.

GEOG 322 (3) Social Geography.  The study of the geographic factors and characteristics that affect the spatial distribution of various social groups with emphasis on North America.

GEOG 323 93) Introduction to Geographic Research.  Introduction to the essential methods and processes involved in geographic research.

GEOG 324 (3) Introduction to Cartography.  Introduction to the essential methods and processes involved in geographic research.

GEOG 325 (3) Political Geography.  Analysis of the interrelationship of politics and geography, with emphasis on political nation-states, as affected by geography.

GEOG 326 (3) Urban Geography.  Examination of the role that geography plays in helping one understand the nature and development of urban areas.

GEOG 391 (3) Geography of Anglo America.  Study of the characteristics of Anglo-America and its geographic development.

GEOG 396 (3) Geography of the South.  Study of the physical and political characteristics of the South.

GEOG 421 (3) Remote Sensing Applications.  Deals with techniques for measuring the earth’s physical, biological, and cultural resources from a few feet to thousands of miles.

GEOG 425 (3) Geography of Africa.  Study of the human, biotic, and physical elements of Africa.

GEOG 433 (3) Geography of Latin America.  Examination of the geographical characteristics of Latin America.

GEOG 449 (3) Geography of Asia.  Exploration of the continent of Asia as a geographical region.

GEOG 452 (3) History and Development of Geographical Thought.  Traces the development of geographical thought and the discipline from Ancient Egypt to the present.

 

History Courses:

HIST 101 (3) History of Civilization I. A survey of the history of the world from the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt to the rise of capitalism and the beginnings of European imperialism before 1648.

HIST 102 (3) History of Civilization II. A survey of the history of the world tracing the rise and fall of European domination and the growing significance of Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the twentieth century.

HIST 111 (3) History of Civilization I. A survey of the history of the world from the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt to the rise of capitalism and the beginnings of European imperialism before 1648. This course introduces history majors to historical research and criticism. The student is then required to use this knowledge in writing historical essays.

HIST 112 (3) History of Civilization II. A survey of the history of the world tracing the rise and fall of European domination and the growing significance of Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the twentieth century. History majors will continue their study of historical research and criticism and write improved historical essays.

HIST 201 (3) United States History I. A survey of society from the Colonial period to Reconstruction emphasizing political, cultural, social, and economic development.

HIST 202 (3) United States History II. A survey of society since Reconstruction emphasizing political, cultural, social, and economic development.

HIST 300 (3) Oral History Methodology. An introduction to the application of oral history techniques and methodology.

HIST 306 (3) Topics in History. An analysis of American and European topics designed to promote intense topical reading, research, and critical writing exercises.

HIST 308 (3) American Military History. Survey of the American war experience from the colonial period to the Vietnam War.

HIST 321 (3) Birth of the American Republic.  The course chronicles the founding and development of the colonies that became the United States and analyzes the origins of the American Revolution and establishment of the American Republic.

HIST 322 (3) Antebellum America.  A survey of America’s Antebellum era.  The course emphasizes the major historical developments of the period, which included social reform movements, the growing sectional divide, the expansion of slavery, the pursuit of manifest destiny, and the nation’s drift toward Civil War.

HIST 323 (3) Civil War and Reconstruction. Emphasis is placed on the causes of the War, the emancipation of slaves, the transition from slavery to freedom, and the interpretations of Reconstruction.

HIST 325 (3) History of Mississippi. A survey of the political, economic, social, and cultural development of Mississippi with special emphasis on late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

HIST 328 (3) History of Latin America.  A readings and research centered course focusing on the historical development of Latin America in the Western Hemisphere.  Primary emphasis will be given to the impact of Spanish culture in the region, patterns of political, economic, social and intellectual ferment as well as historic and enduring problems specific to Latin America.

HIST 329 (3) History of the Caribbean. A study of the economic, political, social, and cultural life, of the people of the Caribbean area and their relationship with the United States.

HIST 331 (3) Renaissance and Reformation.  A survey of the political, economic, social, scientific, intellectual, and ecclesiastical developments in Europe during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, culminating with the Reformation and counter-Reformation movements of the sixteenth century.

HIST 344 (3) Historiography.  Designed to study the problems encountered in studying, interpreting, and writing history. Majors will also be introduced to schools and theories of historical interpretation in American, Asian, European, and African historiography.  

HIST 360 (3) Early African American History. An examination of African-descended people’s historical participation in American life from the Atlantic slave trade through Reconstruction.

HIST 361 (3) Modern African American History. An examination of African descended people’s historical participation in modern American life since Reconstruction.

HIST 380 (3) History of the Frontier.  The concept of the Frontier is arguably one of the most contentious interpretation U.S. History. Is the Frontier a process, a place, or perhaps both? As a source of endless debate, the Frontier will be examined along with the American West. The Frontier and the West each have a long complex history that is often difficult to separate from myth.  It is a history that this course will explore from many different angles.

HIST 382 (3) History of the South. An examination of the social, political, and economic development of the American South from Jamestown to the present with a particular focus on the history of race relations.

HIST 383 (3) Women in America. Designed to examine the role of women in the development of America. Emphasis will be on reform, resistance to their movements, their role in politics and their impact on society.

HIST 384 (3) Sexuality in the United States.  Students will examine the changes in sexual morals, the regulation of sexual behavior, and the construction of sexual identities from the colonial period to the present.

HIST 385 (3) History of African American Women I. An in depth exploration of the historical experience of African American women from settlement through the Civil War.

HIST 386 (3) History of African American Women II. An in depth exploration of the historical experience of African American women from Reconstruction through the present.

HIST 390 (3) United States Media History.  This course examines the history of media in the United States and its relationship to American society and culture.  It will trace the role media has played in shaping public understanding of historical events, developments in technology and the creation of new forms of media, the political and social uses of media, and the place of media in American culture.

HIST 403 (3) Contemporary Middle East, 1900 to Present. Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, rise of Zionism and Arab Nationalism, the conflict of Palestine, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, the Egyptian Revolution.

HIST 405 (3) Early Africa. A study of pre-colonial African History.  The course emphasizes African civilizations before the coming of Europeans.

HIST 406 (3) Colonial Africa.  The study of the European scramble for Africa and the subsequent division of the continent’s societies into colonies.  The course explores as well the emergence of nationalism in Africa and the struggle for independence that it wrought.

HIST 407 (3) Contemporary Africa.  A study of the emergence of Africa since 1945 with emphasis on the role of nations of the continent in both regional and world affairs.

HIST 412 (3) European Imperialism. An analysis and interpretation of the circumstances that enabled Europeans and their descendants to explore, settle, conquer, control, and dominate two-thirds of the world’s peoples.

HIST 417 (3) Emergence of Modern America, 1875-1917. An analysis of American society emphasizing political, economic, and social changes between the end of Reconstruction and our entry into World War I.

HIST 418 (3) War, Depression, and Recovery, 1917-1941.  The period of the 1920s and 1930s was an age of extremes in U.S. History. Situated between two World Wars, the United States experienced an era of economic growth and prosperity followed by the worst depression in the nation’s history. These extremes dramatically shaped the social, cultural, and political events of these decades.

HIST 419 (3) Contemporary United States, 1941 to the Present.  The Postwar Era in the United States has been marked by social upheaval. Marginalized people, including African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, women, and homosexuals, fought for their civil rights. The Cold War pushed the world to the brink of annihilation. Vietnam divided the nation. The Counterculture challenged the status quo. The contrast between the Rust Belt and the Sun Belt signified economic, demographic, and political changes. Liberals launched a political revolution and Conservatives a counterrevolution in response. This course will address these social, cultural, and political developments, and others, that have taken place since 1941.

HIST 447 (3) Research Seminar. Prerequisite: HIST 344. For senior History majors with emphasis on completion of a major historical research paper.

HIST 448 (1 – 6) Independent Study and/or Directed Readings. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Intensive study in research materials or reading directed toward a specified topic or project.

HIST 449 (3) Black Americans in the South. A study of the development of the Black Southerners culturally and institutionally between the Civil War and 1915.

HIST 452 (3) Introduction to Public and Applied Historical Studies.  An introduction to selected subjects and skills related to the use of history in the public and private sectors.

Hist 460 (3) Science and Society. Study of scientific theories, experimentations, and personalities from an historical perspective with an emphasis on the influence of science on society and culture.

HIST 461 (3) History of Disability.  An exploration of the historical experience of people with mental and physical disabilities, including a critical survey of the shifting cultural conceptions of mental and physical disability in American history.  Emphasis will be placed on the lives of people with disabilities in the community, the development of residential institutions, the growth of social welfare programs, and the disability rights movement of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

HIST 462 (3) History of Childhood and Youth. An exploration of the historical experiences of children and youth.  The class examines how race, gender, class, religion, and disability shaped the lives of children and youth.  Other topics to be discussed include the role of the community and state in child-rearing and evolving concepts of childhood and adulthood.

HIST 463 (3) History of Public Health.  A critical study of the history public health, including the changing role of epidemic disease, the development of government public health programs, lay health care practices, the rise of the modern medical professions, the growing influence of technology in health care, and the persistence of racial, ethnic, and class differences in health care, morbidity, and mortality.

HIST 473 (3) Introduction to Museums. Survey of the history of American museums and principles of museum management.

HIST 476 (3) Archives and Records Management. Survey of the principles of archive and resource management with an emphasis on material culture.

HIST 491 (3) Film and History Seminar: Filmmakers’ Responses to Political Debates and Policies in the United States.  Students will examine the ways in which films engaged with selected political debates and policies in the United States between 1900 and the present.  Topics may include the World Wars, Cold War, War on Terror, Great Depression, immigration, Prohibition, the Red Scares, and urban development.

HIST 492 (3) Film and History Seminar: Filmmakers’ Responses to Social Change and Conflict in the United States, 1900-Present.  Students will examine the ways in which films reflected and engaged with selected social issues in the United States from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.  Topics may include African American, Mexican American, and Native American civil rights; the Feminist Movement; Gay and Lesbian civil rights; sexual revolutions of the 1920s and postwar era; and class conflict.

HIST 493 (3) Film and History Seminar: Filmmakers’ Interpretations of World War II.  Students will examine the ways in which films from around the world reflected and engaged with the political, social, and military issues of World War II during and since the war.

HIST 498 (3) Discovery and Preservation of Local, State, and National History. Survey of techniques and methodologies for researching and writing the histories of various political and cultural subdivisions. The subdivisions that will serve as venues for the historical studies include and range from local municipalities, small towns and counties to the state, region and nation.

HIST 499 (3) History Internship. History majors relate their academic education to on-the-job training situations in public and private programs, organizations, and agencies.

 

Philosophy Courses:

PHIL 205 (3) Old Testament and Its World.  Development of literary and doctrinal statements from primitive oral tradition of narrative and religious experience.  Covenant election and views of history.  Non-Hebraic influences on Old Testament doctrine and belief.

PHIL 207 (3) New Testament and Its World.  Development of literary and doctrinal formulations from private oral tradition to current forms of gospel, epistle, and apocalypse. Influences of classical thought and literary styles.

PHIL 301 (3) Introduction to Philosophy.  Four principal types: metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics.  Illustrated from classical, medieval and modern philosophic systems.

PHIL 308 (3) Aesthetics.  Nature of artistic perception.  Major theorists from Greece to modern period.  Socio-economic influences from larger cultural settings.  Place of artist in society.

PHIL 309 (3) Ethics.  Representative thinkers from the pre-Axial Age up to the modern period focusing on capacities for analysis and critical thinking.

PHIL 416 (3) Logic.  Development of normative mental act in classical deductive and inductive forms, up to the syllogism.  Relation of logical structure to effective communication.

PHIL 432 (3) Philosophy of Religion.  Philosophical critique of representative religious experience and doctrine.  Representative thinkers from various periods.

PHIL 433 (3) Far Eastern Religions.  Islam, India, China, Japan.  Major doctrinal developments.  Influence of Western thought upon normative systems.

PHIL 434 (3) African Religions.  Major deity-formulations as related to nature.  Religious foundation of social structures.  Influence of Western religions and socio-economic systems on African urban centers.

PHIL 436 (3) Black Church and Black Theology.  Influence of slavery period on African religious origins and presentation of Christianity.  Post Civil War growth of belief and institutions.  Modern religious movement related to social change. “Liberation Theology.”

PHIL 437 (3) History of Modern Philosophy.  Philosophy from Renaissance to modern period.  Related to contemporary cultural movement.

PHIL 438 (3) Ancient Philosophies.  Philosophy from Egypt to Rome and/or India and China