Upper Division Courses
Summer 2025 - Online Course Descriptions
Online courses are fully online and completely asynchronous.
HIST 3302 M50
Modern Europe 1800 to present - Dr. Daniel Unowsky
WEB – Online
This course will acquaint you with the major political, social, economic, and cultural forces which have shaped Modern Europe. We will pursue a chronological perspective and highlight the French, Agricultural, and Industrial Revolutions, imperialism, the Russian Revolution, communism and fascism, the two world wars, the Holocaust, and the rise and fall of the Cold War. We will also turn our attention to the nineteenth century development of the notions of nation, class, gender, and race, and to the often tragic fate of these modern inventions in the 20th century. - Back.
HIST 3881 M50-51
African American History – TBA
WEB – Online
History and culture of African Americans in light of their experiences; aspects of African American life and attitudes of dominant society within which African Americans lived; ways African American men and women shaped and nurtured their own lives, culture and history in U.S. - Back.
HIST 4299 M50
Topics in Global History: Urban Landscapes – A History of Cities in the Global South - Dr. Selina Makana
WEB – Online
This course explores the history and growth of cities in the global South. We will interrogate how urban spaces intersect with histories of religion, the transatlantic slave trade, the colonial and postcolonial political economy. This course will focus on convergent and unique development of cities across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the South Atlantic (Brazil). Tracing these historical trajectories will enable students to examine the broader questions of global urbanism from a transnational perspective. A key question animating this seminar include: How do processes of slavery, colonialism, neoliberalism, globalization, wars, and migration, impact urban spaces? - Back.
Fall 2025 - On Campus Course Descriptions
* = Honors section offered
HIST 3007 001
Engineering the Ancient World: Science & Technology in Greece & Rome - Dr. Aamanda Gaggioli
TR 9:40-11:05 am | MI 305
Step into the world of ancient engineers! Greeks and Romans designed awe-inspiring structures and cutting-edge technologies that continue to amaze us today. From temples and aqueducts to amphitheaters, fortifications, and powerful cranes and catapults, their ingenuity shaped the ancient world — and still leaves us in wonder. - Back.
HIST 3371 001*
Dark Age Kingdoms - Dr. Benjamin Graham
TR 11:20-12:45 pm | MI 305
In the fifth century CE the Roman Empire wobbled and then collapsed, ending a millennium of domination across Europe and the Mediterranean. This course examines the aftermath of that empire. In its place, a multitude of kingdoms and new empires were forged, Christian institutions, like monasticism and the papacy, grew in power and prestige, Islam was born and spread across the Mediterranean, and one of the longest, sustained periods of migration occurred in the region’s history. Among others, Mongols, Franks, Goths, Magyars, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings looked to new horizons and found new homes, creating the crucible that gave shape to modern Europe and the Mediterranean. These were the Dark Ages, one of the most dynamic and formative periods in world history. - Back.
HIST 3671 001
Memory and the Civil War - Dr. Susan O’Donovan
TR 1:00 – 2:25 pm | MI 203
Memphis native, Shelby Foote, once exclaimed that “The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad... It was the crossroads of our being.” But was it? Did the war and its aftermath change the nation forever? Is that what the historical evidence says? Take this class and decide for yourself. - Back.
HIST 3863 001-002
American Ideas and Culture - Dr. Christine Eisel
(Hybrid) MWF 10:20-11:15 am / 11:30-12:25 pm | MI 209
Ideas have a history, too! In this course, we will investigate the ways Americans have thought about essential features of social, economic, and political order. We will pay particular attention to the development of and debate over central ideas of equality, freedom, and individualism that have defined the order of common life, and how they contributed to the notion of an "American" identity. - Back.
HIST 3881 001-005
African American History - Dr. Beverly Bond; Dr. Elton Weaver; TBA
Multiple sections available
This course examines African American history from the 17th century through the beginning of the 21st century. We will focus on the complex nature of race relations, on the development of African American culture, and on themes, issues, events, and personalities that have contributed to shaping the experiences of African Americans. We are living through some of the most confusing, turbulent times in African American History. I hope you'll be able to use what you learn from our textbook, the primary source documents, the videos, and some additional resources in the modules/units to better understand these events. - Back.
HIST 4151 001*
Habsburg Central Europe 1740-1918 - Dr. Daniel Unowsky
MW 2:20-3:45 pm | MI 209
This course explores the political and cultural history of the Habsburg Monarchy, known from 1867-1918 as Austria-Hungary. Once derided as an anachronistic “prison of the peoples,” the monarchy is now often lauded for the relative stability it once brought to a diverse region that has since experienced the horrors of ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and dictatorship. The course begins with the eighteenth-century efforts by the Habsburg dynasty to centralize its authority and ends with the dismantling of Austria-Hungary at the conclusion of World War I. We will consider the monarchy’s sources of strength, the causes of its ultimate demise, and the legacies it left to the “nation-states” that arose from its ashes. - Back.
HIST 4287 001*
Africa and African Diaspora - Dr. Dennis Laumann
MW 12:40 – 2:05 pm | MI 209
This course examines the history of linkages between the African continent and the African Diaspora in the Americas from the fifteenth century to the present. We will consider — in chronological order and within a global context —the major economic, political, social, and cultural themes and topics related to this history, including: the Atlantic Slave Trade; enslavement and resistance in the Americas; diasporic African cultures and religions; imperialism and colonialism; and Pan-Africanism and Black Internationalism. Particular attention will be paid to the Caribbean and Latin America. Our class meetings will consist of lectures, discussions, and occasional viewing of films. - Back.
HIST 4294 001*
Modern Japan - Dr. Catherine Phipps
TR 9:40-11:05 am | MI 209
This course is designed to help you learn about the history of modern Japan and its position in the world. We'll cover everything from Japan's early modern era to current events. Rather than treat the past and the present as two static end points, however, we'll explore their connections and consider how history informs the present and how the present shapes what questions we ask of the past. Using primary documents, novels, film, and websites, we'll explore such themes as economic & technological development, foreign relations & imperialism, race & gender, the environment, and intercultural exchange. We'll also develop skills in critical thinking, writing, and source analysis. - Back.
HIST 4853 001
African American Women - Dr. Beverly Bond
TR 11:20-12:45 pm | MI 209
History is a complex and multifaceted subject and the study of people of African descent in the Americas, especially women, is often fraught with myth and misunderstanding. Since their initial arrival in the New World colonies in the 1500s and the 1600s, African American women have existed at intersections of ideas and laws relating to race, class, gender, and sexuality. In this course we will examine what this has meant for individual women as well as for African American womanhood in general. We will focus on the impact of slavery and segregation; economic and political activities; the migrations to the American West and to urban communities in the North and South; the development of African American religious, educational, social, and fraternal institutions; the tradition of female activism from the 19th into the 21st centuries; and the struggles for social, political, and economic rights. These topics will be examined by centering the experiences of African American women from the 17th through the 21st centuries. - Back.
HIST 4861 001*
US Parks & Recreation: Policy, People, Animals - Dr. Caroline Peyton
TR 1:00-2:25 pm | MI 319
This course explores the history of parks, public lands, and recreational spaces in American history. What are the roots of America’s national parks and urban green spaces, like Central Park in New York City? What sparked an environmental movement and conservation efforts from wilderness advocates, avid hunters and fishermen, to the fashionable ladies of the Gilded Age? What role have animals played in this history, and how have our views on public policy, environmental conservation, and animals changed over time? This class answers those questions, and seeks to reimagine American history from the ground up. - Back.
Fall 2025 - Online Course Descriptions
Online courses are fully online and completely asynchronous.
* = Honors section offered
HIST 3303 M50
European Empires - Dr. Andrew Daily
WEB – Online
A comprehensive overview of European colonial empires from the 17th century until the 20th century. Lectures, readings, and discussions will focus on topics including capitalism and commerce; the transatlantic slave trade; colonial science and social science; intercultural exchange and creolization; scientific racism and the civilizing mission; empires and popular culture; anticolonial nationalism and decolonization; and neocolonialism and globalization. Assignments will include quizzes, a midterm, short essays, and a final project. - Back.
HIST 3811 M50
US Military / Naval History - Dr. Harry Barber
WEB - Online
Military history generally includes three related topics: the conduct and theory of war, the implications and results of war, and the role of military institutions in domestic politics. This course will look at broad trends in warfare over the last 300 years. We will examine military institutions, their effectiveness in war, their peace-time duties, and how they reflect and affect their societies. The causes or war, morality in war, controlling and limiting war (what some call the management of violence) will also feature prominently at various points in this course. Understanding these aspects of war and military institutions will require you to develop some grasp of military tactics and strategy, but the purpose of this course is not to turn you into military officers. The course will focus on higher level issues rather than the intricacies of individual battles. - Back.
HIST 3815 M50*
World War II - Dr. Yaowen Dong
WEB – Online
The legacy of World War II continues to shape our world, not only through political borders and global institutions but also through cultural memory and contested narratives. This course offers a comprehensive and critical examination of the war, not as a singular event but as a series of interconnected crises rooted in colonialism, fascism, economic upheaval, and ideological conflict. We will analyze key battles, shifting alliances, and turning points, while also exploring the war’s impact on civilian populations, genocide, and the geopolitical realignments that followed. Beyond the battlefield, the course interrogates how World War II has been remembered, represented, and mythologized in media, politics, and national identities—examining the ways in which the war is not just history but an evolving discourse that continues to define the present. - Back.
HIST 3881 M50-55
African American History - Dr. Elton Weaver; TBA
WEB – Online
Multiple sections available
History and culture of African Americans in light of their experiences; aspects of African American life and attitudes of dominant society within which African Americans lived; ways African American men and women shaped and nurtured their own lives, culture and history in the U.S. - Back.
HIST 3884 M90
Civil Rights Movements - Dr. Michele Coffey
WEB – Online
Tens of thousands of African Americans led a struggle for liberation, legal equality, and respect over the course of the twentieth century. This Black freedom struggle took on a range of economic, political, and social issues and ultimately affected everyone living in the US. This course will explore this complex movement from a wide variety of scholarly perspectives focusing especially on the impact of memory on common understandings of the movement in the present. In addition to analyzing readings assigned by the professor, each week, students will also engage their own intellectual curiosity, locating and discussing relevant sources using the library’s online databases. - Back.
HIST 4260 M50*
World Since 1945 - Dr. Eron Ackerman
WEB – Online
This asynchronous online course explores key events and turning points in world history since World War II. The course is organized around three major developments. The first is the Cold War, a 55-year period of tense relations between Western capitalist nations allied with the United States (the so-called “First World”) and the communist nations of the Soviet Eastern Bloc and China (the “Second World”). We will see how the Cold War impacted domestic and international politics through the NATO and Warsaw-Pact alliances, espionage and state surveillance, the arms race, covert operations in foreign countries, and the outbreak of proxy wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. Our second major topic of focus—which was intertwined with Cold War politics—is how the empires of Europe and Japan, including most of Africa and Asia, transitioned from colonies to independent nations (the so-called “Third World”). Lastly, we will examine the emergence of a new world order after the collapse of communism, which included the ascendency of neoliberalism and neoconservatism, the intensification of globalization mediated by international and non-governmental organizations, and the impact of the post-September 11th “War on Terror.” In addition to investigating the course of events and the evidence behind it, we will analyze how politicians, writers, and historians have represented and debated these developments using terms like “freedom,” “totalitarianism,” “containment,” and “clash of civilizations.” Assignments include group discussions, quizzes, a midterm and final exam, and a research paper on a topic in world history since 1945. - Back.
HIST 4277 M50*
Ottoman Empire - Dr. Beverly Tsacoyianis
WEB – Online
This online course examines the history of the Ottoman Empire through video lectures and discussion board posts on such topics as the politics and people of the Ottoman Empire from its rise in the 13th century until its demise in 1922 CE. We will consider conceptual problems of dealing with “empire” as a unit of analysis, as well as historical debates about narrative, perspective, and primary sources. In addition to two main textbooks, primary sources in translation, and academic articles in the field of history, there are interdisciplinary components through film, historical fiction, and social science research. The first half of the semester covers aspects of the medieval and early modern periods while the second half of the semester focuses on the period since the 18th century. Themes include politics, literary and artistic creations, war, travel, trade, and modernization. - Back.
HIST 4326 M50
Imperial Egypt - Dr. Peter Brand
WEB – Online
The New Kingdom era (1550-1100 BCE) transformed pharaonic Egypt and its relations with the outside world. During this imperial age, warrior pharaohs forged an empire stretching from Sudan in Africa to Syria and the borders of Turkey. Intensive military, diplomatic, economic, and cultural interactions with other civilizations transformed Egyptian society and culture. With new military technologies like the horse drawn chariot and composite bow, Egypt became a military superpower. An influx of foreign peoples brought religious, cultural, and economic change to the land along the Nile. We will explore the major historical issues and problems of this age, and the methodologies used by Egyptologists to reconstruct the history of this civilization. - Back.
HIST 4851 M50
US Women’s History - Dr. Christine Eisel
WEB – Online
In this course, we consider women's experiences throughout American history, from the colonial period to modern times, with an emphasis on changes in women's working, family, personal, and political lives. We will re-imagine US history by centering women's stories, not as merely contributors to big events, but as historical agents whose fears, concerns, and desires shaped the past and how we understand it as scholars. Using a variety of selected primary and secondary sources, including monographs, essays, literature, and film, you will explore the ways in which women's public and private lives intersected with, and were often defined by, changing ideals of gender, race, and class. - Back.