History (HIST)

HIST 500 | CORE SEMINAR IN HISTORY

Units: 3

Required for all MA candidates in history. The class will examine different historical methodologies and introduce students to the rigors of graduate school.

HIST 501 | TEACHING SEMINAR

Units: 3

This course, offered by the School of Education, or SOLES, will discuss teaching methods, evaluate course content, instruct students in the use audio-visual materials and make use of oral presentations to simulate classroom lectures. Essential for those preparing to become teachers or continuing the pursuit of graduate degrees in history.

HIST 502 | PUBLIC HISTORY SEMINAR

Units: 3

Examines aspects of public history that include a variety of spheres such as the application and definition of public history; theory and management of historical collections; registration and cataloguing of historical collections; philosophy and techniques of exhibiting historical artifacts; historical editing — books and scholarly journals; media or documentary productions; writing corporate histories; historical research in general and maintaining a website. Field trips to various local museums are included.

HIST 510 | TOPICS IN ANCIENT HISTORY

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

This seminar focuses on ancient Greek or Roman history, with an emphasis on power and politics, gender, art and architecture and/or economic and social change. Special topics may offer the chance to study the Trojan War, ancient Athens, Greek religion and culture, ancient Rome and the Mediterranean, the army, barbarians, Julius Caesar, Romanization and/or the rise of Christianity. Extensive use will be made of contemporary sources to obtain first-hand insights into the values and concerns of ancient men and women. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 520 | TOPICS: MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

This seminar focuses on Medieval European history, with an emphasis on power and politics, gender, art and architecture and/or economic and social change. Extensive use will be made of contemporary sources to obtain first-hand insights into the values and concerns of medieval men and women. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 530 | TOPICS:REN & EARLY MOD EUROPE

Units: 3

This seminar focuses on Europe, 1450-1700, with an emphasis on power and politics, gender, art and architecture and/or economic and social change. Special topics may offer the chance to study the politics of the Italian city states; the writings of leading humanists, poets, philosophers and political theorists; Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture; and/or political events such as the English civil war. The class also may focus on groundbreaking research in the histories of women, sexuality, popular culture, peasant life and magic. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 548 | VIETNAM WAR

Units: 3

This seminar will examine the wars fought in and around Vietnam since the 1940s, with particular attention focused on the period of direct American involvement. These events will be considered in relation to Vietnam’s history, American politics and society and to the nature of war itself. Finally, we will consider the legacy of the war and its meaning in American and Vietnamese memory today.

HIST 559 | TOPICS IN MODERN MIDDLE EAST

Units: 3

This seminar focuses on various topics in the history of the Modern Middle East. Topics may include the growth and decline of the Ottoman Empire; Arab and Jewish nationalisms; the paths to independence; or the Iranian revolution. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 560 | TOPICS IN LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Repeatable if topic differs)

This seminar focuses on various topics in the history of Latin America, such as the role of religion and the Catholic Church; 20th-century revolutions and social upheaval; and the history of particular groups, including Amerindians, women and rural and urban workers. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 564 | HISTORY & MEMORY IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Repeatable if topic differs)

An in-depth look at special themes and issues in the history of Asia, including such topics as Women in East Asia, Imperialism in Asia and Asia’s relations with the United States. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 568 | ISSUES IN MODERN AFRICA

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Repeatable if topic differs)

A critical study of issues confronting Africans in the 20th century. Alternating courses may include Problems in Africa since Independence and the South African Dilemma. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 570 | AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY

Units: 3

This class will introduce students to the field of U.S. environmental history. On the one hand, we will examine how nature (soil, natural disasters, disease, water, climate, etc.) influenced the course of American history. On the other, we will address the ways Americans have used technology to transform the non-human world, the implications these transformations have had on power relations within American societies and the cultural meanings that Americans have given to nature.

HIST 575 | TOPICS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Repeatable if topic differs)

Topics may include the Progressive Era, World War I, Great Depression, New Deal, World War II, United States-Latin American Relations, or other topics in the political, economic, social and cultural history of the United States from 1865 to the present. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 576 | POLITICS AND MEMORY IN U.S. HISTORY

Units: 3

In this seminar we will explore the politics of American public commemoration. We will look at how dominant institutions (the National Park Service, history museums and tourist venues) have remembered (and forgotten) the American past. We will also explore vernacular historical expressions and the ways in which minority groups have fought to shape American public memory. The class will use San Diego as a laboratory.

HIST 580 | TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WEST

Units: 1-6 Repeatability: Yes (Repeatable if topic differs)

This class surveys the history of the American West. Topics include: pre-Columbian Indians, the competition between European empires over the American West; American expansion and conquest; the fur, mining, ranching and farming “frontiers”; the railroad and populism; WWII and the growth of the urban west; the historical experience of workers, women and Mexican-, Asian-, Native- and African Americans; environmental issues such as conservation, preservation, the dust bowl and water politics; and representations of the West in popular culture. Students may repeat the seminar for credit when the topic changes.

HIST 583 | CHICANO/A HISTORY

Units: 3

This class explores the history of the Mexican and Mexican origin people in the United States. The class begins with the European settlement of the Americas and ends with the immigration of Mexicans to the United States in the 20th and 21st century.

HIST 589 | HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA

Units: 3

Covers California’s past from its earliest settlements to modern times. The course begins with California’s geographical setting, aboriginal culture and contact with the European world. A survey of Spanish backgrounds includes missions and missionaries, ranchos, pueblos and foreign visitors. Changes under the government of Mexico led to California’s conquest by the United States. During the second half, the class will address the Gold Rush; problems of statehood; constitutional developments; land, labor and Indian policies; transportation and immigration; agriculture and industry; California during wartime; water projects; political issues; cultural accomplishments; racial diversity; and recent trends. Meets the requirements of California history standards for various teaching credentials.

HIST 595 | THESIS

Units: 0.5-6 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

May be taken as a three-unit class. In other instances, History 595 may be repeated when student is writing and researching the thesis. When not taken as a seminar, History 595 will receive an incomplete. The grade for History 595 will not be recorded until the thesis is completed and submitted.

HIST 598 | INTERNSHIP

Units: 3

See Department Advisors responsible for assignments of internships.

HIST 599 | INDEPENDENT STUDY

Units: 1-3

Consult program director for guidelines.