History (HIST)

Introduction to the study of history, focusing on methods, topics, skills in the History major at Cal Poly, and internship and career opportunities. To be taken in the first year of study at Cal Poly. 2 seminars.

Beginnings of western civilization from the river valley societies of the Middle East, circa 3,000 BCE to the Renaissance in Western Europe to 1550 CE. Political, economic, social, intellectual, and artistic development of that period. 4 lectures.

Development of western civilization from 1550 CE to the present. Comparison of liberal modernization of the West with the conservative modernization in Central, East and Southeast Europe. Political, economic, social, intellectual, and artistic developments of that period. Particular attention to understanding dynamics that produce pluralistic mass societies such as Great Britain and France, and authoritarian mass societies such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. 4 lectures.

Individual investigation, research, studies, or surveys of selected problems. Total credit limited to 4 units, with a maximum of 4 units per quarter.

Survey of the first half of U.S. history, including: contact and settlement, American Revolution, slavery, westward expansion, early California, Civil War, and California and U.S. Constitutions. Particular attention to how race, class, and gender shaped changing definitions of freedom and equality. Not open to students with credit in HIST 206. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST 201/HNRS 203. Fulfills GE Area D1 and USCP.

Survey of the second half of U.S. history, including reconstruction, industrialization, the regulatory state, foreign affairs, and the remaking of citizenship rights and society. Particular attention to how race, class, and gender shaped changing definitions of freedom and equality. Not open to students with credit in HIST 206. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 202. Fulfills GE Area D1 and USCP.

The social, cultural, constitutional, and political history of African American, Asian American, Native American, Latinx and other underrepresented groups. Not open to students with credit in HIST 201 or HIST 202. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Area D1 and USCP.

Survey of California history from the pre-Columbian period to the present. Native American culture, Spanish imperialism, the Mexican War, gold rush, immigration, dominance of the Southern Pacific Railroad, progressivism, growth of Los Angeles, and California's impact on national and world economy and politics. 4 lectures. Fulfills USCP.

Global history from the beginnings of organized agriculture to the Industrial Revolution. Focus on causation, using geography and cultural creation to highlight economic, political, social, and intellectual developments of the major civilizations of earth. Not open to students with credit in HIST 221 or HIST 222. Field trip may be required. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The relationship between states and economies in the modern period. Modernization, industrialization, and colonialism. Modern systems of political economy, especially mercantilism, capitalism, communism, and social democracy. Modern theories of political economy, especially liberalism, Marxism, and Keynesianism. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 213. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

History of social movements worldwide from the late nineteenth century to the present. May include, but not limited to: socialism and other labor movements, feminism, white supremacy, pacifism, decolonization, Indigenous peoples, racial justice, LGBTQIA, environmentalism, fair trade, and independent living movement. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 216. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

History of world societies in comparative global perspective. Cross-cultural exchange, interaction, and conflict in the making of the world to 1000, concentrating on the rise of earliest human communities, growth of states, economic, political, and cultural transformations. Not open to students with credit in HIST 210. Field trip may be required. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

History of world societies in comparative global perspective. Cross-cultural exchange, interaction, and conflict in the making of the world to 1800, concentrating on the global interaction and integration, cultural and ecological exchange, economic, political, and cultural transformations. Not open to students with credit in HIST 210. Field trip may be required. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Comparative history of Western and non-Western societies in global perspective. Examines the history of cross-cultural exchange, interaction, and conflict in the making of the modern world, concentrating on economic, political, and cultural transformations that facilitated and emerged from imperialism. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 223. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Comparative history of the causes and consequences of global warfare for diverse societies and individuals from prehistory to the present. Relationships between global warfare and environment, technology, migration, economics, politics, religion, art, popular culture, law, ethnicity, class, and gender. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Directed group study of selected topics. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 1 to 4 lectures.

Designed to develop student's ability to research and write an interpretive paper on a specific topic. Seminar participants practice the skills of library research, historical and historiographical analysis, and writing and revising. Paper in lieu of final examination. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures and research project.

Theoretical approaches used to study the past, including scholarship on history and memory, the influence of interdisciplinary studies, the significance of race and gender as categories of analysis, and the place of history and the historian in contemporary society. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 3 seminar meetings and research project.

A history of the development of witchcraft ideas, persecutions, and skepticism in the western world from 1400 to 1800, focusing on the legal, economic, social, and intellectual currents that produced, fired, and eventually ended the phenomenon. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Intellectual and cultural history of Europe from the nineteenth century to the present. Liberalism, radical thought, feminism, evolutionary theory, psycho-analysis, structuralism, existentialism, and postmodernism. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The African, Islam and Euro-American dimensions of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, with focus on its varying roots, organization and impact on cross-cultural and global levels. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 308. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The cultures of West African and the African Diaspora, with special attention to the intersection of Animist, Islamic and Western cultures, and the survival of African cultures in the Americas as manifested in the artistic, religious, literary, and other humanistic legacies of the African Diaspora. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The pre-modern and modern histories of China and Japan. Focus on the traditional era, the transition to modernity, cultural uniqueness within East Asian civilization, and western images of Asia. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST 310/HNRS 312. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Comparative history of landscape transformation, conservation policy, and environmental beliefs of North America, Latin America, Europe, China, and Africa from 1492 to the late 20th century. Historical comparison of biophysical, cultural, economic, and political change connected to issues of sustainability in world regions. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Political, social, and economic development of the Middle East from the late Ottoman and Qajar Empires in the 19th century through the formation of nation-states in the 20th. Special attention to imperialism, nationalism, orientalism, modernity/modernization, state-building, revolution, and oil. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs). Formerly HIST 314.

Modern histories of China, Japan and Korea: great disruptions of modernity that have transformed these societies, common characteristics of modernity in East Asia, great differences between Chinese, Japanese and Korean histories, and the mutually constitutive nature of these East Asian histories. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The history of the sea, people who travel across it, live alongside or in the midst of it, or simply seek it out. Topics include imperialism, maritime commerce, port cities, littoral societies, piracy, tourism, popular culture. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 317. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Comparative history of social, economic, political, and cultural changes in urban life during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics may include but are not limited to: commerce and labor; disease and death; conservation and preservation; gender and sexuality; race and ethnicity. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Modern histories of South and Southeast Asia: traditional empires and cultures, spread of modern capitalism, Western and Japanese colonialism, decolonization and independence, ethnic and religious tensions, roles in contemporary economy and geopolitics. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Settlement and evolution of British America, background to the imperial dispute, events leading to the Revolution, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, the national economy, roles of and impact on African-Americans, women, Native Americans and Loyalists. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The experiences of nineteenth-century Americans. Focus on industrialization, antebellum reform, slavery, the Civil War battlefield and homefront, Reconstruction, and the creation of a New South. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

American history since 1900. Focus on domestic and foreign policy interactions, struggle of disenfranchised groups for social and political equality, and changes in culture and identity. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST 322/HNRS 323. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Topics include imperialism, the world wars, the Cold War, decolonization, and globalization. Particular attention to ideologies shaping U.S. policy; ethics and decision-making at multiple levels; and political, economic, social, and cultural consequences of U.S. activity for societies and individuals around the world. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Europe's 'long nineteenth century' reveals continuity and dramatic changes in politics, social structures and identities, forms of cultural expression, and scientific and technological knowledge. Topics include the French and Industrial revolutions; liberalism; nationalism; socialism; modernism; imperialism; and World War I. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 334. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Examination of twentieth-century European history. Topics include: First World War, World Economic Crisis, communism, fascism, mass culture, shifting gender roles, Second World War, Cold War, Velvet Revolution, and the European Union. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 335. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Historical examination of Great Britain's challenge to its sovereignty and freedom by the regime of Nazi Germany from 1939-1945. An account of how Britain formed an alliance with the United States, and how that partnership forged a successful campaign that culminated in the survival of Britain and destruction of the Nazi regime. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Survey of Latin American history in the colonial period from 1492 to the early nineteenth century. Special attention to the indigenous cultures, the Iberian civilization, and the evolving relationship between them. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Social, economic and political history of Latin America from the 19th century to the present. Historical development of economic structures and political and cultural institutions in the region, including Central America, the Hispanic Caribbean, and South America. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Political, social, and economic development of Central American countries in the context of regional history and international politics during the nineteenth and twentieth Centuries. 3 lectures and research project.

History of the intellectual, social, and cultural changes in the early modern period known as the 'Scientific Revolution.' Main topics include the Copernican Revolution, mechanical philosophy, natural history, and the social and material practices of early modern science. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/HNRS 350. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

History of computer networks and other information technologies from the Cold War to the present. ARPANET, USENET, Internet, World Wide Web, Web 2.0. Cybernetics, information theory, data science. Issues of diversity and inclusivity in cyberspace and the information technology professions. 4 lectures.

Individual investigation, research, studies, or surveys of selected problems. Total credit limited to 4 units, with a maximum of 4 units per quarter.

Age of exploration. European powers in eastern North America. English settlements, development of the English colonies, with emphasis on Virginia and Massachusetts. Proprietary interests, growth of internal control, and colonial conflicts. 3 lectures and research project.

History of African Americans from the colonial period to the Civil War, roughly 1619-1865. The slave trade, slavery in the colonies, plantation slavery, the Black West, and free Black culture and institutions. 3 lectures and research project.

History of African-Americans from the Civil War to the present. Reconstruction, racial segregation, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Civil Rights Movement, Black Feminism and Black Power. 3 lectures and research project. Fulfills USCP.

American science during the Cold War, including the development of weapons-related technologies, the effects of economic change and foreign policy, ethical debates among scientists, and shifting public perceptions of science. 3 lectures and research project.

Principle forces affecting the nation's political, social and economic life during the Age of Franklin Roosevelt. Included are the politics of the New Deal, government regulation of the economy and response to the Depression, the rise of the modern presidency, racial and ethnic conflict, the politics of class and gender, the home front at war and post-war tension. 3 lectures and research project.

Interaction of revolutionary Vietnamese nationalism with U.S. foreign policy. Analysis of the conduct of the war. Assessment of the impact of the war on U.S. society. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 3 lectures and research project.

Topics include liberalism, conservatism, civil rights, foreign policy, the war in Vietnam, stagflation and deregulation, and key social and cultural movements. Emphasis on politics, economic conditions, and ideology. 3 lectures and research project.

Japan's development as a modern state (1800-2000 CE). Themes include Japan's engagement with modernity and nationalism, the emperor system, Japanese imperialist expansion, and postwar reconstruction of Japanese society. 3 lectures and research project.

Chinese history in the twentieth century: the fall of the Qing Dynasty and founding of Republic of China in 1912, problems of imperialism and modernity, Chinese Communist Party and People's Republic of China since 1949. 3 lectures and research project.

Examination of 20th century Chinese history through the use of Chinese feature films. Films (with English subtitles) serve as main texts for understanding the tremendous changes in modern Chinese history, and the evolving relationships between film and Chinese society. 4 lectures.

Modern history of mainland and maritime Southeast Asia, focusing on the development of political institutions and changing political and cultural identities. Early empires, expansion of capitalism, colonial rule and wars through era of independence. 3 lectures and research project.

Comparative history of prostitution from antiquity to present. Analysis of prostitution from social, cultural, political, gendered and economic perspectives. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HIST/WGQS 421. Formerly WGS 421.

Relationships between film and postwar Japanese society; recurring themes and images that link the diverse body of postwar Japanese film. Films (with English subtitles) serve as main texts for understanding of the tremendous changes in recent Japanese history. 3 lectures, 1 activity.

The history of Vietnam and the influences on its national identities, including migration, cultural adaptations, temporality and territoriality, foreign influences, and racial formations within and outside of the borders of today's Vietnam. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 3 lectures and research project.

Organization, selection, presentation, application, and interpretation of subject matter in history in secondary schools. 4 seminars.

Supervised practicum for part-time and full-time student teachers in the Social Science Credential Program. Teaching techniques and strategies useful for addressing a wide range of issues that arise in grades 6-12 social science classrooms. Credit/No Credit grading only. Total credit limited to 8 units. 2 seminars.

Political, social, intellectual and economic roots of Russian Absolutism. Emergence of Russia as an imperial power, reform, reaction and revolution - 1689-1914. 3 lectures and research project.

Transformation of Russian autocracy from tsarist to Bolshevik under the impact of World War I and the Revolution of 1917. The formative force of Marxism-Leninism; Civil War; the "experimental" 20s; forced collectivization and industrialization; the Purges; "engineering" a new Soviet Woman and Man for a new communist world; War: Second and Cold. 3 lectures and research project.

History of the Indian Ocean from pre-Islamic times to the present. Exploration of unity and diversity of interconnected societies of the sea and shores of the Indian Ocean. Examination of geography, trade, travel, naval power and exploration in the political, religious, cultural, maritime and economic history of this vital region. 4 lectures.

Survey of African history from earliest times. Ancient African civilizations, Moslem penetration, the rise of indigenous kingdoms and the continuous impact of Atlantic slave trade. 3 lectures and research project.

Survey of African history in the 19th and 20th centuries including European colonialism, African resistance, the rise of African nationalism and problems since independence. 3 lectures and research project.

Consideration of major themes in human interactions with the environment from the colonial period to the present. Major topics include: changing subsistence systems; the environmental impact of industrialization; conservation and sustainability; and the rise of modern environmental movements. 3 lectures and a research project.

Historiographical and chronological survey since European contact. Emphasis on the frontier and borderlands concepts, Native America, the Hispanic Southwest, US expansion and conquest, industrial capitalism, inter-societal and transnational economies, immigration, public memory, and racial identity formation. 3 lectures and a research project.

Female ideology and experience from the colonial period through the American Civil War. Use of a variety of sources, including women's own writing, in order to understand the history of women as it both reflects and shapes American culture and society. 3 lectures and research project. Crosslisted as HIST/WGQS 434. Formerly WGS 434.

The female past in the modern period of U.S. history. Considers how transformations in gender roles are reflective of other significant changes in American culture and society. Emphasis on class, race, and ethnic variations in women's experience. 3 lectures and research project. Crosslisted as HIST/WGQS 435. Fulfills USCP. Formerly WGS 435.

Background of German Romantic Nationalism; national unification and defeat in World War I; the failure of Weimar Democracy and political radicalization; the Nazi political, economic, and social revolution 1933-1939. 3 lectures and research project.

Selected topics and issues in United States history. Descriptive subtitles assigned to each course. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. May be repeated to 8 units. 3 lectures and a research project.

Selected topics and issues in European history. Descriptive subtitles assigned to each course. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. May be repeated to 8 units. 3 lectures and research project.

Selected topics and issues in Latin American history. Descriptive subtitles will be assigned to each course. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. May be repeated to 8 units. 3 lectures and research project.

Selected topics and issues in Asian history. Descriptive subtitles will be assigned to each course. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. May be repeated to 8 units. 3 lectures and research project.

Selected topics and issues in African history. Descriptive subtitles will be assigned to each course. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. May be repeated to 8 units. 3 lectures and research project.

Selected topics and issues in comparative history. Descriptive subtitles will be assigned to each course. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. May be repeated to 8 units. 3 lectures and research project.

Europe from 1348 to 1620 CE, with topics including the urban milieu, Renaissance philosophy and artistic expression, the new prince, the educational revolution, the Renaissance Church, Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, and the monumental economic, social, and political changes of the sixteenth century. 3 lectures and research project.

Europe from 1559 to 1715 CE, focusing on the Catholic-Protestant conflict, the rise of the Absolutist state (especially Louis XIV), the "Crisis of the Seventeenth Century," the Thirty Years War, the English Civil War and Cromwell, and the Newtonian Paradigm. 3 lectures and research project.

Social, economic, political, and cultural effects of changing gender systems in modern Europe, particularly but not exclusively with regard to sex and sexuality. 3 lectures and research project. Crosslisted as HIST/WGQS 458. Formerly WGS 458.

The history of imperialism and postcolonial studies and the influences of social, economic, and political impact of the empire system on indigenous people, cultures, economy, and politics. 3 lectures and research project.

Completion of paper or creative project under faculty supervision. Must be historical in nature, investigate a question of significance, include an historiographical analysis, and make an argument based on primary and secondary sources. Take HIST 461 during a subsequent quarter.

Completion of paper or creative project begun in HIST 460 under faculty supervision.

Supervised work experience using skills of the discipline of history in a public agency ranging from 12 to 36 hours per week. Interns work directly under the supervision of an employee of the agency and are subject to the professional responsibilities typical of the state. Total credit limited to 12 units. Credit/No Credit grading only.

Directed group study of selected topics for advanced students. Open to undergraduate and graduate students. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 1 to 4 lectures.

History of Arabia from pre-Islamic times to the present. Political, cultural, social and economic history of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Emphasis on regional connectivity, imperialism and the origins of modern Gulf nation states, and historical roots to contemporary problems in the region. 4 lectures.

Intensive study of how contemporary historians engage the public. Focus on tools and methodologies. Special attention to forms of public engagement designed for diverse audiences. Organized around individual and group projects. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 4 lectures.

Part-time work experience in business, industry, government, and other areas of student career interest. Positions are paid and usually require relocation and registration in course for two consecutive quarters. Formal report and evaluation by work supervisor required. No major credit allowed; total credit limited to 12 units. Credit/No Credit grading only.

Full-time work experience in business, industry, government, and other areas of student career interest. Positions are paid and usually require relocation and registration in course for two consecutive quarters. Formal report and evaluation by work supervisor required. No major credit allowed; total credit limited to 24 units. Credit/No Credit grading only.

Individual investigation, research, studies, or surveys of selected problems. Total credit limited to 8 units.

Weekly reading and discussion course on practical methods and theoretical approaches to the study and writing of history. 4 seminars.

Intensive study of selected topics in United States history. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 12 units. 4 seminars.

Intensive study of selected topics in modern European history. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 12 units. 4 seminars.

Intensive study of selected topics in East Asian history. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 12 units. 4 seminars.

Intensive study of selected topics in Latin American history. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 12 units. 4 seminars.

Intensive study of selected topics in African history. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 12 units. 4 seminars.

Intensive study of selective topics in comparative history. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 12 units. 4 seminars.

Intensive study of selected topics in Middle Eastern history. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 12 units. 4 seminars.

Directed supervision of reading for MA comprehensive exams. Regular consultation between advisor and student. Total credit limited to 4 units.

Directed group study of selected topics for graduate students. Open to undergraduate and graduate students. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 1 to 4 lectures.

Directed supervision of MA thesis. Regular consultation between advisor and student. Course to be taken three times over three separate quarters; total credit limited to 9 units.