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History Course Offerings

Please see the section on "Course Description Symbols and Terms" in the University Catalog for an explanation of course description terminology and symbols, the course numbering system, and course credit units. All courses are lecture and discussion and employ letter grading unless otherwise stated. Some prerequisites may be waived with faculty permission. Many syllabi are available on the Chico Web.

Examination of the political, economic, religious, and social structures of the ancient civilizations that are the focus of the sixth-grade history/social science curriculum in California public schools: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Kush, the Hebrews, Greece, India, China, Rome.

Examination of the political, economic, religious, and social structures of the medieval and early-modern civilizations that are the focus of the seventh-grade history/social science curriculum in California public schools: the Islamic world, China, Japan, Europe, the Americas, Ghana, and Mali.

Examination of the developments and events that are the focus of the tenth-grade history-social science curriculum: the French Revolution, industrialization, imperialism, the world wars, totalitarianism, the Cold War, nation-building in the Third World, and global economic and technological integration. This is an approved General Education course.

This course treats the global history of human interaction with an effect on the environment and changing ideas about it from the late Paleolithic Age to 1492. The course is intended as an introduction to major themes, techniques, and sources of environmental history. This is an approved General Education course.

This course treats the global history of human interaction with an effect on the environment and changing ideas about it from 1492 to the 21st century. The course is intended as an introduction to major themes, techniques, and sources of environmental history. This is an approved General Education course.

Development of civilization in the Western world from the late Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. This is an approved General Education course. CAN HIST 4.

Origins and development of ancient Greece and Rome; politics, society, religion and mythology, archaeology, art and architecture, literature and philosophy of the Graeco-Roman world. (Core course for Classical Civilization Minor.) This is an approved General Education course.

Survey of American history. Development of the United States and its political, economic, social, and cultural institutions. From colonial times to the present. Satisfies requirement in California Administrative Code, Title 5, Education, Sec. 40404.

Prerequisites: Acceptance into the University Honors Program, faculty permission.

Survey of American history from colonial era to the present. Examination of the growth of the United States and the institutions, individuals, and groups which contributed to it. Class discussion emphasized. An Honors in General Education program course. Satisfies requirement in California Administrative Code, Title 5, Education, Sec. 40404.

Study of the Mexican-American subculture in the United States after 1848: historical background, migration, cultural patterns, folklore, economic and political objectives. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Ethnic course. This course is also offered as CHST 135.

Comparative analysis of the institution of slavery which places slavery in the Western Hemisphere into global and historical context beginning with labor oppression systems in Asia, the Roman Empire, and Mediterranean cultures. The significance and impact of Africans on the cultural, economic, and political life of North and South American nations will be examined in detail. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Ethnic course. This course is also offered as AFAM 206.

A history of the Indian in North America, development of Indian culture, Indian-white relations, the disruption of the Indian way of life, wars, assimilation, and Indian culture in a Caucasian world. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Ethnic course. This course is also offered as AIST 230.

An examination of the origins of black people, their history, philosophies, ideas, religions, social values, and the way in which these aspects of culture are interrelated. Emphasis is on the critical analysis of eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth-century events, personalities, and philosophies which resulted in the major economic, political, and social problems facing African Americans and other ethnic minorities today. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Ethnic course. This course is also offered as AFAM 231.

This course examines the history and heritage of the Mexican people of the present-day Southwestern United States from the fourteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Ethnic course. This course is also offered as CHST 234.

Cultural and historical background of the Middle East, plus government, family, social classes, religion, politics, and conflict in the Middle East today. This course is also offered as MEST 260.

An introduction to Islam as a religious and cultural system. Topics include pre-Islamic Arabia, the Prophet Muhammad and the first Muslims, the Qur'an and shari'a, basic ritual practices, mysticism, theology and philosophy, Shi'ism, the visual and musical arts, women, modernism, "fundamentalism," and Islam in the USA. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course. This course is also offered as MEST 261, and RELS 202.

Prerequisites: ENGL 130 and at least two 100-level history courses with a grade of C- or higher.

(This course is required of history majors and is ideally taken the semester that the history major is declared.) Introduction to the discipline of history and historical methods. The course emphasizes the need to acquire writing and research skills appropriate to the discipline, as well as an appreciation for the importance of historiography or different historical interpretations.

Prerequisites: HIST 290.

This course provides a working knowledge of the technologies historians use to collect data, analyze evidence, and disseminate conclusions, including use of the word processor, spreadsheets, databases, presentation, and website instruction, as well as Internet and electronic library resources. The course also explores legal, ethical, and social issues that confront historians in their use of these technologies.

Application of historical methodology to unusual interpretations and "mysteries" of the past. Examinations of "lost" supercivilizations (Atlantis), catastrophism (Velikovsky), and extraterrestrial intervention (ancient astronauts and von Daniken).

Using a chronological frame, catastrophes like famine, war, plague, and death will be studied as modes for giving structure and meaning to human events. "Poetics of History" and mimesis will supply the analytical means for understanding the catastrophic foundations of cultural identities in narratives and representations from Homer to Spielberg and in various modes, including the epic, tragic, ironic, prophetic, religious, and historical. This is an approved General Education course.

Prerequisites: HIST 101, HIST 102, HIST 103, and 3 units of upper-division history.

A comparative study of the political role of religions in Western and non- Western cultures. Social consequences of religious beliefs, values, and ideals, from comparative ethical, as well as social-scientific perspectives. Relevant major developments of both historical and contemporary times. Comparison of the social consequences of religious political values with the social consequences of some secular political ideologies. Enrollment preference given to students in History/Social Science Subject Matter Preparation Program.

This course is an introduction to the history of technology and engineering from ancient times to the early Industrial Revolution (300 B.C. to 1750 A.D.). It treats technology broadly in order to reach beyond the strict limits of machinery to include many human activities. Emphasis is placed on the development of technologies, and the relationships among technology, science, and culture.

This course is an introduction to the history of technology and engineering, examining the period from the early Industrial Revolution (ca. 1700) to the present. Broad themes of the course include the evolution of different forms of technology; the development of the modern engineering profession; the relationship between science and technology; the different ways in which technological change has affected society, and the ways different cultures at different times have regarded technology and shaped its development.

Prerequisites: HIST 103 or HIST 110.

Discusses the ways in which film reflects and shapes European society since World War I. Examines the relationships of history, politics, and cinema in Italy, France, Germany, Britain, and the former Soviet Union. 2.0 hours lecture, 2.0 hours activity. Special fee required; see the Class Schedule. This course is also offered as FLNG 315.

The Second World War has been called the biggest event in world history. This course uses texts and films to examine its origins and its consequences. Particular attention is given to the European theater although the Pacific war is also covered.

An exploration of the main currents in European intellectual history from the French Revolution to the present, emphasizing the rise of modernism in art, literature, philosophy, and the social sciences in the twentieth century. The focus will be on the analysis of primary texts by Marx, Freud, Nietzche, and other writers and thinkers.

This course explores major themes and developments in the social and cultural history of European women from the 1700s to the present, including changing gender roles, attitudes toward sexuality, reproduction, and the family. In particular, the course examines women's struggle to define themselves and their roles in society and their impact on the social identities of men. This course is also offered as WMST 326.

An examination of the various ethnic groups that came to America; the reasons for their emigration, their reception in the United States, special problems they encountered, and the contributions they made to American society. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Ethnic course. This course is also offered as MCGS 332.

Focus on the role gender plays in shaping and defining American history, from colonial times to the present. Analysis of relations between sexes, the family, and the struggle by women to achieve civil rights and social reform. The roles of race and class, and the rise of feminism. This is an approved General Education course. This course is also offered as WMST 335.

This course surveys the history of labor and work (paid and unpaid) in America from the colonial era to the present. It examines topics and interpretations representing the "old" and the "new" labor history in the context of America's industrial, economic, political, social, and cultural development. This course is also offered as AMST 340.

History of the attitudes, concepts, and public policy toward the American environment, including the natural, rural, and urban environments. Emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Ethnic course.

A history of American education from colonial times to the present, including the forces responsible for the development of public education, the social and cultural life of the academic world of students and teachers, and the relationship of such individuals to educational institutions.

This course explores the origins and significance of technological and scientific ideas, developments, and artifacts in American history from the colonial era to the present, viewing technology and science as social and cultural phenomena. An emphasis is placed on the social, cultural, political, and economic impact of technology and science in American history. This course is also offered as AMST 343.

Focuses on America's Vietnam experience. Emphasis on the domestic and foreign policy repercussions of U.S. involvement, the mythological and symbolic components of the war, and its legacies. This is an approved General Education course.

A review of the major developments in American society in the 1960s: foreign relations and war, politics and economics, culture and thought.

Introduction to some major aspects of society and culture in the Middle East, including the family, styles of living, roles of men and women, and Islamic religion. Examination of the nationalistic movements and politics in Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Israel. Analyses of cultural and political issues, such as the Palestinian question, Arab-Israeli conflict, Islamic resurgence, and modernization. This course is designed to be a component of the Upper-Division Theme on Cross-Cultural Exploration. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course. This course is also offered as MEST 362.

Peoples, cultures, and economic systems of Africa before 1800, with emphasis on agricultural history, long-distance trade, state formation, and African religions. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course. Formerly HIST 270.

Africa since 1800. Establishment and demise of European colonial regimes, African resistance to foreign domination, African political systems, dilemmas of socio-economic development, and gender differences in modern African life. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course. Formerly HIST 271.

Examines historical interactions between African societies and European settler communities, racism and economic oppression under apartheid, international involvement in the region, and African nationalist organizations. This is an approved Non-Western course.

Cultural, economic, and political evolution of eastern Asia from antiquity to 1800. Emphasis on common traditional heritage of China and Japan. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course. Formerly HIST 275.

Cultural, economic, and political evolution of eastern Asia from 1800 to the present. Emphasis on the transformation of the traditional heritage of China and Japan through revolution and modernization. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course. Formerly HIST 276.

This course examines women in China from antiquity to the present day. Focus is on women's roles in traditional society, formation and evolution of the patriarchal system, women's resistance and accomplishments in history, and women's emancipation movements under Western impact. Major issues include the role of socialism as savior of women and as appropriate strategies for Chinese women to adopt for achieving their feminist goals. This is an approved Non-Western course.

Historical and cultural development of Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. From traditional era to present, with emphasis on the twentieth century.

An historical survey of pre-Columbian and colonial Latin America, with emphasis on Aztec and Inca societies, Iberia's military, economic, and spiritual conquest, and the ways in which diverse colonial subjects resisted, adapted to, and assimilated colonial rule. Concludes by considering popular and elite culture in the late colonial period and tensions leading toward independence. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course.

A broad survey of modern Latin America since independence from Iberia, highlighting the chaotic years of post-independence state building, the social and political consequences of Latin America's integration into the global capitalist economy in the late nineteenth century, and the age of mass politics and revolutionary ferment after 1930. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course.

An interdisciplinary approach to the history and politics of Mexico. This course will introduce students to the panorama of Mexican history while delineating the roots and development of the current Mexican political system. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Non-Western course. This course is also offered as LAST 350.

Prerequisites: Faculty permission.

This course is an internship offered for 1.0–3.0 units. You must register directly with a supervising faculty member. Internships in history: either assisting instructors in lower-division courses or preparing multimedia presentations or discussion meetings; or work experience outside the academic program, in government agencies or in private historical societies, museums, and archives. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 15.0 units.

Prerequisites: 9 units of history and concurrent enrollment in another history class.

An overview of the history/social science curriculum at the secondary school level, incorporating exploration of learning styles, assessment strategies, lesson plans, and classroom management techniques. Forty-five hours of field experience (a prerequisite for admission to the credential program) are included.

This course is for special topics offered for .5 to 3.0 units. Typically the topic is offered on a one-time-only basis and may vary from term to term and be different for different sections. See the Class Schedule for the specific topic being offered.

Prerequisites: Faculty permission.

This course is an independent study of special problems offered for 1.0–3.0 units. You must register directly with a supervising faculty member. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 6.0 units. Credit/no credit grading only.

Origins, development, decline, and transitions in Bronze Age, Dark Age, and Archaic Age Greek civilization. Emphasis on the politics, social conditions, religion, philosophy, and culture of Archaic Greece and the early Persian Wars period (ca. 499–479 B.C.).

Development, decline, and transitions associated with the evolution of the Classical period of ancient Greek civilization during the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. Primary emphasis on the politics, social conditions, religion, philosophy, and culture of the "Golden Age" of the fifth century B.C.

Examination of the Greek world and the Persian Empire at the time of the rise of Macedon as a significant power under Philip II (r.359–336 B.C.E.) and during the life of Alexander the Great (r.336–323 B.C.E.).

Political, social, and cultural history of the Eastern Mediterranean world and the Middle East from the death of Alexander the Great through the Roman conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt, i.e., Hellenistic civilization (323 to 30 B.C.E.).

Political, social, and cultural history of Rome from its origins (within the world of pre-Roman Italy) down to Rome's emergence as the dominant power of the Mediterranean world. Emphasis is on the development of the Roman Republic's government, the nature of Roman imperialism, and social and cultural changes of the Second Century B.C.E. Time from of the courses is ca. 800–146 B.C.E.

Political, social, and cultural history of Rome and the Roman Empire from the crises of the Later Roman Republic down to the emergence of the Augustan Principate and the rule of the Caesars. Emphasis is on the conflicts that culminated in the collapse of the Roman Republic, the restoration of order under Augustus, and the cultural achievements of the Age of Cicero and the Augustan Golden Age. Time frame for the course is 146 B.C.E. to 14 C.E.

Political, social, and cultural history of the Roman Empire of the Caesars from the Julio-Claudian emperors (14–68 C.E.) to the end of the Severan Dynasty (435 C E.). Emphasis on the Julio-Claudian period, the achievements of Pax Romana, and the cultural transitions into Late Antiquity that emerged in the Second Century C.E.

Examination of the Roman world from 235 to the 480s C.E.: Third Century imperial crisis (235–284); recovery under the Dominate of Diocletian and Constantine (284–337); the Roman Empire and the Christian Church during the Fourth Century; Byzantine East, Latin West, and the barbarian invasions of the Fifth Century; the problem of the "decline and fall of the Roman Empire."

Examination of the Byzantine or East Roman Empire (630-1453) with emphasis on the sixth through ninth centuries and the Byzantine influence on Western Europe, Slavic Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Consequences of the collapse of Carolingian rule, and the gradual shaping of a Christian Europe divided into autonomous regional political units. (Core course for Medieval Studies Minor.)

New ideas about power and social structure in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Europe: Humanism, socio-political transformations, secular attitudes in art and society.

The breakdown of religious consensus among Europeans; the people and directions of Reform; technology and the military revolution of the period; rulers, people, and the idea of revolution; the reconsolidating of a European elite.

The development of distinct Western attitudes toward politics and society, as well as the issues and events (religious warfare, the discovery of new worlds, etc.) which gave rise to them.

The course covers monarchy and aristocracy in the old regime, the European Enlightenment, and the French Revolution. The emphasis is on similarities and contrasts between British and French outcomes.

A survey of European history from the defeat of Napoleon to the outbreak of the First World War. The emphasis is on the causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution, the growth of cities, the emergence of secular ideologies (liberalism, nationalism, and socialism), the reasons for European imperial expansion, the formation of a mass society, and the rise of the artistic and literary avant-garde.

An examination of the history of European society, politics, and ideas in the twentieth century. The emphasis is on the causes and course of the First World War, the rise of communism in the Soviet Union and of fascism in Italy and Germany, the emergence of modern culture in the interwar period, the causes and course of the Second World War, and the reconstruction of postwar Europe.

This course traces the history of Russia from Kievan Rus to the 1890s as background to some of the issues and problems facing Russia today. The course also examines how Russian society and culture was shaped by geographical features unique to that region of the world and developed separately from the West.

The course covers the dramatic events of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 and the evolution of Soviet and Russian history up to the present. Emphasis is on the social origins of the Russian Revolution, how a revolution for social democracy gave rise to one- party rule, and the chain of events which placed the Soviet Union on a path leading eventually to its demise in 1991 and the recasting of politics and society.

The Turkish conquests of the 14th and 15th centuries, the diplomatically bedeviling "Eastern question" of the 19th century, the shots at Sarajevo that started the First World War, the creation and destruction of Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia: conflicts in the Balkan peninsula have influenced and often dominated world affairs. This course traces political, cultural, and religious developments in the Balkan world. After an overview of the earlier centuries, the focus will be on the profound events and current problems of the 20th century.

Covers the political, social, and cultural developments between the War of the Roses and the Glorious Revolution; examines the transition from a medieval society to early modern Britain, including changes in the government and state, early expansion into Ireland and the New World, the English Civil War, and competing religious ideologies.

The birth and development of the first "modern" society. Emphasis is on major political, social, cultural, and economic issues, including growth of the welfare state, parliamentary democracy, party politics, industrial and agricultural revolutions, British imperialism in Africa and southern Asia, and change in national identity.

The study of British overseas settlements in North America, Australia, and South Africa; colonial acquisitions in Africa, the West Indies, and Asia; role of imperialism in British industrial growth, and independence movements in the Empire.

Emphasis on cultural, institutional, and intellectual origins and developments. Carolingian Empire to France in the contemporary European community.

Survey of Spanish history from unification in the fifteenth century to the present. Emphasis on the social and intellectual history of Spain plus its political development.

This course examines the main currents of German history from its first unification in 1870–71 under Bismarck to the reunification in 1989–90. The emphasis is on the nature of Imperial Germany, the German experience during the First World War, the political weaknesses and cultural innovations of the Weimar Republic, the rise of Hitler and of Nazism, the nature of the Third Reich, the causes and consequences of the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the experience of divided Germany in the postwar period.

Political, economic, and social forces in New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. British colonial system, international rivalry, and the war for the empire. 1607-1763.

The founding events of the American nation; the crisis of colonial society, the War for Independence, the Confederation, the Constitution, partisan strife in the Federal Era, 1763-1800.

Social, economic, and political history of the United States from the "Jeffersonian revolution" of 1800 through the Age of Jackson. 1800-1850.

Sectional conflict between rising industrialism and the Old South; abolitionism, secession, economic and social consequences of the war; reconstruction, political change, and continued sectionalism. 1850-1877.

An examination of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America. Emphasis on the emergence of the labor, populist, socialist, and progressive movements; big business; the modern middle class; and an overseas empire.

1914-1945. An examination of American society in an era of world wars, economic instabitility, and great cultural change.

1945 to 1974. The United States from Hiroshima to the 1970s, its social structure and economic dynamics as the dominant world power in an age of revolution that includes an atomic arms race and a threatened natural environment.

An historical perspective on major developments in American national life during the final decades of the twentieth century, including the emergence of the New Right, globalization of the economy, the "culture wars," the end of the Cold War, the growth of multicultural diversity in the United States, the rise of the postmodern sensibility, and the information and communication revolution.

Significant ideas in American history, 1607 to the present; the influence of Puritanism, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and modern science upon American character and society. This course is also offered as AMST 440.

Focus on the evolution of American society and popular culture from colonial times to the present and on popular mores, attitudes, and perceptions of the world that arose from that society.

Effects of the "moving frontier" experience upon American development, with emphasis on the people and the land from the colonial era to the twentieth century.

Social, economic, cultural, and political development from Spanish explorations to the present.

Prerequisites: HIST 130.

Topics in the social, cultural, and political history of the American South. Topics may include the simultaneous rise of democracy and slavery, the rise and fall of Jim Crow, and political developments in the 20th century.

Covers the foreign relations of the United States from colonial origins to World War I. Emphasis is on diplomacy of the Founding Fathers, continental expansion, Pacific imperialism, and the emergence of the U.S. as a world power.

Covers the foreign relations of the United States from World War I to the present. Emphasis is on the world wars, isolationism, Soviet-American relations, conflict in the Middle East, Vietnam, and the complex challenges in a multipolar world.

This course covers recent issues in history and public policy relating to science, technology, and medicine in twentieth century America, focusing on the era from World War II to the present. It also considers the mechanics and politics of policy-making, adopting a case study approach to ethical, environmental, intellectual, and social questions from the atomic bomb to genetic engineering and health care reform.

Genesis and character of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia (Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Kassites, Assyrians, Chaldeans), Asia Minor (Hittites), Syro-Palestine (Ebla, Phoenicia, Israel), and Iran (Elamites, Medes, Persians).

Problems associated with studying early Egyptian history; prehistory and the origins of Egyptian civilization; primary focus on Archaic and Old Kingdom Egypt, especially on the Age of the Pyramids.

Political, social, religious, and cultural history of Egypt from the First Intermediate Period through the Late Period with principal emphasis on the Middle and New Kingdom Periods. The time frame of the course is ca. 2200 to 525 B.C.E.

Islamic civilization 600-1800; religion, philosophy, law, education, literature, and political thought and activity. This course is also offered as MEST 463.

Social, intellectual, and political changes in Turkey, Iran, and the Arab countries in the twentieth century. This course is also offered as MEST 464.