Member of the Division of Social Studies
Jose Pablo Silva, Chair, Victoria Brown, Edward D. Cohn, Andrew Hsieh, Daniel Kaiser, P. Albert Lacson, Kelly Maynard, Russell K. Osgood, Elizabeth Prevost, Sarah Purcell, Marci Sortor†, John Wei
The study of history leads to a knowledge of the past, to ways of knowing that past, and to an understanding of how such knowledge has been applied. Historical study has traditionally been associated with such academic disciplines and vocations as law, public service, and teaching, as well as advanced work in history itself, but majors have successfully entered at least 75 different occupations over the past decade.
Because history has traditionally drawn many of its methods and theories from other disciplines, one quickly learns that abilities developed in studying other disciplines can be applied to history as well. Indeed, breadth of learning is a great asset. The nature of modern historical methods requires the ability to read languages other than English and to use mathematics for statistical analysis. Humanities 140 also is recommended for history majors.
The Major
A minimum of 32 credits, 20 of which must be taken in the history department at Grinnell College, including the required eight credits at the 300 level. Of the required eight credits at the 300 level, no more than four credits may be taken in any single area of study. Note: History 304 or 305 may be used toward the 32 credits required for the major, but does not satisfy the 300-level requirements for the major. No more than 8 credits of the 32 required for the major may be taken at the 100 level. AP courses do not count toward the major. With permission, four of the 32 credits may be taken in related studies. The department strongly recommends that students complete a history curriculum that embraces geographic and chronological diversity. The department also recommends that students take the equivalent of at least three semesters of a foreign language and at least one course in quantitative analysis; knowledge of foreign languages and mathematics is essential for serious study of history.
To be considered for honors in history, graduating seniors, in addition to meeting the College's general requirements for honors, must have completed both recommended and required work listed above, and must also submit a substantial piece of historical writing by the Friday before spring break for evaluation by a faculty panel appointed by the department chair. These papers should be the result of work that began in a 300-level history seminar, MAP, or some other form of advanced independent research. The faculty panel will decide by majority vote which papers qualify for honors.
100 Making History (Fall or Spring) 4 credits
Introduces students to historical analysis and argumentation. Individual sections focus on different topics and time periods. In all sections, students will investigate a range of sources, methods, and approaches that historians use to interpret the past. Required of all majors and appropriate for all students. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses or the registrar's website. Prerequisite: none. STAFF.
201 Colonial Latin America* (Spring) 4 credits+
A general survey of Latin American history from the Columbian encounter through independence. The course will focus on the patterns of European conquest and colonization, the complexity of race relations in the region, and the problems of colonial administration. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. SILVA.
202 Modern Latin America (Fall) 4 credits+
A general survey of Latin American history from independence to the present day. The course will focus on problems of political instability, economic development, and the role of the United States in the region. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. SILVA.
204 Radical Movements in 20th-Century Latin America* 4 credits+
During the 20th century, Latin America has witnessed both peaceful leftist mobilizations and violent revolutions. All of these movements aimed at redressing inequalities and creating more just societies. This course will consider several of these movements in comparative perspective. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. SILVA.
211 Colonial and Revolutionary America, 1450 - 1788* (Spring) 4 credits+
Examines selected topics in the colonization of the New World with emphasis on the interactions between Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans in the French, Spanish, and English colonies. The course then focuses on the American Revolution with special attention to transformations in ideology and politics. Students investigate how social, gender, and racial hierarchies were defined and rearranged in colonial and post-colonial America. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. PURCELL.
212 Democracy in America, 1789 - 1848 (Fall) 4 credits+
Examines the tensions caused by the simultaneous development of political democracy in the United States and the demands for rights by those who continued to be excluded from various forms of power. Topics include: the creation of party politics, reform movements, economic growth, class conflict, expansionism, race, slavery, gender, and material culture. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. PURCELL.
214 The American Civil War and Reconstruction (Spring) 4 credits+
Surveys the causes, progress, and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Examines American history from the mid-1840s through the late 1870s with a focus on race, politics, economics, gender, and military conflict to uncover how and why the United States tore itself apart, whether the fundamental conflicts of the war were solved by Reconstruction, and why the Civil War has occupied such an important place in American history and imagination. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. PURCELL.
220 U.S. Environmental History (Spring) 4 credits
This course examines some of the central issues and debates in American environmental history, ranging from the era of pre-contact to the present day. Key topics will include: the shifting patterns of land use and resource management among Native American and settler communities; the ecological transformations wrought by commercial agriculture and industrial capitalism; the evolution of environmental policy; and the changing ways in which people have conceptualized and interacted with the natural world around them. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. GUENTHER.
222 The History of Women in the United States (Spring) 4 credits
Examines basic themes and issues that have dominated the lives of women in the United States since the colonial period. Focuses on the interaction of economics and ideology; relationships between production, reproduction, and sexuality in defining women's status; development of female culture and feminism; and the role of race, class, and ethnicity in shaping women's experiences. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. BROWN.
225 Native American History, 1491 - 1865 (Fall) 4 credits
This course offers a social, environmental, political, and cultural history of early America from the perspectives of Native Americans. From the point of view of Native Americans, we will examine many familiar topics, such as European exploration of North America, the founding of European colonies, warfare among European powers, slavery, and the American Revolution. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. LACSON.
227 African American History (Spring) 4 credits+
A survey of the African American experience in slavery and freedom, with a primary emphasis on the struggle for racial justice and equality since the Civil War. Assignments stress primary sources as well as scholarly studies, films, and recordings. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. STAFF.
228 The Promised Land: U.S. Immigration History* (Fall) 4 credits+
This course examines variations and commonalities in the experiences of those who have voluntarily emigrated to the United States since the mid-19th century. The focus of the course is on the lives of immigrants themselves, but it also examines U.S. immigration from the standpoint of those already settled in the United States and from the standpoint of popular culture and public policy. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. BROWN.
229 American Economic History* 4 credits+
See Economics 229.
233 Medieval Europe, 500 - 1350 (Fall) 4 credits+
Explores the interplay between institutions (such as the church, monarchy, and lordship), economic trends, and society in Western Europe between 500 A.D. and 1350 A.D. While providing a general survey of the Middle Ages, this course will focus particular attention on the institutions and practices by which order and justice were maintained after the fall of the Roman Empire, the ways in which Christianity shaped and was shaped by post-Roman society, how the ideas of "Europe" and "Christendom" evolved, and how members of ethnically and religiously mixed communities achieved a modus vivendi. Option of doing some reading in French, Latin, and Spanish. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. WEI.
234 Europe in Renaissance and Reformation, 1350 - 1650 (Spring) 4 credits+
Examines the powerful and often unpredictable influence of ideas and the role of economic developments in shaping institutions and people's experiences in early modern Europe. Special attention is given to the interplay of popular and high culture; the effect of commercial capitalism on women and on society as a whole; the emergence of powerful monarchies; and the tensions between reason and folly, and between dreams of a godly society and fears of demonic forces. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. Option of doing some reading in French, Latin, or German. STAFF.
235-236 Britain in the Modern World I and II (Fall and Spring) 4 credits+
This course examines how modern British political institutions, social and economic structures, and cultural identities developed in a global context. Special attention will be given to the evolving relationship between metropolitan society and overseas expansion. History 235 (Fall): From 1550 to 1815. History 236 (Spring): From 1815 to present. May be taken separately. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. PREVOST.
238 Germany from Unification to Reunification (Fall) 4 credits+
Employs theories of Marx, Max Weber, and Freud to analyze the tension between nationalist ideology and the realities of social conflict in Bismarck's Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Third Reich; the success of democratic institutions in the Federal Republic; and the failure of the German Democratic Republic. Students who took History 238, Modern European Cultural History, may enroll in this course. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. STAFF.
239 The Collapse of the Eurocentric World Order* (Spring) 4 credits+
Studies the "New Imperialism" of the 1880s; causes of the First World War; the impact on international relations of communism, fascism, and the Great Depression; appeasement and the outbreak of the Second World War; the emergence of the United States and the U.S.S.R. as "superpowers"; and the dissolution of the colonial empires. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. STAFF.
241 Origins of Modern Russia (Fall) 4 credits+
Focusing upon the medieval origins of early East Slavic societies and the formation of the Muscovite state and Russian Empire, this course examines the political, economic, and social components of pre-revolutionary Russia from the 10th through the 19th centuries. The dynamics of ethnicity, the multiple forms of state-building, and the role of gender, class, and ideology receive special attention. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. Option of doing some work in Russian. KAISER.
242 The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union (Spring) 4 credits+
Examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, from the appearance of the revolutionary movement in the 19th century to the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. Key topics will include the origins of the revolution, the workings of the Stalinist dictatorship, the push to create a "New Soviet Man," the reforms of Nikita Khrushchev, and the causes of the 1991 collapse. Option of doing some work in Russian. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. COHN.
255 History of Ancient Greece* (Fall) 4 credits+
Also listed as Classics 255. The political, military, social, economic, and intellectual history of the Greeks in the Archaic and Classical periods and their relationship with other peoples of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Focus on the evolution of the Athenian and Spartan constitutions, the Persian War, Athenian imperialism and the Peloponnesian War, the rise of Macedon, and Alexander's conquest of Egypt and the Near East. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. M. CUMMINS (Classics).
256 History of Rome* (Fall) 4 credits+
Also listed as Classics 256. Rome's rise, maturity, and decline; emphasis on the republican constitution, organization of Italy, and Rome's relationship with other peoples of Europe, Africa, and Asia during the republic and the empire. Focus on the Roman Revolution, the Augustan Age, the "Pax Romana," the spread of Christianity, and the transition to the Middle Ages. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. M. CUMMINS (Classics).
261 Southern Africa (Spring) 4 credits+
An introduction to the 10-country region, with an emphasis on the Republic of South Africa. Regional geography along with culture and politics are principal themes, including the rise and fall of the South African apartheid state. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. DRAKE.
262 Modern Africa from the Sahara to the Zambezi* (Fall) 4 credits+
An introduction to West, Central, and East Africa during the colonial and postcolonial periods, focusing on the local, regional, and international dynamics of state-building, social and economic change, religious transformation, cultural identity, nationalism, and globalization. Prerequisites: History 100 or second-year standing. PREVOST.
275-276 Chinese History I and II (Fall and Spring) 4 credits+
An introduction to the political, cultural, and economic life of China. History 275 (Fall): From the Shang Dynasty to the end of the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644). History 276 (Spring): From the establishment of the Ch'ing dynasty to modern times. May be taken separately. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. HSIEH.
277-278 Japanese History I and II (Spring) 4 credits+
An introduction to the political, cultural, and economic life of Japan. History 277: From prehistory to the end of the Tokugawa period (1867). History 278: From the end of the Tokugawa period to the present. Prerequisite: History 100 or second-year standing. HSIEH.
305 Transnational Legal Institutions (Spring) 4 credits
See Political Science 305.
397 Advanced Independent Study (Fall or Spring) 2 or 4 credits
With approval from a member of the history department (by the end of the semester preceding study), students may engage in advanced research on a topic of significant debate among historians. May be taken to satisfy the 300-level requirement for the major, if results are presented satisfactorily to a colloquium of students and faculty. Prerequisite: a relevant 200-level history course. STAFF.
3XX Advanced Studies in History (Fall and Spring) 4 credits
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses in the following categories. For course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, see the current Schedule of Courses. All courses are 4-credit, without the Plus-2 option.
- 31x Advanced Studies in American History
- 32x Advanced Studies in Latin America and the United States
- 33x Advanced Studies in Western European and British History
- 34x Advanced Studies in Russian History
- 35x Advanced Studies in Historiography and Ancient History
- 36x Advanced Studies in African History
- 37x Advanced Studies in Asian History
397 Advanced Independent Study (Fall or Spring) 2 or 4 credits
With approval from a member of the history department (by the end of the semester preceding study), students may engage in advanced research on a topic significant debate among historians. May be taken to satisfy the 300-level requirement for the major, if results are presented satisfactorily to a colloquium of students and faculty. Prerequisite: a relevant 200-level history course. STAFF.
499 Mentored Advanced Project (Fall or Spring) 2 or 4 credits
A history MAP normally follows work begun in a 300-level history seminar, so the student can undertake exhaustive research on a precisely defined topic to produce a paper as close as possible in quality to the articles published in history journals. MAP proposals unrelated to a seminar will be considered, but in that case students must demonstrate that they are already familiar with the most important scholarly works published in their proposed field of inquiry. MAP proposals, which must be submitted to the history department chair at least one week before they are due at the Office of the Registrar, should include an essay of 1,200 - 1,500 words to explain the historical problem to be investigated and the questions left open by existing research in the field, and a bibliography detailed enough to demonstrate that the project is feasible. A faculty committee appointed by the department chair will review all proposals, which will only be accepted if they reflect careful preparation and close consultation with the chosen mentor. STAFF.
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