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AddRan College of Liberal Arts

Department of History

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Current Semester Courses

Fall 2022 Courses

In this course, students will work with the Career Advisor for AddRan College of Liberal Arts, to learn to market themselves effectively to perspective employers. Students will learn to articulate the skills and abilities that they possess, the skills and abilities that employers look for. Upon completion of this course students will have a polished resume and cover letter, a working professional portfolio, and will have practiced their interview skills.

This is a lower-division, lecture course covering global development from around 10,000 BCE to 1500 CE. It covers the main political, social, and cultural trends in a variety of societies while at the same time stressing the global perspective.  Thus, the first goal is learning the specific histories and cultures within a comparative global context. The rise and fall of civilizations will be studied within the conceptual frameworks including pre-modernity, social complexity, domestication of animals and plants, modes of production, sedentary versus the nomadic ways of life, and the rise and fall of pre-modern states. A second goal of the course is to develop the critical and analytical skills of students. In addition to learning historical content, students will also be engaged in the analysis of writing history through discussing a wide range of primary sources including museum objects and archival documents.
 

This course will explore the path of European history from the origins of civilization to 1348. Its principal elements include the early societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel, the political and cultural contribution of Greece and Rome, the rise of Christianity and Islam, the characteristics of the medieval world, and the Black Death.

 

This course will explore the history of Europe in the early modern period, bracketed by the Black Death and the French Revolution. Principal themes include the artistic achievements of the Renaissance, the expansion of education and literacy, the invention of the printing press, the religious conflicts of the Reformation, the growth of centralized nation-states, the dramatic discoveries of the Scientific Revolution, and the creation of a global framework for the European experience.

This course examines the history of Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and will identify, explore, and define the developments of modern European history. The course will focus on the common heritage and themes that make it possible to speak of 'European' history, while at the same time developing an appreciation for regional and cultural variations.

This course investigates the history of Fort Worth and vicinity from the early 1800s through the early 2000s with special emphasis on urban history and the community’s relationship to the American West.  The course uses a variety of assignments and activities to train students in critical analysis and the art of historical interpretation.

Review of the evolution of the American nation from the discovery of the New World to the end of the Civil War era, with emphasis on major forces shaping its development. Readings, course requirements and course design vary with the individual instructor.

Review of the emergence of the American nation through the transitional crises of the past hundred years, with emphasis on the roots of movements persisting into the modern period. Readings, course requirements and course design vary with the individual instructor.

This course examines the history of African-descended people in the United States from the colonial era to the present. We will explore major themes such as slavery, abolition, freedom dreams, Black internationalism, Jim Crow segregation, state violence, and Black political visions.

A thematic survey of the making of the United States from a multicultural perspective. Spanning the precolonial era to the present, the course includes units on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, European immigrants, and Latinos/as--analyzing the different groups comparatively and in relationship to one another. In addition to history, the course includes elements of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and explores the intersections between race/ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.

Comprehensive survey of African Americans in the United States from 1619 to 1968 with special emphasis on the internal changes (such as citizenship, work, family, culture, religion, and community) and external challenges (such as slavery, racial segregation, urbanization, industrialization, major wars, and mass migrations) faced by African Americans from the start of the Transatlantic Slave Trade to the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement. 

This course focuses on the region’s development from the 1820s to the present.  Students will study the aftermath of independence, Latin America’s insertion into the global economy, the impact of modernization on society, and the region’s experimentation with various political models, including conservatism, liberalism, populism, neo-liberalism, and revolution.  Special emphasis will be placed on culture, with analysis of music, film, art, literature, and dance.  Students should expect to be active participants in class and to examine and debate materials with their colleagues.

This course is an introduction to the history of modern East Asia from approximately 1700 to 1989.  It will focus on the major political, economic, cultural, religious, and intellectual trends in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.  Students in this course will pursue a greater knowledge and understanding of modern East Asian history and civilization through a combination of readings, lectures, videos, discussion, and writing assignments.  Readings include Katsu Kokichi, Musui’s Story, Richard Kim, Lost Names, and Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. 

This course is intended to teach history majors to produce, not merely consume, works of historical research and to prepare them for the History Major Seminar (HIST 49903). The course will focus on research skills up to the point of writing a paper.

This course will introduce students to the culture and civilization of Ancient Greece.  The course will cover the political and military history, art, literature, philosophy, and science of Greece from the Archaic period to the incorporation of Greece into the Roman Empire.  In addition, special emphasis will be placed on the enduring democratic and cultural legacy of Ancient Greece.

 

Contact Dr. Hosainy for details.

Food is an integral part of human existence and a crucial part of human culture. Humans use food not only for nourishment but also to construct social boundaries and to define who is and is not part of a group. As the French epicure Jean Brillat-Savin famously observed, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are." American food amalgamates substances native to the North American continent and those brought by five hundred years of immigrants and, recently, transnational businesses. In this course we will investigate the ways in which Americans have used food to define their national character and how food in the US has changed over time.

This course examines the relationship between wars and societies. Course subject varies and could focus on specific wars, time periods, or nations. Additionally, the course could focus on such topics as the mobilization of militaries and civilian societies, the development of battlefield operations, the experiences of wartime societies and militaries, and the influence of such factors as culture, gender, technology, communication, and economics on wars.


(Fall 2022) Horned Frogs at War! This semester, we will focus on the ways World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War shaped the TCU campus. We will work with the TCU Library’s Special Collections to research the ways these wars impacted the TCU community and to build an online exhibit documenting TCU at war. How did the campus mobilize students for war and military service? How did these wars shape students’ lives and the culture of TCU? Help answer these questions and more by digging in the archives and records left by your predecessor Horned Frogs.

From the formation of the Egyptian state in the beginning of the 19th century until the current regime of President Mubarak, this course traces the struggle of Egyptian state and society to build a modern, but authentic, nation. The course addresses European imperialism, westernization, the rise of Arab nationalism, authoritarianism and political Islam among other forces that shaped the unique Egyptian experience. Social issues such as the formation of modern classes, women's position in society, and the contribution of minorities will be examined to understand continuity and change in Egyptian society.
 

This course will treat the history of the region from 1820s to the present, focusing on its political, economic, social, and cultural development.  This semester we will pay particular attention to the Maya, Central America’s largest indigenous group.  In addition to their textbook assignments, students will read essays and books about the Maya and their transition through the modern period, with special emphasis on the Guatemalan Civil War and its aftermath.  History of Central America will be a discussion-based class with active student participation and minimal lectures.  Students should come prepared to discuss reading materials.  They will take essay-based exams and conduct an independent research project. 

This is a discussion based class that will also include a research component commonly found in seminar courses. This class examines the intersection of racial (re)constructions and American law. Throughout the semester we will examine the relationship between race, racial formation, creating inequality, boundaries, eliminating inequality, and legal practice in the U.S. Some thematic topics include slavery, the Constitution, Indigenous sovereignty, citizenship, immigration, and Jim Crow segregation. Students will read federal court cases, historical monographs, judicial opinions, scholarly articles, state and congressional statutes, along with additional primary and multimedia sources to develop a comprehensive view on the American legal system, its successes, failures, and potential limits in forging social progress and racial equality. As a class, we will seek to historicize select legal statutes and court cases, as well as gauge what changes occurred as a result of the actions of legislatures, judges, juries, and citizens. Chronologically we will cover a broad sweep of American legal history from the Founding era and into the 21st century.  

 

This course is a survey of Mexican history from the wars of Independence to the present. As one of the largest and most populous countries in Latin America, Mexico warrants a course devoted to its history alone. We will examine the causes of independence in Mexico and its turbulent political aftermath, the struggle to define the Mexican nation in the nineteenth century, and the precursors to the revolutionary impulses of the early twentieth century. The Mexican Revolution opened a new era in the country’s history and we will study its development and consequences as a way to understand the path of Mexican political and social development over the twentieth century. The course will closely examine Mexico’s role in World War II and the development of a single-party dominant electoral system. We will conclude with a discussion of current events in Mexico, including the myriad challenges of US-Mexican relations.

 

The Civil War was the central, pivotal event of United States history. More costly in lives than all the American wars that had gone before, and more than any that followed, the Civil War decided not only whether the United States would remain a nation but also whether it would remain a nation that tolerated slavery or take a large step toward living up to the promise of its founding document that “all men are created equal.” The war impacted every area of American society, North and South, from the home front to the war fronts. In this course we’ll cover the years immediately leading up to the war, the war itself, and its aftermath in the period called Reconstruction. Since this is a course about a war, you can expect to encounter a fair bit of military history, but we’ll also cover the political and social aspects of the conflict.

This class will examine Cuban history, from pre-Hispanic times to the present. Major themes will include the evolution of Spanish colonial rule, sugar and the rise of African slavery, the wars of independence, and the role of U.S. interventionism. Special emphasis will be placed on the Cuban Revolution and the causes and results of this historical process. How did Fidel Castro manage to take power, and what have been the most significant effects of his regime? A second major goal of HIST 41903 is to improve students' writing and critical thinking skills. Students will be required to develop theses and to defend their positions using evidence from their readings, lectures, and their own research. Analysis and argument will be the central elements of the course.

The History Major Seminar is the culmination of your course of study as a History major. As a capstone course, it provides the opportunity for you to show off the skills and knowledge you have accumulated along the way. This semester’s version, “Great British Biography,” returns to the essence of history as craft: that is, telling stories about the human experience.

Throughout the semester, you will work on a portfolio of assignments that requires you to translate biographical knowledge of a specific subject into a variety of genres or writing styles that are geared toward a general audience. You will do research, and you will write papers, but the outcome of this course is not a research paper: rather, the final product will be a presentation of your portfolio in a format that is oriented toward the public and that is presented in a way that ensures your work will continue to live on beyond the end of the semester.

The readings, examples, and research tools we will use are drawn from modern British history, but this does not mean that your subject needs to be limited to being “British.” Britain constructed a worldwide empire in modern times, bringing about one-fourth of the world’s population under its dominion. So, you are encouraged to think expansively about what qualifies as British.

In Unit I, we will investigate various theoretical and methodological approaches to biography, and you will start building your own bibliographies. Unit II focuses on in-depth research into the lives of your subjects, culminating in the writing of the biographical sketch. This sketch provides the platform to you to dig deeper into your subject through close reading of primary source material. The final quarter of the course focuses on your writing of biography across multiple genres.

This course emphasizes research, interpretation, and writing as the culmination of training in the undergraduate history major.  In consultation with the professor, students will design a significant U.S. history research project.  The goal is to produce an article manuscript that would be suitable to submit to a history journal and which would provide the foundation for a paper presentation at a history conference.  Students will learn and practice rudiments of bibliography and historiography and conduct research in primary and secondary sources.

Students will produce a research paper of 7,000-10,000 words, excluding notes, which relies heavily upon primary sources and offers an original historical interpretation.  Students will present their research to the class.  Students will learn and practice basics of academic criticism by reviewing a classmate’s work.  Each project must be supported by an easily accessible archival collection.  The most easily accessible collections are those held in TCU’s library.  Other archives in Tarrant County include those at the Amon Carter Museum, the Fort Worth Public Library, the Tarrant County Archives, the North Fort Worth Historical Society, the University of Texas at Arlington, and the National Archives at Fort Worth.  Students will work independently for considerable portions of the semester and must exercise self-discipline to prepare an adequate product.

This course will explore the developments in professional historical writing and practice from the 18th century to the present, emphasizing the changing philosophies, methodologies, and interpretive paradigms that have shaped our approach to the past. We will examine our current and past assumptions about progress, the nature of change, the reliability of sources, historical objectivity, and the nature and purpose of the historical profession.

The purpose of this is course is to introduce students to a broad range of the recent scholarly literature on Texas history from the earliest European contacts to the present. The assigned books, none of which is older than fifteen years, meet one or more of the following criteria: (1) They are methodologically innovative; (2) they put forward an innovative or important new interpretation; and/or (3) they stand as an example of a Texas book that illustrates an important recent trend in, or makes an important contribution to, national historiography.