This course surveys the period from African, Native American, and European contact in North America to the Mexican War. Topics include the origin of slavery and the southern plantation system, Puritanism and the New England town, the American Revolution, the Federalist era, Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democracy. The Civil War to a World Power 3 credits This course will emphasize the period from the sectional crisis to the Versailles Treaty. This course will emphasize the period from the 1920s to the present. The Family in American History 3 credits Students study the origins and changing nature of American family structure and domestic life from the 17th Century to the present.
Emphasis is on the development of the roles of parents and children in American history.
Recent scholarship, interpretations and techniques in the study of the family are explored. Included will be both a topical discussion of common characteristics and a study of individual countries from the time of independence to the present. Mini Courses 1 credit each Selected topics in American history will be explored extensively. Topics will vary from semester to semester and will be announced in the course bulletin. A Biographical Approach to the Study of the Past 3 credits Students investigate the relationship between great men and women and the events around them.