History BA

The following course descriptions only provide information about the focus that an individual professor chooses to take for their course. These descriptions are not a replacement for the official course description. Use the Course Description Search page to find the official course description.

FGCU History B.A. Upper-Level Course Offerings: Spring 2020

AMH 3442 North American Frontiers
Rowan Steineker
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:30am–11:20am
The American frontier has played an iconic role in American culture from the earliest days of settlement to the twenty-first century. This course examines both the "place" and the "process" of the history of the American frontier, a shifting region of Native North America that was the object first of European and then American imperialism, and finally as a distinct region with an exceptional place in American cultural memory. While stereotypical images of white cowboys and spiriting pioneers thrive in popular culture, they rarely reflect the realities or the lived experiences of the American frontier. Instead, the region served as a shared and contested area for people of different and sometimes overlapping genders, races, classes, religions, and cultural orientations. Through discussion, books, film, and research, students will explore the diversity and dynamism of the American frontier. The class will also include an exciting Reacting to the Past game on Expansion and the Civil War in Indian Territory. If you are open to dismantling the myths of the Wild West and discovering an infinitely more interesting, complex world, this class is for you.

WOH 4225 The Atlantic World to 1810
Michael Cole
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 12:30pm–1:20pm
In the fourteenth century the four inhabited continents that touch the Atlantic Ocean became part of an Atlantic world system in which the processes of exploration, conquest, and settlement created increasing numbers of economic, political, and cultural ties among these continents. Beginning in the eighteenth century some of the political ties were partially or completely severed as New World societies matured, and imperial-geopolitical rivalries contributed to independence movements and revolutions. Despite these changes the greater Atlantic continued and continues to function as a world system. In this course we will examine the ties that developed throughout the Atlantic world, and the ways those ties were reflected in various Atlantic-world societies.

AMH 3561 Women in America to 1870
Elizabeth Bouldin
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 1:30pm–2:20pm
2020 marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment's granting women the right to vote, but the history of women in America dates back centuries before this watershed moment. This course examines the early period of women in American history, from the first encounters of Europeans and Native Americans through the era of Reconstruction. It gives special attention to constructions of gender and how these shaped the political, social, economic, and religious lives of women and girls. The course will focus on primary and secondary source analysis, including a Reacting to the Past game on Anne Hutchinson, as it explores the history of both famous and ordinary women.
HIS 3064 Theories and Methods in History
Melodie Eichbauer
Monday 4:30pm–7:15pm
Theories and Methods introduces students to the methodological and theoretical approaches used by historians, while also allowing students to develop their own research and writing abilities. The class is divided into three parts. First, we explore historians' methodologies across time with a close eye on differing biases, sources, presentations, and interpretive frameworks. Second, students hone their own research and writing skills through hands-on research and writing workshops, database exploration, and archival visits. Finally, students present their own research in written, oral, and digital mediums. Once completed, students leave Theories and Methods with an awareness of historiographical trends and an increased proficiency at research, writing, and oral communication.

HIS 4936 Proseminar in History
Elizabeth Bouldin
Monday 4:30pm–7:15pm
Building on the skills formulated in Theories and Methods, students focus on their development as professional historians. The course has three main components. First, the course explores how historians practice history in the twenty-first century by analyzing the strengths and challenges of different methodologies, approaches, and careers. Second, students prepare for their own professional careers through the development of portfolios, which facilitate self-assessment and help prepare applicants for the job market or graduate school. Third, students take the analytical, research, and writing skills they have learned through the major to write an original research paper that meets the standards of the discipline.

HIS 4931 ST: Migration in African History
John Straussberger
Friday 1:30pm–4:15pm
Humans have been on the move as long as they have existed. This course examines the long history of African migration both within the continent and abroad. In particular, the course considers the creation of the African diaspora through the trans-Atlantic slave trade; African soldiers serving in European armies during the World Wars; labor migration in Apartheid South Africa; and the recent boom in African migration in the past 30 years to Europe, the United States, and China. Students will participate in a variety of activities, including visiting local immigrant aid organizations, an in-class panel with immigration attorneys, meeting with Southwest Florida migrant associations, building a digital interactive map of immigration in Florida through GIS, skyping with a UN official helping address the Syrian refugee crisis, and conducting interviews with migrants.

AMH 3312 History of Sexuality in America
Frances Davey
Tuesday/Thursday 10:30am–11:45am
This course explores the intersection of sexuality with the social structures of gender, race, and class. Within these constructed categories, we will trace the changing role of sexuality in major themes including self-identity, morality, and social norms. We play out these themes through topics that have resonated throughout the history of North America and continue to do so today, e.g. heterosexual and LGBTQI+ experiences, reproductive politics, and popular culture. Primary readings such as letters and journals, court documents, and newspaper articles provide a glimpse at how societies shaped sexuality within certain contexts. Secondary readings provide overviews and analyses of trends in sexuality. These readings form the basis for lecture, discussion, and assignments.

AMH 4270 U.S. in the Cold War
Michael Epple
Tuesday/Thursday 12:30pm–1:15pm
This course will explore how the Cold War affected the United States for 60 years including how American culture reacted to it.

AMH 3254 U.S. and World War II, 1937–45
Erik Carlson
Tuesday/Thursday 1:30pm–2:45pm
This class covers the United States during the Second World War, 1937–1945. The course; however, will cover the origins of the war, America's reaction to the rise of fascism, and the Pre-Pearl Harbor consequences of war in Europe and Asia. Most of the course will take place on the great battlefields of World War II. The class; however, is not just military history, but will cover the home front and creation of the American Century. The professor uses a combination of lecture, discussion, and audiovisual (films and artifacts) to develop and illustrate the major themes and interpretations of American history.

WOH 3231 Genocide in World History
Paul Bartrop
Tuesday/Thursday 3:00pm–4:15pm
This course enables students to define and appreciate the legal dimensions of the concept of genocide, as articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948; identify a number of cases of genocide, and relate both their differences and similarities; appreciate the experiences of survivors, perpetrators, and witnesses of genocide, as reflected through their written accounts; and discuss a range of controversies relating to genocide in world history.

WOH 3044 20th Century World History
Eric Strahorn
Tuesday 4:30pm–7:15pm
This course will look at the 20th century through the lens of propaganda in its many forms.