Department of History

Horn Professor Allan Kuethe, Chairperson.

Professors Barr, Bell, Carlson, Howe, King, and Rainger; Associate Professors Brink, Harper, Miller, Reckner, Steinhart, Traylor, Troyansky, and Walker; Assistant Professors Alford, D'Amico, Deslandes, Forsythe, Gray, Iber, Kelly, Lorcin, McBee, Mosher, Pelley, Snead, Stoll, and Willett; Adjunct Faculty: Pike and Tydeman.

This department offers study in the following graduate degree programs: HISTORY, Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy.

Information on departmental admission standards, prerequisites, and other matters dealing with graduate study in history may be acquired by writing the graduate advisor or the chairperson of the department.

A student in the standard master's degree program must complete 30 hours of graduate courses including HIST 5304, one seminar in the 6000-course series, a 6 hour nondepartmental minor, and 6 hours in thesis work. Course work is planned in consultation with the graduate advisor or thesis director soon after admission to the graduate program. The department requires a reading knowledge of one foreign language. A student with an interest in archival administration may substitute a 6 semester hour minor, composed of HIST 5309 and 3 hours of archival practicum (taken as HIST 7000), for the usual 6 hour minor in another department which is required for the standard master's degree.

To provide a program of study for persons whose interests may not be oriented toward formal research, the department offers a nonthesis master's plan designed to contribute significantly to their intellectual development. The plan is not recommended for students contemplating doctoral work. To complete the program, a student must offer a minimum of 30 semester hours in history and 6 in a minor. Of the history hours, 6 must be from HIST 5304, 5305, or 5306 and at least 6 must be from seminars at the 6000 level with a grade of B or better under two or more instructors. No more than 18 semester hours may be offered in any one of the five areas of United States, European, Latin American, African, and Asian history. Students following the nonthesis route must pass a comprehensive examination during the semester they plan to graduate.

The department offers doctoral work in five areas of history: United States, European, Latin American, Asian, and African. For purposes of examining students, these areas are subdivided into fields as follows:

United States: Chronological groupingColonial and early Republic, nineteenth-century United States, and twentieth-century United States history. Topical groupingAfrican American, agricultural and rural, diplomatic, economic, environmental, Hispanic-Latino, immigration, legal and constitutional, military, Native American, science and technological, social and cultural, southern, sports, Texas, urban, western, and women's history.

Europe: Ancient, medieval, early modern Europe to 1789, modern Europe, modern Britain and the Empire-Commonwealth, science and technological history. Early modern European history and modern European history may each be subdivided into two topical or chronological fields.

Latin America: Colonial and national history.

Asia: Asian history.

Africa: African history.

Doctoral students must choose five fields of study for their programs, at least two of which shall be outside the area in which they propose writing the dissertation. At least four of the fields must be in history. The fifth field may be in history, or in another discipline, or it may be composed of courses from different departments with a thematic unity and logical relationship to the student's overall plan of study. No more than 6 hours in a composite field may be in history (such as archives courses). A student choosing two fields in the area of United States history shall select at least one field from the chronological grouping. All programs shall include at least one field in Europe (science and technology may not be the sole field in Europe), and one in the United States. Dissertations may be written in United States, Latin American, European, or Southeast Asian history (projects in other areas require the specific approval of the department's graduate studies committee). All doctoral programs must include HIST 5305 and two seminars in the 6000-course series, or their equivalents. Students writing dissertations in American history must take HIST 5306.

In the preliminary examination, the student is tested orally in five fields of study. The purpose of the examination is to determine if the student should be encouraged to continue study toward the doctorate, and, if so, to provide specific recommendations on steps to be taken before the qualifying examination. In this latter examination, the student is expected to show command of five fields.

The standard language requirement for the Ph.D. degree is a reading knowledge of two of the following: French, German, Latin, and Spanish. In appropriate cases, with the approval of the student's advisory committee and the graduate studies committee, one of the choices may be another language, or a relevant research tool (such as computer science or statistics). For dissertations in the area of Southeast Asia utilizing the Vietnam Archive, the approved languages are normally French and Vietnamese.

Courses in History. (HIST)

5101. Teaching of History in College (1:1:0). An observation-and-advice course rather than a seminar. Concerned with supervision of teaching assistants: classroom visitation, judgment on performances, and advice and assistance to individual instructors.

5304. Historical Methods (3:3:0). Research methods; bibliography, government documents, newspapers, dissertations, archives and manuscripts, oral history, quantitative history, historical archeology; literary organization and style; footnote and bibliographic forms.

5305. Historiography (3:3:0). A survey of major historians and historical works from Herodotus to the present, emphasizing the development of history as an intellectual orientation and as an academic discipline.

5306. Recent Interpretations of American History (3:3:0). A survey of recent major works discussing chronological periods and topics in American history. Required of some master's and doctoral students.

5309. Administration of Archival and Manuscript Collections (3:3:0). An intensive study of archival principles and techniques emphasizing current trends and challenges, with an opportunity for professional management and/or research facility enhancement through in-service training.

5311. Studies in United States Colonial and Revolutionary History (3:3:0). Topics vary from semester to semester, including seventeenth-century Massachusetts, the coming of the American Revolution, and the new nation after 1776.

5312. Studies in Nineteenth-Century United States History (3:3:0). Selected topics in the history of the United States, 1789-1890 with emphasis on bibliography and problems of interpretation. Extensive readings of monographs and journals.

5313. Studies in Recent United States History (3:3:0). Selected periods in twentieth-century American historythe Progressive Era and the 1920s, the New Deal and World War II, and the postwar years.

5315. Studies in Texas History (3:3:0). Topics vary with interests and needs of each class; emphasis on Spanish heritage, Texas Revolution, Republic, political, economic, and social developments, ethnic groups.

5316. Studies in Southern History (3:3:0). An analysis of the major issues and controversies of the South with emphasis on the period from the American Revolution to the present.

5317. Studies in Frontier and Western American History (3:3:0). An examination of selected areas with emphasis on exploration, settlement, Anglo-American expansion, foreign and Indian conflicts, life-ways, and resulting changes in American institutions.

5319. Studies in Native-American History (3:3:0). A reading seminar on the literature of Native-American history and the Native Americans of the plains and the southwest.

5321. Studies in American Legal and Constitutional History (3:3:0). An examination of selected topics concerning the history of the bar, judiciary, police, corrections, legal doctrines, and statutory law.

5322. Studies in United States Diplomatic History (3:3:0). American diplomacy and foreign policy with emphasis on either pre-1900 or post-1900 periods. Stress on the literature of United States diplomatic history.

5323. Studies in the History of Science and Technology (3:3:0). Topics vary to include 20th-century American science, the industrial revolution, and the social relations of science and technology.

5325. Studies in American Economic History (3:3:0). Historical analysis and interpretation of growth and change in the United States economy, with emphasis on ideas and institutions in business and agriculture.

5326. Studies in American Environmental History (3:3:0). A reading in American environmental and conservation historical literature from the Age of Discovery to the present environmental movement.

5327. Studies in United States Immigration and Urban History (3:3:0). Explores a series of problems in United States immigration and urban history since the mid-nineteenth century.

5328. Studies in American Military and Naval History (3:3:0). A study of American military and naval history. Emphasis on development of institutions and national struggles.

5333. Studies in African-American History (3:3:0). Studies of African influences, racial ideas, slavery, and post-emancipation efforts to achieve civil and political rights, education, economic opportunity and the creation of social institutions.

5337. Studies of Women in American History (3:3:0). A survey of significant literature and analysis of problems related to the study of women in American history.

5338. Studies in American Social History (3:3:0). Reading, analysis, and critical reviews of pivotal works. Emphasis on varieties and impact of social history on topics such as family, community, race, gender, and work.

5340. Studies in Ancient History (3:3:0). Study of selected topics in the political or intellectual history of Greece and Rome based upon a study of the sources, in translation if advisable.

5341. Studies in Medieval History (3:3:0). Study of selected topics in the intellectual history of the early and high middle ages. Individual reports discussed in a seminar situation.

5342. Studies in Renaissance and Reformation History (3:3:0). Study of selected topics in the intellectual or religious history of the Renaissance or the Reformation. Individual reports discussed in a seminar situation.

5343. Studies in Eighteenth-Century European History (3:3:0). Examines the social, cultural, and intellectual history of Europe in the era of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

5345. Studies in the History of Fascist and Related Right-Wing Movements in Europe (3:3:0). Examines individually and collectively themes of nationalism, anti-Semitism, militarism, and anti-Marxism, chiefly in the period 1918-1945.

5346. Studies in Modern European History (3:3:0). Examines the social, cultural, and political history of Europe from 1815 to the present.

5347. Studies in British History (3:3:0). An organized studies course covering selected topics in British history. Topics vary according to the students' needs.

5348. Studies in Roman Law (3:3:0). Topics in the historical development of classical Roman law. Designed to meet the needs of both law and graduate students.

5350. Studies in African History (3:3:0). A survey of African history focusing on major problems of interpretation. Includes political, economic, religious, and cultural change; pre-colonial and colonial encounters.

5351. Slavery in a World Perspective (3:3:0). An examination of the main areas and epochs in which slavery institutions were central: Antiquity, Medieval Europe, Pre-Colonial Africa, the West Indies, and Southern U.S.

5352. Studies in Asian History (3:3:0). A reading and research course in Asian history focusing on developments in nineteenth- and twentieth-century social, political, and cultural history.

5355. Studies in Colonial Latin American History (3:3:0). Explores the principal historical literature and interpretations for Colonial Spanish America from the conquest to independence.

5356. Studies in National Latin American History (3:3:0). Examines the history of the areas since independence with emphasis on modernization. Includes consideration of Latin America as a civilization while revealing unique characteristics of the individual countries.

5362. Studies in the History of Aging and the Family (3:3:0). Examines topics in historical demography and the history of childhood, gender, family types, aging, the aged, and death. Emphasis on Europe and the United States.

5366. Studies in Religious History (3:3:0). Investigations of the development of religious institutions, the relationship between religion and society, and cross-cultural religious phenomena.

6000. Master's Thesis (V1-6).

6304. Seminar in American History (3:3:0). A research course featuring formal papers on selected topics. Topics chosen in consultation with the instructor.

6305. Seminar in European History (3:3:0). Research seminar, with stress on methodology, types of research materials available in our library in European history, delivery of reports, and submission of an extensive term paper.

7000. Research (V1-12).

8000. Doctor's Dissertation (V1-12).