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History Courses

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HISTORY COURSES AT HOFSTRA (Fall 2023)

(WITH DESCRIPTIONS FOR Special Topics courses and seminars)

Core Distribution codes: (HP) History/Philosophy; (CC) Cross Cultural/ (WI) Writing Intensive

It is strongly recommended that students consult a professor in the Department of History prior to registration every semester.
Questions? Email: sally.charnow@hofstra.edu

• HIST 06J Sec 01: The Atomic Bomb
• HIST 007A sec 01: Biography in History 3sh, MW 4:20-5:45, Professor Doubleday How do we write about the lives of ‘ordinary people’, especially those who lived in the distant past? How can we construct a biography of a medieval woman, or biographies of poor and illiterate people who could not leave accounts of their own lives? In this late-starting one-credit course, we will take, as our starting point, a new biography of a medieval English peasant woman named Cecilia Penifader, who lived in the fourteenth century, on the eve of the Black Death. We will explore some of the original sources that medieval historians use—including inquisition records, manorial court documents, and archeological evidence—and will learn to use them to reconstruct the experiences and even the emotions of ordinary women and men.
• Hist 010, sec A (CC/HP): Intro to Global History 3sh, MW 11:20-12:45, Professor Elsey.
  This course is an introduction to major historical processes of global scope. Themes will vary but may include: diaspora and migration; the emergence of civilizations; worlds of slavery; gender and sexuality; empire and expansion; scientific revolutions; independence movements; and world wars.
• Hist 011, sec 01 (HP): Ancient and Medieval Worlds: Greece, Rome, Christendom, and the Rise of Islam, 3sh, TR 9:40-11:05, Professor Pugliese
  Formation of the western tradition from classical antiquity, merging Judaic, Greek, Roman and Christian elements, to the derivation of distinctive and dynamic European offshoots in medieval and early modern times. Topics include Hebraic religion, civilization of the Greek city-states, Roman imperialism and law, the role of Christianity in western life, institutions and ideas of the middle ages and early modern Europe.
• Hist 014C, Reconstruction to the Present, 3sh, TR 1:00-2:25, Professor Sims
  Intensive study of controversial issues from the aftermath of the Civil War to the early 21st century. The course is not chronological, but rather organized around themes of the faculty member’s choosing.  Conflicting points of view are addressed in lectures, readings, and discussions.
• History 014F Sec A (HP): The Cuban Missile Crisis and Beyond, sh3, TR 4:20-5:45, Professor Eisenberg.
  The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most dangerous conflict of the Cold War. The world came closer to a nuclear exchange than at any previous time.  Recently that experience has received considerable attention because of the accelerating US-Russian conflict over Ukraine. In this class we will consider and evaluate a range of perspectives on the past and present, using primary and secondary sources, as well as films to deepen our understanding of the issues.
• Hist 020, sec 01 (HP): Why History Matters: Immigration 3 sh, MW, 9:40am- 11:05am, Professor Åhr.
  Through the centuries, our world has been defined by many migrations of scale—around the globe, back and forth. And the present is also such a moment of movement. Greece and Turkey, not to mention Mexico, have recently become conduits to the West for peoples fleeing poverty, oppression, and violence—in search of change, opportunity, and safety. What are the experiences of these migrants (emigrants come immigrants), their fates and futures? Classes will combine lecture and discussion; and our texts are a combination of fiction and non-fiction, primary and secondary events.
  events.
• Hist 020, sec A (HP): Why History Matters: Race and Body Aesthetics, 3 sh, TR, 4:20-5:45, Professor Sims.
  During the summer of 2022, “Legs, Hips, and Body,” written by singer/songwriter Kandi Burruss from the famed 1990s R&B group Xscape, flooded our timelines as popular social media influencer's created reels and posts that praised their physiques. Following in rapid succession was the critically acclaimed “Thique” track on Beyonce’s highly anticipated ninth album Renaissance. Both songs mirrored, the arguably recent yet increasingly popular, sentiment of acceptance and celebration of all types of bodies, sizes, and physiques. This course will interrogate how historical and contemporary ideas about the body have led to moments of empowerment and marginalization for many individuals/groups in the United States. Students will be encouraged to bring their personal/familial experiences to the course as they contribute to the discourse through co-led discussions and research projects.
• HIST029 Sec 01(HP): American Biography, 3 sh, MWF 8:30-9:25 Professor Michael Galgano
  Using a biographical approach, this course explores themes in the history of the United States and/or other regions in the Americas (including the Caribbean and Latin America), considering how written lives reflect both subject and author. Students pursue reading and research on individuals from a wide range of social backgrounds, exploring the ways in which people have interpreted their lives differently over time. Course content may encompass colonial or modern periods.
• History 036 Sec 01 (HP): The Holocaust: Memory and Representation, 3sh MW 11:20-12:45, Professor Ahr.
  An introduction to “Holocaust Studies”—the academic study of the mass destruction of European Jewry during World War II—including its history and aftermath, aesthetic representations, and theoretical issues. The theme throughout will be the question of Holocaust “memory”—how have the terrible events of the past entered our consciousness and shaped our culture today?
• History 073 Sec 01 (CC): The Modern Middle East, 3 sh, TR 1:00-2:25, Professor Ruiz.
  Middle Eastern social, political, and economic history from 1500 to the present. Topics include the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the expansion of commodities such as coffee and tobacco, material culture, and life in the modern Arab world.
• Hist 102 WI: Investigating the Past: Stories from the Street: Memory, History, and the Public, 4sh, TR, 2:40-4:35, Professor Charnow.
  What stories are told by the actors working at Colonial Williamsburg? Whose voices are heard at the living history museum Plimoth Patuxet, a 17th century English village located in Massachusetts? Which objects are chosen by curators to tell the history of ancient Greece at the Metropolitan Museum? This class explores the role of historical memory in shaping our understanding of the past as it is put to use in public settings. Topics include the treatment and curating of memory, history, and the collective past in museums and exhibitions; digital and new media including websites, podcasts, and film; the use and interpretation of material cultural and artifacts; and the presentation of history in historic sites.  Through class discussions and assignments, we will examine the activities of public historians and the issues they face in their work. Students will get hands-on experience in many of these activities and produce final projects based on their field work.
• Hist 103 WI: Debating History: The Controversy over Thomas Jefferson and the Role of Slavery in Early American History, 4sh, TR, 11:20-1:15, Professor Eisenberg
  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” These famous words were written by Thomas Jefferson—and are considered to be a cornerstone of our democracy. Yet over the course of his lifetime, Thomas Jefferson owned 600 slaves, which included four of his children and his enslaved concubine. Jefferson’s story embodies the defining paradox of our country’s history. In this class we will read a range of sources, with competing perspectives on this “founding father.” We will also consider the related controversy over the 1619 Project.
• History 105 Sec 01 (HP): Ancient Egypt and the Middle East, 3 sh, TR, 11:20-12:45, Professor Ruiz.
  A historical examination of Ancient Egypt, Israel and the wider Middle East from the first cities to the Persian Empire. Using evidence ranging from pyramids to the Old Testament, the course will examine topics such as religion, politics, slavery, and international relations.
• History 108 Sec 01 (HP): Renaissance Europe, 3sh, TR, 2:40-4:05, Professor Pugliese.
  Society and culture in Florence, other Italian city-states, the European continent, and the Mediterranean, examining idea of rebirth, creative achievements, and the dark sides of the Renaissance from approximately 1300 to1600 CE. Topics include the expansion of capitalism and commerce; transformations in the visual arts and literature; humanism; religious reformations and conflict; social inequality, empire, and violence; and contacts with Ottoman empire and the Americas.
• Hist 127 sec A (HP): Race, Sport & Americas 3sh, MW, 2:40-4:05, Professor Elsey
  This course introduces students to the history of sports as a way to understand racism and the experiences of racialized communities in the Americas. We will use sports history as a lens to understand social movements, the communities of players and fans, and the business of popular culture. Long before Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the U.S. national anthem, sports stars used their platforms to express their commitment to civil rights. That hasn’t only occurred in the U.S. context. The course may examine, for example, sport in the Brazilian transition to democracy, during apartheid in South Africa, and among Afro-Cubans to understand race in the global sporting landscape as well as the history of race in the U.S., for example, as reflected through the prism of baseball from the late 19th to the early 21st centuries.
• History 144 Sec A: American Revolution, 3sh, TR, 4:20-5:45, Professor Staudt
  Emergence of the United States out of the struggle between the colonies and Great Britain. The “Great Debates” prior to 1776; the Revolution as an internal and external struggle; the origin of political parties; state’s rights vs. national government; cultural nationalism. Particular attention will be devoted to assessing the roles of individual leaders.
• History 149 Sec 01: Women in America - Women’s Health and Reproduction,  3sh TR, 9:40 -11:05, Professor Sims
  This course will explore women's health in the United States, from the formation of modern gynecology to the current reproductive freedom movement. We will adopt an intersectional approach to examine the (historical and contemporary) barriers that impede women’s access to healthcare and how structures limit women’s ability to exercise freedom over their bodies. Students will be encouraged to immerse themselves in the literature and explore aspects of women’s healthcare and reproduction that interest them through co-lead discussions and research projects.
• History 159 01 (CC,HP): Disease and Health, 3sh, TR, 2:40-4:05, Professor Sims.
  A survey of the history of disease and health within a global perspective, mainly focusing on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Over the course of the semester, we will examine the prevalence of disease and the evolution of medicine with special attention given to the experiences of immigrants, refugees, and other minority communities.
• History 173 Sec 01 (CC): Modern China, 3sh, MW, 2:40-4:05, Professor Terazawa
  An examination of modern Chinese history from the Opium war to the era of Communist revolution with special focus on the interwoven imperatives of reform and revolution in China’s encounters with the West and the demands of modernity.
• History 174 Sec 01 (CC): Modern Japan, Professor Terazawa, sh 3, MWF, 10:10 -11:05
  Political and social history since 1867, with emphasis on the selectivity of and contradictions within the Japanese response to the western challenge, culminating in the post-World War II synthesis. Independent research an option.
• History 189A  (WI): History Seminar: Past Imperfect, 4 sh, TR, 3:50-5:45, Professor Ruiz
  This seminar will give you a deeper historical understanding of imperfection and the various ways in which accidents, alternatives, and errors shape our writing of the past. Specifically, we are interested in the following questions: How have anomalies and asymmetries influenced the way we imagine the past? What purpose does imperfection serve in te study of history? Can imperfection help us account for the messy, complex relationships that we have with our own pasts? In order to answer these questions, we will focus on a set of common readings that grapple with the idea of imperfection and how we shape our understandings of the past not through perfection but because of imperfection You will then revise a past history paper that you have written and transform it into an original research paper based on primary sources.

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