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Undergraduate Programs

History Courses

• History Undergraduate Courses
• History Graduate Courses

HISTORY COURSES AT HOFSTRA (Spring 2026)

(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 008H sec 01: Key Events: From FDR to D Trump 1 sh, T 4:20-5:45, Professor Carolyn Eisenberg, January 26-March 13,2026.
• Hist 0081 sec 01: Key Events: Perspective of Governance 1 sh, T 4:20-5:45, Professor Carolyn Eisenberg, March 23- May 16, 2026.
• Hist 010 sec 01 (CC/HP): Intro to Global History 3 sh, TR 4:20-5:45, Professor Yuki Terazawa. 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 3 sh, TR 11:05-12:45, Professor Burton Westermeier. 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 014C sec 01(HP): US: Reconstruction-Present 3 sh, MW 4:20-5:45, Professor John Munz. 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.
• Hist 020 sec 01 (HP): Why History Matters: Immigration 3 sh, MW 9:40am-11:05am, Professor Johan Ahr.
  Contemporary issues are seen in relation to their historical contexts and origins. Themes will vary, depending on faculty member and relevant global events, and have included presidential politics, the war on terror, popular culture in Latin America, the welfare state and social inequality, Islam and the West, migration, genocide, and natural disasters.
• Hist 020 sec 02 (HP): Why History Matters: Immigration 3 sh, MW, 11:20am-12:45pm, Professor Johan Ahr.
  Contemporary issues are seen in relation to their historical contexts and origins. Themes will vary, depending on faculty member and relevant global events, and have included presidential politics, the war on terror, popular culture in Latin America, the welfare state and social inequality, Islam and the West, migration, genocide, and natural disasters.
• Hist 024 sec 01 DL: American Ways of War 3sh, TBA, Professor James Levy.
• Hist 029 sec 01 (HP): American Lives, 3 sh, MWF, 10:10-11:05am, 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.
• Hist 030 sec 01 (CC/HP): Contemporary American Lives 3 sh, MW 1:00-2:25, Professor John Munz. This course is an introduction to major historical processes of global scope. Themes will vary but may include diaspora and migration; the emergence of civilization; worlds of slavery; gender and sexuality; empire and expansion; scientific revolutions; independence movements; and world wars.
• Hist 102 sec WI: Investigating History: Radical Revolutions: France & Haiti 4sh, MW 2:40-4:35 pm,Professor Sally Charnow.
  The French Revolution in 1789-1815 was a watershed moment in the history of the Western world. Many historians believe it was the beginning of modernity, as the Revolution ushered in seismic transformations in political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual life. In this course we will examine points of connection between revolutionary movements in France and the Caribbean. Revolutionary principles like “freedom,” “equality,” and citizenship” resonated differently in Saint Domingue (Haiti) where leaders struggled to implement them in ways that would endure. We will dive into the growing historical literature on this period, paying special attention to the question of primary sources. How should we read texts produced during the revolutionary period differently from those produced by later scholars? How can we use the surviving primary sources—generated almost exclusively by colonial officials and elites – to access the experiences of the ex-slave revolutionaries?
• Hist 103 sec WI: Debating History: The Holocaust 4sh, TR 11:20am-1:15pm, Professor Stanislao Pugliese.
  Past and current debates over the changing meaning of the Holocaust, refracted through history, memoirs, films and documentaries.
• Hist 105 sec 01 (HP): Ancient Egypt and Middle East 3sh, TR 11:20am-12:45pm, Professor Sharon Keller.
  A Historical examination of Ancient Egypt, Isra3el and 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.
• Hist 107 sec A (HP): Medieval Europe 3sh, TR 1:00-2:25pm, Professor Burton Westermeier. This course examines monarchy, government, culture and a rapidly changing society shaped by overseas expansion international trade, and globalization. Topics may include absolutism, representative democracy, imperialism, global commerce and war, agrarian society, religion, the scientific revolution, gender, the beginnings of industrialization, and the rise of nationalism.
• Hist 108 sec 01 (HP): Renaissance Europe 3 sh, TR 2:40-4:05pm, Professor Stanislao 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 side of the Renaissance from approximately 1300 to 1600 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 144 sec 01, American Revolution 3sh, MW 2:40-4:05 pm, Professor John 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; states’ rights vs. national government; cultural nationalism. Particular attention will be devoted to assessing the roles of individual leaders.
• Hist 147 sec 01(HP), US: 1900-1945 3sh, TR 2:40-4:05 pm, Professor Katrina Sims. Politics and society in America from the turn of the century to 1945. Emphasis on changing political thought and trends in business, labor, family life and popular culture.
• Hist 154sec 01 US Foreign Policy: 1945 to Present 3 sh, TR 11:20 am-12:45 pm, Professor Carolyn Eisenberg.
  The end of World War II brought a profound change in America’s global role. Themes may include the origins of the Cold War, the Korean conflict, U.S. interventions in Latin America, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, end of the Cold War, and the ongoing war on terror.
• Hist 173 sec 01, (CC) Modern China 3sh, TR 2:40-4:05PM, Professor Yuki Terazawa.
  An examination o 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.
• Hist 174 sec 01, (CC) Modern Japan 3 sh, R 4:20-5:45 pm, Professor Yuki Terazawa.
  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.
• Hist 177A sec 01 (HP):  Thomas Jefferson Revisited 4 sh, TR 2:40-4:05, Professor Carolyn Eisenberg.
  Two hundred and fifty years after the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson’s principles still resonate: “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. . . “ And yet over the course of his lifetime, Jefferson owned 600 slaves. The contradictions in his personal biography reflect some of the deepest inconsistencies in US history. In this class we will focus on Jefferson’s fascinating life and role as a Founding Father. We will draw upon this personal story to reflect on larger themes in the evolution of American society and governance.
• Hist 177C sec 01, Special Topics in European History: Alexander the Great, Fact or Fiction
  Selected readings on Alexander from the primary sources in English translation and modern fiction and biography. The goal will be to understand how representations of Alexander change throughout history and reflect the various social, cultural, and political contexts in which they are produced. Cross-listed with CLL 043.
• Hist 188A WI, Seminar: Revolutions and Rebellions in Modern History, 4sh,
  TR 4:20-5:45 pm, Professor Brenda Elsey.
  Revolutions challenge us to consider what change means how it happens, and who controls its course. The most profound or abrupt moments of transformation may be called “revolutions.” From the Spartacus to the Mexican to the Consumer, historians are fascinated by revolutions. This advanced research seminar guides students through the copious historical work on revolutions. We will work together to develop student projects on this theme that engage them deeply in research and writing as a capstone experience.

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