Upper Division Courses

Spring 2025 - On Campus Course Descriptions

* = Honors section offered

HIST ST3001
Teaching Historical Thinking – Dr. Susan O’Donovan
TR 1:00-2:25 pm MI 203

pepermint

Peppermint Patty deserves better than this. So do all our secondary-level students.
Join me this spring as we explore how, in doing history, we teach history.

Have you considered a career in history education? Then this is the class for you. Starting with how students learn and what it is that historians really do, we will talk, a lot: about the difference between teaching history and teaching historical thinking, about the roles of assessments and goals, about how to lead an authentic discussion, about how to teach your students how to unleash their own minds, and above all, how to design your own courses. My goal being to prepare you for one of the most overlooked and underrated careers: teaching a new generation how to understand and learn from the past. - Back.

HIST 3070
Conspiracy Theories in America – Dr. Scott Marler
MW 2:30-3:45 pm MI 203

Conspiracy theories have become increasingly mainstream in the United States over the last half-century or so, especially on the political Right. This course will situate such folklore about power in historical contexts, demonstrating how exaggerated fears of conspiracy and subversion have been a persistent theme in American political culture since the Revolutionary era. We will examine a variety of conspiracy scares throughout U.S. history, but we will also aim to develop a better understanding of the social psychologies, latent functions, and authoritarian proclivities of what one historian famously termed “the paranoid style in American politics.” A good background in U.S. history (esp. HIST 2010 and HIST 2020) and current affairs is recommended for this upper-division course. - Back.

HIST 3201*
History of the Caribbean – Dr. Andrew Daily
MW 12:40-2:05 pm MI 209

The eminent anthropologist and historian of slavery Sidney Mintz once called the Caribbean the “crucible of modernity.” From the oppression of plantation slavery to the anarchic criminality of the pirates, from the realism of a Fidel Castro to the idealism of Bob Marley, this course follows Mintz’s observation through 500 years of Caribbean history. Through your study of political, economic, social, and cultural forces, this course will provide you with an introduction to the major themes of the Caribbean past: discovery and conquest, colonialism and revolution, slavery and emancipation, nationalism and capitalism, migration and globalism.- Back.

HIST 3302*
Modern Europe 1800-Present – Dr. Daniel Unowsky
TR 9 :40-11:05 am MI 209

This course will acquaint you with the major political, social, economic, and cultural forces which have shaped Modern Europe. We will pursue a chronological perspective and highlight the French, Agricultural, and Industrial Revolutions, imperialism, the Russian Revolution, communism and fascism, the two world wars, the Holocaust, and the rise and fall of the Cold War. We will also turn our attention to the nineteenth century development of the notions of nation, class, gender, and race, and to the often tragic fate of these modern inventions in the 20^th century. - Back.

HIST 3881-003
African American History – Dr. Beverly Bond
TR 1:00-2:25 pm MI 209

This course examines African American history from the 17th century through the beginning of the 21st century. We will focus on the complex nature of race relations, on the development of African American culture, and on themes, issues, events, and personalities that have contributed to shaping the experiences of African Americans. We are living through some of the most confusing, turbulent times in African American History. I hope you'll be able to use what you learn from our textbook, the primary source documents, the videos, and some additional resources in the modules/units to better understand these events. - Back.

HIST 3881
African American History – Dr. Elton Weaver III
Multiple sections:
001 TR 9:40-11:05 am MI 315
002 TR 11:20 am - 12:45 pm MI 315
004 MWF 10:20-11:15 am MI 209
005 MWF 11:30 am - 12:25pm MI 209

History and culture of African Americans in light of their experiences; aspects of African American life and attitudes of dominant society within which African Americans lived; ways African American men and women shaped and nurtured their own lives, culture and history in U.S. - Back.

HIST 4057*
Women and Power in Ancient Egypt – Dr. Chrystal Goudsouzian
TR 11:20 am - 12:45 pm MI 203

Goddesses, female pharaohs, queens, daughters, wives, and mothers - this course examines the roles and lives of women in ancient Egypt in the pharaonic period. The course will explore constructions of gender and gendered experiences with a particular focus on the relationship between power and gender at every level of Egyptian society. We will cover ancient Egyptian women’s roles, rights, reproductive lives, labor, religious practices, violence and trauma, and female experiences in death and the afterlife. - Back.

HIST 4299/6299*
Topics in Global History: Slave Societies in the Americas – Dr. Eron Ackerman
TR 11:20 am - 12:45 pm MI 209

This course surveys the development of race-based slavery in Spanish America, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the U.S. South from a comparative perspective. Topics include the Atlantic Slave Trade, plantation life, religion, resistance, the Haitian Revolution, the abolition movement, and emancipation. Using a variety of sources, from slave narratives and planter journals to court transcripts and abolitionist broadsides, we will examine how the slave-based colonial plantation economy developed and how enslaved people persevered, resisted, and fought to liberate themselves with or without the help of white abolitionists. Class meetings will include a blend of lecture, discussion, and primary source analysis. Assignments include quizzes, two papers, and a midterm and final exam. - Back.

HIST 4399 - 091
Topics in European History - Dr. Beverly Tsacoyianis
F 1:00 - 2:30 pm Honors Hall 101

Travel with Prof. Beverly Tsacoyianis and Prof. Melanie Conroy to explore France and its colonial legacies. This program’s exploration of the interactions between the French Empire and the Arab Muslim World meets on campus once a week during the Spring 2025 semester and ends with a 10-day trip to Paris and Marseille. The travel includes site visits to museums, immigrant neighborhoods, monuments, and other spaces of public history. Students will interpret and explain historical and cultural topics both in class on campus and in France to augment oral communication and presentation skills. Students must apply through the Education Abroad office by Nov. 1, 2024 to be accepted into this class. Students will fly into Paris May 10, visit locations in Paris May 11 to May 16, and locations in Marseille May 17 to May 20. Students will return by public transportation (TGV) to Paris to return to Memphis on a May 21 flight. - Back.

HIST 4620/6620*
Empires of Early North America – Dr. Bradley Dixon
TR 9:40-11:05 am MI 203

In this course, you'll experience the vastness of early America and its history from 1054-1754 by studying the growth and decay of the continents Indigenous and European empires. Home to millions of Indigenous people, large cities, far-flung empires, vast trade networks, and thousands of earthen and stone pyramids, North America was no barren wilderness but a vibrant world of its own with mighty rulers and brilliant cultures. Into this world came European invaders from overseas, bent on forging empires of their own. For centuries, Indigenous peoples and colonizers vied for control of the continent. Some waged war with weapons of stone and steel. Others were diplomats who wielded words as skillfully as an assassin handles a blade.
Four great early North American empires stood out above the rest—Aztec, Spanish, English, Iroquois—and their societies and cultures will be the focus of this course. You'll learn how each empire grew, ruled its territory and peoples, and what led to its demise. We'll debate the very nature of empires and whether the word is appropriate to describe Indigenous powers like the Aztecs or Iroquois in the first place.
While the names of the Aztecs, Spanish, British, and Iroquois have resounded through the ages, other powers who played the imperial game in America were utterly forgotten. We’ll explore, too, the lost American empires that barely left a trace—Vikings in Vinland, Swedes and Finns on the Delaware River—and the empires of the imagination, flights of fancy inspired by the Americas, fictional places like Francis Bacon’s mysterious Island of Bensalem and the utopian Margravate of Azilia. And we’ll visit the places like Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, a town of free Black soldiers and their families in Florida, that arose on the edges of empires as refuges for the oppressed.
Experience a truly “New World” this fall. Uncover the secrets of early North America’s empires. - Back.

HIST 4851 - 001*
History of Women in America - Dr. Cookie Woolner
MW 12:40-2:05 pm MI 309

This course deals with women's experiences in and contributions to society in early and modern American history. We will examine women’s lives in the past from various viewpoints: social, economic, political, and cultural, focusing on both exceptional and everyday women. We will also pay explicit attention to the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in American culture. Another primary objective of this course is to learn to think like historians. Rather than merely memorizing names and dates, students will learn to analyze and interpret historical documents, and in your written assignments you will put these two genres into conversation. Students will write short papers, take midterm and final exams, and carry out historical research on a topic of their choice in U.S. women’s history. This can take the form of a traditional research paper or a more creative “unessay.” Honors students will create more extensive research projects and will present them to the class. Graduate students will read several additional books and write a historiography paper. - Back.

Spring 2025 - Online

Online courses are fully online and completely asynchronous.

HIST 3035 M50*
Technology & Culture in American History – Dr. Caroline Peyton
WEB – Online

This course examines the intersections between the history of technology and American culture. From the war of currents, the history of gaming consoles, to even domestic technologies like the stand mixer, we will explore the history of technology from many different angles. At its core, this class examines two key themes: what factors have influenced the development of specific technologies, and how have those technologies shaped American culture? - Back.

HIST 3283 M50*
History of South Africa – Dr. Dennis Laumann
WEB – Online

This course covers the history of South Africa with particular emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We will consider — in chronological order and within a global context —the major economic, political, social, and cultural themes and topics in the history of this sub-region of the African continent. Major topics that will be covered include European colonization and settlement, African kingdoms, and the rise and fall of the apartheid system. Students in this course will be required to complete assigned readings and videos, participate in class discussions, and otherwise actively engage with the course materials and their classmates. - Back.

HIST 3291 M50
Modern Asia – Dr. Catherine Phipps
WEB – Online

East Asia is a dynamic center of economic and political power in today's world. It is also a place of great tension and uncertainty. This survey course will focus on the three key countries of China, Japan, and Korea and explore their dramatic transitions across two centuries, their deep connections, and the important ways they differ and clash. Join me as we learn about imperialism, warfare and friendship, surveillance and persecution, cultural exchange, natural resources and disasters, and the convoluted nexus of democracy, communism, and capitalism. Using historical documents, fiction, scholarly writings, and contemporary news sources, we'll work to understand their complex, integrated histories and how the past shapes their current prominence on the global stage. - Back.

HIST 3322 M50
Egypt of the Pharaohs – Dr. Peter Brand
WEB – Online

In this course we will explore Ancient Egyptian history and society from the origins of the Egyptian state up through the end of the New Kingdom. We will work to build an understanding of Egyptian political, religious, and social structures and the major historical themes that impacted Egyptian history between 5000-1000 BCE. We will do this through both chronological and thematic historical study. We will look at the history, religious believes, interactions with foreign lands, and the social values and customs of the Ancient Egyptians. We will explore topics like kingship, the construction of the pyramids and other huge monuments, the lives of great pharaohs and of average Egyptians, mummification and burial practices, and hieroglyphic writing. By reading and studying ancient texts translated into English, we will hear the Ancient Egyptians speak for themselves. - Back.

HIST 3883 M50
Slavery / Freedom / Segregation: African Americans, 1829-1920 – Dr. Beverly Bond
WEB – Online

This course covers the history of African Americans from the 1820s to the early 1900s. We will focus on the major social, political and economic developments during this period: antebellum enslavement of African Americans; acquisition of freedom and issues of citizenship before the Civil War; the impact of the shifting expansion of national borders on the lives of enslaved and free African American; the abolition of slavery and the post-Civil War construction of Black freedom; the development and impact of legal and extra-legal segregation and disfranchisement of Black voters in the last decades of the 19th century; and the ways in which African Americans addressed this "new slavery," racial segregation, and denials of citizenship rights on the eve of the 20th century. - Back.

HIST 3910 M50*
Witchcraft, Magic and Sorcery in Early America – Dr. Christine Eisel
WEB - Online

Belief in the supernatural was pervasive throughout early America. Cultural differences, including those based on religions, economies, and politics, shaped views on the supernatural, and affected outcomes for those accused of behavior outside accepted community mores. While the Salem witchcraft crisis will be a focal point of the course, we will consider broader traditions of supernatural belief and concerns over occult behavior to contextualize and explain the Salem crisis. Our analysis of court records, religious tracts, print culture, and modern-day depictions of the supernatural in early America will lead to a more complete understanding of competing ideologies and power dynamics. - Back.

HIST 3881 M50-M54
African American History – multiple sections available
WEB – Online

HIST 4162/6162 M50
Russia After 1917 – Dr. Andrei Znamenski
WEB – Online

This course will explore the history of Russia from the 1917 revolution to the present day, including the formation of the Soviet Union, its development, dissolution in 1991, and the current state of Russia. The major themes of the course include World War I and the ascent of Soviet communism in the 1920s, Stalin's rule (1930s-1950s), Cold War, Putin's regime policies, culture and everyday life in the Soviet Union and present-day Russia. Since the Soviet Union/Russia is a multiethnic society, we will also approach its history as the interaction of vastly different Eurasian nationalities and cultures. - Back.