Course Descriptions

TTh 11:00-12:15

Dr. David McDaniel

Beginning in the wake of the nation's glorious Centennial Celebration, History 1601--Conflict and Capitalism, traces the development of large scale and often violent challenges to what many among the ranks of American farmers, immigrants, industrial laborers, women and racial minorities, perceived as the inequities, excesses, and basic inhumanity of industrial capitalism. Spanning sixty years, during which American industrial productivity expanded, along with its cities, at a mind-boggling pace, this course will consider the promise and especially the pitfalls of such untrammeled expansion and the resulting circumstances that led many to reconsider long held assumptions regarding a fabled land of equality and opportunity.

MWF 9:00-9:50

Dr. Alan Ball

This course examines impressions formed of American life by Russian observers in the decades before and after the Russian Revolution of 1917.  Their gaze included not just the American political and economic systems but also such topics as religion, racism, popular culture, and sports—and their commentaries will provide us an opportunity to compare conclusions about American ways expressed by Russian and Soviet visitors with widely differing points of view. 

 

TTh 11:00-12:15

Dr. Karalee Surface

As writer Jeva Lange explains, “Rock and roll is a rich history of reactions that still reverberate throughout our culture. The history of rock and roll is a history of race, of gender, of protest, and it is tied deeply into the structure and struggles that underlie society’s foundation.”

In this course we’ll explore the social and cultural landscape of post-World War II America through the lens of rock and roll music. On one level, we’ll tell the story of how rock emerged. First, we’ll trace the development of early rock music in the 1950s—from its country and blues roots to the rise of the first rockabilly artists and the eventual corporate, political, and social backlash against it. Next, we’ll turn our attention to how the music of the 1960s is an expression and extension of the social, cultural, and political changes of the decade. In our final unit, we’ll explore the ways in which rock became fragmented in the late twentieth century—giving special attention to the emergence of abrasive, often angry music (i.e., punk/grunge/rap), the impact of music videos, and also to a more expansive view of rock music that moves away from a strictly U.S. focus to explore the influence of rock music on a more global scale. At a deeper level, by situating rock music in its historical context, this class will take a look at the problematic interrelated issues of music, politics, gender, race, class, and culture in the post-war era.

This course fulfills the Humanities requirement for the MCC Discovery tier theme of Expanding our Horizons, and the ultimate goal is to do just that—helping students to reexamine our nation’s history (and the discipline of history itself) through music and gain a richer appreciation for how the two intersect.

MWF 2:00-2:50

Dr. Michael Donoghue

This course will examine the people, ideas, and institutions that have shaped the U.S. rise to global power in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.   Although this is a history and not a current events course, we will establish a dialogue between events in the past and current U.S. foreign policy, specifically the U.S.-led “War on Terrorism” and recent standoffs with North Korea and Russia. We will look at the origins of current international problems and trace the broad themes, attitudes, and policies that have recurred in US foreign relations throughout the last century including how race, gender, and culture have influenced their development.  The course will also address the major events that shaped the extraordinary US rise to power including the two world wars, the Cold War in Europe and Latin America, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts and the more recent U.S. interventions in the Middle East.  All this will be tied to the larger trajectory of U.S. superpower status in the twentieth century that continues to this day.  The course will be reading-intensive with a midterm, a final exam, short in-class writing exercises, and 2 short papers. 

Th 4:30-7:45 

Dr. Rob Smith

This course explores the unique experiences of persons of African descent in the United States. The class will trace the evolution of race/racism/racial formations pertaining to the African American experience using readings, discussions, and assignments. The class will cover the key moments and scholarly debates regarding African American history by relying on seminal primary and secondary materials. When its most useful to do so, we will also investigate the legal cultivation of race using important court briefs and relevant state and federal legislation. By the end of the class, we will be well-versed in the seminal developments of African American history in the United States spanning nearly 400 years. 

• Course requires faculty approval 
• Class meets Thursday evenings, 5:00-7:30pm, at the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility (RYOCF) 
• Travel is provided to Marquette students on a limited basis. 
• This course is part of theEducation Preparedness Program (EPP). 

The course also requires an application. Please see the link to the application here: https://forms.gle/YtMyt9itBjT3zgWW8

MWF 9:00-9:50

Professor Sam Harshner

This class will examine the development of urban spaces throughout American history as well as cities' place in the culture, economy, and political system of the United States.  We will examine the types of meaning American's have attached to the concept of the city, and we will attempt to map out the causes of the inequality and social tension that characterize contemporary cities like Milwaukee. 

MWF 1:00-1:50

Dr. Bryan Rindfleisch

In this class, we will explore the Indigenous peoples, cultures, and communities of Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee from the pre-Columbian era to the present day. In particular, we consider the collective experience of Wisconsin’s Native Peoples – “Indians” – while also appreciating the complexities that made, and continue to make, each Indigenous community and culture distinct from one another. This class also focuses on themes of colonization and decolonization, settler colonialism, cultural inclusivity, violence and intimacy, removal and survivance, assimilation and allotment, along with sovereignty and self-determination. Further, this class grapples with contemporary issues related to Native mascots, treaties, casinos, cultural representation, and more. Finally, this course is an experiential class, meaning that we will engage with the Indigenous peoples and communities of Wisconsin and Milwaukee throughout the course of the semester.

MW 3:30-4:45

Professor Benjamin Linzy

This special topics course delves into the American Civil Rights Movement, focusing on its pivotal role in shaping the U.S. during the mid-20th century. Through an immersive curriculum that blends historical analysis with contemporary perspectives, students will explore key figures, events, and ideologies that defined the movement. The course culminates in a transformative pilgrimage across the U.S. South, organized in collaboration with the Center for Peacemaking. This journey visits significant landmarks, museums, and communities that were at the heart of the struggle for civil rights, offering students a unique opportunity to connect with the past, engage with living history, and gain a deeper understanding of the movement's enduring legacy.

TTh 9:30-10:45

Dr. Charles Gallagher, S.J.

Nazism and Fascism are terms being thrown around a lot in the public square these days. The two ideologies seem to be being applied willy-nilly in the press, by people who should know better, and by the political pundits.  To define these terms, we look to history, specifically American history.  The course will combine history with political theory, the history of jurisprudence, civil liberties, constitutional freedoms, religion, gender, race, anti-Semitism, sociology, and current events.  The hope is that our understanding of current social problems in the United States might be deepened by our grappling with issues that are currently unsettled, even in relation to the problem of fascism. As we shall see, even such a socially unseemly topic as fascism still remains in many of its components unsettled as well as unsettling. Fascism’s origins, connections, outgrowths, and assertions will all be assessed.  The subject matter of this course is not cheerful, it is sometimes controversial, but, I believe, it is essential to understanding the entire arc of American history.

Books used:

Horne, Gerald. The Color of Fascism: Lawrence Dennis, Racial Passing, and the Rise of Right Wing Extremism in the United States (New York University Press, 2006).

Hart, Bradley. Hitler's American Friends: The Third Reich's Supporters in the United States (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018).

Gallagher, Charles. Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten History of the Christian Front (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2021).

 

W 2:00-4:30

Dr. J. Patrick Mullins

In April 2025, the United States will observe the 250^th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War. We are what we remember, and how a nation commemorates its origins says as much about the present as the past. In this course, we will consider how Americans have interpreted and commemorated their Revolution, how past events have been tied to national identity, and how different methods and kinds of evidence have expanded understanding of what and who is important in history.

Remembrance of the American Revolution will serve as our case-study in the relation of history to memory, the application of method and use of evidence, and the public importance of historical research. Building on this background, students will research a subject of their choosing which involves memory and/or revolution (using “revolution” to mean not just the political but the cultural, economic, social, technological, sexual, military, etc.). The course will culminate in production of a 20-25 page research paper and class presentations on student discoveries. This course is Writing Intensive. Prerequisites: Senior Standing and HIST 2000.

W 4:30-7:00

Dr. Sergio Gonzalez

This course examines the experiences, ideas and impact of working people on the move to and within the United States from the economic and cultural ruptures caused by the trans-Atlantic trade to the most recent phase of globalization in the 21st century. We will look at the ways in which a variety of scholars and “organic intellectuals” have drawn upon the methods and practices of labor history, migration history, social history, economic history, religious history, and cultural studies to examine the lives of these people and the communities and social movements they created. We will explore different forms of labor, including enslavement, indentured labor, unwaged household production, and wage labor in a variety of sectors from agriculture to manufacturing to service sector labor and more. We’ll lend special attention to the processes of empire, capitalism, colonialism, and decolonization while studying movement—of people, commodities, ideologies, and cultures—and interactions of various kinds and scales.

 

MWF 11:00-11:50

Dr. Alan Ball

Study of the Cold War offers an opportunity to witness diverse nations caught up in a conflict more wide-ranging and—in a nuclear age—more dangerous than anything the world had witnessed previously.  This course will survey the origins and nature of the Cold War, with a focus on the first twenty years or so after World War II.  Along the way, topics will include not only international tensions but also the domestic fallout of the Cold War in countries on several continents.  For students seeking a global experience touching the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, this is it.  Together with films from the period and segments from CNN’s Cold War documentary, the course features frequent small-group discussions of primary documents, memoirs, and recent works by US and Russian historians.​

Th 2:00-3:15

Dr. David McDaniel

Description to be added.

MWF 10:00-10:50

Dr. Michael Wert

This is an intense survey of modern Japanese history from the nineteenth century to the present. Topics include: dynamic changes that occurred at all levels of Japanese society in the nineteenth century, the creation of Japan as a modern nation-state, its development as an empire-building power, and how these affected people‘s lives (gender, ethnicity, nationhood and culture). A major portion of the course is devoted to WWII and postwar issues: how Japan coped with military defeat, how it regained its regional and global influence and contemporary attempts to deal with its past. Grading will be based on (in order of importance): three short papers (five pages), midterm/final and informal essays.

Th 4:30-7:00

Dr. Chima Korieh

This seminar focuses on violence as a central theme in the foundation and sustenance of colonial empires. The course will pay attention to the roots of colonial violence, the violence of conquest, colonial genocides and mass killings, and resistance, and links between violence in the colonial and post-colonial societies and issues of memory and forgetting. While the seminar will focus on Africa, we draw on other case studies and places for a comparative framework.

T 5:00-7:30 pm

Dr. Lezlie Knox

HIST 6961 Master of Arts Essay and Professional Discernment

This graded 3-credit workshop serves a dual purpose.  First, it provides structure to complete the required MA essay or public history project (due to the Graduate School no later than 4 p.m. on April 16).  All students will present a version of their project as a research poster in early April.  Second, it guides professional discernment to explore opportunities for historians inside and outside academe.  In addition to shared readings and reflections, we will have guest presenters.  The class will meet in conjunction with HIST 8961 Doctoral Discernment.

NB: MA students typically enroll in this class in their final spring semester to accommodate graduation deadlines.  Any Incomplete grades (especially from HIST 6954) are expected to be cleared before the start of the semester and each student must submit a plan for revising their essay or project in the first week of classes (guidelines for this plan will be shared in mid-November for students enrolled in the class).  This class is required for all students who have updated their Bulletin year to the current catalogue (i.e. elected for the essay-only option in place of essay and MA comprehensive exam).  Students under the previous Bulletins who are still completing essays also are welcome to enroll.

HIST 8961 Doctoral Discernment and Field Preparation

This graded 3-credit workshop serves a dual purpose.  First, it provides structure to prepare for the Doctoral Qualifying Examinations, which may be taken as early as the end of semester and ideally by the end of the summer (as required by some research fellowships).  PhD students should enroll in this class following their dissertation seminar (HIST 8960, typically taken in the fall semester of their second year) which develops the major reading list and starts to frame the research question(s) for the dissertation. 8960 also should identity the two minor fields which address methodological and thematic issues connected to the dissertation research.  These fields and their examiners need to be confirmed by the start of the semester: iterative bibliographies for these fields will be due by the end of January.  Students will present a poster version of their draft dissertation proposal in early April.

Second, the workshop encourages ongoing career discernment as students prepare to undertake their dissertation research.  PhD students will participate in engaged discussions with the MA students in HIST 6961 and guest speakers, as well as prepare a reflection on their goals and strategies for exploring a range of professional opportunities. Each student will be expected to do at least one informational interview during the semester with a historian who is working in a field outside academia.

This course fulfills two of the University’s Career Skills Requirements: Career Discernment and Communication.