Course Descriptions

MWF 1:00-1:50

Dr. Sergio Gonzalez

This course introduces students to the history of Latinx populations and the communities they have developed in the United States. We will examine the conditions that have led to the creation of Latinx communities and their expansion from regional minorities across the country to the present-day largest national minority. Thematically, this course emphasizes a wide assortment of topics, including: historical foundations and political concerns regarding contemporary Latinx experiences, theories of identity and belonging, imperial relationships, intersectional analysis, community and cultural formations, Latinxs in the media, gender, and sexuality. In addition, we will explore several common features of broader, transnational Latinx community formation, such as migration (legal, undocumented, and contract labor), work, unionization, and bilingualism and education, as well as the distinct characteristics of Latinx peoples such as ethno-racial and cultural identities, labor and class, documentation status, and nationality. This class meets the ESSV1 requirement for the Marquette Common Core.

TTh 3:30-4:45

Dr. David McDaniel

History 3118 will undertake an analysis of the military history of the United States from the colonial period to the present. This course considers the role of the U.S. armed forces in relation to the social, cultural, political, economic, and technological development of the United States. It will not only address such themes as wartime strategy, operational tactics, and combat technology, but also the impact of warfare on society and the reflections of ordinary men and women in uniform. 

TTh 12:30-1:45

Dr. Kristen Foster

The history of sport invites students to think about many of their favorite pastimes as ways to understand broader societal issues.  The history of sport can reveal more than the ways humans have enjoyed play.  It allows us to understand the relationship between sports and the societies that support them.  For instance, we will explore the hard-scrabble beginnings of baseball, its interventions into conversations about race and gender with the Negro Leagues and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, to its claim to be America’s Game.  Football, basketball, prizefighting, the Olympics, NIL agreements and the big business of college sports, players unions, television and modern media in sports are all ready for our examination. Sports history can teach us about the complexity of social, political, and economic engagement and change; and it allows us to examine the pursuit of more just societies by exploring how issues of fairness, inclusion, and justice play out on fields and in stadiums across the globe.  This class will be lecture based with two exams, discussion and debates, and an individual project of the student’s choosing. 

MWF 12:00-12:50

Dr. Michael Donoghue

This course will examine the rise of the United States from colony to empire from the years 1776 through 1913.  We will analyze the imperial context of British colonists prior to the Revolution, the diplomacy of the War for Independence, U.S. attempts at maintaining neutrality during the 1790s, the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, conflicts with Amerindian nations, the Mexican War, westward expansion and Manifest Destiny, the diplomacy of the Civil War, the imperialist surge of the 1890s-1910s, the Open Door controversy in China, and the building of a U.S. empire Tin the Caribbean Basin.  This course will especially explore the intimate connections between foreign and domestic policy, the role of slavery in U.S. international relations, and the influence of racial and gendered ideologies in the formation of American empire.  The course will be reading intensive with a midterm, a final exam, short in-class writing exercises, and 3 short papers.

MWF 11:00-11:50

Dr. Sergio Gonzalez

This course examines the history of Latinx civil rights movements in the United States. We will trace how varied understandings of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality have shaped the ways in which Latinx communities have constructed, transformed, and contested identities and senses of belonging in the U.S. and across the Americas. We’ll pay special attention to the ways in which these communities have fashioned social movements to respond to issues surrounding migration, civil rights, economic justice, feminism, religion, education, colonialism, militarism, popular culture, and more. This course will take a relational approach to Latinx history whereby we will examine how Latinx communities interacted and collaborated at the local, national, and international level with other communities in the United States, Latin America, and beyond. Each class will require active student participation with attention to primary and secondary source readings, writing assignments, and collaborative work. This class meets the ESSV2 and CRSB-HUM requirements for the Marquette Common Core.

W 2:00-4:30

Dr. Robert Smith

This course explores the United States legal tradition, its key players and development throughout this nation’s history. Early in the semester we will investigate the legal cultivation of “race” using colonial court briefs and relevant legislation. As the class progresses, we will direct our attention to the United States Constitution, its genesis and maturation, and the evolution of legal principles stemming from Supreme Court interpretations. Similarly, the course will emphasize significant Congressional legislation, case law, key political figures and the impact of law on U.S. society. Much of this case law will deal with the 14th Amendment because of its role in individual rights and freedoms.

TTh 3:30-4:45

Dr. Kristen Foster

 This 4953 class offers students a unique opportunity to explore what the fuss is about with national Semiquincentennial (250th birthday) celebrations of the Declaration of Independence.   Focused on reading and discussion, this course will explore both documentary evidence of the Declaration’s influence and the many ways that historians have written about America’s Declaration of Independence and its influence on ideas about equality and the growth of the United States.  Be prepared to read, reflect on the readings, and to talk.  Grades will be based on discussion and writing.   

M 5:00-7:30

Dr. Michael Donoghue

This course offers a basic introduction to the historiography of twentieth century U.S. history.  As such we will examine the major events, key players, and the important themes of that history as well as the various interpretive approaches and methodologies used by historians to explore these topics. Course expectations are: attendance, careful and close reading of the assigned texts, engaged participation in class discussions, well-written short weekly papers and bibliographies, leading the analyses of weekly readings - and the successful completion of a final 20-page historiographical paper on an important topic in twentieth-century U.S. history.

TTh 11:00-12:15

Dr. Peter Staudenmaier

This course provides an overview of the history of Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945, with a primary focus on the origins of the Holocaust, the attempted genocide of the Jewish people. The class concentrates on the development of Nazi extermination policies in German-occupied Europe during World War Two, paying attention to both ideological and practical aspects of the ‘Final Solution.’ Previous background in German history is not necessary, but a willingness to engage seriously with difficult material is essential.  This class is meets the INCM-HUM requirement for the Marquette Common Core. 

MWF 12:00-12:50

MWF 2:00-2:50

Dr. Alan Ball

“Honors for All”: Class is open to all students.

HIST 4271/4271H is a survey of modern Russian and Soviet history that begins with an introduction to tsarist Russia in order reach an understanding of the revolutions in 1917 that swept away much of the old regime and left the Bolshevik (Communist) Party in power.  The bulk of the course will concentrate on the Soviet period, featuring the tumultuous development of “the world’s first socialist state,” the emergence of the Soviet Union as one of the world’s two superpowers, and the country’s subsequent collapse.  In particular, we will examine the Bolsheviks’ aspirations in 1917 and then see to what extent these hopes for a new society were realized as the Communist Party confronted both domestic and foreign challenges. 

The course is composed of lectures, a few Soviet films, and eight periods set aside for discussion.  On these eight weeks, in place of a Friday lecture, students will meet with me in small groups to discuss sources pertaining to major topics in the course.  These readings include a variety of primary documents, memoirs, and selections from the wealth of Russian literature that provoked tsarist and Soviet authorities alike. This course meets the BNJ-HUM requirement for the Marquette Common Core. Syllabus on request; questions welcome: alan.ball@marquette.edu

TTh 9:30-10:45

Instructor to be announced

This course offers a selective survey of painting, sculpture, architecture, and material culture across global cultures from c. 1500 CE to the contemporary world, drawing particularly from the collections at Marquette’s Haggerty Museum of Art and other local institutions.  It explores how humans create and interact with various material forms as expressions of social, religious, and political values.  While aesthetics constitutes a component of artistic expression, students also will assess how humans have used physical materials and the environment to represent their relationship with the surrounding world and raise questions about the unknown.  (NB: this survey course does not count for the major in History or Military History, but it may be used for the Public History minor and it counts as an EXPL-HUM course in the MCC Discovery Tier.)

TTh 11:00-12:15

Dr. Laura Matthew

This course introduces students to the history of Latinx populations and the communities they have developed in the United States. We will examine the conditions that have led to the creation of Latinx communities and their expansion from regional minorities across the country to the present-day largest national minority. Thematically, this course emphasizes a wide assortment of topics, including: historical foundations and political concerns regarding contemporary Latinx experiences, theories of identity and belonging, imperial relationships, intersectional analysis, community and cultural formations, Latinxs in the media, gender, and sexuality. In addition, we will explore several common features of broader, transnational Latinx community formation, such as migration (legal, undocumented, and contract labor), work, unionization, and bilingualism and education, as well as the distinct characteristics of Latinx peoples such as ethno-racial and cultural identities, labor and class, documentation status, and nationality. This class meets the CRSB-HUM and WRIT requirements for the Marquette Common Core.

TTh 9:30-10:45

Dr. Chima Korieh

This course is an overview of the history of Africa from the earliest times to the present. We will begin by exploring the emergence of early African societies and their interaction with the outside world. We will continue with the exploration of Africa’s encounter with Europe. Specific attention will be paid to the development of the Atlantic slave trade, the post-abolition developments, and the European colonization of Africa in the late nineteenth century. We will also examine the themes related to the economics of colonialism as well as the racial prejudices and “civilizing missions” of European colonial powers. Our exploration will extend to the post-colonial era and the Cold War's impact on African societies. We will conclude by looking at the place of Africa in the changing global configuration and the structures through which Western nations still impose forms of neo-colonialism upon Africa today. This class meets the EXPL-HUM requirement for the Marquette Common Core.

MWF 10:00-10:50

Dr. Michael Donoghue

This course will compare and contrast differing constructions of race and democracy in North and South America from the colonial period to the present day. We will analyze how varying concepts of self-governance, republicanism, and democracy evolved over time and application simultaneous to changing notions of race and racial identities in these distinct regions throughout several centuries of historical development.  This class meets the ESSV1 requirement for the Marquette Common Core.

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, 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. This class meets the ESSV1 requirement for the Marquette Common Core. 

MWF 11:00-11:50

Dr. Timothy McMahon

This course offers a global perspective on encounters between Europeans and non-Europeans over the past 500 years, with special focus on the ways that networks and neighbors helped to shape how people thought about themselves and about those who were different from themselves, and how those changing ideas were shaped by political, economic, and cultural dynamics. Ultimately, what we today call the "modern" period emerged out of these encounters as a period marked by both confidence AND uncertainty. In looking at how these tensions emerged in the past, students will gain a better appreciation of some of the uncertainties we continue to face today. This class meets the ESSV1 requirement for the Marquette Common Core.

MWF 9:00-9:50

Professor Sam Harshner

This course will examine the origins, development, and contemporary form of our economic system, capitalism.  We will examine both the dizzying levels prosperity it has created and the formidable crises it has engendered.  We live in a time of great change and great peril.  Understanding the confusing and evolving world around us requires understanding the challenges and opportunities afforded us by the capitalist system in which we all carve out our day-to-day existence.  And understanding capitalism requires understanding forces that created it and sustained it over the past five hundred years. 

TTh 12:30-1:45

Dr. Chima Korieh

The history of South Africa represents a microcosm of many of the greatest problems of the 20th-century world. In this Writing Intensive course, created as part of the Marquette core, students will explore the relationship between history and race in South Africa, especially how the state-dictated system of racial separation and discrimination affected the lived experience of South Africa’s diverse population of whites, colored, Asians and the vast majority of Africans. Students will explore the intersection of race and history, especially how race shaped historical reconstruction, national identity, and intergroup relations. While focusing on South African experiences, students can make connections between race and history in other societies such as the United State. It connects to the theme of cognition by drawing from foundational reading on race theory and the impact of race on national identity; how groups have drawn upon racial ideas to create boundaries of social, economic, and political differences, and how these ideas have shaped the history of societies. Topics will include establishment of European settlement and colonization, mineral discoveries and their impact, industrialization and social change, race and the apartheid system, African resistance, transitional justice, and race in post-apartheid South African society.

MWF 1:00-1:50

Dr. Michael Wert

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic themes in pre-1900 Japanese history, in particular the time when Japan was ruled by samurai.  Topics include the rise of the military government, regional and global interaction, as well as changes in culture, economy and society throughout ancient, medieval and early modern Japan.  I want us all to improve our critical thinking skills and question the assumptions we have about Japan and the pre-modern world in general.  Even though this class is about “old Japan” there will be a constant dialog with modern-day issues.  This class will consist of lectures and discussion. 

T 4:30-7:00

Dr. Peter Staudenmaier

This advanced seminar is an opportunity for History majors to gain first-hand experience with research in primary sources, the foundation on which historical inquiry is built. Our theme centers on the multiple histories of race and racism in global context. Each student will prepare their own project, in coordination with the instructor, leading to a final paper of approximately fifteen pages based on original research. We will also share our work through class presentations. All historical topics related to race and racism are welcome, in any era and any geographical area. This class meets the WRIT requirement for the Marquette Common Core.

T 4:30-7:00

Dr. Alison Efford

This seminar offers an introduction to the study of history at the graduate level. Our goal is to become conversant with the range of theories and methodologies used by twenty-first century historians. We will examine different approaches to historical research and analysis, debates around the nature and meaning of history as a discipline, and the potentials and pitfalls of academic scholarship about the past. Through readings, discussions, short writing assignments, and discernment activities, we will explore history in theory and practice.

W 5:00-7:30

Dr. Timothy McMahon

This graduate seminar raises questions about the phenomena of empires in various parts of the world at different moments in time. We will begin the term with a series of readings aimed at familiarizing students with several different empires in order to find commonalities and difference among them. We will be cognizant of how the timing and assumptions of scholars has shaped our views of empires, and we will also discuss various forms of resistance to empires deployed by indigenous peoples in different eras. Students will then design research projects based in their areas of regional interest to interrogate a specific empire or the interactions of multiple empires at a particular point in time.