Chairperson: Ray Rast
Professors: L. Arnold, E. Cunningham, G. DeAragon (Emerita), R. Donnelly, E. Downey (Emerita), A. Goldman, D. González (Emerita), K. O’Connor, A. Ostendorf, J.R. Stackelberg (Emeritus), A. Via, S.J. (Emeritus)
Associate Professors: S. Balzarini (Emeritus), K. Chambers, C. De Barra, T. Nitz (Emeritus), R. Rast, V. Schlimgen, J. Weiskopf
Assistant Professors: J. Vignone
Lecturer: J. Binczewski
The department offers one major and four minors:
Bachelor of Arts, History major
Minor in History
Minor in Asian History
Minor in Latin American History
Minor in History of Race & Ethnic Communities
The Department of History offers a variety of courses that enable students to fulfill University Core requirements as well as to obtain a Bachelor of Arts with either a major or a minor in History. The goals of the department curriculum are to engender an informed, critical, and articulate sense of the past, an appreciation for the diversity of human experience, and an awareness of the role of tradition in shaping the present. The major develops a variety of practical research and communication skills and provides a foundation for graduate work, the study of law, public service, teaching, archival and library sciences, public history, and many careers in business and other professions. The department sponsors a chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national History honor society, and coordinates internships with community partners and with Gonzaga University Archives and Special Collections.
Majors are required to complete HIST 200 (Historical Foundations), a course that provides a preliminary introduction to the discipline of History, followed by HIST 300 (Historical Methods), which provides an in-depth discussion of the discipline of History and is normally taken as the student begins the upper division courses, and HIST 400 (Senior Thesis/Seminar), the research capstone to the major. The department offers courses on a wide variety of places, people, and eras at both the upper and lower division level. Majors who wish to obtain teacher certification are urged to confer with the School of Education as well as their departmental adviser.
B.A. Major in History: 33 Credits |
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| Lower Division | |
| HIST 100-level electives* |
6-9 credits |
| *Must include 3 credits of US History content from: | |
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HIST 103 United States History I
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HIST 104 United States History II
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| HIST 106 Asian& Pacific Islander American History | |
| HIST 108 Introduction to Pacific Northwest History | |
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HIST 110 Indians of the Columbia Plateau
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HIST 111 Introduction to Native American History
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HIST 195 Special Topic: (US History topics only)
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| HIST 200 Historical Foundations | 3 credits |
| * HIST 193 FYS may be used for three 100-level elective credits. | |
| Upper Division | |
| HIST 300 Historical Methods |
3 credits |
| HIST 300-level electives |
15-18 credits |
| HIST 400 Senior Thesis/Seminar | 3 credits |
| **(HIST 497 Internship may count for up to three (3) 300-level elective credits) | |
Minor in History: 18 Credits |
|
| Lower Division | |
| HIST 100-level electives | 6 credits |
| HIST 200 Historical Foundations | 3 credits |
| Upper Division | |
|
HIST 300-level electives |
9 credits |
Lower Division
A survey of the West's origins in the Near East, the classical Mediterranean, the foundations of monotheism, and developments to the early modern era.
A survey of the early modern and modern West with emphasis on ideas, politics, and social changes.
This course surveys North American history from the continent’s first peopling through the end of the U.S. Civil War. It pays special attention to: the relationships between Indigenous and European nations; the creation and growth of the United States; the interconnectedness between American slavery and American freedom; the defining structures of genders, races, ethnicities, and classes. It covers some of the major social, cultural, political, economic, intellectual, religious and environmental forces that shaped the early North American continent and the young United States.
Equivalent:
HIST 201 - Taken before Summer 2022
This course surveys U.S. History since the end of the Civil War with an emphasis on broad economic, political, social, and cultural changes. The course explores transformative events, ideas, and developments, including: Reconstruction and racial segregation; industrialization, immigration, and urbanization; progressive reforms and reactionary politics; WWI and WWII; the Great Depression; the Cold War, anti-communism, and suburbanization; the Vietnam War; civil rights movements; and the changing role of the U.S. in global affairs. The course addresses the perspectives, struggles, and successes of the many communities that have shaped America's diverse society and culture.
Equivalent:
HIST 202 - Taken before Summer 2022
This course is a broad survey of Russian history. Students will become familiar with the features of Russian culture and the forms that Russian statehood has taken from the middle-ages through the imperial and Soviet eras.
Examines U.S. history by centering Pacific Islander/Americans and Asian Americans. Provides an introduction to immigration, community-formation, colonization, racialization, labor, legal restrictions, activism, and justice movements.
Equivalent:
CRES 106 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
This course is a survey of the ancient world, from the rise of early human cultures and the development of early human society to the creation of complex civilizations such as Greece and Rome.
An introduction to the social, economic, political, and cultural development of the Pacific Northwest since the late eighteenth century. The primary geographical focus is on Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The course explores three overarching themes: the region’s social and cultural diversity, competition over the region’s natural resources, and the development of regional identity.
In this course students will investigate how Muslims have elaborated on the revelation received by the Prophet Muhammad to build the social, cultural, and political institutions constitutive of Islamic societies. They will explore how gender, sexuality, race, and class functioned in the building of these institutions from 600 CE - 1600 CE across the Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia.
This course will explore Native American groups on the Columbia Plateau, including their traditional lifestyles, traditional and colonial religions, the Salish language, and responses to settlement and government policies. We will also examine the traditions of cooperation and collaboration among these groups. We must understand the geography of the Plateau, in order to fully contextualize the importance of homeland and traditional practices, so this course represents place-based study of Native American history. Spring.
Equivalent:
HIST 210 - Taken before Summer 2022
NTAS 210 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
NTAS 210 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
Hundreds of Indigenous groups made their home in North America for centuries before European colonial expansion reached these shores. Native communities might describe this occupancy as ‘since time immemorial.’ This class will begin with an exploration of those earlier eras and will acknowledge that each Native community was/is distinct from other communities. Thus, while we can observe commonalities in Native experiences and histories, we will also conclude that there is no ‘single’ Native perspective. To develop this conclusion, we will assess processes of change over time across what we now know as the United States. This course will consider social and cultural approaches to preserving and passing down Native American histories as well as U.S. history interpretations of Native Americans’ societies, cultures, economies, and spiritualties. “Texts” in this course will include history books, literature, images, and film, and we will create and respond to research questions using primary and secondary sources.
Equivalent:
HIST 211 - Taken before Summer 2022
NTAS 211 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
NTAS 211 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
A survey of world history that examines global societies’ internal transformations as well as their interactions over time.
Topic to be determined by faculty.
The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces new Gonzaga students to the University, the Core Curriculum, and Gonzaga’s Jesuit mission and heritage. While the seminars will be taught by faculty with expertise in particular disciplines, topics will be addressed in a way that illustrates approaches and methods of different academic disciplines. The seminar format of the course highlights the participatory character of university life, emphasizing that learning is an active, collegial process.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
This course is a preliminary introduction to the discipline of History. It is a requirement for History majors and minors, and introduces methods used by historians. Special attention is paid to finding, evaluating, and using sources in ways appropriate to the discipline of History. It also teaches students how to consider the relevance of historical skills and knowledge to their professional and academic development. For History majors, it is the first of three required courses and a prerequisite for History 300—a course in which students practice many of the skills learned here in more sophisticated ways.
Upper Division
HIST 300 is the second of three required courses for all History majors. Building on foundational skills developed in HIST 200, this course provides an in-depth discussion of the discipline of History and will help students further develop the skills necessary to contribute to the field. Students will explore a diversity of History specialties and engage in a variety of research and writing assignments. Instructors will guide students through various activities to hone their research and writing skills necessary to succeed.
Equivalent:
HIST 301 - Taken before Summer 2022
This course is a survey of the development of the city in the ancient world. Students will explore urban forms and processes as they are shaped by - and as they shape - their social, cultural, economic and physical contexts. The course will focus on representative urban centers of the ancient Near East, Egypt, and the Mediterranean world, tracing the evolution of ancient urbanism from the Near East to the classical worlds of Greece and Rome.
Equivalent:
VART 403 - OK if taken since Fall 2015
The history of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age through the end of the fifth century BC, with special emphasis on the city of Athens and its political, social, and economic landscape during Classical Greece.
The political, social, and cultural history of Greece and the Hellenistic World from 399 to 30 BC, from the death of Socrates to the death of Cleopatra. The course will focus particularly on the rise of Macedon as a Mediterranean power, the achievements of Alexander the Great, and the transformation of the eastern Mediterranean under the monarchies of the Hellenistic Period.
The political, social and cultural history of Republican Rome from its legendary origins to the Battle of Actium and its de facto end in 31 BC. The course will focus closely on the factors leading to the Republic's successful rise as uncontested Mediterranean ruler as well as the internal political and social conflicts that brought the Republic crashing down to its ultimate fall. (also offered through Gonzaga in Florence on an intermittent basis.)
Equivalent:
ITAL 363 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
The political, social and cultural history of Rome during the age of the Emperors, from Augustus' creation of the Principate in 27 BC to the decline of the Roman Empire in the west by the 5th century AD. Special focus in this course will be given to the workings of the Imperial system, daily life in Rome and the provinces, the rise of Christianity and the ultimate transformation of the empire.
Equivalent:
ITAL 364 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
This course examines the techniques and methods of classical archaeology as revealed through an examination of the major monuments and artifacts of Ancient Greece and its neighbors. Architecture, sculpture, vase and fresco painting, and the minor arts are all examined, from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period. We consider the nature of this archaeological evidence, and the relationship of classical archaeology to other disciplines such as history, art history, and the classical languages.
Equivalent:
VART 404 - OK if taken since Fall 2015
This course examines the techniques and methods of classical archaeology as revealed through an examination of the major monuments and artifacts of ancient Rome and its neighbors. Architecture, sculpture, vase and fresco painting, and the minor arts are all examined, from the Early Iron Age through the Late Roman period. We consider the nature of this archaeological evidence, and the relationship of classical archaeology to other disciplines such as history, art history, and the classical languages.
Equivalent:
VART 405 - OK if taken since Fall 2015
This course focuses on history, culture, society, religion, art, architecture, literature and daily life of the Romans, from Rome's beginnings in myth and legend through its rise to the domination of the Mediterranean world, its violent conversion from a Republic to an Empire and the long success of that Empire until its collapse in the fifth century A.D. Gonzaga in Florence only.
Federal Indian policies and assertions of tribal sovereignty will provide context for discussions of Native American activism. We will discuss regional and national pan-Indian organizations, and we will also recognize the value of community-based activism. Local movements can include language preservation, restoration of traditional foods, community-designed and operated tribal museums and political engagement at all levels of government. Spring, every four years beginning 2014.
Equivalent:
NTAS 310 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
SOSJ 359 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
SOSJ 359 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
Developments in the first flowering of western Europe circa 500-1350, including feudalism, the rise of representative assemblies, the commercial revolution and the papal monarchy. Gonzaga in Florence only.
Equivalent:
CATH 331 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
ITAL 366 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
ITAL 366 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
A history of western Europe circa 1350-1550, examining the political, religious, social, and economic context for the cultural achievements of the humanists, artists, dramatists, scientists, architects, and educators of the age of Joan of Arc, Michelangelo, the Tudors, and the Medici.
Equivalent:
CATH 332 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
ITAL 367 - Successful completion
ITAL 367 - Successful completion
A survey of the political, religious, social, and cultural history of the British Isles, circa 100-1485, examining Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Norman, and Plantagenet interactions. Topics will include Christianization, the Viking and Norman invasions, Magna Carta and Parliament; relations of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
British religious, political, social, cultural, and economic developments from the late 1400s to 1689, including the War of the Roses, the English Renaissance and Reformation, the Civil War and Restoration, and the Revolution of 1688.
This course investigates the history of medicine in medieval to modern Islamic societies. Topics to be studied include the reception of Greco-Roman, Persian, and Indian medicine in the medieval Islamic world, as well as the history of medical ethics, drug use, dieting, and sexual practice. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which medicine in the medieval to modern Islamic world shaped and was shaped by shifting intellectual discourses and dynamics of power.
This course investigates the history of science in Europe, the Middle East, and Indian Ocean from antiquity to the early-modern period. It invites its participants to imagine ways of transcending the conventional opposition of these geographies and chronologies. Course participants will strive to understand Eurasia, the Mediterranean Basin, and Indian Ocean littoral as comprising an integral, brilliantly diverse region animated by shared textual and intellectual inheritances, and as an intercontinental community through which peoples, ideas, and objects enduringly circulated and interacted with one another.
This course has two purposes: to provide a broad overview of the major historical developments in Ireland from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century, and to introduce students to the historiographical debates that shape the study of modern Irish history. We will read about and discuss pivotal moments in Irish history during this time period, trying to understand what the primary agents of historical change in the country were, and what variable factors might have allowed the country’s history to follow a different path.
Equivalent:
CATH 333 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
This course explores the troubled history of Northern Ireland from the perspective of the two communities that live within it, as well as that of the British and Irish governments. It examines key events in Northern Ireland’s recent history such as Bloody Sunday, internment, the murder of Lord Mountbatten, the hunger strikes, the Enniskillen and Omagh bombings, and the steps to the Peace Process. The course emphasizes how peace has been achieved in the wake of the "Troubles" as it examines whether the Good Friday Agreement can offer lessons to other conflict zones around the world.
Equivalent:
CATH 334 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
INST 348 - OK if taken since Fall 2020
INST 348 - OK if taken since Fall 2020
In this course, we will explore how Britain and Britishness are modern constructions. We will begin our analysis by studying the ancient and medieval connections between the nations we know today as England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and then explore how the United Kingdom came into being. The latter part of the course will focus on how tension remains between these older national Identities and a more modern sense of unified Britishness.
Equivalent:
INST 386 - Taken before Fall 2022
This course examines German politics and society during the Weimar and Nazi periods. Its main emphasis is the relationship between the German people, Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi Party, and the impact that Nazism had on German society and institutions. The course further emphasizes the Nazi regime's foreign policy objectives as well as its racial goals, each of which found their fullest expression during World War II and the Holocaust. As these extremes aspect of the Third Reich pose the central problems of modern European history, students who complete this course will become familiar with the documents and historiography that inform the history of the Nazi era.
Equivalent:
INST 397 - Successful completion
A history of the Nazi genocide of the Jews in World War II, including its origins and historical context, the methods used by the Nazis to identify and exterminate victims, a study of the perpetrators, the reaction of the international community, and post-war historiography, interpretation and commemoration. Gonzaga in Florence only.
Prerequisite:
or HIST 112H Minimum Grade: D
The causes, conduct and consequences of the Second World War.
This course may be considered an autopsy on the Soviet empire. Its themes include: "developed" socialism under Stalin's successors; the rise and decline of the Soviet economy; the Cold War; the Soviet Union's nationalities issues; the impact of Gorbachev's reforms; and the collapse of the USSR. The course will also consider the domestic and foreign policy challenges faced by Yeltsin and Putin after 1991.
Equivalent:
INST 334 - OK if taken since Spring 2020
What historical processes have determined how Italians (and others) eat today? What role does food production and consumption play in history? This course is an investigation of humans in the Mediterranean and the food they eat and cultivate, and it will help us understand that the food we eat is the product of a historical process. Gonzaga in Florence only.
This course focuses on the dictatorship of Josef Stalin from the late 1920s until his death in 1953. Its main topics include: Stalin's consolidation of personal rule; the impact of crash industrialization and agricultural collectivization; Stalinist terror; the Soviet experience in World War II; the worldwide influence of the Soviet model after the war; and the legacy of Stalinism in Russia.
Equivalent:
INST 337 - OK if taken since Spring 2020
Italian history from 1918 to 1945, including an examination of social and economic conditions in post-World War Italy, rise of the Fascist Party, the role of Benito Mussolini, the nature of Fascist government in Italy, Italian imperialism under Mussolini, and the part played by Italy as an ally with Hitler's Germany. Offered through Gonzaga in Florence on an intermittent basis.
Equivalent:
INST 391 - Successful completion
Since the late eighteenth century, the French have experimented with a multitude of political arrangements, from absolute monarchy to radical utopian visions of socialism. ln this light, modern France might be imagined to have been a political laboratory, providing inspiration (or dread) for much of the rest of Europe. Beginning with the revolution of 1789, this course will explore the political volatility experienced in France over the next two centuries.
The focus of this course is the ideological and geopolitical confrontation between the superpowers that shaped the second half of the twentieth century. The course analyzes the origins of the Cold War, its global manifestations in Europe and the non-western world, as well as the effects of the Cold War on American and Soviet societies and cultures.
This course examines closely African countries' internal histories as they transitioned from colony to nation from the 1940s through the 1990s. While not ignoring the roles played by colonial masters and indigenous elites, the heart of the course explores how ordinary men and women shaped these processes.
Equivalent:
INST 340 - OK if taken since Spring 2021
This course explores African history by examining the roles that Africans have played historically as creators, audiences, and subjects of films. Using both film studies and African studies concepts, the course interrogates African film as both artifacts and interpretations of the past.
Equivalent:
FILM 343 - OK if taken since Fall 2023
INST 311 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
INST 311 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
This course examines the colonial period through the lived realities of Africans themselves. In particular, it considers the ways in which African and colonial systems of economics, politics, gender, and community were brought into dynamic tension during the decades of colonial rule.
Equivalent:
INST 363 - OK if taken since Fall 2021
This class interrogates how African understandings of health and practices of healing transformed from the precolonial through the post-independence periods. In particular, we will study the interrelationship between health and politics in African thought, the integration of western biomedicine into African systems of healing, and the changing disease landscape of capitalism, colonialism, and globalization.
Equivalent:
INST 364 - OK if taken since Fall 2021
This course explores the long-term history of Africans' dynamic interactions with their environments by interrogating how African environmental realities and Africans' conceptions of the environment shaped broader political, social and economic histories. Beginning in the precolonial period, we will trace how climatic variation, political and economic changes in the colonial period, and post-independence priorities transformed Africans' relationships with their environments.
Equivalent:
ENVS 343 - OK if taken since Fall 2021
INST 341 - OK if taken since Fall 2021
INST 341 - OK if taken since Fall 2021
How, when, and why did cities in America develop where they did? How do physical form and institutions vary from city to city and how are these differences significant? This course will explore these and other questions while emphasizing twentieth-century American cities. We will examine urban populations, city culture, crime, municipal politics, and sustainability.
This course examines the critical period of the young United States from the American Revolution until approximately 1850. Topics covered include: immigration, expansion, nationalism, conceptions of race and ethnicity, labor, slavery, gender, reform movements, industrialization, Native American/U.S. relations, popular democracy and religion. All of these will be considered in light of the processes by which the United States began to cohere as a nation both politically and culturally.
Although this class will center around the American Civil War (1861-1865), it will even more so be a history of the United States from approximately 1820 through 1880, in order to effectively place the war in its appropriate historical contexts of the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the mid-nineteenth century. This course will examine the nature and creation of regional distinctiveness in the United States, the centrality of race and slavery to the nation, the causes of disunion, the nature and character of the Civil War which followed, the war's diverse effects on the whole American populace, the nation's attempt at reconstruction, and the war's legacies that still inform our nation today.
An introduction to the history of American Latina/o communities from the nineteenth-century wars that brought northern Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico under U.S. control; through the first major waves of immigration that brought Mexicans and other Latinas/os to the U.S.; through multiple generations of hardship, cultural transformation, and political mobilization; and finally to the issues and challenges of the early twenty-first century. Themes and topics include military conquest and resistance, immigration, discrimination and segregation, labor and migration, community formation, gender and sexuality, military service, religious faith and activism, civil rights activism, the farmworker movement, cultural nationalism, the evolution of diverse Latinx identities, and the overarching context of U.S. relations with Latin America.
Equivalent:
CATH 335 - OK if taken since Fall 2024
An introduction to the history of the region. The course offers an overview of regional settlement, cultural diversity, social relations, economic development, urban growth, and politics. The course also explores the meaning of the West to the nation through the work of writers and filmmakers.
This course explores the lives and experiences of African -Americans from the colonial era to the present. This seminar-style course allows students to examine historic changes in communities, values, obstacles, activism, and traditions that sustained these citizens, workers, families, communities, and activists.
Equivalent:
SOSJ 326 - OK if taken since Fall 2017
This course will explore the history of Early America through Indigenous perspectives. It will consider the rich and diverse histories of North American tribes, analyze their varied responses to the processes of colonization, and connect these legacies to the present. Topics discussed include political engagement, commodities exchange, resource competition, religious encounters, gender roles, slavery, and racialization. Lectures, discussions, activities, and research will challenge students to reimagine colonial North America as Native America by centering Indigenous actors.
Equivalent:
NTAS 359 - OK if taken since Fall 2017
The social, economic, political, and cultural development of the Pacific Northwest from the late eighteenth century to the present. The primary geographical focus is on Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The course focuses on three overarching themes: the region’s social and cultural diversity, competition over the region’s natural resources, and the development of regional identity.
The post-1945 presidency evolved and changed drastically as consequence of domestic and foreign events and ideology. We will examine the powers and limitations of the post-1945 U.S. presidents in both foreign and domestic affairs. We will assess their relationships with Congress, the American people, the press, and other nations, and we will explore presidential power, agenda, persuasion, secrecy, and character.
HIST 362 will examine the United States' foreign policies formulated and implemented after World War 11, during and immediately after the Cold War, and in the post-9/11 era. We will discuss NATO and our relationship with the European nations and evaluate U.S. policies in Asia, particularly our actions in Vietnam and our relationship with China. We will also assess the U.S. role in Latin America and Africa, and diplomacy and conflict in the Middle East.
This course explores the history of American women from the colonial era to the present using a women and gender studies framework. The class investigates gender roles and the ways that race, class, politics, national origin, colonization, and the passage of time alter those expectations. This seminar style course investigates women’s economic and political lives and social contributions through suffrage, reform, civil rights, feminism, and more.
Equivalent:
WGST 330 - OK if taken since Fall 2009
Why are people drawn to the past? When they go searching for it, where do they go, and what do they find? What should they find? This course examines the practice and politics of “public history.” As we will see, public historians work as museum curators, historic preservationists, historic site interpreters, archivists, film consultants, writers, and editors. In these and other roles, public historians help individuals and organizations recognize, contend with, and learn from the complexities of the past. Through weekly readings, site visits, guest speakers, and hands-on project experience, this course will introduce students to the challenges and rewards that accompany engagement with and employment within the field of public history.
In examining the dynamic relationship between humans and their environment over time, this course explores how nature affects cultural responses and how humans, in turn, have shaped the world around them. Employing a multidisciplinary approach this course draws upon ecological, historical, economic, or political analysis to illuminate the varied relationships between people and place.
Equivalent:
ENVS 353 - OK if taken since Fall 2018
This course will examine American history through an exploration of its culture. Throughout this course we will work towards defining what culture is, how it shapes expectations and assumption, how it motivates human actions and interactions, and how it is bound by time and place. Each student’s ability to critically read cultural sources from an appropriately historical frame of reference will be tested in a variety of assignments, including weekly readings, writing assignments, and active class participation.
Equivalent:
VART 406 - OK if taken since Fall 2015
This course explores the history of citizenship in the United States from its founding in the Revolutionary era to the present by examining how and why the rights and obligations of citizenship have changed over time. This seminar style course includes discussions of philosophical and theoretical frameworks involved in building and in understanding citizenship including reform efforts that aspired to democratize institutions that treated citizens differently because of race, ethnicity, class, national origin, or gender. This course is geared towards students interested in history, law, politics, ethnic studies, women’s studies, and social movements.
Equivalent:
SOSJ 341 - OK if taken since Fall 2015
This course will introduce you to the history of the United States in its global context. In
order to situate the United States within its world, this course explores the interconnections
between domestic beliefs, national policy, and international events.
Equivalent:
INST 356 - OK if taken since Fall 2014
Why is there race? This course will examine the history of the inventions, transformations and expressions of the idea of race as a category of difference in American thought and experience from pre-contact to the present. The course will consider intellectual, cultural, legal, social, economic, and political manifestations of this idea, with special attention given to how the idea has been applied and experienced in diverse ways across North America over time.
This course seeks to give students an understanding of the history and culture of pre-modern China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. After exploring the historical roots of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism in China, students will examine the ways in which these foundational philosophies helped form social, cultural, and political institutions in China and its neighbors. Students will also focus attention on the historical emergence of the Chinese imperial system, and its greatest pre-modern exemplars, the Qin, Han and T'ang dynasties. Not limiting the focus to China alone, students will also explore how the concept of China as the "middle kingdom" influenced the language, religion and political developments in Japan and Korea, leading to an authentic "macro-culture" in East Asia. The course will finish with a discussion of samurai culture and an analysis of how the Mongol conquests of Central and East Asia transformed the region, taking students to the threshold of the early modern period in Asia. It is desired, but not required, that students take HIST 112 prior to this course.
Equivalent:
INST 384 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
This course brings together the histories of Asia, the Americas, and Oceania since the 18th century by examining how human migration in and throughout the Pacific region and reshaped it over time. Investigating sojourners, merchants, laborers, soldiers, imperial administrators, colonial subjects, women, and business elites allows us to understand changes in economic exchange, political influence, geographic knowledge, racial beliefs, the rise and fall of empires, and the era of globalization.
Equivalent:
INST 371 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
This course is a focused survey of Chinese history from the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 B.C.) up to the present. Using the standard interpretive categories of politics, economics, society, and culture, the course will explore such topics as pre-imperial China; the Qin-Han consolidations and breakdowns; pre-modern Imperial China (Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, including inter-dynasty kingdoms); the Mongol (Yuan) dynasty; early modern and modern imperial China (Ming and Qing); and the Revolutionary periods of the twentieth century, including the Guomindang era, Maoism, and Post-Mao modernizations. Students who take this course for International Studies credit will be required to do an extra writing assignment that integrates the material of this course with their International Studies focus. It is desired but not required that students will have taken History 112 prior to taking this course
Equivalent:
INST 374 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
This course is a focused survey of Japanese history from the Jomon Period (c. 14,000 B.C) up to the present. Using the standard interpretive categories of politics, economics, society, and culture, the course will explore such topics as the Jomon and Yayoi classical ages; the Yamato, Nara, and Heian aristocratic ages; the Kamakura, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa warrior ages, and the modern period from the Meiji Restoration through the twentieth century. Students who take this course for International Studies credit will be required to do an extra writing assignment that integrates the material of this course with their International Studies focus. It is desired but not required that students will have taken History 112 ) prior to taking this course.
Equivalent:
INST 375 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
This course is an in-depth study of China during the revolutionary twentieth century, focused upon the career of People's Republic of China Chairman Mao Zedong. In addition to analyzing the political, economic, social, and cultural developments of post-imperial China, the course takes a look at the theory of revolution, and examines China's historical development in the context of imperialism, post colonialism, and international Marxist revolution. It is desired, but not required, that students take HIST 112 prior to this course.
This course is an in-depth study of Japan's "early modern" period, covering the years of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868). In addition to analyzing the political, economic, social, and cultural developments of Japan's centralized feudal period, the course takes a look at the theory of modernity and examines Japan's historical development in the context of modernization.
This course is an in-depth study of the historical relationship between modern Japanese Zen Buddhism and the American counter-culture of the post WWII period. Through readings and discussions of a number of religious, literary and historical works, the course explores the degree to which the modern "reinvention" of an ancient Japanese religious tradition has influenced, and continues to influence western popular culture.
This course will provide a comprehensive survey of the development of science and technology in the context of world history and will invite students to take part in a critical engagement of the mutually productive qualities of history and technology in a context of modernization.
A survey of colonial Latin America that examines the contact, conflict, and accommodation among Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans that shaped colonial Latin America.
Equivalent:
INST 372 - Successful completion
NTAS 341 - OK if taken since Fall 2017
NTAS 341 - OK if taken since Fall 2017
A general introduction to the history of the former colonies of Spain and Portugal in the Western Hemisphere. Topics include the rise of caudillos, rural developments, the emergence of liberal economic development, populism, banana republics, dictatorships, dirty wars, Marxist revolution, and contemporary predicaments.
Equivalent:
INST 394 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
This course examines the origins, emergence, process, and consequences of major Latin American social and political revolutions in the twentieth century. It will investigate a variety of types of revolutions including different urban and rural movements, as well as groups that sought radical change from high politics to the grass roots level.
Equivalent:
INST 369 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
A survey of Mexican history from the Aztec wars to the present.
Equivalent:
INST 377 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
This course will investigate the lives of women in both the pre-contact and post-conquest societies. The first part of the course concentrates on the activities of women, and their role in society, among the Aztecs, Inca, and Pueblo civilizations. The course will follow with the study of their experiences after the Spanish Conquest. The final section of the course will cover the variety of women, ranging from wealthy Spanish women, established nuns, marginal mystics, Indian leaders, and African women, and their experiences in the Spanish colonies. In class, students will learn about and discuss the various gender systems which operated in different periods, and how these systems shaped women's lives as women shaped the systems themselves.
Equivalent:
WGST 331 - OK if taken since Fall 2009
In the twenty-first century, American playwrights have increasingly begun to draw upon history to create dramas and comedies which add nuance and context to stories audiences think they already know. This class will use historiography - the study of historical writing - to reveal who has written history and why those scholars were imbued with authority to write the narratives they did. At the same time, we will investigate how playwrights are drawing upon/challenging/complicating those narratives and we will consider what “authority” means when Native-authored content, for example, is placed side-by-side with scholarship about (not by) Native people. If you like stories, reading, and understanding why writing about the past carries both power and responsibility, this class is for you.
Equivalent:
NTAS 389 - OK if taken since Fall 2022
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
Selected historical topics of current and special interest.
HIST 400 is the History capstone course, designed as a research seminar for majors. Students will continue to develop their understanding of the methods and skills of contemporary historical practice. They will demonstrate their mastery of the discipline through discussions, assignments, peer review, and the research and writing of a thesis project using relevant primary and secondary sources.
Prerequisite:
HIST 300 Minimum Grade: D
Equivalent:
HIST 401 - Taken before Summer 2022
The Core Integration Seminar (CIS) engages the Year Four Question: “Imagining the possible: What is our role in the world?” by offering students a culminating seminar experience in which students integrate the principles of Jesuit education, prior components of the Core, and their disciplinary expertise. Each section of the course will focus on a problem or issue raised by the contemporary world that encourages integration, collaboration, and problem solving. The topic for each section of the course will be proposed and developed by each faculty member in a way that clearly connects to the Jesuit Mission, to multiple disciplinary perspectives, and to our students’ future role in the world.
Topic to be determined by faculty.
Students will apply historical methods and analytical skills at a non-profit or for-profit site such as a museum, archive, preservation office, government office, or other research or historical site. Instructor permission required to register.
This course is designed for students who have taken HIST 300 or HIST 400 and who wish to improve their historical and writing skills by continuing work on their research papers.
Prerequisite:
HIST 300 Minimum Grade: D
In exceptional cases only, this course may be taken in lieu of HIST 400 with the permission of the Department Chair of History.
In addition to their major and minor areas of study, all undergraduate students follow a common program designed to complete their education in those areas that the University considers essential for a Catholic, Jesuit, liberal, and humanistic education. The University Core Curriculum consists of forty-five credits of course work, with additional designation requirements that can be met through core, major, or elective courses.
The University Core Curriculum is a four-year program, organized around one overarching question, which is progressively addressed through yearly themes and questions. Hence, core courses are best taken within the year for which they are designated. First year core courses encourage intellectual engagement and provide a broad foundation of fundamental skills. Second and third year courses examine central issues and questions in philosophy and religious studies. The fourth year course, the Core Integration Seminar, offers a culminating core experience. Taken at any time throughout the four years, broadening courses intersect with the core themes and extend students’ appreciation for the humanities, arts, and social and behavioral sciences. Finally, the designation requirements (writing enriched, global studies, and social justice) reflect important values and reinforce students’ knowledge and competencies.
Overarching Core Question: As students of a Catholic, Jesuit, and Humanistic University, how do we educate ourselves to become women and men for a more just and humane global community?
Year 1 Theme and Question: Understanding and Creating: How do we pursue knowledge and cultivate understanding?
- The First-Year Seminar (DEPT 193, 3 credits): The First-Year Seminar (FYS), taken in the fall or spring of the first year, is designed to promote an intellectual shift in students as they transition to college academic life. Each small seminar is organized around an engaging topic, which students explore from multiple perspectives. The FYS is offered by many departments across the University (click here [PDF] for list of FYS courses).
- Writing (ENGL 101, 3 credits) and Reasoning (PHIL 101, 3 credits): The Writing and Reasoning courses are designed to help students develop the foundational skills of critical reading, thinking, analysis, and writing. They may be taken as linked sections. Writing (ENGL 101) carries one of the three required writing-enriched designations (see below).
- Communication & Speech (COMM 100, 3 credits): This course introduces students to interpersonal and small group communication and requires the application of critical thinking, reasoning, and research skills necessary to organize, write, and present several speeches.
- Scientific Inquiry (BIOL 104/104L, CHEM 104/104L, or PHYS 104/104L, 3 credits): This course explores the scientific process in the natural world through evidence-based logic and includes significant laboratory experience. Students pursuing majors that require science courses will satisfy this requirement through their major.
- Mathematics (above Math 100, 3 credits): Mathematics courses promote thinking according to the modes of the discipline—abstractly, symbolically, logically, and computationally. One course in mathematics, above Math 100, including any math course required for a major or minor, will fulfill this requirement. MATH 100 (College Algebra) and courses without the MATH prefix do not fulfill this requirement.
Year 2 Theme and Question: Being and Becoming: Who are we and what does it mean to be human?
- Philosophy of Human Nature (PHIL 201, 3 credits): This course provides students with a philosophical study of key figures, theories, and intellectual traditions that contribute to understanding the human condition; the meaning and dignity of human life; and the human relationship to ultimate reality.
- Christianity and Catholic Traditions (RELI, 3 credits). Religious Studies core courses approved for this requirement explore diverse topics including Christian scriptures, history, theology, and practices as well as major contributions from the Catholic intellectual and theological traditions (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses) .
Year 3 Theme and Question: Caring and Doing: What principles characterize a well lived life?
- Ethics (PHIL 301 or RELI, 3 credits): The Ethics courses are designed to help students develop their moral imagination by exploring and explaining the reasons humans should care about the needs and interests of others. This requirement is satisfied by an approved ethics course in either Philosophy (PHIL 301) or Religious Studies (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
- World/Comparative Religion (RELI, 3 credits): Religious Studies courses approved for this core requirement draw attention to the diversity that exists within and among traditions and encourage students to bring critical, analytical thinking to bear on the traditions and questions considered. These courses carries one of the required two global-studies designations (see below) (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
Year 4 Theme and Question: Imagining the Possible: What is our role in the world?”
- Core Integration Seminar (DEPT 432, 3 credits). The Core Integration Seminar (CIS) offers students a culminating core experience in which they integrate the principles of Jesuit education, prior components of the core, and their disciplinary expertise. Some CIS courses may also count toward a student’s major or minor. The CIS is offered by several departments across the University (click here [PDF] for list of CIS courses).
The Broadening Courses
- Fine Arts & Design (VART, MUSC, THEA, 3 credits): Arts courses explore multiple ways the human experience can be expressed through creativity, including across different cultures and societies. One approved course in fine arts, music, theatre, or dance will fulfill this requirement (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
- History (HIST, 3 credits): History courses are intended to develop students’ awareness of the historical context of both the individual and the collective human experience. One course in History (HIST 101, HIST 102, HIST 112, HIST 201, HIST 202) will fulfill this requirement.
- Literature (3 credits): Literature courses foster reflection on how literature engages with a range of human experience. One approved course in Literature (offered by English, Classics, or Modern Languages) will fulfill this requirement (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
- Social & Behavioral Sciences (3 credits): Courses in the social and behavioral sciences engage students in studying human behavior, social systems, and social issues. One approved course offered by Criminal Justice, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, or Women and Gender Studies will fulfill this requirement (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
The Designations
Designations are embedded within already existing core, major, minor, and elective courses. Students are encouraged to meet designation requirements within elective courses as their schedule allows; however, with careful planning students should be able to complete most of the designation requirements within other core, major, or minor courses.
- Writing Enriched (WE; 3 courses meeting this designation): Courses carrying the WE designation are designed to promote the humanistic and Jesuit pedagogical ideal of clear, effective communication. In addition to the required core course, Writing (ENGL 101), which carries one of the WE designations, students must take two other WE-designated courses (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
- Global-Studies (GS; 2 courses meeting this designation): Courses carrying the GS designation are designed to challenge students to perceive and understand human diversity by exploring diversity within a context of constantly changing global systems. In addition to the required core course, World/Comparative Religion (RELI 300-level), which carries one of the GS designations, students must take one other GS-designated course (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
- Social-Justice (SJ; 1 course meeting this designation): Courses carrying the SJ designation are designed to introduce students to one or more social justice concerns. Students must take one course that meets the SJ designation (click here [PDF] for a list of approved courses).
Major-specific adaptations to the University Core Curriculum
All Gonzaga students, regardless of their major, will complete the University Core Curriculum requirements. However some Gonzaga students will satisfy certain core requirements through major-specific programs or courses. Any major-specific adaptations to the core are described with the requirements for the majors to which they apply.