UA Department of History
Interim/Summer 2022 Undergraduate Course Descriptions
Note: There are no prerequisites for any courses in History. 300-level courses cap at 40 students and are lecture based. 400-level courses cap at 30 students, are discussion based, and usually have the “W” designation (double check below). 300 and 400-level courses have roughly the same workload.
SUMMER INTERIM COURSES — May 9 – 27
HY 306-001 Sexuality in 20th Century US. Professor David Ferrara. MTWRF 10:00am-1:00pm. Taught as a combination of lecture and discussion, with emphasis on primary sources and scholarly articles, this course examines the evolution of sexuality in American society from the end of the nineteenth century through the twentieth century. This course introduces students to the ongoing evolution of sexuality, specifically how social and political conditions altered sexual norms. By viewing sex in its historical context, in conjunction with key social and political movements of the twentieth century, students will learn how people made sense of sexuality depending upon their specific historical moment. Among several topics, this course analyzes how social conditions shaped sexual identities, sexual communities, sexuality within marriage, and the role of the state in regulating and shaping sexual behaviors of U.S. subjects and citizens.
HY 307-001 Mexican History Through Film. Professor Steven Bunker. MTWRF 9-Noon – Interactive Audio/Video Course. This course will examine Mexican history from the late-colonial period to present day through the lens of film produced in Mexico and the US. We will watch a movie a day and have readings that correspond to the film and/or the period/theme in question. We will examine the film’s historical subject and its presentation, but we will also analyze each film as a primary source and an expression of the time period in which it was produced.
HY 335-001 Handmade Nation: Knitting & History. Professor Heather Kopelson. MTWRF 1-4. Explores the history, art, and politics of knitting. Students will learn to knit (or develop their skills as knitters) and also analyze knitting as a fascinating window onto the rest of the world. Topics explored include the craft’s history, women’s and men’s work, the politics of art vs. craft, consumerism, globalization, and the craft’s role in activism. Half of class time will be studio-based and half will focus on discussion of the readings.
HY 348-001 History of Games. Professor Chuck Clark. MTWRF 9-Noon. The goal of this course is to use the games of various societies as a primary source, a “window” into portions of the human experience at differing times and places, and to incorporate experiential learning by adding gameplay and rule discussion to scholarly readings and class discussion. Thus, we will study a series of specific games, and the societies which produced them, focusing on games which involve mastery of rules and chance rather than on contests of physical skill or endurance.
HY 372-001 History of Brazil Through Film. Professor Teresa Cribelli. MTWRF 9-Noon. Why study Brazil? This South American nation is the fifth largest in the world in both geography and population, and is now home to the sixth largest economy (surpassing the United Kingdom in 2013). Spanning more than 500 years, Brazilian history includes a rich racial, cultural, geographical, biological, and linguistic diversity. In many ways, Brazil’s history of slavery, plantation agriculture, immigration, and industrialization offers a compelling distant mirror for understanding the trajectory of U.S. history. With a population of more than 200 million, Brazil is also home to the largest film and television industry in Latin America providing a wide variety of movies and documentaries that bring to light the nation’s complex past.
SUMMER I — May 31 – June 29
HY 101 Western Civilization to 1648. A history of Western civilization from its origins in Greece and Rome through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and the age of discovery and expansion during the emergence of modem Europe.
HY 102 Western Civilization Since 1648. Covers the development if the Western world from the Thirty Years’ War to the post-World War II era; the age of absolutism, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, industrialization and the wars of the 20th century.
HY 103 History of American Civilization to 1865. A survey of American history from its beginning to the end of the Civil War, giving special emphasis to the events, people, and ideas that have made America a distinctive civilization.
HY 104 American Civilization Since 1865. A survey of American history from the Civil War to the present, giving special emphasis to the events, people, and ideas that have made America a distinctive civilization.
HY 316-001 Life and Legend of Abraham Lincoln. Professor Glenn Brasher. MTWRF 2-3:45. This course examines the life of the man often considered the perfect example of having lived the American Dream. He rose from backwoods origins to become a successful lawyer, an exceptional president, and the supposed Great Emancipator who has been memorialized and celebrated by generations of Americans. But has all the mythmaking masked the truth? Through historical works, Hollywood films, documentaries, photographs, and primarily Lincoln’s own writings, the course searches for the “real” Lincoln, but also uncovers how subsequent generations of Americans have remembered him and laid partisan claims to his legacy. Using his life as a lens, the course sheds light on Early Republic, Antebellum, and Civil War America.
SUMMER II — July 5 – August 3
HY 101 Western Civilization to 1648. A history of Western civilization from its origins in Greece and Rome through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and the age of discovery and expansion during the emergence of modem Europe.
HY 102 Western Civilization Since 1648. Covers the development if the Western world from the Thirty Years’ War to the post-World War II era; the age of absolutism, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, industrialization and the wars of the 20th century.
HY 103 History of American Civilization to 1865. A survey of American history from its beginning to the end of the Civil War, giving special emphasis to the events, people, and ideas that have made America a distinctive civilization.
HY 104 American Civilization Since 1865. A survey of American history from the Civil War to the present, giving special emphasis to the events, people, and ideas that have made America a distinctive civilization.
HY 307-002 Mexican Revolution. Professor Steven Bunker. MTWRF 10-11:45. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was the first great social revolution of the twentieth century and the last non-ideological revolution. Over 10% of Mexicans died in the conflict. This course will analyze and evaluate its origins, the definition of revolution, and how the revolution shaped Mexican politics, society, culture, and Mexican-US relations to the present day. Lectures, movies, and literature will provide students with multiple angles to understand and assess this defining event in modern Mexican history.