HIST 501 O2B / POLSC 501 O2B: The American Revolution This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation […]
HIST 644 O2A / POLSC 644 O2A: The Congress This course focuses on the legislative branch of the US government. It examines topics such as the constitutional powers of Congress, the relations between Congress and the other branches of the federal government and the states, and the changing structure and internal politics of Congress. Schedule: […]
HIST 642 O4B / POLSC 642 O4B: Political Parties (2) This course examines the development of American political parties, focusing on the meaning of parties and historic moments in the rise and fall of political parties from the Founding era to the present. Topics may include re-aligning elections, changing coalitions within American parties, and […]
HIST 613 O4A / POLSC 613 O4A: Postwar America, 1945-1973 (2) An examination of the United States during the three decades following the Second World War. The social, economic, political, and diplomatic development of the country is stressed with a thematic emphasis. Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET Materials: Syllabus Course Pack
HIST 503 2A / POLSC 503 2A: Sectionalism and Civil War A study of the sectional conflict beginning with the nullification crisis. The course will not only examine the political, social and economic developments in the period leading to the civil war, but will emphasize the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and John […]
HIST 506 2A / POLSC 506 2A: The Rise of Modern America, 1914-1945 With the exception of the Civil War era, it is difficult to find another thirty-year period in U.S. history during which the nation underwent such dramatic change. In 1914 the United States was no more than a regional power, with a primarily […]
HIST 632 2A / POLSC 632 2A: The American Presidency I – Washington to Lincoln This course is an examination of the political and development of the office of president from the Founding era through the Civil War. It focuses on how the presidency shaped American political life as the country grew and struggled with […]
HIST 642 2A / POLSC 642 2A: Political Parties This course examines the development of American political parties, focusing on the meaning of parties and historic moments in the rise and fall of political parties from the Founding era to the present. Topics may include re-aligning elections, changing coalitions within American parties, and the contemporary […]
HIST 643 2B / POLSC 643 2B: Administrative Power and Law This class will examine the constitutional and legal questions surrounding the emergence of the administrative state, which is the primary way that public policy is made in contemporary America. We will examine how Congress grants authority to agencies, who oversees those agencies, how those […]
HIST 502 3A / POLSC 502 3A: The American Founding This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of the Federalist Papers and the antifederalist papers.
HIST 510 3A / POLSC 510 3A: Great American Texts – Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is the best book on democracy and the best book on America. He recognized the justice of democratic equality but also was concerned how the passion for equality could degrade human dignity, undermine liberty, and […]
HIST 605 3A / POLSC 605 3A: The Age of Enterprise In the last decades of the 19th century, the United States took decisive steps away from its rural, agrarian past toward its industrial future, assuming its place among world powers. This course examines that movement, covering such topics as business-labor relations, political corruption, immigration, […]
HIST 608 3A / POLSC 608 3A: Civil War and Reconstruction This course will examine military aspects of the war, as well as political developments during it, including the political history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural. The course also examines the post-war Amendments and the Reconstruction era. Instructor: Robert Colby […]
HIST 610 3A / POLSC 610 3A: American Foreign Policy Students examine events and issues in the foreign policy of the American republic. Topics include the major schools of thought and approaches, the connection between domestic and foreign politics, and the connection between the principles of the American regime and its foreign policy. Materials: Syllabus […]
HIST 641 O5B / POLSC 641 O5B: The Supreme Court The course is an intensive study of the highest court in the federal judiciary, focusing on the place of the Supreme Court in the American constitutional order. Areas of study may include the relationship between the Court and the other branches of the federal government […]
HIST 608 O5B / POLSC 608 O5B: Civil War and Reconstruction This course will examine military aspects of the war, as well as political developments during it, including the political history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural. The course also examines the post-war Amendments and the Reconstruction era. Schedule: […]
HIST 501 4A / POLSC 501 4A: The American Revolution This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation […]
HIST 505 4A / POLSC 505 4A: The Progressive Era The transition to an industrial economy posed many problems for the United States. This course examines those problems and the responses to them that came to be known as progressivism. The course includes the study of World War I as a manifestation of progressive principles. […]
HIST 614 4A / POLSC 614 4A: Contemporary America, 1974 to present Examines the United States from the end of Watergate to the present, with emphasis on the rise of the new conservatism, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the search for a new foreign policy. The social, economic, political, and diplomatic development of […]
HIST 631 4A / POLSC 631 4A: American Political Rhetoric This course examines the principles and practice of American political rhetoric through the careful reading of the speeches of its leading statesmen. Instructor: Elizabeth L’Arrivee (Rosary College)
HIST 633 4A / POLSC 633 4A: The American Presidency II – Andrew Johnson to the present This course is an examination of the political and constitutional development of the office of president from Reconstruction to the present. It focuses on how changing conceptions of the presidency have shaped American political life in the 19th […]
HIST 502 O6B / POLSC 502 O6B: The American Founding This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of Federalist and Antifederalist writings. Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET Materials: Syllabus
HIST 510 O6B / POLSC 510 O6B: Great American Texts – The Federalist The Federalist is a complex political work comprised of arguments about war, economics, national unity, and liberty (among other things) based on appeals to human nature, history, reason, and prudence. In this course we will examine and discuss The Federalist as fully […]
Seminar participants will play the role-immersion game, Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution in New York City, 1775-1776. They will enter into the political and social chaos of a revolutionary New York City, where patriot and loyalist forces argued and fought for advantage among a divided populace. In order to play, participants take on historical roles and […]
The global Seven Years’ War (known in America as the French and Indian War) caused Britain, France, and their allies to clash from 1754 to 1763. Although important in its own right, perhaps it is even more significant in that it reordered the world in ways that would prove consequential beyond anyone’s expectations. In colonial […]