Spring 2023 Session 1

January 7 to March 3, 2023

HIST 502 O1A/POLSC 502 O1A: The American Founding (2)

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.

Instructor: Jason W. Stevens (Ashland University)

Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15 pm to 9:30 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Packet

HIST 503 O1A/POLSC 503 O1A: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)

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 C. Calhoun.

Instructor: Dennis K. Boman (American Intercontinental University)

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:15 pm to 7:50 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Packet

HIST 505 O1A/POLSC 505 O1A: The Progressive Era (2)

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. The course emphasizes the political thought of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and their political expression of progressive principles.

Instructor: John Moser (Ashland University)

Schedule: Saturdays, 9:30 am to 12:45 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus, Course Packet, Game Book

HIST 506 O1A/POLSC 506 O1A: The Rise of Modern America, 1914-1945 (2)

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 rural demography and a relatively unobtrusive federal government. Thanks to the experience of two world wars, a major cultural conflict (the 1920s), and a disastrous economic crisis the country was transformed into the global economic and military power that it remains to this day. This course will examine the cultural, economic, military, and diplomatic events and trends of the period 1914-1945.

Instructor: Brent Aucoin (The College at Southeastern)

Schedule: Mondays, 8:15 pm to 11:30 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Packet

HIST 507 O1A/POLSC 507 O1A: Abraham Lincoln (2) 

This course provides an in-depth study of Abraham Lincoln’s political thought and action. Students will study Lincoln’s most important speeches, as well as study various aspects of his political leadership, including his role as the leader of the Republican party and as commander in chief. The course will also provide opportunities for students to analyze Lincoln’s rhetoric and political argumentation.

Instructor: Andrew Lang (Mississippi State University)

Schedule: Mondays, 6:15 pm to 9:30 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Packet

HIST 607 O1A/POLSC 607 O1A: America during the Cold War (2) *WAITLIST*

The simmering conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1989 was the defining phenomenon of the age, affecting not only the country’s foreign policy but its politics, society, economy, and culture as well. In this course students will examine the most important events, ideas, and personalities of the forty-four years from the end of World War II to the end of the Reagan administration.

Instructor: Stephen K. Tootle (College of the Sequoias)

Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:15 pm to 7:50 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus

HIST 641 O1A/POLSC 641 O1A: The Supreme Court (2) *WAITLIST*

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 as well as the states; the Court’s power of judicial review; and judicial politics and statesmanship. We will examine these kinds of issues by investigating how the Court has interpreted the Constitution in some of its most historic decisions.

Instructor: Joshua Dunn (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs)

Schedule: Mondays, 6:15 pm to 9:30 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Packet

HIST 642 O1A/POLSC 642 O1A: 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 the contemporary Democratic and Republican parties.

Instructor: Eric C. Sands (Berry College)

Schedule: Wednesdays, 8:15 pm to 11:30 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Packet

HIST 643 O1A/POLSC 643 O1A: National Security and the Constitution (2) *WAITLIST*

This course examines the powers granted by the Constitution in the national security arena. We will review the debates in the Constitutional Convention over the war power and the conflict between the Federalists and the Jeffersonians over the interpretation of this power and other security related powers. We will go on to examine the unilateral use of force by early American presidents, including their use of covert operations. Prominent court cases involving war powers and internal security measures will also be examined, especially those growing out of the Civil War and the two world wars. The course will conclude with an examination of the rise of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and include a review of contemporary topics such as the War Powers Act, congressional oversight of the intelligence agencies, and the legality of various government actions during the War on Terror. This course will shed light on the evolution of the so-called “American national security state,” using the language of the Constitution and the principles and practices of the framers as a benchmark to assess the legitimacy of this “state.” 

Instructor: Stephen F. Knott (United States Naval War College)

Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:15 pm to 9:30 pm ET

Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Packet

To register for Spring 2023 classes, click the Apply Now button below.