Master of Arts Programs for History Teachers
Summer 2024 - Ashland Campus
Session 1 – June 23 to June 28
| HIST 505 1A / POLSC 505 1A: 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) Course Materials: Syllabus, Course Packet, Game Book |
| HIST 610 1A / POLSC 610 1A: American Foreign Policy (2) 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. Instructor: Christopher Burkett (Ashland University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
| HIST 630 1A / POLSC 630 1A: American Statesmen – Eisenhower and Kennedy (2) – WAITLIST This course will examine the principles and practices of two American presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. When the nation’s oldest president (at the time) was succeeded by our youngest elected president, the United States witnessed not only a dramatic generational transition but a transformation of public expectations regarding the American presidency. This course will explore the different styles of executive leadership practiced by Ike and Jack, as well as examine the great events that occurred during their time in office. Instructors: Stephen F. Knott (United States Naval War College) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
| HIST 641 1A / POLSC 641 1A: The Supreme Court (2) 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: Jeffrey Sikkenga (Ashland University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Packet |
| HIST 660 1A / POLSC 660 1A: Indian Assimilation, Resistance, and Removal (2) During the first decades of the nineteenth century, the tribes of what is today the southeastern United States took steps toward assimilation and accommodation of American culture, becoming known as the Five Civilized Tribes. During the same period, pressure mounted on them to remove to the trans-Mississippi West. Events culminated in the 1830s with open conflict and the forced removal often called “The Trail of Tears.” Often these events are portrayed as inevitable and depicted in simplistic terms. This class will help students understand the complexities and nuances of a pivotal time in American history. Instructor: Jace Weaver (University of Georgia) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
Session 2 – June 30 to July 5
| HIST 502 2A / POLSC 502 2A: 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: David Alvis (Wofford College) and Elizabeth L’Arrivee (Clemson University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Packet |
| HIST 506 2A / POLSC 506 2A: 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: Jennifer D. Keene (Chapman University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Packet |
| HIST 602 2A / POLSC 602 2A: European Discovery and Settlement (2) An examination of the motives behind and the consequences of the expansion of European power beginning in the sixteenth century. The course focuses on the European settlement of North America and the interactions between Europeans and indigenous peoples. Instructor: David Tucker (Ashbrook Center at Ashland University) and Paul Otto (George Fox University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
| HIST 621 2A / POLSC 621 2A: Race and Equality in America (2) This course explores the history of black Americans as they strove to secure their dignity as human beings, and rights as American citizens, in the face of racial prejudice. Students will examine the writings of leading black intellectuals and activists about human equality, slavery, self-government, the rule of law, emancipation, colonization, and citizenship. The course will also review laws, constitutional amendments, court cases, and social criticism addressing civil and political rights in America. Instructor: Charissa Threat (Chapman University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
| HIST 643 2A / POLSC 643 2A: Race and the Fourteenth Amendment (2) This course will explore congressional and public debates over the passage of Fourteenth Amendment, Plessy v. Ferguson, the NAACP’s strategy for overturning “separate but equal” in public schools, Brown v. Board of Education, Civil Rights Act of 1964, busing, voting rights, and affirmative action in the workplace and in college admissions. Course readings will include Supreme Court cases, other primary sources, and some secondary literature. Instructor: Elizabeth Amato (Gardner-Webb University) and Matthew S. Brogdon (Utah Valley University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
Session 3 – July 7 to July 12
| HIST 503 3A / POLSC 503 3A: 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. Instructors: Eric C. Sands (Berry College) and Robert Colby (University of Mississippi) Course Materials: Draft Syllabus |
| HIST 510 3A / POLSC 510 3A: Great American Texts – Ernest Hemingway The most important American writer of the 20th century was Ernest Hemingway. As a young, expatriate newspaper reporter in Europe, Hemingway wrote experimental fiction that was characterized by simple declarative sentences and scant use of adjectives and adverbs. The course considers Hemingway’s stylistic innovation through reading representative works while also investigating and discussing the historical context of his greatest novels and short stories as a window into the last century. Instructor: Dan Monroe (Millikin University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
| HIST 614 3A / POLSC 614 3A: Contemporary America, 1974 to present (2) 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 the country is stressed with a thematic emphasis. Instructors: Eric D. Pullin (Carthage College) Course Materials: Draft Syllabus |
| HIST 632 3A / POLSC 632 3A: The American Presidency I – Washington to Lincoln (2) 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 rising sectional tensions. Instructors: Jeremy D. Bailey (University of Oklahoma) and Marc K. Landy (Boston College) Course Materials: |
| HIST 643 3B / POLSC 643 3B: From Schoolhouse to Courthouse (2) – WAITLIST Over the past sixty years, the judiciary has vastly increased its role in American education. From race to speech, from religion to school finance, from special education to school discipline, almost no area of education has escaped judicial supervision. This course will examine these areas of judicial activity. Additionally, it will address questions about the effectiveness of litigation as a tool for driving policy change and improving educational outcomes. Instructor: Joshua M. Dunn (University of Tennessee) Course Materials: Draft Syllabus |
Session 4 – July 14 to July 19
| HIST 501 4A / POLSC 501 4A: The American Revolution (2) 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 and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation. Instructor: Adam Seagrave (Arizona State University) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
| HIST 507 4A / POLSC 507 4A: 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: Joseph R. Fornieri (Rochester Institute of Technology) Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack |
| HIST 603 4A / POLSC 603 4A: Colonial America (2) This course focuses on the development of an indigenous political culture in the British colonies. It pays special attention to the development of representative political institutions and how these emerged through the confrontation between colonists and King and proprietors. The course also considers imperial politics through a study of the Albany Plan of Union. Instructor: Robert M.S. McDonald (United States Military Academy) Course Materials: Draft Syllabus |
| HIST 642 4A / POLSC 642 4A: 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: Joseph Postell (Hillsdale College) and Stephanie R. Davis (University of Arkansas, Little Rock) Course Materials: |
| HIST 660 4B / POLSC 660 4B: American Immigration History (2) – WAITLIST When it comes to immigration, everyone knows about the Emma Lazarus poem that goes: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” This course will give students an in-depth view of American immigration over the past two centuries. We will examine the stories of immigrants, their motivations for coming to America, and where they worked and lived when they arrived here. We will also learn about how native-born Americans reacted to those newcomers, as well as the many immigration laws passed by Congress over the years and how the government has processed immigrants over time. Lastly, we will examine how notions of citizenship and assimilation have changed over time. Instructor: Vincent Cannato (University of Massachusetts, Boston) Course Materials: Syllabus & Course Pack |
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