School of Humanities
History Graduate Course Descriptions
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Fall 2025
HIS 422/522
History of Medicine
T/TH 1:00 鈥� 2:15 PM
Dr. Deanne Stephens
**GULF PARK CAMPUS**
HIS 463/563
The Civil War, 1848-1877
M/W 1:00 鈥� 215 PM
Dr. Laura Mammina
This course examines the origins, prosecution, aftermath, and memory of the United
States Civil War. While the course will primarily consider why the war came, why the
war was fought, and how it ended, it will place just as much emphasis on the home
front and conflicts that occurred away from battlefields. We will consider major conflicts,
battles, and events while always keeping in mind how the war affected the lives of
ordinary people. Political, economic, military, social, cultural, and religious developments
will all play a role in the story, and we will pay special attention to the role that
race, class, and gender played before, during, and after the conflict. Finally, the
course will investigate the contested meanings of the Civil War and how it was remembered
by white Northerners, white Southerners, and African Americans.
HIS 478/578
Topics in African-American History
T/TH 9:30 鈥� 10:45 AM
Dr. Rebecca Tuuri
HIS 710
Philosophy and Methods of History
Tuesdays 2:30 鈥� 5:30 PM
Dr. Courtney Luckhardt
This seminar is designed to introduce graduate students to the philosophical and practical
foundations of historical methods. Our coverage is not comprehensive, but we will
familiarize ourselves with some of the innovative and diverse approaches that have
shaped historical work over the past several decades. As we read these works, we will
consider how and why historians investigate, interpret, and write about the past,
as well as contest one another鈥檚 findings. Together we will expose some of the underlying,
unspoken assumptions and preoccupations that we bring with us and which persist in
the discipline. Students are required to complete several written and oral assignments
to hone their critical thinking, writing, and presentation skills.
HIS 711
Seminar in American History
Wednesdays 6:00 鈥� 9:00 PM
Dr. Heather Stur
HIS 725
American Historiography I
Wednesdays 6:00 鈥� 9:00 PM
Dr. Kyle Zelner
Historiographic study, or the study of the study of history, is an incredibly important
part of being a historian. Historians do not begin a single project without first
learning what came before鈥攚hat other historians have said on the topic, how they said
it, and what the state of the field is at the moment. As beginning professional historians,
students will be expected to talk about the historical debates surrounding their topics
and how their work intersects with those debates. Students will be expected in their
classes, and especially during their comprehensive exams, not only to know what happened
in the past and why, but who argued what and the methods they used to come up with
those arguments. This course will start you down the historiographical road. We
will examine some of the main debates in early American history as a way to 鈥渏ump
start鈥� each student鈥檚 historiographical knowledge. Once students have successfully
completed this course, they will know some of the important highlights of the field鈥攂ut
also come to the realization that they have just started what will likely be a lifelong
task.
Students in the class will read deeply and widely on each debate and will come to
class prepared to debate the topic at hand. NOTE: Students should come to the first
class before purchasing any books for the various weeks, as we will choose individual
books for the course during the first class meeting.
Assignments:
Students will write numerous book reviews, write a short historiographical paper,
lead a few and participate in all class discussions, and write a comprehensive exam-type
answer for their final exam.
Some of the topics we will explore:
-Native Americans, Contact, and Ethnohistory
-The Puritans of Colonial New England
- Slavery in the Colonial Chesapeake
-Coming of the Revolution
-Women in the Early Republic
-The Market Revolution
-Antebellum Slavery
-The Civil War: Who Fought and Why?
HIS 745
Latin American History
Wednesdays 6:00 鈥� 9:00 PM
Dr. Matthew Casey
This course will introduce students to the broad history of Latin America from the colonial period to the present. One of the premises of the course is that studying Latin America provides powerful conceptual tools and cases of connection with other regions of the world. Thus it will be a useful course for students of the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic world. Readings in the course will draw on cases from throughout the region and will focus specifically on the way that ideas of race and gender were understood and politicized in the region.
HIS 772
U.S. History Since 1877
Thursdays 6:00 鈥� 9:00 PM
Dr. Andrew Haley
HIS 785
Oral History Seminar
Mondays 6:00 鈥� 9:00 PM
Dr. Kevin Greene
This course is about the theory and practice of oral history. You will learn basic
methodological techniques and study the special characteristics and possible uses
of oral history interviews. We will address how to critically evaluate oral evidence
and integrate it with other forms of historical evidence. We will explore the ways
oral history sources have provided new perspectives on old historical debates and
how they can bring neglected subjects to the light of historical investigation. Lectures,
readings, and discussions will emphasize the theory of and practical issues influencing
oral history as well as the legal and ethical issues involved in this methodology.
We will examine a variety of historical works based on oral sources to explore the
ways they can be put to use in, for example, scholarly monographs, documentaries,
radio shows, exhibits, and other forms of public presentation. Each student will conduct
fieldwork entailing the entire process of oral history, including conceptualization,
research, interviewing, transcribing, editing, evaluating the historical significance
of the work, and writing/designing a presentation of that work.
HIS 796
Practicum in the Teaching of History in Colleges and Universities
Thursdays 2:30 鈥� 5:30 PM
Dr. Kyle Zelner
Required for all first-time teaching and graduate assistants and optional for others,
this class is designed to encourage graduate students to think about the major issues
of teaching at the college level, both as teaching assistants and as independent instructors.
Different faculty members will visit to lead discussions on a different topic each
class period. The course covers basic issues of teaching and learning strategies,
classroom philosophy and management, technology in the classroom, testing and other
assignments, issues of diversity, effective classroom presentation, and how to construct
one鈥檚 own course.
Assignments:
Students will engage in weekly discussions, write several short reaction papers, and
design and execute a sample lecture for an introductory History class.