HISTORY 1100/1100H. SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1865. (Honors Section--Must be eligible for Honors Standing). Introduction to U.S. history through the Civil War, surveying political, economic, social and cultural development of the American people. No credit will be given to students who have received credit in HIST 1400 (AP credit for US History).

HISTORY 1200/1200H. SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY SINCE 1865. (Honors Section--Must be eligible for Honors Standing). Introduction to U.S. history since 1865, surveying political, economic, social, and cultural development of the American people. No credit will be given to students who have received credit in HIST 1400 (AP credit for US History).

HISTORY 1510/1510H. HISTORY OF MODERN EUROPE. (Honors Section--Must be eligible for Honors Standing). This course explores core features of the history of modern Europe. Topics include the rise of nation-states and nationalism, colonialism, liberalism, and industrialization. To consider all this, the course explores the proposition that the tensions and conflicts between key European maritime states (the Venetian Republic, the Dutch Republic, and Britain) and the land powers of the Continent have been a driving force in the ideas, changes, and frictions that shaped its history and that of the wider world between the 15th and 20th centuries. Reading will be largely either downloadable or online. Professor: R.S.G. Fletcher; 9:30-10:20 TR

HISTORY 1840. COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA. Surveys the economic, social, political, and cultural history of Latin America before 1810. Beginning with a detailed discussion of the pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations and climaxing with the Haitian Revolution and rumblings of discontent in Spanish and Portuguese colonial possessions, it demands a rigorous study of primary sources to get at the lived experiences of Latin American residents. Applying a mixed approach to the region, both chronological and thematic, the class will place special emphasis on the multi-cultural character of colonial Latin American history–African, indigenous, and European. The course seeks both to sharpen the students’ understanding of the region and to stimulate an appreciation for the techniques of historical inquiry and analysis. Professor: R. Smale; 11:00-11:50 MWF

HISTORY 2210. TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICA. This course examines the political, social, and environmental changes that shaped the United States during the twentieth century. Through readings, videos, and discussions, students will explore how and why the nation evolved from an agricultural and industrial society into a suburban, service-based economy. The course takes both a chronological and thematic approach, addressing topics such as immigration and globalization, the revolution in communications and industry, and changes in family and gender dynamics. Students will participate in discussions, write reflections, and complete homework assignments including untimed quizzes. In place of a final exam, each student will conduct and record a short oral history interview. Webcam recording is optional; students are only required to record their voices. Readings: Christine Seifert, The Factory Girls: A Kaleidoscopic Account of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. David Stebenne, Promised Land: How the Rise of the Middle Class Transformed America, 1929–1968. Instructor: E. Cafer du Plessis; ARR Internet

HISTORY 2422. NATURE’S NATION: DISEASE, DISASTER, AND ECOLOGY IN AMERICAN HISTORY. This course provides and introduction to the complicated, contested, and fascinating relationship between the environment, humans, and historical change in North America. The course combines a traditional lecture format with intensive analysis of film, advertisements, art, music, policy, environmental philosophy, economic theory, and major works of environmental history. It also incorporates field exercises and service learning to deepen our understanding of the role of “nature” in shaping local history. Professor: J. Frank; 9:30-10:45 TR

HISTORY 2510. SPORT AND SPECTACLE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD. This course explores the history and evolution of sport and spectacle in various cultural traditions up to the year 600 CE, but it will also engage with the legacy of ancient sport in a modern context. There will be emphasis on the emergence of the Greek sporting tradition throughout the Mediterranean regions of antiquity and its legacy in the modern Olympics, but other cultural traditions in North Africa and Asia will also be explored. Additional points of emphasis will include the rise of the world of Roman gladiator and the place such bloody spectacles came to occupy within ancient Roman society. The course will utilize a diverse range of primary source materials, literary as well as archaeological, in a comprehensive exploration of the world of ancient sport. Professor: J. Stevens; 11:00-12:15 TR

HISTORY 2820. TAIWAN: THE FIRST CHINESE DEMOCRACY. The relationship between China and the United States has reached a low point since the COVID-19 pandemic. One of their most significant and long-standing disagreements concerns the status of Taiwan. The island, located about 100 miles off China’s coast, is a vital U.S. ally and a global leader in semiconductor production. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province, while Taiwan thrives as the world’s first Chinese democracy and a progressive society. Most Taiwanese have developed a distinct national identity that challenges Beijing’s version of Chinese nationalism. This course explores how the U.S. became involved in the Taiwan issue and how Taiwan’s democracy emerged. It provides a foundation for critically examining the Taiwan-China dispute and its impact on Sino-American relations, with no prior knowledge required. Professor: D. Meng-Hsuan Yang; 2:00-3:15 TR

HISTORY 2950.1. FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH SOPHOMORE SEMINAR: HEALTH, MEDICINE, AND SOCIETY. (Consent of the Department Required. Please email Brittony Hein, corneillierb@ missouri.edu, Sr. Academic Advisor for Permission Number). This course is designed to give history majors experience with both the theory of history and the practical skills necessary to effectively study history. Using the theme of history of health and medicine, students will learn how to locate and analyze sources, how to build an argument using both primary and secondary sources, and how to write effective historical arguments. In addition, students will learn about a range of intellectual approaches and methodological tools historians commonly use in both researching and writing history. Students are active participants in this course and participation carries significant weight. Professor: K. Wilson; 2:00-3:15 TR

HISTORY 2950.2. FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH SOPHOMORE SEMINAR: RESEARCHING MILITARY HISTORY. (Consent of the Department Required. Please email Brittony Hein, corneillierb@ missouri.edu, Sr. Academic Advisor for Permission Number). This seminar is designed to introduce majors to the methods of professional historians through a focus on the intersections of war and society from the early modern period to the present. Students will learn about various approaches to military history as well as engage with the types of sources and research practices that inform them. The end goal is a project proposal that incorporates processual, analytical, and argumentative skills gleaned over the course of the semester, with topics chosen from the broad arena of global conflict. Professor: B. Nichols; 3:30-5:50 T

HISTORY 3530. THE HELLENISTIC WORLD: FROM ALEXANDER TO ROME. This course explores the history of ‘the Hellenistic World,’ a period often defined culturally in terms of Greek history, and chronologically from the reign of Alexander the Great (336-323 BC) to the Battle of Actium in 31 BC (Roman defeat of Antony and Cleopatra). By exploring various cultural perspectives that existed throughout the ancient Mediterranean world from this period, however, the course will also challenge some of the traditional cultural and chronological frameworks used to define what ‘the Hellenistic World’ means. In addition to significant political affairs and military events, many of the social and economic aspects of the Hellenistic societies will be considered in order to trace continuities and developments from one kingdom to another. Specific areas of study will include Alexander ‘the Great’ and his legacy; the Successors of Alexander and the dissolution of his empire; Ptolemaic Egypt; the museum and library at Alexandria; Seleucid Syria; Roman imperialism; significant cultural, intellectual, and scientific innovations associated with the Hellenistic tradition, as well as their influence on Roman culture. Professor: J. Stevens; 3:30-4:45 TR

HISTORY 3545. WORLD WAR II. Examines the origins, conduct, and consequences of the Second World War from a transnational perspective, with an emphasis on the wartime experience and occupation regimes of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Course materials analyze the political, military, cultural, and economic factors that shaped the nature of the war as an ideological struggle and a clash of empires. Special attention paid to assessing historical interpretations of the topic and dispelling common myths that surround it. Professor: B. Nichols; 2:00-3:15 TR

HISTORY 3640. REFORMATIONS AND RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE. (1st 8 Weeks). For over 1000 years western Europeans shared the same Christian faith as defined by Roman popes and their theologians. In the wake of late medieval reform movements and Protestant theologians such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, Christian unity was replaced by multiple Christianities. Roman Catholics had their own reformation as well. We will examine religious thinking and practice (including that of common people) before and after the reformations (ca. 1400-1650), and study religious phenomena in their social, political, and intellectual contexts. We will end by considering the relation of the reformations to the creation of the modern state. Professor: J. Frymire; ARR Internet

HISTORY 4004.1. TOPICS: ITALY FIELD SCHOOL. (2nd 8 Weeks). (Consent of the Department Required; Must be accepted to Study Abroad Program). MU students accepted into the Monteleone Sabino Archaeological Field School will be introduced to the history and archaeological background of the ancient site of Trebula Mutuesca in preparation for their participation in summer field work as part of the MU Global Research Study Abroad Program at an active archaeological excavation in Monteleone Sabino, Italy. Upon completion of the summer program, MU students will be expected to present their research experiences in the appropriate undergraduate research venue. Professor: J. Stevens; ARR Internet

HISTORY 4075/4075H. GLOBAL HISTORY IN OXFORD. (Honors Section--Must be eligible for Honors Standing; Consent of the Department Required; Must be accepted to Study Abroad Program). This course examines global and transnational history in the ‘modern’ period since 1400. It includes an embedded week of study abroad at Oxford University (United Kingdom) over spring break. The class begins by interrogating how and why national history emerged as the default method of the study of the past in the late 19th and 20th centuries, before considering the limitations of national history. The class then shifts to the emergence of global and transnational approaches, which emerged as potential successors to national history in the decades following the end of the Cold War. Over spring break, the class will convene in the U.K., where students will experience a discussion-intensive week with Oxford faculty. Upon our return to Columbia, students will roll up their sleeves on their research projects. These will be writing intensive projects of 20 pages in which each student will identify a question related to global/transnational history and seek to answer it in essay form after additional reading and thought. Professor: R.S.G. Fletcher; 3:00-5:20 W

HISTORY 4232/4232H. WHITE COLLAR AND CELEBRITY CRIME IN 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY AMERICA. (Honors Section--Must be eligible for Honors Standing). This course focuses on white collar and celebrity crime in America since about 1970, from Silicon Valley and the dark web to the opioid crisis, corporate coverups, wall street trading, art heists, international financial corruption and money laundering, and fraud involving religious groups. The idea is not necessarily to determine who was guilty or innocent, but to examine how white collar and celebrity crime has been perceived in broader American culture and its consequences. The books we will read are mostly best sellers and many connect to current events. Professor: J. Wigger; 9:30-10:45 TR

HISTORY 4605/4605H. SPAIN IN THE AGE OF EMPIRE, 1450-1750. (Honors Section-Must be eligible for Honors Standing). Sitting at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Spanish interests in trade and exploration led to enormous global power and influence. In this course, we begin with Fernando and Isabel, whose marriage brought together the two principle territories of Castile and Aragon, leading to the beginnings of a “united” Spain. As we trace the political and social history of Spain through the early modern era, we’ll also be examining many myths surrounding Spanish history including topics such as Columbus’ voyages, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Black Legend. Professor: K. Wilson; 3:30-4:45 TR

HISTORY 4645. WITCHCRAFT AND WITCH HUNTING IN PRE-MODERN EUROPE. In order to examine how European peoples understood and experienced witchcraft, this course will combine lectures along with discussions based on assigned readings of primary sources (i.e., historical documents) and secondary literature (i.e., what scholars have written about those primary sources). We will explore the differing—and sometimes similar—understandings and experiences of the educated and the unlettered, female and male, rural and urban, rich, and poor, lay, and religious. We will do this with a keen eye on the ways the study of witchcraft can enrich our historical understanding of issues such as gender relationships, modern state formation, the histories of science, law, and theology, popular and elite religion, demonology, and magic, as well as other relevant topics. Professor: J. Frymire; 9:00-9:50 MWF

HISTORY 4910W. HISTORY IN THE PUBLIC: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THEORY & PRACTICE OF PUBLIC HISTORY. (Department Consent Required and Writing Intensive. Please email Brittony Hein, corneillierb@missouri.edu, Sr. Academic Advisor for Permission Number). This course offers an introduction to the wide range of methodologies and approaches historians use to share the past with public audiences. Students will explore the inter-connected subfields of museums, archives, historic preservation, memorials, and historic sites as venues of history for public engagement. Course content will encourage students to consider the ethics and practicalities of "doing" history in (and with) communities. Readings, class discussions, and field trips to local history sites and museums will expand student knowledge of historical methodology and the meaning(s) of history. Students will engage with a variety of public history projects using different skill sets including oral presentation, preservation skills, digital work, and written exhibits. Professor: L. Santoro; 3:30-4:45 TR

These courses are restricted to History majors only

• Department consent required
• Please email Brittany Hein, the Sr. Academic Advisor, for Permission Number at corneillierb@missouri.edu
• All Seminars are writing intensive 

HISTORY 4971W. UNDERGRADUATE SEMINAR IN EUROPEAN HISTORY: GENDER AND WAR IN THE 20TH CENTURY. Scholars and critics have remarked that today’s world is notable for its level of globalized militarism. More people live under the surveillance and power of state militaries (armies, militias, militarized national police forces, etc.) than ever before. Our economies depend on the continued militarization of our world. This militarization has a history, and that history is deeply gendered, raced, and sexed in particular ways. This course looks at how twentieth century European wars mobilized gender norms and weaponized sexuality in ways that played a crucial role in shaping the contours of our contemporary world. Drawing on readings that explore the total wars between 1914-1945, the wars of decolonization, and the Bosnian wars, we will look at the history of western militarization through the lenses of gender, sexuality, and race. We will look at the experience on the battlefield, on the home front, genocide, and policies of state surveillance to examine how wars transform and reinforce the intersecting identities of gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity. Students will spend the semester producing a substantial original historical research project exploring one of the central questions or themes of the course. Students may choose to write a paper, produce a podcast, make a film, or create a virtual exhibit. Professor: L. Reeder; 2:00-4:20 W

HISTORY 2100. THE REVOLUTIONARY TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA. (Same as Constitutional Democracy 2100; Consent of the Department Required--Contact Thomas Kane, kanetc@missouri.edu, to be put on a waiting list should seats open up). This course examines the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution. Students will consider both leaders and ordinary citizens of the revolutionary era as real people through readings and activities that include reading primary sources (letters, diaries, memoirs, pamphlets, newspaper reports and essays written by people who lived through the events of 1763-1783) and secondary sources (texts written by recent historians that offer varying interpretations of America’s revolutionary past), as well as engaging in a role-playing game that simulates the experience of men and women considering Independence in the 1770s. In this immersion, we consider what made the Revolution so revolutionary and what the Revolution meant to the broad spectrum of people who lived through it. In this course, students will be encouraged to make their own assessments of just how radical, transformative, and global the Revolution truly was and what its legacy is today. Instructor: K. Jackson; 3:30-4:45 TR

HISTORY 2120. THE YOUNG REPUBLIC. (Same as Constitutional Democracy 2120). This course invites students to explore the formative years of the Early Republic in the United States. The emergence of a new nation inspired a collective mission of nation-building, but it also provoked urgent and often contentious questions: What should be the scope of federal power? What values would define the American identity? And who, precisely, were “the People” referenced in the Constitution? We will also consider how global events during the Age of Revolution influenced the development of the United States. By challenging preconceived narratives about the nation’s early history, students will explore the political, social, and cultural landscapes of a diverse and evolving population—and articulate why the legacy of the Young Republic remains vital in American life today. Topics include but are not limited to: politics and political culture, legal history, race, class, slavery, capitalism, gender, and religion. The course emphasizes student-driven discussions, collaborative projects, and historically grounded debates. Students will engage with both primary sources and scholarly analyses to better understand the lived experiences of individuals in the post-revolutionary era. Instructor: B. Floyd; 11:00-12:15 TR

HISTORY 2120H. THE YOUNG REPUBLIC. (Must be eligible for Honors Standing and Same as Constitutional Democracy 2120H). This course examines the early years of the United States. Our focus will be on abandoning our preconceptions about the nation's early history and thoroughly understanding the contingencies, crises, and challenges that faced the American Founders after 1776. Professor: J. Pasley; 2:00-3:15 TR

HISTORY 3210. HISTORY OF RELIGION IN POST-CIVIL WAR AMERICA. (Same as Religious Studies 3210). This course will explore the explosion of diverse religious communities beginning in the late 19th century in what was already an incredibly kaleidoscopic religious landscape in the US. The major social, political, and economic issues will be explored through the lens of Religious Studies, taking for granted that the beliefs, practices, norms, and biases inherent in both individual and institutional religious identities are some of the key features of those issues. Professor: M. McLaughlin; 2:00-3:15 TR

HISTORY 3535. SICILY: CROSSROADS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. (2nd 8-Weeks) (Same as Italian 3535; Students must apply through Mizzou International Programs; Permission required). “Sicily: Crossroads in the Mediterranean” is a faculty-led study abroad program that takes place in Sicily, Italy from May 18 - June 1, 2026. Before departure, students enroll in an asynchronous 2nd 8-weeks spring semester hybrid course, which will consist of modules to be complete before departing for Sicily. Students will explore the “contaminated” nature (from the late Latin contaminatio, fusion of diverse elements) of the food, geography, history, architecture, and culture of the island of Sicily, a veritable crossroads in the Mediterranean. Sicily’s unique position, situated at the intersection between Italy, Spain, Greece, and North Africa, has resulted in a plurisecular, complex mix of diverse peoples and cultural traditions who have left their traces on Sicilian language, cuisine, literature, religion, literature, architecture, and art. Professor: C. Cornette; ARR, Internet.

HISTORY 4303. BLACK STUDIES IN RACE, CLASS, GENDER, AND U.S. POLICY. (Same as Black Studies 4303). Examines the causes and effects of the vast social and economic inequalities that exist between blacks and whites in US society, including the role federal, state, and local government play in creating and addressing such inequalities as financial, tax, environmental, trade, and foreign policies as well as issues of human and social welfare. Professor: W. Mack; 2-3:15 TR

HISTORY 4400W. HISTORY OF AMERICAN LAW. (Same as Constitutional Democracy 4400W; Writing Intensive and Consent of the Department Required--Contact Thomas Kane, kanetc@missouri.edu, to be put on a waiting list should seats open up). This course will provide an overview of the history of American law from the colonial period to the present. This course will emphasize the social construction of law. How does law influence the broader social world, and how do social currents and movements inflect legal change? This course will also focus on how law intersects with questions surrounding race, gender, sexuality, and class, and vice versa. No matter the field that students are interested in, the ability to critically analyze their world, and convey that analysis in writing, will be vital skills that students will be able to deploy going forward. Instructor: L. Feldman; 12:30-1:45 TR

HISTORY 4835W. RACE AND POLITICS IN SOUTH AFRICA. (Department Consent Required and Writing Intensive; Same as Black Studies 4835W and Constitutional Democracy 4835W). This course is about the nexus between race and politics in the history of South Africa Between 1948 and 1994, when race was the formal organizing principle of the South Africa under apartheid. Significantly, democratic South Africa is still grappling with the legacies of racialized rule after the transition to democracy. Organized around seminars, guest lectures and tours, the course introduces students to how scholars have understood race and politics in this Southern African nation. It further examines the social and economic context in which race was deployed as an instrument of making difference and exercising power and how this is contested. Professor: M. Fejzula/M. Frierdich; 1:00-3:20 M