HSTA 101 American History I. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

Surveys American history from the establishment of the colonies to the end of the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. Includes such topics as the English political and cultural heritage, independence, creation of the Constitution, early national period, increasing democracy, economic problems, manifest destiny, slavery, sectionalism, disunion, war, and reunion.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 102 American History II. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

Surveys the political, economic, and social development of the U.S. since Reconstruction. Deals with industrialization and the agrarian reaction, Progressive Era, U.S. reaction to World War I, 1920s, Depression and New Deal, background to involvement in World War II, Cold War leadership (inc. Korea and Vietnam), and domestic changes since WWII.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 200 Historian as Detective. 3 Credits

Examines the basic research methods of History. Includes basic research writing and information gathering skills appropriate to History. Students will be instructed in the use of the Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style system of documentation. The course also prepares students to delve more deeply into the discipline of History, by equipping them with the tools they need to succeed in more advanced study through upper division courses in the History program.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 298 Internship/Cooperative Educ. 1-9 Credits

Provides university credit for a sophomore work experience in the area of History supervised by faculty. Learning agreement must be completed prior to registration (restricted).

Department: History

HSTA 309 The Atlantic World 1492-1763. 3 Credits

Explores the nature of the encounters between people and cultures from the Americas, Europe, and Africa from Columbus to the end of the French and Indian War. Emphasis will be on how global trade patterns and technological developments gave rise to different kinds of relationships; the formation of new economic, demographic, political, and cultural configurations; and how the identities of people fundamentally changed during the time period, particularly in a colonial context. The class will study the Atlantic world’s various geographic segments (i.e. Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America) in a comparative and/or integrated way.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 313 Am Col & Rev History to 1789. 3 Credits

Recommended background: HSTA 101. (every third semester) Examines the origins and evolution of colonial America, the development of a distinct American identity, the birth of the United States, the struggle for independence from Great Britain, and the problems and challenges of a new nation.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 315 Early Am Republic, 1787-1848. 3 Credits

(every third semester) Examines the early Constitutional era, the political, social, and diplomatic issues of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian America, the emergence of the two party political system, the evolution of social reform movements, and the growing complexities of territorial conquest and expansion.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 316 American Civil War Era. 3 Credits

(every third semester) Considers the social, political, and economic background of events culminating in the sectional and constitutional crises of the 1850s, the American Civil War of the 1860s, and the subsequent reconstruction of the United States in the 1870s.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 320 Birth of Modern US. 3 Credits

(every third semester) Covers the period 1877-1929 with special emphasis on those events which were crucial to America’s emergence as a great power. Particular attention will be given to the rise of industrialism and the city, the decline of American agriculture, the rise of the United States’ worldwide empire, the Progressive Era, United States involvement in the First World War, and the 1920’s.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 321 America in Crisis. 3 Credits

(every third semester) Covers the period 1929-1960 in an effort to focus on America’s response to world turmoil characteristic of that era. The Depression of the 1930’s, the Second World War, the beginning of the Cold War, and increasing economic disparity represent the principle upheavals in which the United States found itself involved.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 325 US Since 1960. 3 Credits

(every third semester) Considers the problems of the United States since the beginning of the Kennedy administration including such topics as the Cold War, Vietnam, domestic politics, the radical left and the radical right, and the end of the Cold War. The social, cultural, and economic problems created by such forces in American life as Far- and Middle Eastern affairs, presidential politics, and the global electronic economy will be examined in detail.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 408 Gender in America. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Spring

Explores the history of women in American history from colonial times through the present day. The main focus will be on understanding of gender as a historically specific social construct and how ideas regarding gender related to broader themes in the political, social, and cultural history of the United States.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 428 Hist Arch in the Americas. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Spring (even years)

Explores how archaeological research contributes to the understanding of American history. The class examines the development of historical cultures and sub-cultures in the New World from 1500 to the recent past. Focus will be on the importance of material culture; the intimate relationship between archaeology and primary documents; and a review of current models, theories, and paradigms used in archaeological interpretation. A secondary focus will be the use of technology in the process of archaeological analysis.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 460 Montana and the West. 3 Credits

(F, some Su) Traces the political, social, economic, and cultural development of Montana from pre-contact period through the present. Special emphasis on Montanan’s changing historical relationship with natural environment, the contest of cultures, and twentieth century issues. Course includes occasional field trips to historic sites.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 470 American Environmental History. 3 Credits

(every third semester/summer) Focuses on human interaction with and within the variety of North American environments. Compares Native American, European, and American philosophies and mythologies surrounding nature. Special emphasis on technology and nature, the American West, and the historical roots of recent ecological movements and controversies in Montana, the region, and the nation.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: History

HSTA 492 Independent Study. 1-5 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and chairperson of the department.

Provides outstanding students an individual opportunity to explore material not covered by regular History courses. The student’s proposal for independent study must be approved before registering and the student’s GPA in previous History courses must be at least 3.00.

Department: History

HSTA 494 Seminar/Workshop. 1-8 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Provides an opportunity for experimental study in an area of History.

Department: History

HSTA 498 Internship/Cooperative Educ. 1-9 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Provides university credit for a work experience in the area of History supervised by faculty. Learning agreement must be completed prior to registration (restricted).

Department: History

HSTA 499 Senior Capstone. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

Analyzes how historians ask methodological and interpretive questions and how they answer those questioned intellectually and technically. Aids the student in developing an understanding of the historical profession and the tasks of the historian through research and writing exercises, the investigation and evaluation of primary and secondary materials, and study of various methodologies employed by historians.

Department: History