Courses
Hist 2020
U.S. Since 1877
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An introduction to American civilization from the end of Reconstruction to the recent past, this course offers students a perspective on the position of the United States among the nations of the world and on the controversies and agreements among Americans over their culture, government, and ideals. The course will focus on central themes and issues in the development of American society and institutions. It will raise questions about human values, economic growth, institutional change, cultural development, political democracy, and the place of the United States in the world. Themes that we will address in this course include: industrialization and its effects on American society, economy, and political processes; immigration, urbanization, and the changing demographics of the United States; Progressivism and the struggle for social justice; foreign policy; the world wars and other major conflicts; important reform efforts including the New Deal and Great Society; and the struggle of many Americans for civil rights.
Hist 3035
Technology and Culture in U.S. History
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In this course students will study and analyze the history of technology in the United States from the colonial period to the present. It focuses both on the "nuts and bolts" of technology and the interrelationship of technology, culture and society. Technological change is a social process, both affecting and affected by the society in which it takes place, and this course will explore this process, noting the influence of technology on households, businesses, government, and other institutions, and how these institutions shaped technologies and technological development during that last 300 years of American history.
Hist 3811
U.S. Military and Naval History
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This course describes and analyzes the history of American military policy from the colonial period to the present. It focuses on the creation of American military institutions, the genesis of policy-making, the maintenance of civilian control over the military, the conduct of war, the interrelationship between foreign policy and military policy, and the influence of American society upon the armed forces as social institutions.
Hist 3815
World War II
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This course surveys the origins, conduct, and outcome of what remains the largest and most destructive war in human history. Traditionally dated from 1939-45, World War II has its origins in the expansionist wars of Italy and Japan as well as Nazi Germany's grandiose war aims. The material covered in the course extends from the November 1918 Armistice and the Versailles Treaty to the aftermath of World War II. Topics addressed will include: the foreign policies of the major powers and how they were shaped by their respective ideologies; diplomacy among the respective alliances; the strategic, operational, and tactical effectiveness of the military forces of the major powers; the introduction of new technologies and weapons systems; wartime mobilization and life on the home fronts; the role of economics and logistics in shaping the war; and the horrors of German and Japanese occupation including the Holocaust. In addition to traditional lecture and discussion, contemporary and documentary films will illuminate the war, and wargames may be used to illustrate specific tactical and strategic issues.
Hist 4105/
6105
War in the Ancient World
This course will study the development of war and warfare from roughly 2000 BCE to 1200 ACE, that is from the Bronze Age to the Mongol conquest of most of Eurasia, with a particular emphasis on Greek and Roman warfare. Along with tactical means, operational methods, and the development of strategies to apply organized violence for political, economic, or social ends, the course will also examine differing theories of war, early military theorists, and their historical development. The course will devote particular attention to the relationships between different cultures, changing technology, the influence of culture on war and war on society and culture, the manner in war was conducted, and the purposes for which wars were fought. The course will address both land and naval warfare. Field warfare, siege or positional warfare, guerrilla warfare and wars of economic attrition will be addressed as distinct branches of military theory and practice. The course will focus on six dominant themes:
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The tactical and operational means by which armed force has been applied.
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Military strategy and interstate diplomacy.
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The reciprocal effects of war and political systems upon one another.
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The social and economic bases of military activity.
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The impact of war on society, particularly its role in the economy and its effect upon the lives of both participants and non-combatants.
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Soldiers' experiences of war.
Hist 4106/
6106
War in the Modern World
This course will study the development of war and warfare from roughly 1400 to the present. Along with tactical means, operational methods, and the development of strategies to apply organized violence for political, economic, or social ends, the course will also examine differing theories of war and their historical development. The course will devote particular attention to the relationships between different cultures, changing technology, and the manner in which war has been conducted. The course will address both land and naval warfare, emphasizing conflicts not covered in detail in other University of Memphis history courses. Field warfare, siege or positional warfare, guerrilla warfare and wars of economic attrition will be addressed as distinct branches of military theory and practice. Topics covered will include the psychology of war, the impact of war on civilian populations, the development and application of military technology, the industrialization of war civil-military relations, tactics and strategy, and the use of war as an instrument of policy.
Hist 4106/
6106
The United States, 1914-1945
This course will acquaint students with two of the most colorful decades in U.S. history. During the 1920s the United States became an urban nation, passing through a difficult and sometimes painful adjustment. Yet in the midst of racism, materialism, and fundamentalism, there was also a spirit of hope and creativity. Jazz was in the air and flappers in the streets. The middle class seemed to be reaching a plateau of permanent comfort, and the politics of the era reflected the self-satisfaction of most Americans. The Great Depression virtually destroyed this upbeat mood. Socially, culturally, and economically, the decade of the 1930s was a mirror image of its predecessor. The crisis of the 1930s provoked a great deal of soul-searching among Americans. The mood can be easily traced in the literature, art, movies, and music of the period. Politics changed dramatically with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and we will look closely at the phenomenon of FDR. Finally at the end of the 1930s, the threat of war once again became a factor in American life. We will explore how Americans adjusted to the greatest military mobilization in the history of their nation.
Hist 7101
The World at War
This seminar will survey war in the first half of the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the two world wars. Starting shortly before the Russo-Japanese War, weekly readings will address important topics and ideas in international relations, military history, and strategy from roughly 1900 to 1953 including the causes of the world wars, the Versailles Treaty, interwar efforts at disarmament and military innovation, the home fronts of the major powers, genocide and the Holocaust, air power and strategic bombing, the first Arab-Israeli War, and the Korean War.
Hist 7602
Readings in US History, 1877 to the Present
This readings course surveys topics in twentieth-century United States history. We will devote one book and one week each to important periods and themes: Populism, the nature of Progressivism, the domestic impact of World War I, the culture of the 1920s, the Great Depression and the construction of the New Deal, the home front during World War II, post-war urban and suburban transformations, the Cold War at home and abroad, the civil rights and women’s movements, and the conservative resurgence of the Reagan Era. Students will read and review a book a week, participate in online discussions, and write a review essay on important scholarship in a particular field of 20th century American history.
Hist 7680
Readings in US History: the American Empire
This seminar will introduce graduate students to significant scholarship in 20th century American military and diplomatic history, what one may accurately call the age of American imperialism, or what publisher Henry Luce called "the American Century." Starting shortly before the Spanish-American War, weekly readings will address important topics and ideas in military and diplomatic history including major 20th century wars, the Cold War, the 'New Military History,' and the various ways historians have approached American foreign relations including the traditional perspectives of Samuel Flag Bemis and Dexter Perkins, the realism of Hans Morgenthau and George Kennan, the revisionism of William Appleman Williams and Walter LaFeber, the 'post-revisionism' of John Lewis Gaddis, and the newer interpretive frameworks offered by Akira Iriye, Michael Hogan, Michael Hunt, and others.