Master of Arts Humanities: United States History

Required Courses: (six hours)

HIST 500 or equivalent: A historiographical seminar in which students learn and demonstrate a

mastery of a variety of methods historians use to understand the past.

HIST 591 Thesis: This required course is the culminating experience for the MA program in

which students demonstrate mastery of the discipline by producing an acceptable Master’s

Thesis.

Elective courses: (24 hours)

HIST 501 State History: A graduate-level survey of the history of a particular state, with

emphasis on how meta and national phenomenon impacted a given state, as well as events and

phenomena unique to the state.

HIST 505 American West: This course is a survey of the American West with an emphasis on

interpretation by historians. Admission to the Master of Arts program is required.

HIST 516 American Revolution and Federalist Era: graduate-level survey of the period from

1761 to 1801, with particular attention to the American Revolution, the Confederation, the

Constitutional Convention, and the administration of Presidents Washington and Adams. $

HIST 517 18th Cent. A graduate-level study of the themes or representative figures from the

Founding Period of the United States, 1760-1810 * The course with separate subtitles can be

repeated no more than 3 times.

HIST 520 Women and Politics in 20th Century America: This course examines the struggles and

successes of American women in fighting for equality in American politics, life, and culture,

from the movement for suffrage through campaigns for fair wages. Key content includes

grassroots political activism, landmark court decisions, significant achievements in the arts, the

intersection of work on behalf of women’s rights in the United States. the evolving role of

gender in mediating political discourse and social relations in the United States, and important

distinctions in activism and opportunity shaped by race, geography, economics, and marriage. $

HIST 519 U. S., 1800-1848: A graduate-level study of the United States from 1800 to 1848 or a

specific topic or theme from this time period in United States History. * The course with separate

subtitles can be repeated no more than 3 times.

HIST 522 U. S., 1877-1920: A study of the United States History from 1877 to 1920, with

special attention devoted to the economic and social changes brought about as a result of

industrialization. Other topics of particular interest include the changing role of the United

States in the world and the advent of overseas expansion. The history of reform in the early 20th

century through the Progressive Movement can also be a particular emphasis. * The course with

separate subtitles can be repeated no more than 3 times.

HIST 526 U. S., 1914-1950: A study of the United States History during World War I and

World War II, or focused on either War, with special attention devoted to diplomatic, social, and

political developments of the specific period under study with emphasis on the impact of

immigration, urbanization, technology, and America’s increasing involvement in world affairs. *

The course with separate subtitles can be repeated no more than 3 times.

HIST 530 Topics in Historical Geography: An in depth examination of interplay between the

human and physical geography of a local and key events in the American history that occurred

there. 6 hours of undergraduate US History survey or instructor approval required.

HIST 531 Early Modern Europe: This course is designed to familiarize graduate students with

the major themes and historiographical debates found in Early Modern European History.

Admission to the Master of Arts program is required.

HIST 536: Religion in United States History: This course explores thematically,

chronologically, or topically the general religious history of the United States from pre-

Columbian times to the present (Graduate Level Survey) or, alternatively, major particular

themes, eras, or topics from pre-Columbian times down to the present day. *

HIST 538 American Indian History: This course explores American Indian history through a

series of case studies, including early encounters, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and

persistence in the face of government expansion, removal, and assimilation policies. *

HIST 540 U. S. Presidency: A study of the United States Presidency from 1789 to the present,

with special attention devoted to the changing scope and function of the office in the changing

context of broader American History. Other topics of particular interest are the key figures who

have altered the institution and the role of crisis in changing the scope and functioning of the

office. The course with separate subtitles can be repeated no more than 3 times. $

HIST 541 U. S. Constitution: A graduate-level study of the Constitution from its drafting to the

present or as specific topic in United States Constitutional History. The course with separate

subtitles can be repeated no more than 3 times. $

HIST 546 Borderlands: This course explores borderlands as a site of historical scholarship

with a special emphasis on the southwestern U.S. and the U.S.-Mexico border.

HIST 560 Cultural Geography: This course will emphasize the application of the principles of

cultural geography to the analysis of the United State and modern world affairs.

HIST 550 U. S. Sports History: A study of the history of sports and leisure in the United States

Presidency from colonial times to the present, with special attention devoted to the changing

social context in which sporting activities have taken place. Other topics of particular interest are

the roles of race and gender in shaping the world of sport, and the roles of marketing,

professional organizations, and media such as television in examiningg how sport has become

part of the fabric of American life. This course views sport both as reflective of broader trends

in American society but also as a catalyst of change.

HIST 562 Black History: A graduate-level study of a specific topic or theme in African

American History from 1619 to the Present. * The course with separate subtitles can be repeated

no more than 3 times.

HIST 563 Civil War and Reconstruction: A graduate-level study of the antebellum South,

sectional discord, armed conflict, and reconstruction of the Union. $

HIST 564 U. S., 1845-1877: A graduate-level study of a particular topic in the Civil War Era. *

The course with separate subtitles can be repeated no more than 3 times.

HIST 566 Western Political Theory: A historical introduction to the central issues in political

philosophy from ancient Greece to contemporary western society through critical evaluations of

classical and modern thinkers, ideal forms of government, and political legitimacy. These themes

will be examined historically and in terms of their contemporary relevance and influence on

American political values.

HIST 567 Topics in Political Theory: A historical introduction to the central issues in political

philosophy from ancient Greece to contemporary western society through critical evaluations of

classical and modern thinkers, ideal forms of government, and political legitimacy. These themes

will be examined historically and in terms of their contemporary relevance and influence on

American political values. *

HIST 568 U. S. Latin-America Relations: This course will examine U.S. - Latin American

Relations from the Monroe doctrine to the present with a more intensive and analytical focus on

cold-war relations and the shift to post-cold-war dynamics. *

HIST 569 African American Civil Rights Movement: This course explores the Civil Rights

Movement within the African American communities and the United States in general from the

end of World War II to the early 1970s. $

HIST 570 Readings in U. S. History: A graduate-level directed readings seminar that focuses

on historical literature related to participants’ thesis topics. *

HIST 572 Amazing Grace: How Writers Helped End American Slavery: This course

examines the writings of the antislavery writers and reformers of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and

nineteenth centuries whose passionate words formed the vanguard of a global movement to end

slavery.

HIST 579 Special Topics: Offered periodically to focus on subject matter that does not lend

itself readily to traditional history curricular offerings. *

HIST 590 History Practicum: A graduate-level practicum in the development and of United

States History curriculum (education and public history). *

$ indicates a course meeting the Constitutional History requirements for the James Madison

Memorial Fellowship. * may meet Constitutional History requirements for the James Madison

Memorial Fellowship (consult with ASU HAPPSS department chair).