History is the study of the human past. History trains students in a critical understanding of the past, and strives to cultivate an appreciation of the enduring power and relevance of that past in the present. The discipline encompasses every dimension of human interaction, including social life, the economy, culture, thought, and politics. Students of history study individuals, groups, communities, and nations from every imaginable perspective, employing all the techniques of the humanities and social sciences to raise questions and probe for answers. History is as long ago as the most ancient civilizations, or as current as yesterday’s newspaper.
Careers
Careers include fields as education, public service, journalism, museum conservation, library science, and law.
Transfer Options
BMCC has an articulation agreement with the B.A. in Global History program at CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
History
- This course analyzes the societies of Western civilization from their origin to early modern times. The major social, economic, political, religious and intellectual developments are examined and their impact on the development of modern Western civilization is traced.
Course Syllabus - This course traces the growth of the modern Western world to the present. It surveys the political, economic and social foundations of contemporary civilization.
- In this historical survey of the emergence and development of a recognizable science and technology, the interrelationships between science and technology will be brought out. Some of the principal topics considered include science and technology in prehistory; ancient Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek science and culture; Medieval medical technology and science; the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century; Darwinian evolution; the conquest of epidemic diseases; and the development of nuclear weapons. Critical analysis will cover the nature of scientific ideas, the scientific method and scientific change; the structure of scientific communities; relations between science, technology, and medicine; and the place of science in modern society.
Course Syllabus - The Asian American presence from the mid-nineteenth century to the present is studied. Three periods, 1848 to 1943, 1943 to 1965, and 1965 to the present are examined. Topics are designed to focus on the impact of historical processes on the cultural, economic, and political experiences of diverse Asian American groups in urban and rural communities. The multi-ethnic aspects of Asian American communities are explored.
Course Syllabus - This course offers a survey of human history in a global context, beginning with the birth of civilization and running up through the beginnings of the Renaissance in Europe. This historical development of fundamental cultural, political and social institutions will be examined through an analysis of recurring themes in world history. Topics include the earliest civilizations of the Middle East, India, China and the Americas; the beginnings of the world?s major faiths, such as Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism; the history of ancient Greece and Rome; the pre-Islamic history of the Middle East; the early histories of Africa, the Far East and the Americas; Islamic History; medieval European history; the Renaissance. It should be noted that, with respect to those topics generally associated with the ?West? ( i.e., Europe ? for instance, ancient Greece and Rome and the Renaissance), these will be considered within a more global context; developments in Europe then will be considered in terms of its interaction with other global regions, likewise, as reflective of analogous responses to common societal, cultural and environmental challenges. Indeed, the course will address the question of whether the familiar dichotomy of ?West? and ?East? is, in fact, a meaningful one.
Course Syllabus - The course offers a survey of human history in a global context, beginning with the Renaissance in Europe and running up to the present. The historical development of fundamental cultural, political and social institutions will be examined through an analysis of recurring themes in world history. Topics include the respective histories of the world?s great religions, the European Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, the European Enlightenment, the development ( and continuing pervasiveness) of nationalism, Western imperialism and colonialism, the First and Second World Wars, the Cold War, and decolonization. It should be noted that those topics generally associated with the ?West? (for instance, nationalism) will be considered within a more global context; likewise, developments in Europe and North America will be considered in terms of their interaction with other global regions and/or as reflective of analogous responses to similar societal, cultural and environmental challenges. Indeed, the course will address the question of whether the familiar dichotomy of ?West? and ?East? is, in fact, a meaningful one.
Course Syllabus - In this course, the history of the United States from the Colonial period to the Civil War is studied and the major political, economic, and social problems of the new nation are analyzed.
- African civilizations from the pre-historic cultures in East Africa to the decline of the West African kingdom of Songhai in 1596 are examined.
Course Syllabus - Africa from the beginnings of the Atlantic slave trade to the end of Colonialism in the late twentieth century is examined. The effect of Colonialism on economic and cultural patterns in the African diaspora is explored.
Course Syllabus - This course is a systematic examination of the participation of African American people in the political, economic and cultural history of the United States. The involvement of African Americans in abolitionism and in the development of social and cultural institutions in free black communities is analyzed.
Course Syllabus - Reconstructions I and II, the social Darwinist years, Civil Rights activism of the 1960's, and the cumulative effects of institutionalized racism are set in an historical framework for comparative study. The course examines the impact of urbanization, institutional racism, economic, and political policies on the life experiences of African-Americans. The dynamics of cultural, social, and political interactions within the social structure of the nation since 1865 are analyzed.
Course Syllabus - This continued study of American history emphasizes the emergence of an industrial economy, an urban society, world responsibility and the expanded federal government.
- This course is a survey of the economic, political and cultural institutions which characterize the present nations of the Caribbean, their antecedents in the post- Emancipation period and the prospects for the future.
Course Syllabus - This course studies the history of Puerto Rico from the pre-Columbian period to the end of the 19th century. Consideration will be given to political, social, cultural, and economic factors contributing to the emergence of national consciousness in the 19th century and the events leading to the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Course Syllabus - This course studies the historical conditions of Puerto Rico in the 20th century. The transition from a Spanish colony to an American possession is examined. The events and forces that created the present Puerto Rico are studied and analyzed in perspective. The alternatives to the problem of status?commonwealth, statehood, and independence?are studied.
Course Syllabus - Recent events have seen a growing interest in that part of the world commonly referred to as the Middle East. This course aims to introduce students to the Middle East, from the rise of Islam to contemporary times. It takes a cross-disciplinary approach, designed to allow students the chance to examine the region from a number of different perspectives; not only an historical one, but also those of literature, religion, economics, politics and international relations. It is hoped that, at minimum, the course will provide a sound basis by which students might better frame their understanding of the region; at maximum, that it might stimulate a desire to further explore the region in greater depth. Particularly, given the tendency if the media to view the region largely in terms of current events, it is hoped that by taking a cross-disciplinary approach, students will come to conceive of the region as a multi-dimensional; as a region with rich and varied cultural, historical and intellectual traditions; most importantly, as a region made up of people, of individuals who have many of the same desires and aspirations, the same fears and concerns, as ourselves. Given that the course constitutes a broad cross-disciplinary survey of the Middle East, it will, at times, be necessarily selective, focusing in depth on specific but representative aspects of Middle Eastern civilization. Students are thus encouraged to make reference to the a??additional reading lista?? towards the end of the syllabus. An additional goal of the course is to consider in a more critical way the manner in which the region is portrayed in the media. Thus, periodically, we will be examining issues of topical interest.
Course Syllabus - Survey covering from the pre-Columbian cultures, the age of discovery and exploration, colonial structures, independence movements, to contemporary Latin America, with special emphasis on the countries of the mainland (i.e., North, Central, and South America). Students will learn about the traditions and institutions of Latin American Civilization including the Iberian conquest and colonization, the role of the Catholic Church, economic and social structures, as well as problems related to government, nation-building, race and class relations, wars and Latin America's position in the world.
Course Syllabus - This course studies the history of the Dominican Republic from the pre-Columbian and Colonial periods to the present. It deals with the geographical, political, social, and economic factors that form the Dominican nation. Emphasis is given to relations with Haiti and North America. The course also analyzes the position of the Dominican Republic in the community of Latin American nations as well as its place in today's world.
Course Syllabus - This course in social and intellectual history examines ideas about women and women?s status in society in selected periods of history. Emphasis is placed on t'e reading and interpretation of primary source material. Topics included are: the historiography of women's history; examples of matriarchy; women in the Ancient Near East; Greece and Rome in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; the role of women in the American slave and plantation society; women in the modern capitalist and socialist worlds.
Prerequisite: Any history course or GWS 100 - The course will address in a historical context the political, social, economic and ideological factors underlying the various conflicts that have confronted the Middle East, beginning with post-First World War period and ending with more recent developments, with the aim of helping students better appreciate their root causes and complexities.
Prerequisite: Any Social Science course
Course Syllabus - This course will provide a culminating experience for students enrolled in the History Major by allowing them to explore a topic in-depth, engage in independent research, develop their analytic abilities and critical thinking skills, and apply concepts and theories to new cases. The course will focus on special topics within the field and expertise of the instructor. It will introduce students to major theoretical perspectives, basic research methodologies and research design issues, and central analytical models in history. The course will call upon students to write historical research papers involving library research and analysis of multiple sources. Students will spend the first third of the
semester reading and analyzing examples of academic historical work. They will then write their own research papers, based on topics of their own choosing, while working in conjunction with both peers and the instructor to revise these papers.
Prerequisite: ENG 201 and [(HIS 101 and HIS 102) or (HIS 115 and HIS 116) or (HIS 120 and HIS 125) or Departmental Approval]
Course Syllabus
