An introductory course designed to familiarize students with major historical issues from 1500 to the present. Offered as needed.

World Cultures will examine various civilizations in Africa, Asia and what is today called the Middle East. The foci of study will include the role and impact that trade, education, science, philosophy, technology, famine, and war have had on the rise and fall of civilizations in these geographic regions. Throughout, the concern will be the “differences” and “similarities” between civilizations, countries, and peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Offered as needed.

A survey of the history of the United States, from pre-colonial North America to the end of the Civil War, that addresses important political, economic, social, scientific, and cultural developments. The course will include discussions of the role of class, race, and gender on U.S. history as well as the ways in which systems of labor, intellectual developments, and technological innovations shaped history. The course also introduces students to the skills of historical thinking necessary to form their own understanding of the past. Offered as needed.

A survey of the history of the United States, from pre-colonial North America to the end of the Civil War, that addresses important political, economic, social, scientific, and cultural developments. The course will include discussions of the role of class, race, and gender on U.S. history as well as the ways in which systems of labor, intellectual developments, and technological innovations shaped history. The course also introduces students to the skills of historical thinking necessary to form their own understanding of the past. Offered as needed.

A survey of the history of the United States, from the Era of Reconstruction through the twentieth century, that addresses important political, economic, social, scientific, and cultural developments. The course will include discussions of the role of class, race, and gender on U.S. history as well as the ways in which systems of labor, intellectual developments, and technological innovations shaped history. The course also introduces students to the skills of historical thinking necessary to form their own understanding of the past. Offered as needed.

This survey course is an exploration of United States history throughout the twentieth century, including both national politics and foreign affairs. Students will trace the emergence of modern America, focusing on the issues, institutions, and players that shaped the century. The course looks for what is unique in the American historical experience, placing historical events in a global context. Students will research in depth one event or issue from twentieth century America. Offered as needed.

A survey of the history of the United States, from the Era of Reconstruction through the twentieth century that addresses important political, economic, social, scientific, and cultural developments. The course will include discussions of the role of class, race, and gender on U.S. history as well as the ways in which systems of labor, intellectual developments, and technological innovations shaped history. The course also introduces students to the skills of historical thinking necessary to form their own understanding of the past. Offered as needed.

This course offers an introduction to the African American experience. The course explores the major themes in African American history, from its roots in fifteenth-century West Africa to contemporary U.S. society. Course materials cover the major political, social and cultural factors that have shaped the African American experience. Offered as needed.

This course is an in-depth, historical examination of immigration to the United States, providing the student with a working definition of immigration and exploring the development of immigration law and policy in the United States. The course will trace the history of immigration to the United States and compare and contrast various epochs of immigration with the national and political psyche of the time. The course will analyze American immigration policy and legislation and their subsequent impact on the economic, political and cultural composition of the United States. The course will culminate with a discussion of the effects of 9/11 on immigrants and immigration policy in the United States. Offered as needed.

This course examines the ways in which widely divergent cultures (Native American, European, and African) interacted and transformed each other and with specific environments in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century North America. The course uses historical, anthropological, and ethical perspectives to assist students to develop more sophisticated understandings of the American past. Colonial North America is placed in the larger global context to understand how outside forces helped shape the region. Offered as needed.

This course provides a global perspective on the forces uniting to shape the post-modern world. In particular, the impact of Western and non-Western societies upon each other is illuminated through an historical, cultural, and social examination of Chinese, Indian, and African states. This course highlights the reemergence of traditional societies in an age of fluid communications. Offered as needed.

This course provides a global perspective on the forces uniting to shape the post-modern world. In particular, the impact of Western and non-Western societies upon each other is illuminated through an historical, cultural, and social examination of Chinese, Indian, and African states. This course highlights the reemergence of traditional societies in an age of fluid communications. Offered as needed.

This course provides a global perspective on the forces uniting to shape the post-modern world. In particular, the impact of Western and non-Western societies upon each other is illuminated through an historical, cultural, and social examination of Chinese, Indian, and African states. This course highlights the reemergence of traditional societies in an age of fluid communications. Offered as needed.

Topic to be specified each semester course offered.

A concentrated study of the development of American urban areas from Colonial times to the present. Offered as needed.

This course will focus on the history of various ethnic groups in America. This focus will include their historical roles, their socio-cultural perspectives and practices, and important historical and empowerment struggles involving education, employment, religion, language, the law, and organizing strategies for strengthening their ethnic group development so as to challenge, change, and expand America’s pluralistic theory, principles, and practices. Offered as needed.

This course is an in-depth, historical examination of terrorism, providing the student with a working definition of terrorism and exploring the development of terrorism and terrorist tactics. The course will discuss the difference between terrorist acts and ordinary criminal activity and focus on providing the background necessary to understand the evolution, proliferation, and mutation of terrorism. Students will evaluate the varying efforts of nations around the world in deterring, detecting and combating terrorism. Offered as needed.

This course examines the social, historical, religious, political, intellectual and material cultures of Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the Middle East from c. 500 to c. 1500 CE, known as the Middle Ages. Through the examination of medieval texts and material culture students will learn to evaluate the historical complexity, religious diversity, artistic achievements, and cultural interactions of the medieval world. Offered as needed.

This course will explore the complex history of Ireland from the Iron Age to the present. A main focus in this course will be to examine the relationship Ireland had with other countries and cultures, which helped shape the various identities of “Irish” that exist around the world today. Even before writing was introduced to the country, the people of Ireland were part of a vast international culture. Through a series of invasions, including the Viking Norse, Normans, and English, great assimilation and division took root in Ireland’s medieval and early modern history. The modern period is a story filled with efforts of reform and rebellion, hunger and diaspora, and the formation of new interpretations of being Irish, all of which contributed to the troubles in Northern Ireland at the close of the twentieth century. By the end of the course, students will have a clear and thorough knowledge of Ireland’s complex history and how the identification of being Irish is expressed worldwide today. Offered as needed.

This course focuses on four interrelated subjects: the causes of the Civil War; the dynamics of the war and emancipations; the economic, social and political conditions of the home front; and the origins of Reconstruction. Offered as needed.

This course uses a historical lens to gain a better understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The course will trace the interaction of the Zionist movement and the Palestinian national movement from the late nineteenth century through the beginning of the twenty-first century, focusing on their impact on Israeli and Palestinian identities, societies, cultures, and politics. The course will examine the conflict by looking at the complexities of national identity and conflicting historical narratives, as well as the ethical issues involved in the conflict. The various narratives, histories, and experiences that have shaped contemporary understandings of the conflict will be studied, as well as the efforts that have been made for creating dialogue and reconciliation between the two groups. Offered as needed.

This course examines the meaning behind the events and changes brought about during the decade of the 1960’s. The political, social, and cultural movements of the decade are explored through the eyes of extraordinary and ordinary people. Offered as needed.

An exploration of the manner in which immigrants and minority groups have been treated in American society; detailed analysis and discussion of historical documents, articles, and books. Offered as needed.

A study of how the history of Europe in the twentieth century symbolically parallels the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. Offered as needed.

A study of the American experience via movies and television against a backdrop of the United States’ cultural life in the late nineteenth century to the last decade of the twentieth century. Offered as needed.

Topic to be specified each semester course offered.

This course will provide an in-depth immersion into historical developments within a specific theme in American history that will be listed in the course schedule. Students will examine the interaction of cultural, political, social, economic, intellectual and technological issues leading to multiple and varied historical interpretations of topics within the chosen theme. Students may take this more than once as long as the theme is different. Offered as needed.

A study of the historical, geographical, sociological, religious, political, and economic developments of Buffalo. Emphasis is to be placed on the period following the burning of the city during the War of 1812 to the present day. This course also will focus on the city as a resource for primary research. Offered as needed.

This course covers the Empire State from the early occupation to the present. Emphasis will be on historical, geographical, sociological, political, and economic developments. These will be viewed within a multicultural context. Offered as needed.

This course examines the origins and evaluation of the nuclear competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and its impact upon the world. Offered as needed.

The history of the U.S. Constitution as a product of three hundred years of American legal and intellectual thought. Particular attention will be paid to those who wrote the Constitution, the philosophical influences on them, and the resulting debates at the Constitutional Convention. Offered as needed.

The history of the Constitution from the post-Civil War period to the present. Emphasis will be placed on Supreme Court decisions, how they affected reform movements, civil rights and civil liberties. Offered as needed.

This course allows the social science group in the department of Interdisciplinary Studies to offer specialty courses that are not included in regular course offerings. Included are various histories of Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, Americas, United States and the Middle East. A student may take this course more than once for credit under different topics. Offered as needed.

Topic to be specified each semester course offered.