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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2016-2017
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in the ancient and medieval world; revolutionary terrorism and state terror in Europe and
Russia since the eighteenth century; anarchist terrorism in Europe and the United States;
white supremacist terrorism in the United States; ethno-nationalist terrorism in Europe,
the Middle East, and North Africa in the twentieth century; anti-imperialist and
international terrorism in the 1960s and 1970s; and the recent upsurge in religiously
inspired terrorism. Students who have taken HI 120 or HON 120 cannot take this course.
A Leadership Studies designated course.
HI 245 Russian Civilization (1)
An introduction to the history of Russia and its distinctive political, social, and cultural
institutions and expressions, from the formation of Rus in the first millennium of the
common era through the breakup of the Soviet Union. A Leadership Studies designated
course.
HI 248 Modern Germany (1)
An examination of the history of Germany from the era of Bismarck through
reunification at the end of the Cold War. Topics include the creation of the German
nation-state, participation in the World Wars, Weimar, Nazism, East and West Germany,
and post-reunification. The course emphasizes the use of Germany as a case study for
studying the problems and paradoxes of European development in the modern era.
HI 261 Modern Latin America and the Revolutionary Tradition (1)
An analysis of the role of revolutionary change in modern Latin American history,
including examination of Iberian colonial authority (contrasting Brazil's evolution to that
of the Spanish-American republics), the church-state conflicts of the nineteenth century,
and the major revolutions of the twentieth century. Social and economic inequality,
political and military authoritarianism, and revolutionary and cultural change will be
discussed from a historical perspective.
HI 265 The Middle East in the Twentieth Century (1)
A study of the history of the Middle East from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire until
the present day. The course offers an introduction to the geography, ethnography, and
religions of the region, followed by an investigation of British and French colonialism
and the inter-war independence struggles in the area. Emphasis is also placed on the
growth of modern Middle Eastern states and societies after 1945, with particular focus on
the topics of nationalism, modernization, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian revolution,
and the Gulf War.
HI 282 Disputers of the Dao: Major Texts in the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist
Traditions in East Asia (1)
The historical development of the major philosophical and religious traditions of East
Asia (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism) taught through the reading of a selection of
their fundamental texts. The focus will be the texts, the major doctrines and schools of
these traditions, and the patterns of their historical development in China, India, Japan,
and Korea. Prerequisite: at least sophomore standing.