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Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2017-2018
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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
HI 151 History of the American People I (1)
The evolution of the American people to 1865, as reflected in their political and
economic development, social practices, and philosophy with particular reference to the
interaction between ideas and social structure.
HI 152 History of the American People II (1)
A thematic survey of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present.
Students will examine the transformation of the United States from a mostly rural,
agricultural, and traditional society into a powerful and culturally diverse urban,
industrial, and modern nation. Topics will include political challenges to the status quo,
the formation of a national economy, labor strife, urbanization, immigration, the rise of
the welfare state, World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War as
well as the civil rights movement and the late twentieth-century conservative political
movement.
HI 155 Reforming America (1)
A study of the ideas, events, and people influencing major reform movements from the
colonial period to 1877. Emphasis is placed on notable reform campaigns directed toward
social, political, and economic change in America and the successes and limitations of
those efforts. Some topics include social transformations in the Chesapeake and New
England colonies; political thought in the American Revolution; evangelical
Protestantism; responses to Native American removal legislation; social welfare
campaigns relating to public education, temperance, prison, and asylum reforms;
abolitionism and racial equality; anti-immigration organizations; and women’s rights.
HI 181 East Asian Civilization I: Introduction to Chinese Civilization (1)
A comprehensive introduction to the history of Chinese civilization from its beginnings
to the seventeenth century. Key topics include the formation of ancient Chinese
civilization, the growth and development of the three main traditions of learning and
religion (Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism), the evolution of China’s imperial
system of government, patterns of land tenure, the development of commercialized
agriculture and urban centers, and the ways in which Chinese historians have written
about their national past. Fall.
HI 182 East Asian Civilization II: Introduction to Japanese Civilization (1)
A comprehensive introduction to the history of Japanese civilization from its beginnings
to the seventeenth century. Key topics include the formation and evolution of Japan’s
imperial system, the “way of the warrior” (bushido), the evolution of Buddhism and
Confucianism in relation to the native “Shinto” tradition, patterns of land tenure, the
transition from rule by civilian aristocrats to the emergence of military rule, and the ways
in which Japanese historians have written about their national past. Spring.
HI 201 History of American Media (1)
An examination of the role of print media, radio and television, film, and computer
technology in shaping the transition of American society from traditional forms of print
and broadcast media to the rise of the information age. Emphasis will be placed on