metropolitan college academic courses undergraduate courses
history

History Undergraduate Courses

MET HI 101 The History of Western Civilization I

Surveys the development of Western society and culture from A.D. 1000 to the French Revolution of 1789. Topics include the development of medieval European society and culture, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the scientific revolution, absolutism, enlightened despotism, and eighteenth-century rationalism. (4 cr.)

MET HI 102 The History of Western Civilization II

A survey of Western society from the French Revolution through World War II, including the Industrial Revolution, nineteenth-century nationalism and imperialism, the rise of working-class movements, international rivalries, and ideological conflict in the twentieth century. (4 cr.)

MET HI 151 American History, 1607-1865

Growth of the United States from the colonial wars to the end of the Civil War. Explores British colonial policy, the Revolution, and the Constitution. Analyzes Federalism, Jeffersonian revolution, and westward expansion. Examines sectionalism, slavery, and war. (4 cr.)

MET HI 152 American History, 1865-Present

Continues MET HI 151. Analyzes the Reconstruction; economic expansion; problems of transportation, business, agriculture, labor, and finance; the populist movement; the place of the United States among nations; reform legislation; the United States in World War I; the New Deal; and World War II and after. (4 cr.)

MET HI 225 Maritime History in the Atlantic World

This intensive course will broadly survey the place and historical development of sea power in the Atlantic World and beyond, focusing primarily on the role of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. We will consider the various historical catalysts for European exploration and colonization, which led to global trading networks, empires, and an unprecedented diffusion of cultures and technology. The class will explore maritime history not only through readings and lectures, but also through hands-on training aboard a full-rigged wooden ship. Students will learn by direct experience the arts of a tall-ship sailor and the interrelationship between humans and the seas. (4 cr.)

MET HI 230 Classics of Maritime Literature in Historical Context

This intensive course will broadly survey maritime history—human seaborne enterprise and the development of sea power since the Age of European Expansion—through the lens of classic works of maritime fiction. Classes will alternate between historical lectures (meant to set the course readings into context) and discussions of the literary motifs and characters found in a selection of timeless tales of the sea. Focusing primarily on the role of "wooden ships and iron men" during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we will consider the various historical catalysts for European exploration and empire-building, whaling, piracy, global trading networks, and an unprecedented diffusion of cultures and technology. The class will explore maritime literature and history not only through the traditional means of specialized readings and lectures, but also through hands-on training aboard a full-rigged wooden ship. (4 cr.)

MET HI 300 The American Immigrant Experience

Immigration has made and is remaking America. All Americans, or their ancestors, were at one time immigrants. This course provides a historical survey of this immigration. The first half of the course explores eighteenth- and nineteenth-century immigration movements; the second half focuses on the twentieth century. (4 cr.)

MET HI 305 Pivotal Trials in Massachusetts History

This course examines the historical and social context of landmark judicial trials in Massachusetts from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. The background, issues, and outcome of each trial is observed within itself and in relation to the larger context in which it occurred. Certain legal strategies will be discussed, as well as the fairness or unfairness of the outcome of each trial and its effect on the society as a whole. (4 cr.)

MET HI 317 Europe in World Politics, 1870-Present

Analysis of the crucial role played by the nations of Europe in the great international developments of the past century. Special attention to the impact of domestic social, economic, and political conflicts on the formulation of foreign policy. (4 cr.)

MET HI 331 History of Europe, 1815-1914

Prereq: MET HI 102. International relations. Political, social, and ideological developments in the principal countries of Europe from the Congress of Vienna to the outbreak of World War I. (4 cr.)

MET HI 332 Recent and Contemporary History of Europe

Using historical studies, fiction, and film, this course explores the major twentieth-century European political struggles from the perspective of ordinary citizens. Topics include the cultural impact of mass warfare, the invasion of ideology in private life, sexual politics, and the drive for independence of the colonized peoples. The course stresses the building of writing and discussion skills with the chance to rewrite and to debate interpretations of events and trends with classmates. (4 cr.)

MET HI 333 The Middle East in the Twentieth Century

Middle Eastern history and society from World War I to the present. Emphasis on the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, colonial rule in the Arab world and the struggle for independence, the Islamic movement, and the role of foreign powers in the region. (4 cr.)

MET HI 342 History of Warfare

Institutions and practices of war in the Western world from ancient times to the present. Attention will be given to America as a case study of the changes in modern warfare and the globalization of politics. (4 cr.)

MET HI 355 Modern China

Exploration of twentieth-century China. Emphasis on the conditions inside and outside China that led to the revolution and to the establishment of the present state. The Cultural Revolution and its effect on present-day China. (4 cr.)

MET HI 363 Twentieth-Century United States, 1901-41

Impact of industrialization; progressive impulse and politics; American imperialism; World War I; reaction and social revolt; technology, prosperity, and fundamentalism; the Great Depression; Roosevelt, the New Deal, and welfare capitalism; and politics and foreign policy. (4 cr.)

MET HI 364 Twentieth-Century United States, 1941-Present

The origins and consequences of World War II; the Truman administration and the Fair Deal; the origins of the cold war; and international and domestic issues and conflicts from the 1950s to the 1980s. (4 cr.)

MET HI 371 History of African Americans

Historical patterns of racial relations and participation of African Americans in American social, economic, political, and cultural life. Major historical events and institutions: the slave system, Civil War and Reconstruction, industrialization, urbanization, the New Deal, and the civil rights movement. (4 cr.)

MET HI 373 History of Boston

The foundations, development, and "fate" of Boston since the colonial period. Explores the architecture, geography, social structure, and economic development of the city, as well as political changes. (4 cr.)

MET HI 374 Women in American History

American women's history from the time of European settlement to the 1980s. Women's changing patterns of family life, paid and unpaid work, political and social involvement, and attempts to change the shape of their world. The goals of the course are to acquaint students with the significant concepts and events in women's history and, through class discussions, to engage students in ongoing debates about their meanings. (4 cr.)

MET HI 380 Magic, Sorcery, and Witchcraft in History

Historical contexts of the magical world view; charms and spells, oracles and divination, control of spirits, metamorphosis, and alchemy in selected periods of the ancient and medieval world. (4 cr.)

MET HI 386 Modern Latin America

A survey of the conflicts and development of this volatile region in modern times. Emphasis on the political, economic, and cultural evolution of the Latin American republics. Cuban and Mexican revolutions and the urban guerrilla movements. (4 cr.)

MET HI 395 Film and History

This course compares and contrasts the ways that historians work in varied media: books, essays, feature films, and documentary films. The class pursues the histories of past events and periods in American history, analyzing how writers and film-makers develop a narrative approach to events, time periods, or individuals’ lives. The course also looks not only at history in film but also at the history of film and its development as an artistic and cultural expression during the twentieth century. The class considers the ways that films are themselves cultural artifacts of the time in which they were produced: what movies tell us about American values, myths, and character at a particular point in time and how the requirements of a particular film genre affect the cultural information it presents. (4 cr.)

MET HI 425 Women in European History

This course provides an introduction to the role of women in European history. Readings and discussion focus broadly on changing attitudes, expectations, and opportunities for women by exploring such topics as convent life, working conditions, charity, the witch craze, and political and religious upheaval. It also examines the challenge of writing women back into history and looks at the lives and strategies of individual women. (4 cr.)

MET HI 440 Twentieth-Century American Social History

Significant themes in American social history in the twentieth century, including radical and protest movements, mass media, ethnic movements and conflict, urban disorders, and attitudes. Basic themes vary with the instructor and semester. (4 cr.)

MET HI 450 American Popular Culture: Film and Humor

The increase in scholarly and popular interest in humor during the past several decades demonstrates a heightened awareness of the significance of humor in American culture. This course analyzes the historical and sociological patterns of humor and their relation to social change and conflict in twentieth-century America. Includes readings from the social sciences and humanities and a series of films. (4 cr.)