The Department of History has developed a set of carefully crafted learning objectives. Simply put, history majors are expected to acquire specified levels of knowledge, perspectives and skills through the study of the past. The learning objectives are designed to help students succeed in their undergraduate history major, as independent, creative and self-directed learners. More important, they will help students to be successful in their pursuit of a career and to hold a lifelong appreciation for the humanities and social sciences. The objectives are enumerated as follows:

Knowledge of the Past
Students studying history will:

• Acquire knowledge of the world’s civilizations and peoples, and their political, economic, social and cultural histories.
• Gain in-depth knowledge of a historical field by specializing in one of several departmental concentrations.
• Gain exposure to a range of historical subjects outside the concentration.
• Complete at least one course that examines a non-western society.

Perspectives
Students studying history will:

• Develop a historical understanding of an increasingly multicultural society and interdependent world.
• Understand the variety and complexity of the human experience and foster an appreciation for processes of change.
• Comprehend how constructions of class, race and gender dynamically shape social structures, national identities and all forms of human relationships.
• Realize the interlocking relationships among science, technology, the environment and society.
• Appreciate the value of interdisciplinary perspectives and methods.

Analysis and Interpretation
Students studying history will:

• Critically evaluate secondary, textual evidence by identifying a thesis, noting sources and methods used in argument, discerning the conclusions and determining the perspective, bias and reliability of the argument.
• Think critically, and master the art of interpretive analysis based on the widest possible array of primary sources: written, material and other cultural texts.

Research and Communication
Students studying history will:

• Locate printed and online information sources to research a topic exhaustively.
• Write clear, well organized, properly documented and grammatical prose.

General College Requirements

The student must fulfill the requirements of the general college program as outlined in Undergraduate Academic Regulations and Information.

History Department Requirements

1. Each major shall concentrate in one area: Antiquity and Medieval; Early Modern and Modern Europe; United States; and Asia, Middle East and Latin America, or devise a thematic concentration and have it approved by the chair of the undergraduate studies committee.
2. Two courses, or 6 credit hours, are required in World Civilization: History 206 – 208 (or the History 201 – 202 sequence). These courses may also fulfill UMKC general education requirements.
3. Ten courses, 30 hours, in history at the upper division (300-400) level.
   • At least four of the courses, or 12 credits, must be inside the student's field of concentration.
   • At least four of the courses, or 12 credits, must be outside of the student's field of concentration and include at least one non-western course. In our department non-western courses include those that deal primarily with Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle-East and indigenous North Americans.
   • The final two courses, or 6 credits, come from History 301 WI “Historiography and Method,” and History 498 WI “Senior Capstone Seminar.” These courses cannot be taken in the same semester and are not offered in the summer.
4. All history majors at UMKC are required to establish and maintain a portfolio of their undergraduate work. The portfolio is a measurement tool that will allow students and faculty mentors to monitor intellectual growth, acquisition and sharpening of skills, and mastery of historical knowledge. 

 

Concentrations
The history department divides all upper division courses into areas of interest, or "concentrations." All majors are required to choose a primary concentration. The idea is that with focused study, students will gain an in-depth understanding of their topic. Students will also take additional courses from other concentrations to enlarge the scope of their historical knowledge.

• Antiquity and Medieval
• Early Modern and Modern Europe
• United States
• Asia, Middle East and Latin America (Non-Western)

Courses by Concentration
In reviewing the following list of concentrations and courses, keep in mind that new courses focused on specific topics relevant to professor’s research interests are offered every semester, though they may not be listed below.

Please note that one-hour courses and PACE courses cannot be counted toward a concentration.

Antiquity and Medieval
HISTORY 300CO Women in the Ancient World
HISTORY 306A History of Christianity to the Middle Ages
HISTORY 400CF Courts & Culture in the High Middle Ages
HISTORY 400CL The End of the Classical World, 300-800
HISTORY 400CY The Ancient World & the Cinema
HISTORY 411A Medieval Civilization I
HISTORY 411B Medieval Civilization II
HISTORY 412A Medieval Women & Children
HISTORY 412B The Black Death & Late Medieval Society
HISTORY 431R Medieval England, 1066-1485
HISTORY 444R Islam & the Arabs: The Formative Period
HISTORY 464 Medieval Methods & Paleography
HISTORY 468R Archeology & the History of Antiquity
HISTORY 469 Archeology & Biblical History
HISTORY 470 Ancient Egypt
HISTORY 471 Ancient Greece
HISTORY 472 Ancient Rome
HISTORY 475WI Ancient Israel
HISTORY 476 Medieval Jewish History

Early Modern and Modern Europe
HISTORY 300F The Tudor Dynasty in Film
HISTORY 300G Holy Roman Empire
HISTORY 300R The Dutch Republic
HISTORY 300CN The World Made Modern: World War I & Popular Film
HISTORY 307A History of Christianity Middle Ages to the Present
HISTORY 400C Cinema of Eastern Europe
HISTORY 400CC History, Nature, & Culture in Sweden 
HISTORY 400CJ Nordic History & Culture, 1750-Present
HISTORY 400CI Culture, Kultur, Civilization: Identity Formation in Middle Class
HISTORY 400CM Nazi Occupied Europe and the Holocaust
HISTORY 400CN Civil War, Terrorism, and Trauma
HISTORY 400CZ:CC The Other Europe
HISTORY 400F Freud: Science & Culture
HISTORY 400GS Introduction to German Studies
HISTORY 413 Renaissance
HISTORY 414 Reformation 
HISTORY 415B 17th and 18th Century Europe 
HISTORY 416R The French Revolution and Napoleon
HISTORY 417R Nations and Empires: 19th Century Europe
HISTORY 418R The Age of Extremes: 20th Century Europe
HISTORY 419R Contemporary Europe, 1930-2000
HISTORY 425R European Criminal Justice, 1400-1800 
HISTORY 426R The Scientific Revolution, 1500-1700
HISTORY 427 The Darwinian Revolution, 1650-1900
HISTORY 428 History of the Body
HISTORY 430RA We Are the Dead: The Great War through its Artifacts in History
HISTORY 432R Tudor England, 1485-1603 
HISTORY 433 Britain, 1603-1832
HISTORY 434 Britain, 1832-Present
HISTORY 436R Modern German History
HISTORY 437AWI Imperial Germany, 1848-1918
HISTORY 437BWI Weimar Germany
HISTORY 437CWI Nazi Germany
HISTORY 437DWI Cold War Germany
HISTORY 437BWI First German Republics, 1917-35
HISTORY 440F Women & Medicine: Practitioners & Patients from Antiquity to Present
HISTORY 445 The Ottoman Empire in the Middle East to World War I
HISTORY 446R The Middle East From World War I to the Present
HISTORY 467 Myth & Ritual
HISTORY 473 History of Astronomy
HISTORY 477 Modern Jewish History
HISTORY 478 The Holocaust

United States
HISTORY 300BB Black Baseball as American Culture
HISTORY 300C Civil War in Memory and Film
HISTORY 300DM Dollars, Culture, & America’s Hemispheric Empire
HISTORY 300FBA History of Sexuality
HISTORY 300G Girlhood in America
HISTORY 300H Alcohol and Drugs in American History 
HISTORY 300J History of Sport
HISTORY 300JH The American West in Film & Fiction
HISTORY 300K Masculinity in History
HISTORY 300L Labor & Leisure
HISTORY 300MBA Missouri/Kansas Border Wars 
HISTORY 300MBB Social History and Material Culture of 19th Century America
HISTORY 300RH History of Fatherhood 
HISTORY 300R History of the Family
HISTORY 300RI Labor and Leisure
HISTORY 300WY The Sixties 
HISTORY 302 America, 1000-1763: The Formative Era
HISTORY 303 America, 1763-1783: The Revolutionary Heritage
HISTORY 304 America, 1783-1828: The National Experience
HISTORY 305 America, 1828-1852: The Jacksonian Period
HISTORY 306 America, 1850-1877: Civil War and Reconstruction
HISTORY 307 America, 1877-1917: Development of Industrial America
HISTORY 308A America, 1914-1945: The Era of the World Wars 
HISTORY 308B America, 1945-Present: Our Times 
HISTORY 353 Immigrants and Immigration in American History
HISTORY 354R Women in Modern America 
HISTORY 356 Rise of the City 
HISTORY 356R Kansas City: History of a Regional Metropolis
HISTORY 357 The American West 
HISTORY 358 History of the American South I
HISTORY 359 History of the American South II
HISTORY 360R Constitutional History of the United States 
HISTORY 361 American Foreign Relations 
HISTORY 365A American Environmental History 
HISTORY 366RR American Labor History 
HISTORY 368 Children and Youth in American History
HISTORY 369 Women and Work in Early America
HISTORY 370 Introduction to Material Culture
HISTORY 392A Archival Internship
HISTORY 392B Public History Internship
HISTORY 393 Museum Science
HISTORY 394 African American History to 1877
HISTORY 395 African American History Since 1877
HISTORY 400 Sport & Film
HISTORY 400CP Silver Screen & the American Dream
HISTORY 400F Teaching Regional History/Watkins Mill
HISTORY 400K History of Motherhood 
HISTORY 400Z Kansas City Labor History
HISTORY 401A Religion in America

Asia, Middle East and Latin America (Non-Western)
HISTORY 300D Religions of the Silk Road
HISTORY 300G China’s Imperial Past
HISTORY 300JH Indians of the Americas
HISTORY 400A Religion and Religiosity in Eastern Asia
HISTORY 400C Latin American Crises and Opportunities
HISTORY 400F Religion and Colonialism in Latin America
HISTORY 400JCA Chinese Civilization
HISTORY 400VGA Colonial Latin America
HISTORY 400VGB Modern Latin America
HISTORY 400VGC Women and Gender in Latin America
HISTORY 400VGD Environmental History of Latin America
HISTORY 424A Colonial & Postcolonial South Asia
HISTORY 424R Twentieth Century Asia
HISTORY 444R Islam & the Arabs: The Formative Period
HISTORY 445 The Ottoman Empire in the Middle East to World War I
HISTORY 446R The Middle East From World War I to the Present
HISTORY 462J Japanese Civilization