Graduate Courses

Accelerated Degree Programs

Internships

Student Awards

History
HIS 501—Changing Perspectives on
United States History (3)
A survey of the literature of United States history with emphasis on historical controversies and recent interpretations. Fall 2002

HIS 511—Issues in United States
Women's History (3)
A study of significant developments in the history of women in the United States. Some possible topics are: the women¹s rights movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries; women and the rise of the welfare state; and the women¹s liberation movement of the 1960¹s and 1970¹s.

HIS 514—The Worker in the
Industrializing United States (3)
A study of the beliefs and behavior of United States working people from 1815
to 1920.

HIS 517 Albany: A City and Its
Politics (3)
An analysis of 20th century Albany as an urban environment with special attention to the machine politics which has flourished in this setting. The course will draw on the expertise of resource people from the community. Course will be offered when
demand is sufficient or after Spring 2004.

HIS 519—Perspectives in
New York State History (3)
Views on historical trends and developments of the Empire State from the pre-Columbian period to contemporary times. Focus is on local and regional, as well as state history as New Yorks cosmopolitan, economic, cultural and political role is characterized. Course will be offered when demand is sufficient or after Spring 2004.

HIS 520—The Ascent of Corporate
America: The Business Quest
for National and International
Power, 1890-1920 (3)
This course explores the conflict between corporate businessmen and farmers/ workers in their respective bids to change the direction of United States social, economic and political development in the 20th century. It emphasizes corporate
reform movements, which aimed to accommodate 19th century U.S. to the new needs of horizontally—and vertically— integrated business organizations. Special attention will be paid to reforms of the investment system, national party politics,
United States law and jurisprudence,
education, industrial relations and
foreign policy.

HIS 590—Seminar: Reform in
the United States (3)
A consideration of the motivation, methods and impact of selected reform movements of the 19th and 20th centuries.

HIS 594—Internship (3)
A period of supervised work (normally eight hours a week through the semester) in archives administration, historical editing, public historical research or museum interpretation under the direction of a professional in the field. (Pass/fail grade only).

HIS 598—Independent Study (1-3)

HIS 599—Thesis (6)

Comparitive History
and Politics
HIS 522—Seminar: Examining the
British Empire (3)
This seminar will focus on the rise, consolidation and fall of the British Empire, culminating with an examination of 20th century decolonization. Discussion will focus on the following questions: How did the British manage to establish colonial hegemony over a quarter of the globe? How have historians explained British expansion? How did British colonizers view their native subjects and how did these views shape the aims and nature of British colonial administration? How did the Empire impact the lives of those Africans and Asians subject to its control? Finally, what exactly were the legacies of decolonization on both Great Britain and its former colonies? Spring 2003

HIS 524—Seminar: The Atlantic World (3) #
This course examines the political, economic, and social relationships that governed the formation of the modern Atlantic World by exploring the systems of exchange that developed between Africans, Europeans, and the indigenous people of North America. Seminar topics will explore: comparative forms of unfree labor between the 15th and 18th centuries; the contributions Native Americans and Africans made to modern American political culture; the relationship between racial ideology and the institution of slavery; democracy and bondage; religious notions of divine providence and colonization; indigenous people and the politics of
acculturation; government policy and citizenship; and the fringe communities of pirates, maroons, and fugitives.

HIS 526—Seminar: The Problem
of Freedom (3)
This course will examine the historical evolution of post-emancipation by focusing on the ways in which former enslaved Africans and their descendants challenged colonial relationships in their quest for economic justice and full citizenship. Students will analyze the agency of African people by exploring comparative methods of protest, labor policy and state formation, and systems of production employed during the transition from slavery to freedom in the southern United States and the Caribbean. Intellectual inquiry will include the relationship between industrial capitalism and abolition, free labor ideology and post emancipation plantation production, racial ideology and split labor markets, economic imperialism and 20th century diasporic migrations. Spring 2004

HIS 528—Emigrants and Exiles: Irish
Emigration to North America (3)
This course will introduce students to the
complexity of the Irish-American past. More than seven million Irish citizens have crossed the Atlantic for North America since 1700. The course will begin with an examination of the recent revisionist controversy in Irish historiography, and concentrate on questions of continuity and change in the movement from Ireland to the United States. In addition, we will analyze in depth the principal themes in the history of the American Irish, including labor, race, gender, religion, politics, and nationalism. Fall 2002

HIS 563—The Political Economy
of Slavery (3) #
This course will trace the development of the Atlantic slave trade and examine its impact on the economic, political, social and demographic development of North America. Students will study: the "janus faced nature" of merchant capitalism, the development of tobacco production in the Chesapeake and the patriarchal nature of the planter class, the gendered evolution of the slaves economy within the plantation regime, the Cotton Kingdom in the lower South, the intensely debated relationship between capitalism and the abolition of bonded labor, and the impact of racial discourse on free labor ideology. Fall 2003

INT 564—United States
and East Asia (3) #
A survey of the American encounter with nationalism in Asia during the past century, with emphasis on the contemporary era in China, Japan and Korea. An analysis of American interests in Asia during the period of transition and after. Course will be offered when demand is sufficient or after Spring 2004.

INT 568—The United States and
Middle Eastern Affairs (3) #
An in-depth analysis of culture and political relationships of the Middle East. Emphasis will be placed on the contemporary period.

INT 570—The United States
and South Asia (3) #
The course will be a critical examination of American diplomacy and missionary activity in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka since 1860. Emphasis will be on such postwar developments as the American response to the Non-Alignment movement, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Kashmir dispute, the nuclear rivalry between India and Pakistan and the rise of terrorism in the subcontinent. Spring 2003

INT 572—The United States and
Southeast Asia (3) #
The course will be a critical survey of United States relations with the major countries of Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma) since 1890. Emphasis will be put on postwar developments like the Vietnam War and the economic crisis of the 1990s. Spring 2004

# Cross-listed in each category (in other words, these courses can be counted toward fulfilling degree requirements in either United States History and Politics or Comparative History and Politics.

N.B. Events over which the College
has no control may result in changes
in course schedules. The most recent
information can be obtained from the
Department Chair.

International Relations
INT 503—Trends in United
States Relations (3)
A survey of the literature of United States diplomatic history that includes historical analysis of the social class backgrounds of U.S. policymakers, major events in 20th
century foreign policy and their relationship to domestic interests.

INT 560—20th Century Euro-American Relations (3) #
Examination of significant policies from World War I to the present day; attention given to main currents in American relations with major western European nations.

INT 561—U.S.­Soviet Relations (3) #
The interplay of U.S. - Soviet relations is viewed in the historical context of the 20th century. Surveys the diplomatic and historical relationship before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution and since the momentous events of Summer 1991. Emphasis on mutual interests and divergent ideologies. Further, focus on the mistrust and attempts at reapprochement that have acted as the backdrop in the uneven course of relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. Assessment of the challenges facing the U.S. and the former republics of the U.S.S.R., especially Russia.

INT 562—Landmarks in 20th
Century U.S.—Latin American
Affairs (3) #
Study and analysis of selected U.S. policies toward Latin America since 1890. Emphasis on specific events in the Caribbean, Central America, Brazil, Mexico and Chile. Fall 2003

INT 575—The United States
and Africa (3) #
This course examines United States foreign policy in Africa from World War II to the present. Emphasis will be placed on economic, political and strategic consideration for the analysis of U.S. relations with selected African countries, especially Egypt, North Africa, Ethiopia and
South Africa.

INT 590—Seminar: The United
States and the Caribbean
Basin Since 1890 (3)
An exploration of the diplomatic, military and economic relations between the United States and various nations of the Caribbean Basin, with emphasis on the role of foreign
investment and private enterprise institutions and the spread of revolutionary movements. Special attention will be paid to Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

INT 598—Independent Study (1-3)

INT 599—Thesis (6)

# Cross-listed in each category (in other words, these courses can be counted toward fulfilling degree requirements in either United States History and Politics or Comparative History and Politics.

Political Science
POS 504 Approaches to the Study of United States Politics (3)
An historical examination of the development of the discipline of political science, focusing on the subject matter of the discipline and the methods it has used to study politics. These two issues will be analyzed within the context of developments in United States society over the past century. Fall 2003

POS 517 Albany: A City and its
Politics (3)
See HIS 517. Course will be offered when demand is sufficient or after Spring 2004.

POS 531 The Supreme Court
and Social Policy (3)
This course examines the role of the Supreme Court in the U.S. political, social and economic system. It surveys the historical record of the Court in major policy areas; examines the internal politics of Supreme Court decision-making; and focuses on the Court¹s role in formulating policy. Special attention is devoted to assessing the overall role of the Court as a public policy-making institution, examining the relationship between the Courts policies, democracy and the changing economic order.

POS 532 Federalism (3)
A theoretical and historical approach to the federal concept, and an examination of its practice in the interrelationships of national, state and local governments.

POS 537 Institutions of United
States Foreign Policy (3)
The compelling assumption underlying the notion of institutional influences on foreign policy is that a relationship exists between the substance of foreign policy and the process of policy-making. Thus, the institutional setting of United States foreign policy will be the primary focus of this course. The various branches of government and the departments and agencies assigned responsibility for decision-making, management and implementation will be examined. Spring 2004

POS 540 United States
Political Thought (3)
An examination of the political philosophy that has guided the development of United States political institutions. Fall 2002

POS 550 Black Political
Thought (3)
This course explores various black leaders intellectual and political contributions to the dismantling of institutional racism in the United States. It will examine such topics as
the abolition of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crowism, Pan-Africanism, the Harlem Renaissance, the modern civil rights movement, Black Power and Black nationalism, community empowerment, affirmative action, feminism and environmental concerns. Spring 2003

POS 590 Seminar: Law, Politics and
Economics in U.S. History (3)
This course explores the relationship between the labor movement and the law from the 1870¹s until today. It examines the historical development of the labor movement in the United States and the legal transformations which facilitated or inhibited it.

POS 594 Internship (3)
Credit may be earned through an internship in a governmental office or appropriate program on a local, state or national level.

POS 598 Independent study (1-3)

POS 599 Thesis (6)