HIS 520: Issues in U.S. History, Geography & Economics

This is an advanced graduate reading seminar in topics and issues of North American/United States history, geography, and economics. The main body of the course is organized around important areas of current research and debate by scholars that address the following NCSS thematic standards: Theme I, Culture; Theme II, Time, Continuity, and Change (historical process and context); Theme III, People, Places, and Environments (geography); Theme V, Individuals, Groups, and Institutions (social history, sociology), Theme VIII, Science, Technology, and Society. In addition, the course contains an economics module that addresses NCSS Theme VII, Production, Distribution, and Consumption, in the context of US history and society. The course will be organized both thematically and chronologically, and will include readings that together will address problems of US/North American history from the pre-Columbian period to the present. The course will be particularly valuable to candidate secondary teachers who want to gain a solid understanding of many aspects of North American society evolving within a complex geographic setting. Whenever possible, a focus will be placed on New York State history.