Classes are Available on Campus in Washington DC

The History Department combines the rigor of a research university with the human scale of a liberal arts college. It is dedicated to understanding the human experience in time and place, and to careful training in identifying and assessing information, executing research projects, and analytical writing and oral presentation.

History students learn in small, interactive classes with faculty committed to combining research and teaching. Studying with accomplished scholars who bring current developments in their fields to life in the classroom, students choose from a wide range of classes and seminars, increasingly incorporating digital tools for learning and studying.

  • HIST 322A: Princes, Plots, and Piety: The Tudors and the English Reformation - 3 Credits, On Campus

    When you hear `The Tudors,' as a dynasty or individually as `Henry VIII' or `Elizabeth I,' those names can easily conjure up images of sumptuous royal living, high political drama, shadowy court intrigue, and transnational espionage. But beyond the Hollywoodized stereotypes, who were the Tudors? And what did the world they live in actually look like? Can that century-long dynasty, in which five very different monarchs ruled, official religion changed no less than three times, and the political and social climate fluctuated with - and within - each new reign, really be categorically lumped together into a single monolithic idea, `the Tudors'? This course will delve into those questions, framed by three broad themes: space or landscapes (physical, architectural, mental, and religious); time; and memory and identity. These themes will necessarily intertwine. For instance, the transformation of both cultural memory 'landscapes' as well as physical and geographic, occurred after the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Numerous other examples exist of these tangible and intangible evolutions in the space of roughly a century and a half. Primarily through the lens of religious history and starting with late medieval religious culture, students will learn about the complex factors and people who played a part in the successive religious transformations of the English reformations, from Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell to Mary Queen of Scots, to the role of martyrologies and underground printing networks, and English Catholic exiles. Also, since religion, law, and society are heavily intertwined in this period, we will discuss particular legal instruments and their consequences throughout the course.   

  • HIST 522A (Graduate Credit Option): Princes, Plots, and Piety: The Tudors and the English Reformation - 3 Credits, On Campus

    When you hear `The Tudors,' as a dynasty or individually as `Henry VIII' or `Elizabeth I,' those names can easily conjure up images of sumptuous royal living, high political drama, shadowy court intrigue, and transnational espionage. But beyond the Hollywoodized stereotypes, who were the Tudors? And what did the world they live in actually look like? Can that century-long dynasty, in which five very different monarchs ruled, official religion changed no less than three times, and the political and social climate fluctuated with - and within - each new reign, really be categorically lumped together into a single monolithic idea, `the Tudors'? This course will delve into those questions, framed by three broad themes: space or landscapes (physical, architectural, mental, and religious); time; and memory and identity. These themes will necessarily intertwine. For instance, the transformation of both cultural memory 'landscapes' as well as physical and geographic, occurred after the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Numerous other examples exist of these tangible and intangible evolutions in the space of roughly a century and a half. Primarily through the lens of religious history and starting with late medieval religious culture, students will learn about the complex factors and people who played a part in the successive religious transformations of the English reformations, from Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell to Mary Queen of Scots, to the role of martyrologies and underground printing networks, and English Catholic exiles. Also, since religion, law, and society are heavily intertwined in this period, we will discuss particular legal instruments and their consequences throughout the course.