2024-2025 Undergraduate Bulletin

History Minor

Description. The Department of History offers students the opportunity to earn a minor in History by completing 18 credits (six courses) in the department. One course is required, HIS 210 Doing History.  After completing HIS 210, students are invited to select from the electives offered by the Department of History to complete the minor. At least one elective must be at the 300-level or above to earn a History minor.

Learning Outcomes. Students will:

  • Formulate a historical question.
  • Explain the significance of different kinds of historical change.
  • Construct a historical argument grounded in evidence from primary and/or secondary sources.
  • Locate an event and sources in historical context.
  • Trace historical trajectories.
  • Determine the interrelationship among themes, regions, and periodization.

Rationale. The study of history supports the analytical skills desired by many graduate programs, including law schools, by teaching students to evaluate evidence, and present and defend arguments about historical change based on evidence. It also provides students with important information about the world in which they live, the process of social change and the factors affecting it, and the creation and evolution of cultural institutions. Students with a strong historical background will be well equipped to work in public institutions because they will have a coherent understanding of the purpose and limitations of public systems. They also will be excellent employees in private institutions because they will understand and be able to support the social and economic purposes of private industry. Finally, students who have studied history make more conscious and active citizens, because they are aware of the role of race and class in America. They are cognizant of the rich history of America's political institutions and their civic responsibilities to use, protect, and maintain their political and legal rights.

Credits. 18

Minor coordinator. Professor Matthew Perry, Department of History (212.237.8814, mperry@jjay.cuny.edu)

Advisor. Professor Dustin Meier, Department of History (212.237.8828, dmeier@jjay.cuny.edu)

Requirements. Students wishing to minor in History must complete HIS 150 and five additional elective courses. At least one course must be at the 300-level or above. A maximum of two courses can overlap with a student's major, other minor or program.

Additional Information. Students who enrolled for the first time at the College in September 2015 or thereafter must complete the minor in the form presented here. Students who enrolled prior to that date may choose the form shown here or the earlier version of the minor. A copy of the earlier version may be obtained in the 2014-2015 Undergraduate Bulletin.

Part One. Required Course

Required

HIS 210Doing History

3

Note: HIS 210 Doing History formerly HIS 150 Doing History

Subtotal: 3

Part Two. Electives

Select five HIS courses. At least one must be at the 300- level or higher.

The list below is just for illustrative purposes not comprehensive. Students are not limited to these courses, they can use any HIS course toward the minor. Please note though, the limitation on general education History electives below.

Electives

ART 222Body Politics

3

HIS 201United States History to 1865

3

HIS 202United States History since 1865

3

HIS 203The Ancient World

3

HIS 204The Medieval World

3

HIS 205The Modern World

3

HIS 206/MUS 206Orchestral Music and the World Wars

3

HIS 217History of NYC (was Three Hundred Years of NYC)

3

HIS 219Violence and Social Change in America

3

HIS 224A History of Crime in New York City

3

HIS 225American Problems of Peace, War, and Imperialism, 1840 to the Present

3

HIS 228Critical Perspectives on the Middle East

3

HIS 240Historiography

3

HIS 242/POL 242/LLS 242U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America

3

HIS 244History of Eugenics: Science and the Construction of Race

3

HIS 252Warfare in the Ancient Near East and Egypt

3

HIS 254History of Ancient Greece and Rome

3

HIS 255Famous Trials that Made History

3

HIS 256History of Muslim Societies and Communities

3

HIS 260/LLS 260History of Contemporary Cuba

3

HIS 264China to 1650

3

HIS 265/LLS 265Class, Race and Family in Latin American History

3

HIS 269History of World Slavery (to 1650 CE)

3

HIS 270Marriage in Medieval Europe

3

HIS 274China: 1650-Present

3

HIS 277American Legal History

3

HIS 281Imperialism in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East

3

HIS 320Topics in the History of Crime & Punishment in U.S

3

HIS 323History of Lynching and Collective Violence

3

HIS 325Criminal Justice in European Society, 1750 to the Present

3

HIS 327History of Genocide: 500 C.E. to the Present

3

HIS 340Modern Military History from the Eighteenth Century to the Present

3

HIS 344Topics in Legal History

3

HIS 354Law and Society in Ancient Athens and Rome

3

HIS 356/GEN 356Sexuality, Gender, and Culture in Muslim Societies

3

HIS 359History of Islamic Law

3

HIS 362History of Science and Medicine: Prehistory to 1650

3

HIS 364/GEN 364History of Gender and Sexuality: Prehistory to 1650

3

HIS 366Religions of the Ancient World

3

HIS 368Law and Society in the Ancient Near East

3

HIS 370Ancient Egypt

3

HIS 374Premodern Punishment

3

HIS 375Female Felons in the Premodern World

3

HIS 380The Secret Police in Western Society

3

HIS 381Social History of Catholicism in the Modern World

3

HIS 383History of Terrorism

3

HIS 389Independent Study 300-level

3

MUS 310Comparative History of African American Musics

3

General Education Electives

A maximum of one course from this subcategory may be applied to the elective requirement for the History minor.
HIS 100Criminal Justice and Popular Culture

3

HIS 106Historical Perspectives on Justice & Inequality

3

HIS 127Microhistories: A Lens into the Past

3

HIS 131Topics in History of Science, Technology & Medicine

3

HIS 144Reacting to the Past

3

HIS 208Exploring Global History

3

HIS 352History & Justice in Wider World

3

HJS 215Race and Rebellion

3

Subtotal: 15

Total Credit Hours: 18