Detailed course offerings (Time Schedule) are available for
HSTAA 100 Advanced Placement (AP) US History (5) SSc
Course awarded based on Advanced Placement (AP) score. Consult the Admissions Exams for Credit website for more information.
HSTAA 101 Survey of the History of the United States (5) SSc
Supplies the knowledge of American history that any intelligent and educated American citizen should have. Objective is to make the student aware of his or her heritage of the past and more intelligently conscious of the present.
HSTAA 105 The Peoples of the United States (5) SSc, DIV
History of diverse peoples who have come together through conquest and immigration since 1500, including Native Americans, Europeans, Africans, Asians, and Latin Americans. Explores contributions of may peoples with special attention to changing constructions of race and ethnicity and evolving understandings of what it means to be American. Course equivalent to: BIS 167.
HSTAA 108 International Baccalaureate (IB) History of the Americas (5) SSc
Course awarded based on International Baccalaureate (IB) score. Consult the Admissions Exams for Credit website for more information.
HSTAA 110 History of American Citizenship (5) SSc, DIV
Examines how, when, and why different groups of people (e.g., white men, white men without property, peoples of color including one-time slaves, women, immigrants) became eligible for citizenship throughout American history. Explores how and why for many peoples, at many times, citizenship did not confer equal rights to all.
HSTAA 150 Introduction to African American History (5) SSc
Introductory survey of topics and problems in African American history with some attention to Africa as well as to America. Basic introductory course for sequence of lecture courses and seminars in African American history. Offered: jointly with AFRAM 150.
HSTAA 202 American Foreign Policy, 1776 -Present (5) SSc
Surveys the history of American foreign relations.
HSTAA 203 American Presidents in the Twentieth Century (3/5) SSc
HSTAA 205 Asian American History (5) SSc, DIV
Introductory history of Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese and Koreans in the United States from the 1840s to the 1960s. Major themes include imperialism, labor migration, racism, community formation, and resistance.
HSTAA 208 The City: People, Place, and Environments (5) SSc
Surveys the history of cities in North America and around the globe from 1800 to the present. Considers economic and technological change; politics and government; city planning and landscaping design; migration and immigration, race, gender, and class; suburbanization; popular culture; and natural environments and natural disasters. Course overlaps with: JSIS B 212/ENVIR 212.
HSTAA 209 The Unsettling of the Red Continent: American Indian History to 1815 (5) SSc, DIV
Course examines the histories of indigenous peoples of North America through the War of 1812. Topics include the peopling of the Americas; early encounters and exchanges; and strategies American Indians used to confront expanding European, American, and indigenous powers. Offered: jointly with AIS 209.
HSTAA 210 Inconvenient Indians and the "American Problem": American Indian History since 1815 (5) SSc, DIV
As part of a two-quarter survey of American Indian history, this course examines the histories of indigenous peoples of North American from the nineteenth century to today. Students will explore a range of topics, including settler colonialism, indigenous power, American Indian - US relations, and Native governance and activism. Offered: jointly with AIS 210.
HSTAA 212 The Military History of the United States From Colonial Times to the Present (5) SSc
Development of American military policies, organizational patterns, tactics, and weaponry, from beginnings as a seventeenth-century frontier defense force to the global conflicts and military commitments of the twentieth century. Interaction and tension between need for an effective military force and concept of civilian control of that force. Course equivalent to: T HIST 212.
HSTAA 213 History of the American Presidency (5) SSc
Examines the American presidency and those who have occupied it, from George Washington to the current president. Course overlaps with: TPOL S 400.
HSTAA 221 US Environmental History: Ecology, Culture, Justice (5) SSc
Covers the intertwined history of the environment and American society, focusing on issues of inequality and justice. Topics include colonialism, capitalist expansion, chemical and nuclear industrialism, the environmental inequalities of cities and suburbs, environmental movements, and environmental justice. Offered: jointly with ENVIR 221; A.
HSTAA 225 American Slavery (5) SSc, DIV
Explores the making of American slavery from beginnings on the African coast to the plantations of the southern United States. Includes slave life, pro-slavery thought, slave management, representations of slavery then and now, abolitionism, and debates about slavery.
HSTAA 230 Race and Power in America, 1861-1940 (5) SSc, DIV
Explores race and the shaping of American society between the Civil War and World War II. Topics include reconstruction, segregation and lynching, immigration and naturalization, imperialism, and movements for social justice.
HSTAA 231 Race and American History (5) SSc, DIV
Surveys United States history, by exploring how race has enabled conceptions of the American nation and shaped everyday practices and interactions among different peoples. How have racial concepts, representations, and practices fundamentally defined power dynamics in American culture? From slave revolts to the Black Lives Matter movement, how have organizations and individuals struggled to pursue racial justice?
HSTAA 235 The American People and Their Culture in the Modern Era: A History of the United States Since 1940 (5) SSc
Through study of documents, personal testimony, and other source materials, through written reports on historical problems, and through discussions, lectures, films, and audiovisual presentations, students are encouraged to examine evidence and to think "historically" about persons, events, and movements within the memory of their own generation and that immediately preceding theirs. Primarily for first-year students.
HSTAA 241 The United States During the Era of Civil War and Reconstruction (5) SSc, DIV
Views American Civil War and Reconstruction through lens of African-American social history. From U.S. government's abolition of Atlantic slave trade in 1808 to expanding Jim Crow laws in 1890s, reports how changes in the era were racialized and gendered. Considers how ideas of race, gender, class, and freedom in the U.S. were challenged and reshaped. Explores historical legacies of Civil War and Reconstruction from the nineteenth-century to now. Offered: jointly with AFRAM 241.
HSTAA 270 The Jazz Age (5) SSc, DIV
Interdisciplinary study of period after World War I to Great Crash. African American and Anglo American currents and impulses that flowed together in the Roaring Twenties. Covers politics of normalcy, economics of margin, literature of indulgence and confusion, transformation of race relations, and cultural influence of jazz. Offered: jointly with AFRAM 270.
HSTAA 273 Women of the American West (5) SSc
Women of the Trans-Mississippi West, from the time of European contact to World War II, studied in all their multifarious roles. Explores ethnicity, class, work, family, suffrage, politics, reform, women's groups, arts and entertainment, religion, civilizing and resistance, and gender ideology.
HSTAA 290 Topics in American History (5, max. 10) SSc
Examines special topics in American history.
HSTAA 301 Colonial North America (5) SSc
Surveys the land and peoples that became the United States from the sixteenth century to 1787. Themes include: interactions between Europeans, Africans, and indigenous peoples, regional and economic growth, the development of racial slavery, religious growth, the War of Independence, and the transition from colonies to nationhood. Offered: A.
HSTAA 302 Everyday Life in Nineteenth-Century America (5) SSc, DIV
Explores the history of everyday Americans (women, slaves, working people, farmers) of a variety of races, ethnicities, and citizenships in the context of the major cultural, social, and political changes that dramatically transformed their lives over the course of the nineteenth century.
HSTAA 303 Modern American Civilization From 1877 (5) SSc
Emergence of modern America, after the Civil War; interrelationships of economic, social, political, and intellectual developments.
HSTAA 308 American Indians and the Environment (5) SSc, DIV
Examines the historical relationships American Indians have possessed with local environments, with special attention to the ways these peoples have adapted to altered environments and new conditions, including migrations, involvement with markets of exchange, overhunting, dispossession, conservation, and mainstream environmentalism. Offered: jointly with AIS 308/ENVIR 308.
HSTAA 311 The Indigenous History and Environment of the Salish Sea (5) SSc, DIV
Uncovers the indigenous history and environment of the Salish Sea. Examines the "Salish Sea" concept and uncovers the history of the Salish Sea, from an indigenous perspective. Topics include pre-encounter indigenous settlement; early encounters; and contestations over resources, waters, and lands; contemporary issues. Taught at the Friday Harbor Labs. Offered: jointly with AIS 311; Sp.
HSTAA 312 Early History of the North American West (5) SSc
Includes the peopling and settling of North America, arrival and expansion of Europeans; comparative colonial encounters; and initial encroachments of United States people, industry, government, and ideology into the region.
HSTAA 313 African Americans in the American West (5) SSc, DIV
Explores pre-1848 Spanish-speaking black settlers, slavery, post-civil war migration, buffalo soldiers. 19th and 20th century black urban settlers, World War II migration, the civil rights movement in the West, the interaction of African Americans with other people of color. Particular focus on Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
HSTAA 315 Researching Indians' History (5) SSc
Finding and interpreting sources of information about American Indians' history. Offered: jointly with AIS 370.
HSTAA 316 History of American Science (5) SSc
History of science in the United States, including migration of European science, development in colonial America, growth of an American scientific community, and expansion of American science in the twentieth century. Issues of scientific attitudes to the natural world, race, ethnicity, and gender are included.
HSTAA 317 History of the Digital Age (5) SSc
Provides concrete historical knowledge about the evolution of the American computer hardware and software industries from the 1940s to the present day, situating today's debates about digital technologies and platforms in a longer political, social, and economic perspective.
HSTAA 321 Becoming Black Americans (5) SSc, DIV
History of Africans in America from slave trade through the Civil War, with emphasis on how gender informed African-American experience. Topics include slave trade, middle passage, life in plantation south, culture, family structure and resistance, and the experience of free blacks, North and South.
HSTAA 322 African-American History, 1865 To The Present (5) SSc, DIV
African-American experience from Reconstruction to the present, emphasizing the variety of African-American political expression. Gender and class differences closely examined, as well as such constructs as "community," "race," and "blackness."
HSTAA 330 Historical Lives Between the United States and China (5) SSc
Examines the lives and writings of important figures in political and cultural relations between the United States and China between 1784 and 1980. Considers how the experiences and outlooks of these historical actors offer a better understanding of particular eras in United States-China relations and interactions. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 330.
HSTAA 331 American Indian History I to 1840 (5) SSc, DIV
History of indigenous peoples and their descendants in the area that now constitutes the United States, from the eve of European discovery of the Americas to 1840. Emphasis on relations between indigenous peoples and immigrants. Offered: jointly with AIS 331.
HSTAA 332 American Indian History II Since 1840 (5) SSc, DIV
History of American Indians in the United States from 1840 to the present. Emphasis on relations between Indians and non-Indians, government policies, and Indian strategies of survival. Offered: jointly with AIS 332.
HSTAA 334 Civil Rights and Black Power in the United States (5) A&H/SSc, DIV
Examines the politics and culture of the modern African American freedom struggle, which began after WWII and continued into the 1970s. Interrogates political strategies associated with nonviolent direct action, armed self-reliance, and black nationalism, as well as the cultural expression that reflect these political currents. Offered: jointly with AFRAM 334.
HSTAA 336 American Jewish History Since 1885 (5) SSc
Political, social, economic, religious history of American Jewish community from great eastern European migration to present. Integration of immigrant community into general American community; rise of nativism; development of American socialism; World War I and II; and reactions of American Jews to these events. Offered: jointly with JEW ST 336.
HSTAA 337 The Holocaust and American Life (5) SSc, DIV
In most accounts, "the Holocaust" is told as a European story, but it was also transatlantic. Incorporates film, literature, journalism, social scientific writing, diaries, court cases, and other primary sources to examine how events in Europe affected and were affected by developments in United States history. Offered: jointly with JEW ST 337.
HSTAA 338 The United States and Vietnam (5) SSc
American involvement in Vietnam, including: the complex of negotiations; strategies and objectives of both sides; military, political, and economic operations of the United States; efforts at pacification; impact of Vietnam on American affairs.
HSTAA 345 Making Modern America: Business and Politics (5) SSc
History of American politics, business and interconnections from 1920s to today. How has American capitalism changed over the century? Who is responsible for these changes? How has democratic governance expanded, contracted, and shaped individual, collective economic opportunity? How have the two major parties and their relationship to the business community changed over time? Cannot be taken if credit received for HSTAA 235.
HSTAA 351 American Constitutional History: From Colonial Times to the Present (5) SSc
European origins; the constitution-making of the American Revolution; the growth of government; Civil War and Reconstruction as constitutional crises; reform and the new federalism; the Supreme Court and civil rights; Congress, the presidency, and modern American constitutionalism.
HSTAA 353 Class, Labor, and American Capitalism (5) SSc, DIV
History of workers and class formation from early industrialization to the present. Emphasizes the interaction of class with race, ethnicity, gender, and political culture within the context of American economic development. Explores the role of unions, labor politics, and radical movements. Offered: jointly with LABOR 353; Sp.
HSTAA 365 Culture, Politics, and Film in Twentieth Century America (5) A&H/SSc, DIV
Explores relationship between film and twentieth century U.S. cultural, social, and political history. Examines the ways that films responded to, participated in, and helped shape understandings of modernity, national identity, political power, race and ethnic relations, gender, and crises such as economic depression and war.
HSTAA 371 Consumption and Consumerism in the Modern U.S. (5) SSc
Surveys the rise of consumer society in the late-nineteenth-and twentieth-century United States including theories of consumption, the experience of consumer culture by different social groups, the role of the state in fostering consumption, the material impacts of consumer society in the U.S. and beyond, and critiques of consumerism.
HSTAA 373 Social History of American Women to 1890 (5) SSc, DIV
A multi-racial, multicultural study of women in the United States from the seventeenth century to 1890 emphasizing women's unpaid work, participation in the paid labor force, charitable and reform activities, and nineteenth century social movements. Uses primary materials such as diaries, letters, speeches, and artifacts. Offered: jointly with GWSS 383; W.
HSTAA 374 Social History of American Women in the Twentieth Century (5) SSc
Analyzes major themes in the history of women in North America from 1890 through the 1990s. Themes include family and community formation, social activism, education, paid and unpaid labor patterns, war, migration, and changing conceptions of womanhood and femininity in the twentieth century. Offered: jointly with GWSS 384.
HSTAA 377 History of Canada (5) SSc
General survey and analysis of political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of Canadian history from the foundation of New France to present; Canadian-American relations, the rise of Quebec nationalism, and the development of the Canadian West. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 375.
HSTAA 401 American Revolution and Confederation (5) SSc
Causes of separation of the United States from the British empire; political theory of the Revolution; its military history; diplomacy of the Revolution; the Revolution as a social movement; intellectual aspects; readjustment after independence; the formation of the American union; the Constitution.
HSTAA 402 Witchcraft in Colonial New England (5) SSc
Provides an in-depth look at the Salem witchcraft crisis of 1692 as part of a larger examination of seventeenth century New England history. Themes include: settlement, the intellectual and religious foundations of New England society, the role of politics, economics, and Indian wars, witchcraft trials, and why most of the accused were women.
HSTAA 404 New England: From the Foundings to the Civil War (5) SSc
New England from colonial beginnings to the region's emergence to national leadership in the mid-nineteenth century. Emphasis on Puritanism, the New England town, adjustment to empire, revolution and constitution making, the growth of party, abolitionism, the flowering of a regional culture, and the personalities who embodied these key themes and periods.
HSTAA 406 Asian American Activism (5) SSc, DIV
Explores the multiple political traditions forged by Asian Americans, from the earliest challenges to racist laws and unequal wages to the latest debates over affirmative action and racial profiling. Examines Asian American communities organized to oppose and to perpetuate social inequalities. Offered: jointly with AAS 406.
HSTAA 407 Andrew Jackson's United States (5) SSc
In-depth examination of the U.S. from 1820 to 1850, including changes which affected American politics, society, and culture.
HSTAA 409 American Social History: The Early Years (5) SSc
Survey of American society and institutions from the colonial era through the Civil War, with special attention to reform, labor, immigration, education, law enforcement and the city.
HSTAA 410 American Social History: The Modern Era (5) SSc, DIV
Survey of American society and institutions from Reconstruction to the present with special attention to reform, poverty, social mobility, immigrant and ethnic groups, the city and law enforcement.
HSTAA 412 The Westward Movement, 1700-1850 (5) SSc
Anglo-American advance into interior continental United States culminating in Far West occupation. Rivalry with New France and Spain in colonial period; role of federal government in westward expansion; land policy and distribution; migration, settlement, and pioneering; federal Indian policies and implementation; political evolution, urbanization, and economic development of trans-Appalachian West; shaping national character and institutions.
HSTAA 413 The American West in History and Film (5) SSc, DIV
Examines emergence of American West since 1840 by looking at colonization processes; Native-white relations; economic and demographic changes; environmental issues; urbanization; western politics and the role of the state. Historians' evolving interpretations of the western past are considered alongside those in film in order to appreciate why the West has loomed so large in 20th-century American culture and identity.
HSTAA 414 The Canadian West, 1670-1990 (5) SSc
Examines the history of colonization and settlement of Canada's four westernmost provinces with emphasis on their economic, social, and Native history.
HSTAA 415 History of Indian-White Relations in Anglo-America (5) SSc
Explores the wide variety of interactions in North America, ranging from close alliances to outright warfare, between Native Americans and Europeans and their descendants from contact through the removal of most of the remaining eastern Indians to land west of the Mississippi River during the 1830s.
HSTAA 417 Indians in Western Washington History (5) SSc, DIV
Relations of Indians and non-Indians in the Puget Sound region, from the 1790s to the present, with emphasis on evolving ideas about Indian identity. Offered: jointly with AIS 425.
HSTAA 426 American Urban History Since 1870 (3/5) SSc
Development of American cities for the past century. Topics include physical development, immigration, politics, and changes in society and culture.
HSTAA 431 American Politics and Society Since 1920 (5) SSc
Political, social, economic, and intellectual developments in the United States from 1920 to the present.
HSTAA 432 History of Washington and the Pacific Northwest (5) SSc
Exploration and settlement; economic development; growth of government and social institutions; statehood. Course overlaps with: BIS 424 and T HIST 444.
HSTAA 433 A Documentary History of Pacific Northwest Identity (5) SSc
Considers cultural construction of Pacific Northwest region through more than two centuries of narratives, including Native American stories; travel literature from early explorers to modern tourists; accounts by newcomers from pioneer to modern era; aggressive regionalism of 1890-1945; Northwest literature of the post-war period. Offered: S.
HSTAA 446 American Indian Economic History (5) SSc
Surveys and analyzes the history of American Indians' economic challenges and strategies. Topics include the economic cultures of indigenous North American societies, the impacts of European colonization and U.S. government policies, and tribal strategies aimed at improving Indians' economic circumstances. Offered: jointly with AIS 446.
HSTAA 454 The Intellectual History of the United States (5) A&H/SSc
Lectures and discussions devoted to the development of the American mind, from historical beginnings to the present.
HSTAA 458 Education in the Forming of American Society (5) SSc
Covers the development of American education in cultural context; history of schools and non-school learning from colonial period to the twentieth-century; apprenticeship and learning societies; community and market-based schooling; liberal learning and the rise of the university; and schools as agencies of economic and political integration and mediators of culture and social status. Offered: jointly with EDLPS 458.
HSTAA 459 History of American Education Since 1865 (3) SSc
Development of American education in cultural context: progressive education, recent criticism, continuing issues and trends. Offered: jointly with EDLPS 459.
HSTAA 461 Diplomatic History of the United States, 1776-1901 (5) SSc
Foreign policy of the United States government prior to the twentieth century. Emphasis on international wars, territorial expansion, and the peculiarities of the American position in world politics.
HSTAA 462 Diplomatic History of the United States, 1901-Present (5) SSc
Foreign policy of the United States government during the twentieth century. International wars and the other major episodes in diplomacy are emphasized.
HSTAA 465 The Sixties in America: Kennedy to the Counterculture (5) SSc
Examines American politics, society, and culture during the 1960s. Also touches on 1945-1959 and 1970-1975. Topics include the Cold War; Vietnam; JFK, LBJ, and their critics; MLK, Malcolm X, race, gender, and social movements; mass culture, pop culture, and the counterculture.
HSTAA 473 Homefront: American Cultures and Society in the 1940s (5) SSc
An exploration of the impact of WWII on American culture and social thought. Topics include the effects of war on civil liberties and civil rights, the uses of nationalism, patriotism, and racial ideology, the internment of Japanese-Americans, responses to the Holocaust, and the effects of war on social life.
HSTAA 490 Topics in American History (5, max. 10) SSc
Examines special topics in American history.
HSTAA 501 American History: Early (3-6, max. 6)
HSTAA 503 Seminar in American History, Early ([3-6]-, max. 12)
Research seminar in early American History, 1600-1875.
HSTAA 504 Seminar in American History, Early (-[3-6], max. 12)
Research seminar in early American History, 1600-1875.
HSTAA 506 Slavery in the Americas (5)
Explores the rise of American slavery beginning with the development of the Atlantic slave trade between southern European powers and coastal African traders. Topics include cultures of slavery in the Americas, comparative racial formations, cultural change, and the role of gender in slave societies.
HSTAA 508 American Urban History (5)
Covers major themes and scholarly literature in American urban history.
HSTAA 512 American History: Western (3-6, max. 6)
HSTAA 513 Seminar in American History: Western ([3-6]-, max. 12)
HSTAA 514 Seminar in American History: Western (-[3-6], max. 12)
HSTAA 516 Hispanics of the United States (3-6, max. 6)
HSTAA 517 Field Course in American Indian History (5)
Field-reading course. Survey of major problems and literature concerning indigenous peoples of North America and their descendents.
HSTAA 519 Asian American History (5)
Introduces students to the field of Asian American history, with an emphasis on historiograhical shifts and debates. Includes a broad range of topics and methodologies that often cross disciplinary boundaries.
HSTAA 521 American History: Writings and Interpretations, 1770-1870 (4-6)
HSTAA 522 American History: Writings and Interpretations Since 1870 (4-6)
HSTAA 524 American Social History Before 1860 (3-6, max. 6)
Field course. Survey of major problems and literature in American social history before 1860.
HSTAA 525 American Social History after 1860 (3-6, max. 6)
Field course. Survey of major problems and literature in American social history after 1860.
HSTAA 531 American History: Twentieth Century (3-6, max. 6)
HSTAA 532 Seminar in American History: Recent Period ([3-6]-, max. 12)
HSTAA 533 Seminar in American History: Recent Period (-[3-6]-, max. 12)
HSTAA 534 Seminar in American History: Recent Period (-[3-6], max. 12)
HSTAA 540 African American Urban History: 1700-2000 (5)
Examines the growth and evolution of African-American urban communities from the colonial era to the present, with particular emphasis on cities of the West.
HSTAA 549 Culture, Politics, and Power in Nineteenth-Century Black America (5)
Canonical issues, problems, and topics in nineteenth-century black social history. Traces major developments during the period; engages historiographical debates; and explores methodological questions such as the intersection of social and cultural history, and the challenges and possibilities of writing the history of a people with few written records.
HSTAA 550 African-American History to Reconstruction (5)
Comprehensive introduction to the major topics and writings in African-American history from the colonial era to 1900, including the inception of slavery, free Blacks, slave revolts, Black abolition, Blacks in the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the Black female role in the struggle for freedom.
HSTAA 551 African-American History Since Reconstruction (5)
Comprehensive introduction to the major topics and writings in African-American history in the twentieth century, including Jim Crow era, Black Women's Movement, Harlem Renaissance, legal origins of Civil Rights Revolution, Second Reconstruction, and Politics of Cultural Pluralism.
HSTAA 552 Graduate Seminar in African-American History (5-)
Research experiences and opportunities in African-American history. Provides students with skills and methodology to pursue advanced research in the field.
HSTAA 553 Graduate Seminar in African-American History (-5)
Research experiences and opportunities in African-American history. Provides students with skills and methodology to pursue advanced research in the field.
HSTAA 554 American History: Intellectual (3-6, max. 6)
HSTAA 555 Seminar: American Intellectual History ([3-6]-, max. 12)
Develops research and writing competence in American intellectual history. Prerequisite: permission of instructor or graduate program coordinator.
HSTAA 556 Seminar: American Intellectual History (-[3-6], max. 12)
Develops research and writing competence in American intellectual history. Prerequisite: permission of instructor or graduate program coordinator.
HSTAA 561 History of American Foreign Policy (3-6, max. 6)
HSTAA 562 Seminar in American Diplomatic History ([3-6]-, max. 12)
HSTAA 563 Seminar in American Diplomatic History (-[3-6], max. 12)
HSTAA 570 American Environmental History (5)
Readings in environmental history emphasizing theory, methodology, and principal themes in the field. Readings emphasize the environmental history of North America and the United States.
HSTAA 590 Topics in American History (5, max. 15)
Seminar on selected topics in American history, with special emphasis on preparation for field examinations. Topics vary according to interests of students and instructor.