Apr 30, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions

SUNY Oneonta offers students more than 1,400 courses—from Accounting to Zoology—from over 25 separate departments. Requirements for majors and minors and course descriptions are listed under the departments that offer them; and these departments are arranged in alphabetical order. See the “Course Index” for details.

Please note that requirements, courses, and course descriptions are subject to change after publication of this catalog. Contact the appropriate departments for updated information. Also note that some course descriptions have been edited for clarity and consistency. Complete descriptions are available from the instructors or the departments concerned.

Key to Course Descriptions

Abbreviation   Meaning
(PACT)   Activity course in Health & Fitness
(LA)   Liberal Arts (course is a Liberal Arts offering)
SUSF   Sustainability Focused Courses
AWR   Advanced Writing Requirement (pending)
s.h.   Semester Hour(s)
SoS   Sophomore standing
JrS   Junior standing
SrS   Senior standing

Course Numbering System

001 - 099   No credit; usually developmental in nature.
100 - 199   Lower-division undergraduate-level courses.
200 - 299   Upper-division intermediate undergraduate-level courses.
300 - 499   Upper-division advanced courses.
500 - 699   Graduate-level courses.
 

World History
  

  • WHIS 206 - Nation and Race 3 s.h.

    The aim of this variable topics course is to analyze the concepts of nation, race, nationalism, and national identity. Students taking the course will acquire basic knowledge in the theories of ethnicity race, and nationalism studies. Offered irregularly.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course..
  

  • WHIS 224 - History of Soviet Russia 3 s.h.

    A study of U.S.S.R. and Soviet Communism, including social, economic, and political developments since 1917. Examines the rise and fall of totalitarianism (under Gorbachev) and post-Soviet Russia. Offered Spring only.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 227 - Muslim Rebels and the Russian Empire 3 s.h.

    The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the history and current situation of Muslim resistance and accommodation to the Russian rule. The class sheds light on such topics as the nationality policies of imperial Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet governments; the issue of native societies’ resistance and accommodation to the policies of the imperial center; the transformation of the social, political, and economic structures of colonial Muslim societies under Russian and Soviet rule; and the rise of nationalism and Islamic extremism in the Northern Caucasus, which is a predominantly Muslim region of Russia. Additionally, the class explains the “Chechen phenomenon” – that is, the rare example of a small population’s successful resistance to a major world power, which has lasted for three centuries. A-E only. Offered every other year.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST.
  

  • WHIS 236 - World Cities in the Imperial Age, 1840-Present 3 s.h.

    This course will familiarize students with the modern histories of three internationally prominent cities - London, Shanghai and Hong Kong - that were shaped by the British Empire and still remain centers of international trade and finance to this day. The class will show the social, cultural and political impacts of economic growth in these cities. The course will consider both the exploitation and the opportunities created by the British presence in Asia and the resistance and accommodation by the Chinese populations of these cities to British rule. By the end of the course students will have a greater knowledge of the history of globalized commerce and trade, the impact of commerce on different national cultures and an appreciation of the longstanding links and tensions between the west and China. A-E Only. Offered every three semesters.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. of 100 level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 245 - Napoleon’s World 3 s.h.

    This course is about the rise, consolidation and fall of the Napoleonic dictatorship in the wake of revolution, 1799-1815, and about the impact of Napoleonic rule and empire on France, Europe and the world. By the end of this course, students will not only have intellectual command of the major events, actors and driving forces of the Napoleonic world, but also understand key historical debates and controversies surrounding this topic. A research project on a course-related question will have sharpened their research, analytical and writing skills, and encouraged deep reflections on social, cultural and political aspects of this period. A-E Only. Offered every 3 years.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. of 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 250 - Anime and Manga History 3 s.h.

    This course traces the history of Japanese anime (animation) and manga (comics) from Japanese traditions of illustrated scrolls and woodblock prints, to the explosion of comics in post-war Japan and the saturation of Japanese television with anime in the late-twentieth century and early twenty-first century. In 2015, manga made up one-third of all Japan’s print publications (over ten thousand different releases) while Japan’s animation industry (with help from other Asian studios) produced over three hundred forty different television anime series. Today people around the world enjoy anime and manga, however, this class will examine them as a way to understand their Japanese cultural significance and how they reflect social, political, and military history of Japan and the rest of the world. In addition, we will discuss the production of anime and manga and how it differs from animation and comics produced in the United States. A-E only. Offered annually.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): JAPN 101 , GEOG 279 , WHIS 251 , or POLS 251 .    
  

  • WHIS 251 - Modern Japan 3 s.h.

    The study of Modern Japanese history since 1500 through politics, economics, diplomacy, and culture. Includes Japan’s unification under the Tokugawa, traumatic opening to the West, overthrow of feudalism, rapid modernization, imperialism, defeat, occupation, and economic rebirth. Offered Irregularly.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 252 - Modern China 3 s.h.

    The study of Modern Chinese history since 1500 through politics, economics, diplomacy, and culture. Includes China’s conquest by the Manchus, Opium Wars, peasant rebellions, fall of the Empire, republican and then communist revolutions, and economic metamorphosis after 1979. Offered Irregularly.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 253 - History of Asia to 1500 3 s.h.

    A topical, comparative survey of the histories of India, China, and Japan to 1500, focusing on philosophy/religion, economics, politics, state-building, and cross-cultural communications. Particular emphasis on Hindu, Muslim, Confusan, Daoist, Buddhist, and Shinto ideas and interaction with the state, region, village, and family. Offered Irregularly.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 270 - Ancient Civilizations of the Americas 3 s.h.

    This course will examine the prehistory and history of the indigenous people of the Americas before 1492. It will also sample the writings produced by indigenous people and Europeans during and after the Conquest. The emphasis will be on the great civilizations of Mesoamerica and the Andes though we will also look at societies in the Amazon and Northern South America. Major themes will include societal organization, sacred architecture, gender and family, religious rituals, technology, warfare, conquest, and science. Class sessions will include interesting visual material and student participation. Engaged reading will be a must. Offered Fall and Spring.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 271 - Colonial Latin America 3 s.h.

    This course surveys the history of the Americas from 1492 until 1812. Major topics include pre-Columbian society in the Americas; the Spanish Conquest; the impact of disease on the indigenous populations & the creation of the New World. Major themes will include gender, family, the birth of individualism, and religion. We will try to get to the heart of this fascinating but painful story through a careful consideration of these themes over the course of the semester. Offered Fall and Spring.
    LA
    OW3
    Cross-listed as ALS 271 .
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 272 - Modern Latin America 3 s.h.

    This course surveys the history of Latin America from 1812 to the present day. Topics include the politics of the nineteenth-century; the abolition of slavery; urbanization and urban unrest; twentieth- century revolutions, the cold war; and contemporary unrest. We will read Latin American writing and consider Latin American culture in order to form an understanding of how the majority of the Americas lives its life. Offered Fall and Spring.
    LA
    OW3
    Cross-listed as ALS 272 .
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 275 - South Africa: Race and Resistance Since 1800 3 s.h.

    This course covers the period after the British succeeded the Dutch as rulers of Cape Colony, examining aspects of frontier engagements between Africans and Colonizers, the effects of a mining-industrial economy and African resistance to the white state. Resistance to the South African racial formation will be discussed in its myriad expressions: labor, religious, artistic, new social groups. Offered irregularly.
    LA
    OW3
    Cross-listed as ALS 275 
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 276 - History of Slavery 3 s.h.

    A study of the institution of slavery, its origins, continuance, and contemporary residuals. Special attention is given to the Western Hemisphere. Offered Fall only.
    LA
    OW3
    Cross-listed as ALS 276 .
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.
  

  • WHIS 289 - Spanish Conquistadores 3 s.h.

    This course will examine the contributions made by traditional and contemporary scholarship on the study of the Spanish Conquistadors, specifically in the areas of Mexico, Nueva Granada and Peru. Topics will include background and social origins of the conquistadors, social and economic activities after the conquest, the conquistadores as chroniclers, the institution of the encomienda, and their interactions with the native population. Offered Fall and Spring.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 sh 100 level HIST.
  

  • WHIS 293 - History of Modern Central Asia 3 s.h.

    The aim of this course is to make students familiar with the history and current situation of Central Asia. The class sheds light on such topics as the issue of resistance and accommodation of native societies to the policies of the imperial center, the transformation of the social, political, and economic structures of Central Asian societies under Russian and Soviet rule, and the history of Islam in Central Asia and its role in nation and state-building processes. Offered fall and spring.
    LA
    OW3
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. of 100 level HIST.
  

  • WHIS 294 - Special Topics in World History 1 s.h. - 3 s.h.

    Group studies on aspects of Africa/Asia/Caribbean/Latin History under faculty supervision.
    LA
    Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.