The Spring 2023 semester is an exciting time for prospective undergraduate history students wishing to engage in the on ground UIS experience.

Dr. Bertaina’s HIS 153 Religion in America surveys religious communities with a focus on Christian movements and introduces other religions that have emerged during American history, and thus provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about the religions of the world and the communities therein. Dr. Peck’s HIS 206 American Immigration History is utilizing new textbook’s such as America: An Immigration History supplemented by a plethora of primary sources. As this course is being taught by Dr. Peck for a second time, he is excited to utilize a new variety of sources to ensure the class is dynamic and engaging. Dr. Hunter’s HIS 341 Popular Culture in US History: From Barnum to Beyoncé gives an overview of the production, reception, and influence of popular culture in the United States from the early-nineteenth century through the end of the twentieth century.

Dr. Barnwell’s HIS 375 Conflict in the Middle East is a contemporary course with ongoing material as the conflicts within the Middle East continues to develop. As studies of the Middle East seem daunting to new students, Dr. Barnwell aims to provide students with an introduction and foster a strong understanding of the complex nature of the storied conflicts. Students who have taken Dr. Barnwell’s course state that “Overall, this has been a great course and I feel like I will be leaving it with more knowledge than when I started in the semester.” Meanwhile, Dr. Shapinsky offers the next edition of his collaboration with the Illinois State Museum in HIS 486 Exhibiting Asia: Trans-Pacific Material Culture. This term, his students will focus on issues related to exhibiting a largely unexplored treasure trove of Japanese arms and armor as well as the art collection assembled by early twentieth-century Springfield magnate Thomas Condell. Topics will include the material culture of Japan’s warrior class, the samurai, the repurposing of that culture in the modern period and second world war, the transformation of these artifacts into trophies of war, relics tied to memory of the second world war, and the orientalist fascination of particular objects in the local Springfield and wider American imagination as representing the essence of Japan or Asia.

In-person courses offered to undergraduate students are as follows:

• HIS 153 Religion in America, Dr. Bertaina (MW 4:00-5:15)
• HIS 202 European History, Dr. Bailey (TR 4:00-5:15)
• HIS 205 US History since 1877, Dr. Kent (TR 12:00-1:15)
• HIS 206 American Immigration History, Dr. Peck (MW 10:00-11:15)
• HIS 301 The Historian's Craft, Dr. Owen (TR 10:00-11:15)
• HIS 304 Illinois History, Dr. Peck (MW 4:00-5:15)
• HIS 341 Popular Culture in US History, Dr. Hunter (MW 2:00-3:40)
• HIS 375 Conflict in the Middle East, Dr. Barnwell (TR 2:00-3:40)
• HIS 401 Senior Seminar, Dr. Bertaina (MW 10:00-11:15)
• HIS 486 Exhibiting Asia, Dr. Shapinsky (TR 10:00-11:15)

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