Louisiana State University, Department of History

 

Graduate Program

 

 

Gaines Foster, Chair

Victor Stater, Director of Graduate Studies

Telephone . 225/578-4471

        FAX . 225/578-4909

Department Web Page: www.lsu.edu/history

 

 

DEGREE PROGRAMS

 

     LSU offers the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in American, British, European, and Latin American history. Students may also elect a minor field in Asian history. The thesis-option M.A. requires 30 semester hours of credit, including six hours of thesis credit, and a research thesis. The non-thesis M.A. (considered a terminal degree) requires 36 hours of course work and passing the M.A. comprehensive examination.

     The department, in conjunction with the School of Library and Information Science, offers a dual degree program in which a student can earn a Master’s of Art degree in History and a Master’s of  Library Science and Information  degree simultaneously with the completion of 64 hours.  A separate application to the School of Library and Information Science is necessary.

     The Ph.D. program requires two minor fields, a general examination, and a dissertation.  Ph.D. candidates in American and British history must prove reading competency in at least one foreign language; each candidate in other concentrations must demonstrate proficiency in two.

 

RESEARCH RESOURCES

 

     To support the research of the department’s graduate students, the University boasts an excellent library and other resources.  The LSU libraries contain nearly 3 million volumes, more than 4 million microform records, and a manuscript collection of more than 12 million items.  The holdings are especially rich in published and unpublished materials relating to the lower Mississippi Valley, the South, and the American Civil War and Reconstruction.

     The LSU library serves as a U.S. Regional Depository, belonging to the prestigious Association of Research Libraries, and subscribes to a wide array of on-line resources.  LOUIS, a statewide academic on-line library, provides access to many more databases and most of the academic libraries within Louisiana.  The library’s web page can be accessed at www.lib.lsu.edu.

 

 ADMISSION

 

     Students applying for entrance to the Graduate School must submit an application for Graduate Admission.  One may be submitted on-line (http://gradlsu.gs.lsu.edu) or on paper.  The application must be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee.  Students must submit their score on the GRE.  In addition, official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work must be sent to the Department of History.  Three letters of recommendation and a writing sample should also be sent to the Department of History.  Decisions are made only after receipt of all credentials.

     To be considered for fellowships and assistantships for the fall semester, applications must be submitted by JANUARY 15, although applications submitted after that date but before the Graduate School’s deadline of May 15 will be considered.

 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

 

     All applicants for admission to the M.A. and Ph.D. programs will be considered for teaching assistantships valued at $11,000.  Students with assistantships also are exempt from tuition payments, although they must still pay required university fees.  In a few cases, for extremely well qualified students, the University will provide a $3,000 supplement to the amount of the assistantship. The department also has a limited number of $5,000 enhancements that may be added to an assistant’s regular stipend. These are awarded to incoming PhD students on a competitive basis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GRADUATE FACULTY

 

Gibril Cole                                                                            Africa

William J. Cooper, Jr. Boyd Professor                                American South

David H. Culbert                                                                  U.S. diplomatic, mass media

Maribel Dietz                                                                       Medieval, Late Antiquity

Gaines M. Foster T. Harry Williams Prof.                           New South, U.S. religion and culture

John B. Henderson, Bell Professor                                      East Asia, China

Paul E. Hoffman, Murrill Professor                                     Colonial Latin America, Spain

Christine J. Kooi                                                                  Renaissance, Reformation

David F. Lindenfeld                                                              Modern Germany, European intellectual

Alicia P. Long                                                                        Louisiana, US women’s, sexuality

Suzanne L. Marchand                                                         Modern Europe, European cultural

Benjamin F. Martin Price Professor                                   Modern France, 19th century France

Reza Pirbai                                                                            South Asia

Steven K. Ross                                                                      Ancient, Greece & Rome

Charles W. Royster , Boyd Professor                                  Civil War, early America

Charles J. Shindo                                                                20th Century U.S., American cultural , Asian American

Victor L. Stater                                                                     Tudor-Stuart England, early modern Europe

Mark Thompson                                                                   Colonial America

Meredith Veldman                                                               Modern Britain, 20th century Europe

Margherita Zanasi                                                               Modern China

 

 

 

FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

 

     A representative sample of faculty publications.

 

William J. Cooper, Jr., Jefferson Davis; Liberty and Slavery: Southern Politics to 1860; The South and the Politics of Slavery, 1828-1856; The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890

David H. Culbert, World War II film, and History; News for Everyman: Radio and Foreign Affairs in the Thirties.  Editor: Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television

Gaines M. Foster, Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South, 1865-1913; Moral Reconstruction: Christian Lobbyists and the Federal Legislation of Morality, 1865-1920

John B. Henderson, The Construction of Orthodoxy and Heresy: Neo-Confuscian, Islamic, Jewish, and Early Christian Patterns;Scripture, Canon, and Commentary: A Comparison of Confusion and Western Exegesis; The Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology

Stanley E. Hilton, Brazil and the Soviet Challenge 1917-1947: Threat, Perception, and Anti-Communist Strategy; Brazil and the Great Powers, 1930-1939; Hitler’s Secret War in South American, 1939-1945

Paul E. Hoffman, Florida’s Frontiers; A New Andalucia and a Way to the Orient: The American Southeast During the Sixteenth Century; The Spanish Crown and the Defense of the Caribbean, 1535-1585

Christine J. Kooi, Liberty and Religion: Church and State in Leiden’s Reformation, 1572-1620

David F. Lindenfeld, The Practical Imagination: The German Sciences of State in Nineteenth Century; The Transformation of Positivism: Alexius Meinung and European Thought, 1880-1920

Suzanne L. Marchand, Down From Olympus: Archeology and Philhellenism in Germany, 1750-1970

Benjamin F. Martin, France and the Apres Guerre, 1918-1924; Crime and Criminal Justice Under the Third Republic; The Hypocrisy of Justice in Belle Epoque; Count Albert de Mun, Paladin of the Third Republic

Steven K. Ross, Roman Edessa, 114-242 C.E.

Charles Royster, The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company: A Story of George Washington’s Times; The Destructive War: William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans; Light Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution; A Revolutionary People at War; The Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1883

Charles J. Shindo, Dust Bowl Migrants in the American Imagination

Victor Stater, Duke Hamilton is Dead!: A Story of Aristocratic Life and Death in Stuart Britain; Noble Government: The Stuart Lord Lieutenancy and the Transformation of English Politics

Meredith Veldman, Fantasy, the Bomb, and the Greening of Britain: Romantic Protest, 1945-1980

Margherita Zanasi, Saving the Nation: Economic Modernity in Republican China

 

 

 

 

 

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR MA AND PhD DEGREES IN HISTORY

 

 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE:

 

The basic requirements for the master's degree are specified in the LSU Graduate Bulletin. It is the responsibility of each graduate student to become familiar with and fulfill them. The program requires a minimum of 30 semester hours credit (students frequently take more) with a thesis and 36 hours without a thesis. Half the hours must be at or above the 7000 level. A non-thesis M.A. is regarded as a terminal degree.

 

All students must elect, no later than the end of their first semester in the program, a major professor with whom he or she must complete substantial study, including the thesis if the student is writing one. A minor field outside the department may be elected, normally consisting of six semester hours credit. Reading proficiency in a foreign language is not a general requirement, but may be required by a major professor for students working under his or her direction.

 

A final examination committee is chosen when the student nears the end of his or her program. The student selects those 24 hours of study, including work with the major professor, upon which to be examined. The examining committee includes the major professor, the minor professor if a minor field was elected, and one or two others in the department whose specialties coincide with other history work offered for examination. If a student writes a thesis, it is included as well. The examination on this material is oral. After the completion of the examination, the committee will make a formal recommendation in writing about the suitability of the student for Ph.D.-level work.

 

The sequence of courses depends on the area of concentration and on whether or not one writes a thesis. Although the recommended plan below mentions a "second year," one may finish more quickly by enrolling in summer school or by carrying a heavier load. Course work will primarily be in research and reading seminars.

 

Research seminars: All M.A. students must take a research seminar sequence (HIST 7908 and HIST 7957 for U.S. history; HIST 7908 and HIST 7909 for European and British history).  If a seminar needed to fulfill the requirements for the course of study is not offered in a given semester, the student may fulfill the requirement through independent study in consultation with the major professor.

 

Reading seminars: All M.A. students must take a minimum of four reading seminars. Students in Modern European or British history will normally take five reading seminars (HIST 7916-7930).  Students in American history will take HIST 7951, HIST 7952, HIST 7955 and HIST 7959 (twice for 6 hours)

 

 

CONCENTRATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY

 

1st Year (18 hours)

 

                Fall:                         7908: Introduction to Historical Research (3 hrs.)

                                                7951: Reading Seminar in American History from1607 to 1800 (3 hrs.)

                                                7959: Special topics in American history (3 hrs.)

                Spring:                   7957:Research Seminar in American History (3 hrs.)

                                                7952: Reading Seminar in American History from 1800-1890 (3 hrs)

                                                7959: Special Topics in American History (3 hrs.)

 

2nd Year (12-18 hours)

                With thesis:

                                Fall:         7955: Reading Seminar in American History, 1890-present (3hrs)

                                                7904: American Historiography & Criticism (3 hrs)

3 hours of Thesis Research (8000)

                                Spring: thesis research (8000)

 

                Without thesis:

                                Fall:         7904: American Historiography & Criticism (3 hrs.)

                                                7955: Reading Seminar in American History, 1890-present (3 hrs.)

                                                history elective (3 hrs.)

                                Spring:   9 hours history electives (6 may be in a minor field)

 

note:  HIST 8000 may be taken for up to 9 hours a semester, however, only 6 hours will count toward fulfilling the  requirements for the M.A.

 

CONCENTRATION IN LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY

 

A program will be devised to meet the student's preferences, to include 4 reading seminars, 1 or 2 research seminars, thesis research if applicable, and additional history electives and/or outside minor fields.

 

CONCENTRATION IN EUROPEAN OR BRITISH HISTORY

The specific course selection and sequence will vary to fit the concentration chosen.

 

With thesis

                1st year (18 hours)

 

                Fall:                         7908: Intro. to Historical Research (3 hrs.)

                                                7915 to 7930:1 Reading Seminars, depending on offerings (3 hrs)*

                                                1 elective in History or Minor Field (3 hrs.)

                Spring:                   7909: Research Seminar in European Hist. (3 hrs.)

                                                7915 to 7930: 1 Reading Seminar, depending on offerings (3 hrs.)*

                                                1 elective in History or Minor Field (3 hrs.)

               

                2nd year (12-18 hours)

 

                Fall:                         7915 to 7930: 2 Reading Seminars, depending on offerings (6 hrs.)*

                                                8000: Thesis Research (3 hrs.)

                Spring:  8000: Thesis Research (3 hrs.)

                                                Electives (6 hrs.)

 

 

Without thesis:

                First Year (18 hrs.)

 

                Fall:                         7908: Intro. to Historical Research (3 hrs.)

                                                7915 to 7930: 1 Reading Seminar, depending on offerings (3 hrs.)*

                                                1 Elective in History

                Spring:                   7915 to 7930: 1 Reading Seminar, depending on offerings (3 hrs.)*

                                                2 Electives in History or Minor Field

 

                Second Year (18 hrs.)

 

                Fall:                         7915 to 7930: 2 Reading Seminars, depending on offerings (6 hrs.)*

                                                1 Elective in History or Minor Field

                Spring:                   7909: Research Seminar in European History (3 hrs.)

                                                2 Electives in History or Minor Field

 

Non-thesis students may at the end of their second year still elect to write a thesis and extend their residency and registration accordingly.

 

* Students concentrating in Europe to 1650 may substitute a History Elective for one of the Reading Seminars.

 

 

 

DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM IN HISTORY

AND THE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

 

                The basic requirements for the dual degree program are the same for the regular non-thesis MA program in the Department of History and the MLIS program in the School of Library and Information Science.  The dual degree program, however, has been designed to allow the student to complete the 36 credit hours for the MA and the 40 credit hours of the MLIS by completing a total of only 64 hours.  A separate application for each program is necessary, though simultaneous application is not required.

 

Elective courses in the School of Library and Information Sciences eligible for credit for the History M.A. degree:

                LIS 7200, LIS 7201, LIS 7202, LIS 7203, and LIS 7700.

 

Elective courses in the Department of History eligible for credit for the MLIS degree:

                Any two three-hour graduate courses at the 7000-level in the Department of History.

 

 

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE:

 

                The basic requirements for the Doctorate are specified in the LSU Catalog.  It is the responsibility of each applicant and graduate student to be familiar with these stipulations and fulfill them.  It should be noted that the minimum and maximum time limits are expressed in terms of years of study rather than semester hours, that the plan of course work depends on the student’s earlier preparation in history, and that the major requirement is a dissertation “which embodies creative scholarship” and which “must add to the sum of existing knowledge and give evidence of considerable literary skill.”  Each student must offer three fields of study: one major field and two minor fields.

 

 

Major Fields:

 

                Those fields offered by the Department are: American History (inclusive), Latin American History, Europe to the Middle Ages,  Medieval and Early Modern Europe, European History since 1500, and British History.

 

Minor Fields:

 

                Each student must offer two minor fields which fall outside the scope of the major field.  Approval of the selection and scope of each field will be made by the student’s major professor and minor field professors.  Minor field may be selected from the list of offered major fields, from Asian History, or an approved aspect or period thereof.  Both minor fields cannot fall within the same major field.  Requirements for fulfilling the minor field will be determined by the student’s minor field professor.  Students may select one minor field outside the department of History, and requirements for an outside field will be determined by the outside department.  Each minor field must consist of at least 6 hours of graduate level course work, although some departments will require more.

 

Course Work and Examinations:

 

                Course Work: Students entering the program with a MA from another university will take the basic seminars in their major field.  In Ancient/Early Modern European History they are Hist 7908, 7909, and  at least 3 seminars numbered between 7915 and 7930.  In Modern European and British History they are Hist 7908, 7909, and at least 4 seminars numbered between 7915 and 7930.  In United States history they are: 7904, 7908, 7951,7952,  7955, 7957, and 7959.  Students will also have to take courses in their minor fields and may want to take other courses in their major fields.  Students who have completed a MA in our department will have already completed these basic seminars.

 

                Program of Study: Within the first year of study at the PhD level, each student will prepare, in consultation with his or her committee, a Program of Study form which specifies requirements for course work and other aspects of the student’s course of study.  When these requirements are completed, the student takes the general examinations.

 

                General Examinations: General examinations will be offered once each semester.  Minor field exams consist of a four-hour written exam for each minor field.  In certain cases a minor field may consist only of course work and a written exam will not be given.  Once the minor field exams (or course work) have been completed, the student must take the major field exams the following semester.  The major field exam will consist of two six-hour written exams and an oral examination with the student’s committee and a representative from the Graduate School.  Once the major field examination has been successfully completed, the student becomes a PhD Candidate.

 

                Final Examinations: After completing the dissertation, the candidate defends it in an oral examination.  The examining committee consists of the student’s major professor, other faculty from the Department of History or other departments in the University, and a representative from the Graduate School, in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the LSU Graduate School Catalog.

 

Foreign Language Requirement:

 

                It is required that all PhD students in American and British History must demonstrate reading proficiency in one foreign language, and PhD students in all other concentrations must demonstrate reading proficiency in two foreign languages.  Each student must fulfill the foreign language requirement before advancing to the general examinations.  Reading proficiency may be demonstrated through a sight translation conducted by a member of the faculty or by successfully completing a reading knowledge course offered by the Department of Foreign Languages or French Studies.  The requirements for language skills differ by field, however; students should consult with their major professor for requirements in their areas.