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Fall 2026

Session 1 - Aug. 29 to Oct. 22

HIST 501 O1A: The American Revolution (2)
POLSC 501 O1A: The American Revolution (2)
This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
Instructor: Robert McDonald (United States Military Academy)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 502 O1A: The American Founding (2)
POLSC 502 O1A: The American Founding (2)
This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of Federalist and Antifederalist writings.
Instructor: Brent Aucoin (Judson College)
Schedule: Thursdays, 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 503 O1A: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
POLSC 503 O1A: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
A study of the sectional conflict beginning with the nullification crisis. The course will not only examine the political, social and economic developments in the period leading to the civil war, but will emphasize the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and John C. Calhoun.
Instructor: Emily Krichbaum
Schedule: Tuesdays, 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 505 O1A: The Progressive Era (2)
POLSC 505 O1A: The Progressive Era (2)
The transition to an industrial economy posed many problems for the United States. This course examines those problems and the responses to them that came to be known as progressivism. The course includes the study of World War I as a manifestation of progressive principles. The course emphasizes the political thought of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and their political expression of progressive principles.
Instructor: William Atto (University of Dallas)
Schedule: Mondays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 506 O1A: The Rise of Modern America, 1914-1945 (2)
With the exception of the Civil War era, it is difficult to find another thirty-year period in U.S. history during which the nation underwent such dramatic change. In 1914 the United States was no more than a regional power, with a primarily rural demography and a relatively unobtrusive federal government. Thanks to the experience of two world wars, a major cultural conflict (the 1920s), and a disastrous economic crisis the country was transformed into the global economic and military power that it remains to this day. This course will examine the cultural, economic, military, and diplomatic events and trends of the period 1914-1945.
Instructor: Eric Pullin (Carthage College)
Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:15 to 7:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 507 O1A: Lincoln (2)
POLSC 507 O1A: Lincoln (2)
This course provides an in-depth study of Abraham Lincoln’s political thought and action. Students will study Lincoln’s most important speeches, as well as study various aspects of his political leadership, including his role as the leader of the Republican party and as commander in chief. The course will also provide opportunities for students to analyze Lincoln’s rhetoric and political argumentation.
Instructor: Dan Monroe (Millikin University)
Schedule: Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 604 O1A: The Early Republic (2)
Having adopted the Constitution, Americans had to make it work. This course examines their efforts to do so, as the Republic took shape amidst foreign dangers, political conflict, westward expansion, and social as well as cultural change.
Instructor: Todd Estes (Oakland University)
Schedule: Thursdays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

POLSC 632 O1A: The American Presidency I - Washington to Lincoln (2)
This course examines the evolution of the American presidency from the drafting of the Constitution through the Civil War. The language in Article II of the Constitution, which “vests” the executive power in a President of the United States, is somewhat ambiguous as to the scope and breadth of that power. The presidents who served from Washington through Lincoln removed some of this ambiguity and set many precedents, which are followed to this day. This course focuses on the nation’s early presidents – how they molded the office and influenced the American political order.
Instructor: Stephen Knott (United States Naval War College)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

POLSC 643 O1A: The Fourteenth Amendment (2)
This course will study the Supreme Court's Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence, focusing on the clauses of the Amendment's first section: citizenship, privileges and immunities, due process, and equal protection. We will explore various judicial debates about these clauses, including those on civil rights, substantive due process, sex and sexuality discrimination, privacy, and parental rights. In doing so, we will integrate these judicial decisions within the broader debates in American political thought regarding liberty, equality, and the purpose of government.
Instructor: Adam Carrington (Ashland University)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 660 O1A: The Vietnam War (2)
This course examines the origins, progress, and outcome of the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1975. The class is taught primarily through the close examination of documents with an emphasis on the changes that took place in American culture - political, social, intellectual, and military - as a result.
Instructor: Thomas Bruscino (United States Army War College)
Schedule: Mondays, 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

Session 2 - Oct. 24 to Dec. 17

HIST 501 O2B: The American Revolution (2)
POLSC 501 O2B: The American Revolution (2)
This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
Instructor: Eric Sands (Berry College)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 502 O2B: The American Founding (2)
POLSC 502 O2B: The American Founding (2)
This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of Federalist and Antifederalist writings.
Instructor: Christopher Burkett (Ashland University)
Schedule: Mondays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 503 O2B: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
POLSC 503 O2B: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
A study of the sectional conflict beginning with the nullification crisis. The course will not only examine the political, social and economic developments in the period leading to the civil war, but will emphasize the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and John C. Calhoun.
Instructor: Andrew Lang (Mississippi State University)
Schedule: Mondays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 505 O2B: The Progressive Era (2)
POLSC 505 O2B: The Progressive Era (2)
The transition to an industrial economy posed many problems for the United States. This course examines those problems and the responses to them that came to be known as progressivism. The course includes the study of World War I as a manifestation of progressive principles. The course emphasizes the political thought of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and their political expression of progressive principles.
Instructor: Jason Jividen (St. Vincent College)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 506 O2B: The Rise of Modern America, 1914-1945 (2)
With the exception of the Civil War era, it is difficult to find another thirty-year period in U.S. history during which the nation underwent such dramatic change. In 1914 the United States was no more than a regional power, with a primarily rural demography and a relatively unobtrusive federal government. Thanks to the experience of two world wars, a major cultural conflict (the 1920s), and a disastrous economic crisis the country was transformed into the global economic and military power that it remains to this day. This course will examine the cultural, economic, military, and diplomatic events and trends of the period 1914-1945.
Instructor: David Hadley (National Defense University)
Schedule: Thursdays, 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 507 O2B: Lincoln (2)
POLSC 507 O2B: Lincoln (2)
This course provides an in-depth study of Abraham Lincoln’s political thought and action. Students will study Lincoln’s most important speeches, as well as study various aspects of his political leadership, including his role as the leader of the Republican party and as commander in chief. The course will also provide opportunities for students to analyze Lincoln’s rhetoric and political argumentation.
Instructor: Peter Myers (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 510 O2A: Great American Texts - The Strange Career of Jim Crow (2)
For a book of less than 200 pages, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, by the historian C. Vann Woodward, has had tremendous influence since it first appeared in 1955. Martin Luther King, Jr., called it the “historical bible of the Civil Rights Movement” and cited it in speeches. It remains required reading in college courses across the country. The “Woodward thesis”—the author’s central argument that racial segregation did not emerge immediately after the Civil War—is still debated by historians today. Our close, careful reading of this seminal text has several goals: to understand the origins of Jim Crow, analyze the book as a product of its era (the Civil Rights Movement), trace its still-durable power, and assess the numerous criticisms made about it. In addition to the book itself, we will read relevant essays and primary sources.
Instructor: David Krugler (University of Wisconsin-Platteville)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 621 O2A: Race and Equality in America (2)
POLSC 621 O2A: Race and Equality in America (2)
This course explores the history of black Americans as they strove to secure their dignity as human beings, and rights as American citizens, in the face of racial prejudice. Students will examine the writings of leading black intellectuals and activists about human equality, slavery, self-government, the rule of law, emancipation, colonization, and citizenship. The course will also review laws, constitutional amendments, court cases, and social criticism addressing civil and political rights in America.
Instructor: Daniel Williams (Ashland University)
Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:15 to 7:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

POLSC 643 O2B: Executive Power and the Constitution (2)
This course will examine the major questions and controversies about executive power under the Constitution. Special attention will be given to emergencies and the rule of law, the war power, the treaty power, and the power to issue executive orders. Students will read primary documents as well as classic and recent works in the field.
Instructor: David Alvis (Wofford College)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

POLSC 644 O2A: The Congress (2)
This course focuses on the legislative branch of the US government. It examines topics such as the constitutional powers of Congress, the relations between Congress and the other branches of the federal government and the states, and the changing structure and internal politics of Congress.
Instructor: Sarah Burns (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Schedule: Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 660 O2B: American Immigration History (2)
An exploration of immigration to the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including settlement, internal migration, the immigrant experience, native reaction, federal policy, and citizenship.
Instructor: Vincent Cannato (University of Massachusetts, Boston)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

Summer 2026 (Ashland Campus)

Session 1 - June 21 to June 26

HIST 507 1A: Lincoln (2)
POLSC 507 1A: Lincoln (2)
This course provides an in-depth study of Abraham Lincoln’s political thought and action. Students will study Lincoln’s most important speeches, as well as study various aspects of his political leadership, including his role as the leader of the Republican party and as commander in chief. The course will also provide opportunities for students to analyze Lincoln’s rhetoric and political argumentation.
Instructor: Dan Monroe (Millikin University)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 624 1A: The American Western (2)
POLSC 624 1A: The American Western (2)
This course is an intensive study of several classic American Westerns, in both print and film. The American Western reflects something fundamental about both the American mind and the American regime. The Western’s emphasis on courage and self-reliance, for example, arises from that same American character that forms the basis of self-government. The American Western also raises important questions central to American political life, among which are the meaning of justice, equality, and liberty. This course will also address the question of how American politics both influences and is influenced by literature in the Western genre.
Instructor: Christopher Burkett (Ashland University)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

POLSC 641 1A: The Supreme Court (2)
The course is an intensive study of the highest court in the federal judiciary, focusing on the place of the Supreme Court in the American constitutional order. Areas of study may include the relationship between the Court and the other branches of the federal government as well as the states; the Court’s power of judicial review; and judicial politics and statesmanship. We will examine these kinds of issues by investigating how the Court has interpreted the Constitution in some of its most historic decisions.
Instructor: Jeffrey Sikkenga (Ashland University)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

POLSC 643 1A: Federalism, the Separation of Powers, and the Constitution (2)
This course will focus on how the American judiciary as understood the Constitution’s two great institutional structures. First, it will explore the concept and practice of separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Second, the course will take up issues related to federalism whereby the powers of government are divided between states and a national government. While we will bring in other documents, the main focus will be on judicial opinions given by the Supreme Court.
Instructor: Adam Carrington (Ashland University)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 660 1A: The United States and the Holocaust (2)
POLSC 660 1A: The United States and the Holocaust (2)
This course will focus on the American and allied response to the Holocaust. We will also look at the rise of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party, examine the ideology that fueled Nazism, as well as the creation of the institutions that implemented the “Final Solution.” Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler came to power within weeks of each other in 1933, and we will explore FDR’s assessment of Hitler, his attitude toward Jewish refugees seeking shelter in the United States, and FDR and Churchill’s response to calls to target the infrastructure of genocide. The concluding lessons will focus on Allied efforts to bring the perpetrators of mass murder to justice.
Instructor: Stephen F. Knott (United States Naval War College)
Course Materials:

Session 2 - June 28 to July 3

HIST 503 2A: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
POLSC 503 2A: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
A study of the sectional conflict beginning with the nullification crisis. The course will not only examine the political, social and economic developments in the period leading to the civil war, but will emphasize the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and John C. Calhoun.
Instructor: Jason W. Stevens (Ashland University)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 506 2A: The Rise of Modern America, 1914-1945 (2)
With the exception of the Civil War era, it is difficult to find another thirty-year period in U.S. history during which the nation underwent such dramatic change. In 1914 the United States was no more than a regional power, with a primarily rural demography and a relatively unobtrusive federal government. Thanks to the experience of two world wars, a major cultural conflict (the 1920s), and a disastrous economic crisis the country was transformed into the global economic and military power that it remains to this day. This course will examine the cultural, economic, military, and diplomatic events and trends of the period 1914-1945.
Instructor: Emily Krichbaum (The National Women’s History Museum)
Course Materials:

POLSC 632 2A: The American Presidency I – Washington to Lincoln (2)
This course is an examination of the political and development of the office of president from the Founding era through the Civil War. It focuses on how the presidency shaped American political life as the country grew and struggled with rising sectional tensions.
Instructor: J. David Alvis (Wofford College)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

POLSC 642 2A: Political Parties (2)
This course examines the development of American political parties, focusing on the meaning of parties and historic moments in the rise and fall of political parties from the Founding era to the present. Topics may include re-aligning elections, changing coalitions within American parties, and the contemporary Democratic and Republican parties.
Instructor: Eric C. Sands (Berry College)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

POLSC 643 2B: Administrative Power and Law (2)
This class will examine the constitutional and legal questions surrounding the emergence of the administrative state, which is the primary way that public policy is made in contemporary America. We will examine how Congress grants authority to agencies, who oversees those agencies, how those agencies make and implement rules, and how federal courts review the rules and policies that agencies make. Specifically, we will examine legal controversies surrounding the nondelegation doctrine, appointment and removal of agency heads, and how the Administrative Procedure Act governs the administrative state.
Instructor: Joseph Postell (Hillsdale College)
Course Materials:

Session 3 - July 5 to July 10

HIST 502 3A: The American Founding (2)
POLSC 502 3A: The American Founding (2)
This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of the Federalist Papers and the antifederalist papers.
Instructor: Adam Seagrave (Arizona State University)
Course Materials:

HIST 510 3A: Great American Texts – Democracy in America (2)
POLSC 510 3A: Great American Texts – Democracy in America (2)
Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is the best book on democracy and the best book on America. He recognized the justice of democratic equality but also was concerned how the passion for equality could degrade human dignity, undermine liberty, and sap public spiritedness. As a friendly critic of democracy, Tocqueville looked for principles, practices, and institutions that are both compatible with democracy but also support excellence, freedom, and the civic virtues. This course will examine as much of the book as we can and will focus on Tocqueville’s reflections on the Puritans, political institutions, civil associations, slavery, Native Americans, women and the family, public opinion, happiness, and religion.
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Amato (Gardner-Webb University)
Course Materials: Syllabus

HIST 605 3A: The Age of Enterprise (2)
In the last decades of the 19th century, the United States took decisive steps away from its rural, agrarian past toward its industrial future, assuming its place among world powers. This course examines that movement, covering such topics as business-labor relations, political corruption, immigration, imperialism, the New South, and segregation and racism.
Instructor: Daniel K. Williams (Ashland University)
Course Materials:

HIST 608 3A: Civil War and Reconstruction (2)
This course will examine military aspects of the war, as well as political developments during it, including the political history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural. The course also examines the post-war Amendments and the Reconstruction era.
Instructor: Robert Colby (University of Mississippi)
Course Materials:

HIST 610 3A: American Foreign Policy (2)
POLSC 610 3A: American Foreign Policy (2)
Students examine events and issues in the foreign policy of the American republic. Topics include the major schools of thought and approaches, the connection between domestic and foreign politics, and the connection between the principles of the American regime and its foreign policy.
Instructor: Eric Pullin (Carthage College)
Course Materials:

Session 4 - July 12 to July 17

HIST 501 4A: The American Revolution (2)
POLSC 501 4A: The American Revolution (2)
This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
Instructor: Robert M.S. McDonald (United States Military Academy)
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 505 4A: The Progressive Era (2)
POLSC 505 4A: The Progressive Era (2)
The transition to an industrial economy posed many problems for the United States. This course examines those problems and the responses to them that came to be known as progressivism. The course includes the study of World War I as a manifestation of progressive principles. The course emphasizes the political thought of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and their political expression of progressive principles.
Instructor: Jason Jividen (Saint Vincent College)
Course Materials:

HIST 614 4A: Contemporary America, 1974 to present (2)
Examines the United States from the end of Watergate to the present, with emphasis on the rise of the new conservatism, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the search for a new foreign policy. The social, economic, political, and diplomatic development of the country is stressed with a thematic emphasis.
Instructor: Vincent Cannato (University of Massachusetts, Boston)
Course Materials:

POLSC 631 4A: American Political Rhetoric (2)
This course examines the principles and practice of American political rhetoric through the careful reading of the speeches of its leading statesmen.
Instructor: Elizabeth L’Arrivee (Rosary College)
Course Materials:

POLSC 633 4A: The American Presidency II – Andrew Johnson to the present (2)
This course is an examination of the political and constitutional development of the office of president from Reconstruction to the present. It focuses on how changing conceptions of the presidency have shaped American political life in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially as America has become a global power.
Instructor: Joseph Griffith (Ashland University)
Course Materials:

Spring 2026

Session 1 - Jan. 12 to March 7

HIST 501 O1A / POLSC 501 O1A: The American Revolution (2)
This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
Instructor: David Tucker
Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:15-9:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus

HIST 502 O1A / POLSC 502 O1A: The American Founding (2)
This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of Federalist and Antifederalist writings.
Instructor: Christopher Burkett (Ashland University)
Schedule: Mondays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 503 O1A / POLSC 503 O1A: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
A study of the sectional conflict beginning with the nullification crisis. The course will not only examine the political, social and economic developments in the period leading to the civil war, but will emphasize the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and John C. Calhoun.
Instructor: Jason W. Stevens (Ashland University)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 505 O1A / POLSC 505 O1A: The Progressive Era (2)
The transition to an industrial economy posed many problems for the United States. This course examines those problems and the responses to them that came to be known as progressivism. The course includes the study of World War I as a manifestation of progressive principles. The course emphasizes the political thought of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and their political expression of progressive principles.
Instructor: Eric D. Pullin (Carthage College)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 506 O1A / POLSC 506 O1A: The Rise of Modern America, 1914-1945 (2)
With the exception of the Civil War era, it is difficult to find another thirty-year period in U.S. history during which the nation underwent such dramatic change. In 1914 the United States was no more than a regional power, with a primarily rural demography and a relatively unobtrusive federal government. Thanks to the experience of two world wars, a major cultural conflict (the 1920s), and a disastrous economic crisis the country was transformed into the global economic and military power that it remains to this day. This course will examine the cultural, economic, military, and diplomatic events and trends of the period 1914-1945.
Instructor: Daniel K. Williams (Ashland University)
Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:15-7:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 507 O1A / POLSC 507 O1A: Lincoln (2)
This course provides an in-depth study of Abraham Lincoln’s political thought and action. Students will study Lincoln’s most important speeches, as well as study various aspects of his political leadership, including his role as the leader of the Republican party and as commander in chief. The course will also provide opportunities for students to analyze Lincoln’s rhetoric and political argumentation.
Instructor: Dan Monroe (Millikin University)
Schedule: Mondays, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 609 O1A / POLSC 609 O1A: World War II (2) – WAITLIST
An examination of World War II, the most widespread, costly, and destructive war in the history of the planet. This course will cover the origins of the war, the strategies pursued by the participants, and the major events in both the Pacific and European theaters from the 1930s until 1945. Further, it will consider the significance of the war for the history of Europe, Asia, and the United States.
Instructor: John E. Moser (Ashland University)
Schedule: Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 622 O1A / POLSC 622 O1A: Religion in American History and Politics (2)
From the time that the first Europeans arrived in America, religion has been an important part of American life. This course examines the various ways in which religion has played a role in American history, with particular emphasis on the role of religion in American politics.
Instructor: Jace Weaver (University of Georgia)
Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:15-7:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 642 O1A / POLSC 642 O1A: Political Parties (2) – WAITLIST
This course examines the development of American political parties, focusing on the meaning of parties and historic moments in the rise and fall of political parties from the Founding era to the present. Topics may include re-aligning elections, changing coalitions within American parties, and the contemporary Democratic and Republican parties.
Instructor: Brent Aucoin (Judson College at Southeastern)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 643 O1A / POLSC 643 O1A: The First Amendment (2) – WAITLIST
This course is an intensive study of the ideas, politics, and history of the U.S. Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on the First Amendment. Focused especially on the religion and speech clauses, the course considers the development of the Court’s opinions in light of the broader theoretical and institutional elements of American constitutionalism.
Instructor: Joseph Griffith (Ashland University)
Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:15-9:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

Session 2 - March 9 to May 2

HIST 501 O2B / POLSC 501 O2B: The American Revolution (2) – WAITLIST
This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
Instructor: Robert M. S. McDonald (United States Military Academy)
Schedule: Mondays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 502 O2B / POLSC 502 O2B: The American Founding (2)
This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of Federalist and Antifederalist writings.
Instructor: Elizabeth L’Arrivee (Rosary College)
Schedule: Thursdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 503 O2B / POLSC 503 O2B: Sectionalism and Civil War (2)
A study of the sectional conflict beginning with the nullification crisis. The course will not only examine the political, social and economic developments in the period leading to the civil war, but will emphasize the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and John C. Calhoun.
Instructor: Eric C. Sands (Berry College)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 505 O2B / POLSC 505 O2B: The Progressive Era (2)
The transition to an industrial economy posed many problems for the United States. This course examines those problems and the responses to them that came to be known as progressivism. The course includes the study of World War I as a manifestation of progressive principles. The course emphasizes the political thought of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and their political expression of progressive principles.
Instructor: Stephen K. Tootle (College of the Sequoias)
Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:15-7:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus

HIST 506 O2B / POLSC 506 O2B: The Rise of Modern America, 1914-1945 (2)
With the exception of the Civil War era, it is difficult to find another thirty-year period in U.S. history during which the nation underwent such dramatic change. In 1914 the United States was no more than a regional power, with a primarily rural demography and a relatively unobtrusive federal government. Thanks to the experience of two world wars, a major cultural conflict (the 1920s), and a disastrous economic crisis the country was transformed into the global economic and military power that it remains to this day. This course will examine the cultural, economic, military, and diplomatic events and trends of the period 1914-1945.
Instructor: David Hadley (National Defense University)
Schedule: Thursdays, 8:15-1:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 507 O2B / POLSC 507 O2B: Lincoln (2)
This course provides an in-depth study of Abraham Lincoln’s political thought and action. Students will study Lincoln’s most important speeches, as well as study various aspects of his political leadership, including his role as the leader of the Republican party and as commander in chief. The course will also provide opportunities for students to analyze Lincoln’s rhetoric and political argumentation.
Instructor: Andrew F. Lang (Mississippi State University)
Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 510 O2A / POLSC 510 O2A: Great American Texts-Frederick Douglass
“You have seen how a man was made a slave,” Frederick Douglass tells readers at a pivotal moment in his first autobiography; “you shall see how a slave was made a man.” Long considered masterpieces of American literature, Douglass’s autobiographies also rank among the great works of American political thought. Embedded in Douglass’s several tellings of his singular life story are profound reflections on the nature and specific evil of slavery; the nature, natural foundations, and enabling conditions of human rights and human liberty; and the distinctive meaning and mission of the American Republic. In this course, we undertake an intensive reading of Douglass’s three autobiographies, to the end of elucidating his career-long endeavor to instruct his fellow citizens on the first principles of political philosophy and American political thought.
Instructor: Peter C. Myers (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 611 O2A / POLSC 611 O2A: The American Way of War (2)
The course examines how Americans have used military force, focusing on the relationship between civilian and military leaders, characteristic strategic approaches, and the connection between our political principles and our military practices.
Instructor: Sarah M. Burns (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Schedule: Thursdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 623 O2A / POLSC 623 O2A: Women in American History and Politics (2)
This course explores the history of women in America from the early 19th century to the present, especially the political struggle to gain increased civil and political rights. Using primary source material from leading female intellectuals and activists, this course will consider the myriad ways that women have helped to shape the course of United States history and politics.
Instructor: Donna Devlin (Sterling College)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 632 O2A / POLSC 632 O2A: The American Presidency I, Washington to Lincoln (2) – WAITLIST
This course is an examination of the political and development of the office of president from the Founding era through the Civil War. It focuses on how the presidency shaped American political life as the country grew and struggled with rising sectional tensions.
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Amato (Gardner-Webb University)
Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:15-9:50 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

HIST 643 O2B / POLSC 643 O2B: National Security and the Constitution (2) – WAITLIST
This course examines the powers granted by the Constitution in the national security arena. We will review the debates in the Constitutional Convention over the war power and the conflict between the Federalists and the Jeffersonians over the interpretation of this power and other security related powers. We will go on to examine the unilateral use of force by early American presidents, including their use of covert operations. Prominent court cases involving war powers and internal security measures will also be examined, especially those growing out of the Civil War and the two world wars. The course will conclude with an examination of the rise of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and include a review of contemporary topics such as the War Powers Act, congressional oversight of the intelligence agencies, and the legality of various government actions during the War on Terror. This course will shed light on the evolution of the so-called “American national security state,” using the language of the Constitution and the principles and practices of the framers as a benchmark to assess the legitimacy of this “state.”
Instructor: Stephen F. Knott (United States Naval War College)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

Summer 2026 (Online)

Session 1 - May 11 to June 4

HIST 620 O1A: The Reform Tradition in America (2)
POLSC 620 O1A: The Reform Tradition in America (2)
America has lived through three periods of sustained interest in reforming its political and social life, the first in the decades preceding the Civil War, the second in the decades preceding World War I and the third in the decade or two following World War II. The course examines aspects of these reform movements, particularly their connection to religion and Protestant theology.
Instructor: Dennis K. Boman (American Intercontinental University)
Schedule: Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

POLSC 643 O1C: Inclusion and Exclusion Under the Constitution (2)
In the nearly 240 years since its drafting, the United States Constitution has been transformed, primarily (though not exclusively) through judicial interpretation, from a document that was written principally with an eye on white male landholders to one that requires protection of the right to same-sex marriage. During that time, there has been a constant push-pull between inclusion and exclusion under the Constitution. Yet it is the genius of what the Founders crafted that the overall trajectory has been one of increasing and universal inclusion. This course will examine this crucial process from Indian Removal to Obergefell v. Hodges.
Instructor: Jace Weaver (University of Georgia)
Schedule: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

Session 2 - June 8 to July 2

HIST 501 O2B: The American Revolution (2)
POLSC 501 O2B: The American Revolution (2)
This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
Instructor: Todd Estes (Oakland University)
Schedule: Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

POLSC 644 O2A: The Congress (2)
This course focuses on the legislative branch of the US government. It examines topics such as the constitutional powers of Congress, the relations between Congress and the other branches of the federal government and the states, and the changing structure and internal politics of Congress.
Instructor: Sarah M. Burns (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Schedule: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

Session 3 - June 8 to June 18

HIST 607 O3A: America During the Cold War (2)
The simmering conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1989 was the defining phenomenon of the age, affecting not only the country’s foreign policy but its politics, society, economy, and culture as well. In this course students will examine the most important events, ideas, and personalities of the forty-four years from the end of World War II to the end of the Reagan administration.
Instructor: David F. Krugler (University of Wisconsin-Platteville)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

Session 4 - June 22 to July 2

HIST 613 O4A: Postwar America, 1945-1973 (2)
An examination of the United States during the three decades following the Second World War. The social, economic, political, and diplomatic development of the country is stressed with a thematic emphasis.
Instructor: David Hadley (National Defense University)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

POLSC 642 O4B: Political Parties (2)
This course examines the development of American political parties, focusing on the meaning of parties and historic moments in the rise and fall of political parties from the Founding era to the present. Topics may include re-aligning elections, changing coalitions within American parties, and the contemporary Democratic and Republican parties.
Instructor: Brent Aucoin (Judson College)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials: Syllabus and Course Pack

Session 5 - July 7 to July 16

HIST 608 O5B: Civil War and Reconstruction (2)
This course will examine military aspects of the war, as well as political developments during it, including the political history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural. The course also examines the post-war Amendments and the Reconstruction era.
Instructor: Matthew Norman (University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

POLSC 641 O5B: The Supreme Court (2)
The course is an intensive study of the highest court in the federal judiciary, focusing on the place of the Supreme Court in the American constitutional order. Areas of study may include the relationship between the Court and the other branches of the federal government as well as the states; the Court’s power of judicial review; and judicial politics and statesmanship. We will examine these kinds of issues by investigating how the Court has interpreted the Constitution in some of its most historic decisions.
Instructor: Stephanie R. Davis (University of Arkansas-Little Rock)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

Session 6 - July 20 to July 30

HIST 502 O6B: The American Founding (2)
POLSC 502 O6B: The American Founding (2)
This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of Federalist and Antifederalist writings.
Instructor: Donna R. Devin (Sterling College)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

HIST 510 O6B: Great American Texts – The Federalist (2)
POLSC 510 O6B: Great American Texts – The Federalist (2)
The Federalist is a complex political work comprised of arguments about war, economics, national unity, and liberty (among other things) based on appeals to human nature, history, reason, and prudence. In this course we will examine and discuss The Federalist as fully and as deeply we can, aiming to understand how (or whether) its parts fit together in a coherent whole and its enduring contribution to our understanding of politics.
Instructor: James R. Stoner (Louisiana State University)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 8:15-11:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

Session 7 - August 3 to August 13

POLSC 633 O7B: The American Presidency II, Andrew Johnson to the Present (2)
This course is an examination of the political and constitutional development of the office of president from Reconstruction to the present. It focuses on how changing conceptions of the presidency have shaped American political life in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially as America has become a global power.
Instructor: Andrew E. Busch (University of Tennessee)
Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 6:15-9:30 p.m. ET
Course Materials:

Contact Information

Master of Arts in American History & Government Program

mahg@ashland.edu

419-289-5411

Charles Martindell

Graduate Programs Resource Manager, Master of Arts in American History and Government

220 Dwight Schar College of Education

cmartind@ashland.edu

419-207-4511