Online History & Political Science Courses

Course Description

This course investigates the foundations and developments of the major world civilizations and complex societies from approximately 3500 BC to AD 1500. It provides an overview of the key developments in the history of global peoples and cultures during this time period.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Explain the importance of primary sources, textual and visual, in interpreting historical events.
• Discuss the role that economics and religion have played in shaping world history.
• Understand the role of geography in shaping world civilizations.
• Compare and contrast the major world religions.
• Trace the rise and fall of early civilizations through the tenth century.
• Discuss how Islam helped create the first global civilization.
• Describe the axial age and its ramifications for world history.
• Integrate faith and learning through critical analysis of your own insights into world history.

• Confucianism and the Succession Crisis of the Wanli Emperor
• The Essential World History, Volume I, 9th Edition

*You must get the 9th Edition

This course consists of 17 assignments and 2 exams.

Assignments range from 25 to 100 points each and the exams are 100 and 150 points, for a total of 950 points possible.

Faculty

Timothy Kneeland

• PhD, University of Oklahoma (1996)
• MA, University of Oklahoma (1993)
• MA, State University of New York (1989)
• BA, State University of New York (1987)

Course Description

HIS 104 World History II is a survey of the early modern and modern world (AD 1500 to the present), with attention given to international economic, political, and cultural contact, and its consequences for peoples and cultures. Thus our attention will be on the dynamic interactions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We will consider how Europe became the center of global power during the early modern and modern eras, which was not by any means inevitable but has made an indelible impression on the world of today.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• Explain the importance of primary sources, textual and visual, in interpreting historical events.
• Discuss the role that economics has played in shaping world history
• Identify two theories about the impact of globalization.
• Trace the rise of Europe as a hegemonic power from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century.
• Describe how non-western cultures resisted and transformed European systems of power.
• Identify three key events that shaped world civilizations since 1650.
• Integrate faith and learning through critical analysis of your own insights into contemporary global relations.

• Reacting to the Past: India on the Eve of Independence
• The Essential World History, Volume II, 9th Edition

*You must get the 9th Edition

This course consists of 13 assignments and 2 exams.

Assignments range in worth from 25 to 125 points each, and the exams are 100 and 150 points apiece, for a total of 1,000 points possible.

Faculty

Timothy Kneeland

• PhD, University of Oklahoma (1996)
• MA, University of Oklahoma (1993)
• MA, State University of New York (1989)
• BA, State University of New York (1987)

Course Description

A survey of the social, political, and cultural development of the people of the United States from the colonization period through reconstruction.

This course deals with the history of the United States from the earliest "discoveries" of North America by Europeans up through the Reconstruction period at the close of the Civil War. With some exceptions, we will proceed basically in a chronological order. The course will not place major emphasis upon rote memorization of names and dates, although there will, of course, be some emphasis upon significant historical people. A greater emphasis will be placed upon various interpretations of the historical events with which you probably became familiar in high school history courses.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will have:

• Demonstrated the ability to analyze and synthesize the ideas of various historians and determine and defend your own position on historically significant events.
• Used sound critical thinking skills in determining why certain events are considered to be historically significant.
• Related these events and your interpretation to your Christian faith, while, at the same time, also demonstrating an awareness of the religious diversity of this nation.
• Analyzed cultural clashes that characterized American society throughout our early colonial history.

This course requires purchasing access to Mindtap.  Instructions will be found in the course.

This course consists of 12 assignments and 2 exams.

The assignments are worth either 20 or 40 points each and the exams are 100 points apiece, for a total of 500 points possible.

Faculty

Russell Baker

• EdD, Ball State University (2001)
• MA, Kent State University (1983)
• BA, Huntington College (1981)

Course Description

A survey of the social, political, and cultural development of the people of the United States from Reconstruction to the present.

This course deals with the history of the United States from 1877 to the present. This course will focus on American history since Reconstruction. With some exceptions, we will proceed basically in a chronological order. The course will not place major emphasis upon rote memorization of names and dates, although there will, of course, be some emphasis upon significant historical people. A greater emphasis will be placed upon various interpretations of the historical events with which you probably became familiar in high school history courses.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will have:

• Demonstrated the ability to analyze and synthesize the ideas of various historians and determine and defend your own position on historically significant events.
• Used sound critical thinking skills in determining why certain events are considered to be historically significant.
• Related these events and your interpretation to your Christian faith, while, at the same time, also demonstrating an awareness of the religious diversity of this nation.
• Analyzed cultural clashes that characterized American society throughout our early colonial history.

This course requires purchasing access to Mindtap.  Instructions will be found in the course.

This course consists of 12 assignments and 2 exams.

Each assignment is worth either 20 or 40 points and the exams are 100 points apiece, for a total of 500 points possible.

Faculty

Russell Baker

• EdD, Ball State University (2001)
• MA, Kent State University (1983)
• BA, Huntington College (1981)

Course Description 

A course offering basic ideas and supporting facts about contemporary world geography. Students study twelve world regions: North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Central Asia, North Africa / Southwest Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Austral, and Pacific.

Coming Summer 2025

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: 

• Examine the major regions of the world, including their similarities and differences.
• Understand how humans use and are limited by their location and geography.
• Use geography to answer real world questions.

All required reading is available for purchase on Brightspace through WileyPLUS.

The course consists of 11 modules (each includes a quiz, map analysis, map labeling, map drawing, and an investigation), a Feature Presentation forum post, a Midterm project, and a Final project.

Assignment Weights for Grading:

• Quizzes: 7.5%
• Map Analysis: 7.5%
• Map Labeling: 10%
• Map Drawing: 5%
• Investigations: 25%
• Feature Presentations: 10%
• Midterm Project: 15%
• Final Project: 20%

Faculty

Elizabeth George

• PhD, Stony Brook University
• MA, Stony Brook University 
• BA, Houghton College 

Course Description

A survey of the organization, administration, and function of the three primary components of the American criminal justice system: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. The course examines the processes and implementation of justice in historical, legal, and contemporary context. An emphasis is placed on both offenses and offenders at each stage of the process.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Review the historical development of the various agencies that comprise the criminal justice system.
• Explore the philosophical premises that underlie the American system of justice.
• Articulate and assess the goals and functions of each separate component of the system.
• Examine the ways in which the elements of the justice system interact with offenders, victims, and the community.
• Evaluate the structure and inner workings of the system of justice in light of the Christian faith.
• Understand the prison/jail culture from the perspective of an offender and analyze effective models of ministry to the incarcerated.

• Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction, 9th Edition

This course consists of 8 written assignments, 4 exams, and 3 field reports.

Each assignment is between 40 and 45 points each, except the field reports which are 125 apiece, and the exams are 75 each, for a total of 1,000 points possible.

Faculty

Jeff Wallace

• MA, Higher Education & Student Development, Taylor University
• BA, Social Work/Sociology, Taylor University