History (BA)

The history major consists of 40 semester hours of history coursework. It integrates study in a range of periods, geographical areas, and cultural contexts, to develop breadth as well as depth of historical knowledge, as well as sophisticated skills in research and inquiry.

Programs Requirements

Category I: Introductory level

Any three courses chosen from the following:

HIST 100	World History to 1500	4
HIST 101	World History II	4
HIST 118	Latin American History	4
HIST 128	Modern European History 1789-1989	4
HIST 140	Early American History	4
HIST 141	Modern American History	4

Students considering a major in history should complete Category I by the end of their sophomore year. History majors may substitute other history electives for survey courses if they have received a grade of four or five on an advanced placement exam in history, or a score of 5, 6, or 7 on an international baccalaureate exam in history.

Category II: Specialization

Three courses with a specific focus defined by the student. This focus may be geographical (such as Asia, Europe, or the U.S.), thematic (such as race, gender, or revolution) or temporal (such as modern). One course in Category I may count in Category II. A specialization in public history requires four of the following, with HIST 253 ideally as the first course:

HIST 205	Global Environmental History	4
HIST 252	History & Material Culture	4
HIST 253	Introduction to Public History	4
HIST 254	History Through Novels & Film	4
HIST 368	Seminar in Public History: Sites of History	4
HIST 370	Internship	4–8

HIST 368 and HIST 370 may count as Category V

Category III: Breadth

Three courses selected from the three required topic areas below.

One course with a focus on race and ethnicity history:

HIST 118	Latin American History	4
HIST 201	Japanese History: Politics, Society, and Everyday Life	4
HIST 202	Asia to the Eighteenth Century	4
HIST 203	Power & Culture: East Asia	4
HIST 206	Rise of Modern China	4
HIST 210	African American Experience	4
HIST 211	Medicine and the African American Experience	4
HIST 213	Race and Ethnicity in U.S. History	4
HIST 217	Caribbean History	4
HIST 231	Understanding Islam & Historical Perspectives	4
HIST 237	Holocaust	4
HIST 240	The Atlantic World 1500-1800	4
HIST 275/AST 275	The Black Freedom Movement: From Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter	4

One course in early or pre-modern history:

HIST 202	Asia to the Eighteenth Century	4
HIST 205	Global Environmental History	4
HIST 207/WGSS 207	Family, Gender, and Sexuality in Chinese History	4
HIST 222	Greek & Roman History	4
HIST 223	Medieval History	4
HIST 224	The Renaissance	4
HIST 231	Understanding Islam & Historical Perspectives	4
HIST 240	The Atlantic World 1500-1800	4
HIST 241	Revolutions in the West	4
HIST 371	Seminar in Early American History	4

One course in historical gender studies:

HIST 200/WGSS 204	What is Feminism? Origins of Feminist Thought	4
HIST 204	Japanese Culture: Gender, Family and Society	4
HIST 207/WGSS 207	Family, Gender, and Sexuality in Chinese History	4
HIST 215/WGSS 215	Women and Gender in U.S. History Before 1890	4
HIST 216/WGSS 216	Women and Gender in U.S. History Since 1890	4
HIST 230	Women and Gender in Europe	4
HIST 239/WGSS 239	History of Sexuality and the Family	4
HIST 360	Seminar in the History of Women and Gender 1790-1920	4

Category IV: Methods

All majors must take HIST 260 in their sophomore or junior year.

HIST 260

Interpreting the Past: The Craft of History

By petition, students in the accelerated BA/MA History program may count HIST 397 to fulfill the Methods requirement for the undergraduate major.

Category V: Capstone

At least one history course at or above the 350 level: this requirement may be fulfilled with a seminar, an internship, a thesis, or an independent study. Majors must declare how they plan to fulfill the independent learning requirement before the end of their junior year.