Our Curriculum

In recognition of the diverse goals and interests of our students, the History Department offers a two track major for students to choose a course of study from. Track one emphasizes breadth of study and track two gives students the opportunity to specialize in a thematic field. 

Students who choose track two can select between the following thematic specializations: 

• Politics, Law, Social Justice
• Space, Place, Environment
• Ideas, Science, Medicine
• Empire, Nation, War
• Sexuality, Body, Affect

To read more about our thematic specializations click here. For a full list of course designations click here. 

It will be observed that the categories of race, ethnicity, class, and gender do not appear in this list. Because these themes permeate human experience through space and time, all history courses deal with these issues in one way or another. 

Regardless of whether students opt to pursue track one or track two, they will be exposed to a variety courses that emphasize a variety of geographic regions and temporal approaches. 

Geographic 

The logics of place inform historical processes; historical processes in turn shape the emergence and interrelationship of larger spatial configurations transcending political divisions. Though such configurations are distinguished by their own historical logics, they are neither self-contained nor unchanging. Therefore, students majoring in history will be required to take courses in at least two (Track 2) or four (Track 1) of the following regional categories: 

• Central & Eastern Europe 
• Comparative
• East Asia
• Latin American & the Caribbean
• North Africa & the Middle East
• North America
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Western Europe

For a full list of courses designated by region, click here. 

Temporal 

17th Century & Earlier 

As a discipline concerned with change over time and thus with the provincialization of the present, historical analysis necessitates attention to times different from our own. As such, students majoring in history will be required to take at least one course focused on the 17th century or earlier. For a full list of courses designated by region, click here. 

Both 

Courses in this category span the 17th Century divide, featuring historical formations and processes unfolding across centuries and some cases millennia. They can therefore be used to meet the temporal requirement. For a full list of courses in this category, click here. 

Our Courses

Course Catalog

See the History section of the course catalog for a summary of regular course offerings.

Course Grid

See the course grid for a look at who is teaching which class in what block during the current academic year.