The History Department strongly recommends that majors consider carefully the distribution of courses they will take to complete the major, and suggests that with the help of your advisor, you map out a concentration in the major so as to acquire depth as well as breadth. The concentration may have a regional, thematic, or chronological focus and should consist of at least four courses in the chosen area. Your choice of field of concentration will depend on a number of factors including plans after graduation, particular interests, linguistic competencies, and staffing strengths in the Department. We list below a number of possible concentrations within the major. Note that African American Studies, Classics, East Asian Studies, and Gender and Women's Studies offer important courses that fit into these concentrations as well. No more than twelve credit hours, however, may be transferred in from outside of the History Department. Should you have an Òindependent concentrationÓ or a combination of concentrations in mind, please discuss this with your advisor.
Concentrations consist of at least four courses in the particular field.
The following list is not comprehensive, but suggests some courses that might be grouped together:
I. Regions
II. Chronological
Chronological divisions are field specific. Please discuss this with your
advisor.
III. Thematic
HIST 263: The American Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 390: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in American History
AAST 120: The Caribbean and the Wider World
AAST 202: African American History since 1865
AAST 306: The History of South Africa, 1870-1950
FYSP 120: The Collision of Cultures in North America, 1492-1700
HIST 163: Modern South Asia: From British Imperialism to the Present
HIST 293: Dirty Wars and Democracy
HIST 313: The French Empire: Colonized and Colonizer
HIST 356: The British Empire in Asia and Africa
HIST 379: Russia In Asia
HIST 145: Water in American History
HIST 252: American Environmental History
HIST 258: Industrial Revolution in America
HIST 283: Environmental Histories of South Asia
HIST 338: Colloquium in U.S. Urban Environmental History
FYSP 125: American Mixed Blood
HIST 260: Asian American History
HIST 267: Gender, Ethnicity and Race in 19th Century America
HIST 270: Latina/Latino Survey
HIST 325: Native American History, ca. 1450-1900
HIST 330: Unbearable Whiteness: The Social Construction of a Racial Category
HIST 390: Slavery and Antislavery in American History
AAST 202: African American History since 1865
HIST 201: History of Science from Antiquity through the Scientific Revolution
HIST 204: Medieval Intellectual History
HIST 308: Heresy and Orthodoxy in Medieval Europe
HIST 310: Marx and Marxism
HIST 312: Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge
HIST 314: Existentialism in European History
HIST 371: The Russian Intelligentsia in the Late Imperial Period
HIST 131: Jewish History from Biblical Antiquity to the Spanish Expulsion
HIST 132: Jewish History from Spanish Expulsion to the Present
HIST 233: Jewish Memoirs and Memory: Writing the Self in Jewish Society
HIST 306: Germans and Jews
HIST 312: Modern Jewish Identity
FYSP 153: Worldview and History: Approaches to the History of the World
FYSP 167: Who Was a Jew: Boundaries of Identity
HIST 312: Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge
HIST 316: The Body as Historical Subject
HIST 318: Memory and History
HIST 357: Non-Violent Opposition to British Imperialism: M. Gandhi
HIST 367: Narrating the Nation: Historical and Literary Approaches to Nationalism
HIST 395: Method in Modern European History
FYSP 151: Understanding World War I
FYSP 166: America's Concentration Camps
HIST 226: World War II and the Making pf the 20th c.
HIST 234: Good and Evil: Ethics and Decision-Making in the Holocaust
HIST 293: Dirty Wars and Democracy
EAST/GAWS 241: Living with the Bomb
EAST 263: War, History and Memory in Post-Cold War Asia
HIST 237: Women in Jewish Society: Antiquity to Modernity
HIST 265: American Sexualities
HIST 266: Women and Social Movements in the United States
HIST 344: Gender, Marriage, and Family in China
HIST 350: Women in Modern Japan
AAST 220: Black Women in America
Advice for Individuals Interested in Pursuing Graduate Work in History
In conjunction with your advisor:
a. discuss any interest in Honors in History by the beginning of your junior year.
b. build a competence in a specific geographic area and discuss any interest in cross-cultural studies.
c. identify the language competencies you will need for research in your field in graduate school.
d. plan a vertical approach to your History major, beginning with introductory surveys and moving to 200-level topical courses and 300- and 400-level seminars within your area of concentration. After your first two years, your courses should largely be at the 200- 300- and 400- level.
e. plan to take a 400-level research seminar and/or Honors since the skills and experience you develop there will be vital to success in graduate school.
f. select electives from other departments that complement your concentration in History.