Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Master of Arts (MA)

Graduate Certificate

History Courses

HIST 5101. Theory and Methodology 1. (4 Hours)

Examines the following questions in the context of major issues in current historical research and debate. Where do historical questions come from, and how do we answer them? How do we produce knowledge about historical events and processes? What theoretical models guide historians work? Emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches as well as concrete techniques in historical research. Required of all first-year graduate students.


HIST 5102. Theory and Methodology 2. (4 Hours)

Continues HIST 5101. Offers an advanced exploration of the theories and methods used by historians to develop students’ ability to understand and critique the work of other historians. Emphasis is on theories and methods in world history, such as comparative models, systemic approaches, and focus on interconnections. Explores what it means to have a local, national, or global perspective, and how world history fits in with other fields of historical scholarship. Required of all PhD students.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 5101 with a minimum grade of C- or HIST 5101 with a minimum grade of D-


HIST 5237. Issues and Methods in Public History. (4 Hours)

Examines and analyzes major issues and methods in public history in the United States and the world. Topics include the nature and meaning of national memory and myth, the theory and practice of historic preservation, rural and land preservation and the organizational structures and activities associated with those efforts, the interrelationship of historical museums and popular culture, the history and organization of historic house museums, historical documentary filmmaking, historical archaeology in world perspective, interpreting “ordinary” landscapes, and the impact of politics on public history.


HIST 5240. Feminist Resistance. (4 Hours)

Engages students in the study of a variety of forms of feminist resistance in recent history, emphasizing the United States in the context of cross-cultural examples. Examines key feminist texts and manifestos and studies feminist activism in coalition with other social movements. Students identify and analyze unique features of gender-based activism in itself and in its intersections with other social movements, including movements and activism focused on race, class, sexuality, and physical ability.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions


HIST 5241. Exhibits and Museums. (4 Hours)

Considers the history of museums and exhibitions from a transnational perspective in order to examine the various roles museums have played in historical and contemporary global culture. Explores museums as cultural institutions and institutional cultures through historical and theoretical readings, museum visits, and the development of students’ own exhibitions. Currently among the world’s most popular sites of education and leisure, museums have held a wide range of social, political, and cultural roles over the past 500 years. Offers students an opportunity to develop more acute insight into the ways museums and their exhibitions have made and reflected ideas about history, science, art, identity, and culture.


HIST 6954. Co-op Work Experience - Half-Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 6955. Co-op Work Experience Abroad – Half-Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience abroad. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 6962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 6964. Co-op Work Experience. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

Corequisite(s): INSH 6864


HIST 6965. Co-op Work Experience Abroad. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience abroad. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 7219. Topics in Cultural History. (4 Hours)

Offers special topics in cultural history. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 7221. Topics in World History. (4 Hours)

Offers readings on selected themes and issues in world history. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 7239. Space and Place. (4 Hours)

Examines the role of space and place in the constitution of society and culture through a set of key readings. Themes include the geographical production of class, gender, and race/ethnicity in modernity and postmodernity as well as the role of space and place in debates around postcolonialism. The ways in which space and place are implicated in the practice of power and resistance are key to the course.


HIST 7250. Topics in Public History. (4 Hours)

Offers readings, class work, and projects on selected themes and issues in public history.


HIST 7251. Topics in American History. (4 Hours)

Focuses on one or more topics in the history of the United States. May be repeated up to two times.


HIST 7314. Research Seminar in World History. (4 Hours)

Gives students the opportunity to do research and write a paper that addresses historical issues and processes significant at a global scale. Discussions focus on what it means to be significant on a global scale, how to find and utilize relevant source material, and on previous scholarship relevant in helping shape questions and issues in our own work. Students also read and critique one another’s work. May be repeated up to four times.


HIST 7320. Research Seminar in Cultural History of the United States. (4 Hours)

Requires students to conduct research and write an original paper that addresses historical issues in the cultural history—in particular the material culture—of North America. May be repeated two times.


HIST 7370. Texts, Maps, and Networks: Readings and Methods for Digital History. (4 Hours)

Introduces the methods and practice of history in a digital age. Offers students an opportunity to see the wide variety of work being done computationally by historians and other humanists today and to obtain the background to be creative producers of new work and critical consumers of existing projects. The rise of computing technology and the Internet has the potential to reshape all parts of historical practice, from curation to research to dissemination. Examines the historian’s craft in three primary domains: the creation of digital sources, the algorithmic transformations that computers can enact on cultural materials like texts, and the new ecologies of publishing and scholarly communication made possible by new media.


HIST 7962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 7976. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on chosen topics. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 8409. Practicum in Teaching. (1 Hour)

Offers students the opportunity to teach individual college-level courses within the Department of History under the general supervision of a senior faculty member. Open to doctoral students.


HIST 8410. Fieldwork in History 1. (2 Hours)

Offers students the opportunity to get practical experience in historical agencies including historical societies, archives, museums, exhibits, restorations, preservation projects, and the like. Requires students to work in the agency ten hours a week for one semester under the direction of an agency supervisor and departmental adviser. May be repeated once.


HIST 8411. Fieldwork in History 2. (4 Hours)

Gives students a second opportunity to acquire practical experience in an historical agency. Requires ten hours a week for one semester under the direction of an agency supervisor and a departmental adviser.


HIST 8960. Exam Preparation—Doctoral. (0 Hours)

Intended to show full-time status during the semester of the PhD qualifying exam. Students are expected to carry a full load of research and/or teaching responsibilities in addition to this course. May be repeated three times.


HIST 8982. Readings. (1-4 Hours)

Offers selected readings under the supervision of a faculty member. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 8984. Research. (1-4 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 8986. Research. (0 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct full-time research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.


HIST 9000. PhD Candidacy Achieved. (0 Hours)

Indicates successful completion of the doctoral comprehensive exam.


HIST 9990. Dissertation Term 1. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 9000 with a minimum grade of S


HIST 9991. Dissertation Term 2. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 9990 with a minimum grade of S


HIST 9996. Dissertation Continuation. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): HIST 9991 with a minimum grade of S or Dissertation Check with a score of REQ