History Major, B.A.

The Department of History educates students about the past, teaching them to discover the rich diversity of historical human experiences. The study of history also equips students with the valuable critical thinking, research, and communication skills they need to succeed in the present, preparing them for a wide variety of careers and a life of informed citizenship.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the history program, students should be able to:

  • Appreciate the diversity of human experiences in past eras and parts of the globe
  • Identify substantive, well-reasoned topics of historical inquiry for analysis
  • Evaluate the quality of historical scholarship and conflicting views of the past
  • Analyze primary sources to develop evidence-based arguments
  • Produce and document original knowledge about the past in a field of expertise
  • Communicate historically informed knowledge in written, digital, and/or oral forms

Requirements

In addition to the program requirements, students must

  • earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
  • complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
  • take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
  • earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.

For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.

Core Requirements
A total of 10 HIST courses
Four to six courses in a field of concentration (geographical or thematic). See lists below. 12-18
Four to six courses outside the field of concentration12-18
HIST 398IDEAs in Action General Education logo Undergraduate Seminar in History (This seminar can be in the field of concentration or outside it.) H3
One course in Latin America or Africa, Asia, and Middle East history3
At least six courses numbered 200 or above
Total Hours30
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Each major shall concentrate in one area (see lists below), or students must devise a thematic concentration and have it approved by the chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee.

The Department of History offers multiple sections of the required HIST 398 undergraduate seminar each semester. Each section focuses on a different topic. Prior to the course registration period, the Department of History will distribute to all history majors information about the next semester’s offerings of HIST 398.

All College of Arts and Sciences policies apply, including (but not limited to) the following.

  • No history course may be taken for Pass/Fail credit (even if the course serves as a free elective).
  • A maximum of 15 history courses (45 hours) may be applied toward the B.A. degree. Any courses beyond the minimal 10 (but not above the maximum of 15) will count as free electives.
  • No more than five courses (15 hours) of transfer credit and College Board Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate credit may count toward the major. Up to five courses (15 hours) of transfer credit may count toward the major, but only up to two courses (six hours) of College Board Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit may count toward the major. In no case can the combination of transfer credits and AP/IB credits exceed 15 hours.

History (HIST) course descriptions.

Field According to Topic

HIST 190Special Topics in History3
HIST 291IDEAs in Action General Education logo Putting Literature and History in Dialogue H3
HIST 390Special Topics in History H3
HIST 398IDEAs in Action General Education logo Undergraduate Seminar in History H3
HIST 490Special Topics in History H3
HIST 493IDEAs in Action General Education logo Internship in History1-3
HIST 495Directed Readings in History1-3
HIST 496Independent Research in History1-3
HIST 691HIDEAs in Action General Education logo Honors in History3
HIST 692HIDEAs in Action General Education logo Honors in History3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Geographical Concentrations 

Africa, Asia, and Middle East 

HIST 52IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Conflicts over Israel/Palestine3
HIST 62IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Nations, Borders, and Identities3
HIST 63IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Water, Conflict, and Connection: the Middle East and Ottoman Lands H3
HIST 74IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Emperors, Courts, and Consumption: The Mughals of India3
HIST 83IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: African History through Popular Music3
HIST 130IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern African History3
HIST 131Southeast Asia to the Early 19th Century3
HIST 133IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Chinese History3
HIST 134Modern East Asia3
HIST 135IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of the Indian Subcontinent to 17503
HIST 136History of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh: South Asia since 17503
HIST 137IDEAs in Action General Education logo Muhammad to Malcolm X: Islam, Politics, Race, and Gender3
HIST 138History of Muslim Societies to 15003
HIST 139IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of Muslim Societies since 15003
HIST 163IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Central Asia H3
HIST 166History of Afghanistan3
HIST 174HHonors Seminar in African, Asian, and Middle Eastern History3
HIST 203IDEAs in Action General Education logo Empires and Cultures in the Modern World3
HIST 243IDEAs in Action General Education logo The United States and Africa H3
HIST 271IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient and Medieval Japanese History and Culture3
HIST 272Modern South Asia3
HIST 274IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-19233
HIST 276IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Modern Middle East3
HIST 277IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Conflict over Israel/Palestine3
HIST 278IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade H3
HIST 279IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern South Africa H3
HIST 281The Pacific War, 1937-1945: Its Causes and Legacy3
HIST 284Late Imperial China3
HIST 285IDEAs in Action General Education logo 20th-Century China3
HIST 287Modern Japan3
HIST 288Japan in the 20th Century3
HIST 312IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of France and Algeria3
HIST 331Sex, Religion, and Violence: Revolutionary Thought in Modern South Asia3
HIST 340IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ethics and Business in Africa H3
HIST 440Gender in Indian History3
HIST 442Religion, Co-existence, and Conflict in Pre-Colonial India3
HIST 483Nation and Religion in Russia3
HIST 484Islam in Tsarist and Soviet Russia3
HIST 5119/11 in World History H3
HIST 534Slavery and the US Civil War H3
HIST 535Women and Gender in African History H3
HIST 536Revolution in the Modern Middle East3
HIST 537Women in the Middle East3
HIST 538The Middle East and the West3
HIST 539The Economic History of Southeast Asia3
HIST 550Gender in Chinese History3
HIST 557Fiction and History in India3
HIST 570The Vietnam War3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Latin America

HIST 51IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Latin American Revolutions3
HIST 76IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Understanding 14923
HIST 142IDEAs in Action General Education logo Latin America under Colonial Rule3
HIST 143IDEAs in Action General Education logo Latin America since Independence3
HIST 145IDEAs in Action General Education logo Latin American Indigenous Peoples3
HIST 175HHonors Seminar in Latin American History3
HIST 203IDEAs in Action General Education logo Empires and Cultures in the Modern World3
HIST 240IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Mexico: A Nation in Four Revolutions3
HIST 242IDEAs in Action General Education logo United States-Latin American Relations3
HIST 248Guerrillas and Counterinsurgencies in Latin America3
HIST 280IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women and Gender in Latin American History3
HIST 315IDEAs in Action General Education logo Nation-Building in Latin America H3
HIST 526History of the Andes3
HIST 531History of the Caribbean3
HIST 532History of Cuba3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Russia, Eurasia, and Eastern Europe 

HIST 64IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Gorbachev: The Collapse of the Soviet Empire and the Rise of the New Russia3
HIST 161IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia Becomes an Empire3
HIST 162IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia under the Last Tsars and Soviet Commissars3
HIST 163IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Central Asia H3
HIST 176HHonors Seminar in Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European History3
HIST 264Gender in Russian History3
HIST 334Rasputin's Russia: Erotic, Decadent, Revolutionary3
HIST 476Religion and Ethnicity 3
HIST 477Revolution in Russia, 1900-19303
HIST 478Stalin and After: The USSR, 1929-Present3
HIST 480IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia's 19th Century: Cultural Splendor, Imperial Decay3
HIST 481From Communists to Capitalists: Eastern Europe since 19453
HIST 482Russia, Eurasian Empire3
HIST 483Nation and Religion in Russia3
HIST 484Islam in Tsarist and Soviet Russia3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Europe

HIST 53IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Traveling to European Cities: American Writers/Cultural Identities, 1830-20003
HIST 64IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Gorbachev: The Collapse of the Soviet Empire and the Rise of the New Russia3
HIST 66IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Film and History in Europe and the United States, 1908-19683
HIST 72IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Women's Voices: 20th-Century European History in Female Memory H3
HIST 81IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Diaries, Memoirs, and Testimonies of the Holocaust3
HIST 84IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Monsters, Murders, and Mayhem in Microhistorical Analysis: French Case Studies H3
HIST 85IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: What Concentration Camp Survivors Tell Us H3
HIST 104Introduction to Major Problems in European History3
HIST 151IDEAs in Action General Education logo European History to 16503
HIST 152European History since 16503
HIST 153IDEAs in Action General Education logo From the Bible to Broadway: Jewish History to Modern Times3
HIST 158IDEAs in Action General Education logo Early Modern European History, 1450-18153
HIST 159IDEAs in Action General Education logo From War to Prosperity: 20th-Century Europe3
HIST 161IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia Becomes an Empire3
HIST 162IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia under the Last Tsars and Soviet Commissars3
HIST 164IDEAs in Action General Education logo Victorian Britain: From Slavery to South African War3
HIST 165IDEAs in Action General Education logo 20th Century Britain: from the Great War to Brexit3
HIST 177HHonors Seminar in Early European History3
HIST 178HHonors Seminar in Modern European History3
HIST 205IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1618-18153
HIST 206IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-19453
HIST 251IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Thirty Years War (1618-1648): Europe in an Age of Crisis3
HIST 252IDEAs in Action General Education logo Politics, Society, and Culture in Modern Germany (1871-1945)3
HIST 254IDEAs in Action General Education logo War and Society in Early Modern Europe3
HIST 255IDEAs in Action General Education logo Manor to Machine: The Economic Shaping of Europe3
HIST 256IDEAs in Action General Education logo France, 1940 to the Present H3
HIST 257IDEAs in Action General Education logo Politics, Society, and Culture in Postwar Germany3
HIST 258Modern Italy since 18483
HIST 259IDEAs in Action General Education logo Towards Emancipation? Women in Modern Europe3
HIST 260IDEAs in Action General Education logo From Kings to Communists: East-Central Europe in the Modern Era H3
HIST 261France, 1870-19403
HIST 262IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of the Holocaust: The Destruction of the European Jews3
HIST 264Gender in Russian History3
HIST 269Modern London: Empire, Race, and Culture H3
HIST 306IDEAs in Action General Education logo Princes and Reformations in Germany, 1400-16003
HIST 307IDEAs in Action General Education logo War and Enlightenment in Germany, 1600-18153
HIST 308The Renaissance and the Jews3
HIST 309Old Regime France, 1661-17873
HIST 310The French Revolution3
HIST 320IDEAs in Action General Education logo Art, History, and the Modern Museum3
HIST 325Food and History3
HIST 332Identity and Community in Modern Jewish History: The Case of Durham3
HIST 334Rasputin's Russia: Erotic, Decadent, Revolutionary3
HIST 347Fascist Challenge in Europe, 1918-19453
HIST 348History of Migration3
HIST 353Cinema, Culture, and Society3
HIST 354War and Gender in Movies H3
HIST 452The Renaissance: Italy, Birthplace of the Renaissance, 1300-15503
HIST 453Mediterranean Societies and Economics in the Renaissance World3
HIST 454The Reformation3
HIST 458Europe and the World Wars, 1914-19453
HIST 462Germany, 1806-1918: Politics, Society, and Culture H3
HIST 463Germany since 1918: Politics, Society, and Culture H3
HIST 466Modern European Intellectual History H3
HIST 468IDEAs in Action General Education logo Culture on the Move: Art, Empire, and Restitution since 18003
HIST 469European Social History3
HIST 474Britain in World Affairs: British Foreign Policy since World War II3
HIST 476Religion and Ethnicity 3
HIST 477Revolution in Russia, 1900-19303
HIST 478Stalin and After: The USSR, 1929-Present3
HIST 479History of Female Sexualities 3
HIST 480IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia's 19th Century: Cultural Splendor, Imperial Decay3
HIST 481From Communists to Capitalists: Eastern Europe since 19453
HIST 482Russia, Eurasian Empire3
HIST 485From Fiddler on the Roof to the Holocaust: East European and Soviet Jewish History3
HIST 486Extremism, Terrorism, and Security in Postwar Europe H3
HIST 500Gender, Empire, and Nation3
HIST 508Europe and Humanitarian Aid since 1945: Concepts, Actors, Practices3
HIST 510Human Rights in the Modern World H3
HIST 516Historical Time H3
HIST 517Gender, Military, and War 3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

United States 

HIST 53IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Traveling to European Cities: American Writers/Cultural Identities, 1830-20003
HIST 66IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Film and History in Europe and the United States, 1908-19683
HIST 70IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Seeing History in Everyday Places: Chapel Hill as a Case Study3
HIST 79IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Coming of Age in 20th Century America3
HIST 102Introduction to Major Problems in U.S History3
HIST 110IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to the Cultures and Histories of Native North America3
HIST 120IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sport and American History3
HIST 121IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of Religion in North America3
HIST 124IDEAs in Action General Education logo United States History through Film3
HIST 125IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Social History of Popular Music in 20th-Century America3
HIST 127IDEAs in Action General Education logo American History to 18653
HIST 128IDEAs in Action General Education logo American History since 18653
HIST 144IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women in the United States from Settlement to Present3
HIST 179HHonors Seminar in American History3
HIST 205IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1618-18153
HIST 206IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-19453
HIST 230IDEAs in Action General Education logo Why History Matters to Public Policy3
HIST 231IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native American History: The East3
HIST 233Native American History: The West3
HIST 234IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native American Tribal Studies H3
HIST 235IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native America in the 20th Century3
HIST 236IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sex and American History3
HIST 237IDEAs in Action General Education logo Colonial American History to 17633
HIST 238IDEAs in Action General Education logo The American Revolution, 1763-18153
HIST 239Religion in North America since 18653
HIST 241History of Latinos in the United States3
HIST 242IDEAs in Action General Education logo United States-Latin American Relations3
HIST 244IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of the American Presidency3
HIST 245IDEAs in Action General Education logo The United States and the Cold War: Origins, Development, Legacy3
HIST 246IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Long Cold War: U.S. Foreign Relations in the 20th and 21st Centuries3
HIST 289IDEAs in Action General Education logo America in the 1970s3
HIST 302HIDEAs in Action General Education logo Movies Make History: Films as Primary Sources in Europe and America3
HIST 320IDEAs in Action General Education logo Art, History, and the Modern Museum3
HIST 322Technology and American Culture3
HIST 325Food and History3
HIST 355American Women's History to 18653
HIST 356American Women's History, 1865 to the Present3
HIST 357The U.S. South to 18653
HIST 358The New South3
HIST 359The Early American Republic, 1789-18483
HIST 360IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ideas in Modern America H3
HIST 361Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Histories in the United States3
HIST 362IDEAs in Action General Education logo Baseball and American History3
HIST 363Popular Culture and American History H3
HIST 364IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of American Business3
HIST 365The Worker and American Life3
HIST 366North Carolina History before 18653
HIST 367North Carolina History since 18653
HIST 368War and American Society to 19033
HIST 369War and American Society3
HIST 372IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of American Politics, 1932-Present H3
HIST 373The United States in World War II3
HIST 374The American West, 1800 to the Present3
HIST 375History of Gender in America3
HIST 376History of African Americans to 18653
HIST 377IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of African Americans, 1865 to Present H3
HIST 382IDEAs in Action General Education logo The History of the Civil Rights Movement H3
HIST 383Big-Time College Sports and the Rights of Athletes, 1874 to the Present3
HIST 384IDEAs in Action General Education logo America in the Sixties H3
HIST 385IDEAs in Action General Education logo African American Women's History3
HIST 459Global Evangelicalism since 16003
HIST 475History of Feminism H3
HIST 510Human Rights in the Modern World H3
HIST 517Gender, Military, and War 3
HIST 562IDEAs in Action General Education logo Oral History and Performance H3
HIST 565Civil War and Reconstruction, 1848-19003
HIST 566The History of Sexuality in America3
HIST 568Women in the South3
HIST 570The Vietnam War3
HIST 571Southern Music3
HIST 576The Ethnohistory of Native American Women3
HIST 577United States Foreign Relations in the 20th Century3
HIST 581American Constitutional History to 18763
HIST 582American Constitutional History since 18763
HIST 584The Promise of Urbanization: American Cities in the 19th and 20th Centuries3
HIST 585IDEAs in Action General Education logo Race, Basketball, and the American Dream3
HIST 589Race, Racism, and America: (United States) Law in Historical Perspective3
HIST 593IDEAs in Action General Education logo Exploring the U.S. South Hands On and Ears Open: Internship at the Southern Oral History Program1-3
HIST 670Introduction to Oral History3
HIST 671Introduction to Public History3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Thematic Concentrations

Ancient and Medieval

HIST 105Empires in World History3
HIST 106IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient History3
HIST 107IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval History3
HIST 108IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Early Medieval History 500-10503
HIST 151IDEAs in Action General Education logo European History to 16503
HIST 177HHonors Seminar in Early European History3
HIST 225IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of Greece3
HIST 226History of Rome3
HIST 228IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval Science3
HIST 255IDEAs in Action General Education logo Manor to Machine: The Economic Shaping of Europe3
HIST 306IDEAs in Action General Education logo Princes and Reformations in Germany, 1400-16003
HIST 421Alexander3
HIST 422Ancient Greek Warfare H3
HIST 423Archaic Greece, 800-480 BCE3
HIST 424Classical Greece (Sixth-Fourth Centuries BCE)3
HIST 425Roman History, 154 BCE-14 CE3
HIST 427The Early Roman Empire, 14 CE-193 CE3
HIST 428The Later Roman Empire, 193 CE-378 CE3
HIST 431The Medieval Church3
HIST 432The Crusades3
HIST 434IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval England3
HIST 435The Medieval University3
HIST 437IDEAs in Action General Education logo Aristocratic Culture in the Central Middle Ages3
HIST 438IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval Masculinities, 500-1200 H3
HIST 452The Renaissance: Italy, Birthplace of the Renaissance, 1300-15503
HIST 453Mediterranean Societies and Economics in the Renaissance World3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Global History

HIST 53IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Traveling to European Cities: American Writers/Cultural Identities, 1830-20003
HIST 62IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Nations, Borders, and Identities3
HIST 66IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Film and History in Europe and the United States, 1908-19683
HIST 76IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Understanding 14923
HIST 83IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: African History through Popular Music3
HIST 103Introduction to Major Problems in Modern World History3
HIST 105Empires in World History3
HIST 138History of Muslim Societies to 15003
HIST 139IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of Muslim Societies since 15003
HIST 140IDEAs in Action General Education logo The World since 19453
HIST 203IDEAs in Action General Education logo Empires and Cultures in the Modern World3
HIST 205IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1618-18153
HIST 206IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-19453
HIST 207IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Global Cold War3
HIST 210IDEAs in Action General Education logo Global Issues and Globalization3
HIST 212History of Sea Power3
HIST 213Air Power and Modern Warfare3
HIST 220IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Olympic Games: A Global History H3
HIST 242IDEAs in Action General Education logo United States-Latin American Relations3
HIST 243IDEAs in Action General Education logo The United States and Africa H3
HIST 246IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Long Cold War: U.S. Foreign Relations in the 20th and 21st Centuries3
HIST 247IDEAs in Action General Education logo Early Modern Japanese History and Culture3
HIST 249IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Global Christianity3
HIST 266IDEAs in Action General Education logo Global History of Warfare3
HIST 278IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade H3
HIST 281The Pacific War, 1937-1945: Its Causes and Legacy3
HIST 302HIDEAs in Action General Education logo Movies Make History: Films as Primary Sources in Europe and America3
HIST 312IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of France and Algeria3
HIST 325Food and History3
HIST 329An Introduction to the History of Medicine H3
HIST 330Jesus and the Jews: From the Bible to the Big Screen H3
HIST 346Dictators in the 20th Century3
HIST 349Comparative Empires in the Modern World3
HIST 354War and Gender in Movies H3
HIST 459Global Evangelicalism since 16003
HIST 474Britain in World Affairs: British Foreign Policy since World War II3
HIST 479History of Female Sexualities 3
HIST 508Europe and Humanitarian Aid since 1945: Concepts, Actors, Practices3
HIST 509The World History of Slavery3
HIST 510Human Rights in the Modern World H3
HIST 5119/11 in World History H3
HIST 514IDEAs in Action General Education logo Monuments and Memory3
HIST 516Historical Time H3
HIST 517Gender, Military, and War 3
HIST 534Slavery and the US Civil War H3
HIST 538The Middle East and the West3
HIST 578Transatlantic Relations and Contemporary Geo-Politics from the Cold War to the Present3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Politics, Law, and Economy

HIST 51IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Latin American Revolutions3
HIST 52IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Conflicts over Israel/Palestine3
HIST 62IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Nations, Borders, and Identities3
HIST 63IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Water, Conflict, and Connection: the Middle East and Ottoman Lands H3
HIST 64IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Gorbachev: The Collapse of the Soviet Empire and the Rise of the New Russia3
HIST 74IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Emperors, Courts, and Consumption: The Mughals of India3
HIST 105Empires in World History3
HIST 106IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient History3
HIST 107IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval History3
HIST 108IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Early Medieval History 500-10503
HIST 127IDEAs in Action General Education logo American History to 18653
HIST 128IDEAs in Action General Education logo American History since 18653
HIST 130IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern African History3
HIST 134Modern East Asia3
HIST 136History of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh: South Asia since 17503
HIST 140IDEAs in Action General Education logo The World since 19453
HIST 142IDEAs in Action General Education logo Latin America under Colonial Rule3
HIST 158IDEAs in Action General Education logo Early Modern European History, 1450-18153
HIST 161IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia Becomes an Empire3
HIST 162IDEAs in Action General Education logo Russia under the Last Tsars and Soviet Commissars3
HIST 203IDEAs in Action General Education logo Empires and Cultures in the Modern World3
HIST 205IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1618-18153
HIST 206IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-19453
HIST 207IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Global Cold War3
HIST 225IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of Greece3
HIST 226History of Rome3
HIST 235IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native America in the 20th Century3
HIST 238IDEAs in Action General Education logo The American Revolution, 1763-18153
HIST 244IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of the American Presidency3
HIST 252IDEAs in Action General Education logo Politics, Society, and Culture in Modern Germany (1871-1945)3
HIST 255IDEAs in Action General Education logo Manor to Machine: The Economic Shaping of Europe3
HIST 256IDEAs in Action General Education logo France, 1940 to the Present H3
HIST 257IDEAs in Action General Education logo Politics, Society, and Culture in Postwar Germany3
HIST 260IDEAs in Action General Education logo From Kings to Communists: East-Central Europe in the Modern Era H3
HIST 272Modern South Asia3
HIST 273IDEAs in Action General Education logo Water, Conflict, and Connection in the Middle East3
HIST 274IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-19233
HIST 276IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Modern Middle East3
HIST 277IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Conflict over Israel/Palestine3
HIST 278IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade H3
HIST 284Late Imperial China3
HIST 309Old Regime France, 1661-17873
HIST 310The French Revolution3
HIST 313IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women and the Law in Africa and the Middle East3
HIST 335IDEAs in Action General Education logo Cracking India: Partition and Its Legacy in South Asia H3
HIST 346Dictators in the 20th Century3
HIST 352The Great Depression and Its Legacies H3
HIST 354War and Gender in Movies H3
HIST 359The Early American Republic, 1789-18483
HIST 365The Worker and American Life3
HIST 372IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of American Politics, 1932-Present H3
HIST 382IDEAs in Action General Education logo The History of the Civil Rights Movement H3
HIST 425Roman History, 154 BCE-14 CE3
HIST 427The Early Roman Empire, 14 CE-193 CE3
HIST 428The Later Roman Empire, 193 CE-378 CE3
HIST 452The Renaissance: Italy, Birthplace of the Renaissance, 1300-15503
HIST 462Germany, 1806-1918: Politics, Society, and Culture H3
HIST 463Germany since 1918: Politics, Society, and Culture H3
HIST 468IDEAs in Action General Education logo Culture on the Move: Art, Empire, and Restitution since 18003
HIST 481From Communists to Capitalists: Eastern Europe since 19453
HIST 482Russia, Eurasian Empire3
HIST 489IDEAs in Action General Education logo The History of the 2008 Financial Crisis H3
HIST 500Gender, Empire, and Nation3
HIST 510Human Rights in the Modern World H3
HIST 565Civil War and Reconstruction, 1848-19003
HIST 581American Constitutional History to 18763
HIST 582American Constitutional History since 18763
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Religion, Culture, and Intellectual Life

HIST 50IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Time and the Medieval Cosmos3
HIST 53IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Traveling to European Cities: American Writers/Cultural Identities, 1830-20003
HIST 66IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Film and History in Europe and the United States, 1908-19683
HIST 74IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Emperors, Courts, and Consumption: The Mughals of India3
HIST 107IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval History3
HIST 108IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Early Medieval History 500-10503
HIST 110IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to the Cultures and Histories of Native North America3
HIST 121IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of Religion in North America3
HIST 124IDEAs in Action General Education logo United States History through Film3
HIST 125IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Social History of Popular Music in 20th-Century America3
HIST 135IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of the Indian Subcontinent to 17503
HIST 138History of Muslim Societies to 15003
HIST 139IDEAs in Action General Education logo History of Muslim Societies since 15003
HIST 203IDEAs in Action General Education logo Empires and Cultures in the Modern World3
HIST 239Religion in North America since 18653
HIST 247IDEAs in Action General Education logo Early Modern Japanese History and Culture3
HIST 249IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Global Christianity3
HIST 251IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Thirty Years War (1618-1648): Europe in an Age of Crisis3
HIST 252IDEAs in Action General Education logo Politics, Society, and Culture in Modern Germany (1871-1945)3
HIST 257IDEAs in Action General Education logo Politics, Society, and Culture in Postwar Germany3
HIST 259IDEAs in Action General Education logo Towards Emancipation? Women in Modern Europe3
HIST 263IDEAs in Action General Education logo Gender and Religion in Premodern Europe H3
HIST 270Mughal India3
HIST 271IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient and Medieval Japanese History and Culture3
HIST 291IDEAs in Action General Education logo Putting Literature and History in Dialogue H3
HIST 302IDEAs in Action General Education logo Movies Make History: Films as Primary Sources in Europe and America H3
HIST 306IDEAs in Action General Education logo Princes and Reformations in Germany, 1400-16003
HIST 307IDEAs in Action General Education logo War and Enlightenment in Germany, 1600-18153
HIST 331Sex, Religion, and Violence: Revolutionary Thought in Modern South Asia3
HIST 333Love and Politics in Early India3
HIST 353Cinema, Culture, and Society3
HIST 360IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ideas in Modern America H3
HIST 363Popular Culture and American History H3
HIST 431The Medieval Church3
HIST 432The Crusades3
HIST 434IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval England3
HIST 437IDEAs in Action General Education logo Aristocratic Culture in the Central Middle Ages3
HIST 438IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval Masculinities, 500-1200 H3
HIST 442Religion, Co-existence, and Conflict in Pre-Colonial India3
HIST 454The Reformation3
HIST 459Global Evangelicalism since 16003
HIST 466Modern European Intellectual History H3
HIST 468IDEAs in Action General Education logo Culture on the Move: Art, Empire, and Restitution since 18003
HIST 483Nation and Religion in Russia3
HIST 484Islam in Tsarist and Soviet Russia3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

War, Revolution, and Society 

HIST 51IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Latin American Revolutions3
HIST 52IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Conflicts over Israel/Palestine3
HIST 159IDEAs in Action General Education logo From War to Prosperity: 20th-Century Europe3
HIST 205IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1618-18153
HIST 206IDEAs in Action General Education logo War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-19453
HIST 207IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Global Cold War3
HIST 212History of Sea Power3
HIST 238IDEAs in Action General Education logo The American Revolution, 1763-18153
HIST 240IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Mexico: A Nation in Four Revolutions3
HIST 242IDEAs in Action General Education logo United States-Latin American Relations3
HIST 245IDEAs in Action General Education logo The United States and the Cold War: Origins, Development, Legacy3
HIST 246IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Long Cold War: U.S. Foreign Relations in the 20th and 21st Centuries3
HIST 248Guerrillas and Counterinsurgencies in Latin America3
HIST 251IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Thirty Years War (1618-1648): Europe in an Age of Crisis3
HIST 254IDEAs in Action General Education logo War and Society in Early Modern Europe3
HIST 266IDEAs in Action General Education logo Global History of Warfare3
HIST 281The Pacific War, 1937-1945: Its Causes and Legacy3
HIST 307IDEAs in Action General Education logo War and Enlightenment in Germany, 1600-18153
HIST 310The French Revolution3
HIST 315IDEAs in Action General Education logo Nation-Building in Latin America H3
HIST 354War and Gender in Movies H3
HIST 368War and American Society to 19033
HIST 369War and American Society3
HIST 373The United States in World War II3
HIST 388 Chinese Strategic Thought: Antiquity to the Present3
HIST 421Alexander3
HIST 422Ancient Greek Warfare H3
HIST 434IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval England3
HIST 458Europe and the World Wars, 1914-19453
HIST 477Revolution in Russia, 1900-19303
HIST 517Gender, Military, and War 3
HIST 518Colloquium in World Military History3
HIST 536Revolution in the Modern Middle East3
HIST 570The Vietnam War3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Women’s and Gender History

HIST 72IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Women's Voices: 20th-Century European History in Female Memory H3
HIST 130IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern African History3
HIST 144IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women in the United States from Settlement to Present3
HIST 236IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sex and American History3
HIST 259IDEAs in Action General Education logo Towards Emancipation? Women in Modern Europe3
HIST 264Gender in Russian History3
HIST 280IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women and Gender in Latin American History3
HIST 354War and Gender in Movies H3
HIST 355American Women's History to 18653
HIST 356American Women's History, 1865 to the Present3
HIST 361Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Histories in the United States3
HIST 375History of Gender in America3
HIST 385IDEAs in Action General Education logo African American Women's History3
HIST 438IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval Masculinities, 500-1200 H3
HIST 475History of Feminism H3
HIST 479History of Female Sexualities 3
HIST 500Gender, Empire, and Nation3
HIST 517Gender, Military, and War 3
HIST 535Women and Gender in African History H3
HIST 537Women in the Middle East3
HIST 562IDEAs in Action General Education logo Oral History and Performance H3
HIST 566The History of Sexuality in America3
HIST 568Women in the South3
HIST 576The Ethnohistory of Native American Women3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

History Major, NUS Joint Degree

History majors may wish to consider applying for the Joint Degree Program, an innovative undergraduate degree program joining UNC–Chapel Hill and the National University of Singapore, one of the top universities in Asia and the world. UNC–Chapel Hill undergraduates spend from two to four semesters at the National University of Singapore and receive a joint bachelor of arts degree with a major in history from both institutions. 

Special Opportunities in History

Honors in History

The departmental honors program is open to any qualified history major with at least a 3.3 cumulative grade point average and, under normal circumstances, a 3.4 in history courses, and experience in research and writing derived from an undergraduate seminar in history (HIST 398). The student pursuing a degree in history with honors must take HIST 691H and HIST 692H; these two courses contribute credit hours toward fulfilling field-of-concentration requirements, depending on the topic of the thesis. The student, in consultation with the honors director, will choose a topic and locate an appropriate faculty member to supervise a senior honors thesis. In HIST 691H the mechanics of researching and writing a senior essay will be discussed and a start made on the essay itself. In HIST 692H the essay will be completed and the student examined by the supervisor and at least one additional faculty member to be agreed upon by the student and supervisor. To receive highest honors the essay must be recommended by the examiners and a review committee. The director of honors, in consultation with the examiners and review committee, will recommend that the student who has defended the essay graduate with either honors or highest honors, or merely with course credit. Students should submit applications for the honors program by the end of February during their junior year. For detailed guidelines click here or contact the director of honors in the Department of History.

Departmental Involvement

Students with broad interests in the intellectual and social life of the department may volunteer to serve on the department’s Undergraduate Studies Committee (UGSC). Each spring the department invites majors to volunteer for the UGSC, and the selection is made at the start of the next fall semester by the faculty members on the UGSC. Students may also plan or participate in activities organized by the Undergraduate History Club as well as, for those who are eligible, UNC–Chapel Hill’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta (described more fully below under “Undergraduate Awards”). For more information about the UGSC, the History Club, and Phi Alpha Theta, see department’s website or contact the coordinator for undergraduate studies in the Department of History.

Experiential Education

In some cases, students majoring in history may wish to pursue internship opportunities. Questions and requests regarding internships should be directed to the department’s lecturer/advisor, who has responsibility for evaluating internship proposals and deciding whether an internship may be taken for academic credit. For more information, click here.

All history majors will receive credit for the Research and Discovery requirement (in the IDEAs in Action General Education curriculum) or the Experiential Education requirement (in the Making Connections General Education curriculum) when they complete HIST 398.

Study Abroad

The department strongly encourages its students to explore the many study abroad opportunities provided by the Study Abroad Office. The experience of studying abroad opens intellectual horizons that can be glimpsed only in unfamiliar worlds, and it deepens one’s appreciation for the enduring power of historical context and circumstance.

The Department of History participates in a unique joint degree program with the National University of Singapore. The department also has an exchange program with King’s College in London. For further information about both programs, contact the Study Abroad Office and the director of undergraduate studies in the department. General information for history majors wishing to study abroad can be found on the department's website.

Undergraduate Awards

All majors who complete the required undergraduate seminar (HIST 398) are automatically eligible for the annual Joshua Meador Prize, awarded to the author of the best seminar paper written in the preceding calendar year. A named prize is also awarded to the author of the best honors thesis; the award is announced at the annual spring honors banquet.

The Department of History sponsors a chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society. Students who have taken 12 hours of history courses at UNC–Chapel Hill and who have an overall grade point average of 3.0 and an average in history courses of 3.1 are eligible to apply for membership. An announcement regarding applications for Phi Alpha Theta will be distributed to all history majors in the fall semester.

Undergraduate Research

The Department of History encourages undergraduate research in a variety of ways. The required seminar for majors (HIST 398) introduces students to historical research. The senior honors program (HIST 691H and HIST 692H) gives students an opportunity to carry out a yearlong research project. In both the fall and spring semesters, senior honors students may apply for competitive awards, including the Michael L. and Matthew L. Boyatt Awards in History for Undergraduate Research and the David Anthony Kusa Undergraduate Research Award, to help support travel for the purpose of research.

Department of History

Visit Program Website

556 Hamilton Hall, CB# 3195

(919) 962-2115

Chair

Lisa Lindsay

lalindsa@email.unc.edu

Associate Chair

Molly Worthen

mworthen@unc.edu

Undergraduate Advisor

Matthew Andrews

andrewsm@email.unc.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Katherine Turk

kturk@email.unc.edu

Director of Graduate Studies

Eren Tasar

etasar@email.unc.edu

Undergraduate Coordinator

Sam Louie-Meadors

samlouie@unc.edu

Business Manager

David Culclasure

davidnc@ad.unc.edu