Everything and Everyone has a History

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Read article: Professor Kristin Hoganson receives Guggenheim Fellowship
Professor Kristin Hoganson receives Guggenheim Fellowship
Professor Kristin Hoganson is one of two University of Illinois professors to be awarded a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship. English professor Corey Van Landingham also received a fellowship. They are among 198 individuals working across 53 disciplines chosen...
Read article: Illini Success report: 98% of history alums secure first destination soon after graduation
Illini Success report: 98% of history alums secure first destination soon after graduation
 An annual survey of recent graduates reports that 98% of history and history of art alumni who graduated during the 2023-2024 period secured their first destination within six months of graduating.  That figure...
Read article: Professor Deepasri Baul awarded Summer Faculty Fellowship from Humanities Research Institute
Professor Deepasri Baul awarded Summer Faculty Fellowship from Humanities Research Institute
 Professor Deepasri Baul has been awarded a Summer Faculty Fellowship from the Humanities Research Institute for her project “An Aversion to Progress: The Cultural Habitus of North Indian Caste-Histories.” Summer Faculty Fellowships provide resources to faculty members for research projects,...
Read article: From history major to social studies teacher: Q&A with alumna Hailey Baumstein
From history major to social studies teacher: Q&A with alumna Hailey Baumstein
Meet Hailey Baumstein (BA,'17, history; MA,'22, education policy, organization, & leadership), a social studies teacher, girls' cross country coach, and assistant track coach at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. She began her career at Thornton Township High School before transitioning to...
Read article: From history major to Google project manager: Q&A with alumna Ljubica Basica
From history major to Google project manager: Q&A with alumna Ljubica Basica
Meet Ljubica Basica (BA,'18, history and political science; MBA,'23), a project manager at Google with Mandiant Cybersecurity Consulting. Her journey after graduating with a BA in history and political science led her from working in government, to completing her MBA and now working in...
Read article: From history major to CEO: Q&A with alumnus Thomas Dowling
From history major to CEO: Q&A with alumnus Thomas Dowling
Meet Thomas Dowling (BA,'18, history and political science), the co-founder and former CEO of TaxProper, a property tax software start-up acquired by Opendoor in 2022. Dowling is currently the director of TaxProper under Opendoor. He was also appointed by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to be the...
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Why Study History?

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Take a walk with professor Rosalyn LaPier to learn why the study of history is important today. 

Black Music

What is black music, and how do we know what we think we know about it? Examine musical creations pioneered by Africans and individuals of African descent over several centuries and across hemispheres.

HIST 104

Western Worlds: Ancient and Medieval Societies from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe

Explore Western societies from antiquity to the early modern age in western Asia, North Africa, and Europe; with an emphasis on cultural exchange, migration, and the transmission of knowledge, ideas, technologies, and arts.

HIST 141

American Environmental History

Learn the ways that "natural" forces have helped to shape American history; the ways that human beings have shaped, altered, and interacted with nature over time; and the ways that cultural, philosophical, scientific, and political attitudes toward the environment have changed from pre-history to the present.

HIST 202

Digital Documentary Publishing

Learn about the craft of publishing historical materials, with a special focus on how to publish the past in the digital age.

HIST 207

Modern Japanese History

Explore the history of the Japanese people, their social and cultural systems, politics, and economy, from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.

HIST 227

Constructing Race in America

An interdisciplinary examination of the historical, cultural, and social dimensions of race and ethnicity in the United States.

HIST 281

Global History of Intelligence

Examine the role of both diplomatic and military intelligence in the political history of major global events and developments from the nineteenth century to the present day.

HIST 311

Middle East since World War I

Explore political-economic, social and ideological developments in Egypt, Arabia, and Fertile Crescent (including Israel), Iran and Turkey since 1918 to the present, including U.S. involvement.

HIST 337

History of the American West

Explore the history of the American West in the continental U.S. in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the process of annexation of Indigenous lands, colonization of Indigenous peoples and U.S. settler-colonialism on Indigenous lands.

HIST 476

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Chart Your Own Path

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Our program empowers you to explore your interests and passions within history and gives you the flexibility to pair the major with advanced language study, internships, study abroad experiences, undergraduate research, and community engagement.  

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Conduct Your Own Research

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Research is embedded in the history curriculum with an emphasis on transforming students from consumers of history to critical producers of it. All students have access to the resources of the second largest university library in the country. 

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UIUC Alum Eric Vernsten

Alumni Spotlight: Eric Vernsten (2009)

First Lieutenant Eric S. Vernsten is a Judge Advocate for the Illinois Army National Guard, as well as a Prosecutor in Northwest Illinois and Comedy Podcast host.