Everything and Everyone has a History

Phi Alpha Theta Regional History Conference

November 8-9 Illini Union

Join us for the Phi Alpha Theta Conference, our first regional undergraduate history conference. This year's theme is conflict and culture. Panelists will explore how cultural expressions reflect, respond to, and shape the nature of conflicts throughout history. Join us in exploring the powerful narratives that emerge when conflict and culture intersect.

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"My family lived the horrors of Native American boarding schools–why Biden’s apology doesn’t go far enough," op-ed by professor Rosalyn LaPier

Professor Rosalyn LaPier wrote an op-ed in The Conversation about President Biden's apology for the US government policy of sending Native American children to Indian boarding schools. My family lived the horrors of Native American boarding schools–why Biden’s apology doesn’t go far...

Inside HIST 203: Reacting to the Past

Imagine it’s 1913 and you’re in a tiny basement restaurant called Polly’s in Greenwich Village, New York. Change is in the air and intellectuals, artists, and activists gather to debate the issues of the day: women’s suffrage, labor unions, socialism, birth control, and anarchism. The nightly crowd...

Learning world history, making Illini history: Inside our study abroad in Prague program

Stefan Djordjevic and Marco Jaimes wrote about the first year of our study abroad program HIST 354: 20th Century Europe in Prague. Applications are currently being accepted for the summer 2025 program. Tour one of Europe's most beautiful cities and visit locations where history was made:...

Professor Angela Diaz awarded Michael V.R. Thomason Book Award from Gulf South Historical Association

The Department of History is pleased to announce that Professor Angela Diaz has been awarded the Michael V. R. Thomason Book Award from the Gulf South Historical...

Professor Anna Jungeun Lee joins the Department of History at the University of Illinois

This fall, the Department of History is excited to welcome Anna Jungeun Lee to our faculty as an assistant professor. Her primary appointment is in the Department of East Asian Languages and...

Chelsey Smith joins the Department of History as a public humanities post-doctoral fellow

This fall, the Department of History is excited to welcome Chelsey Smith as a public humanities post-doctoral fellow. Smith is a historian of nineteenth-century Jamaican history and her research interests include education, race, and labor in the Caribbean and Latin America. The...

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Chart Your Own Path

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.

History Major History Minor

East Asian Civilizations

Explore the three major East Asian civilizations from ancient and classical times, through the period of Western influence, political revolution, and modernization, to the contemporary age and the emergence of East Asian superpowers.

HIST 120

History of the Islamic Middle East

Explore the history of the Muslim world from the rise of Islam to the present, with an emphasis on the modern period.

HIST 135

US History Since 1877

Explore U.S. history from the end of the Civil War to the present, focusing on struggles to achieve a multiracial democracy, the evolution of an industrial, urbanized, and pluralistic society, the intersections between domestic and global affairs, and the practice of historical interpretation.

HIST 172

World War II: A Global History

Explore the political, military, social, and economic history of the Second World War.

HIST 209

Ancient Rome

Explore the political, social, economic, military, institutional, religious and cultural development of Rome from 753 BCE until 480 CE.

HIST 241

Native American History

Explore the Native American experience in North America from the time of first contact to the present.

HIST 278

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Conduct Your Own Research

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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Alumni Spotlight: Kristen L Allen (2016)

Kristen's enthusiasm for research, public history and the digital humanities convinced her to pursue a career in museum studies and becoming Museum Coordinator of the Illinois Distributed Museum. As a History major, Kristen honed her research and writing skills and took advantage of multiple opportunities to pursue undergraduate research.