Everything and Everyone has a History

Alumni spotlight: Alexander Rushing ('24), Historic mining specialist

Editors note: This piece originally appeared on the Prairie Research Institute Website. Meet Alexander Rushing, who...

"Voters elected Hitler because they liked his fascist promise. Trump’s reelection repeats that history," op-ed by professor Peter Fritzsche in The Forward

Professor Peter Fritzsche recently wrote an op ed in The Forward about the 2024 presidential election. Voters elected Hitler because they liked his fascist promise. Trump’s reelection repeats that history "The end of the presidential campaign was characterized by broad charges that...

Were Hitler's generals loyal? Interview with professor Peter Fritzsche in Newsweek

Newsweek recently interviewed historians about the loyalty of Hitler's generals. Professor Peter Fritzsche weighed in. "Most of the military—from soldiers to officers to generals—were loyal and ideologically aligned with Hitler. The price of disloyalty was very high....

Leslie J. Reagan named Robert W. Schaefer Professor in Liberal Arts and Sciences

When professor Leslie J. Reagan entered her graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison she and the other students in her cohort were told they would never get a job. The field of women's history was virtually nonexistent at the time. “I thought, that's okay, I’ll work in a...

History professor’s book looks at Brazil’s longest-lasting maroon society, its influence today: Interview with professor Marc Hertzman

The largest and longest-lasting society formed by people who escaped slavery and their descendants endured for a century in northeastern Brazil, and it continues to be a potent political symbol of Black pride today. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ...

Professor Marc Hertzman receives honorable mention for James Alexander Robertson Prize from Conference on Latin American History

The Department of History is pleased to announce that professor Marc Hertzman was awarded an honorable mention for the prestigious James Alexander Robertson Prize for the best article published in the Hispanic American Historical Review by the Conference on Latin American History. His...

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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: Yuxi (XiXi) Tian (2012)

XiXi attended Harvard Law School after graduating from Illinois and, after a bevy of internships, a clerkship in the office of Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass) and experience working at a DC regulatory law firm, she became Associate Corporate Counsel for Google Fiber in new York City.