Everything and Everyone has a History
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Why Study History?
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.
History of Africa from 1800
Understand the history of Africa through the Atlantic slave trade, agricultural exchange, growth of Christianity, nineteenth-century European expansion, European colonial rule during the twentieth century, anticolonial nationalism, decolonization, and postcolonial political, economic, social, and cultural developments.
Madness and Modern Society
Explore the development of the mind sciences in modern Europe from the beginning of state-regulated asylums to the advent of pharmaceutical treatment and care in the community.
World War II: A Global History
Trace the political, military, social, and economic history of the Second World War. Understand the collapse of the Versailles system, the Interwar crisis of democracy, the rise of totalitarian regimes, the civilian experience of war, the intersection of ideology and violence, and the onset of the Nuclear Age.
The Caribbean since 1492: From Columbus to Castro
How colonialism, plantation slavery, the age of abolition, and the emergence of national independence movements made the modern Caribbean.
Sport and Society
Examines the history of the roles that sport has played in society through a series of topical foci, as selected by the professor each semester. This semester will explore baseball and integration.
Civil War and Reconstruction
Understand a formative period in U.S. history. During this period, the nation underwent its second revolution—a revolution more radical in its impact than the one that freed it from the British Empire. Much about U.S. history for the next century and more was decided during these critical years.
Roman Republic to 44 BC
Examine the political, social, economic, military, institutional, religious and cultural development of Rome from 753 BCE until 14 CE.
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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.
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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.
In the News
Common Dreams
Professor Antoinette Burton encourages people to become "students of struggle" after the No Kings protests.
New York Times
Professor Peter Fritzsche's new book 1942: When World War II Engulfed the Globe was reviewed by the New York Times.
Daily Illini
Professor Rosalyn LaPier discusses the impact of mascots based on Native American imagery and implores people to stop wearing merch featuring former U of I Mascot Chief Illiniwek in a Letter to the Editor.
Calendar
Alumni Spotlight: Chad Kahl (1993)
Chad is an Associate Dean at Illinois State University’s Milner Library. In that role, he administers the Public Services unit that provides collection development, government documents, instruction, reference and research services, and subject librarian services and the Information Technology unit.