Political History Concentration
Search current and upcoming Political History courses on this linked page, using the tool on the right to filter by term and concentration.
For students in the class of 2025 and later
Students will be able to declare the Political History Concentration beginning in August 2024
The Political History concentration invites students to explore historical and comparative approaches to the organization of political power, state institutions, and experiences of subjecthood, citizenship, and rights. Students will have the opportunity to confront questions about the nature and practices of democracies and non-democracies, the formation and dissolution of political parties, various means of structuring governments and constitutions, and formal political relationships among individuals, communities, and states. While the concentration is centered within the discipline of History, it also welcomes students to take some courses in related fields in the College, thus encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to the field’s vital intellectual questions.
The Political History concentration allows students and faculty to explore shared methodological questions and practices that cut across geographical, national, and chronological borders. A student may choose to focus on the political history of a particular nation, empire, or region, and may also examine comparative histories from across the globe. This approach allows students the opportunity to think deeply about how time, place, geography, and context shape differences and similarities in the development and permanence of political regimes and cultures.
Political History Concentration Requirements
The Political History Concentration requires six courses:
3 CORE COURSES: includes any course with the Political History attribute (listed below)
2 ELECTIVES: includes any combination of Political History core courses, "major-related" courses from other departments with the Political History-related attribute, or "major-related" courses approved by the major faculty advisor
1 SEMINAR: includes any Political History core course numbered HIST 2000-3799
Political History Core Courses
HIST 0100 Deciphering America
HIST 0200 Emergence of Modern Europe
HIST 0205 Europe: From the Fall of Rome to the Age of Exploration
HIST 0290 The Soviet Century
HIST 0360 History of the Middle East Since 1800
HIST 0450 Modern Latin America
HIST 0500 Late Imperial China
HIST 0570 Colonial South Asia, 1700 - 1950
HIST 0560 Modern Japanese History
HIST 1110 Hamilton's America: US History 1776-1804
HIST 1119 History of American Law to 1877
HIST 1169 History of American Law Since 1877
HIST 1172 Bodies Race and Rights: Sex and Citizenship in the United States 1865 to the Present
HIST 1179 Precious Lord, Take My Hand: America in the Sixties
HIST1180 US Society and Politics Since the 1960s
HIST 1190 American Diplomatic History Since 1776
HIST 1191 US Empire in the Twentieth Century
HIST 1230 The French Revolution and the Origins of Modern Politics
HIST 1270 World War I
HIST 1275 Spain: From Civil War to Post-Francoism
HIST 1280 Origins of Nazism: From Democracy to Race War and Genocide
HIST 1300 Gunpowder, Art, and Diplomacy: Islamic Empires in the Early Modern World
HIST 1350 Faces of Jihad in Africa
HIST 1362 The Making of Modern Israel and Palestine
HIST 1382 Modern Iran
HIST 1475 History of Brazil: Slavery, Inequality, Development
HIST 1540 Religion and Politics in South Asia, c. 1000-2000
HIST 1550 East Asian Diplomacy
HIST 1625 Era of Revolutions in the Atlantic World
HIST 1710 Jews in the Modern World
HIST 1733 Free Speech and Censorship
HIST 1735 The Cold War: A Global History
HIST 1740 Capitalism, Socialism, and Crisis in the 20th Century Americas
HIST 2154 The State of the Union is Not Good
HIST 2158 News, Media, and American Democracy
HIST 2159 The History of Family Separation
HIST 2255 Modern Spain From Civil War to Democracy, 1930-1977
HIST 2256 The Russian Revolutions: 1905-1924
HIST 2707 Extreme Heat: White Nationalism in the Age of Climate Change
HIST 2161/3151 The Civil Rights Movement
HIST 3202 Medieval Justice
HIST 3350 Religion and Colonial Rule in Africa
HIST 3713 Singer-songwriters in the Cold War
HIST 3910 Immigration and the Making of US Law
HIST 3965 The International Monetary System from Sterling to Cryptocurrency (1720-2020)
HIST 3920 European Diplomatic History 1789-1914
HIST 3921 European International Relations Since 1914
Political History Faculty Advisors
Brent Cebul
Sarah Gronningsater
Mia Bay
Anne Berg
Cheikh Babou
Fred Dickinson
Peter Holquist
Ada Kuskowski
Ben Nathans
Amy Offner
William Sturkey
Secil Yilmaz