History Major
Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.
NOTE: This Catalog describes Weinberg College BA requirements that pertain to students who matriculated at Northwestern after spring quarter 2023. Refer to the Archives if you are following BA requirements described in the 2018-2019 through 2022-2023 editions.
The history major enables students to broaden their intellectual horizons as they study the experiences of people in times and places other than their own. Courses are designed to develop the ability to read insightfully, think critically, and write with precision and polish. Students enroll in a range of historical courses as well as develop an area of concentration.
Major Requirements (12 units)
- 2 undergraduate seminars. With department advisor permission a seminar course may also be counted as a course inside or outside of a concentration, but double-counting does not reduce the total number of courses required for the major.
- At least 1 unit HISTORY 393-0 Approaches to History (taken as soon as possible after declaring the history major)
- At least 1 unit HISTORY 395-0 Research Seminar
- 10 courses split between courses inside and outside a concentration
- Students doing a geographic concentration take 6 courses inside one of these areas, with the remaining 4 outside the concentration: African/Middle Eastern history, Asian/Middle Eastern history, English/European history, History of the Americas
- Students doing the Global history concentration take Global History: Early Modern to Modern Transition (HISTORY 250-1) and Global History: The Modern World (HISTORY 250-2), 2 additional Global history courses, and either 2 from each of 3 geographic areas or 3 from each of 2 geographic areas
- Additional rules include:
- No more than 1 may be an introductory colloquium (either HISTORY 101-7 or HISTORY 101-8).
- At least 2 of the courses at the 200- and 300-level must be focused on Europe or the Americas before 1800, OR on Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, or Global (any period).
- Up to two may be specific courses taught by other departments and programs, including CLASSICS 211-0, CLASSICS 212-0, ECON 318-0, ECON 323-1, ECON 323-2, ECON 324-0, RELIGION 264-0, RELIGION 265-0, other classes taught by History Department faculty (core faculty, visiting faculty, or history lecturers), and (with permission of the director of undergraduate studies) some class offerings of ECON 315-0. Substitute courses might be applied inside or outside the concentration, but may not be substituted for HISTORY 393-0 or HISTORY 395-0 (undergraduate seminar requirement).
- Up to three courses completed on a study abroad program may be counted towards the major with approval of a faculty advisor.
- With adviser approval 1 unit of Chicago Field Studies may be applied towards the major.
- No credit based on test scores (such as AP or IB) may be counted towards the major.
- Courses completed with a grade of P may not be applied to the major; see Weinberg College - Grade Requirements.
Concentration course lists for the major
African/Middle Eastern history
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HISTORY 255-1 | African Civilizations |
| HISTORY 255-2 | Africa in the Age of Early Modern Empires |
| HISTORY 255-3 | Modern Africa |
| HISTORY 270-0 | Middle Eastern/Islamic Civilization |
| HISTORY 271-1 | History of the Islamic Middle East: 600-1200 |
| HISTORY 271-2 | History of the Islamic Middle East: 1200-1789 |
| HISTORY 271-3 | History of the Modern Middle East, 1789 - Present |
| HISTORY 272-0 | History of Ancient Egypt, 3100-c. 1000 B.C.E. |
| HISTORY 356-1 | History of South Africa, Early Times to 1879 |
| HISTORY 356-2 | History of South Africa, 1879-on |
| HISTORY 357-0 | East Africa |
| HISTORY 358-0 | Topics in West African History |
| HISTORY 373-1 | The Last Empire of Islam: The Ottomans in Europe and Asia in the Early Modern Era |
| HISTORY 373-2 | The Ottoman Empire in the Age of Nationalism: From “Grand Signor” to the “Sick Man of Europe" |
| HISTORY 374-0 | The Arabian Peninsula Since the 18th Century |
| Other as approved by department advisor. | |
Asian/Middle Eastern history
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HISTORY 270-0 | Middle Eastern/Islamic Civilization |
| HISTORY 271-1 | History of the Islamic Middle East: 600-1200 |
| HISTORY 271-2 | History of the Islamic Middle East: 1200-1789 |
| HISTORY 271-3 | History of the Modern Middle East, 1789 - Present |
| HISTORY 272-0 | History of Ancient Egypt, 3100-c. 1000 B.C.E. |
| HISTORY 281-0 | Chinese Civilization |
| HISTORY 284-1 | Ancient and Medieval Japan: From the Realm of the Gods to the Age of the Samurai |
| HISTORY 284-2 | Early Modern Japan |
| HISTORY 286-0 | World War II in Asia |
| HISTORY 373-1 | The Last Empire of Islam: The Ottomans in Europe and Asia in the Early Modern Era |
| HISTORY 373-2 | The Ottoman Empire in the Age of Nationalism: From “Grand Signor” to the “Sick Man of Europe" |
| HISTORY 374-0 | The Arabian Peninsula Since the 18th Century |
| HISTORY 381-1 | Qing China |
| HISTORY 381-2 | Modern China: The Twentieth Century |
| HISTORY 381-3 | Modern China: Post-Mao Reforms, 1978-2016 |
| HISTORY 381-SA | Beijing: Politics and Power in Modern China |
| HISTORY 382-0 | The Modern Japanese City |
| HISTORY 383-0 | Japan's Modern Revolution |
| HISTORY 384-1 | History of Modern Japan: The Modern State, 1860-1943 |
| HISTORY 384-2 | History of Modern Japan: War and postwar Japan, 1943-present |
| HISTORY 385-1 | History of Modern South Asia, 1500-1800 |
| HISTORY 385-2 | History of Modern South Asia, ca. 1750-present |
| HISTORY 386-2 | Southeast Asia in the Age of Empire |
| HISTORY 386-3 | Southeast Asia: Decolonization & Independence |
| HISTORY 388-0 | The Mongol Empire |
| Other as approved by department advisor. | |
English/European history
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HISTORY 201-1 | Europe in the Medieval and Early Modern World |
| HISTORY 201-2 | Europe in the Modern World |
| HISTORY 203-1 | Jewish History I: 750-1492 |
| HISTORY 203-2 | Jewish History II: Early Modern, 1492-1789 |
| HISTORY 203-3 | Jewish History III: 1789-1948 |
| HISTORY 261-0 | Sex after Shakespeare |
| HISTORY 330-0 | Medieval Sex |
| HISTORY 331-0 | Women in Medieval Society |
| HISTORY 332-1 | Medieval Europe I: Early Middle Ages, 300-1000 |
| HISTORY 332-2 | Medieval Europe II: High & Late Middle Ages, 1000-1450 |
| HISTORY 333-0 | The European Renaissance |
| HISTORY 334-0 | The Reformation of Religion |
| HISTORY 336-0 | Spain 1500 - 1700: Rise and Fall of a European Empire |
| HISTORY 337-0 | History of Modern Europe |
| HISTORY 338-1 | Europe in the 20th Century, 1900-1945 |
| HISTORY 338-2 | Europe in the 20th Century, 1945-Present |
| HISTORY 340-0 | Gender, War, and Revolution in the 20th Century |
| HISTORY 341-0 | Paris: World City, 1700 to the Present |
| HISTORY 342-1 | The French Revolution and Napoleon |
| HISTORY 342-2 | History of Modern France: 19th c. to present |
| HISTORY 343-0 | Modern Italy |
| HISTORY 344-1 | German History: Weimar and Nazi Germany |
| HISTORY 344-2 | German History: Germany Since 1945 |
| HISTORY 345-1 | History of Russia, 800-1917: From Kievan Rus to the Bolshevik Revolution |
| HISTORY 345-2 | History of Russia, 1917-1991: The Soviet Union |
| HISTORY 345-3 | History of Russia, 1991-Present: After Communism |
| HISTORY 346-0 | East Central Europe under Communist Rule and Beyond, 1945 to the Present |
| HISTORY 347-0 | Christians and Jews |
| HISTORY 348-1 | Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia |
| HISTORY 348-2 | Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia |
| HISTORY 349-0 | The Holocaust |
| HISTORY 350-0 | Soviet History Through Film |
| HISTORY 351-0 | Europe in the Age of Total War |
| HISTORY 353-0 | History of Capitalism, 1500-1850 |
| HISTORY 360-0 | Tudor and Stuart Britain |
| HISTORY 362-1 | Modern British History, 1688 - 1815 |
| HISTORY 362-2 | The Victorians: liberalism, empire, and morality, 1780-1900 |
| HISTORY 362-3 | Britain since 1900: The Decline and Fall of Empire |
| HISTORY 364-0 | Gender and Sexuality in Victorian Britain |
| Other as approved by department advisor. | |
Global history
Students doing the Global History concentration complete HISTORY 250-1 and HISTORY 250-2 plus two of the following to complete 4 courses inside the concentration.
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HISTORY 248-0 | Global Legal History |
| HISTORY 251-0 | The Politics of Disaster: A Global Environmental History |
| HISTORY 252-0 | Global History of Refugees |
| HISTORY 253-0 | A Global History of Prisons and Camps |
| HISTORY 254-0 | Entrepreneurship: A Global History |
| HISTORY 262-0 | Pirates, Guns, and Empires |
| HISTORY 352-0 | A Global History of Death and Dying |
| HISTORY 376-0 | Global Environments and World History |
| HISTORY 379-0 | Biomedicine and World History |
| Other course as approved by department advisor. | |
History of the Americas
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HISTORY 210-1 | North America and the United States to 1865 |
| HISTORY 210-2 | History of the United States, Reconstruction to the Present |
| HISTORY 211-0 | American Wars |
| HISTORY 212-1 | Introduction to African-American History: Key concepts from 1700-1861 |
| HISTORY 212-2 | Introduction to African American History: Emancipation to Civil Rights Movement |
| HISTORY 214-0 | Asian American History |
| HISTORY 215-0 | History of the American Family |
| HISTORY 216-0 | Global Asians |
| HISTORY 218-0 | The History of Latinas and Latinos in the United States |
| HISTORY 219-0 | History of the Present |
| HISTORY 221-0 | Famous American Trials |
| HISTORY 260-1 | Becoming Latin America, 1492-1830 |
| HISTORY 260-2 | History of Modern Latin America |
| HISTORY 264-0 | The Age of Revolutions, 1775-1848 |
| HISTORY 303-1 | American Women's History, to 1865 |
| HISTORY 303-2 | American Women's History, since 1865 |
| HISTORY 304-0 | Asian American Women's History |
| HISTORY 305-0 | American Immigration |
| HISTORY 308-0 | The American West |
| HISTORY 309-0 | American Environmental History |
| HISTORY 310-1 | Early American History: Contact and Colonization |
| HISTORY 310-2 | American Revolution: From British Colonies to Republican Empire |
| HISTORY 311-0 | Democracy and its Discontents: The US from the Constitution to the Mexican War |
| HISTORY 314-0 | The Civil War and Reconstruction |
| HISTORY 315-1 | The United States Since 1900: Early 20th C. |
| HISTORY 315-2 | The United States Since 1900: Mid-20th C. |
| HISTORY 315-3 | The United States Since 1900: Late 20th C. to Present |
| HISTORY 316-0 | The Sixties |
| HISTORY 317-1 | American Cultural History: 19th C. |
| HISTORY 317-2 | American Cultural History: 20th C. to Present |
| HISTORY 318-1 | Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: Colonial Period to 1850 |
| HISTORY 318-2 | Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: 1850 to Present |
| HISTORY 319-0 | US Foreign Relations |
| HISTORY 320-0 | The Fourteenth Amendment |
| HISTORY 321-0 | The Vietnam Wars |
| HISTORY 322-1 | Development of the Modern American City: to 1880 |
| HISTORY 322-2 | Development of the Modern American City: 1880-Present |
| HISTORY 324-0 | US Gay and Lesbian History |
| HISTORY 325-0 | History of American Technology |
| HISTORY 326-0 | U.S. Intellectual History |
| HISTORY 327-0 | Histories of Violence in the United States |
| HISTORY 365-0 | Medicine in Latin America: From Chocolate to Che Guevara |
| HISTORY 366-0 | Latin America in the Independence Era: American Indians and Nations |
| HISTORY 367-0 | History of Mexico |
| HISTORY 368-2 | Revolutions in Latin America and the Caribbean from Haiti to Mexico |
| HISTORY 369-0 | Development and Inequality in Modern Latin America |
| HISTORY 370-0 | Music and Nation in Latin America |
| Other as approved by department advisor. | |
Honors in History
Junior majors with strong academic records and an interest in pursuing honors attend informational sessions during winter quarter. They submit a thesis proposal and a letter of recommendation from a Northwestern history professor by an early spring deadline. Those chosen enroll as seniors in a 3-quarter thesis seminar (HISTORY 398-1, HISTORY 398-2, HISTORY 398-3) and submit a completed thesis in May. All 3 thesis seminar quarters (HISTORY 398-1, HISTORY 398-2, HISTORY 398-3) may count toward the major; see the department for details.
Students whose theses and grades meet department criteria are recommended to the college for graduation with honors. For more information consult the director of undergraduate studies and see Honors in the Major.