Department of History

Welcome! Building on more than a century of distinguished scholarship and teaching, our faculty and staff serve over 400 undergraduate majors along with many other students passionate about history. We are also home to a vibrant community of some 130 graduate students in both History and the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.

Spring Courses

More than 75 Graduate and Undergraduate Courses in History and History of Science will be offered in Spring 2020. Click here to find out more!

Diversity in History

“We strongly believe that our intellectual endeavors are made more credible and rigorous when they include different peoples, places….” More here…

History of Science, Medicine, and Technology

History of Science, Medicine, and Technology (HSMT) brings together pioneering faculty members in History and Medical History & Bioethics. More here…

Department News

“Why Take History?” Video Contest
The History Department announces up to three $500 prizes for a short (1-3 minute) video made by an undergraduate individual or team on the subject, “Why take History?” Videos may answer this question in a …
Recent Graduate Ryan Smazal Working on Underwater Archaeology
The 2018 issue of “The Past in the Present” featured Ryan Smazal (History/Political Science, 2019) and his summer internship with WHS’s Maritime Preservation/Maritime Archeology Program. As part of his work that summer, he was certified …
History Remembers John Walton Barker (1933-2019)
Professor Emeritus John W. Barker passed away on October 24th at the age of 86. Barker was an expert in late Byzantine and Venetian history whose work helped define Byzantine studies in the twentieth century. …
Professor Emeritus J. Rogers Hollingsworth (1932-2019)
The History Department Remembers Professor Emeritus J. Rogers Hollingsworth (1932-2019) Throughout his career, Hollingsworth had a broad interest in socio-economics and comparative research. He became actively involved with the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, …
Professor Emeritus David Morgan (1945-2019)
The History Department Remembers Professor Emeritus David Morgan (1945-2019) Professor Emeritus David O. Morgan passed away on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, at the age of 74. He earned his B.A. from the University of Oxford …
Alumna Vaneesa Cook Publishes Spiritual Socialists
Spiritual Socialists: Religion and the American Left Refuting the common perception that the American left has a religion problem, Vaneesa Cook highlights an important but overlooked intellectual and political tradition that she calls “spiritual socialism.” …
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