Due to COVID-19, the Department of History office is currently closed and faculty and staff are working remotely. If you have general inquiries, please direct them to historydept@history.wisc.edu. The Department of History is working under the guidance of Smart Restart, and the most up to date spring 2021 semester information can be found on the Smart Restart webpage.

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.

A New Home for History

History may be leaving Mosse Humanities. A proposal is underway for a new L&S Academic Building to house the History Department and better serve the needs of a growing undergraduate population. Read more…

History in Summer

With 20 online courses to choose from, you can learn history anywhere this summer. More here…

Statement of Commitment

Statement of Commitment to Eradicating White Supremacy, Institutional Racism, and Anti-Black Violence. We draft this statement of solidarity keenly aware that our own institution has to play a role in this quest for meaningful change. Statement of Commitment

Department News

History Faculty, Students, Alumni Speak About the Humanities Building
Professor Leonora Neville (History Department Chair), senior history major Max Herteen, and alumnus Rick Schlesinger (’83, member of the History Board of Visitors and President of Business Operations at the Milwaukee Brewers) are featured in …
History Major Selected as Truman Scholarship Finalist
History major Adrian Lampron has been selected as one of three Truman Scholarship Finalists from UW-Madison! The Truman Scholarship recognizes outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and …
The Department of History May Be Getting a New Home (With Your Help)!
The Department of History, currently housed in the George L. Mosse Humanities Building, may be getting a new home! To those who have taken classes in the building, it will come as no surprise that …
UW-Madison History Ranks High on List of Best Graduate Schools
The 2022 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” ranks UW-Madison’s History Department as #11 for overall Best History Programs. Ranked specialties place the program at #1 for African History, #2 for …
Professor Mitra Sharafi Receives 2021 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award
Congratulations to Professor of Law and History Department affiliate Mitra Sharafi on receiving the 2021 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award! “Sharafi links theory to practice and encourages students to think beyond the four walls of the classroom. …
Alumnus Jeffrey Moran Publishes New Book on The Scopes Trial
Alumnus Jeffrey Moran (BA in History and Comm Arts, 1988) has published his fourth book, The Scopes Trial: A Brief History with Documents, Second Edition (New York, Bedford Books, 2021). The subject of the book …
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