The preliminary examinations (“prelims”) test students’ mastery of their chosen areas of specialization. The structure of the exams and timing of the exams varies somewhat by study program. See the Graduate Program Handbook for details.
In preparing for their preliminary exams, students ordinarily compile a reading list for each field, in consultation with the faculty members who supervise their fields and sit on their prelims committee. Organized below by field are reading lists for a variety of fields that dissertators and recent alums have offered to share.
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Africa
- Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade (Kathleen Alfin, 2018) (pdf)
- East Africa/Great Lakes (Stephen Pierce, 2011) (pdf)
- Equatorial and Central Africa (Stephen Pierce, 2011) (pdf)
- Liberia (Kathleen Alfin, 2018) (pdf)
- Precolonial Africa (Kathleen Alfin, 2018) (pdf)
- Precolonial Africa (Stephen Pierce, 2011) (pdf)
- Precolonial Social History (Kathleen Alfin, 2018) (pdf)
- Slavery (Stephen Pierce, 2011) (pdf)
- Southern Africa (Stephen Pierce, 2011) (pdf)
- West Africa (Stephen Pierce, 2011) (pdf)
Ancient History
East Asian
Europe
- 18th – 19th-Century Europe (Kilian Harrer, 2018) (pdf)
- 18th- and 19th-Century Religion and Society (Lane Sunwall, 2012) (pdf)
- 20th-Century Europe (Maya Holzman, 2011) (pdf)
- 20th-Century Europe (Terry Peterson, 2011) (pdf)
- 20th-Century Russia (Roberto Carmack, 2010) (pdf)
- Early Modern Britain (Lane Sunwall, 2012) (pdf)
- Early Modern Christianity (Kilian Harrer, 2018) (pdf)
- Early Modern France (Kilian Harrer, 2018) (pdf)
- Early Modern France (Katherine Guenoun, 2011) (pdf)
- European Jewry (Katherine Guenoun, 2011) (pdf)
- France, 1500-Present (Terry Peterson, 2011) (pdf)
- Gender and the Body (Maya Holzman, 2011) (pdf)
- Gender and the Body (Terry Peterson, 2011) (pdf)
- German Democratic Republic (2015) (pdf)
- German History (Piotr Puchalski, 2017) (pdf)
- Great Britain and Its Empire (2015) (pdf)
- Greek History (Sheena Finnigan, 2017) (pdf)
- Imperial Russian History (2015) (pdf)
- Imperialism (Lane Sunwall, 2012) (pdf)
- Late European Imperialism (Piotr Puchalski, 2017) (pdf)
- Modern Eastern European History (Piotr Puchalski, 2017) (pdf)
- Modern Europe (Lane Sunwall, 2012) (pdf)
- Modern France (Kilian Harrer, 2018) (pdf)
- Modern France (Katherine Guenoun, 2011) (pdf)
- Modern Germany (Katherine Guenoun, 2011) (pdf)
- Ottoman History (Roberto Carmack, 2010) (pdf)
- Roman History (Sheena Finnigan, 2017) (pdf)
- Soviet History (2015) (pdf)
- Soviet Union (Maya Holzman, 2013) (pdf)
- Women and Gender in Rome (Sheena Finnigan, 2017) (pdf)
History of Science, Medicine, and Technology
- American Public Health (Andrew Ruis, 2007) (pdf)
- American Science (Dana Freiburger, 2007) (pdf)
- Ancient Science (Andrew Ruis, 2007) (pdf)
- Environmental History (Megan Raby, 2009) (pdf)
- History of Biology (Megan Raby, 2009) (pdf)
- History of Biology and Physiology (Daniel Liu, 2012) (pdf)
- History of Physics and Chemistry (Daniel Liu, 2012) (pdf)
- History of Technology (Dana Freiburger, 2007) (pdf)
- International Health (Andrew Ruis, 2007) (pdf)
- Modern Physical Science (Dana Freiburger, 2007) (pdf)
- Science in America (Megan Raby, 2009) (pdf)
Southeast Asia
United States
- 20th-Century Diplomatic History (Aaron Dowdall, 2012) (pdf)
- African American History (2013) (pdf)
- African American History, Diaspora, and the American Empire since 1880 (Simon Fisher, 2014) (pdf)
- American Capitalism (Camden Hutchison, 2014) (pdf)
- American History to the Civil War Era (Denis Alfin, 2018) (pdf)
- American Journalism (2013) (pdf)
- American Legal History (Camden Hutchison, 2014) (pdf)
- American Military History (Denis Alfin, 2018) (pdf)
- American Military History (Thomas Rider, 2016) (pdf)
- Asian-American History (Joy Block, 2015) (pdf)
- Colonial America and the Founding of the United States (Thomas Rider, 2016) (pdf)
- Diplomatic History (Steve Oreck, 2011) (pdf))
- Gender and Women’s History (Naomi Williams, 2011) (pdf)
- History of the American South (Brian Hamilton, 2012) (pdf)
- Post-Civil War Through Interwar (Denis Alfin, 2018) (pdf)
- Race and Political Economy (Dan Guadagnolo, 2014) (pdf)
- Religion in America (Ariana Horn, 2012) (pdf)
- Sexuality, Gender, and Intimacy, 1860s-present (Simon Fisher, 2014) (pdf)
- Social Movement Theory and Historiography (Jillian Jacklin, 2012) (pdf)
- The Twentieth Century (Ariana Horn, 2012) (pdf)
- U.S.-Israel Relations (Aaron Dowdall, 2012) (pdf)
- U.S. Cultural History (Dan Guadagnolo, 2015) (pdf)
- U.S. Cultural History (Spring Greeney, 2015) (pdf)
- U.S. Cultural History (Rachel Gross, 2012) (pdf)
- U.S. Environmental History (Brian Hamilton, 2012) (pdf)
- U.S. Environmental History (Rachel Gross, 2012) (pdf)
- U.S. Environmental History (Spring Greeney, 2015) (pdf)
- U.S. History (Joy Block, 2015) (pdf)
- U.S. Immigration History (Sergio González, 2015) (pdf)
- U.S. Labor and Working-Class History (Sergio González, 2015) (pdf)
- U.S. Labor and Working-Class History (Jillian Jacklin, 2013) (pdf)
- U.S. Labor and Working-Class History (Naomi Williams, 2011) (pdf)
- U.S. Military History (Steve Oreck, 2011) (pdf)
U.S. Syllabi
- American Capitalism in the Long 19th Century (Brian Hamilton, 2012) (pdf)
- History 102 (Spring Greeney, 2015) (pdf)
- History 102 (Ariana Horn, 2012) (pdf)
- History 102 (Jillian Jacklin, 2012) (pdf)
- Re(Defining) Citizenship: Changing Conceptions of Belonging in the United States, 1865-Present (Sergio González, 2015) (pdf)