Share our enthusiasm for the study of past societies and cultures

History unlocks important insights into the world we inhabit. But we also find intellectual satisfaction, and wisdom, in understanding the past on its own terms. Because of the geographical breadth of our courses, history students develop a global consciousness as they develop key transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication, and empathy.

The World is Calling: History Majors

History is the centerpiece of a humanities education. It's about problem-solving, gathering evidence, and fitting that evidence together to understand what happened in past societies - and why those things happened.

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News and announcements

John Eicher

History PhD Alum, John Eicher releases 10-part Lecture Series

Thursday, May 30, 2024
John P. R. Eicher (PhD, 2015), Associate Professor of European History at Penn State University and a 2023-24 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, has released a ten-part YouTube lecture series titled, "Western Civilization (1500-Present): From Dawn, to Decadence, to Disillusionment."
Alyssa Park

Associate Professor Alyssa Park Awarded NEH Grant

Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Alyssa Park, associate professor in the Department of History, will use the funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities to travel to South Korea to conduct research for her upcoming book.

History Faculty and Staff win UI Awards

Monday, April 8, 2024
Heineman, Howard, Kelley and Warren honored
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Upcoming events

Classicists at the End of the World: Constantinople 1453 promotional image

Classicists at the End of the World: Constantinople 1453

Thursday, November 7, 2024 4:30pm to 6:00pm
Adler Journalism and Mass Communication Building
In this lecture, Anthony Kaldellis, Gaylord Donnelly Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Classics and the College, University of Chicago, will explore the classicists’ experience of 1453 and the impact of the city’s fall on the history of classical scholarship.
New Histories of Art from Africa | Panel Conversation promotional image

New Histories of Art from Africa | Panel Conversation

Saturday, November 9, 2024 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Stanley Museum of Art
Join us in the museum lobby on Saturday, 11/9 at 2 p.m. for presentations by the Stanley Museum of Art Mellon team. They will share updates on their latest research of the Stanley's African collection. Refreshments will be provided. Between 1979 and 1990, Claude (“Max”) and Elizabeth (“Betty”) Stanley of Muscatine, Iowa, gifted nearly 600 historical African objects to the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. The Stanley Collection of African Art is recognized globally for its impressive...
Losing Sight: Blindness as Punishment and Politics in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean promotional image

Losing Sight: Blindness as Punishment and Politics in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean

Thursday, November 21, 2024 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Schaeffer Hall
Join us for a talk by Jake Ransohoff, Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Bowdoin College, about the intersection of punishment, incapacity, and exclusion in the Byzantine world.
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