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.

Projects

Iowa Native Spaces

History Writing Center

History Corps

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.

Upcoming events

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.
Graduate History Society Book Sale promotional image

Graduate History Society Book Sale

Wednesday, December 4, 2024 8:00am to 4:00pm
Schaeffer Hall
The Graduate Students of the History Department are having a Fall Book Sale! Lots of new books since last sale. Lots of good deals on fiction, nonfiction and textbooks, of all topics including (but not limited to): women's history, Latin American history, economic/labor history, art history, science/environmental history, religious studies, political science, Asian history, English ... and the list goes on! Stop by 302 SH any time between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
View more events

Build a foundation

Expand your horizons

Learn from experts