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Department of History

Bachelor of Arts in History

Students on Summer 2019, Fall 2019, or Spring 2020 requirements HISTBA
The Bachelor of Arts in History prepares students to understand our changing world. The history major develops skills and tools for retrieving and interpreting the past—and, in the process, for better understanding the questions and challenges of our own time. Majors are trained to critically interpret sources and stories about the full range of people living in the past to provide an understanding of issues that remain relevant today. In the process of carrying out this work, majors will develop strong research and critical skills, creative methods for recognizing patterns of information, and techniques for clear and persuasive writing—essential skills for success in any career: research, analysis, synthesis, and effective writing. Courses cover a wide range of issues in all time periods and parts of the world. History students learn how change takes place, the tensions and conflicts it causes, and how individuals, groups, and societies change over time.

Requirements

The major requires at least 30 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
  1. Introductory course. One (1) course:
    • HIST-H 270 What is History?
  2. Distribution Courses.
    1. Pre-1750 History. One (1) course:
      • HIST-A 207 Introduction to Native American History
      • HIST-B 204 Medieval Heroes
      • HIST-B 208 Pagans and Christians in the Middle Ages
      • HIST-B 215 Religion, Magic and Witchcraft, 1000--2000
      • HIST-B 301 Issues in Medieval European History
      • HIST-B 302 Issues in Early Modern European History
      • HIST-B 313 The Crusades
      • HIST-B 321 European Jews in the Age of Discovery
      • HIST-B 348 Byzantine History
      • HIST-B 351 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages
      • HIST-B 352 Western Europe in the High and Later Middle Ages
      • HIST-B 353 The Renaissance
      • HIST-B 354 The Reformation
      • HIST-B 377 Germany, Reformation to 1871
      • HIST-C 200 Issues in Ancient History
      • HIST-C 205 Islamic History and Civilization
      • HIST-C 215 Sparta at War
      • HIST-C 220 Ancient Leaders and Leadership
      • HIST-C 300 Issues in Classical and Byzantine History
      • HIST-C 305 Issues in Near Eastern History
      • HIST-C 320 The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic
      • HIST-C 325 The Roman Empire
      • HIST-C 376 Greek History: Bronze Age to the Persian Wars
      • HIST-C 377 Greek History: The Persian Wars to the Legacy of Alexander
      • HIST-C 388 Roman History
      • HIST-C 390 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
      • HIST-C 400 Issues in Ancient History
      • HIST-D 102 Icon and Axe: Russia from Earliest Times to 1861
      • HIST-D 321 Hungarian History and Civilization to 1711
      • HIST-E 331 African History from Ancient Times to Empires and City States
      • HIST-E 338 History of Muslim West Africa
      • HIST-G 210 Frontier China
      • HIST-G 357 Premodern Japan
      • HIST-G 358 Early Modern Japan
      • HIST-G 380 Early China
      • HIST-G 382 China: The Age of Glory
      • HIST-G 383 China: The Later Empires
      • HIST-H 103 Europe: Renaissance to Napoleon
      • HIST-H 205 Ancient Civilization
      • HIST-H 206 Medieval Civilization
      • HIST-H 211 Latin American Culture and Civilization I
      • HIST-H 213 The Black Death
      • HIST-H 227 African Civilizations
      • HIST-H 237 Traditional East Asian Civilization
      • HIST-H 238 Introduction to South Asian History and Civilization
      • HIST-H 251 Introduction to Jewish History: From the Bible to Spanish Expulsion
    2. Post-1750 U.S. or European History. One (1) course:
      • HIST-A 100 Issues in United States History
      • HIST-A 200 Issues in United States History
      • HIST-A 205 Asian American History
      • HIST-A 222 Law in America
      • HIST-A 225 Elvis, Dylan, and Post-War America
      • HIST-A 230 American Pleasure: Leisure and Enjoyment in Modern U.S. History
      • HIST-A 235 History of American Empire
      • HIST-A 240 Get Me Out! The History of Birth
      • HIST-A 245 Indians and American Popular Culture
      • HIST-A 261 Modern American Women's History
      • HIST-A 265 Gender and Sexuality in American History
      • HIST-A 300 Issues in United States History
      • HIST-A 302 Revolutionary America
      • HIST-A 307 American Cultural History
      • HIST-A 309 The South before the Civil War
      • HIST-A 313 Origins of Modern America, 1865--1917
      • HIST-A 317 American Social History, 1865 to the Present
      • HIST-A 325 American Constitutional History I
      • HIST-A 347 American Urban History
      • HIST-A 348 Civil War and Reconstruction
      • HIST-A 352 History of Latinos in the United States
      • HIST-A 355 African American History I
      • HIST-A 356 African American History II
      • HIST-A 363 Hoosier Nation: Indiana in American History
      • HIST-A 369 Issues in Early United States History
      • HIST-A 379 Issues in Modern United States History
      • HIST-A 380 The Vietnam War
      • HIST-A 382 The Sixties
      • HIST-A 383 Rock, Hip Hop, and Revolution: Popular Music in the Making of Modern America, 1940 to the Present
      • HIST-A 384 Antebellum America
      • HIST-A 385 America's Pacific
      • HIST-A 386 History of the American Home
      • HIST-A 387 American Dreams: Elvis to Springsteen
      • HIST-A 388 Evolution/Creation Controversy (in Modern America)
      • HIST-A 393 American Sexual Histories: Salem Witch Craze to the Age of Viagra
      • HIST-A 394 Wenches, Witches, and Welfare Queens: Images of Black Women in U.S. History
      • HIST-A 395 Sex, Lies, and Diaries: Untold Southern Stories
      • HIST-A 400 Issues in United States History
      • HIST-B 100 Issues in Western European History
      • HIST-B 200 Issues in Western European History
      • HIST-B 260 Women, Men, and Society in Modern Europe
      • HIST-B 226 The Mafia and Other Italian Mysteries
      • HIST-B 270 Inside Nazi Germany
      • HIST-B 300 Issues in Western European History
      • HIST-B 303 Issues in Modern European History
      • HIST-B 315 European Anti-Semitism from the Enlightenment to the Holocaust
      • HIST-B 322 Jews in the Modern World
      • HIST-B 323 History of the Holocaust
      • HIST-B 324 Zionism and the State of Israel
      • HIST-B 356 French Revolution and Napoleon
      • HIST-B 357 Modern France
      • HIST-B 359 Europe from Napoleon to the First World War I
      • HIST-B 360 Europe from Napoleon to the First World War II
      • HIST-B 361 Europe in the Twentieth Century I
      • HIST-B 362 Europe in the Twentieth Century II
      • HIST-B 366 Paris and Berlin in the 1920s: A Cultural History
      • HIST-B 368 Modern Italy
      • HIST-B 374 The Cultures of Modern Europe
      • HIST-B 378 Germany, 1871 to the Present
      • HIST-B 386 British Sexual Histories: From Regency Scandals to Sexual Revolution
      • HIST-B 400 Issues in Western European History
      • HIST-D 100 Issues in Russian and East European History
      • HIST-D 103 The Making of Modern Russia
      • HIST-D 200 Issues in Russian/East European History
      • HIST-D 201 Democratic Revolutions since 1980
      • HIST-D 300 Issues in Russian/East European History
      • HIST-D 302 The Gorbachev Revolution and the Collapse of the Soviet Empire
      • HIST-D 303 Heroes and Villains in Russian History
      • HIST-D 304 Jews of Eastern Europe
      • HIST-D 308 Empire of the Tsars
      • HIST-D 309 Russia in World War II: Battles and People
      • HIST-D 310 Russian Revolutions and the Soviet Regime
      • HIST-D 320 Modern Ukraine
      • HIST-D 322 Hungarian History and Civilization 1711--1918
      • HIST-D 325 Path to Emancipation: Nationalism in the Balkans, 1804--1923
      • HIST-D 327 The Habsburg Empire, 1780-1918: Nation-Building and Imperial Decline
      • HIST-D 329 Eastern Europe 1900--1943
      • HIST-D 330 Eastern Europe 1944--Present
      • HIST-H 104 Europe: Napoleon to the Present
      • HIST-H 105 American History I
      • HIST-H 106 American History II
      • HIST-H 210 Britain's Road to Modernity
      • HIST-H 220 American Military History
      • HIST-H 231 Women, Men and Family in History
      • HIST-H 239 Blood and Guts! An Introduction to the History of Western Medicine from Antiquity to the Present
      • HIST-H 252 Introduction to Jewish History: From Spanish Expulsion to the Present
      • HIST-H 259 American Jewish History
      • HIST-H 260 History of Women in the United States
    3. Post-1750 non-U.S./European or World History. One (1) course:
      • HIST-B 391 Themes in World History
      • HIST-C 210 History of the Modern Middle East
      • HIST-E 100 Issues in African History
      • HIST-E 200 Issues in African History
      • HIST-E 300 Issues in African History
      • HIST-E 332 African History from Colonial Rule to Independence
      • HIST-E 333 Conflict in Southern Africa
      • HIST-E 334 History of Western Africa
      • HIST-E 336 History of East Africa
      • HIST-E 340 African Popular Culture
      • HIST-F 100 Issues in Latin American History
      • HIST-F 200 Issues in Latin American History
      • HIST-F 300 Issues in Latin American History
      • HIST-F 336 Modern Central American History
      • HIST-F 340 Modern Argentina
      • HIST-F 345 History of Cuba and Puerto Rico
      • HIST-F 346 Modern Mexico
      • HIST-F 348 Introduction to Contemporary Latin American Reality
      • HIST-G 101 East Asia in World History
      • HIST-G 200 Issues in Asian History
      • HIST-G 300 Issues in Asian History
      • HIST-G 325 History and Environment in China
      • HIST-G 350 Modern South Asia: Eighteenth to Twentieth Century
      • HIST-G 369 Modern Japan
      • HIST-G 372 Modern Korea
      • HIST-G 385 Modern China
      • HIST-G 387 Contemporary China
      • HIST-H 101 The World in the Twentieth Century I
      • HIST-H 102 The World in the Twentieth Century II
      • HIST-H 207 Modern East Asian Civilization
      • HIST-H 208 American-East Asian Relations
      • HIST-H 212 Latin American Culture and Civilization II
      • HIST-H 233 Sports in History
      • HIST-H 245 Convict Sydney and the Gadigal: Exploring Australian History Since 1788 at Sydney Cove
      • HIST-H 333 Epidemics in History
      • HIST-W 100 Issues in World History
      • HIST-W 125 Cities and History
      • HIST-W 200 Issues in World History
      • HIST-W 201 Slavery and Unfreedom in World History
      • HIST-W 203 World War I: Global War
      • HIST-W 210 Global Soccer
      • HIST-W 215 Natural Disasters in World Environmental History
      • HIST-W 220 The Social History of War
      • HIST-W 300 Issues in World History
      • HIST-W 325 World War II: The Peoples
      • HIST-W 330 Money and History
      • HIST-W 335 The History of Genocide
  3. Capstone Sequence. Two (2) courses:
    • HIST-J 400 Seminar in History
    • HIST-J 425 History Capstone Seminar
  4. Electives. Electives, as needed, to complete remaining requirements.
  5. Major GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
    1. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
    2. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed at the 300–499 level.
    3. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the major.
    4. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the major—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
    5. Exceptions to major requirements may be made with the approval of the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.