History

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The Major in History

The department encourages students to work closely with faculty to construct challenging, coherent, and integrated programs of study. The major program is structured flexibly to achieve breadth while permitting students to specialize in an area that is of particular interest. Students are encouraged to explore new areas by taking courses that focus on periods, regions, and themes with which they are not familiar.
Many history majors choose to study abroad, and faculty advisers are happy to work with students in incorporating foreign study into their major.

Optionally, history majors may elect to declare one of the following thematic concentrations: Capitalism and Economic Life; Environment, Space, and Society; Global and Transnational History; Law and Society; Race, Ethnicity, and Empire; or War, Violence, and Society.

The requirements for the history major are as follows:

1. Ten history courses of 3 or 4 credits each, taken for a letter grade.

a. At least two courses, in any mnemonic(s), concerned principally with the period before 1700.

b. At least two courses, in any mnemonic(s), concerned principally with the period after 1700.

c. Five courses in distinct mnemonics (HIAF, HIEA, HIEU, HILA, HIME, HISA, HIST, HIUS).

d. One Introductory History Workshop (HIXX 3501). Students should complete this requirement before taking the Major Seminar.

e. one Major Seminar (HIXX 4501 or 4502) or Major Colloquium (HIXX 4511 or 4512).

i. Major Seminars and Colloquia are offered in a wide range of topics. Students should select a Major Seminar or Colloquium whose topic is familiar to them based on their work in at least two previous History courses.

ii. A grade of “C” or better is required for the Major Seminar or Colloquium to count toward the major.

f. additional courses chosen from among the total offerings of the department to complete a ten-course program of study.

g. Students may elect to complete one of the thematic pathways designated by the department (see below, BA in History with a Specialist Concentration). Students must complete five courses from the list approved for that concentration.

2. Of the ten courses required for the major, no more than five may be taken in any one mnemonic.

3. No more than two 1500-level seminars may be counted toward the major.

4. Courses with the General History (HIST) mnemonic count toward the major, HIST 4501/4502 or HIST 4511/4512 courses count as the Major Seminar or Major Colloquium.

5. Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) courses cannot be counted towards the major.

6. Up to three approved transfer courses may be applied toward the major. Courses taken before matriculation transfer toward the major if they have been approved by the University and are on SIS with a History mnemonic (HIAF, HIEA, HIEU, HILA, HIME, HISA, HIST, HIUS). Courses taken after matriculation require departmental approval. Consult the Transfer Credit Approval Procedure link.

7.Courses taken in other departments may not be counted toward the major unless cross-listed in the History Department (e.g., ECON 2061/HIUS 2061).

8. Students must maintain a GPA of 2.0 in the major.

9. Before declaring the major, a student should have completed at least one university-level (i.e., UVa or transfer) history course with a grade of “C” or better. This course may be counted toward the ten required for the major. AP or IB courses do not satisfy this prerequisite.

10. B.A. in History with a Specialist Concentration

History majors may elect to complete a thematic pathway within the major. To complete a concentration, students must complete all other requirements for the major and select five courses from the relevant list below. A student may choose only one thematic pathway.

Concentrations

A. Capitalism and Economic Life

The study of economic life has long been at the core of the historical profession. Modern society’s greatest triumphs, along with its ongoing trials and tribulations, can be traced to the changing forms of socio-economic organization that humans have adopted and the ideas and discourses that motivated them. This pathway explores the processes, practices, institutions, and ideologies that have shaped human economic activity across space and time. It does not limit itself to the quantitative study of the past, but takes a more holistic approach to questions of production, exchange, and consumption over the course of human history. Courses in this pathway closely examine how human practices and institutions have shaped trajectories of economic growth, but also how they sowed the seed of inequality at both the local and global level. Together, we will develop a better understanding of the multiple histories of modern capitalism, but also a sharp sense of the other forms of socio-economic organization that societies engaged in and experimented with. Over the course of the pathway, students will build an analytical toolkit that will help students understand the deep inter-relationships between economy, society and government. They will be able to engage in archival research on questions of economic life across societies and time periods.