In the College of Arts and Sciences .
Course Offerings
The popularity of history among Cornell students is due to its usefulness as preparation for graduate, professional, or law school and for any career that requires critical thinking and good writing; the reputation of the faculty for scholarship, teaching, and advising; and most of all, the intrinsic interest of the discipline. A wide variety of introductory and advanced courses is offered. The department is particularly strong in ancient, medieval, and modern European history; in American, Latin American, and Asian history; and in the history of science.
Website: history.cornell.edu
Faculty
T. Loos, chair; R. Rickford, director of undergraduate studies; R. Craib, director of graduate studies; E. Baptist, J. Barwick, E. Bassi, D. Chang, Z. Chen, P. Dear, Y. Du, O. Falk, P. Friedland, M. C. Garcia, D. Ghosh, L. Glickman, S. Greene, T.J. Hinrichs, J. Kohler-Hausmann, O. Litvak, M. Minawi, J. Parmenter, E. Rebillard, K. Roebuck, A. Sachs, B. Strauss, E. Tagliacozzo, T.R. Travers, C. Verhoeven, M. Washington, R. Weil. Emeritus: D. Baugh, S. Blumin, V. Caron, J. Chen, S. Cochran, I. Hull, P. Hyams, J. John, S. Kaplan, J.V. Koschmann, D. Lacapra, W. LaFeber, L. Moore, J. Najemy, M.B. Norton, C. Peterson, R. Polenberg, B. Tierney
The Major
To complete the history major, a student must fulfill the requirements listed below:
Entry requirement: completion of any two history courses excluding first-year writing seminars.
- Nine (3 or 4 credit) history courses, with a grade of “C” or better
- Note: A single course may be used to fulfill more than one of these requirements.
- Three of the nine must be in history before 1800 (HPE)
- Note: Courses that fulfill the Arts and Sciences historical breadth (HB) requirement do not necessarily fulfill the History major pre-1800 requirement
- For students in the graduating classes of 2021 and earlier:
- Four of the nine courses must be in courses categorized as outside of U.S. History (HNU)
- For students in the graduating classes of 2022 and later:
- Four of the nine courses must be taken from one each of the following five categories: Asia (HAN); North America (HNA); Europe (HEU); Global South (Africa/Caribbean/Latin American/Middle East) (HGS); and Transregional (Transregional, Comparative, and Methodological) (HTR).
- Two of the nine courses must be seminars taken with Cornell History Faculty, of which one must be a 4000-level seminar.
- Neither service-learning courses offered at the 4000-level nor HIST 4001 or HIST 4002 may be used to fulfill the 4000-level seminar requirement. Students participating in Cornell in Washington, Semester Program and completing a historically oriented research seminar may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies for equivalent 4000-level seminar credit. No other transfer credit will be accepted for the 4000-level seminar requirement.
The Minors
History Minor
The History Minor is designed to be a straightforward opportunity to sample the offerings of the department. Students may choose to take courses in a few different regions and time periods or to focus on the one particular area of history they’re most interested in. Either way, students will have the chance to deepen their knowledge of the past and sharpen their analytical and writing skills.
Requirements for the History Minor
- Five (5) courses within the Department of History (that is, only courses offered or crosslisted in the department)
- All five courses must be taken for letter grades, with a grade of C or better, and either 3 or 4 credits each.
- First-Year Writing seminars do not count for the minor.
- One (1) of the five courses must be a seminar at the 2000-level or above.
Note: Transfer, advanced placement, or study abroad credits are not eligible.
Interdisciplinary Minor in the History of Capitalism
Capitalism has delivered unrivaled prosperity, but with many social costs. Understanding capitalism’s past is essential to understanding our world today—as well as tomorrow. How has it been defined? How has it developed at different times and in different parts of the world? Students undertaking the minor will be exposed to many different perspectives on capitalism, enabling them to critically reflect on economic institutions and ideas, as well as understand how our global economy has come to be.
The minor is designed to provide students with the basic vocabulary of economics and business, but to deepen it with a longer, critical perspective on the development of capitalism. “Capitalism” has had many different meanings over time and students in the minor will also learn how its meanings have changed across time and how they continue to differ across place.
This minor is offered collaboratively with courses from across the university, but is coordinated by the Department of History staff, and Edward Baptist (A&S), George Boyer (ILR), Lawrence Glickman (A&S), Sandra Greene (A&S) and Louis Hyman (ILR). For more information on the minor and a list of approved courses, please see the department website at: history.arts.cornell.edu.
Requirements for the History of Capitalism Minor
- Five (5) approved courses in History, ILR, Econ and other units. Students may request the inclusion of non-approved courses.
- All five courses must be taken for letter grades, with a grade of C or better, and either 3 or 4 credits each.
- One (1) course must be HIST 1540 - American Capitalism /AMST 1540 /ILRLR 1845
- One (1) course in Economics or Business (from an approved list)
- Three (3) historical courses (from an approved list)
Note: AP, Transfer, and Study Abroad courses are not eligible.
Honors
The history department offers an honors program for students who wish to research and write a thesis during their senior year. In addition to writing the thesis, honors students must maintain a 3.5 average in their history courses, take HIST 4000 - Introduction to Historical Research during their junior (or sophomore) year, and complete 10 courses in history (for 3 or 4 credits each). During the second semester of the sophomore year or early in the junior year, interested students should speak to a faculty member or faculty advisor about the honors program.
Before the beginning of the senior year, the candidate presents, in conversation or in writing, a thesis proposal to an appropriate member of the faculty. The faculty member who approves the proposal ordinarily becomes the thesis supervisor. If for any reason it is necessary to change supervisors, this arrangement should be confirmed no later than the fourth week after the beginning of the candidate’s senior year.
Honors candidates should apply to the honors program after completing HIST 4000 or by May 15 of their junior year if taking HIST 4000 that spring. Enrollment in HIST 4001 occurs over the summer. HIST 4001 is a 4-credit course that permits honors candidates to conduct research and to begin writing the honors essay in a seminar environment. At the end of the first semester of the senior year, as part of the requirements for HIST 4001 , the student submits to the supervisor a 10- to 15-page overview, or, alternatively, a preliminary draft of some part of the thesis along with an outline of the whole to the instructor of HIST 4001 and to the student’s supervisor. HIST 4002 is a 4-credit seminar course that permits honors candidates to complete the honors essay and to demonstrate their understanding of the ways in which the themes explored in the thesis fit into a larger historical context.
The completed thesis is evaluated by three readers, including the supervisor and a first reader selected by the student, in consultation with his or her supervisor.
The text of the honors essay may not exceed 60 pages except by permission of the chair of the Honors Committee and the student’s supervisor. Three copies, and a PDF, are due during the second or third week of April. In May, each honors candidate is given an oral exam administered by the supervisor; the exam focuses on the essay as well as the specific subfield of history in which the student has conducted research (e.g., Periclean Athens, 17th-century science, 19th-century American politics).
To qualify for a bachelor of arts degree with honors in history, a student must (1) sustain at least a 3.5 cumulative average in all history courses and (2) earn at least a cum laude grade on the honors essay and on the oral exam.
Note: History majors who wish both to study abroad (or in Cornell in Washington, Semester Program ) and to enter the honors program should consult their advisors or the DUS as soon as possible after declaring a major. The department requires honors students to enroll in HIST 4000 before writing a thesis in their senior year. So, planning ahead is essential, especially if you intend to spend a full year abroad.
Cornell in Washington Program. History majors may apply to the Cornell in Washington program which offers students in all colleges an opportunity to earn full academic credit for a semester in Washington, D.C. Students take part in small seminars led by Cornell faculty, gain work experience through an internship, and carry out individual research projects while living in Cornell housing in the heart of Washington, D.C. Learn more about Cornell in Washington, Semester Program .