Everything and Everyone has a History

Block Reference
Read article: From history major to social studies and English teacher: Q&A with alumna Anne Sweeney
From history major to social studies and English teacher: Q&A with alumna Anne Sweeney
Meet Anne Sweeney (BA,'15, history), a social studies and English teacher at Oswego High School. She has taught a range of courses in her 10 years at Oswego, including AP Psychology, World Cultures, and U.S. History. Sweeney credits her strong critical thinking skills and being an effective...
Read article: History in the digital age: How digital humanities collective SourceLab is innovating new ways of publishing the past
History in the digital age: How digital humanities collective SourceLab is innovating new ways of publishing the past
 How do we preserve and interpret the historical record in a digital age? Traditionally, archivists collect and preserve historical sources, historians interpret them through books or documentary editions, and publishers distribute them. Today, historical sources that once would have been only...
Read article: Congratulations to the recipients of 2024-2025 Department of History Awards
Congratulations to the recipients of 2024-2025 Department of History Awards
The Department of History is pleased to announce the winners of our 2024-2025 annual awards. These awards celebrate our faculty, staff, lecturers, undergraduate, and graduate students to thank them for their dedicated service to our department. They also provide funding and scholarships for their...
Read article: Professor Antoinette Burton elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Professor Antoinette Burton elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Professor Antoinette Burton has been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honorary societies in the United States. Materials science professor...
Read article: Professor Kristin Hoganson receives Guggenheim Fellowship
Professor Kristin Hoganson receives Guggenheim Fellowship
Professor Kristin Hoganson is one of two University of Illinois professors to be awarded a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship. English professor Corey Van Landingham also received a fellowship. They are among 198 individuals working across 53 disciplines chosen...
Read article: Illini Success report: 98% of history alums secure first destination soon after graduation
Illini Success report: 98% of history alums secure first destination soon after graduation
 An annual survey of recent graduates reports that 98% of history and history of art alumni who graduated during the 2023-2024 period secured their first destination within six months of graduating.  That figure...
Video

Title
Why Study History?

Body

Take a walk with professor Rosalyn LaPier to learn why the study of history is important today. 

Black Music

What is black music, and how do we know what we think we know about it? Examine musical creations pioneered by Africans and individuals of African descent over several centuries and across hemispheres.

HIST 104

Western Worlds: Ancient and Medieval Societies from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe

Explore Western societies from antiquity to the early modern age in western Asia, North Africa, and Europe; with an emphasis on cultural exchange, migration, and the transmission of knowledge, ideas, technologies, and arts.

HIST 141

Digital Documentary Publishing

Learn about the craft of publishing historical materials, with a special focus on how to publish the past in the digital age.

HIST 207

Modern Japanese History

Explore the history of the Japanese people, their social and cultural systems, politics, and economy, from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.

HIST 227

Constructing Race in America

An interdisciplinary examination of the historical, cultural, and social dimensions of race and ethnicity in the United States.

HIST 281

Global History of Intelligence

Examine the role of both diplomatic and military intelligence in the political history of major global events and developments from the nineteenth century to the present day.

HIST 311

Middle East since World War I

Explore political-economic, social and ideological developments in Egypt, Arabia, and Fertile Crescent (including Israel), Iran and Turkey since 1918 to the present, including U.S. involvement.

HIST 337

History of the American West

Explore the history of the American West in the continental U.S. in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the process of annexation of Indigenous lands, colonization of Indigenous peoples and U.S. settler-colonialism on Indigenous lands.

HIST 476

Title
Chart Your Own Path

Body

Our program empowers you to explore your interests and passions within history and gives you the flexibility to pair the major with advanced language study, internships, study abroad experiences, undergraduate research, and community engagement.  

Title
Conduct Your Own Research

Body

Research is embedded in the history curriculum with an emphasis on transforming students from consumers of history to critical producers of it. All students have access to the resources of the second largest university library in the country. 

Calendar

Block Reference
Megan MacDonald

Alumni Spotlight: Megan MacDonald (2008)

Megan MacDonald is the Head of Philanthropic Partnerships at Equitech Futures.