Thematic Concentrations for History Majors
Of the ten history courses required for the history major, four must be in a student's area of concentration. While history majors may choose to concentrate in a geographical region, we encourage them to develop a thematic concentration as an alternative. Below are some examples of possible thematic concentrations, with suggestions for some of the specific history courses that could count towards fulfilling them.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive by any means; students, with input from their advisors, may develop individualized thematic concentrations based on their interests and available history courses. Approved courses from Study Abroad and independent studies may also count towards the four courses needed to fulfill a thematic concentration. For course descriptions of the classes mentioned below, visit the history Curriculum and Courses page.
Science, Technology and Medicine*
History 150 - History of Science
History 151 - History of Environment
History 206 - American Environmental History
History 217 - Medicine and the Body in East Asia
History 311 - Scientific Revolution?
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
War and Diplomacy*
History 211 - US Military History
History 219 - US-Middle East Relations
History 234 - Fascism, Socialism, and Daily Life: Europe, 1914-1945
History 248 - The American Revolution
History 254 - Revolution, War, and Daily Life in Modern Russia
History 282 - Diplomatic History of the US
History 283 - Latin American-US Relations
History 288 - Civil War - Reconstruction
History 333 - The First World War
History 358 - 19th-20th Century European Diplomacy
History 370 - Cold War in Africa 1945-1990
History 371 - The Arab-Israeli Conflict
History 375 - Europe's Dictators
History 376 - The Holocaust
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
Religion, Culture, and Society*
History 101/EASN 206 - Life and Death in the Age of Samurai and Geisha
History 101/RELG 209 - The Age of Faith: Medieval Europe Between Church and State
History 106 - Early Modern Europe
History 120 - History of East Asia
History 121 - Middle East to 1750
History 130 - Early Latin American History
History 170 - African Civilizations to 1850
History 171 - African History since 1800
History 215/RELG 212 - History of Christianity: From Margin to Center
History 219/RELG 211 - From Abraham to Al Qaeda: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from their Origins to the Present
History 247 - Early American History
History 253- Autocracy, Uprisings, & Daily Life in Medieval Ukraine, Russia and its Empire
History 259 - Islam
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
Environment*
History 151 - History of Environment
History 206 - American Environmental History
History 211 - Food and Environment in America
History 211 - History of Climate Change
History 284 - Ecological History of Africa
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
Race and Ethnicity*
History 211 - Race and Second Wave Feminism in the US
History 211 - Civil Rights Movement: North and South
History 260 - World on the Move: Migrations since 1850
History 272 - Atlantic Slave Trade
History 273 - African Americans Since Slavery
History 274 - Rise and Fall of Apartheid
History 298 - Latin American Migrations in the US
History 311 - Gender and Black Power in the US
History 384 - Immigration, Race and the Nation in Latin America
History 377 - Consumerism, Nationalism and Gender
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
Women, Gender, and Sexuality*
History 211 - Race and Second Wave Feminism in the US
History 216 - Gender and Sexuality in African History
History 278 - European Women's History
History 311 - Gender and Black Power in the US
History 317 - Gender and Sexuality in Modern Japanese History
History 374 - African Women's History
History 377 - Consumerism, Nationalism, and Gender
History 378 - Society and the Sexes
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
Empires, Colonial Societies and Post-Colonial Challenges*
History 117 - American History to 1877
History 122 - Middle East since 1750
History 130 - Early Latin American History
History 131 - Modern Latin American History since 1800
History 171 - African History since 1800
History 211 - Age of Atlantic Exploration
History 253 - Autocracy, Uprisings & Daily Life in Medieval Ukraine, Russia and its Empire
History 254 - Revolution, War & Daily Life in Modern Russia
History 272 - The Atlantic Slave Trade
History 274 - The Rise and Fall of Apartheid
History 277 - European Empires
History 311 - Violence and Colonialism
History 370 - Cold War in Africa 1945-1990
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
Migrations and Global Mobilities*
History 215 - Oral History of the Bosnian Diaspora in Carlisle
History 215 - Refugees
History 260 - World on the Move: Migrations Since 1850
History 272 - The Atlantic Slave Trade
History 277 - European Empires
History 298 - Latin American Migrations in the US
History 384 - Immigration, Race, and the Nation in Latin America
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.
Nations and Nationalism*
History 107 - Revolutions Political, Artistic, Economic, Social, and Scientific: Europe in the Last 250 Years
History 131 - Modern Latin American History since 1800
History 234 - Fascism, Socialism, and Daily Life: Europe, 1914-1945
History 254 - Revolution, War & Daily Life in Modern Russia
History 274 - The Rise and Fall of Apartheid
History 377 - Consumerism, Nationalism, and Gender
History 384 - Immigration, Race, and the Nation in Latin America
*Note: This is not a complete list of all the possible history courses that could count towards this thematic concentration (although we do try to keep the list as complete and up-to-date as we can). That said, if you have taken, or plan to take, a course not on the above list that you think could count towards your thematic concentration in this area, consult your advisor to make sure.