We offer graduate training leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. in a wide range of fields, including Early America, Modern America, African-American, Colonial and Modern Latin America, Military, Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Modern Europe, British and British Empire, South Asia, Imperial and Soviet Russia, Traditional and Modern China, Modern Japan, Africa, History of Medicine, and History of Science and Technology.
Upcoming Events
Mon
30
Mar
*CANCELED* Archiving the "Obscene": Sexuality, Desire, and...
3:00 PM @ John Hope Franklin Center, Ahmadieh Family Conference Hall, Room 240
Wed
01
Apr
CANCELED - UNSUITABLE #29: Writing Romance in Color
12:00 PM @ Classroom Building, Room 101
Mon
13
Apr
PRIVATE: UNSUITABLE #30: Learning the Hard Way, or Lessons from the...
12:00 PM @ Classroom Building, Room 101
About Us
Duke’s History Department — among the top programs in the country — regard the creation of knowledge as one of the fundamental missions of a research university. Our world-renowned faculty, who work closely with our students and collaborate with colleagues across disciplines, are at the cutting edge of research in their fields as they address society’s greatest challenges. And our graduate and undergraduate academic programs — designed to help students critically think about the world around them — successfully prepare students for a wide range of careers.
Latest News
Spotlighted Fall 2020 Classes
Our courses challenge students to think critically about the world around them and their place within it. And for Fall 2020, we will feature a broad range of topics and time... read more about Spotlighted Fall 2020 Classes »
Epidemics in History: Faculty Reflections on...
In times of crisis, historians look back in search of answers for the present. What seems to many as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic appears familiar in historical perspective... read more about Epidemics in History: Faculty Reflections on COVID-19 »
Gunther Peck in Duke Today
Professor Gunther Peck is quoted in Duke Today on the results of Tuesday's primary. read more about Gunther Peck in Duke Today »
Anne Firor Scott Award 2020
The Anne Firor Scott Award is given to help students (undergraduates planning to take the History Senior Honors Seminar and graduates working on seminar projects or... read more about Anne Firor Scott Award 2020 »
Philip Stern and Ed Triplett (AAHVS) awarded...
Professor Stern and Professor Triplett’s project, “The Sandcastle Workflow: A Malleable System for Visualizing Pre-Modern Maps and Views,” explores methods for understanding... read more about Philip Stern and Ed Triplett (AAHVS) awarded Digital Humanities grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities »
Professor Miller's "The Russian...
Johns Hopkins Press—with a grant from the NEH/Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book program to reissue classics in some fields—has just brought out a brand-new edition of The... read more about Professor Miller's "The Russian Revolutionary Emigres, 1825-1870" reissued after more than three decades »
Kidd Publishes in Pernambuco’s CLIO
Ph.D. candidate Gray F. Kidd recently published an article in CLIO: Revista de Pesquisa Histórica, a journal produced by the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) since 1977.... read more about Kidd Publishes in Pernambuco’s CLIO »
Mohammed Ali placed a journal article in Rhizomes
Graduate student Mohammed Ali recently got an article accepted to the journal Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge. The article is titled "Ethical Archetypes in... read more about Mohammed Ali placed a journal article in Rhizomes »
Mikael Chukwuma Owunna's ('12) new book...
Duke University alum, Mikael Chukwuma Owunna's new book "Limitless Africans", is featured in The Guardian. Mikael double majored in Biomedical Engineering and History (Duke... read more about Mikael Chukwuma Owunna's ('12) new book "Limitless Africans", is featured in The Guardian »
Academics
Graduate Program
Undergraduate Program
We offer a Bachelor of Arts major where students can focus their studies in two ways: Thematic Concentrations to explore contemporary issue and themes from historical perspectives, and Geographic Concentrations to explore issues present in specific parts of the globe. A minor is also available.
Featured Courses
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Introduction to Global History
HIST 101.01Explore problems in the history of globalization. Learn how contemporary problems and opportunities of globalization reflect long-term processes marked by patterns, interruptions, and continuities even within radical change. Asia, Europe...
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Introduction to Contemporary Latin America
HIST 121Interdisciplinary introduction to the peoples, cultures, and burning issues of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean. Required course for students seeking the certificate in Latin American Studies. Instructor: Gabriela Goldin TTH...
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THE HISTORY OF THE PRESENT
HIST 124How did we get here? A world of Coronavirus, Donald Trump, and Instagram? This course will focus on the last 40 years of History, giving you the tools you need to understand your world, and your place in it. Professors: James Chappel...
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History of Intimacy: Family, Friendship, Romance
HIST 171SExamines how changing definitions of friendship, family structure, childhood, romantic love, gender roles, and sexual orientation shaped identity formation, social conflict, and cultural production through time. Course materials include...
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The Modern Middle East
HIST 214The historical development of the Middle East in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The emergence of nation-states in the region following World War I. Prof. Adam Mestyan TTh 10:05 - 11:20 AM
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Indian Civilization
HIST 219SWho are the people who gave rise to Indian civilization, and where did they come from? What is the nature of this civilization, and how did it persist through the rise and fall of various kingdoms and the religious developments of...
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Environment and global Capitalism in Latin America
HIST 222Global capitalism relies on the ever increasing extraction and displacement of natural resources around the world. Focusing on Latin America, this course analyzes the environmental history of global capitalism. Our aim will be to explore...
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Drugs, Chemical & Health: Histories of...
HIST 235Synthetic chemicals have histories. So do natural alternatives, and the benefits and hazards of both. We’ll follow histories of drugs & chemicals from cellular to planetary scales, comparing and connecting different global settings....
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Global Cold War
HIST 267STraditional narratives of the Cold War focus on a bi-polar series of conflicts that pit the United States against the Soviet Union in a good-versus-evil battle for global political and military supremacy. This course destabilizes this...
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Native American Women in History, Society &...
HIST 354Discover Native women in unexpected places throughout past and present-day America. Prof. Juliana Barr Friday 11:45 AM - 2:40 PM Open to freshmen and sophmores
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North America to 1760
HIST 366Find out why you can’t understand American history without American Indians with Professor Juliana Barr Mondays 1:25-4:20 Location TBA * fulfills CCI CZ, and SS * open to freshmen/sophomores
People
Professor of History
MALACHI HAIM HACOHEN (Ph.D., Columbia), Bass Fellow and Professor of History, Political Science and Religion, is Director of the Religions and... read more »
Professor of History
I am a specialist on the history and culture of the Atlantic world, with a focus on the Caribbean and particularly Haiti. I am the faculty... read more »
Associate Professor in the Department of History
I am a historian of the United States and Germany, who focuses on questions of militarism, warfare, and empire in the long twentieth century. In... read more »
