Department of History

Survey of the peoples, cultures, and social, economic, and political systems that have characterized the world’s major civilizations in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania from 1700 to present.  

Survey of the history of Modern Europe, 1650-present. Discusses the major social, political, religious, and cultural characteristics and developments of the period, as well as key interactions between Europe and other parts of the world. Weekly discussion sections are an important feature of this course, enabling students to develop and expand upon material presented during the lecture hour.  

Deals with major issues in Latin America’s historical formation: pre-Hispanic cultures, Spanish conquest, role of colonial institutions, development of trade, eighteenth- century reform, independence, formation of nations; and identify major issues in current Latin American affairs.  

Through studying a particular topic in history, students gain insight into historical methods and skills. Course designed for freshmen and sophomore history majors or prospective majors. Others may enroll by permission of instructor. Topics vary by quarter and instructor.  

World War I to the present. A survey of the leading issues in American life from colonial times to the present. The course focuses on politics, cultural development, social conflict, economic life, foreign policy, and influential ideas. Features discussion sections.  

Explores how science, technology and/or medicine have helped shape modern societies (roughly 1850-present). Themes include formation of scientific and technical communities, the interactions of science with political and popular culture, and the social context of knowledge production.  

Introduces students to the history of the Middle East from the rise of Islam until the nineteenth-century Ottoman reforms known as the Tanzimat. Subjects covered include the early caliphates, the influence of Turkic and Mongolian peoples on the region, the Crusades and jihad, the Ottoman and Safavid dynasties, and the interactions between people of different cultural and religious backgrounds in the region. 

1800 – 1945. History 49-A-B-C is a general survey course designed to introduce students to major themes in African history. The course focuses on African civilizations and identities, European colonial conquests, governance and colonial economies, African resistance and engagement with global capitalism. Weekly discussion sections are an important feature of this course, enabling students to develop and expand upon material presented during lecture.  

An introduction to the basic issues and themes of Mexican history, from the pre-Hispanic era to the present.  

Exploration of same-sex intimacies and gender variance in ancient Greek, pre-modern Oceania, medieval Europe, Tokugawa Japan, modern Africa, and North America. Introduction to the theoretical questions in the study of sexuality and how scholars have used these tools.  

Explores the entangled histories of race, medicine, science, and health in American history from the colonial era to the present. The course foregrounds the African American experience in the production of medical knowledge and power. Students explore histories of scientific racism, chattel slavery, medical experimentation, Jim Crow hospitals, environmental racism, and racialized medicine alongside the more familiar story of the development of professional medicine, science, healthcare, and public health.  

Undergraduate research seminar focusing on ancient Greece and West Asia. Students select research topic in consultation with instructor, conduct individual research, write multiple paper drafts, and submit final research paper of 15-20 pages.  

Explores Roman law from the archaic 12 Tables through Justinian’s 6th century CE Corpus Civilis, analyzing these developments within the broader historical context. Also addresses the influence of Roman law on medieval scholarship and later legal systems.  

European history from the end of World War II to the present.  

Examines the rise of the juvenile justice system in U.S. history, paying attention to the origins of youth incarceration in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the establishment of asylums, orphanages, and reformatories. Attention is then paid to the twentieth century and the spread of the juvenile court movement. The course ends with a close look at recent developments, including In re Gault (1967) and racial and gender disparities.  

History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Course themes include evolution of Zionism, Palestine before World War I, and the British mandate, World War II, the Arab- Israeli wars, rise of Palestinian nationalism, and Israeli and Palestinian societies today.  

The intersection between leisure and politics is a consistent feature of African history, and it is a complex, creative intersection that produces and transacts history in dynamic ways. Utilizing ancient transcripts and records of performative cultures, contemporary music, primary and secondary interpretations of African cultural life, this course provides a deep and timely exploration of the fertile intersection between cultural performativity and power from ancient times to the present. Performative cultures are therefore political, and so also are they spiritual, economic and deeply embedded in questions of science and technology.  

This course examines the ways that black revolutionaries—in Africa and in the Americas—shaped the modern world. How did African political cultures and enslaved black aspirations for freedom came together to shape America? The American revolution is often heralded as ending monarchy and establishing a republican form of government—but it was roughly contemporaneous with two other revolutions, one in West Africa, the other in Haiti—that were incredibly important in shaping ideas about freedom and good government at the end of the 18th century. Black people brought more than toil; they brought revolutionary ideas, beliefs, and practices that profoundly shaped modernity. Understanding Africa, we will see, is important to understanding America.

All colonial projects had to face the problem of linguistic differences. The ways in which they did so varied widely and are very revealing of their different ambitions, ideological foundations, and local circumstances. Explores the history of colonialism comparatively from the perspective of language, from the late fifteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, in the Americas, Africa, and Europe.  

A general survey of the social, economic, institutional, and intellectual history of colonial Spanish America (1492-1800), with comparisons to colonial Brazil.  

A weekly seminar discussing films relevant to different periods and topics in the history of Latin America combined with selected readings. Written assignments required.  

A research seminar in Latin American history. Students will conduct historical research in a seminar context, using both primary and secondary source materials, to produce an original and substantial research paper. Topics addressed: defining a research problem, identifying an original topic, conducting research, citing sources, and presenting results. Intensive writing required.  

Readings and assignments assist students in using historical/social science methods to develop a 20-page research paper on some aspect of their internship.  

Undergraduate Research Seminar in Chicano History  

Surveys African American history from the end of Reconstruction in 1877 to the present. The course emphasizes struggles for economic justice as well as civil rights, examining both key movement leaders and lesser-know activists and grassroots organizations. Topics include labor and labor organizing, policing and mass incarceration, segregation and housing discrimination, politics and political activism, and health and welfare.  

Analysis of developments in foreign affairs after 1945. Formation and execution of foreign policy; interaction between foreign and domestic affairs.  

Focuses on training in historical research methods. Requires a paper on some aspect of American history, most likely in the areas of diplomacy and politics, chosen jointly by the student and the instructor. Students will conduct historical research in a seminar context, using both primary and secondary source materials, to produce an original and substantial research paper.  

Capstone seminar for the Minor in Poverty, Inequality, and Social Justice. Students participate in structured discussion and in-depth reflection of the knowledge acquired through interdisciplinary coursework and internship experiences, to produce a final paper, series of essays or policy briefs, and/or other kinds of creative products in consultation with the course instructor. Students will present their work at a public symposium, providing an opportunity to hone their public speaking skills, while contributing to community understanding of how poverty and inequality can be addressed through purposive social research and action.  

Examines how race, ethnicity, and class have shaped changing attitudes toward and experiences of sex roles, sexuality, child rearing, work patterns, and relationships among men, women, and children. Also explores changing conceptions of the state’s role in family life.  

California as a case study of national trends, and as a unique setting with its special problems and culture.

A study of the political, economic, social, and intellectual impact of the city upon American history, and the impact of history upon the growth of American urbanization.  

Specific topics will differ from year to year. Through readings and discussion students will explore a topic or problem in the history of Pre-Modern China. The course will culminate with a 10-20 page research paper.  

A survey of Japanese history from the early nineteenth century until World War II, in an effort to explain how, and at what price, Japan became the first successful modernizer in the nonwestern world.  

Explores the cultural, economic, and geopolitical roles of food and drink in world history. Topics include: trade, production, and consumption; global food chains; morality and food reform; identities and body image; scarcity, food scares, and food security.  

Through this year-long internship, students work under faculty direction to produce an issue of the UCSB History Department’s Undergraduate Journal. Students meet every two weeks and gain practical experience in scholarly publishing disseminating calls for papers, soliciting undergraduate contributions, locating peer reviewers, facilitating revisions with authors, and bibliographic and copywriting work. They also gain a working knowledge of the UCSB Library’s online publication platform, which will host the journal. Students utilize various digital humanities tools – podcasts, social media, and websites – to promote the undergraduate research being published in Journal as well as host an annual showcase of scholars’ work.  

A reading course in a field of the professor’s specialty. Introduces the student to the sources and literature of the field in question. Written work as prescribed by the instructor. (Usually offered quarterly.)  

A reading course in a field of Chinese History, 2000 BCE-220 CE. Introduces the student to the sources and literature of the field in question. Written work as prescribed by the instructor.  

How do human beings manage relations between the seen and unseen worlds? This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of the relationship between spirituality and radical social change, especially—though not exclusively—among people of color. Visiting scholars and activists will workshop or present original research rooted in the humanities and social sciences and graduate students will read and respond to their work as they develop their own research questions. Short weekly reading responses and one 8-10 page paper are required each term. The goal is to foster collaborative interdisciplinary scholarship on the intersection of racial, religious, and revolutionary thought and practice, irrespective of period or place. 2-quarter course.  

Selected topics in the history of the Roman Republic and Empire, with particular emphasis on problems of the later Roman Empire.  

A research seminar in selected topics in the history of Europe, 1815 to the present.  

This is a two-quarter graduate seminar in histories of any part of the continent covering the 19th-20th centuries. The seminar will help students to focus their attention on closely reading and utilizing primary sources for a clearly-defined output, e.g., a dissertation chapter or a journal article. In addition to the primary materials, we will collectively assemble and read together a set of crucial books on areas of the students’ research interest. We will also invite local and outside guests to talk about their own research and lead seminars. Students earn 2 units per quarter.  

This is a two-quarter graduate seminar on any aspect of U.S. history during the long 19th century.

This year long interdisciplinary colloquium brings together graduate students who study Japanese history and culture. It introduces current scholarship on Japan via readings, discussions and presentations by visiting scholars, UCSB scholars and graduate students. The colloquium meets bi- weekly. Students will prepare readings for discussion, write a seminar-length paper and present their paper to the colloquium once during the year.  

This year-long interdisciplinary colloquium brings together graduate students and UCSB scholars who study the histories of women, gender, or sexuality across time and space. It introduces students to current literature and contemporary debates through readings, discussion, and public presentations by visiting scholars, UCSB scholars, and graduate students. Participants will meet every other week. Preparation might include coordinating readings for discussion, writing a chapter/article for peer review, or presenting original research to colloquium members. 

Starting in Fall 2021 there will be space set aside for senior History Undergraduates or those completing their LGBTQ Studies Minor in Feminist Studies in the Gender and Sexualities Workshop (HIST 295 GS). Though this 2 Credit Hour Course is designed for Graduate Students who study the histories of women, gender, or sexuality across time and space, its primary purpose is to introduce students to current literature and contemporary debates through readings, discussion, and public presentations by guest scholars. Participants will meet every other week and preparation might include coordinating readings for discussion or sharing their own original research with workshop members (among other things).  If you are interested or would like to know more, please contact Jarett Henderson at jhenderson@history.ucsb.edu. You will need an add code to enroll. 

Writing/reading workshop, professionalization seminar, and guest lecture series for graduate students working in area of history of science/technology. Meets monthly throughout the academic year.  

A year-long professional colloquium on major topics and new work in Public History. Leading practitioners share theory and practice of the discipline in talks, workshops and occasional field visits. Relevant reading and writing assigned. Meets three to four times per quarter.