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 prehistory to 1000 CE.  

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.  

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.  

Prehistory to c. 1800. History 49-A- B-C is a general survey course designed to introduce students to major themes in African history. The course focuses on organization of production, state formation, African civilizations and identities, science and technology, beliefs and knowledge systems, Africa’s interaction with the world economy, such as through enslavement and slave trades. Weekly discussion sections are an important feature of this course, enabling students to develop and expand upon material presented during lecture.  

Examines the social and scientific impacts of evolutionary ideas from around 1800 through Charles Darwin, the modern evolutionary synthesis, the birth of ecology, and molecular biology. Focus is on America and Western Europe.

The history of Christian communities and doctrines from the first through the eighth centuries. Special emphasis on Christians’ evolving relationships with pagan and Jewish communities throughout the Mediterranean world.  

The French Revolution was a globally significant historical event. The ideas of liberty and equality articulated through the storming of the Bastille and Declaration of the Rights of Man were radical and volatile, and the Revolution engendered modern notions of republicanism, democracy and citizenship. This was also, however, a period of war, violence and terror, which incited conflicts and upheaval across the world. We will explore the multiple meanings of the French Revolution, and its enduring global ramifications and legacies.

1917-present. A history of the Soviet Union from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to its collapse, focusing on political and social history.  

A history of England from the late middle ages to the eighteenth century.  

How does the body become a political symbol in various moments of revolt and uprising? What can these experiences and representations tell us about the very possibility of change? What can it reveal about political economy, sex, gender, torture and brutality? This course seeks to answer these questions through a study of the histories of the body and revolution in the Middle East.  

Examination of gender, power, and authority among and between men and women in response to socioeconomic transformations in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Africa. Themes include interpretations of gender, organization of labor, the missionary project, the state, and colonial rule.  

A continuation of History 159A. From 1900 to the present.  

A social and political history of colonial and revolutionary America with emphasis on the interaction of Native Americans, Europeans, and African Americans. The course will combine lectures with discussion of both primary and secondary sources. From mid-eighteenth century to 1800.  

Students will conduct historical research in early American history in a seminar context. An original and substantial research paper is required.  

U.S. immigration history from the eighteenth to twentieth century. Examines forces that brought people from various parts of the globe to the U.S., their experiences in migrating and in subsequent generations, and enduring racial and ethnic hierarchies.  

The history of the U.S. Supreme Court, legal thought, legal education and the legal profession since the late nineteenth century.

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.

Recommended Preparation: HIST 9 and WRIT 109HU

The samurai of Japan were a hereditary military class that evolved over a millennium. Course traces this history and clarifies the range of differences that separated samurai in each era as their roles and ideologies changed.

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 will work under faculty direction to produce an issue of the UCSB History Department’s Undergraduate Journal. Students will 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 will also gain a working knowledge of the UCSB Library’s online publication platform, which will host the journal. Students will utilize various digital humanities tools – podcasts, social media, websites – to promote the undergraduate research being published in Journal as well as host an annual showcase of scholars’ work.

Enrollment comments: This is part one of a two quarter internship. Students will earn 4 units total upon completion of HIST 196JA and 196JB. Use HIST 196JC to earn credit for journal participation beyond two quarters. 

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.

A colloquium introducing the important issues, themes, and literature in the history of the United States, from 1917 to the present. Historiographical in nature, the course assumes a basic familiarity with the period.

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.  

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. 

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.