History Minor

The history minor requires students to gain both depth and breadth in history. Students must select a concentration, which enables them to acquire significant knowledge of one theme or area of the world; they must also take courses outside the concentration, which encourages geographic and chronological breadth.

Double-counting note: Weinberg College prohibits double-counting a minor course toward some other major or minor, except where this is explicitly permitted in this catalog. Weinberg College does allow double-counting a minor course toward a general bachelor's degree requirement (i.e. degree requirements other than majors or minors). Other programs or schools may have their own restrictions that supersede this, so check the relevant parts of this catalog for possible limits.

Minor Requirements (7 units)

  • 4 courses in one of the following areas of concentration: Africa, Asia, Economics and Labor, Environment, Europe (including Britain), Latin America, Law and Crime, Middle East, Science and Technology, United States.
  • 3 additional courses outside the area of concentration.
  • Additional rules include:
    • At least 3 courses out of the 7 units applied to the minor must be at the 300-level. At least two of the 300-level courses must be inside the concentration.
    • No more than 1 may be an introductory colloquium (either HISTORY 101-7 or HISTORY 101-8). 
    • Up to two may be specific courses taught by other departments and programs, including CLASSICS 211-0, CLASSICS 212-0, ECON 318-0, ECON 323-1, ECON 323-2, ECON 324-0, RELIGION 264-0, RELIGION 265-0, other classes taught by History Department faculty (core faculty, visiting faculty, or history lecturers), and (with permission of the director of undergraduate studies) some class offerings of ECON 315-0.
    • Up to three courses completed on a study abroad program may be counted towards the minor with approval of a faculty advisor.
    • Chicago Field Studies courses may not be applied towards the minor.
    • No credit based on test scores (such as AP or IB) may be counted towards the minor.
    • Courses completed with a grade of P may not be applied to the minor; see Weinberg College - Grade Requirements.

Concentration options for the minor

Africa

Course Title
HISTORY 255-1African Civilizations
HISTORY 255-2Africa in the Age of Early Modern Empires
HISTORY 255-3Modern Africa
HISTORY 356-1History of South Africa, Early Times to 1879
HISTORY 356-2History of South Africa, 1879-on
HISTORY 357-0East Africa
HISTORY 358-0Topics in West African History
Other as approved by department advisor.

Asia

Course Title
HISTORY 281-0Chinese Civilization
HISTORY 284-1Ancient and Medieval Japan: From the Realm of the Gods to the Age of the Samurai
HISTORY 284-2Early Modern Japan
HISTORY 286-0World War II in Asia
HISTORY 381-1Qing China
HISTORY 381-2Modern China: The Twentieth Century
HISTORY 381-3Modern China: Post-Mao Reforms, 1978-2016
HISTORY 381-SABeijing: Politics and Power in Modern China
HISTORY 382-0The Modern Japanese City
HISTORY 383-0Japan's Modern Revolution
HISTORY 384-1History of Modern Japan: The Modern State, 1860-1943
HISTORY 384-2History of Modern Japan: War and postwar Japan, 1943-present
HISTORY 385-1History of Modern South Asia, 1500-1800
HISTORY 385-2History of Modern South Asia, ca. 1750-present
HISTORY 386-2Southeast Asia in the Age of Empire
HISTORY 386-3Southeast Asia: Decolonization & Independence
HISTORY 388-0The Mongol Empire
Other as approved by department advisor.

Economics and labor

Course Title
HISTORY 254-0Entrepreneurship: A Global History
HISTORY 255-1African Civilizations
HISTORY 260-1Becoming Latin America, 1492-1830
HISTORY 337-0History of Modern Europe
HISTORY 353-0History of Capitalism, 1500-1850
HISTORY 354-0History of Socialism
HISTORY 356-2History of South Africa, 1879-on
HISTORY 357-0East Africa
HISTORY 366-0Latin America in the Independence Era: American Indians and Nations
HISTORY 368-2Revolutions in Latin America and the Caribbean from Haiti to Mexico
HISTORY 369-0Development and Inequality in Modern Latin America
HISTORY 384-2History of Modern Japan: War and postwar Japan, 1943-present
Other as indicated on department website.

Environment

Course Title
HISTORY 251-0The Politics of Disaster: A Global Environmental History
HISTORY 255-1African Civilizations
HISTORY 309-0American Environmental History
HISTORY 357-0East Africa
HISTORY 366-0Latin America in the Independence Era: American Indians and Nations
HISTORY 376-0Global Environments and World History
Other as indicated on department website.

Europe (including Britain)

Course Title
HISTORY 201-1Europe in the Medieval and Early Modern World
HISTORY 201-2Europe in the Modern World
HISTORY 203-1Jewish History I: 750-1492
HISTORY 203-2Jewish History II: Early Modern, 1492-1789
HISTORY 203-3Jewish History III: 1789-1948
HISTORY 261-0Sex after Shakespeare
HISTORY 330-0Medieval Sex
HISTORY 331-0Women in Medieval Society
HISTORY 332-1Medieval Europe I: Early Middle Ages, 300-1000
HISTORY 332-2Medieval Europe II: High & Late Middle Ages, 1000-1450
HISTORY 333-0The European Renaissance
HISTORY 334-0The Reformation of Religion
HISTORY 336-0Spain 1500 - 1700: Rise and Fall of a European Empire
HISTORY 337-0History of Modern Europe
HISTORY 338-1Europe in the 20th Century, 1900-1945
HISTORY 338-2Europe in the 20th Century, 1945-Present
HISTORY 340-0Gender, War, and Revolution in the 20th Century
HISTORY 341-0Paris: World City, 1700 to the Present
HISTORY 342-1The French Revolution and Napoleon
HISTORY 342-2History of Modern France: 19th c. to present
HISTORY 343-0Modern Italy
HISTORY 344-1German History: Weimar and Nazi Germany
HISTORY 344-2German History: Germany Since 1945
HISTORY 345-1History of Russia, 800-1917: From Kievan Rus to the Bolshevik Revolution
HISTORY 345-2History of Russia, 1917-1991: The Soviet Union
HISTORY 345-3History of Russia, 1991-Present: After Communism
HISTORY 346-0East Central Europe under Communist Rule and Beyond, 1945 to the Present
HISTORY 347-0Christians and Jews
HISTORY 348-1Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia
HISTORY 348-2Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia
HISTORY 349-0The Holocaust
HISTORY 350-0Soviet History Through Film
HISTORY 351-0Europe in the Age of Total War
HISTORY 360-0Tudor and Stuart Britain
HISTORY 362-1Modern British History, 1688 - 1815
HISTORY 362-2The Victorians: liberalism, empire, and morality, 1780-1900
HISTORY 362-3Britain Since 1900: The Decline and Fall of Empire
HISTORY 364-0Gender and Sexuality in Victorian Britain
Other as approved by department advisor.

Latin America

Course Title
HISTORY 260-1Becoming Latin America, 1492-1830
HISTORY 260-2History of Modern Latin America
HISTORY 365-0Medicine in Latin America: From Chocolate to Che Guevara
HISTORY 366-0Latin America in the Independence Era: American Indians and Nations
HISTORY 367-0History of Mexico
HISTORY 368-2Revolutions in Latin America and the Caribbean from Haiti to Mexico
HISTORY 369-0Development and Inequality in Modern Latin America
HISTORY 370-0Music and Nation in Latin America
Other as approved by department advisor.

Law and crime

Course Title
HISTORY 221-0Famous American Trials
HISTORY 248-0Global Legal History
HISTORY 318-1Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: Colonial Period to 1850
HISTORY 318-2Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: 1850 to Present
HISTORY 320-0The Fourteenth Amendment
HISTORY 327-0Histories of Violence in the United States
HISTORY 356-2History of South Africa, 1879-on
HISTORY 378-0History of Law and Science
Other as indicated on department website.

Middle East

Course Title
HISTORY 270-0Middle Eastern/Islamic Civilization
HISTORY 271-1History of the Islamic Middle East: 600-1200
HISTORY 271-2History of the Islamic Middle East: 1200-1789
HISTORY 271-3History of the Modern Middle East, 1789 - Present
HISTORY 272-0History of Ancient Egypt, 3100-c. 1000 B.C.E.
HISTORY 373-1The Last Empire of Islam: The Ottomans in Europe and Asia in the Early Modern Era
HISTORY 373-2The Ottoman Empire in the Age of Nationalism: From “Grand Signor” to the “Sick Man of Europe"
HISTORY 374-0The Arabian Peninsula Since the 18th Century
Other as approved by department advisor.

Science and technology

Course Title
HISTORY 275-1History of Early Modern Science and Medicine
HISTORY 275-2History of Modern Science and Medicine
HISTORY 325-0History of American Technology
HISTORY 337-0History of Modern Europe
HISTORY 378-0History of Law and Science
HISTORY 379-0Biomedicine and World History
Other as indicated on department website.

United States

Course Title
HISTORY 210-1North America and the United States to 1865
HISTORY 210-2History of the United States, Reconstruction to the Present
HISTORY 211-0American Wars
HISTORY 212-1Introduction to African-American History: Key concepts from 1700-1861
HISTORY 212-2Introduction to African American History: Emancipation to Civil Rights Movement
HISTORY 214-0Asian American History
HISTORY 215-0History of the American Family
HISTORY 216-0Global Asians
HISTORY 218-0The History of Latinas and Latinos in the United States
HISTORY 219-0History of the Present
HISTORY 221-0Famous American Trials
HISTORY 303-1Women, Power and Patriarchy in US History, to 1865
HISTORY 303-2Women, Power and Patriarchy in US History, since 1865
HISTORY 304-0Asian American Women's History
HISTORY 305-0American Immigration
HISTORY 308-0The American West
HISTORY 309-0American Environmental History
HISTORY 310-1Early American History: Contact and Colonization
HISTORY 310-2American Revolution: From British Colonies to Republican Empire
HISTORY 311-0Democracy and its Discontents: The US from the Constitution to the Mexican War
HISTORY 314-0The Civil War and Reconstruction
HISTORY 315-1The Rise and Fall of the American Century: Rise
HISTORY 315-2The Rise and Fall of the American Century: Fall
HISTORY 316-0The Sixties
HISTORY 317-1American Cultural History: 19th C.
HISTORY 317-2American Cultural History: 20th C. to Present
HISTORY 318-1Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: Colonial Period to 1850
HISTORY 318-2Legal and Constitutional History of the United States: 1850 to Present
HISTORY 319-0US Foreign Relations
HISTORY 320-0The Fourteenth Amendment
HISTORY 321-0The Vietnam Wars
HISTORY 322-1Development of the Modern American City: to 1880
HISTORY 322-2Development of the Modern American City: 1880-Present
HISTORY 324-0US Gay and Lesbian History
HISTORY 325-0History of American Technology
HISTORY 326-0U.S. Intellectual History
HISTORY 327-0Histories of Violence in the United States
Other as approved by department advisor.