United States History Since 1877

The Haymarket Riot of 1886 - image of police and citizens in the street

The Department of History has a number of historians who work in the area of United States history since 1877. Each of these historians has one or more specialties within the general framework of American history after Reconstruction. Both undergraduate and graduate students therefore have a wide choice of courses and possible areas of concentration.

Course descriptions in Modern U.S. History

Faculty in Modern U.S. History

Some of the themes on which faculty focus include:

  • Military history
  • Histories of women, gender, and sexuality
  • Political or policy history
  • Cultural history
  • Histories of labor and capitalism
  • Histories of race and ethnicity, including African-American history, Asian-American history, Jewish history and Latina/o History.
  • History of foreign relations
  • Legal history
Graduate students are also able to work with faculty members who are concerned with other subfields, such as the history of social movements, urban and suburban history, sport history, environmental history, and regional history.

Because the faculty has unusual depth of coverage, other faculty can assist with studies in any particular specialization or thematic area, such as foreign relations, reform movements, or various ethnic histories. Even though they are internationally recognized and always in demand for their professional expertise, faculty members in this area work together to provide the best possible educational experience for all kinds of students.
 

Students will find a dazzling array of attractive course possibilities to learn about what happened in the United States after 1877 and to explore a remarkable range of different approaches to the past.