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History

Department Overview

Why Study History? 

  • A 2021 study concluded that a liberal arts education "is what will best equip students with the adaptability and fortitude to navigate the road ahead." (Lynn Pasquerella, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities)
  • To master an academic methodology that allows you to think critically about the past and analyze the political problems of the contemporary world.
  • To wrestle with the complex questions of "how" and "why" changes in the human experience occur over time.
  • To embark on an intellectual endeavor that provides depth and breadth to your courses in other disciplines and is crucial to a liberal arts education.
  • The study of history offers the largest comparative framework possible: all human societies over all time. More importantly, historical inquiry foregrounds the actual complexity of the human experience without the restrictive theories favored in much of the Social Sciences.
  • To develop the intellectual and analytical skills that you will need for life after college.

Fall 2023 Courses

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HIST 001N. FYS: Chinatowns: Then and Now Chinatowns have long been a fixture of urban life, serving as a haven for workers fleeing anti-Asian violence, a home for immigrant families, and a hub for tourism. This course will focus on the histories and contemporary conditions of Chinatowns in major U.S. cities, though we will also discuss the development of suburban Chinatowns and Chinatowns around the world. We will explore questions including: what spurred the development of Chinatowns? What purpose do they continue to serve, and for whom? What has been their role in Asian American, American, and urban history?

MLK marching peacefully with other leaders, with a placard behind them reading, "If we kill men with whom shall we live" in both English and Vietnamese.

HIST 005B. Modern American History is an introductory survey of U.S. society, culture, and politics from Reconstruction to the present. 

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HIST 008B. Mfecane, Mines, and Mandela: Southern Africa from 1650 to the Present This course surveys southern African history from the establishment of Dutch rule at the Cape of Good Hope to the present day, focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries.

HIST 025. Colonialism and Nationalism in the Middle East This upper-level course will explore the vast and ever-growing scholarly literature on colonialism and nationalism in the Middle East. It will cover both key theoretical works that have helped to shape this body of historical writing as well as important monographs that exemplify particular approaches to the topic. 

HIST 001N. FYS: Chinatowns: Then and Now Chinatowns have long been a fixture of urban life, serving as a haven for workers fleeing anti-Asian violence, a home for immigrant families, and a hub for tourism. This course will focus on the histories and contemporary conditions of Chinatowns in major U.S. cities, though we will also discuss the development of suburban Chinatowns and Chinatowns around the world. We will explore questions including: what spurred the development of Chinatowns? What purpose do they continue to serve, and for whom? What has been their role in Asian American, American, and urban history?

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Indian Country: A History of Land 1790-Present

The student-run course organized by Daniel Orr '16 and overseen by Professor Bruce Dorsey, Indigenous Communities and the Lands They Belong To (HIST099SR) created a website documenting the allotment of tribal lands in the United States with help from Nabil Kayshap in the library. The website is now housed in Swarthmore's digital scholarship collection online.

View the website