History examines the past, seeking to understand the development and changes in human experience from its origins to the present. Historians are interested in documenting and interpreting the past from its diverse theoretical, ideological, and methodological approaches, and at all levels from local history to comparative and global history.
Courses range from surveys to research and intensive seminars, focusing on a rich array of topics - various regions (Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, United States), time periods (ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern), methods (social, cultural, economic, quantitative), and comparative themes (gender and sexuality, imperialism, race and ethnicity).
The College of Liberal Arts Advantage: More Than a Major
When you study History at the University of Minnesota, you gain the added advantage of a College of Liberal Arts education. At CLA, the liberal arts mean you get more than just a degree in one major or another; it means you will be exposed to different areas of study, to different ways of thinking and learning. In fact, the liberal arts teach you how to learn—how to ask the right questions, how to problem solve, and how to innovate. The liberal arts highlight the complexities of our world, because here at CLA you will study not just, say, politics or art but also where politics and art intersect, where science and ethics intersect, where economics and the environment intersect.
