August 2013

Empires and Colonialism

Empire has been the dominant form of government throughout most of human history. Spanish and Portuguese are spoken in South America as a consequence of empire. English is spoken in Australia, North America, and South Africa as a consequence of empire. Many ongoing conflicts in the Middle East emerged out of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, and competition between the French and British Empires. Tensions in South Asia can be understood in part as legacies of the Mughal and British Empires.

Cultural History

Cultural history brings to life a past time and place. In this search, cultural historians study beliefs and ideas, much as intellectual historians do. In addition to the writings of intellectual elites, they consider the notions (sometimes unwritten) of the less privileged and less educated. These are reflected in the products of deliberately artistic culture, but also include the objects and experiences of everyday life, such as clothing or cuisine.

Pathways

The history department offers courses in nearly every region, period, and field of the global past. To assist students in choosing courses of particular interest, we have designed “Pathways” that focus on certain intellectual themes across a broad range of geographic areas. Students do not need to commit to a particular pathway in order to become history majors or to enroll in history courses. Rather, these pathways are designed to be helpful guides to available courses in areas of special strength within the Yale history department.
 

Course Admission

History courses generally take one of three forms. The first is the lecture course—sometimes a large auditorium-style course, sometimes a more intimate lecture/discussion hybrid. These courses are open to all students regardless of year or major. They usually consist of two lectures per week, along with one hour of discussion section. In general, students may be admitted to the course by simply showing up and registering during shopping period.

Combined B.A./M.A. degree program

Combined BA / MA program
 
History majors of extraordinary commitment and ability may, with the permission of the Department, Yale College and the Graduate School, undertake graduate work that will qualify the student at the end of their eighth term (senior year) for the simultaneous award of bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
 
Application procedure:

Advising

A student who declares a History major is assigned an adviser from among the departmental faculty. The adviser is available throughout the year for consultation about courses and the major. At the beginning of each term, students majoring in History must have their departmental adviser approve and sign their schedules. It is possible for students to change advisers provided they obtain the written consent of the new adviser.