Why study history?

We study the past to gain insight for living in our present. At the collegiate level, studying history comprises much more than memorizing names or dates. Historians examine change over time and are most interested in questions that begin by asking 'why' or 'how.' These questions demand complex answers about who we are and how we have come to be where we are. 

A Minor in History provides a foundation in historical thinking and teaches skill in research, evaluation, analysis, and communication that allow us to better understand what it means to be human in an increasingly complex and interdependent world. As a department, we are:

Welcoming: In our teaching and research, faculty are committed to recovering and centering voices of people whose historical experiences have been marginalized through systemic racism, gender and sex prejudice, and class bias. We welcome all students in our classrooms. 

Relevant: The study of history at the collegiate level prepares students for global citizenship and teaches them to form evidence-based arguments, even in the face of uncertainty, bias, and incomplete information. Our courses develop skills in critical thinking, analysis of qualitative and quantitative sources, research methods and practices, effective communication –all of which transfer to any number of future careers and occupations.

Personal: Courses in the department are usually small, and the larger courses always include trained Graduate Teaching Assistants to give individual attention and feedback. All our required seminars are capped at fifteen students, and each affords the opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty member. 

Prominent:  Faculty in the department are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their field, and they bring this advanced knowledge into the classroom

Flexible: Any course offered by the Department of History is open to Minors. Students are encouraged, but not required to enroll in our seminar in historical methods (HIST 301) or the senior research seminar (HIST 696). 

Requirements for the Minor

History Minor Course Requirements

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Minors must complete a minimum of 2 courses (6 hours) in both Category I and Category II below. The remaining 6 hours may be taken from either category. 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
History Category I: Western Orientation
Satisfied by two courses (6 hours) from the following:		6
HIST 101	Introduction to Western History: _____
HIST 102	Introduction to History, Honors: _____
HIST 103	Environment and History
HIST 105	Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern and Greek History
HIST 106	Introduction to Roman History
HIST 108	Medieval History
HIST 109	The Black Experience in the Americas
HIST 112	Introduction to British History
HIST 114	Renaissance to Revolution: Europe 1500-1789
HIST 115	French Revolution to the Present: Europe 1789-Present
HIST 117	Russia, An Introduction
HIST 125	The History of Global Capitalism
HIST 128	History of the United States Through the Civil War
HIST 129	History of the United States After the Civil War
HIST 138	Fascisms in History: Past, Present … Future?
HIST 139	The Global Cold War
HIST 150	Introduction to Food History: Around the World in Eight Dishes
HIST 177	First Year Seminar: _____
HIST 201	Writing the Past-Category I/Western Topics: _____
HIST 203	Speaking the Past-Category I/Western Topics: _____
HIST 230	Sex, Gender, Film, and History
HIST 231	War and 20th Century U.S. Culture
HIST 250	Study Abroad Topics in: _____
HIST 285	Headless Men: Conquest and Cultural Exchange Before the Age of Exploration
HIST 303	Sin Cities
HIST 305	Technological Revolutions and Global Transformations
HIST 308	Key Themes in Modern Global History
HIST 312	American Culture, 1877 to the Present
HIST 314	Globalization: History and Theory
HIST 316	Ministers and Magicians: Black Religions from Slavery to the Present
HIST 318	Indian Territory
HIST 319	History, Women, and Diversity in the U.S.
HIST 320	From Goddesses to Witches: Women in Premodern Europe
HIST 321	From Mystics to Feminists: Women's History in Europe 1600 to the Present
HIST 322	LGBTQ U.S. History, 1600-1900
HIST 323	LGBTQ U.S. History, 1900-Present
HIST 324	History of Women and the Body
HIST 325	The Spanish Inquisition
HIST 331	Age of Empires-The Atlantic 1400-1800
HIST 332	Sex in History
HIST 333	Eurometro: Visions of the European Metropolis, 1849-1939
HIST 334	The Great War: The History of World War I
HIST 335	History of Jewish Women
HIST 336	Ethics, Ideas and Nature
HIST 337	History, Ethics, Modernity
HIST 340	The History of the Second World War
HIST 341	Hitler and Nazi Germany
HIST 343	The Holocaust in History
HIST 344	Modern Jewish History
HIST 345	Hard Times: The Depression Years in America, 1929-1941
HIST 347	Environmental History of North America
HIST 348	History of the Peoples of Kansas
HIST 349	Antisemitism: A Long History
HIST 350	The Korean War, 1950-1953
HIST 356	At the Movies: U.S. History on the Silver Screen
HIST 357	History of the American West
HIST 358	The Vietnam War
HIST 359	The Black Experience in the U.S. Since Emancipation
HIST 362	The American Way of War Since World War II
HIST 363	Perspectives on Science, Engineering and Mathematics
HIST 364	Angry White Male Studies
HIST 365	Invention of the Tropics
HIST 367	Magic and Superstition in European History
HIST 374	The History of Modern American Conservatism
HIST 376	Immigrants, Refugees, and Diasporas
HIST 377	Everyday Communism in Eastern Europe
HIST 378	Beyond the Iron Curtain: Soviet Perspectives on the Cold War
HIST 383	United States in the 1960s
HIST 387	Alexander the Great: Man and Myth
HIST 388	Julius Caesar: Man and Myth
HIST 389	Topics in Western History: ______
HIST 391	Topics in (Honors): _____
HIST 396	Hitler and Nazi Germany, Honors
HIST 401	Case Studies in: _____
HIST 402	War and Society in Greece and Rome
HIST 403	Playing with the Past: History in Games and Gaming
HIST 404	Technology and the Modern World
HIST 405	Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the North American West
HIST 407	Technology in American History
HIST 408	History of the Great Plains
HIST 410	The American Revolution
HIST 412	The Civil War in America, 1828-1877
HIST 418	Israel/Palestine: The War of 1948
HIST 441	Aviation in American Culture
HIST 442	The Politics of Racial Injustice in the United States
HIST 450	Study Abroad Topics in: _____
HIST 475	Professional Skills in the Humanities
HIST 492	Readings in History
HIST 494	Service Learning in History
HIST 501	Topics in Western History: _____
HIST 502	The Age of Heroes: Early Greece
HIST 503	The Ancient History of the Near East
HIST 504	Rise of Athens and Sparta
HIST 506	Roman Republic
HIST 507	Early Roman Empire
HIST 508	Late Roman Empire (284-527)
HIST 514	The Civil Rights Movement
HIST 517	The Seventies: An American History
HIST 518	Capitalism and the Black Experience
HIST 520	The Age of the Renaissance
HIST 521	The Age of the Reformation
HIST 525	France and Its Empire: From Acadia to Zidane
HIST 527	Recent European History, 1870 to the Present
HIST 530	History of American Women--Colonial Times to 1870
HIST 531	History of American Women--1870 to Present
HIST 563	U.S. Environmental Thought in the 20th Century
HIST 564	Medieval Russia
HIST 568	Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
HIST 570	The Middle East After World War II
HIST 574	Slavery in the New World
HIST 625	The Body, Self and Society
HIST 630	The United States and the World, 1890-2003
HIST 649	History of Feminist Theory
History Category II: Non-western Orientation
Satisfied by two courses (6 hours) from the following:		6
HIST 102	Introduction to History, Honors: _____
HIST 104	Introduction to African History
HIST 109	The Black Experience in the Americas
HIST 110	Introduction to Non-Western History: _____
HIST 117	Russia, An Introduction
HIST 118	Premodern East Asia
HIST 119	Modern East Asia
HIST 120	Colonial Latin America
HIST 121	Modern Latin America
HIST 124	Latin American Culture and Society
HIST 125	The History of Global Capitalism
HIST 139	The Global Cold War
HIST 150	Introduction to Food History: Around the World in Eight Dishes
HIST 160	Introduction to West African History
HIST 177	First Year Seminar: _____
HIST 202	Writing the Past-Category II/Non-Western Topics: _____
HIST 204	Speaking the Past-Category II/Non-Western Topics: _____
HIST 250	Study Abroad Topics in: _____
HIST 300	Modern Africa
HIST 303	Sin Cities
HIST 307	Modern Africa, Honors
HIST 308	Key Themes in Modern Global History
HIST 314	Globalization: History and Theory
HIST 318	Indian Territory
HIST 326	Native Americans Confront European Empires
HIST 327	The Premodern Middle East
HIST 328	The Modern Middle East
HIST 332	Sex in History
HIST 336	Ethics, Ideas and Nature
HIST 337	History, Ethics, Modernity
HIST 348	History of the Peoples of Kansas
HIST 351	American Indian and White Relations to 1865
HIST 352	American Indians Since 1865
HIST 353	Indigenous Peoples of North America
HIST 365	Invention of the Tropics
HIST 368	A History of Afro-Latin America
HIST 376	Immigrants, Refugees, and Diasporas
HIST 378	Beyond the Iron Curtain: Soviet Perspectives on the Cold War
HIST 387	Alexander the Great: Man and Myth
HIST 390	Topics in Non-Western History: _____
HIST 391	Topics in (Honors): _____
HIST 394	Made in China: Chinese Business History
HIST 395	History of Sushi
HIST 397	From Mao to Now: China's Red Revolution
HIST 399	The Samurai
HIST 400	Indigenous People of the Great Plains
HIST 401	Case Studies in: _____
HIST 403	Playing with the Past: History in Games and Gaming
HIST 415	The Rise of Civilization
HIST 450	Study Abroad Topics in: _____
HIST 463	Modern Korean Art and Culture
HIST 480	Travelers' Tales of the Middle East
HIST 481	From Harem to the Streets: Gender in the Middle East, 1900-Present
HIST 492	Readings in History
HIST 494	Service Learning in History
HIST 510	Topics in Non-Western History: _____
HIST 511	Foodways: Native North America
HIST 512	Foodways: Latin America
HIST 561	Liberation in Southern Africa
HIST 564	Medieval Russia
HIST 568	Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
HIST 570	The Middle East After World War II
HIST 571	Pre-Hispanic Mexico and Central America
HIST 572	Ancient American Civilizations: The Central Andes
HIST 574	Slavery in the New World
HIST 577	The Andean World
HIST 578	Global Indigenous History
HIST 579	The History of Brazil
HIST 580	Economic History of Latin America
HIST 584	Modern China
HIST 598	Sexuality and Gender in African History
HIST 603	History of Tibet
HIST 604	Contemporary Greater China
History Electives
Satisfied by 2 HIST courses (6 hours)		6

History Minor Hours & GPA

While completing all required courses, majors must also meet each of the following hour and grade point average minimum standards:

Minor Hours
Satisfied by 18 hours of minor courses.

Minor Hours in Residence
Satisfied by a minimum of 9 hours of junior/senior (300+) hours of KU resident credit in the minor. 

Minor Junior/Senior (300+) Hours
Satisfied by a minimum of 12 hours from junior/senior courses (300+) in the minor.

Minor Graduation GPA
Satisfied by a minimum of a 2.0 GPS in all departmental courses in the minor. GPA calculations include all departmental courses in the field of study including Fs and repeated courses. See the Semester/Cumulative GPA Calculator.