University of Minnesota
Department of History
history@umn.edu
612-624-2800


Department of History

Welcome to the History Department at the University of Minnesota! For well over a century, we have introduced undergraduates to the excitement and significance of historical studies. We have trained generations of graduate students who have gone on to teach and research in colleges, universities, museums, and libraries. Our faculty’s research has taken them around the world.

We see scholarship, teaching, service, and outreach to the community in Minnesota and beyond as mutually reinforcing. All members of the faculty teach at all levels from freshmen surveys through graduate seminars. Many have won awards to recognize the high quality of their scholarship, teaching, and service. They have received fellowships from the most prestigious foundations and government granting agencies. We have a lively community of graduate student scholar-teachers. Our undergraduate major prepares some of the best students in the College of Liberal Arts for a variety of careers.

Our faculty contribute to knowledge about people and places all over the globe; our students study the ways people have interacted through trade, migration, media, and conquest from the ancient world to the present. They learn that what transpires in Minnesota is related to events as far away as Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. The work of historians in all their endeavors is international education at its best.

History Department has moved to Heller Hall

After more than 40 years in the Social Science Tower, the Department has moved to more spacious quarters in Heller Hall. Many of us have traded the views of the Mississippi outside of our windows for the dramatic skyline of downtown Minneapolis. A twelth-floor meeting space will open up new vistas and possibilities. Our new address is 1110 Heller Hall, 271 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455.

Learn more about us

Explore our website. Find out about the recent books published by our faculty and their current research projects. Look at the range and quality of the courses we offer. Read about the variety of community outreach projects we have undertaken. And contact us to learn more!

With best wishes,
Eric Weitz, Professor and Chair of History

News & Events

  • Gary Cohen Awarded Austrian Medal of Honor

    CohenMedl02-thumb-350x262-20924.jpg
    Gary Cohen has been awarded the Austrian Medal of Honor (Verdienstkreuz) for Science and Arts, First Class. The ceremony was held at the Austrian Embassy in Washington. He was presented the award by Dr. Christian Prosl, the Austrian Ambassador to the United States.

    Congratulations to Gary! This is a much-deserved recognition of Gary's scholarship on the Habsburg Empire and his leadership of the Center for Austrian Studies.

  • Berlin as a Site of History - May-Term 2010

    *****INFO SESSIONS*****
    NOVEMBER 17, 4-4:30PM, HELLER HALL 1210B (TUES.)
    DECEMBER 3, 1:30-2PM, SOCIAL SCIENCE 1183 (THURS.)

    Berlin as a Site of History
    Study Abroad Course in Berlin, Germany

    May Term 2010: May 19--June 11, 2010
    4 cr. History 3960, German 3510, or Global Studies 3900

    Faculty leaders:
    MJ Maynes, History - Twin Cities Campus (mayne001@umn.edu)
    Marynel Ryan Van Zee, History - Morris Campus (mkryan@morris.umn.edu)

    Please attend an info session, contact one of the faculty leaders, or visit the program webpage at:
    http://www.umabroad.umn.edu/programs/europe/customgermanyberlin/index.shtml

  • "Civilization and the Civil Code: The Scandal of 'Child Marriage' in French Algeria"

    Judith Surkis is professor of history at Harvard University.

    Date: 11/20/2009
    Time: 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
    Location: 1210 Heller Hall

    Co-sponsored with Global Studies, European Studies Consortium, Center for German and European Studies

    For More Information

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