Department of History

The Department of History condemns racism in all its forms and encourages students to take every opportunity to learn how racist practices and policies have shaped the United States and the world. Far from being a natural or inherent result of human differences, racism is the product of unequal power relationships and deliberate decisions made by people in the past and present. Racism has a history, and it is the collective responsibility of everyone seeking to end injustice to study and understand that history in keeping with the ethical standards established by our discipline. We decry the misuse of historical evidence and the disingenuous arguments made by those who seek to preserve white supremacy. In our courses and programs, students learn how to examine and interpret the past with honesty and integrity. By examining and interpreting historical sources that present diverse perspectives, discussing them with their classmates and conducting historical research of their own, students develop the knowledge and analytical skills that are needed to overcome racist beliefs and structures.

History is the story of human interactions and change over time. It is diverse and dynamic. Every significant act we do today will amount to some legacy for future generations. As an academic field, history is the study of such acts and a sustained examination of the lives of the individuals who partake in them. Historians can have many backgrounds, ranging from economic historians to those who study the historical contexts of environmental change. Historians may also specialize in social, political, intellectual, diplomatic and cultural experiences.

The Department of History offers several different degrees for students who desire to increase their knowledge on specific historical time-periods and who wish to advance their analytical skills. Students have plenty of opportunities to work closely with our award-winning faculty members who specialize in virtually every time-period and region of the world. View the example here of Assistant Professor Sarah Keyes with her mini-lesson on Margaret Foley (1875–1957), an Irish American based in Boston who served as a labor organizer, social worker and suffragist.

Historical Photo of Pyramid Lake in 1968

Senator Harry Reid Graduate Fellowship

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Christian Filbrun, M.A., as the inaugural Senator Harry Reid Fellow. The Senator Harry Reid Graduate Fellowship is a five-year Ph.D. fellowship. For more information, contact the Department of History graduate program.

Learn more about Christian Filbrun

Students outside on summer day in front of Pennington Student Achievement Center

Bachelor's Program

Three graduate students and a professor look over papers on the porch of Lincoln Hall

Graduate Program

Alumni Profiles

Students sit and study in Shared History room

Shared History Program

History events

Dec 01

12:00 PM

Academic Lectures and Seminars

History in the Present – Recurring

History in the Present Lecture Series

“History in the Present” is a monthly webinar series hosted by the Department of History that historicizes current events, shares cutting-edge research, and aims to promote dialogue on issues of interest between the University and the broader community. As historians, we work across disciplines and collaborate with a broad range of people outside of the University. Thus, in addition to history faculty, museum curators, NGO leaders and experts on the environment and human rights will also be presenting in this webinar series. The event is held on the first Wednesday of each month at noon, via Zoom, and will provide ample time for question and answer. Please visit the events calendar for full descriptions of individual events with registration information and attendance links. All events for the 2021 season are virtual unless otherwise noted.

History in the Present Schedule
Date	Time	Event Name	Featuring	Host Department
2/3	12:00 p.m.	Magicians, Circuses, Gangsters, the Great Migration, and the Secret Show Business Roots of Black Muslims in America.	Jacob Dorman, Associate Professor of History and Core Humanities	History
3/3	12:00 p.m.	The Ongoing Ethical Debate on Looted Nazi and Holocaust-Era Books in the United States	Jamie McSpadden, Assistant Professor of History	History
4/7	12:00 p.m.	The Donner Party: A Tragedy in Snow and Stone	Sarah Keyes, Assistant Professor of History	History
5/5	12:00 p.m.	Anti-Semitism and Belonging: the Jewish Experience in America	Dennis Dworkin, Department Chair; Professor of History	History
6/2	12:00 p.m.	Nordic colonizations: How Greenland navigates the emerging great power competition in the Arctic and enduring colonial legacies	Prof. Ebbe Volquardsen, University of Greenland	History
9/1	12:00 p.m.	Nevada Stories: Film Shorts from Shared History	Chris von Nagy, Head, Shared History Program	History
10/6	12:00 p.m.	Women, AIDS, and Prison: Unexpected Histories of an Epidemic	Emily Hobson, Associate Professor of Gender, Race, and Identity and History	History
11/3	12:00 p.m.	From scarcity to excess: food, economy and society in Modern China	Jim Harkness, China Country Director, National Geographic Society	History
12/1	12:00 p.m.	Eurasia, pressing issues: a roundtable	Profs. Eugene (Gene) Park; Xiaoyu Pu; Hugh Shapiro; Barbara Walker; Gi Yun	History

History in the Present Archive

Catch up on previously-recorded History in the Present lectures. For more accessible versions, please contact the department.

Archived history events