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Battelle Tompkins , Room 137 on a map
History 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016-8038 United StatesThe World Is Open to AU History Majors
History classes hone our students' research, writing, and analytical skills. Our home in Washington, DC, offers students unparalleled resources for research, internships, and jobs. The nation's capital is our classroom.
Our outstanding faculty are not only exemplary teachers and scholars, but they are also actively involved with archives, museums, government institutions, and non-profits in DC, across the United States, and around the world. Whether you are interested in working in government, private industry, non-profits, or academia, AU's Department of History offers a stepping stone to a promising career.
The History Department offers a BA, a minor, a combined BA/MA, an MA in History, an MA in History with Public History Concentration, and a PhD.
Fast-Track Your Way to a BA / MA in History
American University's Combined BA/MA Degree program allows students to complete both their BA and MA in History in as little as 5 years. Students in the BA/MA program save upwards of $22,000 in tuition costs by sharing credits between the two degrees.
Students may pursue either the General MA program or the Public History Concentration. Inquire at history@american.edu to learn more about our BA/MA program.
Fall 2025 Featured Courses
See Eagle Service course catalog for all History courses offered this semester.
History of Ukraine
HIST 239 001
3 credits, Valentyna Kharkhun, Tuesdays & Fridays, 9:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
This course presents the history of Ukraine from its earliest to most recent times, with an emphasis on political, religious, social, and intellectual aspects. It covers relations with Russia and other countries, tracing formation and growth of the Ukrainian national identity and previous attempts at state-building. Particular attention is given to the transformation of Ukraine into the modern nation which declared its independence in 1991, endured three revolutions, and is now defending its political and cultural security in the war against Russia. The course consists of lectures and textbook readings from primary sources on the intellectual history of Ukraine as to understand how Ukraine appears on the political and cultural map of Europe, as well as comprehending the historical background of the Ukrainian struggle for its independence and national security.
Precolonial Africa
HIST 264 001
3 credits, Elke Stockreiter, Mondays & Thursdays, 9:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
This course surveys African societies from prehistory to the eve of European colonial rule in the 1880s. Focusing on political, social, and economic change, it examines the rise of African civilizations and state formation; the trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean trade networks; and systems of slavery. The course situates African history in a global context and provides students with a historical framework for interpreting current events in Africa.
Race, Resistance, and Sports
HIST 305 001
3 credits, Theresa Runstedtler, Tuesdays & Fridays, 4:05 p.m. - 5:20 p.m.
This course is a critical study of sport. Beginning with the premise that sports are more than simply entertainment, the course explores their influence on U.S. life and culture as political technologies of domination, resistance, and meaning-making. Drawing on theories and concepts in the broad fields of Black Studies, Ethnic Studies, and American Cultural Studies, the impact of racecraft, racism, and racialization on individuals, ideologies, and institutions across the changing landscape of U.S. sports are examined.
Climate Change, Nature, and Society in Western Europe
HIST 396 001
3 credits, Jacob Melish, Tuesdays & Fridays, 12:55 p.m. - 2:10 p.m.
This course examines the interactions between climate change, the natural world, and society in Western Europe within a global context from 1500 to the present. Topics explored include the environmental transformation of the area and its overseas possessions since 1492, the Little Ice Age and the General Crisis of the seventeenth century that it helped create, the fossil-fuel powered Industrial Revolution from its emergence in eighteenth-century England to its current global phase, how European societies responded to past and current environmental and climate changes, and the divisions among historians and within European societies on these issues.
American Encounters: 1492 - 1865
HIST 205 001
3 credits, Jonah Estess, Mondays, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
The history of the United States to 1865: the expansion and transplantation of European civilization; the Native American response; the sectional contest over slavery; the birth of the American feminist movement; and the beginnings of the industrial revolution.
Oral History
HIST 667 001
3 credits, Dan Kerr, Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
This course presents the theory, practice, legal and ethical issues, and uses of oral history. Through field work, students gain interviewing, transcription, and analysis skills and studies the advantages and limitations of oral history as source material. Reading and case histories are drawn from modern U.S. history.
Bulletins
The Department of History hosted History Day on April 23, a day-long celebration of student research and achievements. View the program.
Prof. Laura Beers has been awarded a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship as part of the 100th class of fellows for the Guggenheim Foundation. Beers has been awarded this prestigious award for her next book project.
The Department of History and the Jewish Studies Program held the annual Brandenburg Lecture & Annual Awards Ceremony, April 9, featuring Julie Keresztes and her recently published book, Photography and the Making of the Nazi Racial Community. Watch the lecture.
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Check out our 2023-24 newsletter! See what we got up to last academic year, including faculty and student achievements, events, and more. Read the newsletter.
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Orwell’s Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century by Laura Beers is a finalist in the LA Times 2024 Book Prize Awards. She discussed the book on The Gray Area podcast.
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Doctoral student Paul Kutner published an article with Medium on Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde's speech on January 21.
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Theresa Runstedtler spoke with Time about race, sexuality, and gender- themed conversations surrounding Caitlin Clark’s inaugural WNBA season.
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Allan Lichtman spoke with NPR about President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to invite Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the inauguration.
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Peter Kuznick co-authored an article for The Nation about Nihon Hidankyo’s receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Dan Arbell, scholar-in-residence in the Department of History, spoke with CBC News about the optics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to DC.
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Justin Jacobs spoke with The Telegraph about myths surrounding certain ancient Chinese artifacts in British museums.
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Peter Kuznick (History, Nuclear Studies Institute) co-authored an article for Responsible Statecraft about the potential future of the war in Ukraine.
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M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska was chosen for a Us@250 Fellowship with New America to support a longform article on local and federal efforts for Bicentennial planning in D.C. and her on-going research on tourism to Washington, D.C.
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Gautham Rao (History) co-authored a brief to the Supreme Court for consideration in the Trump v. US case.
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Congratulations to Prof. Alan Kraut on reaching 50 years of dedicated service in the AU Department of History.
- Allan Lichtman (History), the famed creator of the 13 Keys to the White House, revealed his prediction for the 2024 presidential race in a video in the New York Times. Lichtman’s prediction was subsequently featured in media outlets including USA Today, CNN, The Guardian, The Hill, CNBC, Business Insider, The Economic Times, and Washingtonian.
- History Alumnus Matthew Skic was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer for his discovery of the only-known eyewitness depiction of women camp followers during the American Revolutionary War. He is currently the Curator of Exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution.
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PhD History Alumnus Dr. Thomas Hauser published Flying in the Shadows: Forging Aerial Intelligence for the United States Army (US Government Publishing Office, 2023).
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Prof. Peter Kuznick spoke with Progressive Magazine, WION News, CGTN Europe, Radio Sputnik, Republic TV (India), NTV Russian Television, Izvestia, Al-Sharq News, Axios, and Spectrum News about a variety of topics ranging from nuclear weapons history to ongoing conflicts in the world.
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Prof. Pamela S. Nadell was the Jewish Studies Consultant for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Lehman Trilogy.
Department News
Top image credit: Teddy Roosevelt (right of man in white vest) watches the laying of the cornerstone for AU's McKinley Building, 1902.
AU Archives. Read more about AU's presidential past.