Department of History

Chair

Jeremy I. Adelman

Acting Chair (fall)

Philip G. Nord

Associate Chair

Michael S. Mahoney

Director of Graduate Studies

Molly Greene, History

D. Graham Burnett, History of Science

Professor

Jeremy I. Adelman

Peter R. Brown

Martin C. Collcutt, also East Asian Studies

Linda Colley

Robert C. Darnton

Benjamin A. Elman, also East Asian Studies

Sheldon M. Garon, also East Asian Studies

Anthony T. Grafton

Jan T. Gross

John F. Haldon

Hendrik A. Hartog

David L. Howell, also East Asian Studies

Harold James

William C. Jordan

Stephen M. Kotkin

Peter G. Lake

Michael S. Mahoney

Nancy Weiss Malkiel

Susan Naquin, also East Asian Studies

Philip G. Nord

Colin A. Palmer

Willard J. Peterson, also East Asian Studies

Gyan Prakash

Anson Rabinbach

Daniel T. Rodgers

M. Christine Stansell

Emily Thompson

R. Sean Wilentz

Visiting Professor

Maria Mavroudi

Stephanie McCurry

Associate Professor

D. Graham Burnett

Angela N. H. Creager

Molly Greene

Emmanuel H. Kreike

Kevin M. Kruse

Assistant Professor

Liam M. Brockey

Janet Y. Chen, also East Asian Studies

Michael D. Gordin

Michael F. Laffan

Olga Litvak

Sarah-Jane Mathieu

James R. McDougall

Ekaterina Pravilova

Peter R. Silver

Helen Tilley

Instructor

Joshua B. Guild

Lecturer with Rank of Professor

Barbara B. Oberg

Robert L. Tignor

Lecturer

Margot Canaday, also Council of the Humanities

Benjamin E. Kafka, also Council of the Humanities

Paul L. Miles

Associated Faculty

Peter Schäfer, Religion

Abraham L. Udovitch, Near Eastern Studies

John R. Willis, Near Eastern Studies

 

Graduate instruction in the Department of History is designed to train students both for productive scholarship and effective college or university teaching. Students take courses or seminars for two years, sit for a general examination and, upon successful completion, write a dissertation of such scope that they can anticipate its completion within three additional years of graduate study.

Each course usually meets once a week for three hours. A course may be either the seminar type, centering on individual students preparing research papers, or the more general, reading type, aimed at having students gain a broad acquaintance with a subject, or a mixture of both.

Language Requirements

The basic requirement for all candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in history is a reading knowledge of one foreign language, usually French or German. In each field, however, additional languages, a higher level in a single language, or an appropriate skill is prescribed as the faculty members in that field consider necessary. Candidates in the field of American history may satisfy the requirement by demonstrating a reading knowledge of French, German, or Spanish, while candidates in the field of British history must demonstrate a reading knowledge of French or German. Candidates in the field of European history must possess a reading knowledge of two European languages, one of which being either French or German. Where necessary, as in concentrating in medieval history, a knowledge of Latin is required. Candidates planning to write a dissertation in the East Asian area are expected to have a knowledge of at least one East Asian language and one European language. Candidates in South Asian history must demonstrate proficiency in one South Asian language and one European language. Candidates in the history of the Middle East must acquire at least one Middle Eastern language and one European language. Candidates specializing in Russian history should be prepared to use Russian in addition to French or German. Those electing a major field in Latin American history are expected to qualify in two of the following: French, Spanish, Portuguese, or an indigenous language, subject to faculty approval.

All candidates must take an examination in one foreign language by the end of their first year. All language examinations must be passed before taking the general examination or before commencement of the fifth term, whichever comes first.

First and Second Years

Students choose their courses at the beginning of each term with the aid of their faculty advisers and the departmental director of graduate studies, with an eye toward the fields they will present for their general examinations. Programs are flexible, but a typical schedule is as follows: a student normally enrolls in three seminars or courses in each term of the first year of graduate study; in the first term, one of these must be HIS 500, Introduction to the Professional Study of History. In the second year, the usual program consists of two courses or seminars in the first term, and one in the second. The limitation placed upon formal course work in the second year is intended to give the student the opportunity for independent study, preparation for the general examination, and initial investigation of the dissertation topic.

In the first year in residence a student is expected to write, either independently or in conjunction with course work, at least one research paper. The second research paper may be written in the first or second year of residence, but it must be completed before the general examination. Reading courses that treat subjects not covered in the regular courses listed in the catalog may be arranged with individual faculty members.

Students are expected to take the general examination not later than the end of the second year of residence.

General Examination

The general examination tests the candidate’s knowledge of three distinct fields of historical study, one to be offered as the major field, and two as minors. The general examination consists of three written papers, one in each field, and an oral examination of not more than two hours. All three fields must be completed by May of the second year of study.

Examination fields are individually defined, in consultation with the director of graduate studies. Each field must be defined closely enough to permit the candidate to show evidence of intensive study, and broadly enough to have major historical significance. Common examples of examination fields include: Europe since 1870; the Ancien Régime and the Revolution in France; Tudor-Stuart England; Colonial and Revolutionary America; the United States, 1815–1920; Modern Japan; Modern Latin America; and the Atlantic world. Students are encouraged, if they wish, to choose a minor field in a subject from a discipline other than history. In all cases, candidates submit the titles of their fields to the director of graduate studies in the spring of their second year of study.

Students enrolled in the following special programs of study are referred to the appropriate sections of the catalog for requirements particular to them: African studies, African-American studies, East Asian studies, Hellenic studies, history of science, Latin American studies, and Near Eastern studies.

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is normally an incidental degree on the way to full Ph.D. candidacy, but also may be awarded to students who, for various reasons, leave the Ph.D. program. Students who have satisfactorily passed all required course work (with all incompletes resolved), fulfilled the language requirements in their field of study, and completed the two required research papers may be awarded an M.A. degree.

A student who completes all departmental requirements (course work, language examinations, and research papers, with no incompletes from the first year and first semester of the second year), but fails the general examination may take it a second time. If the student fails the general examination the second time, then Ph.D. candidacy is automatically terminated. The student must then resolve any incompletes from the final semester’s course work, before the M.A. may be awarded.

Dissertation and Final Public Oral Examination

After passing the general examination, the qualifying candidate prepares a written dissertation. During the summer months between the second and third years, students are expected to attend a special dissertation writer’s seminar. Here students begin intensive work on and prepare a preliminary prospectus. On or before December 1 of the same year the student has taken his or her generals in May (or within six months of generals if taken at another time), the candidate must submit a finished version of the prospectus for the approval of the faculty adviser. Students are expected to complete the research and writing of the dissertation by the end of their fifth year of graduate study; earlier completion is certainly feasible in many cases. The scope and length of the dissertation should be defined so that the dissertation can be completed in no more than three years of research and writing. The scope of the dissertation and its length varies from student to student; the decision, reached in consultation between the student and the supervisor, is based on the nature of the problem and the documentation. The completed dissertation may be as short as 75 pages or as long as 300. Only in exceptional circumstances should it exceed 300 pages. Whatever the scope or length, the dissertation must be capable of being developed for publication as a book or a series of articles in scholarly journals. When the dissertation is completed, it is read by three readers in addition to the adviser; one of these three readers is normally not a faculty member of the Princeton history department. After the dissertation has been accepted, the candidate must pass a final public oral examination, which normally is conducted by a board consisting of the student’s adviser and the three readers.

Teaching Experience

The Department of History tries to provide part-time teaching experience for most of the advanced graduate students who desire it. Teaching assistantships generally involve two to four classroom hours a week and should not interfere with progress toward completing the dissertation. Appointments are made by the department chair, according to the needs of the undergraduate teaching schedule, to third-, fourth-, and fifth-year graduate students.

Research Collections

There are special collections in the University library that are of particular value to students of history. Among them are the Pierson Civil War Collection, the Rollins Collection on the American West, and the Miriam Y. Holden Collection on the history of women. The library’s rich holdings in 20th-century American statecraft and public policy make it one of the finest archives for the study of modern American political and diplomatic history. The Gest Oriental Research Library is one of the largest collections in the Western world on Chinese civilization. It also contains basic materials for the study of modern China and Japan.

Courses

HIS 500 Introduction to the Professional Study of History

Michael D. Gordin, Molly Greene

A colloquium to introduce the beginning graduate student to the great traditions in historical writing, a variety of techniques and analytical tools recently developed by historians, and the nature of history as a profession.

HIS 504 Colonial Latin America to 1810

Staff

An examination of selected subjects in early Latin American history, from the apogees of the great Amerindian civilizations, through the years of Spanish and Portuguese imperial control, to the rebellions preceding independence. Emphasizes social and cultural change, explores developments in historiography, and treats a variety of major problems in the field.

HIS 506 Modern Latin America since 1810

Jeremy I. Adelman

A consideration of the primary historiographic themes of Latin American history, from the Independence wars to the recent restoration of democratic rule. These themes include the creation of republican rule, integration into the world economy, the transition from slavery, the rise of the working classes, populism, authoritarianism, and new social movements.

HIS 509 Introduction to the Historical Study of Underdevelopment: The Atlantic System Since 1500

Jeremy I. Adelman, Robert L. Tignor

An exploration of the way selected areas bordering the Atlantic basin—Western Europe, Africa, and Latin America—have created asymmetrical or polarized relations of hegemony and dependency, growth and development, and relative immobility amid a mix of precapitalist and capitalist formations. An analysis attempts to review a wide spectrum of economic, political, social, and cultural factors. Competence in French or Spanish is desirable.

HIS 513 The World and the West, 1300–2000

Jeremy I. Adelman, Robert L. Tignor

This seminar attempts to understand the historical processes that have divided the modern world into the West and the non-West. While it emphasizes the study of non-Western regions, its aim is to highlight global transformations that have connected their histories with the formation and dominance of the West.

HIS 515 Modern African History

Robert L. Tignor

Reading and research on Africa, from the partition to independence, are the focus of this course. Topics include the forces that impelled Europe to partition Africa in the 1880s, the impact of Europe on Africa, modernization, resistance, nationalism, and decolonialization. The first nine weeks are devoted to general readings introducing these topics; for the remainder of the term, students work on a research project of their own choosing.

HIS 519 Topics in the History of Sex and Gender: Comparative Approaches

Staff

A study of the historical connections linking sex and gender to major social, political, and economic transformations. Comparative approaches are taken either in time or by region, or both. Topics may include family, gender, and the economy; gender, religion, and political movements; gender and the state; and gender and cultural representation.

HIS 524 Early Japanese History (see EAS 524)

HIS 526 Readings in Early Modern Japanese History (see EAS 521)

HIS 527 20th-Century Japanese History (see EAS 522)

HIS 529 Modern China (see EAS 519)

HIS 530 Research in Modern Chinese History (see EAS 520)

HIS 534 Islamic Africa before 1900: Problems in Social and Cultural History (see NES 564)

HIS 535 The Arabic Literature of Islamic Africa (see NES 565)

HIS 541 The Greek World After 1453 (also HLS 541)

Molly Greene

An examination of selected topics in Greek history and civilization, broadly defined, between 1453 and the early 20th century.

HIS 542 Problems in Byzantine History (also HLS 542)

John F. Haldon

Reading and research on selected problems in Byzantine social and cultural history are the focus of this course. Specific topics are announced in the term preceding the seminar.

HIS 543 The Origins of the Middle Ages (also HLS 543)

Peter R. Brown

Reading and research on the transition of ancient into medieval society, religion, and culture are the focus of this course.

HIS 544 Seminar in Medieval History

William C. Jordan

Selected problems in the social, administrative, and legal history of Western Europe in the Middle Ages, primarily during the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries.

HIS 545 Readings in Renaissance and Reformation History

Liam M. Brockey, Anthony T. Grafton

A comprehensive study of major problems in the period, with particular attention given to disputed questions of historical analysis and interpretation.

HIS 547 Readings in 17th-Century European History

Liam M. Brockey, Theodore K. Rabb

Readings on major topics in the period, such as the absolutist state, the Thirty Years’ War and dynastic wars, economic expansion, the “general crisis” of the mid-17th century, magic, witchcraft, rationalism, and the scientific method are the focus of this course. Students have the opportunity to concentrate on the kind of history (intellectual, political, economic, demographic) that is their special interest.

HIS 549 Readings in the Old Regime and the Revolution in France

Robert C. Darnton

A survey of the main themes (social, political, and intellectual) in the development of France since the last years of Louis XIV, followed by intensive study of the French Revolution. A reading knowledge of French is required.

HIS 550 The Social History of Ideas in 18th-Century Europe

Robert C. Darnton

Research and reading on selected topics, such as the role of intellectuals in society, the nature of radical ideology, the character of cultural institutions, journalism, the book trade, and popular culture are the focus of this course. There is provision for “high” as well as “low” intellectual history, but the seminar concentrates on the diffusion and circulation of ideas rather than on their philosophical elaboration.

HIS 551 Problems in 19th-Century French History

Philip G. Nord

Readings and research in the social and political history of 19th-century France are the focus of this course. Topics include industrialization and agricultural development; the old and the new right; the revolutions of 1830, 1848, and 1871; the origins of the labor movement and the socialist revival of the 1880s; and the evolution of elites, Bonapartism, and the foundation of the Third Republic.

HIS 552 Seminar in 16th-Century France

Staff

Reading and research in selected topics in the social and cultural history of France, both urban and rural, in the 16th century are the focus of this course. Though the focus of the seminar is France, some comparative material is drawn from other cultures. Specific topics are announced in the term preceding the seminar.

HIS 553 Seminar in European Intellectual History

Staff

Readings and research in cultural institutions and expressions in Europe since 1750 constitute the focus of this course.

HIS 557 Modern and Contemporary Russian History

Staff

Reading and research in the political, social, and economic institutions of Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries are the focus of this course. Depending upon their previous preparation, students devote themselves primarily to either general reading (and reporting on it to the class) or to a research topic worked out in consultation with the instructors.

HIS 558 Soviet Politics and Society Since 1917 (also POL 533)

Staff

Major problems in Soviet history, with particular attention given to the revolution of 1917, the civil war and its social impact, politics and society during the NEP years, and the “revolution from above” of the 1930s. An additional purpose of the seminar is to evaluate critically the adequacy of existing Western scholarship on these subjects.

HIS 559 The Soviet Empire and Successor States

Stephen M. Kotkin

Reading and research in the culture, society, economy, and politics of the Soviet empire and successor states are the focus of this course. Explores possible approaches and strategies as well as the availability and use of sources, with an eye to the formulation or further refining of a topic and preparation for fieldwork.

HIS 561 Seminar in European Cultural and Intellectual History: The 20th Century

Anson Rabinbach

An introduction to recent theoretical and methodological approaches to 20th-century intellectual and cultural history. Its central focus is on the legacy of Nietzsche and Weber for the “counter-enlightenment” thinkers of the 1920s. The anti-historicism of the interwar period is discussed in relation to Walter Benjamin and Siegfried Kracauer. Postwar thinking is represented by Foucault and Arendt.

HIS 562 Seminar in 19th-Century European History

Stephen M. Kotkin

An introduction to major areas of scholarly debate in the history of 19th-century Europe. The intention is to give students exposure to a full range of national cultures and historical approaches. Two unifying themes are pursued: the remaking of elite policy and popular movements in response to industrial development and democratization; and the fashioning of the modern administrative state and the concomitant emergence of strategies of resistance to bureaucratic control.

HIS 563 20th-Century European History

Philip G. Nord, Anson Rabinbach

A survey of the principal problems and controversies in the history of 20th-century Europe. A broad spectrum of national cultures and historical approaches are covered. Unifying themes include varied challenges to the 19th-century liberal legacy; the pan-European welfare-state solution; the imposition of first German, and then Russian hegemony; and the passing of European supremacy in the world.

HIS 564 Germany in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Harold James

Discussion of the major controversies in the interpretation of modern German history. Was there a Jacobin movement in Germany? Did Germany follow a “peculiar path to modernity”? Other topics include 1848 as a social movement, the bases of German nationalism, Wilhelmine rule and the outbreak of war in 1914, the depression and the collapse of the Weimar Republic, the nature of the Nazi electorate and the Nazi state, the Cold War and the division of Germany, and Germany as “two states and one nation” in the 1960s and the 1970s.

HIS 567 England, 1660–1770

Staff

A survey of the main problems and literature in the field is the focus of this course. Topics studied vary from year to year according to the interests of the students involved.

HIS 568 The Coming of the English Revolution, 1529–1641

Peter G. Lake

Reading and research on the first major revolution in modern European history, emphasizing its varied and long-term causes are the focus of this course. Consists of reports on and discussion of readings on selected problems, followed by a research paper on a narrow topic chosen by the student. For a specially arranged reading course in the history of Restoration and Hanoverian England, interested students should consult with the instructor.

HIS 569 Readings in British History, 1780–1914

Linda J. Colley

Topics on the economic, social, political, and cultural history of modern Britain. The following courses in American history, HIS 571 through HIS 585, emphasize reading and research on particular topics. For basic graduate-level readings in American history, see HIS 587 through HIS 590.

HIS 571 The English Colonies in America

Peter R. Silver

Intensive readings and research in the history of the colonies to about 1750 are the focus of this course.

HIS 573 Readings in American Legal History, 1607–1977

Hendrik A. Hartog

A survey of the major secondary literature concerning the history of American law since the founding of the original colonies is the focus of this course. While attention is paid to the earlier tradition of narrowly legal scholarship, emphasis is given to more recent writing. The readings are organized around the major themes of social and economic history, especially in the late 18th to early 19th centuries.

HIS 574 Problems in American Social History: The 19th Century

Staff

Selected issues of the history of 19th-century American society. Topics such as the professions, deviance, reform, the family (including youth, women, and sex roles), migration and immigration, social mobility, social class, and work and leisure are studied.

HIS 576 Research Seminar in Gender: Revolutionary to Modern America

M. Christine Stansell

The seminar trains students in theory and methods of research in the history of gender relations in the United States. Students work from perspectives of women’s history, emerging scholarship in the history of masculinity, and theoretical work on sex/gender systems. Beginning with common readings and a small research problem to be assigned by the professor, the seminar moves to individual research projects.

HIS 580 The Diplomatic History of the United States

Staff

Attention is directed chiefly to the emergence of the United States as a world power.

HIS 581 Topics in the History of the American South

Staff

Reading and research in the history of the southern United States is the focus of this course. Topics vary from year to year, and discussions emphasize recent scholarship and the interplay of class, race, and gender in southern society. Possible topics include the evolution of southern society, frontier and black belt in the old South, migration and cultural change, religion and education in the modern South, segregation and economic change, race and gender in southern thought, and the idea of “the South.”

HIS 584 Race and Politics in the United States, 1820–1900

Staff

A seminar focusing on the interaction of slavery, the antislavery movement, and emancipation, with political, social, and economic developments in the 19th century. Emphasis is on the Civil War and Reconstruction as a major turning point in American history.

HIS 585 Problems in American Cultural and Intellectual History

Daniel T. Rodgers

Issues and methods in the interpretation of American intellectual and cultural history, through the study of topics ranging chronologically from Puritanism to the present, are the focus of this course. Students may elect to take the course either as a reading or a research seminar.

HIS 587 Readings in Early American History

Philip D. Morgan

A comprehensive introduction to the historical literature and problems of American history from the Great Awakening of the 1740s through the War of 1812.

HIS 588 Readings in American History: The Early Republic Through Reconstruction, 1815–1877

R. Sean Wilentz

A comprehensive introduction to the literature and problems of American history, from the Era of Good Feelings to the conclusion of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

HIS 589 Readings in American History: Reconstruction to World War I

Staff

A comprehensive introduction to the literature and problems of American history, from the end of the Civil War to the United States entry into World War I.

HIS 590 Readings in American History: World War I to the Present

Daniel T. Rodgers

A comprehensive introduction to the literature and problems of American history, in the most recent period.

HIS 591 The Scientific Revolution (see HOS 591)

HIS 592 Science in Antiquity and the Middle Ages (see HOS 592)

HIS 593 Science from the Enlightenment to the Present (see HOS 593)

HIS 594 Introductory Colloquium in the History of Science I (see HOS 594)

HIS 595 Introductory Colloquium in the History of Science II (see HOS 595)

HIS 596 History of the Life Sciences (see HOS 596)

HIS 597 History of the Physical and Mathematical Sciences (see HOS 597)

HIS 598 History of Technology (see HOS 598)

HIS 599 Special Topics in the History of Science (see HOS 599)