Courses

The courses below are offered by the history department. Courses in other departments may also count toward the major or minor. For a full list of eligible courses, please see the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Catalog or YES (for enrolled students only).

List of LHS and EHIST-eligible courses for Fall 2025

LHS core courses, Fall ‘25

HIST 1040W: Revolutions in the Modern World

HIST 1550: Legal History of the United States to 1865

HIST 1667: Famous American Trials

HIST 2161: Roman Law of Delicts

HIST 2240: Sex Law

HIST 2690: The Civil Rights Movement

HIST 3100: Pirates of the Caribbean

HIST 4960: Gender and Law

ECON-HIST core courses, FALL‘25

HIST 1039 Global History 1453 to Present

HIST 1640 History of American Capitalism

HIST 2205 Roman Republic

HIST 2544 Panama: Global Crossroads

HIST 3100 Pirates of the Caribbean

HIST 3190 Religion Culture & Commerce

HIST 2138 / 5138 Blood Diamonds, Blood Oil: Commodities and Resource Conflicts in Africa

Courses Required for the Major

HIST 3000W (The History Workshop): Introduction to the “historian’s craft.” Reconstructing the past using primary documents such as diaries, letters, memoirs, and declassified government papers. Methods of historical research and reasoning through individual projects. Offered on a graded basis only. [3] (SBS).

HIST 4960 (Majors Seminar): Advanced reading, research, and writing. Topics vary. Offered on a graded basis only. Limited to juniors and seniors and intended primarily for history majors. Prerequisite: 3000W. May be repeated for credit once if there is no duplication in the topic. Students may enroll in more than one section of this course each semester. [3; maximum of 6 credits total for all semesters of HIST 4960] (No AXLE credit).

Elective Courses

For a full list of history courses, please visit the Undergraduate Course Catalog.

Honors Courses

HIST 3980. (Junior Honors Seminar in History): The first semester of a three-semester sequence of honors study leading to the writing of an honors thesis in history. Introduction to historical thinking, research, and writing. Readings from the major fields of historical scholarship, representing the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Open to juniors beginning honors work in history, or to qualified history majors with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies. [3] (No AXLE credit)

HIST 4980. (Senior Honors Research Seminar): Presentation and discussion of drafts and chapters of honors theses in progress. Offered on a graded basis only. Open only to senior departmental honors students. [3] (No AXLE credit)

HIST 4981 (Senior Honors Research Seminar): Continuation of 4980.Offered on a graded basis only. Open only to seniors in the departmental honors program. Prerequisite: 4980. Corequisite: 4999. [3] (No AXLE credit).

HIST 4999 (Seniors Honors Thesis): Writing an honors thesis under the supervision of a thesis adviser and the Director of Honors. Open only to seniors in the departmental honors program. Offered on a graded basis only. Prerequisite: 4980. Corequisite: 4981. [3] (No AXLE credit).