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The department offers a large number of courses, taught by approximately sixty faculty, that cover all periods of recorded human history. The Barnard History department offers its own set of courses, almost all of which are open to Columbia College and General Studies students; you will also find additional history courses and historians in related departments (Classics, Religion, MEALAC, EALAC, etc.).
Please click here for a list of the courses offered in the Fall 2007 semester, and their assigned distribution groups for fulfilling major and concentration requirements.
Courses in United States history have traditionally been the most popular, but the departmental offerings also address the histories of the Ancient World, Europe, Latin America, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. Some courses cut across geographical boundaries to deal with themes or groups across societies, or with the interaction between different regions. Other courses focus on religious, intellectual, social, economic, legal, or political history, as well as historical theory and method.
There are two basic types of courses: lectures and seminars. Lectures, worth three points, generally meet twice a week for 1 hour and 15 minutes; some lectures have additional discussion sections, which may be required. Lectures range from the very large (over 300 students) to the very small (fewer than 15), so the nature of the classroom experience will vary. Most lecture courses require a midterm and a final examination; many require some sort of paper. 1000-level lectures are broad surveys of extended historical periods; 3000-level courses are more specialized lectures and seminars. Course numbers do not represent a sequence and (with a few exceptions) most courses do not require prerequisites: you may take any course at any point. Still, students will find it useful to move from the general to the more specialized courses.
Seminars, worth four points, are generally smaller; most are capped at 15 students. Seminars explore narrower topics more deeply, through concentrated reading in the secondary literature on a topic, primary source research, or both. These classes meet once a week for 2 hours. The workload for seminars is heavier than for lectures, with more reading and more written work. Consequently, they are worth 4 points. Seminars normally do not have a final examination, but rather require a substantial final paper. Few seminars have prerequisites, though students who have taken a lecture course in a field will often find themselves better prepared to benefit from them. Students must apply for admission to seminars; preference for admission goes to history majors and concentrators.
The department offers three courses specifically concerned with issues of historical theory and method. Historiography and the Theories of History (W3989) is a lecture course covering theories of history and varieties of historical writing. The Historian’s Craft (W4900) is a seminar in which students examine historical methods. Introduction to Quantitative Analysis in Historical Research (W8990) deals with statistical applications to historical problems. Although these courses are designed for history majors, who are given preference in admission, any student may take them. Two senior thesis seminars—one for US history, the other for non-US topics—provide a structured environment in which to develop theses.
Finally, students may arrange independent reading courses with individual faculty.
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