Professor of History
Douglas Ambrose
Douglas Ambrose’s interests include early America, the Old South and U.S. religious history.
History
The study of history engages every dimension of the past, from the human experience to the natural world. It is the study of change and continuity, of what was different and what was shared, of what was believed and what was done. Concentrators develop original research projects, drawing on Hamilton’s rich library resources and on collections from around the globe.
About the Major
Students will learn to use interdisciplinary methods from the humanities and social sciences to probe the sources of the past for answers to present questions. They will learn to draw comparisons and connections among diverse societies across a range of historical eras. They will further learn to convey their findings through writing that is clearly structured, precise, and persuasive.
I really enjoy every single one of the history faculty. I pride myself on throwing questions at them about everything and anything, from political to social to every aspect of life about a certain topic. I really throw some curveballs at them, and they always take the time out to address them.
Marcus Gutierrez — history and government major
Hamilton history graduates have pursued careers in teaching, law, medicine, journalism, public policy, and many other fields.
Careers After Hamilton
- Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
- Director of Education & Interpretation, National Museum of American History
- Editor, New York Post
- Environmental Policy Analyst, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Physician, Texas Oncology
- Professor of Military History, U.S. Army
- Executive Director, JPMorgan Chase Bank
- Director, Information Technology, RBS Global Banking & Markets
- Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Meet Our Faculty
Assistant Professor of History
Mackenzie Cooley
Mackenzie Cooley's interests include the history of ideas in Renaissance Italy and the Spanish Empire.
Associate Professor of History
John Eldevik
John Eldevik holds the Licence in Mediaeval Studies from the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
the Edgar B. Graves Professor of History
Kevin Grant
Grant is a historian of modern Britain and Ireland, European imperialism, and international humanitarianism.
the Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History
Maurice Isserman
Maurice Isserman's newest book, Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering, was published by Norton.
Professor of History
Shoshana Keller
Shoshana Keller focuses on Soviet and Central Asian history and has written on the Stalinist campaign against Islam, women and women's education, and the creation of Soviet Uzbek history.
Assistant Professor of History
Celeste Day Moore
Celeste Day Moore teaches courses on race, empire and African-American history.
Visiting Professor of History
Ty Seidule
Ty Seidule is the Chamberlain Project Retiring Officer Teaching Fellow.
Chair, Professor of History
Lisa Trivedi
Lisa Trivedi, a cultural and social historian of modern South Asia, received her doctorate from the University of California at Davis.
Visiting Assistant Professor of History
Rebecca Wall
Rebecca Wall investigates transnational environment challenges that require looking beyond national-level solutions.
the Bates and Benjamin Professor of Classical and Religious Studies, Director of Asian Studies
Thomas Wilson
Thomas Wilson is an expert on Confucian ritual and the cult of Confucius.
Edgar B. Graves Professor of History Emeritus
Alfred Kelly
Alfred Kelly is researching a book on the legacy of the Franco-Prussian War.
A Sampling of Courses
Murder, Civil War, and Opera 100F
Ivan the Terrible murdered his heir, and left Russia to face economic collapse and mass hunger without a stable government. Then things got really bad. Did Boris Godunov murder Tsarevich Dmitri? Was the First False Dmitri for real? Only Pushkin knew for sure, but it took Modest Mussorgsky to wrap it up in the greatest Russian opera of all time. This course will explore the relationships between history, art and national identity in Russia. Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesEurope and its Empires, 1500-1960 104S
A survey of European exploration, imperial expansion and post-colonial society. Examines European debates over the principles and objectives of imperialism in the Americas, the Pacific and Africa. Illuminates changing views toward culture, economics, race, gender and nationality. Stress upon basic skills in the interpretation of historical texts and writing. Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesSilk Road 124S
The silk roads were a network of trade routes from China to the Mediterranean Sea. This course explores ancient Eurasian trade, language, religion, art and power as Chinese, Turks, Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Mongols and many others interacted across vast distances. We will study how historians think, considering texts, archeology, linguistics, and art as sources of evidence. Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesBlack Metropolis 125S
This seminar interrogates the role of cities in African-American life. Through course readings and assignments, we will develop an alternative genealogy of black urban life that pushes against predominant narratives of urban crisis and dysfunction to consider instead how cities have also fostered black community, culture, and creativity. At the end of course, using census data, newspapers, city directories, novels, photographs, and oral history interviews, students will work in groups to map the history of black social, cultural, and political institutions on the South Side of Chicago Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesThe American Founding: Ideals and Reality 229
An intensive analysis of the philosophical ideals of the Founding Era (1763-1800) and their uneven realization. Social histories of various races, genders and classes will help illuminate the inherent ambiguities, weaknesses, strengths and legacies of the social and political philosophies of late 18th-century America.
View All CoursesThe Soviet Union as a Multi-National State 345S
The USSR claimed to be a revolutionary political form: a state based on the voluntary union of workers from over 100 different nationalities. The Bolsheviks intended to lead Russian peasants, Kyrgyz nomads and Chechen mountaineers together into the bright Communist future. What they actually achieved is another question. This research seminar explores the concepts of nation, empire and modernization in the Soviet context. Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesToday and Tomorrow
Research and Discovery
Ivins ’21 to Pursue Human Rights Studies at Columbia
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