History asks fundamental questions about the nature of change over time. History is our collective memory; studying the past reveals the enormous complexity of the human experience and highlights the contingency of our contemporary world. Because no contemporary political, cultural, or economic issue can be understood outside of its historical context, History offers an ideal foundation for students interested in law, medicine, international relations, public policy, and women’s studies, as well as an intellectual complement for students pursuing science and engineering. Indeed, the history major at CWRU, as nationally, is traditionally one of the preferred preparatory paths for admission to law school. Thinking historically means learning how to frame complex problems, sift through multifaceted evidence, and develop carefully argued writing. Our students carry these skills far beyond graduation, pursuing careers in the professions, business, government, as well as advanced doctoral study.
Our department has a long and prestigious tradition that stretches back to the origins of Western Reserve University in 1826. Today, our faculty specialize in a range of thematic and regional subjects. We have a strong tradition in the study of social, cultural, legal, policy, and political history, which together constitutes a major component of our graduate program. Our other focus of graduate study—the history of science, technology, the environment, and medicine (STEM)—has its roots in Case’s pioneering graduate program in the history of technology in the late 1950s (the first of its kind in the United States), as well as its role in founding the Society for the History of Technology. Our department also maintains a strong international focus with faculty who specialize in European, Asian, African, and Latin American history.
Noël Voltz Featured in Profiles of Inclusive Excellence Speaker Series
Heather Burton, senior director for faculty and institutional diversity engaged in a one-on-one interview with Noël Voltz, assistant professor of history. The African American Alumni Association, in partnership with Case Western Reserve’s Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity and African American Studies Minor, invited members of the university community...
Ubbelohde Lecture Mentioned in the Daily
The Department of History and CWRU History Associates will welcome Manisha Sinha, the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut, for the biannual Ubbelohde Lecture Thursday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Tinkham Veale University Center, Ballroom C
Click here to read the story in the Daily
Livestream link to the event: https://case.edu/livestream/s3
Ted Steinberg Writes about the History Behind Recent Trends of Painting Lawns Green
In Fast Company, an American business magazine, Ted Steinberg suggests that your neighbor’s picture perfect lawn might actually be painted grass. According to Steinberg, “Our desire for a blanket of green grass is a relatively new phenomenon.”
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Renee Sentilles Discusses the Historical Roots of Modern Childcare Debates
Renee Sentilles, the Henry Eldridge Bourne Professor of History, discussed in cleveland.com the historical roots of modern childcare debates, noting that the idea of providing a public structure of supervising and educating young children conflicts with two basic tenets of American culture: the ideas that individual families should solve...
John Grabowski Mentioned in Bloomberg Article on Cuyahoga River
In a recent Bloomberg article, "Cleveland Looks to an Unlikely Savior: a Long-Neglected River," John Grabowski, the Krieger-Mueller Joint Professor in History, described the “dirty” history of the Cuyahoga River: jobs and pollution. “We lost that which made the city great but polluted it,” Grabowski says. Click here to read...
Noël M. Voltz and John Bickers Awarded an Inaugural Higher Learning Grant by the Mellon Foundation
Professors Noël M. Voltz and John Bickers are embarking on a three-year journey to provide a more accurate and comprehensive narrative of Black and Native American political life in the United States before the modern Civil Rights movement. Their project, Native Americans and African Americans In and Out of...