Why Iowa?

With the geographical breadth of our courses, our students develop a global consciousness along with key transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication, and empathy.

Build a foundation

Expand your horizons

Learn from experts

See Yourself Here

Share our enthusiasm for the study of past societies and cultures to unlock important insights into the world we inhabit.

Everything has history behind it

History is the centerpiece of a humanities education. It's about problem solving, gathering evidence, and fitting that evidence together to understand what happened in past societies – and why those things happened.

Write Your Story

Become an expert in analyzing and contextualizing the past to guide decisions for today and future. With our programs in history, you’ll find intellectual satisfaction and wisdom in understanding the past on its own terms.

Stephen Warren working with a student

Iowa Native Spaces

Until recently, Iowa Native history was not a big part of social studies curricula in Iowa’s public schools. That is changing, and the University of Iowa is helping drive the change.

Writing Center staff member and student

History Writing Center

The History Writing Center is available to any student in a history course needing assistance with a writing assignment. 

Old Capitol

History Corps

History Corps is a graduate student-led, online digital and oral history project based out of the Department of History at the University of Iowa.

News and announcements

Support History during One Day for Iowa

Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Gifts to the Department of History are transformational
Mariola Espinosa

Associate Professor Mariola Espinosa receives prestigious NEH grant

Thursday, January 30, 2025
Mariola Espinosa, associate professor of history, was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant, the nation’s most prestigious humanities scholarship.
Shane Bobrycki

Assistant Professor Shane Bobrycki discusses new book

Tuesday, January 21, 2025
"The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages" examines the importance of collective behavior in early Middle Age Europe.

Upcoming events

Locating Reproductive Justice: Global & Regional Perspectives — 2024–25 Obermann Arts & Humanities Symposium promotional image

Locating Reproductive Justice: Global & Regional Perspectives — 2024–25 Obermann Arts & Humanities Symposium

Thursday, March 27 to Friday, March 28, 2025 (all day)
As calls for transnational solidarity among reproductive justice movements emerge, communities are asking how reproductive liberation is tethered to various social movements. Directed by Lina-Maria Murillo (Gender, Women's, & Sexuality Studies and History) and Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz (Communication Studies and Gender, Women's, & Sexuality Studies), this symposium brings together scholars and artists with local, regional, and global perspectives to bear on the pursuit of reproductive justice as we...
(Re)Defining the Autoerotic in Medieval Religious Enclosure promotional image

(Re)Defining the Autoerotic in Medieval Religious Enclosure

Friday, March 28, 2025 3:00pm to 4:30pm
English-Philosophy Building
Michelle Sauer is the Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor at the University of North Dakota and an expert on medieval women, sexuality and religiosity.
Rapid Response History promotional image

Rapid Response History

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 5:00pm to 6:50pm
Schaeffer Hall
Rapid Response History offers historical and scholarly perspectives on current events. This spring, we examine the implications and historical background of “Project 2025” as a blueprint for political transition, and for the policies of the second Trump Administration. Scholars will examine a range of topics, including social policy, the federal civil service, immigration, native policy, energy and the environment, reproductive rights, and antisemitism. All sessions are open to the public...
Science, the State, and the Public Trust: Historical Perspectives. A Panel Discussion promotional image

Science, the State, and the Public Trust: Historical Perspectives. A Panel Discussion

Saturday, April 5, 2025 10:45am
Phillips Hall
A panel of Department of History faculty members discuss historical perspectives on science, the state, and the public trust. Panelists: Viridiana Hernández Fernández, Shane Bobrycki, Robert Rouphail, Nicholas Yablon, and Beth Yale. This event is part of Iowa City Darwin Day Science Fest, a celebration of science and its many contributions to humanity, which takes place on April 3, 4 & 5. 
From Silent Spring to Silent Night: A Tale of Toads and Men. A public talk by Tyrone B. Hayes promotional image

From Silent Spring to Silent Night: A Tale of Toads and Men. A public talk by Tyrone B. Hayes

Saturday, April 5, 2025 11:30am
Phillips Hall
Tyrone Hayes is the Judy Chandler Webb Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research and a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. This talk is part of Iowa City Darwin Day Science Fest, a celebration of science and its many contributions to humanity, which takes place on April 3, 4 & 5.
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