Spring 2026 Undergraduate Courses

Department Policy on In-Person Attendance

All Spring 2026 History courses will be taught in-person, unless indicated by the (*course note). By signing up for a class, you have agreed to attend and participate in the class. You should not expect to be able to attend an 'in-person' class remotely or to access class recordings. Exceptions to this policy may be granted at the instructor’s discretion. If you are unwilling or unable to commit to attending and participating in person over the duration of the semester, you should seek alternative options for all-remote or online courses. (For assistance with finding alternative classes, please contact your advisor and/or the History Advisor, Hayes Moore, hayes.moore@colorado.edu.)

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Expanded course descriptions

This page does not list all Spring 2026 History courses, only those for which we have expanded descriptions. To see all courses, please use the Course Search button above. If you would like an expanded description of a course which is not on this list, please reach out to the instructor.

HIST 1113-001: Introduction to British History to 1660 - Paul Hammer

This course is an introduction to the history of England (and, to some extent, Britain and the British Isles) from Roman times to the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660. During the semester, we will discuss important political, social, religious, and cultural
developments that helped to shape the course of English and British history.

HIST 1218-001: Introduction to Sub-Saharan African History to 1850 - Henry Lovejoy

(*) This class will be taught online and delivered asynchronously which means there are not scheduled days and times. Instructor may determine pacing and deadlines for coursework completion. See course syllabus for more information.

This course introduces students to African history in global perspective in the pre-colonial period during the era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Examines forgotten kingdoms and caliphates through the biographic lenses of Africans and their descendants in diaspora. Includes topics on the meaningful impact that Africans have had on our world through involuntary global migrations.

HIST 1708-001: Japan From Clay Pots to Robots - Miriam Kadia

(*) This class will be taught using a combination of online and remote instruction modes. This means that while some coursework may be completed online at a student’s own pace (asynchronous), the class will also meet remotely at designated days/times each week. Course will meet remotely 9:05-9:55am on Wednesdays, and online asynchronously for the remaining meetings.

What is Japan? From the perspective of geography, the land thought to belong to “Japan” has ranged from a small portion of a southern island, to an empire including Korea and Taiwan, to contemporary borders still under dispute. Who are the Japanese people? To outsiders, they have been “eastern barbarians,” beloved liberators, reviled colonial masters, economic robots, and arbiters of cultural cool. To themselves, they have been Shintō, Buddhist and Christian; backward traditionalists in a modernizing world; the civilizing force of Asia; an unlikely economic superpower twice over; and the alienated vanguard of global post-capitalist society. In this course, we trace the course of Japanese history to understand these descriptions and more.

HIST 1830-001: Global History of Holocaust and Genocide - Thomas Pegelow Kaplan

This course will examine the interplay of history, religion, politics, culture, and psychology to try to understand why the great philosopher Isaiah Berlin called the 20th century, "the most terrible century in Western History." Our focus will be on the Holocaust as the event that defined the concept of genocide, but we will locate this event that come to define the 20th century within concepts such as racism, imperialism, violence, and the dehumanization of individuals in the modern world. Topics covered include Native American and Indigenous genocide; HIV/AIDS; sexual violence; and the question of "just war."

HIST 2100-001: Revolution in History: The Russian Revolution of 1917 - John Hatch

The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought Lenin’s Bolshevik Party of Marxist revolutionaries into power and gave birth to the Soviet Union. While Marx envisioned that the victory of socialism would occur first in an advanced industrial society, Russia’s economy at the time of the revolution was still largely agrarian. Why then, did the socialist revolution happen there? To get at this question, this course will examine the long and short term causes of the revolution, looking at the history of Russian revolutionary thought, the emergence of the revolutionary movement in the century prior to the 1917, Lenin’s impact on that movement, the largely unsuccessful efforts by various Tsars to fend off revolutionary challenges, and the relationship between war and revolution. How did Lenin and the Bolsheviks manage to navigate the revolutionary crisis and emerge victorious in the struggle for power that ensued after the overthrow of the last tsar, Nicholas II, in February 1917?

HIST 2119-001: From Attila the Hun to Genghis Khan: Nomadic Wars and Warriors in Eurasian History - Sanjay Gautam

This course focuses on the history of Eurasian nomad warriors, their ways of warfare, and their Pan-Eurasian military campaigns and empires from the fourth century to the fifteenth century. It approaches the nomad--from Attila the Hun to Genghis Khan--as a powerful historical agent of globalization. The course also makes students familiar with Eurasia as an indispensable historical-geographical notion that goes beyond the conventional bounds of national history.

HIST 2326-001: Issues in the History of U.S. Society and Culture: Nature and the Apocalypse - Miles Hubble

This course focuses on the history of American thinking concerning the natural world and the end of the world. In the first part of the course, we ask questions such as what is nature, and how do we distinguish it from culture? What is natural, and how have these definitions inflected Western understandings of God, gender, economics, and the good life? In the second half of the course, we will apply these insights to the specter of the apocalypse in the postwar United States. We look at the ways that Americans have imagined and prepared for the end of the world, be it by nuclear war, economic or ecological collapse, or biblical Armageddon. Throughout the course, we will compliment textual sources with film, television, video games, and music.

HIST 2810-001: Antisemitism: Histories, Concepts, Practices - Thomas Pegelow Kaplan

(*) This class will be taught using a combination of in person and online or remote instruction modes. This means that some coursework may be completed online at a student's own pace (asynchronous) or remotely at designated times, in addition to having an in person meeting pattern. Watch your CU email for more information from the instructor/department prior to the start of classes.

This class explores the main histories, concepts, and practices of antisemitism. It analyzes how and why they emerged and what accounts for their persistence. Why are Jews targeted? Is there a "new antisemitism"-- since the 1970s-- that differs significantly from older manifestations? How is antisemitism related to anti-Zionism? What is its relationship with racism? And how have political, social, and religious groups and organizations responded to these threats and what challenges have they faced?

HIST 3020 Historical Thinking & Writing

(001) Democracy on the American World War II Home Front - Natalie Mendoza

This course introduces students to historical research methods through an examination of the popular belief that World War II was a democratizing and progressive moment for marginalized communities in American society. We will explore the tension between wartime democratic rhetoric and the various forms of discrimination Japanese Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and gays and lesbians experienced by considering events such as Japanese American removal and confinement, African American efforts to end discrimination in the wartime industry and military, Mexican American civil rights diplomacy, and the policing of gender norms and sexuality in the U.S. military. In particular, we will consider under what circumstances democracy did or did not work, the government's role in hindering or promoting a sense of belonging in the nation, the way marginalized communities fought for equality, and how broader society defined "American"--in terms of identity as well as the ideals and priorities of the era. Our inquiry over the course of the semester will be guided by questions we will answer through our close reading and analysis of primary and secondary sources, among other skills central to demonstrating fluency in historical literacy. To achieve this, students can expect to write every week, in an effort to gain a familiarity and comfort with using historical literacy in the research writing process. By the end of the semester, students will produce a research proposal (annotated bibliography + historiography + research question) that will draw upon both course materials and sources they locate through independent research on our common examination of World War II as a democratizing and progressive moment in American society.

(002) The Cold War in Latin America - Tony Wood

This course explores the history of the Cold War in Latin America, focusing mainly on the years between 1945 and 1990. We will look in depth at cases such as Guatemala and Cuba and will address the repercussions of events such as the Cuban Revolution on regional and global developments. We will draw on a range of primary sources and secondary readings, including declassified government documents that shed light on the U.S.'s deep involvement in the region. Throughout, we will discuss key historiographical questions and develop students' research and writing skills.

(003) Maritime Asia, centered on India and the Indian Ocean, between 1500 and 1850 from a global perspective. - Sanjay Gautam

The course starts with the discovery of the sea route from Europe to Asia leading to the arrival of the Portuguese sailor, Vasco da Gama, in India in 1498 that changed the course of world history. It ends with an exploration into the East India Company's colonization of India in the 18th century and how it laid the foundations for the British and European commercial and naval expansion into the South and East China Seas as reflected in the Opium Wars.

HIST 3112-001: Seminar in Renaissance and Reformation - Celine Dauverd

This course explores Renaissance Humanism in a European context. We will focus on 1) the revival of Greek and Romans thoughts 2) the emphasis on humans rather than on religion in areas like art, engineering, literature, architecture, politics, and sciences and 3) ways humanism developed in Italy, France, England, Flanders, Germany, and Spain.

HIST 4116-001: History of U.S. Foreign Relations, 1865-1940 - Kimberly Jackson

In this course, we will explore American foreign policy from the Civil War through American entry in the Second World War. In doing so, we will examine how the US transformed into a global superpower. Lectures will include material on diplomatic relations between the US and other foreign nations, economic expansion overseas, American imperialism, the spread of American culture overseas, and military engagements.

HIST 4128-001: The History of Modern Mexico Since 1821 - Tony Wood

This class explores the rich and complex history of Mexico since it gained independence from Spain. The country that emerged in 1821 was a new political entity, yet it was built on foundations laid by Spanish colonial rule, which had in turn been im-posed on ancient indigenous cultures. How did this new-old country go about the task of national political consolidation in the 19th and 20th centuries, and what kind of society has emerged in the 21st? In this class we will explore how Mexico has changed and adapted over time in the face of many challenges to its stability. These included external pressures, especial-ly those arising from the relentless expansion of its northern neighbor, the United States. There were also many internal tensions within Mexican society, culminating in the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920, which remains the central event for under-standing modern Mexico. We will also explore the political system established by the Institutional Revolutionary Party in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the mid-century economic boom and its uneven effects. From the 1960s on, rising discontent with the ruling party created new social and political tensions, and we will follow these through to the century's end, highlighting the crucial role played by the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas in the 1990s. We will also address the experience of Mexican migration to the United States. Finally, we will examine the "War on Drugs" and its consequences.

HIST 4139-001: History of Asian Environments - Kwangmin Kim

This course will examine the relations between the human and natural worlds in Asian history. We will pay special attention to the impact of Asian farmers, merchants, indigenous peoples, and states on the natural world. The main focus is on China in the early modern and modern periods, but there will be some discussion of Japan, South, Southeast Asia, and Inner Asia. The basic themes include frontier conquest, land clearance, water conservancy, urban footprints, animals, and relations between agrarian and non-agrarian peoples.

HIST 4143-001: The Making of Great Britain: British History 1603-1714 - Paul Hammer

This course explores British history between approximately 1603 and 1714. In addition to examining important political, religious, social, and economic developments during this period, the course will pay special attention to the problematic concept of 'Britain' and the difficulties arising from the Stuart dynasty being the first simultaneously to rule all three kingdoms of the British Isles.

HIST 4215-001: The Revolutionary War and the Making of the American Republic, 1775-1801 - Honor Sachs

This course will investigate the era of the American Revolution through diverse human, geographic, military, and ideological perspectives. We will consider how imperial policy, colonial experience, and everyday lives all contributed to the revolutionary transformations of the late eighteenth century. We will also examine the social, political, and legal consequences of independence through both secondary reading and primary research. And, yes, we will listen to the Hamilton soundtrack.

HIST 4258-001: Africa under European Colonial Rule - Myles Osborne

This course seeks to understand the experience of colonialism in Africa. We will start with British, French, Portuguese and German empires that undertook the "Scramble for Africa" in the late 19th century. Themes include slavery and the slave trade; colonization and "pacification"; African resistance to European rule; missionaries and converts; decolonization and anti-colonial uprisings; issues facing Africa today, including oil, war and the Rwandan genocide.

HIST 4328-001: The Modern Middle East, 1600 to the Present - John Willis

This course is designed to introduce students to the histories, societies and cultures of the modern Middle East covering the period from late Ottoman Empire to Arab Uprisings of 2011. We will pay particular attention to the way people in the region experienced the profound transformations their societies underwent from the nineteenth century onward, especially the expansion of European economic, political, and cultural power, European colonialism, the rise of the nation-state, and forms of popular opposition. We will conclude by discussing the contemporary Middle East, some of the issues its peoples face, and how these can be understood historically.

HIST 4343-001: Medieval Spain: Tolerance, Conquest and Religion, 800-1600 - Celine Dauverd

This course explores the culture and politics of Medieval Spain. Convivencia was the beating heart of the Iberian Peninsula (800-1500). Spain was the most culturally vibrant and politically changing area in Europe for 800 years. Its institutions and religious beliefs opened new ways of thinking, organizing, and interacting for European nations. We pay particular attention to the interaction between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in producing that vibrancy.

HIST 4359-001: The Global History of Modern Arabia - John Willis

In this class we'll look at the states of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf as part of a global order of trade, imperialism, migration, and revolution from the 19th century to the present. In doing so, we'll not only look at the transformative role of petroleum and Islamic thought on the region, but a longer history of cosmopolitan interactions with the Indian Ocean world through trade, missionary work, revolutionary organization, and cultural exchange. We'll do so through an examination of various primary sources, academic articles, music, and films.

HIST 4416-001: Environmental History of North America - Phoebe Young

In this course, we will trace how elements of the physical world shaped how people in North America organized their life and culture, and how human thought and action has influenced the shape of the environment. This course spans from pre-colonial times to the recent past, and includes discussion of Native American and Indigenous histories, settlement and expansion, disease and war, agricultural, extractive and industrial economies, scientific perspectives, energy transitions, and climate change. We will discuss shifting concepts of nature and the natural as well as material connections between the human and non-human world. Examining this relationship is, by definition, an interdisciplinary pursuit and students from varied backgrounds - history, geography, environmental studies, biology, communication - are welcome. Students are advised to bring some prior knowledge of the broader social, political, and economic history of the U.S., whether from CU's HIST 1015, HIST 1025, or equivalents elsewhere.

HIST 4422-001: World War I: The Great War - Kimberly Jackson

The focus of this course is the Great War, also known as the First World War. Why is it that this war is described as World War I? This course will examine the global nature of the First World War by discussing the origins of the conflict, the military side of the war, the homefront experiences, and the war's legacies.

HIST 4623-001: History of Eastern Europe Since 1914 - John Hatch

How can a small nation-state survive? Why do people support communist or fascist regimes, and why do they then rebel? How does one build a democratic society? These questions have been central to the East European experience throughout the 20th Century. This course will examine the upheavals in the region from World War 1 through the revolutions of 1989-90 and the Yugoslav wars, the region's subsequent integration into the European Union, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as a way to gaining a better understanding of historical processes of revolution and modernization and the ideologies of nationalism, populism, communism, and liberal democracy.

HIST 4648-001: Inventing Chinese Modernity, 1800 to Present - Timothy Weston

This class focuses on China's last era of greatness and the collapse of that order in the early twentieth century; on Western and Japanese imperialism in China and the so-called "Century of Humiliation" (1842-1949); on efforts to define and acuate Chinese modernity; and on the forces that led to the Communist Revolution of 1949, one of the truly seismic events of twentieth century global history.

HIST 4711-880 (Honors): The Crusades: Holy War and its History, 1095-1400 - Todd Upton

JOIN THE QUEST to understand the medieval Crusades in the Holy Land and elsewhere! Our upper-division course will generally stick to the traditional Nine Crusades of the 11th-13th Centuries (c. 1096-1291), but we will also make sure to assess such realities as the military orders (Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights), and phenomena such as the Children’s Crusade, Albigensian Crusades, the Reconquista, and Northern Crusades. Topics will include the changing definitions of crusades and crusaders, religious persecution and (in)tolerance and the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe (alongside the Papal and Spanish Inquisitions), the expansion of European modes of government, war memory, colonization and its aftermath, and the meanings (through time) of the Holy Land and the home front. Lastly, as a part of our journey, we’ll give particular attention to the western “armed pilgrims” who made forays into the Levant and violently engaged Islamic, Byzantine, Persian, and Mongolian civilizations for two centuries in an attempt to “recapture” Jerusalem and the Holy Sites. Hopefully, by semester’s end you’ll emerge from the experience with a better comprehension of medieval legacies that still inform the Middle East and international relationships to this day.

HIST 4713-001: History of Russia through the 17th Century - John Hatch

This course covers Russian history before 1700, from the founding of the first east Slavic state, Kievan Rus, in the 9th Century, to the advent of Peter the Great, in the late 17th Century. How do we account for rise of the Russian Autocratic State, which first appeared in the era of Mongol domination (1240-1480)? This Muscovite state tradition has persisted to the present day in Russia. Why? (2) What is the phenomenon of Personal Autocracy? Vladimir Putin is only the latest in a line of Grand Princes, Tsars, and Commissars to attain or struggle to attain personal control over the autocratic state (e.g. Stalin, Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible). We will study the third of these: Ivan the Terrible. This study will include a viewing of Eisenstein’s film, Ivan the Terrible. (3) Russian imperial expansion was an outgrowth of the expansion of Muscovy both during the Mongol era and after. Why did it expand? How did that expansion shape the geopolitical and imperial behavior of the Muscovite/Russian state? (3) In the Mongol era, ethno-linguistic divergence emerged among the east Slavic peoples. Muscovy’s heavy-handed incorporation, or perhaps conquest, in the mid-1600s, of the Cossack lands of present-day Ukraine plays a key role in modern Ukrainian national identity. How and why did this conquest come about?

HIST 4806-001: Special Topics in American History: Applied History - Patricia Limerick

This course positions CU Boulder students to unleash the full force of the skills and insights they have acquired in their study of history. In the first half of the course, students will take possession of a toolkit of techniques to turn hindsight into foresight, bringing historical perspective to bear on contemporary dilemmas and conflicts. In the second half of the course, students will put Applied History's practices to work on down-to-earth, real-time case studies, ranging from the management and interpretation of a Boulder site connected to the atrocity of the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 to the rethinking and reconfiguring of the core exhibit at the Longmont Museum, from the mandated 2026 revision of the century-old arrangements for allocating water from the Colorado River to the activities planned for the 150th anniversary of Colorado statehood. Concluding the course, students will assemble an inventory, to be distributed nationwide, of the ways Applied History that can enhance the employability of emerging historians while also offering hope to a society struggling with a chronic affliction of historical amnesia.

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