Students may select from a variety of courses such as Introduction to Women's History, Women in America, Women in the American West, Women and Religion, Witchcraft in Europe, Women and War, and Women and Autobiography, among others. Students may concentrate on the ancient Roman, early Christian, or medieval European eras and a broader program spanning the ancient through renaissance periods. Graduate courses in these fields deal with Augustus and the Golden Age of Rome, Constantine and the Late Roman Empire, Medieval Church and State Relations, the Crusades, High Medieval Culture, and the Italian Renaissance. Courses in Greek and Latin are offered by department faculty, and related courses in ancient and medieval art, literature, philosophy, and music are taught in other departments offering a broad cultural approach to these fields. Courses are taught in Early, Medieval, Reformation, and Modern American Christianity, the Islamic Middle East, Living Religions, Women, Society, and Religion, Religion and Politics, and American Religious Nationalism.
Emphasis is on the integral role that religion has played in society and culture through the ages.
Graduate faculty are deeply involved in research and writing in their respective fields of emphasis. The department of history encourages a collegial atmosphere in which students and faculty work closely together. Its main goal is to prepare students for further study or for a successful career in history.