History
Welcome to the Department of History
The Department of History offers students a challenging yet flexible program of study that emphasizes both the distinctiveness and the utility of the historian's craft. Our program is distinctive in that all history courses focus not only on the past's exciting events and developments, but also on the manner in which historians gather their evidence and reach their conclusions.
Successful Americans have long understood that a knowledge of history offers opportunities to make better decisions today. A history background can provide important advantages in analyzing contemporary events and trends. Whether in business or in service, good solutions today depend on a clear understanding of yesterday. By learning from the past, we can improve the future. Even in daily life, history not only informs but instructs. The skills of the historian – critical thinking and the ability to conduct documentary research – can influence the way we read a newspaper, shop for a car, trace our family lineage or evaluate the performance of our institutions.
University of Dayton historian Haimanti Roy will spend the 2019-2020 academic year in India with support from a senior research fellowship from the American Institute for Indian Studies. She will study the impact of travel and identification documents on migration and citizenship in colonial and post-colonial India.
Read more
University of Dayton faculty and students are sinking their teeth into this year's Humanities Commons theme, “power and vulnerability,” inspired by the Dayton Ballet's October performances of Dracula: Bloodlines.
Read more
University of Dayton Professor John Heitmann is a noted expert on the two-way relationship between automobiles and the people who drive them.
Read more