The University of Virginia's Corcoran Department of History has long been one of the anchors for liberal and humane education in the College of Arts & Sciences. Members of the Department are nationally and internationally recognized for their scholarship and teaching. As scholars, the faculty specialize in a wide range of disciplines — cultural, diplomatic, economic, environmental history, history of science & technology, intellectual, legal, military, political, public history, and social history. Areas of interest span the globe from Africa, to East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, South Asia, and the United States. As teachers, our faculty seek above all to lead students to reflect more deeply on the role historical forces and processes play in the human condition. Offering over 100 courses a year, the faculty teach introductory surveys as well as seminars and colloquia to undergraduates and graduate students.
The Corcoran Department of History's intellectual breadth is enhanced by close relationships with UVA’s Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American & African Studies, the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES), the Center for German Studies, the Classics Department, the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History, and an emerging nexus with the Department and the School of Law. The Department’s research initiatives also involve acclaimed projects with the Miller Center for Study of the American Presidency, the Committee on the History of Environment, Science, and Technology (CHEST), the Papers of James Madison, the Dolley Madison Digital Edition, and the Papers of George Washington. History faculty members also collaborate frequently with several interdisciplinary programs and departments within Arts & Sciences, including American Studies, Latin American Studies, Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages, Medieval Studies Program, and Women, Gender & Sexuality. These collaborations frequently touch upon the convergence of humanities and digital technology, both in research and in novel approaches to historical pedagogy.