Department of History

College of Arts, Languages & Letters
Sakamaki A-203
2530 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-8486, 956-8358
Fax: (808) 956-9600
Web: manoa.hawaii.edu/history

Faculty

*C. K. Matteson, PhD (Chair)—modern Europe, France, environmental history
*P. Arnade, PhD (Dean, CALL)—early modern European history
*E. O. Bertz, PhD—South Asia, Indian ocean, Africa
*S. J. Brown, PhD—modern China, intellectual and cultural
*M. L. Daniel, PhD—U.S. early American Republic, politics and race
*E. L. Davis, PhD—middle China, religion
*N. H. Dolim, PhD—nineteenth-century Hawaiʻi, gender, race, colonialism
*J. D. Foukona, PhD—South Pacific, Melanesia, Pacific legal systems, critical legal theory, climate change displacement
*K. L. Jolly, PhD—medieval Europe, early medieval Britain, premodern Europe, world history
*C. Kim, PhD—modern Korea, industrialism, socialism, labor
*M. C. LaBriola, PhD—Pacific Islands, Micronesia, ethnographic history, women
*M. V. Lanzona, PhD—modern Southeast Asia, Philippines, women
*M. J. Lauzon, PhD—early modern Europe, European intellectual
*F. López Lázaro, PhD—world, Mediterranean, maritime history
*M. T. McNally, PhD—Tokugawa Japan, social and intellectual
*N. Njoroge, PhD—U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, race and critical theory
*S. J. Reiss, PhD—U.S. foreign relations, Latin America and Caribbean, African
*J. P. Rosa, PhD—Hawaiian Islands, 20th century Hawaiʻi, U.S. social and cultural
*N. K. Stalker, PhD—Japan, culture and gender
*Y. Totani, PhD—modern Japan, Pacific
*W. Wang, PhD—classical China, Ming/Qing China, politics and culture
*F. Zelko, PhD—global environmental history, environmental movements, 20th-century scientific knowledge

* Graduate Faculty

The Academic Program

History (HIST) is the study of change and continuity in human society over time. Drawing upon concepts and methods of many disciplines, history provides perspective on the human condition, past and present. The discipline of history develops skills in evaluating evidence, organizing information, clarifying and structuring concepts, and writing narratives and expositions. History is a core around which liberal education can be structured. The study of history lays a foundation upon which one can develop critical analytical understanding and civic engagement with contemporary issues and the wider world.

Majoring in history is an excellent way to move into specialized study in areas such as law, medicine, business, politics, library & information science, foreign service, and teaching. Those who plan to pursue a career as professional historians will want to continue their education through MA and PhD degrees. The Department of History at UH Mānoa offers a full range of courses in American, Hawaiian, Asian, European, Pacific, Environmental, and World history.

Undergraduate Study

Please see “Programs” section below for more information about our undergraduate programs.

Graduate Study

The Department of History offers the MA and PhD degrees in the fields of U.S. and the Americas, Hawaiʻi, Pacific, Europe, Southeast Asia, South Asia, China, Japan, Korea, World Comparative/Transnational, Environmental History, Race & Indigeneity, Imperialism & Colonialism, and Gender & Sexuality. All applicants for advanced degree programs in history are requested to supplement the application and transcripts required by Graduate Division with three letters of recommendation, preferably from professors with whom the applicant has studied; a statement of objectives; and a writing sample such as a term paper, seminar paper, or MA thesis chapter. These supplementary items should be uploaded via the Graduate Division application portal.

Complete details on graduate programs, including financial aid available to prospective students, are outlined on History’s departmental website, manoa.hawaii.edu/history or by email at gradhist@hawaii.edu.

Recipients of advanced degrees in history pursue careers as teachers of history and social studies in secondary schools, community colleges, colleges, and universities, as well as public & private archives, museums, historic preservation, politics & government service, business & marketing research, and allied research fields.

Courses for the MA and PhD are to be selected from among the History offerings every semester and from graduate offerings in related disciplines as directed by the student’s supervisory committee. Courses numbered over 600, except HIST 602 and HIST 790 , may be repeated once for credit.

Programs

Bachelor’s

History, BA

Master’s

History, MA

Doctorate

History, PhD

Minor

History, Minor