Europe and the Mediterranean World

The Europe and the Mediterranean World concentration offers students the opportunity to explore the histories of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and connections between these places and the larger world. We look at the continual flow of ideas, people, and material goods across this region, from the earliest states in the ancient world until today. We examine how empires, colonialism, religion, culture, the environment, and social and economic forces, including the development of capitalism and of the nation-state, shaped these interactions in profound ways. Collectively, we trace over 5000 years of intersecting histories, examining linkages and conflicts forged by geography, trade, war, migration, imperial aspirations, colonial violence, religious and ethnic minorities, and struggles for liberation.

The caucus includes intensive study of the histories of Europe, Russia, North Africa and the Middle East, as well as imperial, colonial, and transnational histories that trace the changing relations among these places. Major periods and areas of focus include the ancient and medieval worlds, oceanic empires in the early modern period (1450-1800), modern imperialism and colonialism, and decolonization and postcolonial states in the twentieth century.

Major Requirements

The history major requires a minimum of 12 unique courses. At least eight of the 12 courses must be upper-division (HIS 100-199). A maximum of four courses, including the introductory survey course, may be lower-division (HIS 1-99).

Region of Concentration: Europe and the Mediterranean World (6 courses)

I. One lower-division introductory survey course:

• HIS 41, The Making of the Modern Middle East
• HIS 58, From Pirates to Refugees: The History of the Modern Mediterranean (Effective Fall 2022)
• HIS 65B, Plagues, Peasants, and Pirates: Late Medieval Europe, 1000-1500 (Effective Fall 2022)
• HIS 70A, Modern European History, 1500-1815
• HIS 70B, Modern European History, 1815-Present
• HIS 74, Introduction to Jewish History and Cultures (Effective Fall 2022)
• HIS 74A, Introduction to Middle Eastern and North African Jewish History: Ancient to Early Modern (Effective Fall 2022)
• HIS 74B, Introduction to Middle Eastern and North African Jewish History, 1500-2000 (Effective Fall 2022)

HIS 41, 65B, 70A, and 70B satisfy the Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) general education requirement. HIS 58, 74, 74A, and 74B satisfy the Ethnicity and Race (ER) general education requirement.

II. Four additional Europe and the Mediterranean World courses, three of which must be upper-division

III. One Europe and the Mediterranean World Comprehensive Requirement

Historical Skills and Methods (1 course)

IV. HIS 100, Historical Skills and Methods

HIS 100 introduce history majors to historical methods and provides preparation for advanced historical research. Students develop critical reading, historical analysis, research, and disciplinary writing skills. HIS 100 also satisfies the Textual Analysis and Interpretation (TA) general education requirement.

Students who enter UCSC as frosh are expected to complete HIS 100 by the end of their second year. Transfer students are expected to complete HIS 100 no later than their second term at UCSC.

Breadth Requirements (4 courses)

V. Two courses from each of the remaining two regions of concentration:

• Americas and Africa
• Asia and the Pacific

Upper-Division Elective (1 course)

One additional upper-division history course of your choice from any of the three regions of concentration

Distribution Requirements

Of the 12 courses required for the major, at least three must meet chronological distribution requirements. One must be set before 600 C.E., and two must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

Intensive Major Option

The intensive history major offers students a pathway to enrich their study of history, refine their skills in writing and research, and receive a designation on their transcripts that signals their ambition and accomplishment to potential employers and graduate schools. All history majors are eligible to declare the intensive track, including junior transfers. If a student attempts but does not complete the intensive track they may still graduate with a standard history degree, provided the appropriate major coursework has been completed.