History is the study of past individuals and groups, processes and events, and ideas and institutions.

Historians care for and interpret the past by examining a variety of evidence from written, oral, material, and visual sources. We attempt to understand change by paying close attention to the complexities and injustices of the past. As a history student, you will explore lives of figures whose work has stimulated large scale and permanent change in the way that we think about the world around us. You will also study the everyday experiences of people who worked to secure their own livelihoods and shape their own destinies. Our courses will offer opportunities to study inter-cultural encounters and how different societies at different times thought about race, gender, and class. You will be encouraged to think critically about the historical legacies of colonization and decolonization, as well as other forms of oppression and resistance.

The department offers a wide range of courses across time and space but has particular strengths in:

Canadian History • History of Medicine and Science • Indigenous History • World History • History of Art • Oral History This program leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree (3-year, 4-year, or Honours). Students taking an undergraduate degree in another Major may choose to add a Minor in History as a secondary area of interest. We also offer a joint Master’s program with the University of Manitoba – see separate fact sheet.

SAMPLE CAREERS

The skills students develop -- reading, document review, synthesis, writing, public speaking, interviewing, time-management -- are invaluable in virtually all workplace settings and especially in business, law, government, journalism, and non-governmental organizations. Some graduates put their historical knowledge to work as teachers or professional researchers while others find employment in museums, libraries, or archives.

SAMPLE COURSES

History of the Metis in Canada • Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust • Islam and the West • Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Russia • Women, Art and Society • History of Madness and Psychiatry

Experiential Learning:

Students have access to a variety of learning experiences beyond the traditional classroom. Recent examples include a two-week intensive field course (near Riding Mountain National Park) on traditional Indigenous material culture, a course on Winnipeg’s food history involving food preparation and oral histories with restauranteurs, and practica at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, and the Manitoba Museum.