I will be offering the following undergraduate lecture courses and seminars in 2020-21. UW students can find registration information via MyPlan and course web pages on Canvas.

• NEW COURSE: History of the Digital Age (Winter 2021) - upper-division lecture course for the data science minor, info TBD
• HSTAA 213: History of the American Presidency (Winter 2021)
• HSTAA 345: U.S. Political & Economic History, 1920-present (Spring 2021)
• HSTRY 388: Upper-division seminar, topic TBD

My other regularly offered undergraduate courses include:

• HSTAA 208: The City
• HSTAA 303: Modern American Civilization Since 1877
• HSTRY 388: Watergate
• HSTAA 388/494: Partisan Politics in 20th Century America

Why study History? The undergraduate study of history teaches critical skills for life, career, and citizenship. Even techies agree. Our undergraduate courses teach students how to strengthen their writing and communication, perform evidence-based analysis, develop skills of critical thinking and informed inquiry, engage in fruitful collaborative projects, and perform rigorous research using primary documents.

Most significantly, they gain a balanced understanding of the past that allows them to place current events in context, distinguish the factual from the fake, and think smartly and strategically about the future.

Whether a major, a minor, or a student fulfilling a distribution credit, successful engagement in university-level History coursework provides professional training that employers want and sparks humanistic inquiry over a lifetime.

To learn more about history and find tips for historical research and writing, visit my Resources page.

I will not be offering regular graduate courses in 2020-21, but can conduct independent readings courses (HSTRY 600) as schedules allow. Please contact me directly if you are a current graduate student interested in taking such a course as part of your field preparation.

Here are links to some past graduate course syllabi:

• HSTAA 590: History of Capitalism
• HSTAA 590: American Political and Policy History
• HSTAA 508: American Urban History
• HSTAA 590: Welfare States
• HSTAA 522: Readings in American History, late 19th century to the present

ADVISING AND ADMISSION INFORMATION: I supervise graduate students at the MA and PhD level in 20th century US history, urban history, political history, and the history of capitalism. Full description of these fields and required/recommended preparation can be found here.

I occasionally and selectively take on new graduate students as a primary advisor. Competitive candidates will have experience in primary-source research and historical writing, and a strong grounding in American history and recent historiography through an undergraduate major or MA in History or a closely related discipline. They also will have a strong, clearly articulated interest in non-academic career paths and in bringing their research to wider public audiences as well as in teaching at all levels.

Prospective graduate students interested in working with me as a first-field advisor should contact me via email at a very early stage in their application process. I'm also happy to correspond with any student who is curious about History graduate school (here or elsewhere) and what it entails.

For more information on graduate study at the UW and elsewhere, visit my Resources page.