History is the study of the past. Through it, we strive to learn why events happened, how people experienced them, and how they reshaped the societies in which they lived. We come to know ourselves by discovering in history the way in which the past shaped us, and how it created the present in which we live. To thrive in an ever more complex world, Cornell University students need to understand the diversity of human experience and how it has changed over time. Only then, we believe, will they be able to understand others or themselves.

For more information, go to the Department of History Home Page.