Mission Statement

The Department of History introduces students to the richness and complexity of the human past through a curriculum covering all major geographic areas and time periods. We emphasize the unity of the human experience even as we recognize cultural, social, economic, gender, political, and individual differences throughout history. In studying history, we study continuity and change over time in societies and in our natural and built environment. We seek to develop knowledge of the past and to advance history as an intellectual discipline by employing different research and teaching methodologies in our efforts to understand and teach history. We fulfill our educational mission by teaching students how to work as historians, emphasizing critical thinking skills and analysis of primary and secondary sources. Our students learn to appreciate the complexity of historical issues and the differing historical perspectives of all human societies and of historians.

History majors acquire essential historical knowledge, written communication skills, and analytical thinking, preparing them for careers after graduation in a wide range of professions in the private and public sectors, and for advanced study in history through our MA and PhD programs. 

The History Department of the University of Memphis is strongly committed to embracing and promoting mutual respect and understanding among all our faculty, students, staff, and the community as a whole. This mission extends to every aspect of our teaching, research, community outreach, and day-to-day operations. In the study and teaching of history, and as members of the community, we of the History Department seek always to maintain an open, supportive environment where everyone is respected, welcomed, and valued.

We recognize and acknowledge that our department and university is located on the historic Homeland of the Chickasaw Nation and that this fact is the result of direct coercion, forced dispossession, and deliberate colonization: Territorial Acknowledgement Statement.