Geographic/Temporal Fields
Topical Fields

The preliminary examinations ensure that students have acquired the necessary background for teaching and scholarship in history. Field requirements for the prelim encourage a combination of breadth and depth. Normally, students will prepare at least one geographical/temporal field, usually the major field, and at least one distribution field different in area and/or time from the major field. Students will customize another field to the specific needs, in consultation with their advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. This field can be geographical, temporal, topical, or methodological. Students are also required to offer a cognate field in another discipline or interdisciplinary program on a subject that will enrich their preparation for teaching and research in history. Other programs may be pursued with the approval of the Graduate Committee.

Committee Structure: The fields, examiners, and proposed examination term should be approved by the students' advisor as well as by the Director of Graduate Studies, by the end of the student's third term of graduate work; exams should be completed within six terms.

Committee Composition: The committee for the preliminary examination consists of three (or, in exceptional cases, four) faculty members, each representing a field in which the student chooses to be examined. A faculty member examining a cognate field must normally hold a professorial appointment in another UM department, graduate program or tenure-administering unit.

"Course-Off" Option: In one field, either in history (other than the student's major field) or in the cognate, the student may, with approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and the instructors involved, qualify for this option by completing six credits or more of integrated course work with graduate credit (400-level or above) and grades of B+ or better.

Cognate: The cognate field, in a discipline or interdisciplinary program other than history, must have a temporal or comparative scope analogous to that of a topical field in history. It must also enhance the student's preparation for historical scholarship.) For example, a student working in American intellectual history might offer a field in American literature.) A language, mastered in addition to those required by the language requirement, or a previous M.A. in a field other than history, may be substituted for the cognate if the Director of Graduate Studies and the prospective chair of the student's prelim committee approve the substitution.

Distribution: Each student must also select a distribution field; that is, one history field that substantially differs in methodology, problems of analysis, or culture from the others. For instance, a student specializing in Chinese history might offer a field in Ancient Greece; a student in modern Europe might offer a field in medieval Europe. The student must be prepared to submit to the Director of Graduate Studies a brief statement, co-signed by the chair othe examination committee, explaining how the proposed distribution field provides exposure to historical methods, to forms of analysis or evidence, or to cultures distinctly different from those considered in the student's other fields. Transnational fields may be counted as distribution fields. (Example: Comparative Post-Emancipation Societies, including Brazil, fulfills the distribution requirement for a student whose major field is Modern U.S.). If a student chooses a transnational field as a distribution field asn the transnational field is the only field different in area and/or time from the student's major field, the examiner in the transnational field must be a faculty member whose primary expertise is different in area and/or time from that of the student's major field.

Geographic/Temporal Fields

Geographic/temporal fields familiarize students with the basic literature of, and the principal historiographic problems peculiar to, national histories or histories of geographic areas delimited by conventional periodization. Emphasis within a given field may vary from student to student, but all students are expected to read broadly and in a variety of types of history. The geographic/temporal fields are intended, among other things, to prepare students for initial teaching experiences after receiving the Ph.D. The list reflects the specialties of current faculty. Since new members join the faculty regularly, and since present faculty members (especially working jointly) may well be able to direct a student's preparation in a field outside their specialty, this list should not be regarded as exhaustive. Students who wish to offer a geographic/temporal field not mentioned here--for example, Spanish history--should consult with their advisors and other relevant faculty.

Ancient	Greece Rome	Courses may also be arranged in Classical Studies, Classical Art & Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies and other departments
Medieval	Medieval Europe Byzantine Empire Medieval Balkans	Other regional specializtion by arrangement
Early Modern Europe (15th-18th C.)	Early Modern Euope France	Italy Britain
Modern Europe	Modern Europe Central Europe Eastern Europe The Mediterranean The Balkans	France Britain Germany Italy Poland
Russia & the Soviet Union	Medieval and Early Modern Russia	Modern Russia/Soviet Union Modern Armenia
Africa	Africa to 1850	Africa since 1850
Near East & Inner Asia	Medieval Near East 600 to 1300 The Seljuk-Otooman era	Near East since 1500 Inner Asia
Early Asia	China to 1700 Japan to 1800	India to 1600 S.E. Asia since 1750
Modern Asia	China since 1700 Japan since 1800	India since 1600 S.E. Asia since 1750
Latin America	Colonial period National period
United States	To mid-19th century	Since mid-19th century

Topical Fields

Topical fields focus on a particular subject of historical investigation, such as intellectual history, diplomatic history, or women's history. A topical field should be broadly defined; it must not be merely a subfield of another subject in which the student proposes to be examined. Thus a field of "British Labor History," which would be acceptable; "Twentiety-Century British Labor History," would not be, particularly when proposed by someone who will also be examined in Modern British History. Topical fields in American history should span the chronological divide between early and late U.S. history and/or have a significant comparative or methodological dimension. Those in other national histories should similarly span more than one recognized chronological division and/or have a significant comparative or methodological dimension. Thus a field defined as "British Women" should cover both the early modern and the modern periods. Students proposing to concentrate exclusively on just one of those eras may do so only if they also propose to set the subject in a wider comparative context.

The broad definition of topical fields implies an obligation on the student and the faculty who help him or her prepare the field to contextualize the subject of study, either by including theoretical or comparative reading. A topical field should not merely allow a student to concentrate on a particular arena of interest; it should also be an introduction to the intellectual concerns that define the topic and lend it historiographical significance.

Topical fields, like geographic/temporal fields, may sometimes be designated mainly to prepare students for teaching, either in areas of study that are already institutionalized (such as women's history) or in areas that may attain that status (such as anthropological history). Topical fields may, in other cases, be intended primarily to familiarize students with a literature germane to their broad research interests (such as problems of state formation). Often they serve both purposes. A topical field may be examined jointly by more than one faculty member, only one of whom must be a member of the History Department.

Topical fields other than those specifically indictated may also be offered with the approval of the Graduate Committee. For instance, topical fields are possible in Roman intellectual or social history, in addition to the regularly offered Roman history field. Moreover, topical fields need not focus on a single geographic area or national history, but may be prepared as comparative field, sometimes under the direction of more than one faculty member. Interested students should consult with relevant faculty.

African American	A field in the history of African Americans, from colonial times through the 20th century is commonly prepared.
Other American	In addition to African American history and the various American fields listed under other areas, fields are commonly prepared in the American South, American race relations, and Native American Indian history.
Jewish	Fields are commonly prepared in medieval and in modern Jewish history
Intellectual & Cultural	Fields are commonly prepared in American, European, Russian, and Anglo-American intellectual/cultural history, as well as in social and political thought since 1800 and in cultural studies.
International Relations	Fields are commonly prepared in United States diplomatic history, 20th century world politics, and modern European international relations.
Historical Theory & Method	A field in historical theory and method is commonly prepared, but focuses on different subjects (such as theory of history or comparative historiography), depending on the interests of the student and expertise of the faculty member.
Science, Technology & Medicine	Four fields are commonly prepared: modern science and its cultural contexts; medicine and disease in the West; technology, politics, and culture; transnational, colonial, and/or global perspectives on science, technology, and/or medicine.
Legal & Constitutional	Fields are commonly prepared in English, American and Anglo-American legal and constitutional history with specific chronological boundaries to be arranged.
Religious	American and European fields are commonly prepared. Fields in specific religious traditions (such as Catholicism or Eastern Christianity) are also possible, as is a field in comparative religious studies.
Social	Social history fields are commonly prepared in the American, European, and Asian areas, as well as in comparative social history, comparative class formation, and anthropological history.
Women's and/or Gender	There are commonly prepared fields in women's history or the study of gender in the American, European, and Japanese areas, as well as a comparative field.
Urban	Fields are commonly prepared in the European, American, or Asian cities, as well as in comparative urbanization.
Economic	Fields are commonly prepared in Chinese economic history and in pre-industrial economic systems.
Labor	Fields are commonly prepared in the American, Russian, and European areas, as well as a cross-national field in European and American labor history.
Political	Political history often figures largely in the geographic/chronological fields. But more structurally-oriented fields focused on political development are also commonly prepared in the European, American, and Asian areas, as are fields in comparative political history, comparative state formation, and comparative political movements.
Comparative History	Several comparative fields, listed above under specific topics, are commonly prepared: urbanization, pre-industrial economic systems, social history, class formation, gender/women's history, political history, state formation, an dpolitical movements. Other comparative fields include colonialism; nationalism; European Fascism; slave emancipation, post-emancipation societies, and empires.

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