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Tutorial Board

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History & Literature's Tutorial Board is comprised of lecturers who guide students through the sophomore, junior, and senior tutorials. Browse their profiles to learn about the cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research they bring to Harvard. The reputation...

Tutorials

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Tutorials are the backbone of History & Literature. Taught by members of the Tutorial Board, they bring students together in small groups, with more one-on-one attention as students move through the program. After declaring the concentration in the fall...

Senior Tutorial

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The Senior Tutorial is a year-long, one-on-one course devoted primarily to researching and writing the Senior Thesis, but also to preparing for the Senior Oral Exam. Students typically meet with their tutor once a week to discuss their ideas and work in...

Courses

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History and Literature courses are open to all Harvard undergraduates and taught by members of our Tutorial Board and Committee on Degrees . HL90 Seminars, HL93 Research Seminars, and HL10 Lectures will count for concentration credit regardless of a...

Prospective Students

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Students in History & Literature—Harvard’s oldest concentration—learn to analyze cultural objects in historical contexts and comprehend historical contexts through cultural forms. How do films, novels, TV shows, fine art, and works of popular culture come...

Advising

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Advising is the cornerstone of History & Literature. Upon declaring the concentration, History & Literature students are assigned two advisers: Academic Adviser Your academic adviser is the member of the Tutorial Board who is teaching your History &...

Since 1906

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In 1906, at a now legendary dinner at Boston’s Tavern Club, Barrett Wendell proposed a program in History & Literature. At the time, President Eliot’s “elective system” allowed students to take any sixteen courses in the College and graduate with a...

People

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History & Literature's distinguished faculty includes a combination of lecturers recruited to teach in the program and faculty members from various departments at Harvard. Together, our Tutorial Board and Committee on Degrees represent a mix of junior and...

Senior Thesis

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All candidates for honors in History & Literature prepare a senior thesis of between 10,000 and 20,000 words focused on a topic of interest to the student. The senior thesis is a work of scholarship that makes an argument through analysis of relevant...

Senior Oral Exam

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All History & Literature seniors who are eligible for an honors degree recommendation, have completed a thesis, and have a concentration GPA of at least 3.0 take oral examinations at the end of their final semester. Oral examinations are one hour long and...

Hannah Waits

Person

PhD, History (UC Berkeley)
American history; 19th and 20th centuries

Lauren E. Brandt

Person

PhD, American Studies (Harvard University)
American history and literature; 1840s-1930s