Due to the renovation of Harris Hall, the CHS offices are temporarily located at 1800 SHERMAN AVE., Suite 404 (4th floor), rooms 415-417 and 425. The main CHS telephone is still 847-467-0885.

Mailing address: CHS, Northwestern University, 1800 Sherman Ave., Suite 106, Evanston, IL 60201.

The CENTER FOR HISTORICAL STUDIES at Northwestern University was established in 2006. It invites faculty members and graduate students who work with historical materials to participate in an ongoing conversation about the core concerns of the historical discipline. Through various lecture series and focused workshops, the Center explores shared problems related to theory, methodology, and evidence. These events attempt to reach out beyond the particular concerns of various sub-fields and examine common intellectual concerns that energize the practice of history. The Center organizes its programs in cooperation with the members of the NU history department. It also aspires to draw into its affairs a broader range of scholars and members of the Chicago community.

Each academic year CHS hosts

• eight to ten lectures for the History Department and invited guests,
• one to two public conference workshops (faculty/graduate student mini-conferences),
• one to two international doctoral workshops at locations outside the USA, jointly sponsored with foreign institutions of higher learning,

• other events, such as public lectures by eminent historians, panel discussions on the state of the profession, receptions honoring the authors of new books, and lectures especially designed to help graduate students deal with professional challenges. The CHS also co-sponsors some history events on campus.

Upcoming CHS events can be viewed by clicking on EVENTS on the CHS banner above.

The CHS has much to offer graduate students in History. Each year the Center selects two graduate students to serve as Fellows of the Center, which includes organizing a one-day faculty and graduate student conference workshop on a significant historical topic pertinent to their research. In 2007-2008 we had sessions on environmental history and social history (see FELLOWSHIPS). An innovative program of international doctoral workshops was initiated by the CHS in 2008-2009 with events in Ireland and Germany (click on CONFERENCES for more details).

For undergraduates (both History majors and others) the CHS Leopold Fellowship program offers the opportunity and means to work closely with primary historical materials under the guidance of faculty, doing actual archival faculty research and learning how to transform raw data into historical interpretation. The first group of ten undergraduate Leopold Fellows started work in 2008-2009. The number of applications rose to 40 for 9 spots in 2009-2010, attesting to the popularity of the program. Please click on LEOPOLD FELLOWS to learn more.

The Center is currently administered by a director (T.H. Breen), an assistant director (Elzbieta Foeller-Pituch), and a faculty council. Click on PEOPLE to learn more. Questions should be directed via e-mail to: efp@northwestern.edu or chs@northwestern.edu.