The Department of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is an open learning community, dedicated to rigorous research and critical inquiry into the whole spectrum of human experiences across time and space. Our inquiry ranges from the Americas and Asia to Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and our study spans every historical era. The Department's faculty approaches these diverse regions and times with a wide variety of historical methods and thematic perspectives—including political, social, cultural, intellectual, economic, military, gender, global, and oral history. Our courses provide careful, well-informed surveys of major historical events and long-established historical debates, but they also introduce students to the most innovative, new fields of contemporary historical studies.The Department's primary goal is to foster the creation and communication of historical knowledge. We seek to achieve this goal through the teaching of undergraduate students, through graduate training for the next generation of professional historians, through advanced historical research, and through writing and speaking for both specialist and general audiences. We encourage collaborative inquiry and exchanges among faculty, students, and colleagues from across the UNC campus, the state of North Carolina, the United States, and the wider world. We also support outreach programs, interdisciplinary seminars, public lectures, participation in various media, and special workshops for teachers and other interested citizens. We are proud of a "Carolina approach" that emphasizes diversity, intellectual community, an enduring involvement with public issues, and the distinctive mission of a public research university.