Collection contains records pertaining to the operation and activities of the Department of History and its faculty at Duke University, 1932-[ongoing]. Materials present include administrative files from the Office of the Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of Undergraduate Studies: correspondence, memoranda, departmental meeting minutes, budget and course material, committee files, and various subject files. The records also include course papers, inactive faculty files, Nixon Library material, and external review files. University Archives staff must be consulted in order to determine the extent of access restrictions.

The records of the Department of History contain material pertaining to the operation and activity of the Department and various faculty members. The material ranges in date from 1932-2002, bulk 1951-1985. The records are divided into seven series: course papers, subject files, administrative files, inactive faculty files, Nixon Library files, external review, and Oral History Transcripts.

The Course Papers series is composed of I.B. Holley's History 195/196, "The Concept of a University," miscellaneous, and Richard Watson course papers. I.B. Holley's History 195/196 course papers deal with topics relevant to the history and development of Trinity College and Duke University. A majority of the Watson course papers consist of oral history projects in which students interviewed family members about their personal experiences during the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the Second World War. Course papers range in date from 1954-2003, bulk 1966-1992. Subject files contain a sampling of various departmental material including directories, handbooks, minutes and memoranda, and newsletters.

Administrative files (1932-1985) include material pertaining to the activities of the Office of the Chair and Directors of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies. Material present in Office of the Chair includes correspondence and memoranda. Also present are minutes and notes from various committees including Committee on Courses and Curriculum. Among the Chairs included are William T. Laprade (1937-1952), Charles Sydnor (1952-1954), E. Malcolm Carroll (1954-1957), John R. Alden (1957-1960), Richard Watson (1960-1967), Joel Colton (1967-1970), and Anne F. Scott. Director of Graduate Studies includes correspondence, memoranda, communication with the Graduate School, and notes and minutes from various graduate committees. Among the Directors included in the series are William T. Laprade, Robert H. Woody, Robert F. Durden, Charles R. Young, and Anne F. Scott. Director of Undergraduate Studies consists of correspondence, memoranda, and material from various undergraduate committees. A majority of the material was accumulated during the long tenure of Frederic B.M. Hollyday; but also includes material accumulated by Joel Colton, Robert Durden, Theodore Ropp, and Stephen A. Young. Major subjects throughout include American Historical Association and Review, Southern Historical Association, Trinity College Historical Society, and the Humanities and Russian Cooperative with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Four small series conclude the collection: Inactive faculty, Nixon Library, external review files, and Oral History Techniques. Inactive faculty files consist of alphabetically arranged name files of faculty: full professors, assistant and associate professors, and visiting instructors. Files for long-term faculty include obituaries and funeral programs. Nixon Library files contain correspondence, memoranda, and clippings from various periodicals, both local and national, pertaining to faculty reaction to the proposed location of the Nixon Library and Archives on the campus of Duke University. External Review files contain material accumulated by Professor John Cell during an external departmental review in 1999/2000 and include reports prepared by various departmental officers for the review team, a copy of the final report and responses, and files from a 1994 Departmental review. The final series contains papers and transcripts of oral history interviews held by students of History 279: Oral History Techniques with faculty, staff, and students concerning contemporary race relations at Duke University.