History

INTRODUCTION

Department of History is one of the prominent centres of historical research and teaching in South Asia. Established in 1864, it has a tradition of excellence exemplified by eminent historians such as HLO Garrett, Abdul Hamid, Vishwa Nath Datta, Syed Razi Wasti, Sher Muhammad Grewal, Tahir Kamran, Jamal Malik, and AZM Iftikhar-ul-Awwal.

We aim to contribute to the knowledge economy by conveying the uniqueness, multiplicity, and complexity of the human and material past. We provide excellence in teaching and research by enabling students to differently inquire about the history and appreciate that each pedagogy and scholarship has its own value. Academic freedom nurture analytical and critical skills among our students and faculty regardless of their background. We produce and transmit historical knowledge for a better understanding of diverse societies, cultures, and political systems.

Located off the historic Mall Road, GCU is close to the old Walled City of Lahore, as well as the National History Museum and Lahore Museum, GCU’s History Department is ideal for students passionate about understanding the past.

Professor Mian Namdar Khan	(1947-54)
Professor Abdul Hameed	(1954-65)
Professor Muhammad Amjad Butt	(1965-67, 1982-88, 1989-90)
Dr Syed Razi Wasti	(1967-82, 1988-89)
Dr Farhat Mahmud	(1990-96)
Professor Syed Masood Raza Rizvi	(1996-99)
Professor lftikhar Ahmad Chaudhary	(1999)
Professor Javaid Ahmed Shiekh	(1999-2003)
Dr Tahir Kamran	2003–2010
Dr Farhat Mahmud	2010-2011
Dr Muhammad Ibrahim	2011-2015
Professor Tahir Kamran	2015–2019
Professor Tahir Mahmood	2019-2019
Dr Hussain Ahmad Khan	2019- To Date

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

BA (Hons) Programme

Our graduate course portfolio boasts more than 70 courses covering 5000 years of history across the globe. Our courses explore various methodological, theoretical, and epistemological trends in history writing enabling students to understand the past.

We offer a rigorous degree programme that encompasses in-depth courses ranging from South Asian history and culture to Russian, American, and Central Asian history. In the first four semesters, students typically study History courses such as introduction to the history, global history, continental and regional histories. In the second half of the degree, History majors study exclusively at the History department where they study courses on European history and South-Asian history, ending their degree with a thesis on a topic of their interest.

BA / BSc – Four Years (Hons) Program

Year – I
Semester – I
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-1101	Ancient India	3
HIS-1102	British India (1707 – 1857)	3
HIS-1103	A Global History	3
HIS-1104	History of the Americas	3
HIS-1105	British History	3
HIS-1106	Muslims in Spain	3
Semester – II
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-1201	Ancient Europe	3
HIS-1202	Freedom Movement	3
HIS-1203	Modern Central Asia	3
HIS-1204	Modern China	3
Year – II
Semester – III
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-2101	State and Society in Medieval India	3
HIS-2102	European History-I (1789 – 1871)	3
HIS-2103	History of World Religions	3
HIS-2104	Umayyads and Abbasids	3
HIS-2105	Safavid Empire	3
HIS-2106	Ottoman Empire (13th to 20th Century)	3
HIS-2107	South Asia since 1947	3
HIS-2108	History of Australia	3
Semester – IV
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-2201	History of South Asian Art	3
HIS-2202	Medieval Europe	3
HIS-2203	Social and Intellectual History of Modern Europe	3
HIS-2204	European History-II (1871 – 1945)	3
HIS-2205	Modern South-East Asian History	3
HIS-2206	Themes in African History	3
HIS-2207	History of Russia	3
HIS-2208	History of Middle East	3
HIS-2209	History Writing Skills	3
Year – III
Semester – V
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-3101	Key Concepts in Social Sciences	3
HIS-3102	Research Method	3
HIS-3103	Medieval India – I	3
HIS-3104	Introduction to US History	3
HIS-3105	Political Economy of Pakistan	3
HIS-3106	Challenges to Islam in Modern World	3
HIS-3107	Historical Sources in Arabic Language	3
HIS-3108	Themes in Art & Architectural History	3
Semester – VI
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-3201	Introduction to Philosophy of History	3
HIS-3202	Medieval India – II	3
HIS-3203	Modern History of Afghanistan	3
HIS-3204	Islamic History	3
HIS-3205	Modern Asia	3
HIS-3206	Sufi Shrines and Identity Construction in South Asia	3
HIS-3207	Sufis and Colonial States	3
HIS-3208	Ancient Civilizations	3
HIS-3209	History and Literature	3
Year – IV
Semester – VII
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-4101	History of Colonial Punjab	3
HIS-4102	Discourses of History in the 19th and 20th Centuries	3
HIS-4103	Social and Cultural History of Medieval India	3
HIS-4104	International Relations	3
HIS-4105	Social Sciences; Key Concepts	3
HIS-4106	Historical Sources in Persian Language	3
HIS-4107	Cultural Institutions in Colonial India	3
HIS-4299	Research Project / Internship	3
Semester – VIII
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS-4201	New Trends in History	3
HIS-4202	Emergence of USA as Global Power	3
HIS-4203	Pakistan and the Contemporary World	3
HIS-4204	Early Indian History	3
HIS-4205	Social and Intellectual History of India	3
HIS-4206	Nationalism in Europe	3
HIS-4207	Historical Sources in Pakistani Languages	3
HIS-4299	Research Project / Internship	3

History as Allied Subject

TOP

Semester – I
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS – 1102	British India 1707-1857	3
Semester – II
HIS – 1202	Freedom Movement	3
Semester – III
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS – 2102	European History-I 1789-1871	3
Semester – IV
HIS – 2204	European History II 1871-1945	3

MPhil & PhD Programmes

Our postgraduate teaching reflects our faculty’s strengths in South Asian history across several historical periods and themes, including the Mughal Empire; literary and cultural history; Sufism; the history of emotions; postcolonial Pakistan, and colonial India. Thematic and theoretical strengths reflect our commitment to staying connected with the cutting-edge discourses. Our graduate programme features courses on Religious Pluralism, Nineteenth-Century India and Colonial Interception, Colonial Punjab, History of Emotions, Movement in the Modern Historical Discourse, and Approaches to Cultural History. International collaborations allow our students to be taught by instructors from leading universities, and exchange knowledge with their peers across the world.

Our faculty is committed to ensuring that research students receive a high standard of supervision. Our students’ research engages contemporary debates and considers the currents trends in publications. Throughout the period of their degree, students are encouraged to participate in workshops and attend special lectures and seminars to develop their research skills

MPhil History

Year – I
Semester – I
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS – 7101	Philosophy of History	3
HIS – 7102	Research Methodology	3
HIS – 7103	Nineteenth Century India and Colonial Interception	3
HIS – 7104	Transformation of Europe from Medieval to Modern Age	3
Semester – II (The students will study Four Courses)
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS – 7201	International Political Economy with Specific Reference to Pakistan	3
HIS – 7202	Agrarian System under Mughal (1526 – 1707)	3
HIS – 7203	Government and Politics in America	3
HIS – 7204	Domestic and Foreign Policy of USA since Second World War	3
HIS – 7205	Specialized Study of World Civilizations	3
HIS – 7206	Movement in the Modern Historical Discourse	3
HIS – 7207	Foreign Policy of Pakistan in the Post Cold War Era	3
HIS – 7208	State and Society History of Muslims in India 1206 – 1707 A.D.	3
HIS – 7209	Cultural and Social History of Muslims in India 1206-1707 A.D.
HIS – 7210	International Relations	3
HIS – 7211	History of Feminism
HIS – 7212	Religious Pluralism	3
HIS – 7213	Economic History of India under British Colonial Rule	3
HIS – 7214	Colonial Punjab	3
HIS – 7215	History of Knowledge	3
HIS – 7216	Research Methodology	3
HIS – 7217	Approaches to Cultural History	3
Year – II
Semester – III & IV
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS – 7499	Thesis	12

PhD History

Semester – I
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS – 8101	History As A Discourse	3
HIS – 8102	State and Society in Pakistan	3
HIS – 8103	Economic History of India Under British Colonial Rule	3
HIS – 8104	Sufi Shrines and Identity Construction in South Asia	3
HIS – 8105	Preliminary Persian Language	3
HIS – 8106	Islamic Science: A Critical Study of Sources	3
Semester – II
Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
HIS – 8201	History of Mystical Thought	3
HIS – 8202	History of Colonial Punjab	3
HIS – 8203	Pakistan Foreign Policy Imperatives	3
HIS – 8204	Tasawwuf: A Critical Study of Sources	3

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

BA (Hons) and MPhil students are assigned academic advisors (faculty members) for advice on academic careers, scholarships, choice of subjects, and advice on non-credit courses.
We impart rigorous training through the supervision of theses which has attracted international students across the globe. Thesis Review Committees for BA (Hons), MPhil, and PhD students conduct regular presentations of research students and ensure that the theses are submitted to satisfy the high standards of research.
A Graduate Research Room for research scholars provides a peaceful place for thesis writing.
The faculty of history edits a peer-reviewed research journal, The Historian, a semi-annual scholarly journal of Government College University Press.
Our faculty members also edit the Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies, a scholarly journal published by the Indiana University Press, Bloomington, USA.

TEACHING METHODOLOGY

We strongly encourage group and panel discussions among students, and interactive sessions with teachers. Discussion on archival sources and visits to historical sites are an integral part of our teaching strategies. We hold a screening of movies and documentaries to enable students to understand historical emotions, attitudes, contexts, and cognitive frameworks. We curate exhibitions of special collections and display historical artefacts in collaboration with Punjab Archives. Regular workshops and seminars encourage students to develop research skills. We also collaborate with reputed international universities for joint online teaching. Students interact with leadings historians and peers in other universities.

TEACHING RESOURCES

Situated near the Punjab Archives, Lahore Museum, National History Museum, Walled City, and the Punjab Public Library, History Department is an ideal place to engage in teaching and research. The University’s Central Library houses many special collections in multiple languages, as well as a rich collection of rare books and archival material dating from the nineteenth century.

The department provides course handbooks to its students to assist them in settling into studies more efficiently. These handbooks contain vital information about weekly lecture breakup, recommended readings, rubrics for assignments and exam questions, and other matters which students will need throughout the course.

The department regularly publishes Graduate Handbook which contains necessary information related to academic advisors, course handbooks, process flow charts of re-sit of midterm examination and course repetition, areas of research for selecting thesis topics, guidelines for writing the thesis, responsibilities of supervisors and supervisees, and rubrics for evaluating BA (Hons)/MPhil theses.

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Our assessment strategies consider students’ understanding of a historical problem based on scholarly perspectives, theoretical approaches, techniques for analysing primary sources, and students’ points of view about that historical issue. Rubrics for essays, exams, and theses help students to understand the expectations associated with each grade.

PROJECTION OF STUDENTS’ POTENTIAL TALENT

The department has two actively working societies that nurture and horn student’s abilities and talents. Garrett History Society is one of the oldest societies at GCU. It focuses mostly on senior classes; organizes workshops, panel discussions with leading historians, seminars, inter-departmental competitions, and study tours.

Undergraduate History Society prepares students for upcoming challenges by organizing customized and need-based workshops, seminars, and study circles. The society has broad networking with such platforms abroad as TedCircles. On monthly basis, the members of society engage in a global conversation with students from different Universities across the world. The department organises various workshops to enhance the soft and hard skills of the students, and to develop their manuscript reading abilities.

SCOPE OF EMPLOY-ABILITY

Graduates of our department pursue their careers in:

Research and Teaching in academia (colleges and universities)
Museums, Libraries, and Heritage related Industries
Journalism and Media Organisations
International organisations, and think tanks
Business and Finance Industries
Publishing Industries
Marketing and Public Relations
Non-governmental organisations
Civil Services
Law

FACULTY

Faculty

Abbas, Ghulam
MPhil (PU)

Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Area of Interest
Borders and Communities.

Abbas, Nayyar
PhD (GCUL)

Designation:
Assistant Professor

Area of Interest
Partition and violence, migration and refugees rehabilitation with special reference to Pakistan,
the canal colonization in British Punjab

Abbas, Qamar
MA (PU)

Designation:
Visiting Professor

Area of Interest
Social and Cultural History of Premodern India

Adrees, Noman
MPhil (GCUL)

Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Area of Interest
History of Urban ethnic Movements in Pakistan

Ahmad, Shifa
MPhil (GCUL)

Designation:
Lecturer

Area of Interest
Art History, History of Emotions

Arshad, Farzana
PhD (PU)

Designation:
Assistant Professor

Area of Interest
Governance and federalism in Pakistan

Baig, Masooma Zafar
MPhil (PU)

Designation:
Research and Teaching Assistant

Area of Interest
Partition, Violence, and Gender

Daud Ul Rehman, Ali
MPhil (GCUL)

Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Area of Interest
History of Medicine in Colonial India.

Gull, Ayyaz
PhD (PU)

Designation:
Assistant Professor

Area of Interest
Sufism, grief and happiness in South Asian History

Hayat, Fatima Faisal
MPhil (LUMS)

Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Area of Interest
Female education in colonial India

Ibrahim, Muhammad
PhD (BZU Multan)

Designation:
Associate Professor

Area of Interest
Baradari system, power politics in Punjab

Khan, Hussain Ahmad
Post Doc. (University of Cambridge)
PhD (National University of Singapore)

Designation:
Chairperson & Associate Professor

Area of Interest
Sufism, colonial art institutions, pride
and curiosity in South Asian History

Khan, Umair Ayub
Mphil (QAU Islamabad)

Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Area of Interest
History of leftist movements in Pakistan

Pervaiz, Huma
PhD (GCUL)

Designation:
Assistant Professor

Area of Interest
Marginalised communities, Feminism, History of Christianity

Pervaiz, Naila
PhD (QAU Islamabad)

Designation:
Assistant Professor

Area of Interest
Sufi Punjabi literature, Sufism in early modern India

Rehman, Noor
MPhil (GCUL)

Designation:
Lecturer

Area of Interest
Modernization and Urban Studies

Riaz, Muhammad
MPhil (GCUL)

Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Area of interest
Sufism, Animal Studies

Riffat, Fatima
PhD (PU)

Designation:
Lecturer

Area of Interest
Ethnic nationalist movements with a focus on Balochistan

Usmani, Irfan Waheed
PhD (National University of Singapore)

Designation:
Assistant Professor

Area of Interest
Print Culture, Leftist Politics in Pakistan, Kashmir.

Important Contact Details

Dr. Hussain Ahmad Khan (Chairperson)
hussainahmad@gcu.edu.pk
Chairperson.history@gcu.edu.pk
Office: +92-42-111-000-010 (Ext: 337)