"I was looking though the course book, and the pickings in American history were really slim," she says. "It was just a whole semester of nothing."

Professors admit that the department should have more American courses.

"We've always had limited course offerings," says Winthrop Professor of History Stephan A. Thernstrom.

Bisson adds, "We are thought to be in need of strength in American history by outside colleagues."

Bisson defends the department's American history offerings.

The department chair says Harvard's American history offerings are commensurate with those of other schools.

Some students see a lack of classes because the department offers several narrowly-focused courses in specific topics, he says.

But students should welcome the more specific classes and not simply concentrate on "popular" areas of history, Bisson says.

"Other types of history should be emphasized," he says. "Students perceive that there is only one."

A Failure to Tenure

Professor says the department's real problem is its failure to tenure new faculty, especially American history specialists.

"We urgently need some senior appointments," Thernstrom says.

Additional professors would broaden course offerings and revamp the intellectual life of the department, says Assistant Professor of History Ronald Yanosky.

"We have good, compelling reasons to bring people in [at the senior level]," Yanosky says.

The department has also recently lost two top faculty members, including American history specialist Adams University Professor Emeritus Bernard Bailyn, who retired last year.