History

Studying the past has the intrinsic value of stretching the imagination and satisfying our curiosity about human experiences. Additionally, history prepares students to become informed participants in an increasingly complex and interdependent world. A chief goal of the history major is for students to become comfortable locating themselves as valuable contributors in nearly any globalized context. For this reason, the Department of History teaches, as much as possible, a global map of cultures, religions, institutions, and their respective historical backgrounds. The faculty in the Department of History have areas of expertise that range across the geographical regions of the world and that span a chronological scope from antiquity to the present. Our courses offer an interdisciplinary array of methodologies, including traditional approaches, theory-driven interpretations of culture and society, and anthropological and literary approaches to material and textual evidence. The study of history builds skills and habits of thinking that are indispensable for any career: research, writing, and verbal skills; effective use of evidence and argument; and critical awareness of alternatives and consequences of choice.

Curriculum

The History department offers two levels of courses. Any one of these CMC courses will fulfill the general education requirement in history:

Courses numbered under 170 are appropriate for both majors and non-majors.
Courses numbered at or above 170 are designed primarily for history majors and for students with prior college level work in history. Students in these courses will research and write a substantial, original historical essay based on primary and secondary source material.

Primary Contact: Professor Tamara Venit-Shelton, Department Chair