History (BA)

The study of history is vital to an understanding of our contemporary world, for we can hardly understand the present moment if we don’t develop an awareness of how it came to be.

Historians pursue every place, period, population, and process under the sun, from antiquity to the near present, and on these journeys to the past they explore the connections that make up the complexity of human society – from individuals to institutions, from economics to religion to recreation, and from formal politics to family life. 

As they learn to recognize the fundamental importance of context, perspective, and contingency to the changes and continuities that occur within and between individual lives, communities, countries, and continents, students of history acquire not just a firm knowledge of the past; they also develop an invaluable way to approach and analyze the world.

In short, the study of history not only opens a window into the past; it also provides a framework for understanding the present and charting the future.

For students interested in pursuing a History major, the department offers a rigorous program of ten 3-credit courses. The sequence begins for all standard majors with an exciting introductory seminar (HIST 33000 History Workshop), which introduces students to the work of writing history through a series primary source-based case studies. To encourage breadth of historical knowledge, majors also take a variety of courses in different chronological periods and global regions.

Standard majors will take four breadth courses: one global course, and three courses from five regions: Africa and the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America. To encourage depth, standard majors will select a three-course concentration in one of five regional categories (Africa and the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America), or, a thematic cluster (such as Global Empires, War and Society, Business and Economics, or Religion). Majors may also petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies to define their own thematic cluster. Standard majors will also one additional free elective in any field they choose. All majors must declare their concentration by the end of the junior year.

To complete their coursework, all standard majors, regardless of class year, must take a departmental seminar (HIST 35000 or above). This writing intensive course prioritizes research in primary sources toward the production of a substantial paper. The departmental seminar also emphasizes writing as a process, encouraging students to perform continual revisions and share their writing with peers.

All standard majors must also take at least one course in pre-modern (pre-1500) history

Application of AP Credits to the Major in History

Students who received a score of 5 on an AP history subject test (US, European, or World) may apply 3 credits toward the major in history. No more than 3 AP credits may be applied to the major.

History Honors Program

The History Department offers a special program of study, the History Honors Program, for the most talented and motivated history majors. Students are invited to apply in the fall semester of the junior year; the program begins in the spring of the junior year. A student in the History Honors Program will take 11 three-credit history courses to satisfy both the Honors Program and standard history major requirements. In addition to taking the introductory gateway course (HIST 33000 History Workshop ) and a variety of courses emphasizing geographical and chronological breadth, the student will also take two special honors seminars. Instead of completing a departmental seminar, the student will research and write a yearlong senior thesis, receiving three credits in each semester of the senior year. Each history honors student will select an area of concentration tailored to his or her thesis topic and will take two additional courses in this field to complete the program.

In the spring of the junior year, the student will enroll in an Honors Program Methodology Seminar (HIST 53001 ), designed to introduce the student to the various methods historians utilize to analyze and write about the past. Students admitted to the Honors Program, but studying abroad during the spring semester junior year, will be exempt from HIST 53001. They must, however, register a thesis topic and advisor with the director of Undergraduate Studies by the end of that semester.

In the fall of the senior year, the student will enroll in the Honors Program Historiography Colloquium (HIST 53002), intended to introduce the student to basic issues of critical interpretation and historiography through a specific field. In the fall and spring of the senior year, the student will work on a thesis (40 to 80 pages) under the supervision of a specific faculty member. The student will register for HIST 58003 (three senior thesis credits) in the fall and HIST 58004 (three senior thesis credits) in the spring of the senior year.