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History

Associate Professor Phillip Sherman, Chair, Division of Humanities

Associate Professor Doug Sofer, Coordinator

History is a discipline concerned with the diversity of humankind and with social and cultural change over time. The study of the past offers liberation from confined thinking that cannot see beyond the present, and it helps the student achieve the deeper perspective essential to personal and intellectual growth. The Major in History serves as preparation for a host of occupations, including law, journalism, communications, the ministry, environmental studies, teaching, business, library information, and public service.

The History faculty affirm the value of studying the past in order to explain and illuminate aspects of the present, and to help prepare students of history at all levels for the future. History contributes to the liberal arts mission of advancing critical thought and inquiry by challenging people to rethink present-day assumptions, to consider contingencies in our understanding and perspectives, and to rediscover lost worlds of thought and action. The department faculty also seek to foster in both students and faculty an awareness of the diversity of the human historical experience and a recognition of the plurality of perspectives and narratives about the past. In the service of these values, the department promotes the following skills and types of knowledge about the past.

Students successfully completing the history programs of study will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

  1. Conduct independent, analytical research building on existing historical interpretations.
  2. Analyze primary sources in historical context.
  3. Create and defend an historical interpretation with precision and clarity in both written and oral form.
  4. Show evidence of an understanding of major economic, social, political and cultural aspects of world history, U.S history, and the history of at least one other specific region of the world.
  5. Demonstrate sufficient knowledge to make comparisons over space and time.
  6. Meet appropriate public school teaching standards. (History for Teacher Licensure)