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History

Offerings: Bachelor | Master | Minor

Course Description

History interprets the past for the present by exploring the institutions, ideas, cultures, and creations of men and women in the context of time and place.

It is focused on change over time; both change of the subjects of study and of historians’ attempts to make sense of those subjects. History ranges over all of recorded human experience, drawing from and placing in context the achievements of the arts, sciences, social sciences, and other humanities.

The student of history will learn to evaluate evidence critically, to sift and organize evidence fairly and persuasively, to analyze the evidence for its patterns and meanings, and to integrate this into a broad scope of human experience. Historical study provides perspective, helping individuals to place their own lives, values, and world events in context, and to recognize the processes of change that have brought them to the present.

Working from these general principles and the special strengths of its faculty, the history department has designated the following 5 specific outcomes of a major in history.

Minor

A Minor in History shall consist of twenty-one (21) units of study in History. Twelve (12) units must be in upper-division courses. Students must include in their program courses at least two world areas, and one six-unit sequence of coursework, either at lower- or upper-division. A six-unit (6) sequence may consist of either two courses at the same level in which the content of the second continues chronologically the content of the first or a 300-level course and a 400-level seminar which builds on a theme covered in the 300-level course. Students must complete all courses counted toward the minor with a grade of C (2.0) or better, and may include no more than three (3) units of internship toward the minor.

Masters

The mission of the Master of Arts in History is to build students’ expertise in the field of history with an additional focus on the critical study of the history of media and/or the applied use of media/ technology (known as Digital History) in presenting history to the public. Historians have always used various forms of media to communicate information about the past and they have always taken advantage of advances in media and technology to teach the public about its history. Currently, new media technology is revolutionizing how history is taught and how the stories of the past are conveyed to the public.

The Master of Arts in History Program will offer students opportunities to explore media as they have changed over time, beginning with the earliest oral and visual forms of historical communication through the rise of modern electronic media and computer technology. Students pursuing the Master of Arts in History will be required to take courses that develop their skills in critically analyzing media as they relate to history and acquire skills in Digital History to convey historical information to the public. This program is designed to provide students with a practical degree that prepares them for a variety of post-graduate careers including: community college and post-credential teaching (enhanced by training in history and the new media classroom); public history (including museumship, historical societies, and electronic archives); media and journalism; doctoral education; urban planning; local, state, and city governmental jobs; public service; and a number of other possibilities both in the public and private sectors.

The degree is designed to offer students the opportunity to practice their skills in the workplace. Some students may elect to pursue the option of an internship in a public or private agency where their training in historical content and media/ technology can be practically applied. Additionally, the program, in an effort to serve students who are interested in educational careers in history at the college level, offers a curriculum that will allow them to explore pedagogical issues associated with history teaching and to gain actual experience teaching history in college classrooms. During their course of study, students will be required to master historiography, the philosophy of history, and specific historical topics, and acquire technical skills. All Master of Arts degree candidates will take one course in the critical study of the history of media and one course in applied media and history in which they will produce a Digital History project.


College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral & Social Sciences (CHABSS)

Careers

  • Archivist
  • Documentary producer
  • Documentary researcher
  • Historian
  • Librarian

Industry

  • Archaeology
  • Galleries
  • Historical sites
  • Library
  • Museums

Key-Terms

Archive, Archives, Artifact, Artifacts, Countries, Country, Culture, Document, Documentary, Documenting, Education, Fact, Facts, Historical, History, Myths, Myths, Preservation, Research