History B.A.
Mission Statement
The Bachelor of Arts in History provides students with the educational tools and framework necessary for understanding major thematic issues in history, for exploring the everyday lives of people of different times and cultures, and for succeeding in a variety of professions and/or post-graduate study. The History major challenges students to think about the diversity of human existence, past and present, by examining how politics, social structure, cultures, geographies, and lived experiences have changed over time.
Through the study of history, students will develop the qualities of mind necessary for responsible citizenship in the 21st century and acquire an appreciation for the diversity of human experience and a capacity to understand the historical dimensions of contemporary problems across global communities. They will graduate with the ability to synthesize information from primary and secondary sources (whether of a print, visual, or material nature) in order to produce cogent arguments and sound historical narrative through a variety of mediums. Students of History will be prepared to contribute to our knowledge of the past with new discoveries and understandings.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate the basic historical knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to understand different perspectives about the past and the complex multicultural world we live in today.
- Demonstrate an ability to perform serious historical research and an understanding of historical methodologies, historical theory, and historiography.
- Understand the use and misuse of historical argument and make connections between individual events and larger historical themes.
- Demonstrate a familiarity with the histories of injustice and movements for social change.