|
|
|
|
|
|
The department believes
that students must
become more broadly
educated in order to be
prepared to live in an
increasingly complex
society. By gaining
awareness of historical
traditions as well as
the critical thinking
skills of the
historian’s craft,
students will be better
prepared to confront
this complex society as
informed citizens. The
purpose of the major is
to bring together both
the factual background
and the analytical tools
necessary to understand
and interpret historical
events.
Upon graduation,
students majoring in
history will be able to
demonstrate a basic
knowledge
of key themes, issues
and trends that have
shaped the history of
humankind by taking
required courses in
American, European and
non-western history.
Their knowledge in
this area will be
assessed by the
individual courses that
we require through exams
and other
course requirements.
Students will develop
skills of written and
verbal expression.
Opportunities to develop
these skills will be
available throughout the
educational process
through oral
presentations
and reflective and
research papers. Our
senior project requires
students to write a
substantial
research paper, to
present their findings
and to defend their
assertions. As such,
this
capstone course will
assess their oral and
written communication
skills.
Students will develop
skills of critical
thinking and analysis.
In both their classes
and their
senior project, they
will need to weigh
competing historical
interpretations. This
skill will be
assessed both in their
class papers and in
their senior project.
Students will
demonstrate knowledge of
methods of the
historical craft
including both
conceptual approaches to
history and research
methodologies. As part
of their capstone
sequence, they will
examine different
historical approaches in
the seminar on the
intellectual
history and the
fundamentals of research
in the methods course.
Their success will be
assessed both in these
classes through written
assignments and class
participation and in
their senior project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
