history major

History Major

Email the Chair to ask for a copy of the History handbook:
matthew.esposito@drake.edu

The study of history incorporates the central elements of liberal learning and helps students to lay a foundation for life and life-long learning.
Program Description

Program of Study

"...I take delight in history, even its most prosaic details, because they become poetical as they recede into the past. The poetry of history lies in the quasi-miraculous fact that once, on this earth, once, on this familiar spot of ground, walked other men and women, as actual as we are today, thinking their own thoughts, swayed by their own passions, but now all gone, one generation vanishing into another, gone as utterly as we ourselves shall shortly be gone like ghost at cock-crow. This is the most familiar and certain fact of life, but it is also the most poetical, and the knowledge of it has never ceased to entrance me, and to throw a halo of poetry around the dustiest record..."

George Macaulay Trevelyan

An Autobiography

Description of the Program: The History Department provides undergraduates with knowledge of historical events and the connections that give history meaning; it engages students in the investigation of ideas and institutions by which people have attempted to shape their worlds, with special attention given to periods that experienced pronounced change or that invite comparisons between contrasting times and places.

The History Department's program helps students learn to think clearly, to analyze and interpret a broad range of materials, and to express themselves clearly and persuasively both orally and in writing. Students in history gain analytical and interpretive skills required to become enlightened citizens, pursue professional and business careers, and continue with advanced study in history.

The Department's offerings are divided into three main categories. Introductory courses provide general coverage in selected fields. Advanced-level courses and colloquia involve intensive examination of complicated subject matter. Seminars require the completion of a major research project or projects.

Program of Study for the Major: 39 credit hours in history or 27 hours in history and 12 hours in a related field.

Introductory Courses (numbered 1-99) All majors must take 12 hours of Introductory Courses, including Passages I and II (which offer global perspectives in history); and 2 other courses in American, European, Asian, Latin American, African, Greek, Roman, or women's history.

Advanced-level Courses (numbered 100-149) These courses allow individuals to undertake an intensive examination of a narrower topic than is possible in introductory courses. The major requires at least 6 hours of Advanced-level Courses.

Colloquia (numbered 150-169) are designed for qualified upper-division students who wish to examine a specific topic in great depth. Colloquia are limited to 18 persons and involve reading a large quantity of material about complex and controversial issues. Students are required to analyze and discuss the reading material as well as to write a series of short essays on assigned topics. 6 hours of Colloquia are required.

Research Seminars (numbered 180-190) are designed for individuals in their junior and senior years who have demonstrated an ability to deal with complex historical issues. The courses are limited to 18 persons and involve the satisfactory completion of a significant amount of research in primary material. Students are expected to participate fully in class discussions, present oral reports and produce competently researched and written papers. At least one 3-hour research seminar is required. Three additional credits may be earned by independent research culminating in a senior thesis. See below.

Degree options: Bachelor of Arts with a major in history, a Master of Arts in Teaching is offered in conjunction with the School of Education.

Those planning to use their history degree in other ways may elect the internship option made possible through the course titled "Apprenticeship in History," which serves as an introduction to "public history." Some students may choose to do both the senior thesis and the internship.

History majors who have an overall GPA of 3.25 and a GPA in history of 3.50 by the end of the fall semester of their junior year may qualify for the History Department's Honors Program. Extending over the two semesters of the senior year, this program involves the completion of a major research project. This project may relate to either the senior thesis or the internship. The senior thesis may be done in conjunction with the University's Honors Program. Interested students should consult with the department chair for more details.

History Major	Faculty	Emeriti Faculty
History Minor	Internships	Student Societies
Careers	Admissions	Arts & Sciences Home Page
2007 Fall Schedule	2007 Spring Schedule	2006 Summer Schedule
Course Descriptions	Events	History Home

Last Modified:08/31/05
Created by: Webmaster