Department of History
Outcomes and Assessments
October 2004
The aim of the undergraduate concentration in History is both to provide students with an advanced understanding of a wide range of historical topics and introduce them to the methods of historical inquiry and research. The Department offers a variety of courses in American History, Medieval and Modern European History, and Latin American History, as well as those treating subjects of a broader topical or geographical range. Students must complete eleven courses in history. These include five core courses, which must ordinarily be taken in this order: HIST 101 and 102 (“History of World Civilizations); HIST 387 and 388 (“Junior Seminar”); and HIST 401 (“Senior Thesis Seminar”), normally taken in the first semester of a student’s senior year. In addition, every history major must take a minimum of six more elective courses in history. These six courses must be chosen according to the following rules. No more than four of the six courses can be in the same area of history (that is, US, Latin America, Medieval Europe or Modern Europe). At least two of the six courses must deal with “pre-modern” periods of history (before the era of the French Revolution for European history, before the era of the American Revolution, for US history, before the era of nationalist revolutions for Latin American history). The reason for these restrictions is that the Department wants its students to gain an appreciation of history across a range of periods and regions, rather than narrowly restrict their knowledge either chronologically or geographically.
In order to receive credit for History courses towards the major, students must earn a grade of C or better.
As a preliminary to the Senior Thesis, which serves as a capstone to the concentration, students must pass through the two-sequence course, “Junior Seminar.” These courses are designed to instruct students in the methodologies of historical research and interpretation by having them read and comment upon a series of works of history, where the approaches and methods of the authors, rather than their substantive claims, are the focus of attention. These are rigorous courses in which students skills in critical reading and writing are tested and honed.
The main means of assessment is HIST 401, or the Senior Seminar. The Department long ago decided that the actual researching and writing of a thesis in history was preferable to a comprehensive examination. For we are convinced that the cumulative experience of developing an idea for a thesis, engaging the relevant secondary literature, locating and assessing original sources materials, conducting research, and then writing drafts of the thesis itself—while all along receiving the comments and criticisms of a professor—is a surer test of a student’s understanding of history than a exam requiring the momentary marshalling of knowledge.
Robert A. Schneider
October 2004
