People study history for many reasons: for the shock of finding familiar behavior across wide reaches of time and culture; for the puzzle of trying to understand practices alien to their own; for the challenge of mastering information about human life in the past and for the insight necessary to handle contemporary concerns. Studying history provides an imaginative, intellectual, and empathic experience similar to travel. The “destinations” may at first appear to stand still—colonial New Hampshire, colonial India, revolutionary France, Imperial China, the American Civil War or the Great Depression—but the more deeply students investigate them, the more complex and fascinating they become. The study of history can extend across any area or artifact of past human endeavor, from policies to parades, from ballads to battles, from the whaling industry to whalebone corsets. In doing so, history provides the foundation for an excellent liberal arts education. This liberal arts education is a proven “training ground” for careers in diverse fields such as (but not limited to): law, journalism, state/federal government employment, business, and industry.

The History major gives students the valuable skills and methods of inquiry, analysis, and synthesis that help them think like a historian. The study of the past will sharpen students’ critical-thinking abilities, provide for a well-rounded liberal arts education, and cultivate a lifelong love of learning. Through thematic and geographically framed courses, students examine the factual and interpretive contours of the field, while connecting the discipline to other areas of academic study and everyday life. Our program is particularly strong in United States, global, and women’s histories. Upper-level courses are rotated in order to maximize the student’s chance to learn about a wide variety of subjects. The History major fosters proficiencies and skills needed for graduate study in many fields.

Degree Requirements

Credits