B.A. in Social Sciences

HISTORY CONCENTRATION

Historians study the ways human societies change over time, providing a basis for understanding both distant civilizations and today’s rapidly changing world. In studying human societies, historians are unique in drawing on a wide variety of fields from the arts to the human sciences, thus forming a bridge between the humanities and social sciences.

The History Concentration is designed to provide you with a broad foundation in comparative history. The program combines courses in power and politics, society and economy, culture and ideas, as well as interactions between different societies. The history concentration prepares you for many professional opportunities, including work in government, business, international relations, and journalism, as well as graduate programs and law school.

We recommend that students complete the McGhee Core Curriculum before the following requirements.

Prerequisites and Recommended Courses

Students entering the concentration must select two from the following: Cultural Anthropology, History of Art: Earliest Times Through the Middle Ages, History of Art: Renaissance to Modern, or Modern Political Thought.

Before starting the concentration, students must already have completed two Historical Perspectives courses. The American Experience is required for students interested in American History.

Methods and Theory (8 Credits)

Students select two of the following three courses: Historical Methods and Philosophy, History of Social Thought, or History of Economic Thought.

Concentration Courses (16 Credits)

Students select one course in each of the following three categories. The fourth course may be from any of the categories.

Society and Economy

Life, Labor, and Leisure in 19th-Century America / Y26.5818	4
Civil War and Reconstruction Through History and Literature / Y26.5819	4
The Sixties in America / Y26.5829	4
The Revolutionary Era / Y26.5849	4
Knights and Chivalry / Y26.5871	4
The History of Capitalism / Y26.7262	4

Culture and Ideas

Mass Media and American Popular Culture / Y23.6005	4
Nations and Nationalities in Europe / Y26.5802	4
Humanism and the Renaissance / Y26.5804	4
Dante and the Medieval World / Y26.5806	4
Philosophy and History in Classical Greece / Y26.5811	4
The Scientific Revolution / Y26.5816	4
The Middle Ages in Film / Y26.5830	4
Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe / Y26.5851	4

Power, Policy, and Politics

Welfare and Poverty / Y26.5810	4
America and the Vietnam War / Y26.5823	4
Fascism / Y26.5844	4
The Roman Empire / Y26.5870	4
U.S. Foreign Policy / Y26.6653	4

Global History

Rise of Civilization / Y26.5070	4
Modern Middle East in International History / Y26.5812	4
Imperialism and the Shaping of the Modern World / Y26.5843	4
The Atlantic World: 1400-1800 / Y26.5846	4
European Expansionism in the Age of Colonialism / Y26.5848	4
Transnationalism, Immigration, and Identity / Y26.6669	4