2024-2025 University Catalog
History
|
|
Return to: Division of Social Sciences
Faculty |
Professors Bouk (Chair), Douglas, Etefa, Harsin, Hodges, Nemes, Robinson, Roller
Associate Professors Barrera, Cooper, Hall, Karn, Khan
Assistant Professors Bailey, Golaszewski, Mercado, Newman
Senior Lecturer T. Tomlinson |
Today the study of human history is critical to global survival; the experiences of others serve as guides to present and future conduct. At the same time, exposure to rigorous historical method and clear narrative style develops conceptual skills, research competence, writing fluency, and sensitivity to the uses and abuses of language and historical knowledge. The history department curriculum includes courses on African, Asian, Caribbean, European, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and North American subjects, and on contact and interaction among these societies. Majors are encouraged to take courses in related departments and programs. Competence in at least one foreign language is also desirable.
Awards
The Award for Excellence in History — awarded to the student judged by the faculty to demonstrate outstanding merit, perseverance, and promise on the basis of work done in the department.
The Alexander V. Wasson Prize for Excellence in History — awarded annually to a senior major in recognition of a distinguished thesis in history.
The Douglas K. Reading Prize — awarded in memory of Douglas K. Reading, professor of history from 1938 to 1980. The Reading Prize is given annually to an outstanding junior or senior major, with preference to a student of modern European history, Russian history, or ancient or medieval history.
The Scott Saunders Prize for Excellence in History — established in memory of Scott Saunders ‘89 and awarded annually to a senior major in history who participated in the Colgate London History Study Group, in recognition of work done in London that is distinguished in its own right or which contributed to the completion of a distinguished project.
Advanced Placement and Transfer Credit
Students with scores of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam in European or American history will receive credit toward graduation but not toward the major or minor. Those granted AP credit in European history may not repeat and/or without permission of the department chair; those granted AP credit in American history may not repeat and/or without permission of the department chair. No department credit or exemption is given for an AP score of 3 or for AP courses taken without the AP examination. Majors may not count course credit given for AP in history toward the nine total courses required. Minors may not count course credit given for AP in history toward the five total courses required.
Colgate students may direct questions to the department chair as they consider enrolling in courses at other institutions or in approved off-campus study programs. Any course taken for major/minor credit on a study-abroad program selected from the Office of Off-Campus Study’s complete list of approved programs will be assessed to confirm it is a history course and only one such course may be approved. There is an exception: Two courses may be approved for major credit for transfer from an approved program if both courses will be taken in a language other than English. In no case will more than one course be approved for minor credit.
All other requests for transfer of external credits toward the major or minor should be directed to the department chair. Such courses must be of comparable rigor to ones offered at Colgate to be approved for transfer.
Honors and High Honors
Candidates for honors in history must:
- Have or exceed, by the time of graduation, a major GPA of 3.50 and an overall GPA of 3.00;
- Complete an honors thesis that has been judged by the instructor and one other department faculty member to be of A or A– quality. The honors thesis is normally expected to be completed in two terms. It may be started in any 300 or 400-level history course, on campus or on the London History Study Group. A candidate must enroll in to complete the thesis.
Candidates for high honors in history must:
- Have or exceed by the time of graduation, a major GPA of 3.75 and an overall GPA of 3.00;
- Complete an honors thesis that has been judged by the instructor and by one other department faculty member to be of A quality;
- Defend the paper in an oral examination before the two faculty readers. The examination must also be judged to be of excellent quality.
Teacher Certification
The Department of Educational Studies offers a teacher certification program for majors in history who are interested in pursuing a career in elementary or secondary school teaching. Please refer to Educational Studies for more information.
Only Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Graduate students may take graduate-level versions of history department classes, which are given 500-level course numbers. For further details, see the MAT entry under Educational Studies .
London Study Group
Every year the history department conducts a study group in London. Admission is selective and limited to students of suitable interest and academic background. Interested students should inquire the preceding year. Prospective students must take and before going to London, and should be on campus the semester before departure. For more information, see Off-Campus Study .
Majors and MinorsMajorMinorCourses- HIST 101 - The Growth of National States in Europe
- HIST 102 - Europe in Crisis Since 1815
- HIST 103 - American History to 1877
- HIST 104 - The United States since 1877
- HIST 105 - Introduction to the Modern Middle East
- HIST 106 - The Making of Modern Africa
- HIST 108 - Modern Latin America
- HIST 110 - Through Their Eyes: An Introduction to Cultural History
- HIST 112 - The History of Technology
- HIST 120 - Introduction to Museum Studies
- HIST 199 - History Workshop
- HIST 202 - Europe in the Middle Ages, c. 300 - 1500
- HIST 203 - Age of the American Revolution
- HIST 206 - The Civil War Era
- HIST 209 - The Atlantic World, 1492 - 1800
- HIST 210 - The History of Health, Disease and Empire
- HIST 211 - Women’s Rights in US History
- HIST 213 - Women in the City)
- HIST 214 - American Cultural and Intellectual History
- HIST 218 - The African American Struggle for Freedom and Democracy
- HIST 219 - Oceanic Histories
- HIST 222 - US Immigration History
- HIST 223 - The American West
- HIST 224 - Introduction to Environmental History
- HIST 225 - Jamaica: From Colony to Independence (Study Group)
- HIST 227 - Civil Rights & Civil Fights: The History of the Long Civil Rights Movement in the United States
- HIST 229 - Latin American Migrations
- HIST 231 - Resistance and Revolt in Latin America
- HIST 232 - The Crusades
- HIST 233 - The French Revolution: Old Regime, Revolution, and Napoleonic Empire, 1770-1815
- HIST 234 - France in Modern Times
- HIST 235 - African American Women’s History
- HIST 236 - The History of Money
- HIST 237 - Empires and Global History:1400-1700
- HIST 238 - Europe in the Age of the Renaissance and Reformation
- HIST 241 - Life and Death in Early Modern Britain
- HIST 243 - Native American History
- HIST 245 - Russia at War
- HIST 249 - History of the City of London (Study Group)
- HIST 251 - The Politics of History
- HIST 253 - The History of Global Health
- HIST 254 - History of Coffee and Cigarettes
- HIST 255 - The Ottoman Empire, 1300 - 1924
- HIST 261 - Modern Irish History
- HIST 263 - Cities of the Silk Road
- HIST 264 - Modern East Asia
- HIST 265 - War and Violence in East Asia
- HIST 269 - The Indian Subcontinent: Raj to Republics
- HIST 271 - The First World War
- HIST 272 - War and Holocaust in Europe
- HIST 275 - Modern Jewish History
- HIST 276 - Racial States: The Jim Crow South and Nazi Germany
- HIST 281 - Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa
- HIST 284 - Decolonization in Africa
- HIST 288 - Animals in History
- HIST 291 - Independent Study
- HIST 300 - The London Colloquium
- HIST 302 - Global Toxic History
- HIST 304 - Sex and Sexualities in U.S. History
- HIST 305 - Asian American History
- HIST 306 - History of Numbers in America
- HIST 309 - Culture and Society in Cold War America
- HIST 316 - The United States in Vietnam, 1945 - 1975
- HIST 318 - African American History: African Background to Emancipation
- HIST 319 - African American Leadership and Social Movements
- HIST 320 - New York City History
- HIST 331 - Medieval Italy, c. 1000 - 1500
- HIST 332 - Medieval England
- HIST 333 - The Medieval Church
- HIST 337 - Pirates in the Atlantic World, 1500s - 1730
- HIST 338 - The Age of Absolutism in Europe
- HIST 340 - 20th-Century European Intellectual History
- HIST 345 - New Deal and Modern America
- HIST 346 - Germany, Russia, Eastern Europe
- HIST 350 - Contemporary European History, 1945 to the Present
- HIST 356 - Global Indigenous History
- HIST 358 - Conquest and Colony: Cultural Encounters in the Americas
- HIST 360 - Borderlands of North America
- HIST 364 - Kyoto as a Global City (Study Group)
- HIST 365 - Warriors, Emperors and Temples in Japan
- HIST 368 - China, the Great Wall, and Beyond
- HIST 369 - Modern China (1750 - present)
- HIST 370 - The Mongol Empire
- HIST 374 - Jews and Autobiography
- HIST 379 - U.S. and Africa
- HIST 380 - Emancipation, Forced Labor, and Contemporary Bondage in Africa
- HIST 381 - Pre-Colonial Africa
- HIST 382 - Modern Africa
- HIST 384 - Somalia: From Independence to Collapse
- HIST 385 - Darfur in Historical Perspective
- HIST 386 - Mexico and the United States
- HIST 387 - Epidemic Histories
- HIST 388 - The American South: From Reconstruction to the Present
- HIST 389 - Reproductive Technologies in the 20th Century
- HIST 391 - Independent Study
- HIST 399 - History Sandbox
- HIST 400 - Thematic Seminar
- HIST 475 - Seminar in African American History
- HIST 484 - Seminar on Modern European Cultural and Intellectual History
- HIST 489 - Seminar on Problems in Military History
- HIST 490 - Honors Seminar in History
Page: 1
| 2
Return to: Division of Social Sciences
|