History Major

SSH PEAK

Major Requirements

33 credits

HIS-270Writing History

3 credits

HIS-390Research Paper

0 credits

-
 

HIS-401Seminar in Historical Methods

3 credits

-
or

HIS-480Senior Thesis: historiography

2 credits

-
and

HIS-481Senior Honors Thesis: monograph

4 credits

History majors are required to complete HIS-390 prior to enrolling in HIS-401 .

Asia

Complete one course from the following.

HIS-345Modern China

3 credits

HIS-358People's Republic of China

3 credits

HIS-359Pre-Modern Japan

3 credits

HIS-384Modern Japan

3 credits

Europe

Complete one course from the following.

HIS-339National Socialism & the Final Solution

3 credits

HIS-34718th-Century Europe: Empires and Modernity

3 credits

HIS-34819th-Century Europe: Revolutions and Empires

3 credits

HIS-34920th-Century Europe: Conflict and Unity

3 credits

HIS-351History of Science

3 credits

HIS-360Britain, Empire, and World, 1639-1832

3 credits

HIS-361Britain, Empire, and World, 1832-2010

3 credits

HIS-362European Jewish History

3 credits

Latin America

Complete one course from the following.

HIS-380Colonial Latin America

3 credits

HIS-382Revolutionary Mexico

3 credits

HIS-383Authoritarian Governments in Latin America

3 credits

HIS-385Conquest and Encounters

3 credits

HIS-386Religions in Latin America

3 credits

HIS-387Cuba

3 credits

HIS-388Gender, Race, and Sexuality in Latin America

3 credits

Mediterranean

Complete one course from the following.

HIS-328Mythology: Classical Hist and Archaeology

3 credits

HIS-331Ancient Greece

3 credits

HIS-332Ancient Rome

3 credits

HIS-333Jews Under Islam

3 credits

HIS-364The Life of Jesus: History and Archaeology

3 credits

HIS-376History of Zionism and Modern Israel

3 credits

United States

Complete one course from the following.

HIS-300The United States Since 1945

3 credits

HIS-301Vast Early America

3 credits

HIS-305The Presence of the Past: Introduction to Public History

3 credits

HIS-307The American West

3 credits

HIS-310Jewish History and Culture in the Americas

3 credits

History Electives

Complete 12 additional credits according to student interest.

Students accepted for Senior Honors (HIS-480 and HIS-481) must complete only nine additional elective credits.

All history majors are strongly advised to study at least one foreign language. Knowledge of at least two foreign languages, including French or Spanish and area-specific languages depending on region of interest, are especially important for students who plan to attend graduate school in history.

History majors intending to apply for teaching certification in history as a first teaching field in the State of Idaho must include HIS-204 History of the Modern U.S. and one other 300-level US History course in their major coursework. They may also want to include POE-110 United States Political Economy or an equivalent POE course dealing with American Government in their overall college curriculum. For more specific details on the courses necessary to achieve certification in history as a first teaching field, students should consult the Education Department.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this major:

First, students will be able to compare human experiences from a variety of historical, cultural, and geographical frames of reference.

Second, majors will be able to critically evaluate historical evidence by cultivating an awareness of bias, perspective, context, and reliability.

Third, majors will understand the principles and practice of history as an interpretive discipline and the different ways in which historians have practiced their craft over time. 

Fourth, students will be able to formulate and research historical questions in order to articulate historical arguments.

Fifth, majors will satisfy the Social Science PEAK outcome by being able to articulate the normative cultural, social, and political expressions of human experience, as well as the normative schema used by historians for interpreting, arranging, and narrating historical evidence.