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History

Majors are required to complete 12 approved history courses with grades of C- or better. At least eight of these courses, including the senior thesis, HIST 299, and junior and senior seminars, must be completed at Trinity or in academic programs taught or sponsored by Trinity faculty. Graduate courses and graduate seminars may be taken with the permission of the instructor.

The award of departmental honors will be based on superior performance in history courses and either two senior seminars or the senior thesis.

Requirements for the Major in History

The following courses, to be taken in the History Department, are required:

  • Six survey courses at the 100- or 200-level (or 300-level with permission of the chair), distributed as follows:

    • Ancient, medieval, or early modern Europe (before 1700) (one course)

    • Europe since 1700 (one course)

    • United States (one course)

    • Asia, Africa, Middle East, or Latin America (three courses)

  • History 299, a prerequisite for all 400-level courses

  • One junior seminar (401/402)

  • One senior seminar (451) or the year-long senior thesis (498-499) A thesis is a two-semester, two-credit research project.

  • Three elective courses in history, at least two of which must be at the 300-level or above.

The Writing Intensive Part II requirement is fulfilled by one of the following courses:

HIST 401-14. The French Revolution

HIST 401-54. Korea and Japan in Historical Perspective

HIST 402-30. Transnationalism : The New G lo bal Histories

HIST 451-14. Nationalizing America

HIST 451-28. America's Most Wanted: Crime and the American Imagination

HIST 451-31. The Holocaust

HIST 451-36. Economy of the Greek and Roman World

HIST 451-37. Museums as Cultural Heritage Sites: History and Memory as Public and Private Property

Courses in other departments and programs recommended by the History Department and accepted for credit as electives within the major are identified each semester in the College’s Schedule of Classes.

History majors are strongly encouraged to study abroad. There are many options in different parts of the world, from Moscow, to Rome to South Africa, and Santiago de Chile. The Office of International Programs and its staff offer detailed information about many unique programs, including issues of prerequisites, transfer credit issues, visas and more. History Department faculty members have over the years participated in establishing Trinity’s own study-away programs. Professor Emeritus Borden Painter was instrumental in the Rome program; other history professors have been instrumental in a number of Trinity’s Global Learning Sites (GLS), the College’s own study-away programs. Professor Michael Lestz is very familiar with options in China, Tibet, and India; Professor Susan Pennybacker is engaged with the founding faculty of the GLS in Cape Town, South Africa; Professors Luis Figueroa and Dario Euraque are key contacts for the GLS in Trinidad, in the Caribbean; Professor Euraque co-founded the Santiago de Chile program in South America; and Professor Kathleen Kete has participated in the new Global Learning Site in Paris, France. These faculty members in the department can be helpful in these and other study-abroad programs. Professor Euraque is the department’s liaison with the Office of International Program’s office.

Cognate Course s—History majors are strongly advised to select, in consultation with their advisers, courses in the social sciences and humanities appropriate to their interests and relating to their coursework in the History Department. The department urges majors to attain proficiency in a foreign language, especially when appropriate for upper-level coursework in history.

Undergraduates intending to pursue graduate work in history should plan to develop a reading knowledge of two foreign languages.

Senior Thesis Application Procedure—All juniors who expect to write a full-year senior thesis during the senior year must submit a thesis proposal cover sheet, thesis proposal, and preliminary bibliography to the department no later than April 7, 2010. Students studying abroad are responsible for making the deadline and should plan plenty of lead time to assure consultation with their thesis sponsor and timely submission of the proposal. Cover sheets are available from the department administrative assistant. Applicants will be notified of acceptance in writing by the chair by the end of the spring semester. Students should follow the following procedure in developing a thesis proposal:

  • Consult with your desired thesis sponsor about your topic. If you do not know the appropriate faculty member, ask your adviser or the department chair.

  • Write a draft proposal of no more than two pages plus bibliography. The proposal should explain the topic, indicate the historical questions you intend to address, discuss the methodology and sources you intend to use, and review earlier historical thinking on the topic, to the extent possible at this preliminary stage.

  • Submit the draft to your thesis sponsor and revise according to her or his recommendations.

  • When you and your sponsor are satisfied with the proposal and bibliography, fill out the cover sheet, sign it, have your thesis sponsor sign it, and turn the completed packet (cover sheet, proposal, preliminary bibliography) in to the department.

The proposal is not a contract or an unbreakable commitment but a first step toward defining your topic. We expect that your thinking about your subject will change, perhaps radically, as you pursue your research. Nevertheless, the proposal is a serious exercise, the only instrument the department has by which to judge your preparation to undertake a full-year thesis; we urge you to give it serious thought and to consult often with your thesis sponsor in the process of drafting it. Sample proposals are available from the department administrative assistant.

Thesis students must register for HIST 498. Thesis Seminar in the fall semester. Every student who is accepted to write a thesis is guaranteed a spot in the seminar, but students must enroll in the course, with permission of the instructor, either during the pre-registration period in the spring semester or in the add-drop period at the beginning of the fall semester.