Professors: Judith Brown, Richard V. Buel, Jr., Richard Elphick, C. Stewart Gillmor, Nathanael Greene, Oliver W. Holmes, Bruce Masters, David Morgan, Laurie Nussdorfer, Philip Pomper, Ronald Schatz, Vera Schwarcz (Chair), Ann-Louise Shapiro, Ann Wightman

Associate Professors: Patricia Hill, William Johnston, Cecilia Miller, William Pinch, Claire Potter, D. Gary Shaw

Assistant Professors: Renée Romano, Magdalena Teter, Jennifer Tucker

Visiting Instructors: Joseph Lucas, Kathie Williams

Departmental Advising Experts (2000-2001): Richard Buel (United States), Richard Elphick (Religion in History), Nathanael Greene (Europe), William Johnston (Asia, spring), Bruce Masters (Asia, fall) (Africa, Latin America), Cecilia Miller (Intellectual), Jennifer Tucker (Gender and History)

History is not a body of facts to be transferred--temporarily--from the erudition of a professor to the memory of a student. It is a way of understanding the whole of the human condition as it has unfolded in time. Like the other social sciences, it has established methods of investigation and proof, but it differs from them in that it encompasses, potentially, every area of human culture from the beginning of recorded time. Like the other humanities, it uses ordinary language and established modes of telling its stories; but it is constrained by evidence left us from the past. Education in History aims to produce students who can identify and analyze historical problems, interpret difficult bodies of evidence, and write clearly, even eloquently.

Of course, you have to know a lot about some area of the past to be a historian at all. The History Department has defined six areas ("concentrations") in which you may acquire this knowledge. Three are geographically defined: Africa, Asia and Latin America; Europe; and the United States. The others are thematically conceived and cut across geographical boundaries: Intellectual History; Religion and History; and Gender and History. In addition, a student may construct his or her own concentration with the advice and consent of an advisor. The requirements of a concentration are met by taking six History courses that fall under its purview. Breadth is encouraged by the requirement that everyone take at least two courses outside the concentration and one course in the history of the world before the great transformation wrought by industrialization. More intensive work in short periods or special problems is done in at least three seminars, one of which (HIST362) is devoted specifically to introducing the varieties of contemporary historiography and the variety of methods and concepts that historians have worked out to understand the past.

Finally, and most importantly, the Department asks everyone to try their hand at real historical research and writing. This may take the form of a senior thesis (required to graduate with honors; typically at least eighty pages long, requiring a two-semester research tutorial); a senior essay (roughly half the length, in a one-semester research tutorial); or a research paper submitted as part of the work of the course.

Frosh have preference in the FYI courses which the Department schedules every year. Like all FYI courses, these require vigorous class participation in discussion and are writing-intensive. For 2000-01 the History Department’s FYI courses are:

Fall 2000:

	HIST 101  History and the Humanities (Oliver Holmes)

HIST 108 Two Peoples, One Land (Bruce Masters)

HIST 111 The Scientific Revolution (Stewart Gillmor)

HIST 130 Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century (David Morgan)

Spring 2001:

HIST 106 Jewish Responses to Modernity (Magdalena Teter)

HIST 125 The Civil War (Richard Buel)

Frosh also have preference in enrolling in the gateway courses in European History, which are offered as follows in 2000-01:

Fall 2000:

HIST 201 Medieval Europe (Gary Shaw)

HIST 203 Modern Europe (Philip Pomper)

Spring 2001:

HIST 202 Early Modern Europe (Laurie Nussdorfer)

Beginning with the class of 2002, a sophomore seminar is required for the completion of the History major. These courses require roughly the same kind of commitment as FYI courses, but sophomores are given preference and the courses are more oriented toward History as a discipline. In 2000-01 the Sophomore Seminars are:

Fall 2000:

HIST 161 Victorian London (Jennifer Tucker)

HIST 162 The Customs of Europe (Gary Shaw)

HIST 182 Gandhi (William Pinch)

Spring 2001:

HIST 153 The Enlightenment Concept of Self (Oliver Holmes)

HIST 155 The Intelligentsia and Power (Philip Pomper)

HIST 160 The Spanish Civil War (Nathanael Greene)

HIST 170 Early American Families (Joseph Lucas)

There is no single path to historical knowledge, nor any prerequisite for admission to the History major. Someone who had no History courses at all before undertaking a History major would have to devote most of her or his last two years to finishing the major (11 courses, not counting research tutorials), but this can be and has been done.
Related and supplementary courses in other disciplines will enlarge and enrich the student's historical understanding. During the first two years of college, students should consider the preparation needed for advanced work: not only the first courses in History and related subjects, but also foreign languages (discussed below), training in theoretical approaches to social and political issues, and perhaps such technical skills of social science as statistics or economic analysis. First- and second-year students are encouraged to discuss their programs with any of the Department's major advisors. Students interested in a particular period or area will find historically oriented courses offered in other Departments and programs. 
Prospective majors may obtain application forms at the Department office in 113 PAC. Any History faculty member may serve as an advisor, by agreement with the student, or a new major may choose the advisor designated for his or her field of concentration. The advising experts for 2000-01 are Bruce Masters (Asia — first semester, Africa & Latin America), William Johnston (Asia — second semester), Nathanael Greene (Europe), Jennifer Tucker (Gender and History), Cecilia Miller (Intellectual), Richard Elphick (Religion in History), and Richard Buel (United States). For admission to the History major, a student must satisfy a departmental advisor of her or his ability to maintain at least a B- average in the major program. 

Knowledge of foreign languages is essential to most kinds of historical inquiry and is indispensable to anyone planning graduate study in History. The Department strongly advises all History majors to learn at least one foreign language. Students concentrating in European History normally should acquire a reading knowledge of a European language (modern or ancient) by the end of the junior year. Wesleyan sponsors semester-long study programs with language training in several European countries, in Israel, and in Japan and China. There are programs under different auspices for other countries and other continents.

To be assured of Wesleyan credit and major credit for work done in a non-Wesleyan-sponsored program, whether overseas or in this country, a student must petition for a transfer of credit before going away to take the course(s). Detailed information on the History Department’s expectations is available at the History Department office and on the History Department web site.