History Pamphlet

Why Study History?

The purpose of historical inquiry is not simply to present facts but to search for an interpretation of the past. Historians attempt to find patterns and establish meaning through the rigorous study of documents and artifacts left by people of other times and other places.
The study of history is vital to a liberal arts education. History is unique among the liberal arts in its emphasis on historical perspective and context. Historians insist that the past must be understood on its own terms; any historical phenomenon--an event, an idea, a law, or a dogma for example--must first be understood in its context, as part of a web of interrelated institutions, values, and beliefs that define a particular culture and era. Among the liberal arts, history is the discipline most concerned with understanding change. Historians seek not only to explain historical causality--how and why change occurs within societies and cultures. They also try to account for the endurance of tradition, understand the complex interplay between continuity and change, and explain the origins, evolution, and decline of institutions and ideas. History is also distinguished by its singularly broad scope. Virtually every subject has a history and can be analyzed and interpreted in historical perspective and context; the scope of historical inquiry is bound only by the quantity and quality of surviving documents and artifacts.
It is commonly acknowledged that an understanding of the past is fundamental to an understanding of the present. The analysis and interpretation of history provide an essential context for evaluating contemporary institutions, politics, and cultures. Understanding the present configuration of society is not the only reason to study the past; history also provides unique insight into human nature and human civilization. By demanding that we see the world through the eyes of others, that we develop a sense of context and coherence while recognizing complexity and ambiguity, and that we confront the record not only of human achievement but also of human failure, cruelty, and barbarity, the study of history provides us with a richly-textured, substantive framework for understanding the human condition and grappling with moral questions and problems. History is essential to the traditional objectives of the liberal arts, the quest for wisdom and virtue.
There is another reason to study history: it's fun. History combines the excitement of exploration and discovery with the sense of reward born of successfully confronting and making sense of complex and challenging problems.

But What Can I Do With A History Major?

You can do almost anything you want to do with a major in history. The skills necessary for the study of history are highly practical and prized by graduate schools, professional schools, and employers. Hanover history majors have moved on to careers in business, law, government service, education, and social work.
Neither a history major nor any other major in the liberal arts, however, is designed as preparation for a particular profession. A liberal arts education is not vocational education. Historically, the liberal arts have been defined as the arts suited for free people, designed to encourage wisdom and virtue. The principal reason for embracing the liberal arts is to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding essential for the pursuit of wisdom and virtue. But the liberal arts are also practical; they prepare for citizenship and career. The skills encouraged by the liberal arts in general and history in particular--the ability to articulate significant questions, find and evaluate evidence, weigh alternative methods and interpetations, appreciate complexity and ambiguity, draw sound conclusions, and articulate substantive arguments with clarity and precision--are exactly the skills that are in high demand in a wide variety of professions.
The History Department offers the following recommendations for academic and career planning.

Pursue the liberal arts in the spirit they are intended. Develop an academic program based on academic interests. No major, no academic program, is more practical than another. To approach a liberal arts education as a preparation for a particular vocation violates the spirit and integrity of the liberal arts and risks losing the very benefits that a liberal arts education brings to professional careers. The practical benefits of a liberal arts education--the acquisition of the skills of critical thinking, problem solving, and effective communication--result from an immersion in the liberal arts for their own sake and from a serious effort to realize the objectives of the liberal arts.

Give serious and thoughtful consideration to post-graduate career and educational opportunities. The options available to history and liberal arts graduates are so many and so varied that it may require considerable time and effort to identify career paths and objectives. Students need to begin to explore their options early with the help of their major advisers and the Career Planning and Placement Office. Students often profit from internships, summer jobs, and special programs such as the Philadelphia Center Program.

Be able to articulate to potential employers the value of a liberal arts education. Increasingly, business leaders and employers are recognizing and publicly acknowledging the practical virtues of a liberal arts education. As the economy undergoes restructuring and institutional needs and job markets are redefined, there is a greater demand not for people with narrow technical training but rather for people who are creative and flexible, able to solve problems, make sound judgements, and communicate effectively. While the skills acquired in a liberal arts education are more publicly celebrated today, the liberal arts remain widely misunderstood in society. It is ultimately incumbent upon liberal arts students to explain to others the value of a liberal arts education. In a variety of contexts--on resumes, in interviews, and in conversation for example--students of history and the liberal arts must be able to clarify the substance behind the transcript, to identify the skills they possess, and to articulate how and why those skills are important.

For more information concerning post-graduate planning, see the History Department's Career Planning page and the Hanover College Career Center Web Site.

The History Major at Hanover

Members of the History Department welcome students to the study of history at Hanover College. History majors, in consultation with their advisers, are expected to develop a well-balanced major program combining breadth and depth and including both introductory and upper-level courses from different areas of the history curriculum. The requirements of the History major are:
(1) Seven Elective History Courses (not including History 111, Foundations of the Modern Age), chosen from among introductory comparative courses and advanced specialized courses.

Introductory Comparative Courses
The four-course Western Civilization sequence serves to introduce students to the study of history, provide breadth and context, and encourage integration and comparison. Majors, especially those who did not participate in Eurasia (Id 111, 112, 211), are encourged to take courses in the Western Civilization "core" sequence (History 211-214). In a multidisciplinary context, Eurasia fulfills similar functions to Western Civilization. Students taking Eurasia are free to enroll in any or all of the Western Civilization courses, though they may choose to concentrate solely on advanced-level courses, building on their background in Eurasia.

Advanced Specialized Courses
200- and 300-level courses focusing on particular geograpic areas, chronological periods, or themes presuppose a greater level of sophistication in historical analysis and interpretation than the introductory courses. These courses treat historiographical problems in a more systematic and comprehensive way, and, although more specialized, they continue to emphasize integration.

(2) The Junior Seminar (History 371)
In their junior year (typically in the winter term), majors are to participate in a seminar devoted to historiography and historical methodology. The seminar provides an opportunity for focused study of questions and subject matter that inform all historical inquiry and have bearing on all other history courses as well as many courses outside of history. The seminar is designed to complement and provide a foundation for the Independent Study.
(3) The Independent Study (History 471)
For their culminating experience, history majors are to pursue an Independent Study (471), a semester-long research and writing project resulting in a substantive and original thesis paper. Together, the Junior Seminar and Independent Study provide majors with an opportunity for a year-long experience in the theory and practice of historical research, thus opening up options for sustained research projects.
(4) The Comprehensive Exam
The History Comprehensive Exam is designed to test seniors both on their understanding of different civilizations and eras and on their ability to analyze and interpret historical problems and to integrate material from across the curriculum. The examination includes questions from six categories: (1) European History to 1750, (2) European History, 1750 to the Present, (3) American History to 1865, (4) American History, 1865 to the Present, (5) World History, and (6) Comparative History. Students answer five questions, making sure to respond to questions from at least four categories and answering no more than two questions from any one category.

The major program allows considerable room for flexilibity and choice. The department endorses the development of independent plans of study, including directed studies and internships.
History majors are also encouraged to pursue studies in disciplines related to history and to seek to integrate their work in those disciplines with their work as historians. The department recommends that students participate in the expanding number of multidisciplinary courses offered at Hanover and that majors continue work in a foreign language beyond the expectations of the general degree requirement.
History majors who plan to teach history and social studies in secondary schools should fulfill the teaching certification requirements established by the Education Department, including requirements for primary and supporting fields in World Civilization and U.S. History.
The history faculty are committed to providing majors with assistance in developing coherent and thoughtful academic programs and in formulating post-graduate plans. They believe that quality advising is central to the mission of the department and of the liberal arts. Advising should not simply be a matter of registering for classes, acquiring signatures, and shuffling papers; advising should complement and extend the objectives of teaching. Students, together with their advisers, can discuss, for example, the relationship between different courses and disciplines, the coherence of academic programs, the relationship between particular requirements, courses, or programs and the bearing that academic options will have on post-graduate plans. Good advising must also include giving help to students experiencing difficulties inside or outside of class. Together with the Career Center, major advisers will assist students in identifying and exploring post-graduate education and career options. The history department is also developing an Alumni Career Network to provide students with opportunity to discuss educational and career plans with former Hanover history majors currently employed in a variety of occupations.

The History Department seeks to promote and sustain a community among history faculty and students. The History Club, a student organization open to majors and non-majors alike, sponsors a variety of activities to bring history enthusiasts together. In recent years, for example, the History Club organized a day trip to a local monastery, invited historians to speak on the Hanover campus, and sponsored visits to local Madison historic sites. The Department also sponsors opportunities for historical research and work experience outside of the classroom. Students, for example, are currently working with the Jefferson County Historical Preservation Society on a research project in nineteenth-century Madison History, investigating the St. Paul's Second Baptist Church and the career of one of its pastors, Rev. Chapman Harris, conductor of the Underground Railraod at Eagle Hollow east of Madison. History students and faculty have also worked on a number of internet projects, including an award winning electronic texts project. The Hanover Historical Review, a student-edited journal of student history papers, seeks to extend interest in research and writing beyond the classroom and to promote quality undergraduate scholarship. The History Department seeks to maintain contact with and support history majors after they have graduated from Hanover. The Alumni section of the department's web site is the most recent effort to encourage conversations between and among alumni, faculty, and current students, in this case using the technology of the internet. The History Department wishes to celebrate the community that has emerged among history faculty and students in recent years, a community founded upon mutual respect, enthusiasm for history, and a shared commitment to the enduring value of teaching, scholarship, and the liberal arts tradition.