History (B.A.)

Faculty

Dr. Allen Pietrobon, Assistant Professor of Global Affairs (program chair)
Dr. Mercedez Callenes, Assistant Professor of Global Affairs
Dr. Erin Carriere-Kretschmer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science
Dr. Kimberly Monroe, Assistant Professor of Global Affairs
Dr. James Stocker, Associate Professor of Global Affairs
Dr. Joshua Wright, Associate Professor of Global Affair

Description

Trinity’s Global Affairs program offers a major program in history that may be combined with the Global Affairs major as a double major. The study of history is integral to a liberal education. Students develop an informed perspective about the varieties and diversity of human experience and about their own inherited cultural traditions.  They learn ways to study the past and to make connections between the past and the issues of the contemporary world.  Through their investigation of human experience, they develop an understanding of institutions, ideas, and values different from theirs, and, in turn, recognize and deepen their own values.  In the process, they acquire skills in interpretation and synthesis based on systematic inquiry and research, analysis of evidence, and the formation of critical judgment.

Training in history offers a foundation for many different careers. Broad reading, the development of critical perspective, the discipline of research, organizational ability, logical presentation of evidence and conclusions, intuitive insight, understanding of human nature — all these prepare the student for a wide variety of professions.  As a result of this academic preparation, Trinity history majors have pursued careers in law, business, print and broadcast journalism, public relations, teaching, and museum education and curatorial work.

The History Program offers both a major and a minor to students in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Prerequisites for History Courses

Only 100-level courses satisfy General Education Curriculum requirements. (See course descriptions for specific information.

200-level courses do not have pre-requisites and are open to all interested students.

Most 300-and 400-level courses require a research paper; therefore, familiarity with historical methodology is highly recommended.

Major Requirements

Required Courses (35 credits)

Students majoring in history must take the following distribution of courses at the 200-level or above:

Within the Global Affairs program, students at Trinity may earn a major in history by fulfilling the following requirements.

History Courses (27 credits)

  • Nine additional History courses at the 200-level or higher (four of these must be 300-level or higher)

Two Mentorship Courses (2 credits)

  • GLBL 221 Global Affairs Mentorship I
  • GLBL 222 Global Affairs Mentorship II

One Applied Skills Course (3 credits)

  • GLBL 491 Internship Internship
  • Trinity Partnership Experience
  • Study Abroad

Senior Seminar (3 credits; students double majoring in GLBL or POLS need only take senior seminar once)

  • GLBL 499 Senior Seminar: Global Affairs Senior Seminar

Capstone Project

Where applicable, interdisciplinary courses may also fulfill requirements.

Minor Requirements

Required Courses (18 credits)

Students may earn a minor in history by taking any 18-credits of history courses at the 200-level or higher. If the student is a GLBL major, no more than six of these credits may be counted towards both the GLBL major and the history minor.

Program Policies

Advanced Placement:
A score of 4 or 5 on the AP examination is accepted for credit toward the degree. AP credit does not fulfill FLC, Core, major, or minor requirements.

CLEP Policy:
CLEP credit is not accepted to fulfill history major or minor requirements.

Grades in Major and Minor Courses:
Students are required to maintain an average of “C” (2.0) or better in the major and minor. All courses for the major or minor require a “C-“ or better.

Pass/No Pass:
With the exception of internships, courses fulfilling a major or minor requirement may not be taken pass/no pass

Senior Assessment:

To complete their comprehensive examination requirement, students will present their senior project (written during the Senior Seminar) before two professors. Generally, the student will briefly present their research question, arguments, evidence, and conclusions, then will respond to questions from the professors and other students present. In addition, students are highly encouraged to present their research at Research Day and in other public forums, including conferences on undergraduate research. With guidance from Global Affairs faculty, they may also wish to submit their work to undergraduate research journals.

Study Abroad:
To support their major, students are encouraged to study abroad, preferably in their junior year.

TELL Policy:
TELL credits may count towards the major if the student is able to document active participation in an event, movement, or issue that has shaped contemporary history.

Transfer Credits:
Students may apply transfer credits toward the major in history if the accepted courses parallel courses required for the major at Trinity. In all, transfer students must complete a minimum of 15 credits in history at Trinity, including a colloquium or seminar.

Course Descriptions

HIS 128 Creation of the Atlantic World
HIS 130 Introduction to American Civilizations
HIS 132 Twentieth Century United States
HIS 133 Travelers' Tales
HIS 138 The African Diaspora
HIS 210
HIS 231 The Renaissance and Reformation
HIS 238 Washington, DC: People/Places
HIS 239 HerStory: Trinity Oral History
HIS 241 US to1865: America Comes of Age
HIS 242 Civil War to Superpower
HIS 251 The Western World in Crisis
HIS 255 Contemporary History of the Third World
HIS 314 Modern Latin America
HIS 317 The Cold War and Its Legacies
HIS 337 The United States 1789-1865
HIS 338 United States Comes of Age, 1865-1941
HIS 339 African American History
HIS 342 The United States Since 1945
HIS 343 20th Cent African American Liberation Movement
HIS 344A African American Women's History
HIS 345 Civil Rights Movement in the Twentieth Century
HIS 358 The Modern Middle East
HIS 362 Sex, Scandal, and Civil War: Tudor/Stuart England
HIS 363 Enlightenment and the French Revolution
HIS 365 The Great American Road Trip
HIS 369 Vietnam
HIS 371 Modern Africa
HIS 393 Women in US History to 1900
HIS 399 HON: Food, Feast and Famine
HIS 485 Age of Dictators: Europe 1914-1945