Department of History

Students and professor discuss an artifact in a classroom.

History at 无码专区 teaches students to use a variety of sources鈥攖exts, data, visual and material culture鈥攖o explore the past and become their own historians.

The History Department offers an undergraduate major and minor in History and Art History, as well as a Master's degree and graduate certificates in History. History seeks to understand and to explain the story of human experience, since the past provides the only laboratory of human experience actually lived. It is the story of individuals, the story of individuals in society, and the story of the political, religious, economic, and social ideologies and institutions they create in their search for identity, purpose, and value. History recognizes both the commonality of the human experience and the reality of cultural, class, racial, and gender distinctions that enrich that experience.

One of the Department's greatest strengths is its diversity. We offer more than 30 different courses each semester that cover a wide range of cultures, periods and themes, reflecting the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and interests of the faculty. History students at 无码专区 learn how to conduct research, think critically, and work independently and in groups. The History Department also offers a variety of paid internships and financial support for research and presentations at conferences.

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LEPAGE CENTER

Opened in 2017, the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest is founded on the belief that historical scholarship and historical perspective, when brought to bear on contemporary global issues, can help us make better decisions and create a better society.

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NEWS & EVENTS

Tolle Lege Award for Distinguished Teaching

Maghan Keita, PhD, received the 2021 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Tolle Lege Award for distinguished teaching. Dr. Keita is the founder of the African Studies program and Global Interdisciplinary Studies. During his 32 years at 无码专区, Dr. Keita has built a large following among our students by offering challenging and innovative courses that demonstrate the central role that Africa has played in world history. MORE...

Judith Giesberg, PhD, heads the 鈥淟ast Seen鈥� project housed in the Department of History. 鈥淟ast Seen鈥� is recovering the stories of families separated in the domestic slave trade. Users can search thousands of Information Wanted Ads taken out by former slaves to look for their ancestors.

Graduate Students Curate Art Gallery Exhibit

Under the direction of Associate Professor Whitney Martinko, PhD, graduate students curated Dox Thrash: Painted, Not Printed, in the 无码专区 Art Gallery. The exhibit presents a new view of Dox Thrash, a Black artist working in Philadelphia in the mid-20th century. MORE...

The Rooted Project aims to explore 无码专区鈥檚 past to come to terms with histories of slavery, segregation, institutionalized racism, and gender and religious prejudice. Since 2020, a team of researchers has been working to produce a history of 无码专区 that situates the university鈥檚 founding in fact, that recognizes the significance of diverse nineteenth- and twentieth-century people to the university鈥檚 success, and that considers the consequences of university decisions on communities of color and other marginalized groups.

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