HISTORICAL STUDIES PROGRAM

Division of Social Studies

Website:  http://historicalstudies.bard.edu

Updated August 23, 2019

  

Advising Faculty

 


1.     Robert J. Culp (director)

2.     Richard Aldous

3.     Myra Young Armstead

4.     Leon Botstein

5.     Omar Youssef Cheta

6.     Christian Crouch

7.     Jeannette Estruth

8.     Tabetha Ewing

9.     Cecile E. Kuznitz

10.   Sean McMeekin

11.   Gregory B. Moynahan

12.   Joel Perlmann

13.   Miles Rodriguez

14.   Drew Thompson

15.   Wendy Urban-Mead (MAT)


  

Program requirements

 

In the Lower College, students are expected to take three or four history courses covering different regions and time periods and using a variety of research methodologies.  Students are required to take a global core course before graduation, and preferably before Moderation.  For Moderation, students are required to submit the standard two short papers, and a paper responding to an assigned reading.  By the time of their graduation, students must have completed between six and eight ­history courses covering at least three world regions and one period prior to 1800. These should include one course focused on issues of historiography.  As part of the preparation for their Senior Project, Upper class students should take two 300-level seminars; one of these should be a major conference taken in the junior year that culminates in a substantial research project. 

 

Historical studies majors are expected to fulfill two kinds of requirements: general requirements for the program as a whole and special requirements of individual study plans.

 

Moderation Requirements:

 

1.     HIST elective, preferably HIST global core course (i.e. HIST 1001 Revolution, 106 Empire to Superpower, 139 City Cultures, 190 Cold War, or 2133 Atlantic World)

2.     HIST elective

3.     HIST elective

 

It is preferred that students take a global history core course before moderation, but not required.  A global history course must be taken before graduation.

 

Graduation Requirements:

 

4.     HIST course fulfilling the historiography requirement

5.     HIST 300-level course (Major Conference)

6.     HIST 300-level course

7.     Senior Project I

8.     Senior Project II

 

Courses must cover at least 3 world areas and one period prior to 1800.   Over the course of their studies students should have at least one course outside of the time-period of the others, and at least one course outside of the geographical range of the others.

 

* Please note that historical studies course are numbered using the following rubric: 100-level courses are broad surveys or introductions to a field; 200-level courses are more focused regional or temporal histories; 300-level courses are usually research or historiography courses.  Course level for this reason does not necessarily relate to difficulty. Some 300-level research classes might be appropriate to first-year students since they provide 'hands-on' access to historical materials; many 100-level surveys will still be challenging to seniors.

 

 Sample Program of Study

 

First Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

 

• HIST global core

  course

• FYSEM I (fall)

• FYSEM II (spring)

 

• HIST 100-level elective

• HIST 100-level elective

• HIST 200-level elective

 

Moderation (spring)

 

• HIST 300-level

  Major Conference

• HIST 200-level elective

• HIST 200-level elective

 

• Sr. Project I (fall)

• Sr. Project II (spring)

• HIST 200-level elective

• HIST 300-level elective