History

Overview

The History Department seeks to cultivate in its students a critical understanding of the past in order to prepare them to participate as thoughtful and engaged citizens of the contemporary world. The program promotes historical understanding that enables the assessment of social and cultural continuity and change in a variety of temporal, geographic and thematic contexts. Through its broad curriculum in the pre-modern, national, world, and comparative histories of Europe, the Americas and the Atlantic World, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East and North Africa region, and the Islamic World, as well as program strengths in the subjects of colonialism and postcolonialism, environmental history, food studies, immigration history, race and ethnic studies, political cultures, the history of religion, revolutions and social movements, the history of science and medicine, war and genocide, and women’s history, students develop interpretive skills, research competence, and writing fluency to engage in academic debates and produce historical knowledge. The department supports student research with both funding and awards, encourages study abroad, and offers distinctive internship opportunities. Our academic program plays an integrative role in the quest for liberal learning and contributes to interdisciplinary and area studies programs as well as the mission of the College grounded in excellence and equity, community and service. Our majors are well prepared for a broad range of graduate programs and careers including business, education, archival and museum work, historic preservation, entertainment and media, journalism, law, and public service.

Requirements

Major

The History major consists of a minimum of forty units, or ten four-unit courses. Of the ten required courses, at least eight must be taken in the History department, and no more than two will be accepted from other departments or institutions.

Required Courses

Survey Courses

Choose three courses from different geographic areas (Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, and United States) or two from geographic areas and one from the 190 global themes series. Survey courses (the 100 series and some of the 200 series) cover a broad chronological time frame. Courses satisfying a survey requirement are labeled in the course description.

Additional Electives

Students must complete five additional electives. Three of the remaining five electives must be upper division seminars (in the 300 series excluding HIST 300). By the end of junior year students should have taken at least one 300-level elective and the HIST 300 colloquium.

Pre-modern Requirement

At least course for the major must deal with the premodern period. Courses satisfying the premodern requirement are listed below:

Acceptable Courses from Other Departments

Courses that may be counted toward the major without petition are:

Honors in the Major

Students who meet all three of the following requirements may be invited to expand their senior comprehensive requirement project for College Honors:

1. Earn an A or A- on their fall semester thesis.

2. Have demonstrated excellence in their departmental courses.

3. Meet the GPA requirements of at least 3.25 overall and at least 3.65 in the major.

Students working towards College Honors will continue in spring semester to work independently with their Comps advisor, enrolling in a required 2-unit Independent Study, to complete their Honors thesis in advance of the Registrar’s spring deadline for the submission of senior comps marks. The Honors Thesis will be evaluated by the  advisor and a second History faculty reader. For further information, contact the department chair.

Minor

Five courses (20 units) in History from at least two geographic areas, including HIST 300.

Second-Stage Writing Proficiency

Students majoring in History satisfy the final component of Occidental's college-wide writing requirement by successfully completing HIST 300. Students must have a grade of B- or better on the 15-page paper in HIST 300. Students should familiarize themselves with the departmental requirement at the time of declaring the major. See the Writing Program and consult the department chair for additional information.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students meet their comprehensive requirement by taking HIST 490 in the fall semester of their senior year and writing for that course a 25-page paper that involves research and analysis of primary and secondary sources. They are required to turn in a 5-page prospectus of their project and attend several meetings in the spring of their junior year to prepare for HIST 490. Papers may concentrate on a geographical area or take a topical approach, such as History of Science and Medicine; Women's History; or Revolutions.

Students are eligible for distinction if they receive an A or A- on their paper for HIST 490.  HIST 490 instructors, in consultation with thesis advisers, make the final determination on awarding marks of distinction.

Advising Information

Students who are interested in the History major are encouraged to start by taking a 100- or 200-level survey course. Most 100- and 200 -level HIST courses do not have prerequisites and can be taken in any order.

Placement Information

No placement exams are specifically required for the History major. 

Sample 4-Year Plan

Awards

The Hardy Prize is awarded annually to a senior for the most outstanding senior thesis.

Transfer Credit Policies

The History Department policy on transfer credit conforms to College policy. The department accepts at most two courses in transfer to count toward the major and at most one course in transfer to count toward the minor from other departments or institutions (including study abroad courses). Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for more details.

Courses

History Courses

Faculty

Tenure and Tenure Track Faculty

Michael Gasper, chair

Associate Professor

B.A., Temple University; M.A., Ph.D., New York University

Alexander F. Day

Associate Professor 

B.A., Colby College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz

Sharla Fett

Robert Class Cleland Professor of American History

B.A., Carleton College; M.A., Stanford University; Ph.D., Rutgers University

Nina Gelbart

Professor

Anita Johnson Wand Professor of Women's Studies

A.B., Harvard University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago

Jane Hong

Associate Professor

B.A., Yale University; A.M., Brown University; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University

Maryanne Horowitz

Professor

A.B., Pembroke College, Brown University; M.A.T., Harvard University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

Lisa Sousa

Professor

B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Marla Stone

Professor

B.A., Pomona College; M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University

Jonathan Veitch

Professor, History

B.A., Stanford University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Ray A. Billington Professor of United States History

B.A., Cornell University; M.A., Stony Brook University; M.A., Ph.D., Cornell University

Christine Grant

Visiting Assistant Professor

B.A., University of Bradford; M.A., Western Virginia University; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University

Other faculty associated with the History department can be viewed here.