Apr 28, 2024  
Fitchburg State University 2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
Fitchburg State University 2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog

History, B.S.


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History


Chairperson
   

Paul Weizer

 
 
Professors
Associate Professors
 
Laura Baker Joseph R. Wachtel  
Christine Dee    
Sean Goodlett    
Katherine Jewell    
Benjamin Lieberman    
René Reeves    
Daniel Sarefield    
Teresa Fava Thomas    

Objectives for the Program in History

The History program offers a variety of courses to all students.  It provides a strong foundation in European, World and United States history.

The program offers a major and minor in history, as well as provisional certification for teaching history.

Student Learning Outcomes

Historical Knowledge

Graduates with a baccalaureate in history understand the diversity of human experience in the past, as well as the nature of the historical enterprise. They acquire the ability to explain developments in U.S. and world history and their significance; become familiar with the different approaches to and methods of historical study; and understand the challenge of weighing multiple perspectives and evaluating the merits of competing interpretations. 

Historical Reasoning and Research

Graduates with a baccalaureate in history understand the nature of historical interpretation, the variety of historical sources, and the structure of historical arguments. They are able to pose a significant research question about the past; locate, explain, evaluate, and utilize information from and about the past to answer a research question; and utilize primary and secondary source evidence to support a historical argument. 

Communication

Graduates with a baccalaureate in history develop diverse communication skills, including reading to extract and construct meaning from text and non-textual sources; writing persuasive and evidence-based arguments; and creating oral, multimedia, and digital presentations.

Summary Statement

Through each of these three areas, students taking history courses obtain training in problem solving through the analysis of data and literary and artistic evidence to put forth and evaluate arguments, practice effective skills of communication in expressing ideas, obtain knowledge of citizenship at the local, national and global levels, confront ethical issues in historical reasoning and research, and understand context that produces artistic works.

Requirements for the Major in History

The Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in History require 36 hours of course work. BA and BS candidates in History must have a minor in another discipline. BA and BS candidates for History with Initial Teacher Licensure are not required to have a minor in another discipline.

Required Courses


Take the following courses:


Additional Requirements


  • Fifteen semester hours of History electives
  • All History majors must take either MATH 1200  or MATH 1700  as a mathematics requirement.
  • The Bachelor of Arts also requires foreign language proficiency at the intermediate level
  • History majors are required to take two courses in Political Science. (Civic Learning)

Note:


* Computer Literacy and Speaking/Listening Requirement

** Reading Historical Landscapes is suggested to be taken prior to Constructing History.

Required General Education Courses


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