History Department

Faculty

Department Chair: James Halverson

Dennis Maher
Emeritus: Richard Clossman

Goals

The Department of History strives to better understand the common elements and the range of diversity among human societies. We do this by learning to listen to people from times and/or places different from our own. As we become more familiar with the world as others have experienced it, we better understand the world and our place in it. We are better able to ask good questions, view events from multiple perspectives, and analyze changes and continuities in human communities across time and place.

The Department of History strives to:

• Prepare students who are interested in careers in which they can apply an under- standing of human behavior
• Prepare students for graduate study
• Model and encourage academic excellence and integration of Christian faith and the social sciences
• Model and encourage a global perspective for understanding human behavior

Objectives

In History, students will engage in:

• Deep study of the past - both the society in which we find ourselves and societies that span the globe - using the particular skills of historical thinking
• Careful attention to evidence, drawn from a wide variety of source material
• Thoughtful and persuasive use of information to construct arguments about how and why societies change
• Sensitive reflection on how one's faith commitment shapes and enhances one's understanding of the past
• Consistent development in clear communication, both written and verbal