What makes this a Gen Ed course?

This course meets the Historical Studies requirement (FSHT) for General Education that, by definition, is designed around three learning outcomes:

  • Students will demonstrate historical thinking through the contextual analysis of primary sources in order to addresses the nature and limits of historical evidence and engage in larger historical questions about past events, ideas, institutions, social structures, cultural practices and physical environment.
  • Students will become aware of the various interpretations advanced and methods used in a given area of historical study.
  • Students will learn to formulate, advance, and properly document historical arguments, drawing on appropriate primary and secondary sources and other research aids.

 

As a HIST199, this class is designed as a course in historical thinking, which means it delves deeply into questions about the nature of historical evidence and the legitimate ways of evaluating evidence. Response papers require asking analytical questions that you can answer with evidence from class readings. Essays focus on thesis-driven arguments that make persuasive claims with the just use of evidence. We will be looking carefully at how history is written from various perspectives and through different analytical frameworks such as gender and sexuality.

Whether or not you have completed the Gen Ed requirement, this class serves as a required foundation for all history majors.