History

Overview

The History Area of Concentration (AOC) includes in-depth attention to particular historical moments as well as geographical and chronological breadth, helping students to understand the past on its own terms as well as how past events have formed the world today. Students learn to recognize multiple perspectives, to analyze historical patterns such as continuity and change, and to accept that all historical understanding is provisional. They pursue independent research and archival work in areas as diverse as Miami, Alabama, California, New York, Newfoundland, Iceland, Germany, Italy, and China; many present and/or publish their work publicly. History students also take advantage of a variety of academic and professional internships in fields like archival preservation, digital mapping, teaching, heritage studies, and non-profit fundraising.
    
As a core part of a liberal arts curriculum, the History program embraces the interdisciplinarity of historical study: students frequently combine History with AOCs like International and Area Studies, Political Science, and Literature. The skills developed studying history—such as critical thinking, information literacy, global perspectives, written and oral communication—prepare students for a wide variety of professional careers and lives of global citizenship.

Faculty in History

Carrie Beneš, Professor of History
David Harvey, Professor of History
T. J. H. McCarthy, Professor of History
William Hustwit, Associate Professor of History
Adam Rowe, Assistant Professor of History
Xia Shi, Associate Professor of History and International and Area Studies/Marian Hoppin Chair of Asian Studies

Affiliated Faculty

Alicia Mercado-Harvey, Assistant Professor of Spanish and History
Nassima Neggaz, Associate Professor of History and Religion

Requirements for the AOC in History

A minimum of twelve (12) academic units, including thesis tutorials, are required for the area of concentration (AOC) in History. All History concentrators are required to take Historical Methods, normally in their second or third year at the College. To ensure that all students receive a solid grounding in the discipline, students must meet both chronological and geographical distribution requirements.¹ Not including Historical Methods, at least four of the courses—in any chronological period and geographical area—must be upper-level (3000- or 4000-level). A maximum of four transfer courses may be counted for History AOC credit.

To prepare for thesis work, students are encouraged to define a specialization, which can be chronological (such as premodern history), geographical (such as Asian history), or thematic (such as cultural/intellectual history), and to complete at least four courses (any level) in that specialization.  Students will define their area of specialization in consultation with their advisors at the time they declare the AOC in History.

¹

Please note that a single course can meet both chronological and geographical distribution requirements (e.g., premodern European history, modern American history, etc.), but a course cannot be double-counted within a category of requirements (e.g., a course bridging the chronological divide can be counted as either pre-modern or modern, but not as both).

²

Students considering graduate study in History should study at least one foreign language to the advanced level and, where applicable, are strongly encouraged to make use of foreign language sources in their senior theses.

³

Thesis tutorials do not count toward chronological or geographical distribution requirements.

Requirements for the Joint AOC in History

A minimum of seven (7) courses are required for a joint area of concentration (AOC) in History, excluding thesis tutorials¹, which may be completed either in History of in the other discipline included in the joint AOC. Students pursuing a joint AOC involving History are also required to take Historical Methods, normally in their second or third year at the College. To ensure that all students receive a solid grounding in the discipline, students must meet both chronological and geographical distribution requirements.² Not including Historical Methods, at least three of the courses—in any chronological period and geographical area—must be upper-level (3000- or 4000-level). A maximum of four transfer courses may be counted for History AOC credit.

To prepare for thesis work, students are encouraged to define a specialization, which can be chronological (such as premodern history), geographical (such as Asian history), or thematic (such as cultural/intellectual history), and to complete at least four courses (any level) in that specialization.  Students will define their area of specialization in consultation with their advisors at the time they declare the AOC in History.

¹

Thesis tutorials (even those supervised by a historian) do not count toward chronological or geographical distribution requirements.

²

Please note that a single course can meet both chronological and geographical distribution requirements (e.g., pre-modern European history, modern American history, etc.), but a course cannot be double-counted within a category of requirements (e.g., a course bridging the chronological divide can be counted as either pre-modern or modern, but not as both).

Requirements for a Secondary Field in History

Students whose primary AOC is in another discipline or interdisciplinary program may complete a secondary field or minor in History by completing at least five (5) courses or tutorials in History. A maximum of two transfer courses may be counted toward a secondary field in History. Students opting for a secondary field are not required to complete the language requirement or take Historical Methods, although they are welcome to do so. Distribution requirements do not apply to the secondary AOC.

Sample Four-Year Pathway

Sample Two-Year Transfer Pathway

(For students completing an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in the Florida College System)

1. Courses to be completed in the Florida College System:
   1. Four lower-level History courses, such as:

      NCF History Equivalent

      Course Code	Course Name	NCF History Equivalent
      AMH 1010, AMH 1020	U.S. History to 1877, US History 1877 to Present	Lower-level American history
      EUH 1000	Western Civilization to 1600	Lower-level premodern European history
      EUH 1001	Western Civilization from 1600 to Present	Lower-level modern European history
      WOH 1012, WOH 1022	World History to 1500, World History Since 1500	Lower-level transnational history

   2. All general education requirements for the AA degree.​
2. Suggested plan of study at New College
   
   Note:  With the exception of Historical Methods, which is offered every spring semester, the precise courses offered will vary from year to year. Transfer students with AA degrees are expected to take Historical Methods in the spring of their first year at New College (Third Year as shown below). The other courses listed below may be taken in any order.

   Third Year
   Fall Term	ISP	Spring Term
   Upper-level history course	ISP1	Historical Methods
   History elective		Upper-level history course
   1st semester language		2nd semester language
   Elective		Elective
   Fourth Year
   Fall Term	ISP	Spring Term
   Thesis Tutorial	ISP2	Thesis Tutorial
   Upper-level history course		Upper-level history course
   Elective		Elective
   Elective		Elective

   ¹

   It is strongly recommended that transfer students use this ISP to explore an area of interest of their choice to begin narrowing in on a topic for the senior thesis.

   ²

   Students may organize their final ISP around their thesis work or may choose an unrelated topic of interest.

Transfer students who enroll at New College without having completed the path of prior study described above are welcome to pursue a degree in History, but may find it more difficult to complete the program within two years of matriculation.

Additional Information

• History AOC Overview
• History Style Guide
• History AOC Thesis Rubric

Representative Senior Theses in History

• "A Costly Place in a Scorching Sun: The German Colonial Empire in Africa"
• "The Role of Law in Edward I's Conquests of Wales and Scotland, 1277–1307"
• "The Methodology of Discrimination: Development and Theory of Scientific Racism in the 18th and 19th Centuries"
• "Norsemen Without a King: An Analysis of Executive Authority in the Medieval Icelandic Commonwealth"
• “In Search of a Modern Chinese Theater: The Politics of Performance and Performing Politics in the Twentieth Century” 
• “The State of Becoming: Constructing Masculine Heroes in Stalin's Soviet Union”
• “Evolving Enemies: Red Guards and Victimhood in Mao’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)” 
• “Between Nationalist Politics and Traditional Gender Ideologies: Chinese Women’s Higher Education in the Late Qing and Republican Eras”
• "Slavery in Christian Theology: The Legacy of the American Civil War"
• "The Power of Public Opinion: Hunger Strike and The Irish Women’s Suffrage Movement (1912-1914)”
• "A Study in Nationalism and its Effects on Historical Writing: German Nationalism and the Investiture Contest"
• "Invented Tanzania: The Cold War Influence on Nyerere's Ujamaa Policies"
• "An Empire of Entertainment: Spectacle, Education, and Imperialism in British Popular Culture 1851–1914"
• Institutional Injustice in West Coconut Grove: Discrimination against Miami’s First Bahamian Community in the Twentieth Century"