Columbia undergraduates, irrespective of major, tend to include history
in their curriculum. The History Department wants to encourage and
expand that interest. Thinking historically is an analytical skill of
increasing value in an epoch dominated by short-term perspectives.
Everyone can and should do some history at Columbia. We welcome you to
do so.
In that spirit, the department offers a very wide range of courses on
periods and topics of past significance and of persistent interest and
relevance. Whether you are interested in global inequality or medieval
law, the evolution of drug trafficking or the history of human rights,
the American West or Tokugawa Japan, you will find courses that speak
to your interest or complement your other studies. Most of our courses
are open to undergraduates from all majors and programs. All programs
of study will be enriched by some courses in history.
The department also offers a major and a concentration in history. The
history major or concentration enables students to achieve a deeper and
broader knowledge of a particular field of history, while also
developing the kinds of analytical and writing skills that are
important in so many areas of life. The heart of the undergraduate
major is the seminar, a small-group course in which students work
closely with an individual faculty member on some subject of common
interest. The department, in conjunction with related programs, now
mounts more than fifty seminars each year on a wide range of topics.
Undergraduate majors are also encouraged to consider writing a senior
thesis on a subject of particular interest, and the department offers
special seminars for thesis writers. Happily, an increasing number of
students now write senior theses.
Our commitment to undergraduate history is expressed institutionally in
a strong faculty committee of six members. The Undergraduate Education
Committee (UNDED), collaborating closely with the independently elected
Undergraduate History Council, is in charge of developing the history
curriculum, while also handling advising and questions concerning
requirements and credits.
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