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History Department

Pursuing a History Degree can be an extraordinarily fulfilling choice for your college career. It requires a fascination with the past, an interest in reading, and finding a History Department that fits you. The faculty at Western Oregon University cover a diverse range of topics with small class sizes and a friendly environment. Most upper-division University History courses at WOU have around twenty to thirty students, with the introductory courses being slightly larger with thirty to forty students. At the Graduate level, class sizes are around four to eight students. Compared to school where introductory classes have two hundred or more students, the small class sizes at Western translate into a personal, professional relationship between the History Department and students with an interest in a History Degree. The faculty at WOU also make a special effort to be available to meet with students that desire feedback in their studies. The bottom line is a faculty that cares about the progress of students enough to get to know each individual in their classes. If you are considering going into History as a career option, the relationships you build with the faculty in the History Department will be one of your greatest assets in applying to Graduate School and continuing your career in History. WOU is an excellent place to build those relationships and be exposed to a variety of topics and teaching styles. The field of History has been steadily shifting toward a focus on Social History, with traditional Political History used as a backdrop for context; the History Department at WOU has followed this professional trend, keeping their courses current with new approaches in the field. The postmodern critique has shifted the study of History to look at social movements among the lower classes, rather than the more traditional focus on heads of state in Political History. The result is that professors at Western typically use micro-studies to give specific examples of the general course topics. Obtaining a History Degree at WOU requires you to take a number of courses in a variety of fields, including European, North American, Latin American, Asian, and Comparative Methods. As a History Major, you need at least two classes in four of those five areas. Many courses can be counted as Comparative Methods or a geographic area; this typically means that you will drop one of the four regions, though you can certainly take courses in all five fields, if you choose to do so. The capstone of the History Bachelors Degree at Western is the Senior Thesis 499 class during which the student selects a topic and two faculty advisors, working with them throughout the year to produce a twenty to thirty page paper. The individualized nature of this project means that the student becomes very engaged with a topic of History Research that interests them. (History Degree, History Department, University History, History Bachelors Degree)

History Research

It is important to realize what is involved in deciding to become a History Major in advance. Contrary to what most students have been exposed to K-12, Studying History is...
September 2, 2009 | Comments (0) | Read more/comment

Fields of Study

There are four geographic fields of study offered at WOU: Europe, Asia, Latin America, and North America. As one would expect, with its central role in the history of the...
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Sub-Fields

There are two major sub-fields in the History Department at Western: Gender Studies and Environmental History. While these fields are primarily sub-sections of the American History Department at WOU, elements...
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Graduate Studies

If your intention is to pursue History as a career choice, you should strongly consider attaining a Graduate History Degree. Although a Bachelor's Degree can certainly get you employed in...
September 2, 2009 | Comments (0) | Read more/comment

Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA)

Pursuing a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) is one of the best ways to help with the costs of a Graduate Degree and provides you with experience working in the classroom...
September 2, 2009 | Comments (0) | Read more/comment

Recent Entries

• History Research
• Fields of Study
• Sub-Fields
• Graduate Studies
• Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA)