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Liberal Learning and the History Major. A Report bythe American Historical Association Task Force in theAssociation of American College's Project on LiberalLearning, Study in Depth, and the Arts and Sciences

Majors.American Historical Association, Washington, D.C.;Association of American Colleges, Washington, D.C.

9035p.American Historical Association, 400 A Street, S.E.,Washington, DC 20003-3889.Reports Descriptive (141)

MFOI/PCO2 Plus Postage.Collge Curriculum; College Instruction; *HigherEducation; 'History Instruction; *Majors (Students);*Partnerships in Education; *Teacher Education

This report presents recommendations reflectingideals essential to the study of history. Its purpose is to assistcollege and university history faculties in their efforts to offerstudents a coherent curriculum and to strengthen their claims for acentral place for history in their institutions' programs. A briefsummary of existing conditions and practices sets the context for therecommendations, which in turn prompt strategic questions for historyfaculties to address as they lay plans for the future. While focusingon the history major, the report also considers the larger role thathistory plays in college curricula and in the lives of those pursuingstudies in other fields, suggesting ways to enhance the contributionof history to the education of all students. Because i recognizesthat the tale of history in colleges and universities is inseparablefrom its well-being in elementary and secondary schools, it proposesmeasures to be taken in common with those who teach nistory there.The report is addressed to a number of audiences including: (1)

individual historians; (2) history faculties in colleges and

universities; (3) secondary and elementary school teachers andcurriculum planners; (4) students majoring in history; (5) The

American Historical Association; (6) college ar t. university

administrators; (7) The Association of American Colleges; and (8) thehigher education community. (EH)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

from the original document.***********************************************************************

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LABERAL LEARNING

and the

HISTORY MAJOR

American Hiin the Assoc

Project on Libeand the Art

n Task Forcecan College's

Study in Depth,ences Major

1990

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LIBERAL LEARNING

and the

HISTORY MAJOR

American Hiin the Assoc!

Project on Liberand the Art

n Task Forcean College's

Study in Depth,ences Major

Myron Marty, Drake University, ChairEdward Gosselin, California State University, Long BeachColin Palmer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Lynda Schaffer, Tufts UniversityJoanna Zangrando, Skidmore College

1990

3

Published December 1990 by the American HistoricalAssociation in cooperation with the American Associationof Colleges.

©1990 by the American Historical Association

Copies are available from Publication Sales, AmericanHistorical Association, 400 A Street SE, Washington, D.C.20003-3889; (202) 544-2422.

AHA Staff Editor: John BarnettEditorial Assistants: Robert Townsend and

Roxanne Myers Spencer

V V V

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PREFACE

This report was completed in cooperation with a national reviewof arts and scienas majors initiated by the Association of AmericanCollegcs (AAC) as part of its continuing commitment to advance andstrengthen undergraduate liberal learning. The American HistoricalAssociation (AHA) was one of twelve learned societies contributingto this review. Each participating learned society convened a taskforce charged to addnss a common set of questions about purposksand practias in liberal arts majors; individual task forces further ex-plored issws important in their particular fields.

In 1991, the Association of American Colleges will publish a single-volume edition of all twelve learned society reports with a com-panion volume containing a separate report on Liberal Levrning andArts and Scicncc A1ior. Inquirks about thse two publications maybe sent to Reports on the Arts and Scienas Major, Box R, Assodationof American Colleps, 1818 R Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009.For additional copies of the history report only, contact theAHA Publication Sales Department, 400 A Street SE,Washington, D.C. 20003-3889.

Generous funding for the prolect and dissemination of the reportswas provided by the Fund for the Improvement of PostsecondaryEducation (FIPSE) and the Ford Foundation.

At the request of the AHA, the following served as readers of thisreport and offered helpful comments: Albert Camarillo, StanfordUniversity; Nadine I. Hata, El Camino Community College District;and Clara Sue Kidwell, University of California, Berkeley. Writtencomments on earlier drafts were also provided by J. ShermanBarker, the I -Iotchkis, School; Peter Filene, Miles Fletcher, LloydKramer, and Don Reid, University of North Carolina at Chapel I I ill;David Kvyig, University of Akron; Marilyn Rubchak, Valpamiso

University; and James J. Ward, Cedar Crest College. JoanneBrown, Drake University, provided editorial assistance.James B. Gardner, Deputy Executive Director of the AmericanHistorical Association, served as liaison with the AHA. CarolSchneider, executive vice-president of the Association ofAmerican Colleges, provided many helpful suggestions.

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A CALL to HISTORIANSHistorians of the 1990s will carry the past into the twenty-first

century. Now is the time for us to rethink our purposes andpractices, to seek and accept new commitments, to give the pasta vigorous future.

We face a formidable challenge, for contemporary society,with its emphasis on new products and new fashions, ignoresthe past or reduces it to banalities for popular consumption orpolitical manipulation. The mass media portray disconnectedhistorical figures and disjointed events, providing few oppor-tunities for explication and analysis.

Schools, colleges, and universities, too, have devalued thepast by compromising the place of history in their curricula.Moreover, the history taught in classrooms and presented inbooks and articles too often lacks energy and imagination. Asa consequence, many students not only fail to gain a sense ofhistory, they come to dislike it.

As educational institutions share responsibility for devaluingthe past, so also do they have it in their power to restore itsvalue bv educating those in their charge to think historicallyand to use knowledge and understanding of the past to chal-lenge the present and the future. This report is a call to action.

History is an encompassing discipline. Its essence is in theconnectedness of historical events and human experiences. Byexamining the causes, contexts, and chronologies of events, onegains an understanding of the nature of continuity and changein human experiences. Contemporary issues, ideas, andrelationships take on new meaning when they are exploredfrom historical perspectives.

History therefore plays an integrative role in the quest forliberal learning and, accordingly, in a college's offerings. Whileacknowledging that our discipline does not have all the

answers and that vigorous and long-standing disagreementsexist among us, we nonetheless share the conviction thatknowledge, abilities, and perspectives gained through thestudy of history are applicable also in other disciplines. We arecompelled, therefore, to claim a central place for the study othistory in our institutions' programs.

The time is right for us to make such a claim. Many in thegeneral public can be counted upon to support it, for they ap-preciate the importance of historical knowledge and displayconsiderable interest in the past. They read books on historicaltopics and figures, visit historical museums, watch documen-tary films, and are active in local historical societies andprojects. Many of them observe the status of history in schoolsand colleges and wonder why it does not enjoy more respect.Although they might concede that some of their fellow citizensregard history as irrelevant to contemporary life, they careabout the place of history in the curricula of schools and col-leges. They want to see its place strengthened and its influenceenlarged.

This report presents recommendations reflecting ideals essen-tial to the study of history. Its purpose is to assist college anduniversity history faculties in their efforts to offer students acoherent curriculum and to strengthen their claims for a centralplace for history in their institutions programs. A brief sum-mary of existing conditions and practices sets the context forthe recommendations, and the recommendations in turnprompt strategic questions for history faculties to address aswe lay plans for the future.

While focusing on the history major, the report also considersthe larger role that history plays in college curricula and in thelives of those pursuing studies in other fields, suggesting waysto enhance the contribution of history to the education of all stu-dents. Because it recognizes that the fate of history in collegesand universities is ins ,parable from its well-being in elemen-tary and secondary schools, it proposes measures to be taken incommon with those who teach history there.

The report is addressed to a number of audiences, withspecific purposes:

Individual historians, to help all of us recognize that wemust meet our responsibilities to strengthen the historymajor and improve the quality of history education.

History faculties in colleges and universitiesincludingthose in two-year colleges, who provide the introductorycourses for many students pursuing history majors laterand who often feel a profound sense of isolationto pro-vide reasons for revising our programs and practices.

Secondary and elementary schoolteachers and curriculumplanners, to provide support for casting history in acentral curricular role and coordinating history cir-riculabetween schools and colleges.

Students majoring in history, to enabl9 them to par-ticipate constructively in rethinking the major in theirinstitutions.

The American Historical Association, to prompt it to in-crease its support for efforts to improve the teaching ofhistory at all educational levels.

College and university administrators, to suggestguidelines for assessing the design and quality of historymajors in their institutions and to strengthen the case forproviding resources essential to sound programs.

The Association of American Colleges, to contribute tothe larger effort to help colleges and universitiesstrengthen all liberal arts majors.

The higher education community, to affirm the centralityof history as a liberal discipline with potential for enrich-ing studenLs' lives and to demonstrate the commitment ofhistorians to strengthening history's role in colleges anduniversities.

HISTORY andLIBERAL LEARNING

The study of history incorporates the essential elements ofliberal learning, namely, acquisition of knowledge and under-standing, cultivation of perspective, and development of com-munication and critical-thinking skills; it reflects concern forhuman values and appreciation of contexts and traditions.

History, in Carl Becker's phrase, is the "memory of thingssaid and done." Establishing historical memory requiresreconstructing human actions and events, ordered chronologi-cally or topically, This reconstruction depends upon theacquisition of knowledge that is both broad and deep, incor-porating facts, principles, theories, ideas, practices, and methods.I listorical inquiry in pursuit of knowledge goes beyond ex-planations of what happened and how, to investigation of the"why" from multiple perspectives. Students of history analyzewritten, oral, visual, and material evidence. Their analyses yieldgeneralizations and interpretations, properly qualified andplaced in contexts that reveal the process of change over time.Understanding is the extension of knowledge. Analysis andsynthesis contribute to historical understanding and lead to

and interpretations.deepens, one moves from the concrete to the abstract, fromparticular issues or events to well-reasoned generalizations.I listorical understanding is enhanced further by connecting itwith studies in other liberal disciplinesthe natural sciencesas well as the humanities and social sciences.

An essential ingredient in knowledge and understanding isperspective, cultivated through sensitivity to cultural andgeographical differences and awareness of conflicting inter-pretations of the same occurrences. Perspective is accompaniedby a sense of sequence, that is, of the chronological ordering ofevents, and a sense of simultaneityof understanding relation-ships of diverse events at a given moment.

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Studying history as a discipline requires one to engage one'smind with the facts, ideas, and interpretations conveyed or sug-gested by historical evidence; to give contexts to discrete piecesor evidence; and to devise plausible explanations and judg-.merits based on the evidence. Such engagement compels one to

:sift, sort, and arrange what one sees in ways that help one makesense of it. The discipline of history equips one to extend facts,ideas, and interpretations into new realms. One must weigh thevalidity of arguments, assess the soundness of historical judg-ments, and otherwise practice the art of critical thinking charac-teristic of discerning minds.

Engagement with evidencewritten texts as well as suchthings as photographs, films, audio- and videotapes, and ar-tifactsdoes not end there. Typically, those who examineevidence do not know what they think about it until they seewhat it leads them to say. In other words, written and oral dis-course is essential in gaining historical insights and forminginterpretations and conclusions.

In coming to know the past, one becomes aware of contrastsbetween peoples of different times and places and within one'sown time and place. These contrasts reflect differing value sys-tems translated into action. Similarly, one becomes sensitive tothe artistic interests and expressions of various peoples, demon-strated through their efforts to create and cultivate beauty informs that help to define them as a people. In a different Niein,for centuries, but at an accelerated pace in recent decades,science and technology have played important roles in the storyof humankind. Through appreciation of the aesthetic, scientific,and technological forces of the past, one gains a fuller under-standing of the complexity of human history.

"Fhrough engagement with the past in a well-designed major,students come to understand and appreciate how historiansgather and weigh evidence, shape and test hypotheses, andadvance conclusions. They recognize the continuing need torethink the past, reinterpreting it in the light of new evidenceand new concerns and using new tools of analysis and inter-

pretation. If rethinking history is a continuing theme in under-graduate studies, as it should be, students will carry theirabilities to inquire, analyze, and interpret into their studies inother fields and. into all aspects of their lives and work. Theywill be equipried to approach knowledgeably, sensitively, andcritically whltever careers they choose.

In sum, history is t the heart of liberal learning, as it equipsstudents to:

Thrticipate knowledgeably in the affairs of the worldaround them, drawing upon understandings shapedthrough reading, writing, discussions, and lecturesconcerning the past.

See themselves.and their society from different times andplaces, displaying a sense of informed perspective and amature view of human nature.

Read and think critically, write and speak clearly andpersuasively, and conduct research effectively.

Exhibit sensitivities to human values in their own andother cultural traditions, and, in turn, establish values oftheir own.

Appreciate their natural and cultural environments.

Respect scientific and technological developments andrecognize their impact on humankind.

IThderstand the connections between history and life.

It cannot be presumed that all of the purposes for studyinghistory outlined here will be clear to students in college class-.rooms, particularly to beginning students. History facultiesstrengthen course offerings and majors by engaging their stu-dents in discussions concerning these purposes and leadingthem to understand how the content and structure of thecourses and majors they pursue relate to them.

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EXISTING CONDITIONSand PRACTICES

A sampling of the policies and practices of history facultieshas led the task force to conclude that the design and require-ments of history majors in colleges and universities differ on

many points. The most notable points of difference include: thepurposes of the major, the number of hours or courses requiredfor a degree. specific courses required and the sequence (if any)in which they are to be taken, the balance of lower- and upper-division courses, the fields included, and the concern, or lack of

it, for historical method and historiography.

The programs the task force examined reflect the variety ofinstitutions in which they are offered. Even among institutionsof a given typeliberal arts colleges, for example, or majorresearch universitiespolicies and practices vary widely.Majors in history generally seem to be determined by themission and traditions of each institution; the size, specialinterests, and competencies of the faculties offering them; andthe demands of students. The majors also reflect the convic-tions, whims, and prejudices of those who establish and main-tain them and, in many instances, retrenchments or reductionsin resources beyond the faculty's control. A tacit purpose of

this report is to provide a basis for validating a history faculty'srequests for support for strengthening its offerings.

We recognize that the history majors in some institutions arevery good, but we also believe that they are not as sound inmany as they must be if they are to meet the challenges facingthe faculties that offer them. The recommendations that followreflect our judgment that most history programs would benefitfrom a thorough review of requirements, offerings, and prac-tices, and that no institution offers a major that should heregarded as sacred. Each recommendation addresses specificaspects of the major that the task force believes should be thesubject of concern in history faculties.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The content of the history major should be consistentwith the purposes of studying history, and it shouldinclude these specific components:

a strong foundation course (which may be waived forthose with extraordinarily strong backgrounds inhistory);

a course expressly designed to acquaint students with thediversity of the global setting in which they live;

a course in historical methods;

a research seminar with a writing requirement;

an integrating or synthesizing course.

History, in contrast to many other fields of study, is a dis-cipline in which there is no standard content, no prescribed se-quence of courses. The coherence of a history major thereforedepends upon the success that students and teachers, workingtogether, achieve in developing clear organizing principles fortheir work. Each recommended component of the major con-tributes to the development of such principles.

A history major should include a well-designed foundationcourse, ideally taught in small classes with diverse methods,to establish the bases for helping students understand thehistorian's approach to the past. This coursewhether inAmerican history, world history, or Western civilizationshould use a syllabus with principles and practices agreedupon by all who teach it, and, if possible, by the entire depart-ment. Building on the precollegiate experiences of the enteringcollege students, the foundation course should eschew the "one-damn-fact-after-another" approach to history, centering rather

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on historiographical or thematic topics. The problems pursuedshould be amenable to essay-writing requirements. Essayexams, rather than multiple-choice questions, should berequired in these courses throughout the term.

The diversity of American society and rapidly evolvingglobal interdependence compel history faculties to move theirstudents beyond the history of the United States and Westerncivilization and engage them in the study of other cultures. Asa matter of highest priority, the course offerings in every fieldmust address this diversity, giving open and honest attentionto questions of race, gender, class, ethnicity, and worldwideinterdependence.

It is not enough, of course, simply to establish separatecourses to achieve diversity or topical completeness in themajor. Subjects that merit treatment in separate, specializedcourses should be integrated into more comprehensive courses,as well. Similarly, if a particular approach to history is war-ranted in a separate course, that approach should also beincorporated into the more general courses.

Instruction in historical methods and historiography is at theheart of efforts to develop organizing principles for a major. Asthe past grows larger and more formidable, more and more ofits content lies beyond the reach of even the most dedicated andcompetent historians. No one will ever know more than just aslice of the past, and only a slice of that slice can be knownduring a student's college years. History faculties are thereforeobliged to equip their students to go beyond the content treatedin their courses by introducing them to historical methods andhistoriography, enabling them to understand the value andlimitations of various kinds of historical writing.

Consideration of conflicting historical interpretationsovides a natural starting point for studying historians'

methods. (For examples of controversies that might be ex-amined, see the AHR Forum on "The Old History and theNew," American Historical Reviezv, June 1989, pp. 654-698, and

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"A Round Table: What Has Changed and Not Changed inAmerican Historical Practice?" The Journal of American History,September 1989, pp. 393-474.) It may also be useful to explorewith students the evolution of history as an academic dis-cipline. This can be done by tracing it from the days, more thana century ago, when it was introduced in colleges and univer-sities as a "scientific" field of study, or by examining an ideathat has been at the center of many debates over the nature andpurpose of studying history, such as historicism.

While offering specific courses devoted exclusively to thestudy of historical method, history faculties should insist thatall courses include instruction in historical method and giveattention to historiographical questions, for developing thehabit of an inquiring mind requires the habit of maintaining anopen mind and, legitimately, of accepting the tentativeness ofhistorical explanations and the necessity for ongoing revisionsthe essence of the historian's craft.

The goal of the senior seminar in a history major should be to"turn students loose" on a research project culminating in asenior essay of some distinction. All history majors, not justhonors students, should be required to take the senior seminar.

The other required senior coursea synthesizing or integrat-ing or reflective or capstone coursehas a contrasting purpose:to give students the opportunity to seek new insights by draw-ing together what they have learned in earlier experiences. Insuch a course, typically built around a broad theme, students arechallenged to relate what they have learned in history to theirstudies in other fields. This course, reaching all the way back tothe foundation courses, demonstrating sensitivity to global con-cerns, applying historical methods, and using writing skills thatare given their finishing touches in the senior seminar, holdspromise of being the most exciting one in the entire major.

A history major, then, is more than a string of courses cover-ing specified time periods, geographic areas, or topical fieldsdesigned simply to transmit knowledge. It is more than a set of

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requirements for a degree. A sound major is built on the commit-ment of faculty members to helping students understand morefully the purposes, principles, and methodologies involved in thestudy of history, and grasp essential particulars and universals ofsocieties past and present. 13v actively engaging students with thecontent of their courses and with each other, it also explores ques-tions of fudgment and interpretation, of good and bad, of rightand wrong, leading to a mature view of humankind.

The size and areas of competence of the faculty offering themajor obviously affect the major's content. Small institutions,with faculties of fewer than seven or eight, probably find it im-possible to "cover" all of the standard fields in which theirlarger counterparts offer specializations. Such faculties haveseveral options. One is to capitalize on their strengths by con-centrating their offerings in their fields of competence. In theseofferings, the faculty stresses the development of research andwriting skills that enable students to move knowledgeably byindependent study into the fields that are necessarily left un-covered by the faculty. This cannot typically be done in largeclasses, but it can be done in colloquia that have it as a specificpurpose accomplished through directed reading and writingassignments.

Another option is to devote resources to the continual retrain-ing of the faculty, enabling them through released time and sup-port for advanced study to move beyond the fields in whichthey have concentrated their studies into new ones that servelocal needs. While this risks extending the faculty too far, lead-ing to superficial treatment of fields in which it lacks expertise,it enables it to offer more comprehensive programs. It alsoraises important questions, however, concerning the effects ofsuch retraining over a long career. The effects will be morebeneficial if the retraining is elected by the faculty memberrather than imposed by the institution and if it is not expectedto happen repeatedly.

Regardless of the size of the faculty, every care should betaken to ensure that the student-faculty "fit" is productive. A

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small department risks the danger of creating too close a dis-cipleship, and departments of all sizes face the possibility ofencouraging anonymity and overspecialized work.

2. The structure and requirements of the history majorshould reflect the faculty's understanding of the purposesof studying history.

The structure and requirements of a history major shoulddemonstrate, first of all, a faculty's awareness of its ideals and itslimits. The major should concentrate its offerings in areas thatmake the most of the faculty's strengths. Although the majormay of necessity neglect certain areas, the faculty can assist stu-dents in developing skills they need for independent study inthese areas. If a history faculty cannot influence its college to in-corporate into its general education or distribution requirementswhat it regards as essential contributors to a liberal educationor to a professional education, for that matterit can build theserequirements into its own major and its offerings for the non-major. In all that it does, a history faculty should recognize thatits goal must be a comprehensive, well-balanced major. If it isunable to offer such a major, it must seek resources for doing so.

In designing its major, in addition to considering questionsthat local circumstances prompt, a history faculty should ad-dress the following questions, to which we suggest answers:

a) What are the purposes of thr, history major?

The purposes are both general and specific. The generalpurposes are stated implicitly above, in "History and LiberalLearning." In more specific terms, the major prepares studentsfor graduate work in history; for studies in law, business,medicine, and other professions; and for careers demanding theknowledge, understanding, perspective, skills, and sensitivitiesone gains through studying history. The sound major isdesigned to accommodate the needs of all.

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b) How many hours should be required?

The major should require about one-fourth of the total hoursneeded to comriete a four-year degree (typically thirty to thirty-three semester nours or forty-live to hfty quarter hours, proba-bly not including six hours in foundation surveys). In addition,to acquaint students with other forms of inquiry, it should re-quire another six to twelve carefully selected hours in relatedhumanities or social sciences fields. Indeed, because contem-porary historical scholarship draws so heavily upon other dis-ciplines, the unciergraduate major is strengthened and enrichedthrough a coherent interdisciplinary approach.

VVhat should be the relationships and balance betweenlower- and upper-division courses?

Because learning in history is not necessarily cumulative anddoes not need to be chronological, the content of lower- andupper-division courses cannot be prescribed as ii can in somedisciplines. Nor are there approaches that are appropriate atone level and inappropriate at another. The principal distinc-tion between courses at the various levels of study lies in thesophistication of the knowledge and understanding they reflectand the abilities they require of students enrolled in them.

More than half of the credits toward a history major shouldbe earned in upper-division courses. Typically, the foundationcourses, carrying the lowest numbers, are followed by thosewith greater depth, and then bY the senior-level seminars andcoPoquia that provide for studying specific topics in depth.While a history major rarely requires all students to takespecific courses in sequence, it can convey a sense of coherence,and implicitly of sequence, by ensuring that courses at eachlevel make increasingly more rigorous demands.

In some departments, it may be possible to offer a coursewith two different numbers, with requirements more demand-

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ing tor histkfrv maws and less demanding tor nonmalors, who,(1lthough I-1,N etluipped to LIO more rigorous work, may findthe elassro,m1 and reading experiences -0,-:)rthy.'hile. if this isdone, hov,, ever, the distinctive experiences that each studenthas a right to exrect must not be compromised. The same Prin-ciples appiv to undergraduate courses ()tiered for optionalgraduate credit.

d) Should there be concentrations within the history major?

Fostering depth of knowledge and understanding in one areawithin the major is desirable. A concentration aimed at develop-ing such depth typically requires at least four courses. Ideally,courses taken in other disciplines should also relate to the con-centration. At the same time, to foster breadth of knowledgeand understanding there should be limits to the concentrations,with no more than half of the courses credited toward the majortaken in a single field.

Concentrations within history majors may he organized bytheme, period, geographical region, or some combination ofthese options. Whatever the integrating element, it should beclearly understood by both students and teachers. Since the con-centration is more likely to be designed by students and theiradvisors than those teaching the courses in which they enroll,faculty members should seek to discover how their courses re-late to each student's particular concentration.

e) What are the implications of offering an honors option forhistory majors?

A history faculty offering an honors option must determinesuch things as admission requirements, the nature and extentof special courses offered to honors students, mentoringrelationships, thesis or major paper requirements, and com-prehensive exams.

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f) 117zat matters most in the design and offering of a major?

low the courses in ,1 .nalor Jee,Ight IS irw:e hnt-,rt,ant the.:tes stated ret.lullYment!-. 1-.1e reest-designed hist,ryother words, is ot '',I1LC If ;11c_ Le

it fail to bring it to life. lt 15 ot even less alue it the vvay itscourses are taught rellts a lack o commitment to excellencein teaching by the faculty oifermg it. Striking a new balance :e-kyeen commitments to teacning and the demands 01 researchmay be necessary m se.me institution:;. Convers,:iv ctir.,.e.students suffer if ail ol a tactlitV rilern:)er s time and energies ai-edevoted to teaching at the expense of scholarly work.

Assuming excellent. a'aching, here are some additional pointsto be considered:

I iistorians and :.tudents ,)t history find nwaning in thepast through discovering he connectedness of things. l'hemost effective majors are those that equip students to dis-cover connections, znereby both satisfying and stimulat-ing the student's curiosity. Discovery of connectionsmay be the most important element in the shaping of acoherent major r each student.

The search for connectedness does not begin and end withhistory courses. ideally, it continues across the disciplinesin the programs of stud of all students. A purpose of his-tory courses is to help them learn how to search for it.

The courses in the inaor, while not necessarily taken in'sequence, should cultivate in students a sense of histortealehron, perhc..,:s lc!?in the major to others and bv concentrating on chronologewithin each course.

Every course should require students to engage in re-Liearch and vriting at a appropriate to the ci)11P-cplace in the inaor.

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Some of the courses in the major should provide specialopportunities for oral presentations that go beyond class-room discussion.

The requirements of the major must be flexible enough toallow faculties to address specific student interests. Thisis particularly true as adult students increasingly popu-late college classrooms. Acknowledging this, however,and recognizing that adult students enrolling in collegeafter years away from classroom experiences may requirespecial assistance in developing study practices, the taskforce asserts that significant distinctions should not bedrawn between the programs of these students and theones who have traditionally pursued undergraduatestudies.

The core requirements for the history major should besatisfied by all students, including those who might bepursuing a separate track (such as public or appliedhistory).

The history major should have coherence, integrity, rigor,focus, and imagination. Coherence is evident in majors that fittogether conceptually and practically. A major with integrity is

one with principles and practices that cannot be compromised.Testimony to rigor lies in the significance of the demands themajor places on those who offer it as well as those who pursueit. A major with a focus is one with a specific, readily definedpurpose. Imagination in a major means that it is designed tocapture images of the past, to make new images of the past, toplay with the past as well as to work with it.

g) What are the implications of the structure of the major forthe students pursuing it?

Just as the major offered to all students must be carefullydesigned, so also must be each student's course of study. Care-ful advising should clarify the requirements of the major and

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lead to an understanding of the rationale for the sequence ofcourses, both within and beyond the major, in which eachstudent will enroll.

3. The pedagogical methods and instructional materialsused to accomplish the purposes of the major should beappropriate to those purposes.

These issues, among others, must be addressed:

a) Who should teach the foundation courses?

The purposes of foundation courses are to excite as well as toinform, to engage the minds and imaginations of those whomay be indifferent to history or even antagonistic to it. It takesan excellent teacher to accomplish these purposes. Obviously,then, only the best teachers should teach foundation courses. Ifthey happen to be senior professors in a department, who betterto teach them? If teaching these courses falls to graduate studentsand part-time 'acuity, some of whom may be excellent teachers,care should be taken that high standards are always observed.

b) How should the organizing principle of a course be conveyed?

Students need to know why the period under study wasframed as it was, why the theme of a course makes sense, whycertain content is included and other not, why the scope of thecoverage is as broad or as narrow as it is. The organizing prin-ciple will dictate perhaps the most important decisions indeveloping a course, those that determine how the content isselected to fit into the instructional time available for treating it.

c) How can classroom time be utilized most effectively?

So vast a subject as this defies a brief answer, but a summaryresponse is possible. Lectures may appear to be efficient, butthey do not necessarily accomplish what we like to think theydo. Indeed, they are efficient only in the sense that they enable a

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teacher to deal handily with large numbers of students at thesame time. Lectures create the impression that the voice ofauthority is there to dispense the unchallenged truth. Unlessthere is time for interaction between teacher and student andamong students and, particularly in smaller classes, oppor-tunity for conversations that continue beyond the classroom,lectures simply encourage passivity and contribute little tolearning. Besides, listening to one voice, uninterrupted forstretches of fifty minutes and longer, too often prompts one-word critiques by students: "boring." The use of audio andvisual materials may serve good purposes provided they areseen as genuine instructional tools and not simply as ways ofbreaking the routine.

If lectures must be used to accommodate larger classes,history faculties must balance them with smaller classes thatemploy other methods of teaching. These may be seminarsand colloquia that give students opportunities for oral presen-tations and discussions based on their research and writing.

d) What are some possible learning opportunities beyond theclassroom?

Courses in a history major should include substantial writingrequirements related to textual analysis. Starting with the foun-dation course, students should be required to identify a posi-tion in a text and deal with it critically, marshaling the evidencefound in the text to support conclusions they present in writing.This will require extensive use of the library. Traditional libraryresources and new technologies for use in research providestudents with experiences that go tar beyond their immediateapplication in history courses. Library research of this nature,along with the requirements of extensive writing, assumes stu-dent competence in using computers and word processors. Ifsuch competence is lacking, history faculties are obliged to offeropportunities to develop it.

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In addition to coupling library activities with writing assign-ments, the history major can create opportunities for field re-,earch, typically as part of guided research projects. Throughresearch in archives and museums and the use of other com-munity resources, students learn that traces of the past arefound in a wide variety of forms.

Advising plays an important part in the teaching of historymajors, not only in guiding students through program require-ments but also in answering questions about related matters, forexample, the importance of studying foreign languages and statis-tics. Central to the advising relationship, however, is the commontask of designing a sequence of 'courses directed toward the achiev,-mew of well-conceived goals. Advisors of history majors need alsoto help students see how the knowledge and skills gained throughstudying history apply to a wide variety of careers.

e) What are the principal considerations regarding instruc-tional materials and the history major?

Textbooks are the old standby, of course, and they may wellhe essential in some courses. Their use should be limited, how-ever, to reinforcing a framework for the course established bYthe professor; serving as a handy reference for topics dealt within class; giving a course continuity and sequence that its in- andout-of-class treatment might not provide; and presenting maps,graphs, tables, and pictures.

Other materials, particularly primary documents, play a vitalrole, as do monographs, journal articles, book reviews, andmaps. Oral histories recorded on tape or film or accuratelytranscribed, along with photographs, slides, motion pictures, ar-tifacts, and audio- and videotapes serve as good sources foranalysis. (A two-hour video compilation, Image as Artifact, avail-able from the American Histoi ical Associat ion, shows how filmand television may be used effectively.) Drawing upon a varietyof resources is as important as using a mix of teaching methodsin sustaining interest in history among today's students.

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4. The place of history in the programs of studies of non-majors should be clear and pursued appropriately.

Students not majoring in historY, particularly those in suchprofessionai fields as business and engineering., may seem to beonly tourists in the foreign country called the past. That does notdiminish the value of historical study in such students' academicprograms, however, for a grasp of history will be of value to themno rnatter the careers they pursue. To demonstrate that probablevalue is an opportunity history faculties should welcome.

\lost of what has been said so far about the study of historyfor the history major is applicable also to the nonmajor. In addi-tion, imaginative history professors find ways to relate thestudy of the past to specific interests of the nonmajors, enticingthem to see relationships between their narrower outlooks andthe broader dimensions of the past. The graphic design major,for example, might study the history of advertising in a givenperiod. The engineering student might explore technicalmatters as contemporary as nuclear power or as traditionalas architectural masterpieces of the ages. Students majoring inpharmacy or nursing might explore the history of health care.The business major might study the history of business inAmet ica or of international business. For all students, the his-tory of women's experiences and of ethnic and race relationsprovide contexts for understanding the changing nature ofgender roles and issues of race and ethnicity.

5. History faculties should know and address importantconcerns regarding the training and zetraining of teachersand the condition of history in the schools.

Their commitment to history compels college history faculties to:

V provide the best possible history courses for prospectiveteachers;

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teach the courses in exemplary ways, since teachers tendto teach in the manner of their most influential teachers;

attempt to ensure that prospective teachers major in his-tory rather than education;

collaborate with the education professors who teachinstructional methods courses, seeking to make the pur-poses of these courses consistent with those offered inhistory and drawing upon the extensive research intothe effectiveness of various instructional approaches.

The following practices all contribute to the general well-being of history as an academic discipline:

forming alliances with the schools to improve historyeducation;

through these alliances, determining and publicizingwhat high school students should learn prior to their.enrollment in college;

inviting history teachers from the schools to participate indepartmental colloquia or seminarsalways ensuringthat relationships that develop are collegial rather thanpatronizing;

offering continuing education and in-service oppor-tunities for teachers (possibly including late afternooncourses to suit teachers' schedules), enabling the teachersto remain current with new developments in history;

serving aL; guest teachers in the schools on specialoccasions;

participating in such activities as local history fairs andNational History Day.

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Simply showing interest in the work of elementary and highschool teachers and students may be the most important con-tribution college teachers can make to the larger cause of his-tory education. If collaboration is to ocair, someone, probably amember of the college or university faculty, must take the initia-tive, and collaborating institutions must provide incentives forthose who participate in the jointly offered activities.

History faculties should also participate in writing state cur-riculum documents for elementary and secondary school socialstudies curricula. They must be alert to legislative issues relat-ing to the study of history and to policies implemented bv statedepartments of education because curriculum requirements im-posed by legislatures may be treated lightly by state officialsresponsible for enforcing them.

Teacher certification standaids are of special concern tohistory faculties, for the long-standing inclination to increaserequirements for education courses while minimizing the im-portance of studies in the teaching field always threatens topopulate precollegiate history classrooms with people who arenot equipped to teach their young charges. Where trends seemto be in the opposite direction at the moment, history facultiesshould encourage them. They might, for example, support ef-forts to require that all social studies teachers should minor inhistory regardless of their social studies specialties.

Should legislatures, responding to efforts to strengthen theplace of history in social studies curricula, mandate new historycourses or proficiency exams for students, they should also pro-vide support for educating teachers to teach them.

6. The needs and abilities of students should be taken intoaccount in designing and offering a history major.

Most of the needs of students have been addressed in thepoints made so far. Additionally, though, a history faculty mayhelp its cause by building a sense of community among stu-

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-.1 . .

dents majoring in history. This might take the form of a historyclub or an honor society such as Phi Alpha Theta. A studentorganization might sponsor activities that bring majors togetherin common endeavors. If interaction outside the classroom con-tributes to interaction within it, this would serve very goodpurposes. Along the same lines, special efforts to provide a sup-portive environment for minorities and nontraditional studentsshould be encouraged.

A further need relates to the value of a history major incareers and professions. History faculties should address thisneed in advising their students and in their department's publi-cations, showing that undergraduate studies in history lay asolid foundation for careers in business, law, and government.Opportunities for rewarding careers as teachers in elementaryand secondary schools are increasing, and students should beencouraged to consider them, too.

Faculties should advise students interested in pursuing ad-vanced studies in history on how to select and gain admissionto graduate programs and about career options in college teach-ing (with prospects for good positions improving), museums,archives, historical societies, publishing firms, historic preserva-tion organizations, and public service.

Because historians are not always well enough informed oncareer opportunities to be able to give students current informa-tion, they should work closely with the college's career planningcenter. This entails not only directing students to the center forinformation and advice, but helping the center establish the con-tacts that will enable it to have the latest information available.Professional associations in history should be prepared to providecareer planning centers with timely information.

Our knowledge is meager concerning the cognitive abilitiesof students of college age that equip them to learn history. Thetask force urges that research on this topic be undertaken. Thefindings would contribute much to the rethinking of the historymajor and the manner in which history courses are taught.

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7. The purpose, structure, and content of the history majorshould be reviewed regularly, along with the effective-ness of those who teach it and the achievements of stu-dents pursuing it.

The majors offered by history faculties are in fact evaluatedregularly by both the faculty and the students they are de-signed to serve, but typically these evaluations are informaland off-the-record. The faculty is not well-informed aboutstudents' judgments, and students are in the dark as to whatthe faculty members are thinking. Ideally, formal evaluations,addressing mutual ccncerns of students and faculty, shouldalso occur regularly and for the record.

Evaluation of majors in colleges and universities, often calledprogram review, usually focuses on the purposes, structure,quality, and place of the majors under reviewpaying atten-tion also, of course, to the resources they require, the demandfor them, and their cost. Evaluation also seeks to assess the per-formance of both teachers and studentsthe quality of theteaching and the nature and extent of the learning that occurs incollege classrooms and beyond. This compels history facultiesto identify their criteria for good teaching, to address in specificterms their plans for evaluating the effectiveness of the teachingin their departments, and to measure their students' learning.

Excellent teaching requires, first of all, expertise in the dis-cipline. Beyond this, it requires abilities to define instructionalobjectives, organize materials and activities for accomplishingthese objectives, present materials clearly, and conduct class-room activities purposefully. It also engages students' minds,develops their skills consistent with course objectives, moti-vates them to perform to the best of their abilities, andevaluates their achievement.

Faculties that take these requirements of good teachingseriously are obliged to establish criteria for measuring the ex-tent to which each of them is satisfied. They must ask, for ex-

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ample, how their abilities to define objectives and organizematerials are measured. By review of course syllabi? If so, whatcriteria are applied in reviewing them? Is there a model withwhich compliance is expected? Should there be? Are reviewersfrom other institutions invited to participate in the assessmentof syllabi, reflecting the practice of reviewing scholarly work?

What do faculties expect of classroom activities? How do theyassess presentation of instructional materials? Do members of thefaculty exchange classroom visits? If so, by what criteria do theyevaluate what they observe? How is information from studentsconcerning the presentation of materials gathered? Does the facul-ty use a standard instrument for student evaluation of teaching orare multiple instruments used? Who designs them? How has thevalidity of the instruments been established? If graduate studentsteach, are they adequately trained and supervised?

Concerning practices for measuring student achievementreflecting engagement of minds, development of skills, andmotivationdoes the faculty review course examinations forclarity, purpose, and effectiveness? If so, is this done beforethey are administered or after they are graded? Who does thereviewing? Against what criteria are they reviewed?

Beyond periodic and final exams, oral and written, doesthe faculty administer comprehensive essay examinations toseniors, testing their knowledge of history and their organiza-tional, analytical, and writing abilities as well as their insightsand perspectives? Does the faculty require senior researchpapers in which students are expected to demonstrate theseabilities? Does it conduct oral interviews with the same objec-tives in minc Does it use portfolios for reviewing seniors'work during the course of their studies? How does it keeptrack of its graduates and their success in graduate schoolsand careers?

Some of these questions might make history faculties uneasyperhaps all the more reason for not ignoring them. To reviewmajors honestly requires that such questions be addressed.

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8. History faculties should promote the history major effec-tively within the institution and beyond it.

I listorians have a story to tell, a discipline to represent. His-tory is an attractive discipline that needs better descriptions ofits character and purpose for prospective students. What mat-ters most in promoting a history major, of course, is the qualityof its content, structure, and teaching, but the packaging of themajor matters, too.

The purposes and requirements of history majors are typical-IV described blandly in college catalogs, conveying little of theexcitement that the study of history holds. Accordingly, rewrit-ing the catalog is often a first step in improving the presentationof the major. Publishing brochures that describe the purposes,content, structure, requirements, methodology, and pedagogyof the major is also desirable. So, too, is the publication of clearstatements regarding career and prof8sional options open to in-dividuals with degrees in history. Although there may be reluc-tance by the faculty to "market" the history major, if marketing isnecessary to advance it, such reluctance must be set aside. Profes-sional associations in history should be prepared to provide assis-tance to institutions as they seek to improve their publications.

9. To improve and advance their offerings and the place theyclaim in their institutions, history faculties should iden-tify and address questions of strategy.

The task force suggests that history faculties consider the fol-lowing strategic questions as they rethink and redesign theirmajors and courses in their institutions:

How can a faculty foster commitments to excellence inteaching when scholarly research is necessarily a highpriority? Flow can it help its members establish con-nections between their research and their work in theclassroom?

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What changes in the reward structure are needed to en-courage more attention to improving teaching?

What are internal and external forces affecting what facul-ties can and should do? Flow should they be addressed?

How can the history major be made to reflect most clearly thepurposes of the field and the commitments of the faculty?

How can larger departments best address the problemsassociated with the major? Through committees on teach-ing? By establishing clearinghouses of information? Bysponsoring informal gatherings on aspects of teaching?

How can history faculties foster interdisciplinary experi-ences, creating productive ties with other humanities andsocial sciences disciplines?

I iow can history faculties gain allies outside the class-room to support writing requirements in all courses andusing writing assignments more effectively?

What role should historians play in reshaping aninstitution's general education requirements?

How do historians address different constituenciesdifferently?

How do historians deal with questions of citizenshiptheir own and their students'in their courses? What isthe "civic role" of history courses? What are the distinc-tions between citizenship and patriotism?

How do historians establish history more clearly as anintegrating discipline?

How are history majors treated differently from nonrnajors?

How can history have an impact beyond the discipline itself?

:3 3

CONCLUSIONAs noted at the beginning of this report, the historians of the

1990s will carry the past into the twenty-first century. Thisreport provides a rationale, encouragement, and recommenda-tions for carrying it wellthat is to say, for looking closely atthe condition of history in college and university programs andworking swiftly toward improving it. The report, then, is butthe first step in what the members of the task force hope will bea vigorous and imaginative nationwide effort by history facul-ties to rethink, redefine, and redesign the history major and thecourses we offer to our students.

V V V

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