History Degrees Online

Fields within the Major
Fields refer to what was formerly called “Concentrations.” As before, each Field consists of 2 units of coursework, or 4 courses, at least 3 of which must be taken in the Kenyon History Department. Fields should be chosen when the Major is declared, and signed off at the same time with the Chair.

All first and second-year students declaring the major in 2005-06 or later should choose one Field, either regional or comparative, from the following:

Regional: Latin America, US, Asia, Europe, Africa, and African-American

Comparative: Medieval, Women’s & Gender, Colonial/Imperial

Fields should include:
2 units of coursework overall
At least 1 course at the 100 level
1 course at the 200 level or a second course at the 100 level
At least 1 upper level (300-400) seminar
Comparative fields must include courses from more than one region.

One course (1/2 unit) toward the field may come from outside the department.

The major in history is composed of 40 semester hours of history courses. The courses are integrated into the major in such a way as to provide academic work in a range of periods, geographical areas, and cultural contexts.

Most of the courses at the 100- and 200-level may be taken without prerequisites; however, the department does recommend a sequence that begins with relatively introductory courses and progresses toward more specialized courses. Whatever the particular combination, the net effect as determined by the department shall be that the spirit of distribution will be upheld so that a student has some breadth as well as depth in her course of study. While the particular combinations of courses are individualized, the department expects that students will be exposed to the study of the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and other areas of the world.
Category I: Introductory Level

Students considering a major in history are advised to complete Category I by the end of their sophomore year. History majors who have received a grade of four or five on the advanced placement exam in history may opt to take only two introductory courses.
Category II: Specialization

Three courses with a specific geographical (such as Asia, Europe, or the U.S.) or thematic (such as race or gender) focus. One course in Category I may count in Category II.
Category III: Breadth

Three courses covering required topics: one course with a focus on race and ethnicity history (AST 240, HIST 210, HIST 213, HIST 217, HIST 237, HIST 240), one course in early or pre-modern history (HIST 202, HIST 222, HIST 223, HIST 224, HIST 225, HIST 235, HIST 240, HIST 241, HIST 371), and one course in historical gender studies (HIST 204, HIST 207, HIST 215, HIST 216, HIST 219, HIST 230, HIST 360).
Category IV: Methods

All majors must take HIST 260: Interpreting the Past, preferably in their junior year.
Category V: Advanced Work

One history course above the 350–level. An independent study course from another department may be counted towards this requirement. The course must involve advanced work in history, the student must petition for the course to count towards the history requirement, and the history faculty must approve the petition by a majority vote.