History Degrees Online

Many people “love” history because it offers them a chance to step outside their immediate surroundings and find enjoyment in a different time and space. Historians also enjoy history, yet they add a distinctive critical thinking and writing dimension to their study. Taking elective or required courses leading toward a major and minor in history or, for non-majors, simply taking elective courses, allows students to greatly improve their ability to understand our multicultural and global world, improve their research skills, critically analyze documents, and solve problems requiring a breadth of knowledge. A major in history is an excellent preparation for careers in teaching, research, law, government service, management, and a variety of graduate programs.

Our department consists of six full-time members and a network of adjunct instructors. Dedicated professionals who are committed both to their scholarship and to their students’ academic success, they cover a wide range of fields including:
American History: Paul Siff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Twentieth-Century American History; Jake Lundberg, MA, Instructor in Nineteenth-Century American History; and Jennifer McLaughlin, MA, Instructor in Eighteenth-Century American History
Latin American History: Charlotte Gradie, Ph.D., Professor
Asian History: Thomas Curran, Ph.D., Professor
European History: John B. Roney, Ph.D., Department Chair, Professor
Ancient History: Gregory Viggiano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

They oversee a 36-credit major within which some 90 students are currently enrolled, and they administer a number of ancillary programs in area studies, service learning, and study abroad as well as a chapter of the national history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta. In addition, the department encourages and offers support for internships and independent study projects that offer students opportunities to refine their research and writing skills while pursuing specialized learning objectives, and numerous study abroad opportunities to enhance their global perspectives.

If the past, as is often said, is a foreign country, the modern traveler needs to know something of its language, geography, and customs. Everyone and everything has a past, and close, systematic study of these pasts can yield important insights about the present and, sometimes, clues about the future. As members of La Salle’s History department, we therefore see our discipline as the one that provides the contextual glue for the other liberal arts and sciences. For this reason it is an important foundation of La Salle’s core curriculum.

While intended as a general guide for History majors and minors, we hope that this website will also help those interested in the past, regardless of academic discipline. Thus, in addition to course descriptions, faculty biographies, publications, and contact information, we consider it vital to mention the many activities of our students and their organizations.

Our Historical Society, chartered in 1936, is one of the oldest and most active student organizations on campus. In addition to running trips, films, and other activities with historical themes, it publishes an award-winning student academic journal, The Histories, twice a year. The Society also sponsors an annual fall symposium featuring top scholars such as James McPherson on topics ranging from American foreign policy during the Civil War to the question of German responsibility for the outbreak of World War I.

The Department hosts the Nu Psi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society. Nu Psi had the distinction of winning a national honorable mention for its work during the fortieth anniversary of the Marshall Plan.

More recently, with the help of a generous grant from alumnus John McHale, the Department has sponsored an annual competition for the Leo Award, which highlights the best student essays on the history of Philadelphia. Winners receive generous cash awards for their efforts.