History Major
Major Requirements
Knowledge Depth
Majors should develop a depth of knowledge within a particular field of history that can be defined in terms of geography or chronology. They choose a track from one of the below fields of study.
Complete one of the following tracks:
Each track requires three courses that must be completed at Bates:
- one 100-level survey;
- two or more 200-level, 300-level, or Short Term courses.
Africa Track
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: Africa) attribute, following the guidelines above.
Asia Track
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: Asia) attribute, following the guidelines above.
Europe Track
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: Europe) attribute, following the guidelines above.
Latin American Track
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: Latin America) attribute, following the guidelines above.
United States Track
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: United States) attribute, following the guidelines above.
Pre-Modern Track (ca. pre-1500)
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: Premodern) attribute, following the guidelines above.
Early Modern Track (ca. 1500-1800)
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: Early Modern) attribute, following the guidelines above.
Modern History Track (ca. 1800-Present)
Complete at least three courses designated with the (History: Modern) attribute, following the guidelines above.
Knowledge Breadth
Majors should develop a breadth of knowledge across time and space.
Chronological Breadth
Complete one course from each of the three chronological fields:
Pre-Modern History
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: Premodern) attribute.
Early Modern History
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: Early Modern) attribute.
Modern History
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: Modern) attribute.
Geographical Breadth
Complete one course from four out of the five geographic fields:
Africa
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: Africa) attribute.
Asia
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: Asia) attribute.
Europe
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: Europe) attribute.
Latin American
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: Latin America) attribute.
United States
Complete at least one course designated with the (History: United States) attribute.
Seminar
Complete one HIST 301 Seminars seminar course
Majors must take a History seminar during their sophomore or junior year and before studying abroad. The seminar should also be completed before taking HIST 399 Historical Methods.
Methods
Complete the following course:
- HIST 399 Historical Methods
The department strongly encourages students to take HIST 399 in the semester immediately prior to writing their thesis. HIST 399 helps prepare students for writing their thesis, and students complete a thesis proposal that helps launch the thesis itself.
Students who are interested in the possibility of an honors thesis will ideally take 399 during the winter semester of their junior year. This means they should consider studying abroad in the fall rather than winter of their junior year.
Senior Thesis
Complete at least one course from the following:
Senior history majors write a thesis in the fall (HIST 457 Senior Thesis) or winter semester (HIST 458 Senior Thesis). Thesis writing develops the skills learned in previous courses and demonstrates the ability to work independently as a historian.
Courses Taken Outside of Bates
Majors must take a minimum of eight history courses from Bates faculty members. This means that students may use a maximum of two credits taken elsewhere (transfer or off-campus study courses) toward the major requirements, subject to department approval. Courses taken outside Bates may count toward Knowledge Depth and Knowledge Breadth requirements but cannot count as a 301 seminar or HIST 399 Historical Methods. To request that an external course count toward the major, students should submit a copy of the syllabus to their academic advisor, preferably before they register for the external course. To be eligible to count for department credit, the course should include material beyond lectures and exams, including some combination of outside reading assignments and substantive written work that includes instructor feedback. Advanced Placement credits, awarded for a score of four or five on the relevant examination, may count toward overall College graduation requirements but do not count toward the history major or minor.
Pass/Fail
Pass/Fail grading may not be elected for courses applied toward the major.
Restricted Declarations
Students who have declared the History major may not declare the following:
- History minor
Students who have declared the History major with the Latin American track may not declare the following:
- Latin American and Latinx Studies (C072) GEC
Other Considerations
No more than one Short Term course may count toward the major.
Each spring, the department invites outstanding junior majors to become candidates for graduation with departmental honors. There are three principal advantages to this program for the qualified student: first, the two-semester schedule, with two course credits, allows more time for the maturation of the project and grants twice the academic credit for the related research and writing; second, the mutual understanding of the honors candidate and the thesis advisor that the completed work is to be presented to other interested readers also contributes to an enhanced relationship and a shared commitment that it be brought to a satisfactory conclusion; third, the quality of this relationship and of the completed work can inform much more substantive letters of recommendation, based on the student's demonstrated competence, discipline, and independence, the personal characteristics most sought by professional schools and potential employers alike. Departmental invitees must discuss proposed topics with the preferred advisor before the beginning of the academic year. They must produce sufficient written work of sufficiently good quality by the end of the fall semester of the senior year to justify formal nomination by the history department to the College's honors committee. They must also present their work to a faculty panel, including an outside examiner, at the end of the winter semester in an oral defense.