/ History Department

Courses

Our courses cover the globe and span time. From the ancient world to the present day, from pre-colonial Africa and the Greek world to modern China, recent America and World War II, our courses explore a multitude of cultures and backgrounds.

The discipline of history seeks to understand how men and women have lived in different times and places, what they have thought and experienced, and how to use their records that have come down to us.

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For a complete list of upcoming classes or to see course details, including dates, times and professors, please see .

Sample Course Plan

A minimum of 36 credits in history is required for a major — but feel free to take as many as you want. Loading....

Meeting the requirements of your history major will look different depending on when you declare your major. Here are some sample plans based on the year when you declare.

Prior to the Freshman Year
  FALL SEMESTER SPRING SEMESTER
YEAR 1 Pre-1500 HIST 140 & one HIST 200
YEAR 2 American Non-Western
YEAR 3 Post-1500 Global
YEAR 4 Two electives Seminar
Prior to the Sophomore Year
  FALL SEMESTER SPRING SEMESTER
YEAR 2 HIST 140 & one HIST 200 American
YEAR 3 Pre-1500 & one elective Post-1500 & one Global
YEAR 4 Seminar Non-Western & one elective
Prior to the Junior Year
  FALL SEMESTER SPRING SEMESTER
YEAR 3 HIST 140, one HIST 200 & pre-1500 Post-1500, American & non-Western
YEAR 4 Global & one elective Seminar & one elective

Tips for History Students

Students have considerable latitude in the order in which they take their history classes. However, keep in mind a few general principles that will help you make the most of your history education at Hope:

  • Take HIST 140 as early as possible. In this class you learn research and writing skills that will help you do well in all your history classes.
  • Take a 200-level class before you take a 300-level class, as 300-level classes require more reading and writing than 200-level classes.
  • For the purpose of challenging yourself, take full advantage of the wide variety of 200-level and 300-level classes offered after one or two survey courses at the 100 level.
  • Because of significant content overlap, do not take HIST 130 and HIST 207, or HIST 131 and HIST 208. For example, if you have taken HIST 130, you could take either HIST 131 or HIST 208. If you have taken HIST 208, you could take either HIST 130 or HIST 207.
  • A course can be counted toward no more than one distribution requirement.
  • Finally, Hope offers many foreign language classes and study abroad opportunities. Take advantage of these to prepare for graduate study in history or simply to have a richer experience as a history major.