We present the past in all its complexity.
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The student of history delves into the intricacies of individual lives, whether celebrated or obscured, scrutinizes the causes and repercussions of events, both renowned and overlooked, and illuminates the influence wielded by institutions and ideologies. Our faculty endeavor to explore with students the vast spectrum of human experience across time through a diverse array of courses offered at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Our curriculum traverses continents and epochs, encompassing Africa, East Asia, Europe, the Islamic World, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. Within these studies, we delve into thematic and comparative analyses on a myriad of topics, ranging from gender dynamics, labor relations, race and class issues, to the realms of politics, environment, climate change, emotions, and violence.
We prepare history majors for careers after graduation.
Through the development of crucial skills in interpretation and analysis, a history degree equips our students for success in today's society, preparing them to be well-informed citizens and valuable contributors to the workforce. Our alumni pursue diverse career paths, spanning fields such as social studies education, public history, and various levels of government and law.
At the undergraduate level, we offer three majors: History BA, History-BSED (for secondary education), and History-BSED (for elementary education). Additionally, we provide opportunities for specialization through four minors: History, Public History, Polish Studies, and Game Studies. For those seeking advanced studies, our graduate programs include a Master of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in Public History.
We are a department engaged with our local community.
Lastly, our social studies program and public history program cultivate strong partnerships with nearby schools and community organizations in Connecticut. To further this goal, we have established three in-house partnerships: the Connecticut League of Museums, the Witness Stones Project, and CT Explored.
"Evidence is always partial. Facts are not truth, though they are part of it – information is not knowledge. And history is not the past – it is the method we have evolved of organising our ignorance of the past. It’s the record of what’s left on the record. It’s the plan of the positions taken, when we stop the dance to note them down. It’s what’s left in the sieve when the centuries have run through it – a few stones, scraps of writing, scraps of cloth. It is no more “the past” than a birth certificate is a birth, or a script is a performance, or a map is a journey. It is the multiplication of the evidence of fallible and biased witnesses, combined with incomplete accounts of actions not fully understood by the people who performed them. It’s no more than the best we can do, and often it falls short of that."
- Hilary Mantel