History

The History Department serves the Baldwin Wallace University community and the greater Cleveland area by providing academic expertise in a wide variety of historical fields and by offering multiple, balanced perspectives on human history.

The Department of History views the purposes of teaching history to be: (1) to supply the student with an understanding of the past upon which the structure of contemporary society is built; (2) to provide students with a sound foundation in history in order to teach; (3) to prepare students for graduate school, government service or professional school; (4) to assist students in developing skills in critical thinking and writing; and (5) to present a historical background for the arts, music, literature, religion, philosophy, the sciences, social sciences and business of the present.

The Department maintains a commitment to highest academic standards and to the “best practices” recommended by the American Historical Association (https://www.historians.org/pubs/Free LiberalLearning.htm). We believe that historians must be able to analyze primary sources, think critically about them, examine problems from multiple perspectives, and communicate ideas effectively in writing. Therefore all history courses include essay-type examinations and/or term papers, book reviews, or other written, graded assignments. We furthermore believe that the teaching of history should challenge students to understand the historical contexts of ethical issues. Moreover, the History Department remains committed to presenting the human element in history and to the interests of our students as individuals.

Program notes: A general prerequisite for all 200, 300, and 400-level courses is the successful completion of a 100-level history course.

The only other prerequisites are for HIS 461 and HIS 491 / HIS 492 . A minimum of 19 credit hours in history courses is required before enrollment in HIS 461 , and HIS 491 / HIS 492 requires the permission of the instructor. History courses at the 100 and 200 level are survey courses and may be approached chronologically or topically, as the interests of the professor and the students warrant. The 300-level courses are in-depth studies of particular topics or periods and are typically offered every other year. HIS 260(I,D) and HIS 360(I) may be taken more than once, provided the topic has been changed.

A transfer student is required to take at least 19 history credits at BW to graduate with a history major.