History
The History Department introduces students to the serious study of the world's civilizations, and cultivates a perspective through which students begin to see themselves as individuals with opportunities and responsibilities in a modern, post-industrial world. With a focus on primary documents, our aim is for students to gain a particular knowledge of their own immediate culture through the study of United States history, as well as to initiate a study of the human condition in the broadest sense of the term.
By learning to evaluate and use evidence to make qualified generalizations, our students develop analytical skills that will serve them in college and beyond. All history courses require short, carefully structured papers that demand close analysis of primary sources, and longer term papers that require extensive research on a particular topic or issue.
Ultimately, we are committed to the notion that the study of history is an integral component in the general humanizing process of a liberal education. We encourage our students, as they study specific periods, cultures, and historical themes, to develop the intellectual skepticism and analytical rigor to identify demagoguery, hagiography, and the parochialisms of ethnicity and gender.
History Department News
Sharing the work of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, Blain encourages students to contribute to the fight for equity and inclusion
How it started and how it’s going: the SASMUN conference
History teacher Wilson Everhart ’95 gave this chapel talk at the Thursday night service following family-style Thanksgiving dinner on November 17, 2022.
History Courses
Click any course title to learn more.
United States History: Research Challenges
- History
- Required for Graduation
- Yearlong
Advanced Study in History: American Social Reform Movements
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: Coming of Age: America in the Early Atomic Era
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: Democracy, Power, and Empire—Athens in the 5th Century BC
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: Empire of Liberty?—The United States in the World
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: Histories of Hate: American Racism and German Anti-Semitism
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: The Modern Middle East
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Latin American History
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: Research Seminar
- Advanced Study
- History
- Required for Graduation
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: A World at War
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: Modern Africa
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: The Atlantic World in the Age of Revolutions
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Civic Studies
- History
- Semester-Long
Global Studies
- History
- Semester-Long
Mapping the Past: History and GIS
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: The Cult of Saints
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
Advanced Study in History: The History of American Conservatism
- Advanced Study
- History
- Semester-Long
History Faculty
Jonah-Kai Baker
Titles:
History, Head Coach – Varsity Volleyball, Assistant Coach – Boys JV Basketball
Matthew Edmonds
Titles:
History Department Chair, Head Coach - Baseball, Head Coach – Boys Thirds Basketball
Kyra Wilson
Affinity Group Leader:
GQ (Gender Queer) Affinity
Titles:
History, Lower Mein Dorm Parent, Head Coach - Girls JV Soccer, Head Coach - Thirds Volleyball