With a provenance stretching far back into antiquity, history is a subject far more crucial than any other for the understanding of the modern world. Far from being a dry, irrelevant collection of dead facts, history virtually fashions the memory of every society and, without it, civilizations would fall into a kind of cultural amnesia that undermines their very national identity. In many ways, then, historians are given the unique task of laying out the master narrative of their homelands. In the United States, this general account has steadily broadened to include the histories of communities (African-American, Latino, Asian-American, women, etc) whose pasts until recently have not been fully included in the story of the American nation.
The skills that students acquire from the study of history prepare them for a great number of professions. To understand the past, history students are required to learn how to assess evidence, how to interpret conflicting versions of the facts, and how to understand the ever-changing, twenty-first century world society in which they live. The broad nature of history training gives its student a great number of career paths. The most direct and traditional of these are education (pre-collegiate and university) and law. It has become increasingly clear, however, that as the American marketplace becomes ever more complex, employers in many businesses are increasingly turning to university graduates who can think on a broad level rather than those equipped with extremely narrow and quickly out-of-date intellectual skills. The adaptability that is the hallmark of history training also equips its students for entrepreneurship in a variety of fields.
To give its graduates the fullest possible academic experience, the History program at Albany State University favors classroom instruction which is both traditional and technologically-advanced as well as such hands on experiences as internships in academic research, law, and government service. The History program works with such local institutions as the Mt. Zion Albany Movement Civil Rights Museum, the Ritz Cultural Center, and the Thronateeska Heritage Center to give its students the opportunity to contribute in the recovery of the fragile past of their own community.
The Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in History is comprised of three emphasis areas:
The History program is supported by substantial library holdings at Albany State University and throughout the University System of Georgia as well as from such large on-line databases as Galileo and JSTOR. The Department of History, Political Science, and Public Administration also has access to a computer laboratory for use by students.
The double major in History and Political Science allows a student to gain the skills associated with the two majors and to do so with a maximum of 133 academic hours. With only one extra semester, a student can attain all of the basic skills of the two majors. After taking the core courses required in both of the majors (60 academic hours), the student will take the major components of the two disciplines. In History, he/she will take courses from three separate areas: American History, European History, and Non-Western History. In Political Science, he/she will take courses from the following areas: International Relations/Comparative Government; American, National, State, and Local Government; and Constitutional Law. The student will then choose a subject in either History or Political Science for his/her senior research project. This concentration will provide students with a very effective program of courses for Pre-Law while also giving them the tools for success in graduate studies.
Dr. Donald Kagay
History Program Coordinato
