History Department

Mission

The History Department educates students holistically, promoting interdisciplinary discourse, well-roundedness, and a commitment to social justice in accordance with the mission of Regis College and the Sisters of St. Joseph. 

Goals

• Through a process of scholarly engagement, dialogue, and demonstration students will recognize and analyze key historical events, ideas, individuals, artifacts, and institutions that have shaped our knowledge of the world
• Through an interwoven process of coursework and practical experiences, students will learn the historiography, methods, and theories associated with heritage studies in a core curriculum which draws on several disciplines and serves to develop the central theme: understanding the meaning, function, and values associated with culture, heritage; and practically applying these ideas, in conjunction with the skills developed in their courses, in a way that serves and educates their community in accordance with the mission of Regis College and the Sisters of St. Joseph.
• Ultimately students will be asked to reflect upon their experiences, helping them to become better consumers of historical constructs and their contexts

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Identify and analyze, through surveys and advanced level courses in history, key events, ideas, individuals, artifacts, and institutions that have shaped our knowledge of the world
• Analyze current and historical concepts in a scholarly manner by undertaking original research which includes critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, peer-reviewed works, and alternative forms of cultural memory, including but not limited to oral history, folklore, material culture, literature, and ethnography
• Engage in dialogues which cross disciplinary lines by opening historical inquiry to the methods, theoretical models, collected data, and perspectives of complementary disciplines.
• Utilize interdisciplinary approaches, in a historical context, in such a way which serves to place history, heritage, culture, and identity into a global perspective, illuminating common issues and threads extending from the local level to the world community
• Demonstrate, through experiential learning opportunities, field work, co-curricular activities, and internships, how to apply historical consciousness and the historian’s craft beyond the Regis College experience

The faculty of the History Department is dedicated to the education of each student as an individual. Expanding on the Regis College Mission Statement, programs in the History Department are designed with individual preferences and goals in mind as students are prepared for leadership and service.

Faculty members seek to make the study of history meaningful on many levels through both classroom instruction and experiential learning which bring the past to life and make it relevant to today’s world.

Dedicated faculty, small class size, and the value of individual attention are the hallmarks of the History Department at Regis College.