History

History students at Pacific Lutheran University develop the skills needed to ask important questions, collect and evaluate evidence, work collaboratively with others, and offer clear and evidence-based explanations of past events and phenomena.

Through research and writing projects, internships, lively discussions, class presentations and other opportunities, students build their confidence as poised critical thinkers and effective communicators. History students can study off campus for a month or a semester in many parts of the world, earning credit that counts toward a History major or minor.

Make choices about your future while studying the past.  History faculty provide individual advising that supports students as they develop their vocational interests, career paths, and graduate study plans.

Bachelor of Arts Degree

Major in History

Minimum of 36 semester hours, including at least 8 semester hours from courses in 2 of the following thematic categories, to total a minimum of 16 credits:

• Social Justice, Race, and Ethnicity
• Identities, Communities, and Conflict
• Migrations, Colonization, and Resistance
• Politics, Nations, and Leaders
• Workers, Technology, and the Environment

In addition, all majors are required to take 4 semester hours of historical methods and research (HIST 301), 4 semester hours of seminar credits (HIST 499), and three elective courses (12 semester hours). Completion of the seminar course satisfies the core requirement for a senior seminar/project.

Students are expected to work closely with the department’s faculty advisors to ensure the most personalized programs and instruction possible. Writing is emphasized across the curriculum.

All History majors must complete Option I, II or III of the College of Arts and Sciences Requirement.

All History majors must take 20 semester hours of upper-division work in History for the major.

All courses in History taken at PLU by a History major must be completed with grades of C- or better. Students will not be allowed to enroll in HIST 301 or HIST 499 until they have earned a grade of C- or better in every history class they have taken at PLU.

For the major at least 20 semester hours must be completed at PLU, including HIST 301 before taking HIST 499.

Those majors who are preparing for public school teaching can meet the state history requirement by enrolling in HIST 351.

Minor

Minimum of 20 semester hours, including at least 8 semester hours from courses in 1 of the following thematic categories:

• Social Justice, Race, and Ethnicity
• Identities, Communities, and Conflict
• Migrations, Colonization, and Resistance
• Politics, Nations, and Leaders
• Workers, Technology, and the Environment

The other courses for the minor are non-specified electives. Overall, the minor requires a minimum of 8 semester hours from courses numbered above 300.

For the minor at least 12 semester hours must be completed at PLU, including 8 of upper-division courses.

Maintain a minimum 2.50 GPA in courses to be counted towards the minor.

Continuation Policy

To remain in the major, junior and senior-level students must:

• maintain a minimum 2.50 overall GPA, and
• maintain a minimum 2.50 GPA in history courses.

Courses in the Department of History are Offered in the Following Thematic Categories

Social Justice, Race, and Ethnicity:

• HIST 210: Contemporary Global Issues
• HIST 252: 19th-Century U.S. History
• HIST 323: The Middle Ages
• HIST 337: The History of Mexico
• HIST 348: Lewis and Clark
• HIST 357: African-American History

Identities, Communities, and Conflict:

• HIST 260: Early Modern European History
• HIST 321: Greek Civilization
• HIST 325: European Reformations
• HIST 349: U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction
• HIST 351: History of the Western and Pacific Northwest U.S.
• HIST 359: History of Women in the United States
• HIST 360: The Holocaust
• HIST 362: Christians in Nazi Germany
• HIST 369: History of Modern Palestine and Israel

Migrations, Colonization, and Resistance:

• HIST 102: The Pre-Modern World
• HIST 103: Conflicts and Convergences in the Modern World
• HIST 109: East Asian Societies
• HIST 251: Colonial American History
• HIST 320: European Encounters, 1400-1800
• HIST 333: Colonization and Genocide in Native North America
• HIST 335: Slavery, Pirates, and Dictatorships

Politics, Nations, and Leaders:

• HIST 107: Ancient Near East
• HIST 220: Modern Latin American History
• HIST 224: Modern European History
• HIST 247: U.S. Capitalism
• HIST 253: 20th-Century U.S. History
• HIST 322: Roman Civilization
• HIST 329: Europe and the World Wars
• HIST 332: Tudor England
• HIST 352: The American Revolution

Workers, Technology, and the Environment:

• HIST 254: Hanford and the Atomic Age
• HIST 248: Innovation, Ethics, Society
• HIST 305: Slavery in the Americas
• HIST 324: Medici Florence
• HIST 346: History of Innovation and Technology
• HIST 370: Environmental History of the United States

Other Fields: 287, 288, 289, 291, 301, 387, 388, 389, 491, 495, 499