HIST 466
History Travel Study
Catalog Entry
HIST 466
History Travel Study
Credit Hours: (3-6)
Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST at the 100 level.
Involves domestic and/or international travel. Students will participate in the investigation of historical topics in relevant locations. One of the goals of the course is to allow students to better understand and relate to historical issues specific to countries and regions by exploring them 'on location.' This course may be taken again for credit with different topics or areas of study. Designation of the course as counting for area 'A,' 'B,' or 'C' of the History major will depend on the course content, and must be established before the student enrolls. This course can count for a maximum of 3 credit hours in any one of those areas of the History major. A maximum of 6 credit hours of travel study may be applied towards the History major. A maximum of 3 credit hours of travel study may be applied towards the History minor or the Social Science major.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
This course involves travel, domestic or international, to locations of historical interest, in order to engage in the study of specific historical topics. The course will encourage engagement in primary and secondary sources which are specifically available at the travel destinations. Topic and major units are to be determined by the instructor.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
In order to engage students in the historical process and the interpretation of historical events, any or all of the above instructional strategies may be employed. The choice of appropriate instructional strategies is at the discretion of the instructor.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
Department Goals:
1. Students will practice thinking critically and analytically about historical issues,
acquire a broader knowledge and deeper understanding of pertinent historical events
and processes, and cultivate a familiarity with the concepts of historical argument
and interpretation.
2. Students will develop disciplinary research skills by designing strategies to locate
and analyze primary and secondary source evidence, processing and organizing the resultant
data, and composing proper citation and bibliographical entries.
3. Students will apply their critical thinking, research, and compositional skills
to the creation and presentation of thesis driven essays that discuss, for example,
historical social, economic, political, and/or cultural developments and that address
issues such as the causes and consequences of historical change and continuity.
Course Goals:
Students who have successfully completed this course (History majors and non-majors)
will be able to place their travel/study experience in historical context and will
demonstrate their ability to do that by means to be determined by the individual faculty
member. History majors who have completed HIST 466 will have asked interesting and
fruitful questions, have found and accumulated sources, evaluated those sources, and
produced a well-written and well-argued summary of their findings. In the process,
they will demonstrate their ability to read critically, analyze information, and process,
organize, and report their findings in writing.
Assessment Measures
Knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this course may be measured
using an array of assessment tools that can include written examinations, class attendance
and participation, formal papers (book analyses, research projects, and primary source
analyses) and informal writing assignments. All exercises are designed to expand the
student's ability to evaluate historical events and to develop his or her ability
to compose persuasive arguments.
Pre-travel reading assignments will be subject to written assessment measures and
strategies to be determined by the instructor. History majors will meet a minimum
writing requirement, the content and results of which will also be determined and
assessed by the instructor
Other Course Information
None
Review and Approval
Date Action Reviewed By
October 2010 Reviewed and Approved by Sharon Roger Hepburn
04/2011