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Academic Programs

History

Row of books at a library

The history major at Salem invites students to explore historical narratives through the lens of race, class, gender, ethnicity and place. Students focus on American history and the history of Western Civilization and select from a variety of courses dealing with several non-Western regions. History students will delve into the particular histories of American and European women, American Indians and African Americans and explore the impacts of colonialism, race and empire. Salem offers a bachelor of arts with a history as well as a minor in history.


Student Experience

Students in this program will learn to think critically about pivotal events that have shaped social, political, and economic systems. Among the department’s objectives are the understanding of historiography; an appreciation of the roles of race, class, and gender in transforming politics and culture; and the development of personal skills in research, writing, analysis, and criticism. Salem students engage in a wide array of activities including the model United Nations, provide service to the local and global communities and publish peer-reviewed scholarly work in relevant journals.


Health Leadership Highlights

  • The history program continues to offer several courses that contribute to Salem’s new health humanities major. These classes include the history of medicine, the Black Death and the history of U.S. public health policy.
  • These courses guide students to understand current health issues by contextualizing them with historical antecedents, such as performing research on comparative pandemics.

Jobs and Outcomes

Students who earn a degree in history perform future studies in law, museum study, public history, and advanced cultural studies.  As a field that helps students develop excellent writing and critical thinking skills, history is a good pathway into a wide range of careers that rely on these skills. It also points students towards history-related fields including teaching and museum work.


Program Leadership

To meet other faculty, please go to the faculty/staff directory.

Alanna Natanson

Success Stories

Alanna Natanson

Alanna Natanson 2018

Honestly, it wasn’t until I studied abroad and had to be away from Salem that I realized how unusual it is to find so much love on one campus. We know we can reach out to our professors for academic feedback and get a marathon conversation on the purpose of our lives out of the deal too. I discovered it’s not a thing everywhere to get birthday wishes from your school’s president on Facebook or to grab apple cider with your Dean of the College.

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