Session Abstract

There has been interest recently in defining and even defending the role of History in the general education of an informed and engaged society. Defining History as a distinctive contributor to students’ education might seem to call for closing ranks and turning departments into disciplinary bastions. However, the members of this panel would like to encourage another approach. By creating tangible connections for students between History and the other disciplines, educators can emphasize both the distinctive perspective and unique skills that the study of history provides, and also how these skills can be beneficial to, and augmented by, the study of other disciplines.

Each of the presentations will promote active discussion by the audience in order to involve our fellow educators in the conversation about connecting History to other disciplines. The panel welcomes all history educators from high school teachers and graduate students to research institution faculty. To aid this discussion, the presentations will provide copies of materials that have been helpful in connecting the disciplines: sample syllabi, program descriptions, student involvement data, examples of online forums, and interdisciplinary assignments.

 The panel is organized to show the connection of history to other disciplines at the institutional level, then the departmental level, and finally within the course itself. John Bezís-Selfa, Associate Professor of History at Wheaton College, provides the presentation, “Connecting History: Our Discipline’s Role in an Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Core.” Here he discusses Wheaton’s institution-wide initiative called “Connections.” “Connections” requires students to take inter-disciplinary pairings of courses from the Creative Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Math, and History. Because History is the only field identified independently of its general categorization, it has been prominent in students’ Connections. Bezís-Selfa addresses the role that History plays in the Connections initiative and how this curricular reform impacts the way that History is taught at Wheaton.

Sarah Shurts, Assistant Professor of History at Bergen Community College, discusses “Pairing History with “The Other Disciplines”: Linked courses and Learning Communities in History Education.” Shurts explores the linking of courses between disciplines as part of a departmental effort to create learning communities for History. The purpose of learning communities is to encourage students to value the unique skills that History offers while also recognizing its ability to transcend disciplinary boundaries to enhance, and be enhanced by, any field. Shurts provides an overview of the implementation of these learning communities at Bergen and also a detailed discussion a Genocide and Holocaust history course linked with a Literature course.

Nancy Quam-Wickham, Professor of History at California State University Long Beach, offers “History for STEM majors: Pitfalls, Opportunities, and Rewards.” Quam-Wickham discusses how History departments can offer courses that connect to other disciplines, particularly STEM, within the course itself. Her presentation will discuss how history courses can complicate and augment the STEM major’s education. Quam-Wickham will also explore how history education at CSU-Long Branch has been enriched by exchange with other fields that yield new areas of interest such as Environmental history or the history of science and technology.