AHA Session 32
Friday, January 3, 2025: 3:30 PM-5:00 PM
Sutton South (New York Hilton, Second Floor)
Chair:
Edward Cohn, Grinnell College
Panel:
Timothy J. Burke, Swarthmore College
Edward Cohn, Grinnell College
Jenny Day, Skidmore College
Brenna Wynn Greer, Wellesley College
Johanna Mellis, Ursinus College
Edward Cohn, Grinnell College
Jenny Day, Skidmore College
Brenna Wynn Greer, Wellesley College
Johanna Mellis, Ursinus College
Session Abstract
For decades, the centerpiece of many history departments has been the survey course: an introductory or intermediate class designed to cover a region's history during a defined and often extensive time period. At this roundtable, faculty members from four small liberal arts colleges will ask if we should simply retain the traditional survey course; revise, reimagine, or reinvent the survey; or even reject it entirely. Do survey courses overemphasize “coverage” and chronological breadth at the expense of historical thinking? Or do survey classes model important lessons about global, regional, and national histories? Sponsored by the AHA’s Working Group on Small Liberal Arts Colleges, this roundtable is part of a larger effort to build community among SLAC faculty and to create new venues for the discussion of issues facing historians at liberal arts colleges.
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