History
201 Humanities
(831) 459-2982
http://history.ucsc.edu/
Faculty
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Course Descriptions
(There were no substantive changes to the History Program Description from the General Catalog 2006-08.)
Program Description
History is the attempt to understand the meanings of the
human life experience, not generally and abstractly, but in terms of specific
individuals, events, and circumstances. Consequently, of all academic pursuits,
it is the one best equipped to help us locate phenomena in their specific
contexts, whether we are concerned with political events, social changes, the
production of art, the development of technologies, scientific discoveries, or
life stories. In this sense, the study of history can also be an invaluable
complement to any other major.
The history program at UCSC is designed to bring
about an understanding of the ideas, experiences, and events that have shaped
this country and the world at large. The program's main emphases are in social
and cultural history, with additional strengths in intellectual and political
history.
A degree in history opens up a wide range of career
possibilities. Some careers fall within the historical profession, including
teaching at the university, college, and high school levels and working in
various areas of public and applied history, such as historic preservation,
archives, libraries, and museums. For careers in fields as diverse as law,
business, government, foreign service, publishing, journalism, and communications,
a degree in history lays the foundation in research, analytic, and writing
skills upon which later professional training can be built.
Requirements for the Major
A minimum of 12 courses is required for the major. The
history major does not require an exam for entrance and does not limit the
number of students accepted into the program. It is advisable to complete at
least one introductory history course before declaring the major.
At UCSC, the history curriculum offers three broad,
geographically defined regions of concentration:
- The Americas and
Africa
- Europe
- Asia and the Islamic
World
Course requirements. Each
history major selects one of the three regions of concentration listed above.
History majors who enter UCSC during fall 2002 or later are required to take at
least one lower-division survey course within their chosen region of
concentration. A list of the lower-division survey courses offered within each
region is available from the history undergraduate adviser. Transfer students
may be able to apply survey courses taken prior to entering UCSC towards this
requirement. In consultation with the history undergraduate adviser and a
faculty adviser, the student plans a program of study that will also fulfill
the following distribution of courses:
- five courses in the
region of concentration, one of which must be a lower-division survey course;
three of the remaining courses must be upper-division;
- two courses from each
of the remaining two regions of concentration;
- two upper-division
history electives based in any of the regions of concentration;
- one senior
comprehensive requirement (see below) based in the region of concentration.
Students may also choose to organize their
course selections according to some general theme of special interest to them.
Faculty and staff advisers will assist students who choose this option.
In addition to all course work, history majors must
complete a senior check in the first quarter of their senior year and an exit
survey at the time they declare their intention to graduate. For details, see
the undergraduate handbook.
Distribution requirements.
Among the 12 courses required for the major, at least three courses must be set
in periods prior to the year 1800, and one of these courses must be set before
600 A.D. Also, no more than four of the minimum 12 courses may be
lower-division.
Interdisciplinary course work. The History Department
encourages its majors to take upper-division courses in disciplines related to
history, including sociology, literature, community studies, American studies,
politics, Latin American and Latino studies, and others. Students who wish to
substitute one or two such appropriate upper-division courses for history
electives must meet with their history faculty adviser and complete a course
substitution form (available at the History Department office and online).
These courses are subject to the limitations described below under the
"Transfer credits and substitutions" section and may not be applied toward a
second major or a minor from another department.
Comprehensive requirement.
The senior comprehensive requirement in area of concentration can be fulfilled
by completing a senior seminar (one quarter: 190-series, 194-series, or
196-series) or a senior thesis (two quarters: courses 195A and 195B). Please
consult the history undergraduate handbook, available at the department office,
for a more detailed description of these courses.
Language recommendation.
Proficiency in a foreign language is strongly recommended for all history students
and is essential for those who plan to pursue graduate studies in history. Many
Ph.D. programs in history require applicants to read one or two languages
besides English. The University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP) is
appropriate for history majors as a means to both enhance language skills and
take history courses elsewhere.
UC Education Abroad Program.
Subject to the limitations described below under "Transfer credits and
substitutions," up to three courses in history completed through EAP may be
applied toward major requirements. Consult the undergraduate handbook, and
speak with the staff adviser for further details.
Transfer
credits and substitutions. Students may apply up to three courses taken
at another institution. A minimum of five regularly scheduled history courses
plus the comprehensive requirement must be taken from members of the UCSC
History faculty. Subject to the limits indicated in parentheses, a total of
three courses from the following categories may also be applied to the history
major:
Education Abroad Program
(limit of 3)
UCDC (limit of 2)
UC in Sacramento (limit of 2)
Related courses taken in
another UCSC
department (limit of 2)
Independent and field studies
(limit of 2)
The intensive major in Mexican/Chicano history has
been suspended. Students may consult Associate Professor Pedro Castillo (pcastle@ucsc.edu) or the department's undergraduate
adviser to identify courses of interest in this subject area.
Requirements for the Minor
Students whose major area of interest is not history may
nonetheless find that a minor in history makes an invaluable contribution to
their studies. For the minor in history, eight history courses, four of which
must be upper division, are required. There is no senior comprehensive
requirement for the minor.
Graduate Program
The Ph.D. program in history at UCSC emphasizes an
interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach to historical studies. The
History Department offers a rigorous program of instruction and independent
work that trains students in the techniques of original historical research and
equips them to teach university-level courses in history. The department only
admits those highly motivated students who are most qualified to pursue advanced
studies in history. The department also only admits those applicants who can
best benefit from the specific strengths of our faculty.
Just as the work of most professional historians
centers around research and teaching, training in these areas constitutes the
two essential poles of the graduate program in history.
In preparing graduate students for research and
teaching at the university level, the department offers training in four
geographically and chronologically defined fields: U.S. history, European
history since 1500, East Asian history since 1600, and world history since
1500. U.S., European, and East Asian history are defined as primary teaching
fields; each graduate student is required to choose one. Students of U.S.
history may incorporate Latin American history in their course work, while
students of European history might include the history of European colonialism
and imperialism. Every year the faculty in each field offer introductory
readings seminars and, when possible, classes on more specific topics (see
below for information about course offerings). Each graduate student also
prepares a second teaching field different from the primary field and can
choose from among U.S., European, East Asian, or world history. Students may
also petition the graduate committee to prepare a secondary teaching field in
African or Latin American history.
The History Department has created a series of
thematic research clusters to coordinate the training of graduate students in
historical research. Each research cluster is composed of History Department
faculty and graduate students as well as faculty outside the department who
share broad scholarly interests. The clusters serve as a way to coordinate the
research of faculty and graduate students whose work encompasses different
geographic regions and chronological periods. Although the nature and number of
the research clusters may change over time, the department currently offers two
basic groupings: (1) colonialism, nationalism, and race; and (2) the history of
gender.
The faculty of each cluster provide at least one
research seminar every other year in addition to readings courses. All the
affiliated graduate students must take at least one research seminar during
their first two years; they are encouraged to take more than one.
Faculty and graduate students also participate in
interdisciplinary forums outside the department. These include programs
sponsored by The Chicano/Latino Research Center, the Pre- and Early Modern
Studies Group, the Center for Cultural Studies, and the UCSC Institute for
Humanities Research. Advanced graduate students may also have the opportunity
to work in programs sponsored by the University of California Humanities
Research Institute at UC Irvine. Finally, multi-campus groups in which students
and faculty are involved include the Bay Area Seminar in Early American
Studies, the Bay Area Pre- and Early Modern Studies Group, and the French
Studies Group at Stanford.
Until they pass the qualifying exam and are formally
advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, students must be in residence at
UCSC and are expected to complete a minimum of 12 units each quarter to
maintain normal academic progress. Completion of a minimum of 12 courses of 5
credit each (in addition to HIS 280A, 280B, and 280C) is required for
advancement to candidacy. Courses taken are graduate seminars, independent
study courses, and most upper-division undergraduate courses.
Students are required to take the following before
advancing to candidacy:
- History 200 (year 1,
fall quarter); History 201 (year 2, winter quarter); History 280A, 280B, 280C
(year 1);
- one research seminar
during the first four quarters: History 204A, 204B, or 204C;
- second teaching field:
two courses in American, European, East Asian or world history;
- outside courses: two
quarters of graduate course work outside the History Department;
- readings courses in
the appropriate field: East Asia: History 230A, 230B, 230C; Europe: History 250A,
250B; U.S.: History 210A, 210B, 210C.
No prior foreign language preparation is required for
admission with a primary teaching field in U.S. history. Two to three years of
college work, or its equivalent, in at least one foreign language is required
for admission to the European program. Students who choose East Asian history
as their primary teaching field will be required to have completed at least
three years of college-level Chinese or Japanese prior to admission; more years
are recommended. Depending upon the student's intended field of research,
Japanese language study may also be required of China specialists as part of
the graduate program of study.
Students with a primary teaching field in U.S.
history are expected to demonstrate a reading competency in at least one
foreign language prior to taking the Ph.D. qualifying exam. Students in all
other teaching fields must demonstrate a reading competency in at least two
foreign languages prior to taking the Ph.D. qualifying exam; competency in one
of the languages must be demonstrated by the end of the sixth quarter of
enrollment. Usually, competency will be demonstrated by passing a reading exam
administered by a member of the History faculty. Students who believe that they
have already demonstrated competency through previous course work or through
their performance on a standardized test should petition the graduate director.
The M.A. degree is awarded to all Ph.D. students
after two years in residence, successful completion of 12 courses of 5 units
each, demonstrated competency in one foreign language (for those in primary
teaching fields other than U.S. history), removal of all Incomplete notations
(I) on record, and approval of a substantial essay of 25-30 pages.
The M.A. Essay
Students are required to produce a substantial
research essay grounded in original research in primary historical documents. A
successful essay will reflect a general understanding of the field of inquiry
along with a critical grasp of the scholarship that currently defines the
field; deep knowledge of the specific subject under investigation; the
application of appropriate analytical models; and a well-supported
interpretation of the materials explored. This essay could (but need not) be a
segment of a larger project; but it must be a complete, self-contained essay in
and of itself.
Students enroll in course 201, Directed
Research Colloquium, the winter quarter of their second year. While
taking course 201, students work intensively with a reader (who may or may not
be their faculty adviser, but cannot be the 201 instructor) in the preparation,
crafting, and revising of the essay. The final draft, accompanied by an
evaluation from the reader, must be submitted to the Graduate Committee by the
spring quarter deadline (usually mid-April). The deadline will be noted in the
department's call for M.A. essays.
Qualifying Exam
The qualifying exam (QE) emphasizes field mastery,
integration of material from different fields, and focused preparation for
dissertation research. The QE is a three-hour meeting during which a student
presents and discusses a dossier that has been submitted to the student's
committee at least three weeks in advance. The exam is normally taken by the
spring quarter of the third year, but no later than the end of the 10th quarter
of residency. Prior to taking the QE, all Incomplete notations (I) must be
cleared from the student's record. Additionally, the student must be registered
the quarter the exam is taken.
The four exam fields are designed in consultation
with the student's QE committee members. Students prepare for the exam through
regularly offered courses and independent readings courses sponsored by the
examiners. Students are required to take at least two courses in each of the
four fields. The fields are as follows:
- Primary
Field of Concentration. One of three fields: American history; European
history 1500 to the present; East Asian history 1600 to the present.
- Research
Field. Normally a subfield of the primary field with a focus on the
student's specific area of research interests. This field is most closely
connected to the student's work in a specific research cluster.
- Second
Teaching Field. Chosen from the above list of primary fields, with the
addition of world history, or, where appropriate, a comparative, thematic field
such as gender, colonialism, etc.
- Outside
Field. One field outside history, such as American studies,
anthropology, literature, feminist studies, politics, sociology, or history of
consciousness. Students select a field of topical, thematic, or methodological
relevance to their dissertation. The student's faculty adviser must approve the
outside field.
The four exam fields must be defined and
preliminary reading lists (see below) filed with the department no later than
the student's eighth quarter of residency.
A pass or fail will be given after the exam based on
the student's knowledge and research preparation as demonstrated by his or her
dossier. All areas must receive passing marks from all members of the
committee. Immediately following the exam, the QE committee will complete and
submit to the History Department the Report on Qualifying Examination form. If
a student does not pass the QE the first time, they may retake only those
sections not passed. No one will be permitted to take the QE more than twice.
Qualifying Exam Dossier
Requirements
The QE dossier includes four parts, each of which
should be prepared in consultation with the student's primary academic adviser
and with the advice of the examiners. The exam will focus upon the dossier. All
examiners, including the examiner from outside the department, will participate
in all segments of the exam.
The dossier includes:
1. An essay
(15-20 pages) reviewing the state of the scholarship in the student's primary
field of concentration. This essay should reflect the student's general, broad
competence in his or her field as well as a mastery of the theoretical issues
and historiographic debates in four to five areas that represent their primary
area of expertise. The essay may reflect the thematic focus of the student's
chosen research cluster as well as work completed in an outside field
(literature, anthropology, etc.).
2. One syllabus
or, at most, two syllabi (the number to be decided in discussion with the
student's primary adviser) that demonstrates the student's preparation to teach
across the breadth of their primary field at the introductory level. The
syllabus should be annotated to show how each class session would be prepared:
principal sources for lectures, principal questions for discussion, reasons for
assigning particular readings, etc.
3. A syllabus
(annotated in the same fashion as described in section #2 above) in the
student's second teaching field, accompanied by a brief (three- to five-page)
statement of principal issues. The exact content of these items will be decided
in consultation with the examiner in the secondary teaching field.
4. A 10- to
15-page research prospectus that includes an evaluative survey of the
literature relevant to the student's proposed research topic, a detailed
discussion of the archival resources, and a consideration of the theoretical
issues to be engaged.
NOTE:
- Although no specific
segment of the dossier focuses upon the course work completed outside the
History Department, it is expected that this work will be incorporated into
different sections of the portfolio, particularly the research prospectus.
- Complete
bibliographies must be appended to each piece of the QE dossier.
Students are required to prepare a dissertation
prospectus within one year after the qualifying exam. Ideally, the prospectus
will be completed by the end of the next quarter. The prospectus must be
approved by the dissertation reading committee and placed on file with the
department. The prospectus lays out, in reasonable detail, the direction of
research the student intends to pursue for the dissertation. The prospectus
includes the following information:
- Title page with
signatory lines for the dissertation committee members and the graduate
director
- Three- to four-page
description of the overall argument of the project, including a discussion of
the research base and the appropriate methodological/theoretical models
- Two- to three-page
outline, tracking the research and analysis chapter by chapter
- Substantive
bibliography with complete citations
The dissertation represents an extensive,
book-length project grounded in research in original historical documents. A
successful dissertation will reflect a broad and deep understanding of the
field of inquiry, a mastery of the scholarship that currently defines the
field, detailed knowledge of the subject of study growing out of dedicated
research, and the incorporation (and explicit rejection of) appropriate
interpretive models.
The Department of History offers an M.A. degree in
history for those individuals who are interested in postgraduate work, but who
are not planning to complete a Ph.D. It is a degree program that can fulfill
in-service education requirements for current teachers as well as for future
teachers earning a single-subject credential in social studies. Part-time
enrollment is allowed.
Each student will be required to choose one of four
areas of specialization (U.S., Europe, East Asia, world) and select one of two
topical research areas-colonialism, nationalism, and transnational migration or
history of gender. To complete the degree, each student must pass a total of 12
courses of 5 credits each and six courses of 2 credits each including courses
280A, 280B, and 280C. Students must also write an M.A. paper of 25-30 pages.
For students specializing in Europe, U.S., and East Asia, the curriculum will
be nearly identical to that taken by Ph.D. students in their first two years,
except that there will be no language requirement. Those specializing in world
history will take HIS 270A and 270B instead of the corresponding courses in
other fields (courses 250A, 250B, and so on), but otherwise their curriculum
will be the same as that of a typical incoming Ph.D. student.
Course Requirements
- History 200 (year 1,
fall quarter); History 201 (year 2, winter quarter)
- One research seminar
during the first four quarters: History 204A, 204B, or 204C
- Six courses of 2
credits each including History 280A, 280B, 280C (year 1)
- Seven electives of 5
credits each, two of which must be taken outside the History Department. Courses
taken are graduate seminars, most upper-division undergraduate courses, and
independent study courses.
- Two reading seminars
in the area of specialization:
U.S.:
History History 210A, 210B, 210C
Europe:
History 250A, 250B
World:
History 270A, 270B
East
Asia: History 230A, 230B; 230C, 242
The History Department does not normally provide
financial support to students pursuing the M.A. degree; however, students may
apply for available teaching assistantships. Admission to the M.A. program does
not constitute admission to the Ph.D. program. Students must reapply for the
Ph.D. program.
Further details about the graduate program are
available from the Department of History web site: http://history.ucsc.edu.
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