. . . students will be able to:
- Develop a historical perspective. Of all the goals of the study of history, the most distinctive and the most essential is the formation of a historical outlook on the human experience, both the good and the bad. Beyond the pursuit of accurate knowledge about societies distant in time from our own, students will learn to see the connectedness of the past to the present, to think in terms of causation and chronological development over time, and to empathize with the hopes and struggles of people who lived in other periods and places. Recognizing that the past was once as much real as the present is today, history students will wrestle with the difficult challenge of understanding and appreciating the values, customs, and practices of those who came before us. They will also develop an awareness of the interplay of continuities and changes that define all human communities. Lastly, students of history will learn how to temper imagination with information—and vice-versa—in the reconstruction of the past.
- Express themselves clearly and convincingly. To engage the world as active citizens, all Dickinson students must learn to communicate their ideas effectively to others. Through the constant practice of reading texts, writing and revising papers, and participating in class discussions, history students will develop the ability to analyze a topic rather than simply describe it; to organize ideas in a logical sequence; to use evidence to support findings; to narrate events coherently; to understand the importance of audience in shaping effective communication; to eliminate unnecessary jargon; and to take part in reasoned debate with others.
- Locate relevant and essential information. The sheer amount of information available today requires careful attention to the reliability of sources, a skill that historians practice on a daily basis. Students of history will learn to distinguish between primary and secondary materials and to assess both the validity and the relevance of their contents. Students will also develop the ability to use indexes and databases to gather accurate information on a historical topic. In the process, they can expect to encounter a wide variety of sources, including books, journal articles, newspapers and other print media, microfilm collections, music anthologies, interview records, and original manuscripts. Finally, through archival work and independent research projects, students will learn to identify materials appropriate for historical investigations of varying scope and character.
- Identify key historical issues, interpretations, and debates. The study of history consists of the analysis and interpretation of the past, not merely the chronological recitation of events. In history courses, students will encounter the existence of conflicting historical explanations and participate in the on-going process of creating historical knowledge. They will learn how to differentiate historical facts from interpretations, to recognize the chief points of disagreement and debate among historians, and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of conflicting accounts of the past. Students of history will also become familiar with the wide variety of methods used to reconstruct the events, ideas, and conditions of the past accurately.
- Formulate and support plausible historical arguments. The crux of all historical representation—whether in books, articles, essays, lectures, films, songs, paintings, or public memorials—lies in the development of an argument that gives meaning to the past. At Dickinson, students must learn to create, elaborate, and defend effective historical arguments of their own. This begins with the formulation of significant questions about the past, continues through an engagement with the available evidence and the testing of hypotheses, and finally culminates in the succinct statement of plausible and defensible arguments. Through this process, students learn to raise critical historical problems; to defend propositions; to marshal the information they gather from their sources; and to communicate sound conclusions based upon their interpretations of complex information.
- Engage in scholarly debate and public discussions of history. John Hope Franklin once called historians “the conscience of the nation,” asking that those who study history prepare themselves to speak out against deliberate falsifications of the past. At Dickinson, students of history have an obligation to share their knowledge with other scholars and with the broader community. Given the numerous public uses of history and the potential for misuse or abuse of historical information, students should be able to disseminate and defend well-reasoned and well-supported interpretations of the past both here on campus and in the world beyond. They should also be ready to counter dogmatic views of history with a knowledge of the diversity of historical arguments and approaches. The fulfillment of these responsibilities requires an awareness of historical methods, an understanding of the ethical dimensions of historical practice, and a willingness to exchange ideas about history with others, including students and faculty across the many departments of the college.