What is History at Bates 

The past is everywhere around us, baked into the structures, narratives, and questions that shape our society today. It is neither a single set of details etched in time nor a single account of lives and events now distanced from us.  History as a discipline examines the very constructions of those pasts over time and emphasizes the dynamic means by which we come to understand, construct, and narrate it today. 

Engaging in these constructions of the past requires us to identify and reckon with systems of knowledge and relationships of power in their varied contexts in a given location, and across communities, geographies, and across time. Such work requires great care. The past has often been invoked by people who have sought to support systems of oppression. The study of history helps us understand how these systems of domination were created and how they were and are sustained.  

Our goal is to bring to the fore viable and ethical narratives about the past. We invite all students to our classes so that they can all, regardless of their embodied identities, recognize themselves as creators of history. 

How we structure History classes at Bates 

Our overarching goal for History at Bates is that courses are accessible to all students. We recognize that students enter our courses with a range of interests and experiences with the study of history. Few of our courses have prerequisites and none have them at the 100 and 200 levels. As a result, students may take almost any HIST course as their first History course, even though our courses are listed as 100-, 200-, and 300-level classes. 

We encourage students to start at the 100 and 200 levels, which provide an entry into the discipline of history. All 100-level HIST courses introduce students to the methods of history. In them, students learn to analyze primary sources, to make arguments and use evidence, to consider how history is constructed, to recognize the importance of context, and to develop curiosity and empathy. Students continue to encounter and hone these approaches at 200- and 300-levels. 

In the 301 seminars students think about history as a process and undertake independent research and writing related to the course’s topics. These classes are the department’s [W2] courses and set students up for the 399 Historical Methods class. HIST 399 reflects upon both the major and discipline and prepares students to undertake their own thesis research. Ideally, students take 399 the semester immediately preceding their thesis.