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The Department of
History is home to the History Major, the
Major in European and Mediterranean Cultures
and the Urban Studies Major as well as
Minors in History, European and
Mediterranean Cultures, Urban Studies,
Gender Studies, European Languages and
Cultures, Middle Eastern and Islamic
Cultures and Renaissance Studies. We train
students to develop a critical understanding
of the past and cultivate their appreciation
of the enduring power and relevance of that
past in the present and the construction of
the future. AUP’s cosmopolitan and urban
setting is reflected in the department’s
cross-cultural offerings and our emphasis on
transnational and urban contexts in
historical perspective. The courses in our
department nourish a liberal arts education
in the heart of one of Europe’s most
historic and vibrant cities through regular
visits with professors into Paris and to
cities across Europe.
A disciplinary crossroads
History is a synthetic
discipline. At AUP our department reflects
the epistemological breadth of any
historical inquiry by emphasizing the
importance of a geographical and temporal
context for understanding the human
experience in Europe, the Mediterranean and
the world. The History Major and its two
integrative majors serve to bring
disciplines together from across the
divisions of the University around history,
culture and the city. Our minors and majors
are nourished by faculty from Art History,
Comparative Literature, Global
Communiciations and Film, French Studies,
Politics, Philosophy, and Pyschology.
Centers and Partnerships
The faculty of the
History department are active scholars
participating in conferences around the
world, and have published books in European
and Urban History as well as articles and
reviews for many journals including Les
Annales (HSS), La Revue des Deux Mondes, The
History Journal, International Political
Economy, The Journal of Modern History, Le
Monde, and many others.
The department is
coordinating a project funded by the City of
Paris entitled “Une cartographie culturelle
de Paris Métropole.” This project is being
pursued with the Psychology department and
the Master’s program in Global
Communications at AUP as well as researchers
from the Paris-1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the
University of Chicago.
The History department
has also launched a new
major in Global Cities with the Eugene Lang
College of the New School for Social
Research in New York. A joint major at
AUP and ELC provides an ideal institutional
platform for studying global cities. The
focus on two international urban centers
serves as a lever to lift the students
beyond their immediate urban environments
into a truly global study opportunity. From
the introductory courses to the final
graduation requirements, the coursework
emphasizes a strong international
orientation that offers perspectives both
comparative and substantively non-Western.
Lastly, the History
department considers the city of Paris
itself to be its most essential partner. The
city, including its monumental core,
suburbs, vast hinterland and connections to
cities across Europe and the world, is one
of the driving forces of our department’s
mission. This connection is reaffirmed in
every course that takes advantage of the
city by visiting museums, monuments as well
as streets and cafés.
Major in History
The History Major has four principal goals.
Upon graduating with a History Major from
AUP, a student should have a strong
knowledge of historical trends across
cultures in at least two different
geographical or thematic areas. Graduates
are expected to be able to critically assess
the value of information by identifying,
interpreting and narrating significant
historical data. They should be able to
discuss critically a historiographical work,
identifying the basic motivations and
methodological approaches of the author
within the discipline of History. Lastly,
students should be prepared “to do” history
through a strong mastery of reading primary
texts and writing historical essays.
Student Learning Outcomes
The History Major requires
that students become familiar with four key
concepts relating to the study of history:
practices, uses, skills, and approaches:
Lower-level courses (100-level) introduce
students to historical knowledge. They aim to
launch a progression of historical knowledge and
teach students to identify and evaluate the
historical significance of a variety of
documents as the first step in the practice of
history.
Advanced courses (200- and 300-level) both
deepen historical knowledge and familiarize
students with the uses of history in different
periods and regions.
Advanced courses also introduce students to
different types of historical writings in order
to develop the skills necessary in the
profession, especially identifying, interpreting
and narrating historical information.
Upper-level capstone courses assure a
culminating experience in the major through
in-depth study of methodological schools and
approaches to the study of history and the
application of these methods through the writing
of a senior thesis.
Major in European and Mediterranean Cultures
The major in European and Mediterranean
Cultures examines Europe and the
Mediterranean world, focusing on regions,
states and cities across time, highlighting
the distinctions of their societies and
cultures as well as the networks and
connections that nourish them. The major’s
courses are nourished by three recurring
questions:
- How did cultures and
societies see themselves, and how were they
understood by others?
- What can students
understand from diversities of opinions,
appreciations and perspectives?
- What can the past
teach the present, and how can historical
experience offer suggestions for the future?
Student Learning Outcomes
Developing a just appreciation of the
significance of Europe and the Mediterranean
world over centuries and millennia, and
obtaining requisite factual knowledge of the
cultural and social history of Europe and the
Mediterranean world;
Understanding the distinctions and
particularities of the societies and cultures of
the states and cities of the region, and
perceiving cogent relations and discerning
essential contrasts for these cultures;
Comprehending the shifting identities of the
component parts of this large world, and the
evolutions both towards and away from various
unions and cohesions;
Understanding the importance of the projection
of European and Mediterranean cultures in the
wider world;
Reading, researching and thinking critically in
this large domain, and developing effective and
persuasive communication in both oral and
written exercises.
Major in Urban Studies
Urban Studies has grown out of the
humanities, social sciences and technical
skills-based areas of knowledge providing it
with critical perspectives and professional
outlets. Contributions to the field of Urban
Studies can be found across the divisions of
the university, including courses and visits
to cities in Europe and into Africa and
Asia. The Urban Studies Major integrates
these teaching and research opportunities
into a coherent program with introductory
courses and methodological foundations.
Through the major, the connection between
AUP and the city is articulated into an
“urban learning experience” that does not
end at the boundaries of each discipline.
Student Learning Outcomes
An AUP student who
graduates with a Major in Urban Studies should
be able to:
analyze the spatial and historical processes of
urban and suburban change by locating phases of
urban development across time and space;
understand how cities contribute to economic,
social and cultural development;
interpret, using appropriate vocabulary and
methods, the scales of the city from the street
and the neighborhood to the region, the state
and the world;
connect, through concrete interactions with
cities, the diversity of the urban experiences
to promote possibilities for socially and
environmentally sustainable urban futures.
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November 18
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