We study history because:
It’s just plain interesting.
It’s about people trying to live their lives
It’s practical in a broad sense.
Exploring how people in the past constructed, tried to live in, and changed their social, political, and symbolic worlds makes us more adept at understanding our own changing world. Working on how and why things happened the way they did in the past makes us better at figuring out how and why things are happening the way they are now.
It’s practical in a narrow sense.
Studying history not only develops our ability to analyze the ever-changing factors influencing human thought and action, it also teaches us how to find and interpret evidence from diverse sources, bring mountains of information into coherent focus and express our insights clearly and subtly.
The study of history is an excellent foundation for practically anything you want to do with your life.
Alumni Stories
Natasha Miljanic, W’24Major: Politicial Science
Minor: History
Choosing History: "I knew I would declare a minor in history after my first history class that I took the fall semester of freshman year. The specific class that prompted me to pursue the history minor was Business of Imperialism with Dr. Chris Bischof. From there, I went on to take many more history classes with various regional focuses with professors, such as Dr. Tze Loo and Dr. Nicole Sackley. The History Department at UR is a major reason that I decided to pursue international diplomacy and affairs as my future career."
Life After Graduation: "I will be attending graduate school to receive my masters degree to further my knowledge required for such field. I am pursuing a dual degree (MA/MSc) with Columbia University and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in European History, Politics, Society and Culture, and Conflict in a global Europe."
