Historians study the way in which human communities and their members have behaved, how they have constituted themselves, how they have conducted and sustained their lives, and how they have thought about their condition and the traditions to which they have given their allegiance. While the Lower Division Program can only begin to suggest the vast temporal, geographical, and intellectual sweep of contemporary historical inquiry, each course examines the principal kinds of questions and techniques historians bring to bear upon evidence about the past. History is not just past politics. It is also concerned with the world of ideas and institutions — sacred and profane, commons as well as rulers, science, technology, social movements and economic forces, cities and frontiers, Latin America, Asia, and Africa as well as Europe and North America.
History is concerned with the study of the past. It draws on the social sciences and humanities for much of its data and conceptual techniques, but remains essentially a study in the dimension of time, with methods of enquiry appropriate to such a study. The study of history provides a broad education about the society in which we live and its past development. Since it involves examination of people in an almost unlimited variety of situations, the study of history also deepens the understanding of people’s capacities and failings. Properly pursued, it trains the mind to generalize on the basis of evidence to develop interpretations of the significance of events and ideas and to distinguish propaganda from fact.
A very useful handbook for UBC History students containing “basic and practical” information about the practice of History is available in the History Department office (12th floor, Buchanan Tower). Proceeds from the sale of the booklet support the Department’s scholarship fund. In addition, the History Writing Centre is available online and in print: Thomson Nelson Guide to Writing in History.
Students who wish to become a history major should first discuss their program with a Departmental Adviser. Although you do not need to apply to be a History major, you should attend the History Department meeting for prospective History Majors held in March, if possible, and consult a Departmental Adviser to approve your program before declaring your major through UBC’s Student Service Centre.
Students in the Faculty of Arts can declare a minor in any subject or field offered in the Faculty. Arts students can complete a minor in history by earning at least 30 and no more than 42 credits in history courses (a field other than the major), of which at least 18 credits must be at the 300/400 level. Students can declare a History minor through the UBC Student Service Centre (specialization code 3012); no formal advising is needed. Please note that the minor will not be recorded on your transcript unless you indicate it on your application to graduate. If some of your courses qualify for both your major and minor, no more than six credits may be counted towards both.
Although the following courses cover a wide range of subjects, each has been designed to provide a basic introduction to the skills common to all historical studies. First-year courses are all six credit World History courses, some chronological and others topical, that are designed to introduce the student to the diversity and commonality of the Human experience in history. Second-year courses are broad regional or national surveys. Most employ primary sources in addition to secondary works. Most will also aim at covering a general understanding of what historians have previously thought and written about the subjects being studied. Through regular written assignments, each course will introduce students to the historians’ methods and their medium of expression. In weekly discussion groups, students are expected to participate in the articulation and criticism of historical opinions and judgments.
The Lower Division Program is intended to be diverse and flexible. Any twelve credits selected from this group taken during your first two years will count towards admission to the honours or majors programs in history. If you prefer, all twelve credits can be taken from 100 level offerings, or you can take six credits from 100-level offerings and six credits from 200-level offerings. We recommend that all students, and especially those planning to do majors or honours work in history, begin with a 100-level history course before taking a 200-level course. But with permission of the instructor, a 200-level course can be taken without having taken a 100-level course or its equivalent. Consult a Departmental Adviser for suggestions about which courses go together well. Plan your first and second years as one "package."
As your studies progress, your interests and goals may change, will be modified and become more focused. Do not hesitate to seek advice, talk to faculty and other students, pick up and examine materials describing departmental and interdisciplinary programs, go to lectures by visiting scholars, when feasible visit classes you may be interested in.
Prospective History majors may begin the major during their second year (30 60 credits) by taking up to 6 credits of Upper Division History courses (300/400 level courses) which will count as senior level credits towards the major.
Your program proposal as a History Major - the courses you plan to take in 3rd and 4th year (60 – 120 credits) - should be set out on the Majors Form and approved by a Departmental Adviser. This program is not binding, but a guideline that can be adapted as you situation changes.
The one course that all History Majors must take in their fourth year is the capstone course, HIST 490 (3) Seminar for History Majors or one of its equivalents. Each term during Winter Session, several professors offer sections of this course on different topics. These classes will have no more than 18 students and provide students an opportunity not just to learn history, but also to be historians, reading and discussing history as well as preparing a research paper.
When planning your course of study, think of the third and fourth year a one "package" and keep in mind three general guidelines.
These three guidelines are not perfectly compatible. A conflict may arise between the attempt to obtain depth in one field and breadth of historical knowledge; the need to explore new areas may conflict with the attempt to establish an appropriate balance between the guidelines and the student’s own interests and needs.
