Faculty and Staff

Karl Bahm, Professor
Kenneth Shonk, Jr., Assistant Professor
Joel Sipress, Professor
Priscilla Starratt, Professor

History Program Description

UW-Superior's History Program offers a distinctive global focus. By studying a variety of world regions and the connections among them, students are prepared to live and participate in an increasingly integrated world. The History Program emphasizes research, writing, oral communication, and critical analysis to foster lifelong learning

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Fundamental Academic Skills

• Clear and effective expository writing, including the ability to construct an effective analytical essay
• Clear and effective oral communication, including the ability to construct and deliver an effective oral presentation
• Ability to evaluate arguments on the basis of evidence and to support one's own arguments with evidence
• Ability to summarize and critically evaluate an author's ideas

2. Historical Skills and Dispositions

• Ability to independently research a topic or question using a variety of types of secondary and primary materials (e.g. print, electronic, textual, visual) and to produce a fully documented research paper.
• The ability to construct abstract ideas from the concrete and the ability to apply abstract ideas to understand the concrete.
• The ability to synthesize existing historical ideas and arguments to produce an original idea.
• A healthy skepticism toward one's own assertions and the assertions of others

3. Curricular Emphases

• The ability to make sense of particular world regions while simultaneously seeing global connections.
• An understanding of how social categories such as race, class, gender, ethnicity, and religion are constructed and the impact of these categories on people's lived experience.

History Major - Bachelor of Arts Requirements

33 total credits

A total of 33 credits in history, including at least 18 credits from courses numbered 300 or above. All students completing the History major must fulfill the Bachelor of Arts language requirement. Coursework must include the following:

Research and Writing Methods Course (3 credits required):

Geographic Distribution Areas (12 credits required):

Complete coursework in at least four of seven geographic codes. Each catalog description of history courses includes a code number indicating which codes the course fulfills: Code 1-United States History; Code 2-European History; Code 3-African History; Code 4-Latin American History; Code 5-Asian History; Code 6-Middle Eastern History; Code 7-World History0. Courses cannot be used to fulfill more than one geographic code.

Race and Ethnicity Course (3 credits required):

Complete one course with a focus on race and/or ethnicity. Courses that fulfill this requirement are noted in the catalog description of history courses with the notation "RE."

Gender Course (3 credits required):

Complete one course with a focus on gender. Courses that fulfill this requirement are noted in the catalog description of history courses with the notation "G."

The same course cannot be used to complete both the Race and Ethnicity and the Gender requirement.

Senior Capstone Experience (6 credits required):

These two courses should normally be taken in the senior year. HIST 496 is only offered in the fall, and HIST 497 in the spring.

Bachelor of Arts Degree Foreign/Indigenous Language courses (3-6 credits required): CHIN/FNS/FREN/GERM/SPAN language courses

History Teaching Major - Early Adolescence-Adolescence Level (EA-A), B.A. or B.S. Requirements

33 total credits

A total of 33 credits in history and social studies education, at least 18 credits from courses numbered 300 or above. Certification to teach requires completion of a series of Wisconsin Teacher Certification (DPI) requirements. See the Teacher Education section of the catalog for details. Coursework must include the following:

Required Courses (12 credits required):

Geographic Distribution Areas (9 credits required):

Complete one three-credit course in three of the following five geographic areas. Each catalog description of history courses includes a code number indicating the geographic areas the course fulfills: Code 2-European History; Code 3-African History; Code 4-Latin American History; Code 5-Asian History; Code 6-Middle Eastern History. Courses cannot be used to fulfill more than one geographic area.

Race and Ethnicity Course (3 credits required):

Complete one three-credit course with a focus on race and/or ethnicity. Courses that fulfill this requirement are noted in the catalog description of history courses with the notation "RE." The same course cannot be used to complete both the Race and Ethnicity and the Gender requirement.

Gender Course (3 credits required):

Complete one three-credit course with a focus on gender. Courses that fulfill this requirement are noted in the catalog description of history courses with the notation "G." The same course cannot be used to complete both the Race and Ethnicity and the Gender requirement.

Senor Capstone Experience required course (6 credits required):

History Minor Requirements

21 total credits

A total of 21 credits in history, at least 9 credits from courses numbered 300 or above. Coursework must include the following:

Research and Writing Methods Course (3 credits required):

Geographic Distribution Areas (9 credits required):

Complete one three-credit course from at least three of the following seven geographic areas. Each catalog description of history courses includes a code number indicating the geographic areas the course fulfills: Code 1-United States History; Code 2-European History; Code 3-African History; Code 4-Latin American History; Code 5-Asian History; Code 6-Middle Eastern History; Code 7-World History. Courses cannot be used to fulfill more than one geographic code.

History Teaching Minor at the Early Adolescence-Adolescence Level (EA/A) Requirements

24 total credits

A total of 24 credits in history and social studies education, at least 15 credits from courses numbered 300 or above. Certification to teach requires completion of a series of Wisconsin Teacher Certification (DPI) requirements. See the Teacher Education Section of the catalog for details. Coursework must include the following:

Required Courses (12 credits required):

Geographic Distribution Areas (6 credits required):

Complete one three-credit course from at least two of the following five geographic areas. Each catalog description of history courses includes a code number indicating the geographic areas the course fulfills: Code 2-European History; Code 3-African History; Code 4-Latin American History; Code 5-Asian History; Code 6-Middle Eastern History. Courses cannot be used to fulfill more than one geographic code.

Broad Field Social Studies Major -- History Concentration

Students interested in teaching history at the Early Adolescence-Adolescence Level (EA-A) are encouraged to consider the Broad Field Social Studies Major with a History Concentration. Broad Field Social Studies is a comprehensive inter-disciplinary major designed specifically for students who intend to teach within the social studies disciplines at EA-A level. For more information, see the Broad Field Social Studies section of this catalog.