Historical Studies
Within the Historical Studies program you can pursue a B.A. degree in Historical Studies
or in K-12 or Secondary Education History Certification. A minor in Historical Studies
is also available.
About the Program
The Historical Studies curriculum offers courses that acquaint students with the various methods of historical study, provide them with a broad understanding of the major themes of human history, and give them the opportunity to propose and implement their own research projects. Designed to help students develop careful, thoughtful self-expression, particularly in written form, the curriculum is composed of courses of increasing difficulty, progressing from introductory and intermediate courses in content areas, to upper-level seminars and finally to the senior capstone courses, Historical Methods and Thesis Seminar. The capstone seminars provide opportunities for students to explore their individual research interests and share their experiences with faculty and their peers. Students also achieve competence in a second language, which they may put to use in study tours and semester or summer study abroad.
Students interested in pairing a degree in History with teaching certification for K-12 are encouraged to explore the K-12 History Certification Concentration. Core history course requirements remain the same, while cognates and At-Some-Distance courses are tailored to facilitate students’ progress through the courses required for New Jersey Teachers Certification.
Historical Studies courses prepare majors to:
- Identify and analyze arguments by others.
- Generate important, open-ended questions and hypotheses about the past and devise research strategies to answer/test them.
- Write clearly and use evidence to craft compelling arguments.
- Understand situations from a range of perspectives especially those that have not traditionally been preserved, including Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ, and women, among others.
- Appreciate historical origins, causation, and changes and continuities over time, space, and culture.
- Use historical thinking both in their future professional endeavors and also as engaged citizens.
The Historical Studies program at 鶹ý provided me with core research and analytical skills that have benefited my various roles in the field of library and archives. I felt supported by my professors who expressed care in my quality of work, historical interests, and professional endeavors. An aspect of the program that I am very appreciative for is the thesis course, which many other undergraduate history programs do not require. While writing a thesis was challenging, it encouraged me to deeply engage with primary sources - which I now handle on a daily basis. I highly recommend the program as it has proved to stimulate and expand my professional and personal interests.
B.A. in Historical Studies
Top Five Reasons to Study Historical Studies at 鶹ý
- Creativity & Innovation
Pursue your passion. Are you a history buff? Do you watch the History Channel? Are you fascinated by the Civil War or the Holocaust? Do you like to travel and explore the U.S. and other countries? Would you love to teach, to work in museums and historic sites? As a 鶹ý History major, you can do all of these things and even get course credit for them. - Critical Thinking, Global Awareness
Understand your past while preparing for your present. History deals with real people and events. It offers a boundless variety for selecting favorite topics and pursuing personal interests because everything has a history—nations, wars, ethnic groups, sexuality, jazz, gambling, even food. And historical knowledge is powerful currency for the twenty-first century because you increase your cultural literacy and sensitivity when you consider multiple points of view and changing global contexts. - Information Literacy & Research Skills, Adapting to Change, Communication Skills
Carry out undergraduate research tailored to your unique interests. Many employers are looking for evidence that students did more with their college years than just sit in courses. 鶹ý History majors learn to read critically, write clearly and persuasively, and do independent research in archives in South Jersey and beyond. These skills are attractive in a wide range of fields, and History majors go on to careers in education, public history, law, business, medicine, government, and not-for-profits—all of which value the ability to research, write, and think creatively and persuasively. - Global Awareness
Explore study abroad and internship opportunities for credit. 鶹ý History majors have the opportunity to study abroad around the world. They can apply to The Washington Center to spend a summer or semester working in the government agency or not-for-profit of their choice. - Program Competence
Interested in attending graduate school? At 鶹ý, History majors can apply to the Master of Arts in American Studies or in Holocaust & Genocide Studies. They can choose a second major in Education. Qualified students can start taking graduate courses in their senior year—and those graduate course credits can transfer to graduate programs elsewhere in the state.
Additional Information
Degree Works
To view the curriculum, you’ll use the web program, Degree Works. This program is accessible even if you are not currently a student with 鶹ý.
Current Students
Access your portal for Degree Works, then look for the “What If” option to explore the various paths towards degree completion. Click the button below for instructional videos on how to use Degree Works:
Prospective First Year or Transfer Students
Use the button below:
How to Use Degree Works Equivalency
- At the next page you are prompted with three (3) options. Select the one that says “continue without signing in.”
- Respond to each prompt using the pull-down menu in the center of the page. [Please be patient. It may take a few seconds for the system to process your request. If you see a NO symbol, you need to wait a moment!]
Prompts include:
- Enrollment dates (Choose intended semester attending)
- Intended level (Choose “undergraduate”)
- What degree you will pursue? (Choose “Bachelor of Arts”)
- What is your intended major? (Choose “Historical Studies”)
- What is your intended concentration? (Choose “General” or "Education")
- What is your intended minor? (Choose “none” or select one - it is not required). For History minors, select "Historical Studies."
- For prospective students, choose “I’m all done" button.
- For transfer students, use the “class” button to see how courses already taken fit into the 鶹ý degree path.
- You will see an overview of the degree you have selected, including all requirements.
- At the bottom of the screen, you could save or print the worksheet.
Additional Links
Course Schedule by Term
To view the Course Schedule by term, .
Catalog of Courses
See the for complete descriptions of course offerings.
Academic Bulletin
For detailed curriculum information, please refer to the Academic Bulletin.
Prior Year Curriculum Worksheets
2020-2021
2020-2019
2019-2018
Faculty
Laura Zucconi
Kameika Murphy
Sharon A. Musher
Sharon A. Musher
Professor of History
BIOGRAPHY
Sharon Ann Musher grew up in New York City. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan, an M.Phil. in Economic and Social History from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in History from Columbia University.
Dr. Musher joined 鶹ý’s faculty in 2007. Her teaching and research focus on the arts, visual culture, gender, race, and ethnicity.
Her first book, Democratic Art: The New Deal’s Influence on American Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2015) traces a range of aesthetic visions that flourished during the 1930s to outline the successes, shortcomings, and lessons of the golden age of government funding for the arts. Her current book project, Americans Abroad: Hadassah Kaplan, Zionism, and the Making of American-Jewish Women, uses her grandmother’s archive to explore the coming of age of a young American Jewish woman in the early twentieth century in a story that foreshadows the emerging special relationship between American Jews and Israel. She has written book chapters in The Oxford Handbook of the African American Slave Narrative (Oxford University Press, 2014), Interpreting American History: The New Deal and the Great Depression (Kent State University Press, 2014), and The Case against Academic Boycotts of Israel (Wayne State Press, 2014). She has also published articles and reviews in American Quarterly, American Studies Journal, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Jewish Journal of Sociology, Network: A Journal of Faculty Development, The Academe Blog, and Times of Israel. She teaches the US history survey as well as courses on 1930s America, American Jewish women, identity, motherhood, and American Studies. She was the founding director of 鶹ý’s Master of Arts in American Studies.
Dr. Musher lives in Philadelphia with her husband and three daughters.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Columbia University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
20th-century US history, social-cultural history, gender and women’s history, Jewish history, African-American history
COURSES
History: US History Since 1865, US History Since 1920, 1930’s America, American Jewish Women, Gender and Labor History, Introduction to the Study of History, Advanced Seminar in History: Identity, Historical Methods, Thesis
General Studies: Introduction to American Studies, New Deal Drama: Past to Present, Meanings of Motherhood, Perspectives on Women
American Studies: Proseminar in American Studies
PUBLICATIONS
Books and Book Chapters:
Americans Abroad: Hadassah Kaplan, Zionism, and the Making of American Jewish Women (manuscript in progress)
. Chicago, IL: U of Chicago Press, 2015.
"American Studies Association and BDS" in Dream Deferred: A Concise Guide to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & the Movement to Boycott Israel. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2016.
“The Other Slave Narratives: The Works Progress Administration Interviews.” . Ed. John Ernest. New York: Oxford UP, 2014.
“The New Deal and the Arts” . Interpreting American History Series. Ed. Aaron D. Purcell. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2014.
“The Closing of the American Studies Association’s Mind” in , eds. Cary Nelson and Gabriel Brahm, Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2014.
Refereed Academic Journal Publications:
American Quarterly 53.1 (2001): 1-31.
“The Motivations and Assimilation of British Women Who Migrated to Israel, 1965-1975,” The Jewish Journal of Sociology, 41.1-2 (1999).
Digital Humanities Projects:
digital supplement to an exhibit, 2012.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Historical Association
Organization of American Historians
American Association of University Professors
Tom Papademetriou
Tom Papademetriou
Professor of History; Constantine & Georgiean Georgiou Endowed Professor of Greek History; Director, The Pappas Center for Hellenic Studies
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Tom Papademetriou is the Constantine and Georgeian Georgiou Endowed Professor of Greek History, and Director of the Pappas Center for Hellenic Studies at The Richard 鶹ý College of New Jersey. A graduate of both Hellenic College (BA, 1988) and Holy Cross School of Theology (M. Divinity, 1992), Dr. Papademetriou received his Ph.D. in 2001 from Princeton University’s Department of Near Eastern Studies in Ottoman History.
He was awarded research fellowships by the Social Science Research Council and the American Research Institute in Turkey to conduct research in the Ottoman Archives and the Archives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey. His research focuses on the history of non-Muslims under Ottoman rule, and he is currently directing an international collaborative project called the Anatolian Churches Project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. From 1999 to 2000, he was in residence as a Junior Fellow at Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Research Center and Library, Washington, DC and from 2000 to 2001 served as Lecturer at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. As a member of the Historical Studies faculty at 鶹ý University since 2001, he is actively engaged in building a strong Hellenic Studies program in which he teaches courses on the history of the Tourkokratia, Modern Greece, the Balkans, and the Middle East. He lives in Linwood, NJ with his wife Dorrie, and two sons, George and Romanos.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Princeton University
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Southeastern Europe, Middle Eastern history, modern Hellenism
COURSES
HIST 2105 Nation Building: Modern Greece
HIST 2106 Modern Middle East History
HIST 2109 Modern Hellenism from 1453
HIST 2127 Ottoman History, 1299-1923
HIST 2131 Islam and Eastern Christianity
HIST/PHIL 2408 Emperors, Patriarchs, & Sultans
HIST 3609 Modern Hellenism: Memory and Identity
HIST 3612 Empire to Nation-State: Turkey
GAH 2318 Greek Letters and Modern Hellenism
PUBLICATIONS
Render unto the Sultan: Power, Authority, and the Greek Orthodox Church in the Early Ottoman Centuries.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Stones from God. A play co-authored with Pamela Hendrick based on oral history accounts of Asia Minor refugees performed at 鶹ý College Performing Arts Center, and internationally at Heybeliada International Sound Center, and Zappeion Girls School, Istanbul, Turkey (2010).
National Endowment for the Humanities Collaborative Research Grant, The Anatolian Churches Project, 2006-2009
“The Turkish Conquests and Decline of the Church Reconsidered.” In Church And Society in Late Byzantium. Ed. Dimiter Angelov. Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2008.
"Raging Parthian Fires: Middle East Policy and the Imperial Ideology of the Emperors Constantine and Heraclius."Church and Society: Orthodox Christian Perspectives: Past Experiences and Modern Challenges. Ed. George Liacopoulos. Boston, MA: Somerset Hall Press, 2007.
"The Continuity of the Holy Man: Orthodox Hesychasm and Dervish Mysticism in the Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman Periods." In Festschrift in Honor of George C. Papademetriou. Ed. A. Sopko and C. Papademetriou. Boston, MA: Somerset Hall Press, 2004.
Dong Jo Shin
Dong Jo Shin
Assistant Professor of World History
BIOGRAPHY
He vividly recalls declaring as a teenager, “I will live by traveling to many countries.” The spell of those words carried him through much of his 20s and 30s, taking him to China, South Africa, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest. Now, it seems that the spell has finally been broken, and he is happy to embrace this new chapter, nesting in South Jersey with his loving family.
His research interests stem from a question that has nagged at him for as long as he can remember: why do society’s subalterns—the poor and ethnic, racial, and gender minorities—always bear the brunt of the era’s confusions and injustices? In teaching undergraduates, one of his ultimate goals is to help them recognize the universal mechanisms behind these injustices, no matter how far removed they are in time or place. They might well encounter their own reverse reincarnations in history.
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in history, Washington State University
M.A. in history, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
B.A. in history, Sogang University (Seoul, South Korea)
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Modern Chinese history
COURSES
GAH 1630 World Civilizations to 1500
HIST 2190 East Asia, 1800-1945
HIST 2195 Pre-modern Chiense History
HIST 3621 Seminar in World History
PUBLICATIONS
Between Means and Ends: Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Korean Autonomy in China’s Yanbian Borderland, 1928-1978(under review by the University of Washington Press).
“‘Utopian Speak’: Language Assimilation in China’s Yanbian Korean Borderland, 1958-76.” Decoding the Sino-North Korean Borderlands, edited by Adam Cathcart, Steven Denney, and Christopher Green, 191-215. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2021.
“Factional Violence and Ethnic Relations in a Korean Borderland: Mao Yuanxin’s Cultural Revolution in Yanbian, 1966-1968.” Modern China Studies 23 No. 2 (2016): 141-162. (Special Issue on China’s Cultural Revolution: A 50-Year Review).
Translation of Yokeun Joeng, “The Management of Koryǒ: Local Administration (kunhyǒn) and Its Operation” Korean Studies 41 (May 2017): 99-127
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Historical Association
Association for Asian Studies
Adjunct Faculty
Emeritus Faculty
Demetrios Constantelos
Michael Hayse
Michael Hayse
Professor Emeritus of History and Holocaust and Genocide Studies
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Hayse’s main research interests revolve around the ways that Germany has grappled with the legacies of the Third Reich, World War II, and the Holocaust. He is also an advocate of experiential learning, global education, and study abroad who urges his students to travel, visit archives for their research, and to acquaint themselves with actual historical sites. To this end, Dr. Hayse leads study tours to Europe and Israel on the theme of the history of the Third Reich, World War II, and the Holocaust.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., University of North Carolina
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
20th century German history, Russian and East European history, and Holocaust/genocide studies, history and memory
COURSES
HIST 2117 Modern Germany
HIST 2118 Europe in the 20th Century
HIST 2134 Eastern European History
HIST 2135 Modern Russian and Soviet History
HIST 3615 Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin: Dictatorships of 20th-Century Europe
HIST 3616 History of the Third Reich
GAH 2119 History and Memory of the Nazi Era
GAH 2346 Modern Europe
GAH 3114 Military Occupation / Social Change
MAHG 5000 History of the Holocaust
MAHG 5016 Twentieth-Century Europe
MAHG 5021 The Holocaust in German History
MAHG 5026 Germany and the Holocaust since 1945
PUBLICATIONS
Recasting West German Elites: Higher Civil Servants, Business Leaders, and Physicians in Hesse between Nazism and Democracy, 1945-1955. New York: Berghahn Books, 2003.
Main editor, Hearing the Voices: Holocaust Education for Future Generations. Merion Station: Marion Westfield Press, 1999.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Historical Association
German Studies Association
Central European History
Association of Holocaust Organizations
William Lubenow
Careers
Students pursuing degrees in Historical Studies may prepare themselves for careers in teaching, law, journalism, library science, computers, government, civil service, administration, and the ministry. A history degree can also lead to opportunities in art institutes, galleries, museums, 200 local and state historical associations, and to archival work with libraries, private organizations, and government agencies. More information on careers for Historical Studies majors and minors is available at the American Historical Association's website.
Special Opportunities
Students in Historical Studies can explore their own interests in a wide range of fields such as American/Atlantic World, European, Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, and Ancient Near Eastern history. In addition to coursework for the major, students may
- Intern with historical societies, libraries, and art museums
- Become certified to teach social studies in secondary schools
- Study abroad
- Participate in travel with the History Club
- Participate in conferences, such as those sponsored by Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society, and by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
BA/MA and BA/MAT Degree
Qualified Historical Studies majors are eligible for automatic admission into the MA or Certificate in American Studies at 鶹ý, the MA and MAT degree programs in the Federated History Department of Rutgers, Newark/NJIT, and the MA degree program in History at Rutgers, Camden.
