delve into every time
Ripon College history students move beyond the “timeline” approach to the past. They don’t just learn what happened — they analyze why events occurred, arrive at their own view of events, and discover the implications historical events have for understanding enduring human issues. They learn to communicate complex ideas both orally and in written form and to understand cultures and societies other than their own.
Ripon courses examine the complete scope of history and delve into every time frame and era. Students learn to analyze evidentiary material in a disciplined and methodical manner, synthesize information gained from such analyses into larger structures of knowledge, understand various interpretations and conceptualizations of historical development and fit their own synthetic structures into such interpretations, and communicate complex ideas.
Faculty
Rebecca Berens Matzke
Professor of History, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Chair of History and the Ralph Hale Ruppert Distinguished Professor of American History, Principles and Traditions
Total Credits:
32 credits
Prerequisites:
HIS 101 Introduction to the Study of History is strongly recommended as an introduction to the major. A sophomore or junior beginning a history major should start with any 200-level course.
History Courses:
101 Introduction to the Study of History, 200 Departmental Studies, 210 Introduction to Ancient, Renaissance and Medieval Studies, 236 Europe’s Long 20th Century, 238 The Spanish Conquest and Its Aftermaths, 240 Colonial America and the Early U.S. Republic, 1600-1815, 241 The United States, 1815-1914, 242 The United States, 1914-Present, 248 U.S. Environmental History, 260 Black Power, 262 American Race Relations, 263 Women in American History, 264 Immigrants and Immigration Policy in United States History, 269 How Latin America Fell Behind: War and Upheaval, 1700-1900, 270 Modernizing Latin America: Revolution and Reaction Since 1900, 276 Latin America at the Movies: History and Film, 281 World History I, 282 World History II, 285 Global Environmental History, 288 Soccer in World History: Between Nationalism and Globalization, 289 Understanding History through Interactive Games, 295 History and Historians, 300 Advanced Departmental Studies, 340 Public History, 351 World War I: Causes, Conduct and Consequences, 353 British Empire After 1783, 354 Modern Germany, 360 Topics in African American History, 362 Topics in History of the Modern Middle East, 365 World War II Home Fronts, 372 Topics in Twentieth Century American History, 375 United States and Latin America, 377 Dirty Wars in Latin America, 383 Mapping the Wrod: Art and History of Carography, 385 Natural Disasters in World History, 420 Reading and Research, 570 Classroom Presentation of Undergraduate Research, 580 Classroom Leadership in the Discussion of History, and 590 Senior Seminar: Historical research and Writing
Additional Criteria:
Students interested in teaching history need to complete the secondary education major and the social studies education licensure requirements which include: a history major or minor including 8 credits of world history, 8 credits of American history, and at least 8 credits at the 300 level or above; ENV 120, PSC 110, POL 220, POL 335, ECO 211 or 212, ANT 110 or SOC 110, and EDU 323.
Total Credits:
20 credits
Prerequisites:
CHM 111 Organic Chemistry I, 112 Structure and Reactivity and MTH 120 Elementary Statistics or PSC 211 Research and Design Statistics
Elective Courses:
At least eight credits from courses numbered in the 300s or 420. HIS 101 is strongly recommended as an introduction to the minor. A sophomore or junior beginning a history minor should start with any 200-level course.
Additional Criteria:
Students interested in teaching history need to complete the secondary education major and the social studies education licensure requirements which include: a history major or minor including 8 credits of world history, 8 credits of American history, and at least 8 credits at the 300 level or above; ENV 120, PSC 110, POL 220, POL 335, ECO 211 or 212, ANT 110 or SOC 110, and EDU 323.
Career Tracks
Some Ripon history graduates choose careers in academia: they have entered Ph.D. programs at such universities as Princeton, Wake Forest and Penn State. Others go into library, archival or museum work: a recent graduate now works for the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. Many Ripon history majors share their love of history as high school teachers. Others have taken positions as archaeologists, lawyers and bank managers, and with insurance companies, multinational corporations, governmental agencies and small businesses.
Unique Opportunities
Study a wide range of historical time periods and places, from ancient and medieval Europe to the colonial Americas to modern Mexico, Great Britain, Israel-Palestine, Germany and the United States.
Teaching licensure in Social Studies is available for grades 4-12 through the Department of Educational Studies with a major or minor in History and a major in secondary education.
Students have opportunities to research subjects in-depth and make presentations to College events, such as the annual Founders’ Day, and at professional seminars and symposiums. Three recent history majors published a book about the history of the city of Ripon, which is available on Amazon.com.
Advanced historical research can be pursued at the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Ripon faculty members regularly lead Liberal Arts In Focus travel experiences.
ADVISING
Ripon College faculty and professional staff are dedicated to helping you reach your goals, whatever they may be and however often they may change along the way. It’s part of our value statement to you.
As a student at Ripon, you will be assigned a faculty adviser based on your area(s) of interest. You will meet with your faculty adviser throughout your time as a student to discuss your current aspirations, plan your course schedule and plot a future trajectory. We also work collaboratively with Ripon College Career and Professional Development to help match your interests and skills to concrete goals and construct a plan for professional success offering personalized career counseling, off-campus learning opportunities and an online job board with potential to connect with local, national and international employers.
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Become the extraordinary individual you are meant to be at Ripon.