Department of History

 

Department of
History

Contact

 

Overview

The Department of History offers minors and immersions that promote broad perspectives on human experiences, teach critical appraisal of primary and secondary sources, develop communication and writing skills, and enable you to make comparisons and draw contrasts across global historical perspectives—all skills that are essential in a wide variety of professions, including business, education, journalism, law, politics, and public service. We are a tight-knit department with faculty who have a wide variety of professional and scholarly interests, from the history of gender to the history of computing, from the history of Asia to the history of the United States, from the history of imperialism to the history of baseball.

10

Faculty in the department

68

History courses offered

9

Geographical and historical areas of study

Latest News

  • May 24, 2022

    photo illustration of people walking along a street in a parade, and people sitting on top of a convertible.

    ‘Clarissa Uprooted’ exhibit coming to City Art Space

    Starting on June 3, the exhibit “Clarissa Uprooted: Unearthing Stories of Our Village (1940s-early 1970s)” will open in the RIT City Art Space. This show, created through a partnership between the Center for Teen Empowerment in Rochester and the Clarissa Street Reunion Committee, has involved a number of collaborators including RIT faculty and students from the College of Art and Design and the College of Liberal Arts.

  • May 9, 2022

    woman sitting in a chair and another woman standing with her arms crossed.

    Protectors of a diverse history

    The field of museum studies is changing. Not only are the people working in nationwide cultural institutions becoming more diverse, but the narratives told within those institutions are more inclusive and equity-focused. RIT’s museum studies program, led by Program Director Juilee Decker, aims to accelerate this momentum.

More Department News  

Featured Work

Woman in armor holding spear

Digital Exhibit: Suffrage Poster Exhibition

Completed in the Fall of 2020 to recognize the centennial of woman suffrage in the U.S., this virtual exhibition was a collaboration between Tamar Carroll, Associate Professor of History, and students...

View More about Digital Exhibit: Suffrage Poster Exhibition

Featured Profiles

Faculty / Staff

View Department Directory  

Undergraduate Programs

The past will always shape the future as our understanding of who we are and what we value continues to evolve. The ability to reflect on history, examine the human condition, and critically analyze the past as a guide to the present and future is part of what it means to be human and to live in human communities. The study of history not only encourages you to develop a lifelong passion for critical thinking, but also leads you to become a better local and global citizen, an effective communicator, an active participant in civil discourse, and an informed creator and consumer of media and technology. RIT’s BS in history will equip you to understand the past and the means by which it shapes the present.

Learn more about the History BS program 

In the museum studies degree, you’ll learn how collections are built, curated, and interpreted and you will apply methods of exhibition and interpretation used in museums, archives, galleries, libraries, and public spaces including national parks.

Learn more about the Museum Studies BS program 

Minors and Immersions

The history immersion provides students with intensive study within the discipline of history. Students may choose to structure their immersion broadly, by choosing a wide range of historical topics to study, or narrowly, by choosing a particular area to study, such as American, European, or Asian history.

Learn more about the History Immersion program 

The history minor provides students with a foundation in the academic study of history. It serves as a complement to any professional degree, as historical study at the college level hones the skills that are important to any well-trained professional: namely, effective writing, critical analysis, engaged reading, and logical thinking. Students are free to shape the history minor to their liking, by choosing the geographic areas of historical study of most interest to them, such as American, European, or Asian, or by choosing the historical topic of most interest to them, such as transnational history, comparative history, war, business, race, or gender.

Learn more about the History Minor program 

The immersion in museum studies introduces students to the history, theory, and practice of institutional collecting, exhibiting, storing, and preserving our cultural heritage in museums, archives, collections, galleries, and libraries. It also provides students with an introduction to public history, the technical investigation of art, the history and theory of exhibitions, and interactive design for museums.

Learn more about the Museum Studies Immersion program 

The museum studies minor provides students with a foundation in the history and practice of the museum as an institution and in the history, theory, and practice of collecting, exhibiting, and preserving the cultural heritage that defines the purpose and function of the museum. Courses cover a wide range of topics that are relevant to contemporary museology: the history of museums and collecting, the technical study of art and materials, the history and theory of exhibitions, interactive design, public history, the rise of the museum profession, legal and ethical concerns, and conservation.

Learn more about the Museum Studies Minor program 

Resources