Making History: How to Think About the Past (and Present)

Catalog description

Who makes history? This apparently straightforward question is at the heart of studying the past, but it is also an important question to answer if we are to understand the world around us. Being able to answer the question "Who and what caused changes to political, cultural, economic, and environmental systems?" is fundamental to thinking about the past, but it is also essential to analyzing current issues as widespread and yet connected as economic inequality, social justice, and climate change. "Making History" is an introductory course ideal for students who are curious about the past and want to learn how to become better critical thinkers by applying its lessons to the present. The course explores how history is made on two levels: both the historical events themselves and how those events are documented, interpreted, and remembered. In other words, making history is not just about understanding what happened, but what it meant to different groups of people then and what it means to different groups of people now. We'll visit some famous (and not-so-famous) historical events and actors to learn about how individual choices combine with deeper structural factors, like gender, race, environment, and class to "make history." Along the way, we'll also encounter different ways to interpret the past, drawing upon the latest scholarship to understand how historians think about the past and #8212; and present. Students will be encouraged to synthesize what they learn in class to develop their own critical perspectives on their lives and the world around them. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Humanities" general education requirement.