The history program offers all the University's students the opportunity to understand the cultural and political context, both past and present, of the world in which they live.  As Cicero said, "To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to remain always a child."

The program offers survey courses in Western and American civilization, and upper-division courses in the history of particular countries, eras, and issues.  These courses are designed to provide an understanding of the historical facts and trends that have brought about the civilizations of the world in general and an understanding of our own in particular.  Our faculty is actively engaged as a research community and seeks to be faithful to the University's mission by dedicated teaching, scholarly research and service to the larger community. 

The history program also contributes to the University community at large.  History has a permanent place in the University core curriculum, and the program addresses questions of cultural diversity in human history.  Students in the College of Arts and Sciences must take 3 hours of history to satisfy core curriculum requirements.

Sincerely,
Elise M. Moentmann
Chair, History Department
moentman@up.edu