Program Learning Outcomes
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of their History degree, students will be able to do the following:
The Nature of Historical Inquiry:
- Identify major schools of historical thought.
- Attribute a given historian’s interpretation of the evidence to their historiographic and/or theoretical framework.
- Explain the relationship between a historian’s context and their arguments.
- Analyze major shifts in a specified body of historical literature, tracing continuities and changes in methodology, evidence, and interpretation.
Managing Research
- Select relevant and appropriately scholarly primary and secondary sources for historical research using a wide variety of library resources, including CSULB holdings, research databases, and interlibrary loan systems and online resources.
- Assess the origins, perspective, credibility, accuracy, and usefulness of multiple source types (print, digital, oral, visual), together with the methods needed to interpret them.
- Develop an effective system of note-taking and organization (manual or electronic)
- Implement discipline-appropriate referencing practices in notes and bibliographies.
Historical Thinking Skills:
- Recognize, analyze, and evaluate the role of continuity and change in historical events, in isolation or comparatively.
- Analyze complex events, movements, or sources in terms of their historical context.
- Evaluate short- and long-term causes and consequences of historical events.
Presenting Knowledge and Ideas:
- Systematize the successive steps for conceptualizing and drafting a research project.
- Formulate an original historical question and use research in primary and secondary sources to make a historically defensible and evaluative claim (thesis), demonstrating clear organization and discipline-appropriate language.
- Create and support a historical argument in non-written form, making strategic use of both textual and non-textual media (e.g. graphic, audio, visual, or interactive elements) where appropriate to enhance an audience’s understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence.
Cooperative Learning:
- Communicate and receive constructive, respectful feedback.
- Collaborate in an active classroom learning environment by contributing productively to discussions.