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History

2011-12 General Catalog

201 Humanities
(831) 459-2982
http://history.ucsc.edu/

Faculty | Course Descriptions

Program Description

History is the attempt to understand the meanings of the human life experience, not generally and abstractly, but in terms of specific individuals, events, and circumstances. Consequently, of all academic pursuits, it is the one best equipped to help us locate phenomena in their specific contexts, whether we are concerned with political events, social changes, the production of art, the development of technologies, scientific discoveries, or life stories. In this sense, the study of history can also be an invaluable complement to any other major.

The history program at UCSC is designed to bring about an understanding of the ideas, experiences, and events that have shaped this country and the world at large. The program's main emphases are in social and cultural history, with additional strengths in intellectual and political history.

A degree in history opens up a wide range of career possibilities. Some careers fall within the historical profession, including teaching at the university, college, and high school levels and working in various areas of public and applied history, such as historic preservation, archives, libraries, and museums. For careers in fields as diverse as law, business, government, foreign service, publishing, journalism, and communications, a degree in history lays the foundation in research, analytic, and writing skills upon which later professional training can be built.

Requirements for the Major

A minimum of 12 courses is required for the major. No more than four of the minimum 12 courses may be lower division. A minimum of 40 upper-division units must be completed within the history major course requirements. The history major does not require an examination for entrance and does not limit the number of students accepted into the program. It is strongly advised that students complete at least one introductory history course before declaring the major.

At UCSC, the history curriculum offers three broad, geographically defined regions of concentration:

  • the Americas and Africa
  • Asia and the Islamic World
  • Europe

Course requirements. Each history major selects one of the three regions of concentration listed above. History majors are required to take at least one lower-division survey course within their chosen region of concentration.

  • Americas/Africa: History 10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, or 30
  • Asia/Islamic World: History 40A, 40B, 41, or 43
  • Europe: History 65A, 65B, 70A, 70B, or 70C

Transfer coursework may or may not apply toward the survey course requirement; consult the History Department.

In consultation with the history undergraduate program coordinator, the student plans a program of study that will also fulfill the following distribution of courses:

  • five courses in the chosen region of concentration, one of which must be the lower-division survey course; three of the remaining courses must be upper-division;
  • two courses from each of the remaining two regions of concentration;
  • two upper-division history electives based in any of the regions of concentration;
  • one comprehensive exit requirement (see below) in the student’s chosen region of concentration.

Students often choose to satisfy the history major course requirements listed above according to some general theme of special interest to them. Faculty and staff advisers will assist the students who choose this option with their course selection.

In addition to all coursework, history majors must complete a senior check and exit survey in the first quarter of their senior year. For details, see the department web site, http://history.ucsc.edu.

Distribution requirements. Among the 12 courses required for the major, at least three must meet chronological distribution requirements. One must be set before 600 A.D., and two must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 A.D.

Interdisciplinary coursework. The History Department encourages its majors to take upper-division courses in disciplines related to history, including sociology, literature, community studies, American studies, politics, Latin American and Latino studies, and others. Students who wish to substitute one or two such appropriate upper-division courses for history electives must obtain approval from the History Department. These courses are subject to the limitations described below under the "Transfer credits and substitutions" section.

Comprehensive requirement. A comprehensive exit requirement in the student’s chosen region of concentration can be fulfilled by completing an exit seminar (one quarter: 190-series, 194-series, or 196-series) or a thesis (two quarters: courses 195A and 195B). Please consult the department web site for a more detailed description of these courses.

Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement. Students of every major must satisfy that major's upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement. History students can fulfill the upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement by completing a comprehensive exit requirement in their chosen region of concentration. Students may complete an exit seminar (one quarter: 190 series, 194 series, or 196 series) or a thesis (two quarters: courses 195A and 195B). Please consult the department web site for a more detailed description of these courses and refer to updated DC information at http://reg.ucsc.edu/catalog/html/disciplinarycommunicationchart.html.

Honors in the history major. Honors are awarded to the top 10-15 percent of graduating students per quarter; highest honors may be granted to approximately the top 5 percent. Honors are determined by the Undergraduate Education Committee in consultation with the History Department faculty. The department considers each student’s GPA in the history major, supplemented when appropriate by an assessment of work in the senior capstone course or honors thesis preparation. The history major GPA is calculated based upon all history courses attempted at UCSC; grades from courses taken outside of the department will not be calculated into a student’s history major GPA, even in cases when the student is allowed to use said courses toward their history major degree requirements. Summer, fall, and winter graduates will be reviewed at the end of each of their respective quarters. Spring graduates will be reviewed using their earned history major GPAs as of the spring announcement of candidacy deadline.

Language recommendation. Proficiency in a foreign language is strongly recommended for all history students and is essential for those who plan to pursue graduate studies in history. Many Ph.D. programs in history require applicants to read one or two languages besides English. The University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP) is appropriate for history majors as a means to both enhance language skills and take history courses elsewhere.

UC Education Abroad Program. Subject to the limitations described below under "Transfer credits and substitutions," up to three courses in history completed through EAP may be applied toward major requirements. Consult the History Department web site, and speak with the undergraduate program coordinator for further details.

Transfer credits and substitutions. A minimum of five regularly scheduled history courses plus the comprehensive requirement must be taken from members of the UCSC history faculty. Subject to the limits indicated in parentheses, courses from the following categories may also be applied to the history major:

Transfer courses taken at another institution (limit of 3)

Education Abroad Program (limit of 3)

UCDC (limit of 2)

UC in Sacramento (limit of 2)

Related upper-division courses taken in another UCSC department (limit of 2)

Independent and field studies (limit of 2)

Requirements for the Minor

Students whose major area of interest is not history may nonetheless find that a minor in history makes an invaluable contribution to their studies. For the minor in history, eight history courses, four of which must be upper division, are required. There is no senior comprehensive requirement for the minor.

Graduate Program

The Ph.D. program in history at UCSC emphasizes an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach to historical studies. The History Department offers a rigorous program of instruction and independent work that trains students in the techniques of original historical research and equips them to teach university-level courses in history. The department only admits those highly motivated students who are most qualified to pursue advanced studies in history. The department also only admits those applicants who can best benefit from the specific strengths of our faculty.
Just as the work of most professional historians centers around research and teaching, training in these areas constitutes the two essential poles of the graduate program in history.

Research and Teaching

In preparing graduate students for research and teaching at the university level, the department offers training in four geographically and chronologically defined fields: U.S. history, European history since 1500, East Asian history since 1600, and world history since 1500. U.S., European, and East Asian history are defined as primary teaching fields; each graduate student is required to choose one. Students of U.S. history may incorporate Latin American history in their coursework, while students of European history might include the history of European colonialism and imperialism. Every year the faculty in each field offer introductory readings seminars and, when possible, classes on more specific topics (see below for information about course offerings). Each graduate student also prepares a second teaching field different from the primary field and can choose from among U.S., European, East Asian, or world history. Students may also petition the graduate committee to prepare a secondary teaching field in African or Latin American history.

Research Centers and Clusters

The History Department has created a series of thematic research clusters to coordinate the training of graduate students in historical research. Each research cluster is composed of History Department faculty and graduate students as well as faculty outside the department who share broad scholarly interests. The clusters serve as a way to coordinate the research of faculty and graduate students whose work encompasses different geographic regions and chronological periods. Although the nature and number of the research clusters may change over time, the department currently offers two basic groupings: 1) colonialism, nationalism, and race; and 2) the history of gender. These clusters are complemented by scholarly activities sponsored by various UCSC Centers. Centers that are currently directed by UCSC History faculty are: the Center for Jewish Studies, the Center for Labor Studies, the Center for Mediterranean Studies, the Center for the Study of Pacific War Memories, and the Center for World History. For information on current research clusters, please visit the Institute for Humanities Research web site, ihr.ucsc.edu.

The faculty of each cluster provide at least one research seminar every other year in addition to readings courses. All the affiliated graduate students must take at least one research seminar during their first two years; they are encouraged to take more than one.
Faculty and graduate students also participate in interdisciplinary forums outside the department.

These include programs sponsored by the Chicano/Latino Research Center, the Center for Cultural Studies, and the UCSC Institute for Humanities Research. Advanced graduate students may also have the opportunity to work in programs sponsored by the University of California Humanities Research Institute at UC Irvine. Finally, multi-campus groups in which students and faculty are involved include the Bay Area Seminar in Early American Studies, and the French Studies Group at Stanford.

Courses

Until they pass the qualifying examination and are formally advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, students must be in residence at UCSC and are expected to complete a minimum of 12 credits each quarter to maintain normal academic progress. Completion of a minimum of 12 courses of 5 credits each (in addition to History 280A, 280B, and 280C) is required for advancement to candidacy. Courses taken are graduate seminars, independent study courses, and most upper-division undergraduate courses.

Students are required to take the following before advancing to candidacy:

  • History 200 (year 1, fall quarter); History 201 (year 2, winter quarter); History 280A (year 1, fall quarter) 280B (year 1 or 2), 280C (year 1 or 2);
  • one research seminar during the first four quarters: History 204A, 204B, or 204C;
  • second teaching field: two courses in American, European, East Asian or world history;
  • outside courses: two quarters of graduate coursework outside the History Department;
  • readings courses in the appropriate field: East Asia—History 230A, 230B, 230C (China) or History 242, 243, 244 (Japan); Europe—History 250A, 250B; U.S.—History 210A, 210B.

Graduate students in East Asian history specialize in either modern Chinese or modern Japanese history, but all students in the East Asian program will be prepared to teach both. The core curriculum for East Asian history consists of three China reading seminars (courses 230A, 230B, 230C) and three Japan reading seminars (courses 242, 243, 244) taught in sequence over three years, covering such topics as foundational historiographies, gender, social movements, and transnational circulation of people, commodities, and ideas. Over the course of the three years to the qualifying examination, China students will be expected to take all three China seminars and at least two of the three Japan seminars. Japan students will be expected to take all three Japan seminars and at least two of the three China seminars. Additional coursework in research methods as well as occasional independent studies will also be available, and students are encouraged to take classes that have a wide range of faculty in other departments across the campus.

Foreign Language Requirement

No prior foreign language preparation is required for admission with a primary teaching field in U.S. history. Two to three years of college work, or its equivalent, in at least one foreign language is required for admission to the European program. Students who choose East Asian history as their primary teaching field will be required to have completed at least three years of college-level Chinese or Japanese prior to admission; more years are recommended. Depending upon the student's intended field of research, Japanese language study may also be required of China specialists as part of the graduate program of study.

Students with a primary teaching field in U.S. history are expected to demonstrate a reading competency in at least one foreign language prior to taking the Ph.D. qualifying examination. Students in all other teaching fields must demonstrate a reading competency in at least two foreign languages prior to taking the Ph.D. qualifying examination; competency in one of the languages must be demonstrated by the end of the sixth quarter of enrollment. Usually, competency will be demonstrated by passing a reading examination administered by a member of the history faculty. Students who believe that they have already demonstrated competency through previous coursework or through their performance on a standardized test should petition the graduate director.

M.A. Degree

The master of arts (M.A.) degree is awarded to all Ph.D. students after two years in residence, successful completion of 12 courses of 5 credits each, demonstrated competency in one foreign language (for those in primary teaching fields other than U.S. history), removal of all Incomplete notations (I) on record, and approval of a substantial essay of 25-30 pages.

The M.A. Essay

Students are required to produce a substantial research essay grounded in original research in primary historical documents. A successful essay will reflect a general understanding of the field of inquiry along with a critical grasp of the scholarship that currently defines the field; deep knowledge of the specific subject under investigation; the application of appropriate analytical models; and a well-supported interpretation of the materials explored. This essay could (but need not) be a segment of a larger project; but it must be a complete, self-contained essay in and of itself.

Students enroll in course 201, Directed Research Colloquium, the winter quarter of their second year. While taking course 201, students work intensively with a faculty reader  in the preparation, crafting, and revising of the essay. The final draft, approved by the reader, must be submitted to the graduate committee by the spring quarter deadline (usually mid-April). The deadline will be noted in the department's call for M.A. essays.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination (QE) emphasizes field mastery, integration of material from different fields, and focused preparation for dissertation research. The QE is a three-hour meeting during which a student presents and discusses a dossier that has been submitted to the student's committee at least three weeks in advance. The examination is normally taken by the spring quarter of the third year, but no later than the end of the 10th quarter of residency. Prior to taking the QE, all incomplete notations (I) must be cleared from the student's record. Additionally, the student must be registered the quarter the examination is taken.

The four examination fields are designed in consultation with the student's QE committee members. Students prepare for the examination through regularly offered courses and independent readings courses sponsored by the examiners. Students are required to take at least two courses in each of the four fields. The fields are as follows:

  • Primary Field of Concentration. One of three fields: American history; European history 1500 to the present; East Asian history 1600 to the present.
  • Research Field. Normally a subfield of the primary field with a focus on the student's specific area of research interests. This field is most closely connected to the student's work in a specific research cluster.
  • Second Teaching Field. Chosen from the above list of primary fields, with the addition of world history, or, where appropriate, a comparative, thematic field such as gender, colonialism, etc. Students may petition to be examined in Latin American or African history.
  • Outside Field. One field outside history, such as American studies, anthropology, literature, feminist studies, politics, sociology, or history of consciousness. Students select a field of topical, thematic, or methodological relevance to their dissertation. The student's faculty adviser must approve the outside field.

The four examination fields must be defined and preliminary reading lists (see below) filed with the department no later than the student's eighth quarter of residency.

A pass or fail will be given after the examination based on the student's knowledge and research preparation as demonstrated by his or her dossier. All areas must receive passing marks from all members of the committee. Immediately following the exam, the QE committee will complete and submit to the History Department the Report on Qualifying Examination form. If a student does not pass the QE the first time, they may retake only those sections not passed. No one will be permitted to take the QE more than twice.

Qualifying Examination Dossier Requirements

The QE dossier includes four parts, each of which should be prepared in consultation with the student's primary academic adviser and with the advice of the examiners. The examination will focus upon the dossier. All examiners, including the examiner from outside the department, will participate in all segments of the examination.

The dossier includes:

1. An essay (20-page limit) reviewing the state of the scholarship in the student's primary field of concentration. This essay should reflect the student's general, broad competence in his or her field as well as a mastery of the theoretical issues and historiographic debates in four to five areas that represent their primary area of expertise. The essay may reflect the thematic focus of a research cluster as well as work completed in an outside field (literature, anthropology, etc.).

2. One syllabus or, at most, two syllabi (the number to be decided in discussion with the student's primary adviser) that demonstrates the student's preparation to teach across the breadth of their primary field at the introductory level. The syllabus should be annotated to show how each class session would be prepared: principal sources for lectures, principal questions for discussion, reasons for assigning particular readings, etc.

3. A syllabus (annotated in the same fashion as described in section number 2 above) in the student's second teaching field, accompanied by a brief (three- to five-page) statement of principal issues. The exact content of these items will be decided in consultation with the examiner in the secondary teaching field.

4. A 10- to 15-page dissertation prospectus that includes an evaluative survey of the literature relevant to the student's proposed research topic, a detailed discussion of the archival resources, and a consideration of the theoretical issues to be engaged. The prospectus lays out, in reasonable detail, the direction of research the student intends to pursue for the dissertation. The prospectus includes the following information:

  • three- to four-page description of the overall argument of the project, including a  discussion of the research base and the appropriate methodological/theoretic models;
  • a detailed discussion of the archival resources;
  • two- to three-page outline, tracking the research and analysis chapter by chapter;
  • substantive bibliography with complete citations.

Note:

  • Although no specific segment of the dossier focuses upon the coursework completed outside the History Department, it is expected that this work will be incorporated into different sections of the portfolio, particularly the research prospectus.
  • Complete bibliographies must be appended to each piece of the QE dossier.

Dissertation

The dissertation represents an extensive, book-length project grounded in research in original historical documents. A successful dissertation will reflect a broad and deep understanding of the field of inquiry, a mastery of the scholarship that currently defines the field, detailed knowledge of the subject of study growing out of dedicated research, and the incorporation (and explicit rejection of) appropriate interpretive models.

M.A. in History (Terminal)

The Department of History offers an M.A. degree in history for those individuals who are interested in postgraduate work, but who are not planning to complete a Ph.D. It is a degree program that can fulfill in-service education requirements for current teachers as well as for future teachers earning a single-subject credential in social studies. Part-time enrollment is allowed.

Each student will be required to choose one of four areas of specialization (U.S., Europe, East Asia, world) and select one of two topical research areas—colonialism, nationalism, and race, or history of gender. To complete the degree, each student must pass a total of 12 courses of 5 credits each and six courses of 2 credits each including courses 280A, 280B, and 280C. Students must also write an M.A. paper of 25-30 pages. For students specializing in Europe, U.S., and East Asia, the curriculum will be nearly identical to that taken by Ph.D. students in their first two years, except that there will be no language requirement. Those specializing in world history will take History 204A and 204C (or other seminars approved by the department) instead of the corresponding courses in other fields (courses 250A, 250B, and so on), but otherwise their curriculum will be the same as that of a typical incoming Ph.D. student.

Course Requirements

  • History 200 (year 1, fall quarter); History 201 (year 2, winter quarter)
  • one research seminar during the first four quarters: History 204A, 204B, or 204C
  • six courses of 2 credits each including History 280 (year 1), 280B (year 1 or 2), 280C (year 1 or 2)
  • seven electives of 5 credits each, two of which must be taken outside the History Department. Courses taken are graduate seminars, most upper-division undergraduate courses, and independent study courses.
  • two reading seminars in the area of specialization:
    U.S.:  History 210A, 210B
    Europe:  History 250A, 250B
    World:  History 204A, 204C or other seminars approved by the department
    East Asia:  History 230A, 230B; 230C, 242

The History Department does not normally provide financial support to students pursuing the M.A. degree; however, students may apply for available teaching assistantships. Admission to the M.A. program does not constitute admission to the Ph.D. program. Students must reapply for the Ph.D. program.

Further details about the graduate program are available from the Department of History web site: http://history.ucsc.edu.

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Revised: 8/13/12