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Editor: Seth Ford,
Fords@grinnell.edu
Web pages maintained by pricel@grinnell.edu |
The Origins
and Goals
of History 195
By: Seth Ford
Recently, I discussed the formation of the new introductory
history course, History 195: “Cultural Encounters in History,”
with Professor Brown and Professor Drake. They explained that
the recommendations of a group of outside reviewers provided
the foundation for creating a more global introductory history
class. The ensuing effort of the Department to create the new
introductory history class took two years. The Department met
every Monday during the first year of development. At these
meetings, faculty members would present their ideas for the new
class. Eventually, a consensus emerged to teach the new course
through the theme of encounters between cultures rather than
a region by region approach. During the second year of development,
the department formed a curriculum committee for History 195.
Each committee member worked on a unit of the course and suggested
a variety of readings for that unit. After the committee members
settled upon the order and substance of the course, Professor
Brown and Professor Drake agreed to teach the class for its first
run in the fall of 1999. Eventually, all the members of the
history department faculty will have a chance to teach History
195, and then History 195 will phase into the history curriculum
as the principal introductory history course.
The primary reason for the effort to develop a new introductory
history course is to convey the broad range of history as well
as the fundamentals of the discipline. Another benefit of a
global introductory history course is that its eclectic nature
inhibits a lecture-based class and encourages a discussion-based
class, but the course’s nature can be an obstacle as well.
For example, illustrating to a student connections and patterns
within such wide-ranging material can prove to be difficult.
Despite the challenges inherent in teaching a class with such
a broad focus, Professors Brown and Drake said that the Department
of History is up to the task. It is the hope of Professors Brown
and Drake that History 195 will broaden students’ assumptions
about the scope of history. |
