History is the study of changes throughout the past as a means to understand our present and inform our future. It enables us to obtain context for contemporary systems, institutions, politics, cultures, and moral questions. It engages students in questions about causality and asks students to see the contingent conditions that have shaped our world. History asks students to do much more than memorize facts, but instead challenges students to see the world from various viewpoints, evaluate a multiplicity of sources, develop a sense of context and coherence, all while recognizing the complexity and obscurity of our world.
Through historical inquiry, students will learn how to confront, contemplate, analyze, evaluate, and present their own assessments of the past. History majors at CSUSB do not just read and write about history, but engage with the past in creative, practical, and innovative ways. In addition to community engagement, and through diverse course offerings that span different periods and places, students will not only gain a new understanding of their local and global communities, they will also be well prepared for a multitude of career opportunities, including, but not limited to, education, government, law, public history, business, and media. Applying new and dynamic methods of history, our students learn vital skills that can be applied in the marketplace.
The department offers courses across all areas of the world and temporal time periods. Courses are offered in the areas of African, Asian, European, Latin American, Middle East, and United States history. Courses are often integrative and are constantly updated to reflect new areas of interest and faculty expertise. CSUSB’s history department is one of the few in the country to offer an undergraduate degree in Public and Oral History.
The History department also offers an M.A. in History, an Egyptology Certificate, and a Museum Studies Certificate. It also contributes to the B.A. Social Sciences program, the B.A. in Liberal Studies, and the M.A. in Social Sciences. We also offer key courses in the GE program. History courses also are part of the American Studies, Asian Studies, Ethnic Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Latin American Studies, and Native Nations programs.
