Bachelor of Arts [B.A] [History for Secondary Teaching] From Hope College

The word history comes from a Greek word meaning “inquiry.” The discipline of history is far more than the compilation of facts. It involves asking questions of various kinds of evidence and using answers to solve problems. Getting valid answers requires students to develop skills of critical thinking and careful evaluation of evidence from a variety of sources—literary, artistic, archeological, oral. History may be the most interdisciplinary of academic disciplines.

 From various perspectives the discipline of history seeks to understand how men and women have lived in different times and places, what they have thought and experienced and how to use their records that have come down to us.

Students (and their parents) often ask what they can do with a history major. The answer is simple: almost anything. History’s emphasis on critical thinking and writing gives students skills which are transferable to a wide range of fields. Hope history majors have found careers as teachers, lawyers, journalists, physicians, librarians, editors, researchers, museum curators, ministers and in government and foreign service. On a broader scale a list of history majors includes people such as W. E. B. DuBois, Wolf Blitzer, Elena Kagan, Joe Biden, Martha Stewart, Chris Berman, Antonin Scalia, Katherine Hepburn and five U. S. presidents.

In partnership with the Hope College Department of Education, the Department of History offers a teaching major for certification through the State of Michigan. The history major for certification to teach in secondary schools (grades six-12) consists of a minimum of 38 credits. All students desiring secondary certification must take the following courses: