Discover how people thought, lived, worked, played, loved, and struggled in the past. Puzzle over why societies, traditions, and ways of thinking change over time. Appreciate and interpret experiences of people around the globe from the ancient world to the present. Grasp the challenges of developing sound insights and understanding about the past.

Nobel Prize-winning American novelist William Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” At Evergreen historical study comes alive in conversation with the present and through collaboration with other fields.

Students of history examine every dimension of the human experience — private life and politics, ideas and the material world, family and public institutions, identity and power, labor and leisure. Programs in history can include the study of literature, political science, economics, philosophy, Native American studies, environmental studies, the arts, and popular culture.

Studying history promotes critical thinking about big questions — what has caused specific revolutions? What is the relationship between individual memory and history? How can artifacts help us understand people from the past? How can documents crafted by people in power reveal both the emergence of dominant cultures and be read subversively?

Since there are no easy answers, college-level history is not primarily about memorizing facts but about making connections, interpreting, and discovering webs of meaning.

When you look at different people and times, you'll consider how people's lives which seem inexplicable to us made complete sense to them, and how understanding and interpreting their experiences helps us make sense of our world. You’ll challenge your assumptions about how individuals and communities live and make meaning with knowledge.

You'll prepare for professional work or graduate study by learning how to interpret evidence, create narratives about human experience, and develop sound arguments. You'll learn how historical knowledge is formed by creating it yourself, learning how to do historical research and interpreting what you encounter. You'll learn how to understand secondary sources, research archival materials, practice oral history methods, and shed light on the human experience by honing all these skills.

The analytical, research, and writing skills developed by studying history provide strong preparation for many fields, both in history and related disciplines such as classics and archaeology, European studies, American studies, law, and creative writing.

Evergreen graduates with a history background have gone on to careers as lawyers, college and public school teachers, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, journalists, fiction writers, and historians.

Historical studies prepares students, whatever their professions, to be thoughtful and engaged members of their communities with the ability to appreciate difference, nuance, and context.

Join us in an education that doesn't just change your life — it gives you the tools to change the world.