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.
Faculty member Greg Mullins talks about the history of Capitol Lake during a tour of the downtown murals and the State Capitol. In the 1930s, the mudflats in front of the Capitol were home to a shanty community called Little Hollywood.
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.
Opportunities to Study Include
- Social, cultural, and political history including gender, race, and sexuality
- Western Europe including Britain, France, and Ireland
- Eastern Europe and Russia
- United States, American indigenous peoples, and Latin America
- North Africa and the Middle East
- Southeast Asia including Indonesia
- Ancient Mediterranean cultures
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.
A group of students present a show called Spaces for Women as an end-of-quarter project for the program Ireland in History and Memory. The project comprised music, poetry and two pieces of papercut art.
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.
Sample Program
Students create timelines in the Culture as History program.
Unmasking the Material World: Discovering Objects as Stories
Offered Fall 2018–Winter 2019
Over the last 70 years, we have witnessed a tremendous pop-culture interest in items categorized as vintage, antique, or classic, inspiring a profitable market. Things people find in thrift stores, flea markets, and Ebay carry with them the stories of the past. Through bringing these objects into our daily lives, we can discover connections between of people of the past lived and what is meaningful to us today.
We'll take day trip to several local sites, including the Museum of History and Industry, the Squaxin Island Museum, thrift shops, the local shopping mall, and the local dump and recycling center to learn about the stewardship of objects as cherished artifacts, coveted consumer goods, donations, and waste.
You'll examine how objects and values mutually construct each other by reading ancient and modern works and by developing your own essays and creative pieces.
View this program in the catalog.
After Graduation
Leah Olson, class of 2013, is now in her second season at the American School‘s Agora in Athens excavations. She studied classics, history, and archaeology while at Evergreen.
The analytical, research, and writing skills developed in the study of history are a strong preparation for many fields. Many have continued their education with advanced degrees, both in history and in related fields such as classics and archaeology, European studies, American studies, and creative writing.
Evergreen graduates with a history emphasis have gone on to careers as lawyers, teachers, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, journalists, and historians.
Historical studies prepares students, whatever their profession, to be thoughtful and engaged members of their communities with the ability to appreciate difference, nuance, and context.
Students in Culture as History presented the Cornell Box dioramas they made for their winter quarter final project.
Facilities & Resources
Students in the program A History of “Race” in the U.S. meet in small groups in the alcove space on the ground floor of the Library building. The program encompasses African American studies, history, and political science.
The Library
Evergreen's collection is tailored to support your research with more than 400,000 items including article databases, books, periodicals, films, games, and more. Faculty librarians provide research assistance. You also have access to materials from libraries in the Pacific Northwest and from around the world. Learn more about the library.
Washington State Archives
Students with an interest in Washington state history have convenient access to the state's main archive in downtown Olympia. State archives include papers of all governors and all official records of the state. Find out about the Washington State Archives.
Recent Student Projects
Evergreen students presented papers at the annual Northwest Undergraduate Classics Conference at Willamette University in 2013 and 2015.
- Elizabeth Ferrington, 2013: “From Birth to Burial: Girls and the Control of Sexuality in Ancient Greece.”
- Allegra Radcliffe, 2013: “Midwifery and the Plebeian Woman in the Roman Empire.” Allegra is traveling to Greece this summer to present a paper on dance in the late 18th and early 19th century in Greece at the Messolonghi Byron society's annual conference.
- Alexander Witherspoon, 2015: “Hanno: an Inquiry and Commentary.” He was the only first-year student presenting at the conference.
Faculty
See faculty who teach in History.
How to Choose Your Path
You’ll choose what you study to earn a Bachelor’s degree that’s meaningful to you. Some students decide their programs as they go, while others chart their course in advance.
Aim for both breadth and depth; explore fields that may be related or that may seem very distant. You'll be surprised at what you discover.
If you're new to college, look for programs where you can gain a foundation, build key skills, and broaden your knowledge (FR only, FR-SO, or FR-SR).
If you already have a foundation in this field, look for programs with intermediate or advanced material (SO-SR, JR-SR, or FR-SR). These programs may include community-based learning and in-depth research. Some of these programs have specific prerequisites; check the description for details.
Talk to an academic advisor to get help figuring out what coursework is best for you.
| Title | Class Standing | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Ecology and Archaeology: A Survey of Methods |
|
16 |
| Greece and Italy: An Artistic and Literary Odyssey |
|
16 |
| Capstone in Culture, Text and Language in World Societies |
|
16 |
| Student-Originated Studies: Reimagining Community Safety |
|
8 |
| Black Movements for Freedom: History, Theory, and Transformative Justice |
|
12, 16 |
| Black Movements for Freedom: History, Theory, and Transformative Justice |
|
12, 16 |
| Russia's Magnificent Siberia: Shaman, Cossack and Commissar |
|
16 |
| Evergreen in Context: An Archives Project |
|
16 |
| Teaching and Learning When the World is on Fire: Education and Justice Movements |
|
16 |
| The Spanish-Speaking World: Cultural Crossings |
|
12, 16 |