History Program
We offer a major and minor in History and Integrated Social Studies Teacher Licensure (grades 7-12).
Courses and Schedules
All Department of History and Political Science program requirements and courses are listed in the Otterbein College Undergraduate Catalog.
To see which courses are offered in upcoming quarters, view the Course Schedule site.
Explore the Diversity of History
The history faculty have a wide range of expertise and interests. Our areas of research and teaching span the globe to include Africa, America, Asia, and Europe and stretch across time from pre-modern to modern history.
Professors' individual areas of interest are diverse. Members of the history faculty have published on such topics as:
- Early modern Dutch business history
- Gender and African intercontinental empires
- 20th Century Viennese psychoanalysis
- Women in colonial British America
- Labor conflict in the American West
In our scholarship and in our teaching, we show students what it means to consider issues through a variety of historical approaches including intellectual, economic, political, and social history perspectives.
Prepare for Your Future
Students majoring in history are prepared to enter a variety of occupations and professions. Career paths include working for archives, historical societies, museums, and public institutions as well as any job that values clear writing, strong communication skills, research experience, and analytical thinking. For further information about what you can do with a history major, we suggest you visit the American Historical Association's Careers for History Majors web site. Faculty advisors in our department are available to help you develop an individualized career plan.
For those interested in history education jobs, the history program cooperates with the Education Department to prepare students for careers in Social Studies education at the Middle Childhood or Adolescent to Young Adult level. Students seeking a license to teach Integrated Social Studies at the 4-8 grade level will have a major in Education. Those interested in a 7-12 grade level license major in History and apply separately for admission to the teacher licensure program through the Education Department once they are enrolled at Otterbein.
Access History
While at Otterbein you will have many opportunities to experience history outside of the classroom:
- You can join the college's chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society.
- You can make connections between class learning and the community by participating in service learning. For example, history students have collected oral histories from immigrant communities in the Columbus area and researched American Civil War soldiers connected to Otterbein.
- You can engage in firsthand, independent research through an independent study project or the Honors or Distinction Programs.
- A range of internships can also be arranged at the local, state, or national level.
