[History_students] Changes to the History Curriculum

[Margaret Storey]

Dear History Majors:

Please accept my apologies if this is the second notice you have  
received. A number of students were not included in the first  
Blackboard alert, so I am sending this information a second time to  
ensure better communication. Feel free to stop here if you have  
already been notified about the changes to the major.

If not, this note will alert you to some important impending changes  
in the history major for 2008-2009 and explain some new features of  
the history curriculum that you will encounter when registering for  
autumn 2008 classes.

A feature of the course offerings that will affect ALL history  
students is our new numbering system for lower-division courses. Some  
history classes previously listed at the 200 level are now listed at  
the 100 level. There is no difference between the 100 and 200 levels  
in terms of difficulty. Moreover, the new 100s will be treated the  
same as 200s in terms of degree requirements. The key thing to avoid  
is inadvertently repeating a course, as some of the titles have  
changed slightly. If you are concerned about this, you can check the  
departmental website (www.depaul.edu/~history) for a list of the new  
numbers and the ways that they correspond to old numbers.

The first thing that I want to emphasize about the impending changes  
to the history major is that if you have already declared your history  
major, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING—your degree requirements  
will remain the same. However, those of you who have not yet taken HST  
199 may wish to transfer into the new plan anyway. If you are in this  
category, please be in touch with me or other transition advisors (see  
attached flyer) for assistance.

The principal innovations of our new major plan are:

· no regional distributions at the lower division (100 & 200 level)

· a new, 2-part core (HST 298 and HST 299) will replace HST 199

· higher number of required courses at the upper division (300 level)

· a new practicum in research and writing for the junior year called  
HST 390

· new opportunities for focusing your history courses around a  
specific theme—whether that be issue-oriented (like race and  
ethnicity) or regionally focused (as in Latin America)

· a revised pre-law concentration

· a new public history concentration


Finally, please find attached a flyer with guidelines about how you  
might be affected by the new major and what to do to get advising if  
you have any question or if you are considering a transfer into the  
new major. We have identified eight faculty members who will act as  
“point people” for new major transition advising—please feel free to  
contact any of them (including me) for help.

Best wishes for a good remainder of the Spring Quarter and a relaxing  
summer break.


Dr. Margaret M. Storey
Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Programs
mstorey at depaul.edu
773-325-7482




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