Department of History

History is the study of the deep relationships between our present and our pasts—between who we are now and who we have been as people in local and global communities. At Ithaca College, you'll explore the forces that have shaped humanity while developing critical thinking and communication skills through close collaboration with faculty.

We believe that history is as much an approach to knowledge as it is a body of discrete information, and we're committed to the humanist principle that education must carry with it the ability to communicate one's knowledge. We therefore offer the following mission statement:

The goal of the Department of History is to make students aware of the deep origins and the interconnectedness of contemporary life. Such a perspective places the present in context and challenges our culture's emphasis on newness and the disconnectedness of events. It prepares students to understand and participate more knowingly in the contemporary world.