As a major, one of history's greatest strengths is it teaches students how to deal with complexity; how to construct and defend arguments; how to conduct research; and how to write with clarity and verve. In the department, History students conduct independent research on projects they design, leading to opportunities to present their work and to graduate with Honors. In addition, students have the opportunity to spend eight weeks conducting research with faculty sponsors through the Summer Scholars program sponsored by the School of Humanities and Sciences.
Experiential learning: expand your skills
Opportunities to present your research
The Whalen Symposium
The Whalen symposium is held every spring on our own campus and features student research.
Phi Alpha Theta
The Department regularly sends a delegation of students to present at our regional conference of the History Honor society.
NCUR
Ithaca College takes students to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research every year.
From Summer Scholar to an Honors Project
Catherine Introcaso '21, a double major in History and Theatre Studies, explored trans-masculine characters in two, thirteenth-century romances in her project, “‘Everything that makes a man’: Perceptions of Gender Identity in Le Roman de Silence and Yde et Olive.” Catherine worked alongside Dr. Matthew Klemm to build a strong foundation for her Honors in History Project, tentatively titled “‘Everything that makes a man’: Trans-masculinity and Perceptions of Gender Fixity in the Late Middle Ages,” which will focus on how thirteenth-century French courtly society perceived instances of trans-masculinity and gender-queerness. Catherine found the Summer Scholar experience furthered her academic convictions and pursuits. Learn more about her experience here.
From Summer Scholar to Comic Con
Naomi Hanson, class of 2019, was a Summer Scholar in 2016 and in 2017 was named a Dana Intern, working with Dr. Vivian Bruce Conger both times. Naomi's research on female pirates, conducted over several years, was the basis for her History Honors project. She has disseminated her research at a wide variety of venues, including her at Ithaca College at the Whalen Symposium, at the Phi Alpha Theta Western Regional Conference, at National Conference for Undergraduate Research in Memphis, in Hawaii for an international conference, and ComicCon in San Diego..
From Summer Scholar to the Classroom
Social Studies Education major Drew Stierhoff, class of 2018, worked with Dr. Ellie Fulmer of the Education Department, on designing a curriculum for high school students and attending an Education conference. In completing his project, “Implementing Critical Literacy and Media Decoding in a High School United States History Curriculum,” Drew focused on how to teach students to be historians within the classroom, specifically on how to draw on multiple perspectives to form their own opinions. To learn more about his project, reading this profile in The Ithacan. Drew now applies what he learned in his own classroom in the greater New York City area.
From Summer Scholar to London
Summer Scholar Natalie Howlett, class of 2019, received an Emerson Humanities Collaboration Award to work on her project "Prostitutes as Propaganda: The Politicization of Sex Work in Stuart England, 1660-1714" with Professor Karin Breuer. Her research project focused on depictions of prostitutes in political propaganda during the English Restoration. The goal of this project was to demonstrate that women, particularly those who were illiterate and could not leave records behind, were historically significant and not just a sidebar in a historical discourse that largely focuses on educated men. Natalie continued her research when she studied abroad in London in 2017 and presented her findings at the 2019 Whalen Symposium.
From Summer Scholar to Fulbright Awardee
Summer Scholar Kaleb Cabisca, class of 2017, won an Emerson Humanities Collaboration Award to work with Dr. Karin Breuer on “Its Disappearance would be a European Calamity: British Perceptions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1889-1916. Kaleb used a portion of his award to fund travel to London to research in the National Archives, ultimately using his research for his History honors project. Kaleb won a prestigious Fulbright Award to teach and research in Vienna, Austria. Learn more about his project here.