History Information | History Programs | History Courses
History
College of Liberal Arts
Department Chair
Nancy L. Quam-Wickham
Department Office
Faculty Offices 2 (FO2), Room 106
Telephone
(562) 985-4431
Faculty
Professors
Dorothy Abrahamse, Stephen E. Berk (Emeritus), David A. Bernstein (Emeritus), Paul V. Black (Emeritus), Albie D. Burke, Augustus Cerillo, Jr. (Emeritus), Patricia A. Cleary, Keith E. Collins, Kenneth R. Curtis, Edward A. Gosselin (Emeritus), Albert F. Gunns (Emeritus), David C. Hood, Troy R. Johnson, Arnold P. Kaminsky, Brett Mizelle, Keith I. Polakoff (Emeritus), Gary W. Reichard, Donald R. Schwartz (Emeritus), Sharon L. Sievers, Arnold R. Springer (Emeritus), Jack Stuart (Emeritus), William A. Weber (Emeritus), Nancy L. Quam-Wickham
Associate Professors
Houri Berberian, James Green, Arlene Lazarowitz, David Shafer
Assistant Professors
Jeff Blutinger, Jane Dabel, Marie Kelleher, Catherine Komisaruk, Caitlin Murdock, Sarah Schrank, Lise Sedrez, Moshe Sluhovsky, Omar Valerio-Jimenez
Undergraduate Advisors
Linda Alkana, Caitlin Murdock
Sharlene Sayegh-Camadon, Portfolio Advisor
Graduate Advisor
Houri Berberian
Office Managers
Aimee Castillo, Cris Hernandez
Advising in the Department of History is available to all students interested in a major, minor, a teaching credential, or a special major combining History with another discipline. Students are strongly encouraged to see History Department advisors at an early stage in the development of their programs. Undergraduate majors should see History department staff to fill out a work sheet before meeting with the Undergraduate Advisor. Students interested in the M.A. program should contact History department staff for application information. Graduate students should see the Graduate Advisor. Applicants for the Social Science Credential Single Subject Program must see Credential Advisors. All advisors maintain extended hours during the semester and are available at other times by appointment. The Department of History also hosts open advising days in the week prior to each new semester; call the Department for information.
History
History is a discipline at the core of the liberal arts tradition. It seeks to preserve, extend, and reevaluate our study of the past and to connect it with the present. Students who specialize in History are typically those who plan to teach, practice law, or enter government service; however, History students also go into business, librarianship, foundation work, management of local history projects, and fundraising. Some history alumni have become successful writers.
Students contemplating graduate work in History on this campus or elsewhere should get advice early in their undergraduate careers from faculty in their fields of interest and should also give serious consideration to developing proficiency in a foreign language during their undergraduate tenure.
The History Department awards scholarships and prizes to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students, among which are:
• The Xiaolan Bao Scholarship
• The Douglas McNeally Award
• The Stuart Bernath Award
• The Ebell-Heimberger Scholarship
• The Jack Chinski Award
• The Irv Ahlquist Scholarship
• The Elizabeth Neilsen Award
• The Hardeman Graduate Student Award
For further information about these awards, given annually, students should inquire at the Department office no later than the beginning of the spring semester. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for the Department's facilitator program for which they may earn units in the major; see Department staff for applications. Graduate assistantships and readerships are also frequently available to qualified graduate and undergraduate students. The Department also recruits outstanding students for Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society for History students.
The Department of History offers graduate study leading to the Master of Arts degree. The candidate is responsible for observation of the general requirements stated in this catalog as well as specific departmental requirements listed in the M.A. brochure, available on request from the Department office.
General Education Requirement in United States History
To fulfill State of California requirements, students must take three (3) units of U.S. history. This requirement can be met by HIST 172 or 173. Students who have taken U.S. history at another institution should check with the History Department before enrolling.