History

Program Summary

The past has always been one of the principal areas of inquiry. Knowledge of the past is the foundation on which rests all human knowledge, wisdom, and learning.

History is the discipline of securing that foundation.

History courses encourage students to appreciate the changes and continuities observed in human lives and relationships in history. Our courses teach as well the skills to find and use historical sources carefully, competently, and critically in efforts to understand and explain historical developments.

Our ultimate goal is to aid our students to become mature and articulate observers of human experience with broad intellectual horizons and a commitment to learning and critical inquiry. That task begins locally, focusing on Istanbul and Turkey but expands outward from the city to the land, region, and the large context of global history. We emphasize the region’s rich contributions to human history but also encourage our students to view and appreciate that experience holistically, with due attention to different aspects of human life, and in a comparative vein, through relevant comparisons across time and space.