History

History: Major

The study of history at Holy Cross not only seeks to understand the past; it also offers deep personal enrichment for a thoughtful, even passionate, engagement in the challenges of the present. Among the most encompassing academic disciplines, history is informed by economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, the arts and literature.

Working with innovative faculty experts, students explore a diverse range of interests and a broad selection of topics from “Traditional” East Asia to Modern Latin America, Gilded Age America to Imperial Russia. Students learn how politics, social and economic developments, and cultural life interact.

Students of all interests, passions, and goals study history at Holy Cross. Graduates use their training to pursue careers in law, medicine, government service, business, teaching and a host of other vocations. 

Program Highlights

Students enrolled in history at Holy Cross explore their major and gain depth in a particular aspect of history through a global concentration. Spanning geographic locations and time, students select from the following themes:

  • Colonialism and Empire
  • Gender in Public and Private Life
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Resistance, Revolution, and Reaction
  • Knowledge and Belief
  • War and Memory
Image
Faculty

With 18 full-time professors, the department is one of the largest history departments among liberal arts colleges.

Image
Opportunities

Students can augment their studies through honors programs and hands-on experiences.

Image
After Graduation

Find out what students can do with a history major, and check out the careers of some recent alumni.

History News

Shreyashi Chakdar, Liat Spiro, Conor Carney, Elizabeth Spragins, Sarah Klotz, Nina Barzachka and Amy Finstein stand in Memorial Plaza
Holy Cross Welcomes Seven Tenure-Track Faculty Members for the 2019-20 Academic Year
Seven faculty members at College of the Holy Cross have been welcomed into tenure-track positions for the 2019-20 academic year. They will each join a different department: economics, English, history, physics, political science, Spanish and visual arts. The new faculty …
Students sit in a circle of desks in a classroom
Classics Course Examines How Ancient Times Relate to Conflict in the United States
The music of Steely Dan, the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou” and the history of two world wars may seem an odd trio of discussion topics for a classics course. But the juxtaposition of the modern and the ancient …
Sarah Campbell stands in the Jesuit Cemetery on campus
New Book Gives Voice to History of Jesuits on Campus
Hundreds walk by daily, but most would recognize only a handful of the names on the nearly 300 white stone markers at the Jesuit Cemetery. A new book seeks to rectify that, detailing the lives of those interred and, in …