{"id":8794,"date":"2026-02-09T15:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T20:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/academics\/?page_id=8794"},"modified":"2026-04-13T21:26:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T01:26:32","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/academics\/majors-and-minors\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Visit the full History site<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The past is everywhere around us, baked into the structures, narratives, and questions that shape our society. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Department of History at Bates centers on exploring the past and how it helps us better understand our present. Students examine evidence left by those who lived before us in order to make sense of their decisions and how and why societies change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Contact Us<\/h5>\n\t

Karen Melvin
\nThomas Hedley Reynolds Professor of History
\nPettengill Hall
\nkmelvin@bates.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>

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What You Will Learn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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To hone your ability to evaluate evidence<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How to construct well-reasoned arguments<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To communicate your findings clearly for a diverse audience<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To understand how systems of domination and oppression were created and sustained<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To produce research that could be presented at conferences or published in journals of undergraduate research <\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To understand past worlds, from ancient Rome to the U.S., China, Latin America, Africa, and Europe<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Life After Bates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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History majors graduate from Bates informed thinkers ready to contribute to their communities and to thrive in their lives. The skills they\u2019ve learned transfer readily to history-related fields, such as teaching and museum work, but also to a limitless range of professions. Students have gone on to top graduate and professional programs, attended Oxford as Marshall scholars, and served around the world as Fulbright grantees. Very many attend top law schools and go on to work for top firms. Recent majors are also flourishing as engineers, doctors, journalists, public health experts, and corporate executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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94%<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

of 2020-2024 Bates graduates are employed and\/or attending graduate school \u2014 settled into their next opportunity within 6 months of graduation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Selected Places of Employment\/Service<\/h6>\n\n\n\n