History and Contemporary Society
Welcome to the Department of History and Contemporary Society!
As a unit of the School of Business and Social Science, the Department of History & Contemporary Society at Bethel College provides service to students annually through both general education, undergraduate, and graduate major courses. With over 75 students declaring majors and 15 with declared minors, the department offers classes focusing in areas of criminal justice, history, international studies, pre-law, social sciences, and sociology. The goal of studies in our department encourages and helps all its students to achieve the following goals:
- Acquire the specialized knowledge, the study and research skills specific to their discipline or major, and the analytical and critical thinking abilities expected of all liberal arts graduates.
- Grow in their capacity to present ideas and arguments in a persuasive manner, both in public speaking and in writing.
- Acquire a greater understanding of the historical, social and institutional contexts of current events (i.e., trends and developments in international affairs, politics, culture, economy and thought).
- Articulate the ways in which Christians have sought to integrate disciplinary knowledge with personal faith and theology.
- Explore what it means to approach their scholarly and professional identities from a “World Christian” perspective.
David Schmidt, Chair
