Department of History

Upcoming Speakers and Events

What Is History?

As one of the oldest of the liberal arts, the study of history emphasizes the importance of reading widely and deeply in the sources of human civilization and develops in its students the skills of thoughtful analysis of evidence and effective communication.

History is also fun! Truly understanding the past involves careful investigation and detective work. Reconstructing the past with limited (and often conflicting) evidence is an exciting challenge that often leads to the thrill of discovery.

The Department of History at California State University, Bakersfield offers Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) degrees in History.

The department also offers a program of study leading to a California Teaching Credential in Social Science and a Minor in History.

Why Study History?

History is not about memorizing names and dates; it's a passionate exploration of the human past that opens up a deeper understanding of human life. Through history you learn to appreciate who you are, the society you live in, and how our increasingly complex world developed. By understanding the past, you gain a more informed perspective -- one that positions you as a global citizen to appreciate what is going on in the world around you, including the political, economic, and ethical debates that fill our media.

But history is more than personal. It helps you understand how the world works. Why do we engage in wars, empire building, and telling others how they should live? If the past informs the present, does it provide clues about how your life might change in the coming decades? In what ways were people in the past different from us? What do these differences tell us about the patterns of development in human society?

The study of history is a good investment in your future. History majors are among the highest-paid liberal arts graduates and are in greater demand than finance and accounting majors. That is because students in history gain a broad cultural background and learn skills of analysis and written communication, valuable traits that are highly desired by employers. CSUB history graduates have established careers in such fields as education, public history, law, journalism, public service (including law enforcement and fire-fighting), library science, business, and politics.

Click here for more information about careers for history majors.

CSUB's history faculty will train you in the skills you need to build your personal and professional roadmap. You will learn how to write well, critically think through the great issues that will face you in life, apply these skills to prepare you for a good job, and in the process be bitten by the bug to travel and see the world. In fact, our program encourages majors to explore the CSU study abroad program, with sites in over 20 countries.

CSUB history faculty are dedicated to helping students succeed. They have been trained at highly ranked universities and teach a broad range of history courses covering all parts of the globe, including the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. They are world travelers and active scholars. Above all they will work with you to expand your understanding of the past and the present.

If you choose, you can use your history major as a springboard to an internship or other applied learning experience. You can also share your love of history with others through the department's History Club, Phi Alpha Theta (the history honor society), History Forum events, and the History Newsletter.

If you love history, then pursuing a BA in History is the right choice! Thousands of successful men and women have done so before you—with careers as diverse as politics and entertainment, including the following:

American Presidents:

Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Kennedy
George W. Bush

World Leaders:

W.E.B. Dubois
Henry Kissinger
Gordon Brown

Supreme Court Justices:

Elena Kagan
Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy

Broadcasters:

Wolf Blitzer
Ray Suarez

Business Leaders:

Martha Stewart
Chris Hughes (co-founder of Facebook)
Donna Dubinsky (CEO of Palm, Inc)
Samuel Palmisano (CEO of IBM)
Richard B. Fisher (chairman of Morgan Stanley)
Lee Iacocca (CEO of Chrysler)
Robert Johnson (CEO of BET TV)

Entertainers:

Steve Carell
Sacha Baron Cohen
Conan O'Brien
Edward Norton
Sean Astin
Michael Palin (in fact, his fellow Monty Python founder, Terry Jones, has published extensively on medieval history and hosted a History Channel series on the Middle Ages)
Jimmy Buffett
Julia Child
Larry David
Brian Dennehy
Janeane Garofalo
Ellen Barkin

Athletes:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Bill Bradley
Grant Hill