• past human experience – social issues, politics, economics, religion, and art – as a key to understanding the present

Belmont Abbey’s History program may be for you if you:

  • enjoy history and reading
  • have a good memory and a logical, orderly mind
  • want to learn about different cultures and their social and structural transformation

The history professors at Belmont Abbey College combine a range of teaching styles and techniques to offer fascinating classes each year.

  • Go beyond classroom lectures with Reacting to the Past role-playing games or classes that incorporate trips to Europe.

At the Abbey, you’ll analyze and explore the human potential for both good and evil across many centuries and within diverse cultures and gain a thorough understanding of the tradition of Western Civilization and the currents of political, ecclesial, social, and conceptual changes throughout its formation.

With a bachelor’s degree in history from Belmont Abbey College, you will be able to pursue a variety of career opportunities, including:

  • Historian
  • Political advisor
  • Teacher
  • Archivist
  • Writer/editor
  • Law school

The history curriculum prepares students for many different career opportunities, including teaching, librarianship, business, government, law, museum and archival work, social work, and different forms of ministry.

The Abbey Difference:

Guided by the tenets of Catholicism and the Benedictine hallmarks, Belmont Abbey College strives to provide its students with a well-rounded education that promotes wise and ethical decisions.

The skills and methods that are developed through the study of history promote the sort of lateral thinking, analytical ability, and capacity to communicate in speech and writing that are necessary for future professional success. In accordance with our Catholic, Benedictine intellectual tradition, we try to enable our students to analyze and explore the human potential for both good and evil across many centuries and within diverse cultures, leading them to become men and women of virtue.

Program Requirements:

Students transferring more than 13 credit hours to Belmont Abbey College are not required to take the First-Year Symposium.

Major requirements
Students majoring in History must take all four (4) of the lower-level courses listed below. Six (6) of these hours are counted towards the History requirement in the Core Curriculum (HI 101 and HI 102); the other six (6) hours are counted as part of the forty-two (42) hours of major requirements (HI 201 and HI 202).

  • HI 101 Western Civilization I
  • HI 102 Western Civilization II
  • HI 201 United States History: 1492-1865
  • HI 202 United States History: 1865-Present

300 Level or above:

  • Six (6) History courses at the 300 level or above
  • HI 301 Historiography
  • HI 401W Thesis

Other Courses:

  • Foreign language (two courses of the same language)
  • Upper-level course (300 or above) in English
  • Upper-level course (300 or above) in Theology
  • General Elective courses

Students are strongly encouraged, but not required to take HI 452 Internship. Students choosing to take HI 452 may count this course towards the 18 hours of History electives for the major.

The last eighteen (18) credits taken to fulfill the requirements of the History major must be taken at Belmont Abbey College. Students transferring from accredited institutions may transfer a maximum of nine (9) credits at the 300 and 400 levels.

It is the student’s responsibility to see that all degree requirements for graduation are fulfilled.

Fifteen (15) hours of History courses at the 200 level or above.

It is the student’s responsibility to see that all degree requirements for graduation are fulfilled.

Faculty:

Dr. John Daniel Hutchinson
Chair & Associate Professor of History
B.A., Belmont Abbey College
M.A., University of Alabama-Birmingham
Ph.D., Florida State University

Dr. Troy Feay
Associate Professor of History
B.S., Taylor University
M.A., University of Notre Dame
M.A., University of Notre Dame
Ph.D., University of Notre Dame

Linda Pastryk
Coordinator of the Art History Minor
B.A.,Vanderbilt University
M.A., UNC-Chapel Hill
Ph.D., Salve Regina University

Bradley Blankemeyer
B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A., College of Charleston
D.Phil., University of Oxford

Dr. Patrick Wadden
Associate Professor of History
B.A., Trinity College, Dublin
M.St., University of Oxford
D.Phil., University of Oxford

Dr. Ian Crowe
Associate Professor of History
B.A., Oxford University
M.Litt., University of Bristol
Ph.D., University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Michael Baxter
B.A., UNC – Charlotte
MBA, Milsaps College

Clark H. Summers
B.A., University of California
M.A., Salve Regina University
M.A., US Army War College
Ph.D., Salve Regina University

Denis J. Obermeyer
Curator of Rare Books and Special Collection
M.A., S.U.N.Y. Binghampton
M.A., The Institute of Religious Studies Dunwoodie
STB from the Katholieke universiteit Leuven
Ph.D., The Catholic University of America

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