History Minor
Program Overview
The discipline of history lies at the core of a liberal education. Students of history learn and analyze the major social, political, and economic forces that have caused change over time with an eye to understanding the present in the light of the past. Drake’s History Department courses focus mostly on the modern period (c.1500 to the present), have a world historical emphasis, and investigate those ideas and institutions by which people have shaped and ordered their world.
At a time when the average college graduate will work in four or more different professions during their lifetime, the History Department’s program prepares and empowers students with modular and transferable skills. Our curriculum helps students to think clearly; to research, analyze, and interpret a broad range of materials available across multiple media; and to express themselves cogently both orally and in writing. With these skills, students are prepared to pursue careers in business, industry, government service, numerous professions, and the advanced study of history.