Note from Cynthia Patterson
Director of Undergraduate Studies
The Undergraduate program had a busy and successful year. Seventy-one students graduated in May with a History major and of these thirteen graduated with Honors (seven with Highest and four with High Honors). Under the direction of Prof. Matthew Payne the honors program has become a successful three semester curriculum, including for several students independent research abroad in the summer before the senior year. [See also “Student Awards and Accolades.”]
One of the main projects this year was the development of new courses, especially at the introductory level. When the Emory College faculty revised the “general education requirements” and in so doing eliminated the category “Historical Perspectives” in which history department courses had been a mainstay, our introductory courses lost their captive faculty and stimulated the creation of new courses with which we hope to draw in now more often willing students. We are confident in our faculty’s talents and have already had some notable success.
New introductory level courses offered in 2008/09 were “History and Text: Masterpieces of Louvre Atlanta” (Miller), “History and Text: Ancient Greek Medicine” (Patterson), and “East Asia: 1500 to the present” (Ravina & Andrade); in the coming year (2009/10) we have “History and Text: Renaissance Women Writers” (Strocchia), “The Silk Road & Inner Asia” (Payne), “World Travels & European Identities” (Vick), and “Victorian Britain (Allitt). And more are planned for 2010/2011. Stay posted!
The introduction of mandatory advising for majors continues to benefit our students and, along with the new pre-advising program, directly involves the faculty with undergraduates and the undergraduate program.
As always, the office staff—particularly Becky Herring, our undergraduate coordinator and ‘super-adviser’—have been essential to the success of the program and the happiness of the students.