Division: Social Sciences
History is the discipline that studies and interprets past events in light of their eventual outcomes using every tool at its disposal, but focusing primarily on the written record. Students will acquire skills and abilities in the use of both primary and secondary history sources, engaging a diversity of viewpoints in history in a civil and constructive fashion, and evaluating historical sources for credibility and perspective.
The most common career opportunities with a baccalaureate degree include law, business, research, writing, archival work, politics, and teaching.
Transfer requirements in History are available in the Counseling Department. In all cases, students should consult with a counselor for specific transfer requirements.
Contact Information
History Faculty Contact
Benjamin Nelson, Ph.D. | benjaminn@cos.edu
Katherine Becker, Ph.D. | katherineb@cos.edu
Stephen Tootle, Ph.D. | stephent@cos.edu
Social Sciences Division Chair
Marla Prochnow | (559) 730-3723 | marlap@cos.edu
Kern: 730D | Visalia Campus
Dean of Business, Social Science, and Consumer Family Studies
Milli Owens | (559) 737-6281 | millio@cos.edu
Kern: 716C| Visalia Campus
For a complete list of courses and descriptions visit: COURSES
HIST C1001 United States History to 1877
3 unit(s)
Common Description: This course is a historical survey of the United States, from Indigenous North America to the end of Reconstruction. The course also introduces students to historical reasoning skills. COS Description: Historical survey of the European colonization of North America and of the United States through Reconstruction, emphasizing the interaction of political, military, diplomatic, economic, geographic, and social factors in the evolution of American culture. (C-ID HIST130)
HIST C1002 United States History since 1865
3 unit(s)
Common Description: This course is a historical survey of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present. The course also introduces students to historical reasoning skills. COS Description: Historical survey of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present. (C-ID HIST140)
HIST 004 History of Western Civilization to 1648
3 unit(s)
Survey of the development of western culture and civilization to the Reformation. (C-ID HIST170)
HIST 005 Western Civilization Since 1648
3 unit(s)
Survey of the development of western culture and civilization from absolutism to the present. This course covers events from approximately 1648 CE to contemporary times. Students will define the characteristics of modern Western civilization and trace how its institutions, ideas and developments from the middle of the seventeenth century to the recent past have shaped the current Western and wider world. (C-ID HIST180)
HIST 023 Mexican American
3 unit(s)
This course examines the historical, cultural, and social development of the Mexican American community from Pre-Columbian civilizations to contemporary U.S. society. Through a humanities and social-science lens, students analyze how historical forces, migration patterns, cultural expression, and social movements have shaped Mexican American identity in the U.S. Students engage with primary sources, literature, and cultural expressions, applying historical inquiry, borderlands theory, and social-scientific analysis to examine identity, power, resistance, and cultural transformation from Pre-Columbian civilizations to the present.
HIST 025 World History to 1500
3 unit(s)
A survey of the economic, political, and social developments in world history from the emergence of human communities to the Modern Period (1500). (C-ID HIST150)
History
Becker, Katherine, Ph.D.
B.A., California State University, Fresno
M.A., California State University, Fresno
Ph.D., Ohio State University
Nelson, Benjamin, Ph.D.
B.A., California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
M.A., University of California, Los Angeles
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Tootle, Stephen, Ph.D.
B.S., California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
M.A., California State University, Fresno
Ph.D., Ohio University