Department of History records

History courses have been taught since the founding of Colorado College in 1874, but from 1874-1914, the History and Political Science departments of the Colorado College were combined. The first woman to join the History Department was Hester Donaldson Jenkins in 1912. In 1925, the Stewart Commission of Western History was established by professor Archer B. Hulbert. Between 1943 and 1946, the college functioned as a designated Navy and Marine Corps V-12 training site. The Western Civilization requirement for the History major was instituted in 1955. History Department courses examining the treatment of minorities and the social history of women were developed in response to the activism of the 1960s. The thematic interests of the faculty have evolved over the past several decades to reflect the changing world.

At present, the History Department cultivates in students a deep interest in and critical appreciation of the past while developing their intellectual, analytical, and rhetorical abilities. Through a variety of courses that examine societies distinct from each other in space and time, students discover the richness, diversity, and complexity of human history. The Department also helps students think about the contested nature of historical knowledge by introducing them to the various ways in which historians have interpreted the past. We engage students in issues that provoke historical debate and familiarize them with the nature and uses of historical evidence. In our program, critical study of the past opens a far wider range of human experience to our students than any individual could acquire in a single lifetime, rendering the study of history essential to a liberal arts education. Finally, the History Department website and related blogs are preserved through the provided Archive-it link.