Pi Gamma Mu:
Social Science Honorary
"Pursuing the meaning of the past for the present."1 History is one of the oldest disciplines of human study and one of the foundations of a liberal arts education. The goal of History is to describe, understand and explain the development of human society in all its complex diversity across time and space. Political Science uses both humanistic and scientific techniques to study, analyze, and explain political systems, relationships and their practice. The study of History and Political Science is one of the best ways to develop the skills of research, writing, and critical thinking that are invaluable for life and work in the modern world. The Department of History and Political Science, a unit of the School of Education and Social Sciences, offers both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. Students may choose to emphasize the study of either History or Political Science. We offer approximately sixty different classes that students can include in the major. In this last year, we added seven new permanent classes to the catalogue. Instructors also have great flexibility to add special interest classes on short notice, thanks to our flexible curriculum emphasis at Shorter. Students who are majors must write a senior thesis, undertake an internship (110 hours), and take an exit exam. Interns work with history museums, law firms, courts–as well as city, county and state governments, and interest groups in Washington D.C. In 2006 a student completed an internship with the Georgia governor's office. Another student is helping to run a political party's candidates for the upcoming fall election. The only students exempt from the internship program are those students who pursue certification in secondary education and do student teaching. We have a small but well-seasoned faculty, with approximately 80 years of college teaching experience. Associate Professor of Political Science Dwight Cassity (Ph.D., Miami University) serves as department chair. Professor of History Terry Morris (Ph.D., University of Georgia) directs the Shorter College Honors Program and teaches a large number of the special interest and interdisciplinary classes offered. Shorter emphasizes interdisciplinary course requirements in the secondary core array of classes. Interdisciplinary classes allow students to see the inter-connections between various fields of study. Assistant Professor of History James M. Scarry (Ph.D., Miami University) is the Director of the Shorter Archives and Museum as well as the faculty advisor to Eta Pi Sigma, the History and Political Science club. The faculty maintain an "open door" office hours approach with our students. Students and faculty get to know each other well. While some of the core (freshman/sophomore) class offerings might have up to thirty-five students–nearly all the other classes average around fifteen students per class. The Department also supports a Model UN program (with conference participation) in conjunction with the International Studies Program. We also offer a number of courses that International Studies majors may take such as International Relations, Comparative Government, and Geography and World Politics. In addition to gaining extensive knowledge of their subject students of the department develop skills in Research and writing, confidence in public speaking, leadership experience in Eta Pi Sigma, and contacts for their future through student teaching or internships. TAB1Jules R. Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History, 7th ed. (Boston: Bedford Books, 1998), 1. |