Institution: Central New Mexico Community College

Location: Albuquerque, NM

Tuner: Brandon Morgan

Year: 2014

Degree Name: Associate of Arts in History

Purpose of the Degree

David Lowenthal famously argued, "the past is a foreign country."^[1] Even if we focus on the history of our own hometown or region, our forebears that lived there a century or two ago had different ways of viewing the world around them. Attitudes and actions that were socially acceptable to them may no longer be acceptable to us. Change over time is one of the central problems that historians work to address. CNM's Associate of Arts in History is designed to provide students with the unique skills and aptitudes that will allow them to make well- reasoned and thought out assessments of how the past has informed the present, and vice versa.

CNM's history curriculum places strong emphasis on critical analysis. Students of history draw on multiple and varied sources in order to construct the fullest and most meaningful picture of past events. Graduates of CNM's AA in History are able to evaluate and contextualize primary and secondary sources and present their conclusions effectively in both written and verbal forms. The AA in History provides students with critical thinking and effective communication skills that allow them to appreciate diversity and act as responsible citizens of their local, national, and global communities.

[1] David Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985). 

Characteristics of the Program

The AA in History helps students to develop their aptitude in historical thinking and analysis across a wide spectrum of geographic and cultural cases. Students may choose from a variety of courses in European History, United States History, Latin American History, Asian History, and the History of the American West. During the first year of study, both halves of the Western Civilization survey (Hist 1101 and 1102) are strongly recommended as they are required of all who intend to transfer to UNM for the BA in History. The US History (Hist 1161 and 1162) and Latin American History (Hist 1181 and 1182) surveys round out the survey-course offerings. Completion of EITHER the US History OR Latin American History series is also required for the BA in History at UNM. 

Elective courses include New Mexico History, History of the American West, Twentieth-Century Russia, and the History of the Vietnam War. Additionally, topics courses on Native American and Asian History are available on a semi-regular basis. The faculty are experts across these varied fields, and are distinguished in both teaching and research. Additionally, coursework may be completed in face-to-face, hybrid, or fully online formats.

Career Pathways for the Graduate

Although there is no single, defined career path for history graduates, those with an AA in History develop a wide range of skills that prepare them for a variety of continued educational and career options. Achievement of the AA in History facilitates transfer to History BA programs at all public and private colleges and universities, and prospective employers also recognize the specific skill set held by program graduates. Emphasis on historical thinking, critical analysis, and effective communication prepares History AA graduates for careers as teachers, researchers, writers, communicators, and advocates in a number of industries. Specifically, history graduates become teachers, journalists, curators, archivists, librarians, editors, multimedia producers, film makers, politicians, and historical site managers, among other things.

As noted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, nearly half of the top ten attributes that employers seek in college graduates are skills developed through the study of history. These include:

• The ability to write and speak well
• The ability to think clearly about complex problems
• The ability to analyze a problem to develop workable solutions
• An understanding of global context in which work is now done
• The ability to be creative and innovative in solving problems
• The ability to apply knowledge and skills in new settings
• The ability to work well in teams-especially with people different from yourself
• A strong sense of ethics and integrity

Educational Style

Drawing on a variety of proven pedagogical approaches, all of CNM's history courses emphasize historical thinking, critical analysis, and effective communication. Lectures, in-class exercises, and discussions are among the various methods engaged to foster analysis of the written, visual, and verbal sources of the past. History courses may provide opportunities for service learning, engagement of the larger national and global community via social media, direct involvement in the immediate community, and use of local and/or state archival resources to help students develop historical and critical thinking skills. Additionally, this fall (2014) will mark the first time that Hist 1162 (US History II) will be offered as part of a Learning Community in tandem with Eng 1101, providing students with the opportunity of developing research and writing skills that can be applied to historical discovery.

Program Competencies and Outcomes

Critical Analysis

• identify main issues, concepts, problems, and/or techniques;
  • includes: understand dynamics of change over time and contextualizing the past on its own terms
• incorporate more than one perspective, source, method, technique, and/or approach;
  • includes: comparisons and critiques of multiple historical narratives
• demonstrate mastery by evaluating, analyzing, interpreting and/or synthesizing.
  • includes: evaluation of sources for credibility and distinguishing between primary and secondary materials and deciding when and how to utilize each

Effective Communication

In written, verbal, numeric or visual formats, the student will:

• demonstrate organization and/or coherence of ideas, content, and/or formulas;
  
  • includes: formulation of historical questions and articulation of thesis statement
• produce communication appropriate to audience, situation, venue, and/or context.
  
  • includes: writing effective narrative, understanding ethics involved in production of historical knowledge, and defending a position publically and developing the ability to revise this position when new evidence requires it