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Getting Started and Contact Information
Introduction: What Is History?
At the college level, the discipline of history involves not simply learning facts about the past, but honing skills of analysis and interpretation. As you critically scrutinize primary documents as well as books and articles written by professional historians, you need to consider not simply what happened but why and how different authors present their arguments and evidence. As you write about the issues raised in lectures, readings, films and class discussion, you need to interpret evidence and craft your own arguments. Ultimately SUNY Brockport’s history faculty aims to empower you as independent thinkers, researchers and writers, confident in your knowledge and in your ability to critically examine new information.
The habits of critical thinking, intellectual flexibility and clear argumentative writing
that history majors cultivate are at the core of the liberal arts tradition. They are habits that
will enrich your lives and, we hope, deepen your engagement with the present as well as the
past, and with the global community as well as the local and national ones. They are also
skills that are in high demand in a number of rewarding professions. History majors can go
on to careers in the private sector, in public service and in the non-profit sector. We
encourage you to think about and explore a variety of options, many of which require
further study beyond your BA or BS. Some of these, in alphabetical order, are: business,
journalism, law, library science and information technology, medicine, museum work,
public administration, publishing, social work, teaching, urban and regional planning.
Graduate study in history itself is another path, either at the MA or PhD levels.
Teri Rombaut: Lynchpin Of the History Department
Teri, the Department of History secretary, has been with us since 2000 and has a
wealth of knowledge about how to negotiate the system and an almost limitless willingness
to help. Do check this Handbook, the College Catalog, and the Department of History
Web site for answers to your questions, but don’t hesitate to contact Teri if you can’t find
answers in those places. You can reach her at: (585) 395-2377, or in 133 FOB, or at:
trombaut@brockport.edu. Teri has copies of the forms you might need and can help you
with majors reservation registration.
Declaring the Major
If you have not yet filled out the form to declare yourself a history major, go to Teri in the Department office, 133 FOB, for a copy. When you declare the major will you be added to the History major’s Angel group, and will be assigned a faculty advisor. On the declaration of major form you can also indicate an interest in a minor, a second major, or in a teaching certification program. Your DARS report will then reflect those interests, even if you choose not to actually pursue them. If you make that choice, make sure to go to the Office of Registration and Records in Rakov and have them change your DARS accordingly.
