ABOUT US
More than 10,000 Georgia State University students take a class in the History Department each year.
Our Mission
As part of a public research university, the History Department has the primary mission to create and disseminate knowledge and research methods that promote the intellectual development of the people of Georgia and the nation. The faculty's research and teaching seek to undermine the gross ignorance and untruths that have been used to inhibit effective participation in a democratic culture. The department's stress on cross-cultural, transregional, transnational, global and world history assists students and the reading public to avoid the dangers of parochialism.
This involves learning the mechanics of research and teaching and developing such personal qualities as accuracy, honesty, thoroughness and evenhandedness. The department demands active learning, involving the students in reading and participation in seminars, research and analysis of primary sources, and presenting the resulting findings in written and verbal formats that adhere to recognized professional standards. The department's instructional mission is to prepare students for future careers, the responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society and the uncertainties one encounters in relations with others.
Chair Welcome
Welcome to the department of history. Learning to think historically and to understand broad change over time prepares a person to participate fully in life. Historical study is a foundation of humanistic inquiry — knowing about the past prepares you to understand the present, think critically about how to solve problems, and develop skills and knowledge that allow you to grow as a person and participate in our democracy.
The History Department is a robust community of scholars. History professors are experts in a diverse range of places and periods who teach more than 10,000 students each year and actively disseminate their research in books, articles, and presentations. The department hosts exciting public talks — from the Somers lecture to the Program in World History and Cultures speaker series — and encourages students at all levels to cultivate their interests in the past. The department also includes programs in public history and heritage preservation that allow students to dive into the collection, preservation, and interpretation of our past for a wide range of community stakeholders.
The department, which was recognized for the excellence of its teaching by the Board of Regents, uses high-impact teaching practices to prepare majors for a diverse collection of career opportunities. Our majors have gone on to take jobs not only as teachers or in nonprofits but also at large corporations such as Delta, AT&T, and Deloitte. Many history majors go on to graduate programs or to law school, and we help our majors find their footing on both pathways: career and post-graduate education. Our graduate students produce exciting new research. They are prepared through the department's emphasis on career diversity to find employment as academics or as professional historians working outside the academy.
The most critical issues facing our society today — from racism and racial inequality to disease and well-being, from immigration and belonging to democracy and economic change — have histories. And yet the point, as one economist once said, is not just to understand the world but to change it. History helps us do that.
Jared Poley
Chair, Department of History
Our Students and Instruction
Graduates of Georgia State's history programs will have the ability to analyze conflicting information and viewpoints, write clearly and communicate ideas, find reliable evidence for judgments about human actions and motives, and place particular events in a wider context or historical pattern. Graduates are prepared to be competent historians and teachers and function successfully in the larger community, both within and outside the academy.
A knowledge of history makes possible the transmission of cultures and values from a world perspective. It prepares students to comprehend the nature of governing bodies and the foundations of economic theories. Our courses help students understand other societies and their own, and they give students an intellectual foundation upon which they may develop social policies grounded in reality.
Contact Us
Department of History
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Department Chair
Associate Chair
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Director of Graduate Studies
Director of Master of Heritage Preservation Program
Department Specialist
Office / Delivery Address
History Department
Georgia State University
25 Park Place, Suite 2000
Atlanta, GA 30303
USPS Mailing Address
History Department
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 4117
Atlanta, GA 30302-4117