Welcome to the Department of History at Western Kentucky University.

 

Our mission is to engage students in the pursuit of knowledge while preparing them for a wide variety of careers. We believe that asking questions and seeking knowledge, either for practical reasons or out of curiosity, is one of the most worthy of all pursuits.

This is one of the largest departments on campus, with more than 500 majors and graduating more than 100 majors each year. History majors here at WKU go on to a wide range of careers, including teaching, law enforcement, journalism, in public history, local, state, and federal government, and on political campaigns. Additionally we have sent students to a wide variety of graduate schools, including the University of Mississippi, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and the University of Massachusetts.

The faculty here are a vibrant scholarly community, representing a broad array of interests and approaches to the study of the past.

The study of history flows from our desire to understand how humans have tried to turn their hopes into reality. Examining these past efforts can be both exhilarating and humbling. The human past is a record of remarkable achievements, astonishing in their variety. The past, however, also gives evidence of the fragility of those achievements.  A history major will help you explore and understand issues facing people in the past, present, and future.

We are currently in the middle of updating and restructuring our webpages. While the pages for faculty have been re-done, others have not. Please be patient with us as not all the links on the old pages will work correctly.