The Department holds that awareness of the past is essential to understanding the present and that all knowledge has historical roots. Such an approach helps students learn from the past and apply this knowledge to the present and future in a critical and constructive fashion. We argue that History is a useful subject that enables its readers to understand and capture the salient features of humanity’s shared past. Studying history equips students to face the challenges ahead.

The Department aims to cultivate our students’ appreciation of history and to sharpen their critical and analytical abilities. We offer a wide variety of courses, including both general surveys and special topics, which train our students to develop a holistic perspective of history. Special attention is given to major historiographical and methodological issues in the pursuits of scholarly research.

The Department aims to enable students to:

• Investigate the development of human society from a historical perspective;
• Develop powers of critical thinking and analytical ability in understanding historical events;
• Acquire in-depth knowledge of the human heritage;
• Pursue graduate studies in history or a related discipline; and
• Enter various non-academic professions.