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This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

History Tracks with Interdisciplinary Emphasis (HMIE)

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History Fields of Study or Degree Options

These tracks are designed for students who are interested in other disciplines who want to focus on the historical aspects of the subject matter covered by that discipline, who want to understand how interdisciplinary approaches can deepen their understanding of history, or who are primarily interested in developing interdisciplinary approaches to historical scholarship by combining the careful attention to evidence and context that motivates historical research with the analytic and methodological tools of science and the humanities. In pursuing the above requirements for all History majors, students in HMIE are required to complete their thirteen courses for the major as follows:

Gateway Course (one course)—Students are required to take the appropriate gateway course for their interdisciplinary track. This course introduces students to the application of particular interdisciplinary methods to the study of history. See the section on each HMIE for the gateway course appropriate to that major track. (Note: The History and the Law track has no gateway course requirement.)

Methodological Cluster (three courses)—This cluster is designed to acquaint students with the ways in which interdisciplinary methods are employed in historical scholarship, by practicing historians and scholars in other disciplines whose work is historical. This program of study must provide methodological coherence and must be approved in advanced by the student's adviser. See the section on each HMIE for the appropriate historical methods courses. (Note: The History and the Law track requires four methodology courses.)

Geographic Cluster (four courses)—History is embedded in time and place. This cluster is designed to emphasize that the purpose of studying methodology is to more fully understand the history of a particular region of the world. Students select a particular geographic region, as specified in the History major, and complete four courses in that area.

Interdisciplinary Cluster (four courses)—These courses, taken outside the Department of History, acquaint students with the methods and approaches of another discipline appropriate for the interdisciplinary study of history. This program of study must provide methodological coherence and must be approved in advance by the student's adviser. See the section on each HMIE for appropriate interdisciplinary courses.

Research Seminar for Majors (HISTORY 209S)—Fulfills Writing in the Major Requirement.

HMIE tracks do not mandate the breadth or concentration requirements of the General History track. Introduction to the Humanities courses taught by History faculty may apply to HMIE tracks only insofar as their content is specifically appropriate to the particular methodological or geographic cluster.

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