Department of History

Antecedent Departments

History (1954–1957)
History and Philosophy (1957–1958)
History (1958–Present)

Department Heads 1955–1957 Col John L. Frisbee 1957–1960 Col John R. Sala 1960–1966 Col Wilbert H. Ruenheck 1966–1970 Col Alfred F. Hurley 1970–1971 Lt Col Elliott L. Johnson 1971–1976 Col Hurley 1976–1977 Col Philip D. Caine 1977–1980 Col Hurley 1980–1981 Col John F. Shiner 1981–1987 Col Carl W. Reddel Fall 1987 Lt Col Harry R. Borowski 1988–1994 Col Reddel 1994–1995 Lt Col William J. Williams 1995–1999 Col Reddel 1999–2005 Col Mark K. Wells 2005–2007 Lt Col Vance R. Skarstedt 2007–2013 Col Wells Fall 2013 Col Edward A. Kaplan 2014–2015 Col Wells Spring 2016 Col Kaplan 2016– Col Margaret C. Martin		Permanent Professors Wil Ruenheck George Fagan*   Al Hurley Carl Reddel   Mark Wells Meg Martin

The Department Today:

The department teaches history for the profession of arms. For more than 2,000 years, history has been a warrior’s constant companion, a guide for leading, deciding, and acting wisely in challenging and uncertain times. The department provides all cadets instruction on the evolving ideas and methods of waging war throughout modern history and a comprehensive global survey of human civilization and its significant changes over time. History is a unique discipline because it instills powerfully logical, but not rigid, habits of mind; it recognizes that humans, individually and collectively, primarily shaped the past and will shape the future; and it is based on the fundamental belief that no event or decision is exactly the same as any other, although discernable patterns exist. Cadets in the History major seek a deep, nuanced, and balanced understanding of the past as an essential foundation for effectively confronting complex and ambiguous situations.

Curriculum:

The department offers 45 courses in History as well as a number of courses listed under Humanities and Social Science disciplinary labels.
    Core Courses: 
         History 100. Introduction to Military History
         History 300. World History
         History 394. The American Way of War (Advanced Sociocultural Choice)
    Majors:  History
         Foreign Area Studies (Interdisciplinary)
         Humanities (Interdisciplinary)

Noteworthy:

The department sponsors the annual Harmon Memorial Lecture in Military History. The lecture provides cadets, faculty, and staff the opportunity to interact with a leading scholar on a significant contemporary topic of interest to future military leaders. The department has published a compendium of all Harmon lectures through 1987 and is presently at work on a companion volume through 2017.