Department of History
Faculty
Keith Bates (2004). Professor of History and Department Chair. B.A., Union University; M.A., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Kansas State University.
Christopher Jones (2023). Assistant Professor of History. B.A., University of North Carolina; M.A., Wheaton College; M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D., Columbia University.
Jason Strandquist (2023). Associate Professor of History. B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.A. and Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University.
David Thomas (1994). University Professor of History. B.S., The Ohio State University; M.S., University of Michigan; Ph.D., The Ohio State University.
Staff
Katherine King (2022). Academic Secretary—History, Psychology, and Sociology.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of History is to teach students: to appreciate the complex mosaic of human societies from the ancient to the contemporary era; to evaluate analytically multiple forms of evidence; to write interpretive historical accounts that are well-reasoned, stylistically clear, and properly documented; to think critically about the relationship between the past, present, and future; to deepen the integration of their Christian faith and the discipline of history; and to cultivate the skills needed for success in a variety of professions.
Curriculum
The Department of History offers courses designed to help students meet cultural, intellectual, and professional objectives. The department's program includes courses in American, European, Latin American, and church history, at the base of which is a core course in world civilization. The history courses provide students with a fundamental understanding of other times through an evaluation of individuals, institutions, movements, and societies and their historical impact. History students encounter a diversity of teaching styles, learn about the methods of the discipline, and gain a greater awareness of their Christian heritage. In the program's capstone course - the senior seminar (HIS 498) - history majors demonstrate their mastery of the tools and methods of the discipline by writing an in-depth research paper. The geography courses provide students with knowledge about the relationship between geographical elements and man's life on earth.
Assessment of Majors
HIS 498 is the culmination of the history major’s study in which the student demonstrates the use of the tools of historical research and writing by composing a major paper that includes primary sources. This course requires the major to discuss with fellow history students the methodological and historiographical problems that historians face and to share the findings of his/ her paper in a seminar setting. All senior history majors must also take the Area Concentration Achievement Test (ACAT) in History.
Student Organizations
The Delta-Psi Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society is open to students who have had 12 semester hours of history and who have a minimum HIS GPA of 3.1 and 3.0 in the remainder of their work. Union’s chapter, established in 1953, was the first in the state of Tennessee.
The Rutledge Honorary History Club was founded in 1929 to stimulate the study of history. Membership by invitation is offered to history majors and minors and a select number of students who have undertaken three semester hours of history with a course average of 3.0 and who have expressed an interest in the study of history.
Student Awards
Departmental Awards are given to: two graduating seniors for outstanding work, one in the history major and the other in the history minor; a graduating senior for excellence in student teaching; and students who present papers at Phi Alpha Theta regional conferences.
Dr. James Alex Baggett History Research Awards are given for the best original research papers presented as part of the requirements for any history course.
The Phi Alpha Theta Scholarship Key is presented to a graduating senior member of the society who has a major in history and who has an average of 3.5 or better in that discipline.