Prizes and Awards

Prizes are awarded annually to history students in recognition of scholastic achievements, accomplishments and proficiency.

Honors Program

Honors projects provide an opportunity for students to integrate their education and focus it via a significant research and writing project, including a challenging oral defense.

Study Away

The History Department strongly encourages History majors to study off campus. In 2016-7, more than half of our graduating seniors followed up on their study away experiences in their senior capstone research projects; recently, students have also been inspired by off-campus public history experience to procure museum internships and apply to graduate programs. Because so many Study Abroad programs offer unique opportunities to study regional histories in depth, the History Department does not have recommendations of particular programs at this time. Our majors have taken advantage of Macalester’s diversity of off-campus opportunities (most recently studying overseas in Turkey, Scotland, Denmark, Argentina, Greece); they have also enrolled in domestic programs such as the ACM Newberry Program in Chicago, which offers opportunities for students pursuing fields such as Native American Studies to research in a new setting. If you are interested in studying off campus as a History Major, we suggest that you speak to the History Department Faculty Liaison about your particular chronological and regional interests, especially if those interests involve an area that does not currently have coverage in the Macalester History curriculum. Our Faculty Liaison can help you locate a suitable program and also put you in touch with recent alumni or returning students who can offer firsthand opinions about how the programs they attended have contributed to their History major and their lives post-Macalester.

Research Funding

The History Department has funding available to help defray expenses incurred by students for their research projects.


Opportunity Updates

Our department is often asked to share information from other organizations with our students. We consolidate that information here for your convenience. However, we have not thoroughly researched every one of these announcements. If you are considering any opportunity listed here, exercise caution, and if you have questions, please talk with a faculty member in the department.

For a list of opportunities prior to the 2021-2022 academic year, visit the archives.

 

Summer Opportunities

ArchaeoSpain

ArchaeoSpain was created in 2001 to provide students from all over the world with the opportunity to engage in scientific research at important archaeological sites. We teach archaeology field methods through intense field practice, lab work and presentations in sites like Hellenistic Aigai in Greece or the medieval castle of Zorita in Spain. We provide our participants with all the basic skills they will need when facing their own excavations as well as the enriching experience of involving them in the daily life of a foreign country with a different language, culture and History.  To learn more about our projects you can visit https://www.archaeospain.com

Opportunities for summer 2023:

  • Zorita Castle. Archaeology and Osteology in central Spain
  • The roman forum of Valeria. Spain
  • Visigothic aristocratic graves at Lis Hitos. Spain
  •  The royal tombs of Aigai in northern Greece

Greek Studies on Site

Greek Studies on Site is a center for the study of Classical literature, philosophy, and culture. It offers 3-week intensive summer programs, taught by Ph.D.s in Classics and Philosophy.

Programs meet for 3 hours of instruction, 6 days a week. Field study includes visits to all the major archaeological sites and museums in Athens, as well as day-trips to Sounion, Mycenae, Delphi, or the island of Aegina.

Ancient Greek Mythology
June 12-July 2, 2023

This class surveys the central stories, gods, and heroes of Greek myth. We will study a variety of ancient literary and mythographical sources and interpret them in their cultural context. Many of the readings relate directly to the sites that we will visit.

Ancient Greek Philosophy in Context
June 12-July 2, 2023

This course introduces students to the foundational texts of Western philosophy and to the socio-political contexts in which they were written. Through visits to archeological sites and museums, students will have the rare opportunity to take a contextual approach to the study of philosophy.

Learning Opportunities

09/21/2022 Human Toll: A Public History of 35W

The Hennepin History Museum is introducing its new exhibit Human Toll: A Public History of 35WHuman Toll explores the community resistance and resilience of the citizens of South Minneapolis to the building of 35W, illustrating how freeway construction destroyed and divided Black communities across the United States and amplified the effects of systemic racism still felt today. It will be on display until December 31, 2022, and the museum welcomes the Macalester community to come visit.

02/01/2022 Rare Portrait of Black American in Stalinist Russia
The Museum of Russian Art‘s new exhibition presents the portrait of Lloyd Patterson (1910-1942), a participant of the 1932 Soviet-German film project Black and White intended to highlight racism in the United States. Also included in the exhibition are photos and posters highlighting this fascinating episode in the history of Soviet–American cultural relations.

09/20/2021 Gilder Lehrman American History
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is offering self-paced courses, such as the Supreme Court and the Constitution in the 20th Century, and the Pace-Gilder Lehrman MA in American History Program, a fully online, fully accredited, 30-credit degree program.

 

Call for Papers

11/14/22 Harvard Undergraduate Classics Journal, Persephone

The Harvard Undergraduate Classics Journal, Persephone, is now accepting submissions for its upcoming spring issue until December 31st! We warmly invite you to apply.All submissions must relate to the field of Classics in some way. There are no requirements with regards to submission length or format, although we do not accept theses in their entirety. Please consider submitting a variety of works including, but not limited to, original poems, artwork, photography, translations, original Greek or Latin compositions, passage commentaries, discussions, essays, and other creative and academic pieces. We will confirm submission upon receipt and select pieces for publication by late January. Our editors will then work with accepted applicants to finalize drafts, with publication set for early May. Please note that the upcoming issue will be a double issue, featuring accepted submissions from both the past 2022 cycle and the upcoming 2023 cycle.

Please visit our website if you wish to peruse previous issues for further inspiration, or if you’d like to learn more about submission requirements. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions: we ask that you send all inquiries to [email protected].

Hemispheres Journal

Hemispheres: The Tufts University Journal of International Affairs. We are a student-run academic journal that publishes outstanding research papers and photographs by undergraduates in the field of international affairs and we are now seeking submissions for our 46th issue on the theme of Old Questions, New Answers. Hemispheres is one of the oldest undergraduate journals in the field. Submissions should be research pieces, approx. 5000-8000 words, written by undergraduates from a broad range of disciplines relevant to international affairs (economics, history, sociology, etc.). Visit this link for the paper requirements and guidelines; please direct all submissions to [email protected] and ensure compliance with the submission checklist. Submission Deadline: January 25th, 2023

We welcome and encourage a broad interpretation of the theme. Potential research topics may include but are not limited to the following: New alliances and strategic/geopolitical partnerships, the resurgence of far-right politics, revivalism, proxy wars, cyber warfare and technology, Asia in the international system, international versus regional institutions, capitalism, democracy, sovereignty, government transitions or obstinacy, historical memory, religion and the state.

Study Away Programs

02/08/2022 Program in Material Culture & Public History
National Institute of American History & Democracy (NIAHD) has reopened its Program in Material Culture & Public History to Visiting Students. Undergraduates and recent graduates can apply to spend either a semester or an academic year at William & Mary with NIAHD.

Scholarships

01/18/2022 PhD and MA Scholarships in Comparative History
Central European University offers one-year MA, two-year MA, and PhD programs in Comparative History as well as a European MA in Woman’s and Gender History (MATILDA). They are welcoming applications for the new academic year beginning in September 2022.

Events

Grad Programs

Volunteering Opportunities

Research and Project Opportunities

Workshops

Miscellanea

Internships

Job opportunities

 

Sample

Jemma Brown ’11 won the Kathleen Rock Hauser Prize in Women’s History.


Sample

Olivia Belote ’11 wrote her honors project on “History Being Seen: An Art Historical and Statistical Analysis of Feminized Worship in Early Modern Rome”


Sample

Peter Wright ’11 interned as a breaking news reporter at The Oklahoman and for “Almanac” at Twin Cities Public Television