• <a href="/live/image/gid/73/width/650/86524_History_main_image.jpg" class="lw_preview_image lw_disable_preview" tabindex="-1"><picture class="lw_image lw_image86524"> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/73/width/500/height/479/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/73/width/500/height/479/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/73/width/500/height/479/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 3x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 501px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/73/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/73/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/73/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 3x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/73/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg" alt="Reiko Hillyer, associate professor of history, teaches her popular Crime and Punishment course at the Columbia River Correctional Institu..." width="720" height="690" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/73/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/73/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86524_History_main_image.rev.1607734366.jpg 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="3067" loading="lazy"/> </picture> </a><div class="hero-split_image_caption collapsable-caption"> Reiko Hillyer, associate professor of history, teaches her popular Crime and Punishment course at the Columbia River Correctional Institution in Northeast Portland.</div>

Historians study the past as a way to make sense of the present. Both in and out of the classroom, our faculty work together with students to discover and interpret historical materials—a personal letter, a propaganda poster, a game-changing manifesto—to do just that. Research for us is not just the collection of evidence but a process of discovery that challenges us to question our assumptions and critically assess those made by others. Our students become historians in their own right, producing theses based on the kind of intensive research, critical analysis, and careful writing that prepare them for careers in a wide array of fields, ranging from library management to the foreign service, from journalism to teaching.


  • My favorite class has been Ancient Cities with Professor Joel Sweek. The class had the kind of academic rigor and seriousness that I hoped to find in college, and Professor Sweek’s lectures pushed me to think like a historian. I was left in awe of the ancient world and inspired to declare history as my major.

    Mateo Kaiser BA ’23
    History and international affairs (double) | Political economy | Mountain View, California
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  • The thing that I liked most about the liberal arts was the option to study so many things that were not directly related to my career path.

    Emily Hayes-Rich 2019
    History | Middle East and North African Studies (MENA) | Pojoaque, New Mexico
    More about Emily
  • I create community by hosting monthly programs in my residence hall.

    Sally Goldman BA ’20
    History, Philosophy (double) | Little Rock, Arkansas
    More about Sally

 

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