Welcome to the website for the History Department at Trinity College, in Hartford, Connecticut.

The beginning of the twenty-first century is an exciting time to engage in the study of History at national liberal arts college like Trinity.

The Cold War abruptly ended, Eastern European Communism and South African Apartheid both collapsed, ethnic conflicts have erupted around the world, Mexico faces the double challenge of financial stability and democratization, and India and Pakistan have become nuclear powers. International conferences have highlighted the fragility of the global environment and the growing level of poverty among the world's women and children, and the Internet has promised to transform the world.

History offers keys to interpreting all of these changes. Some years ago, a popular slogan urged educators to: Start where the student is! Fit the curriculum to their curiosities! Be relevant! The History Department at Trinity agrees. It is wise to start where students are - but we believe it wiser still to lead them to places they have never been.

We believe historical study is simultaneously about self-discovery and discovering the world. We strive to cultivate gifts of empathy, moral imagination, and critical understanding; to give students insight into human situations far different from their own; and, we hope, to help students decide where they want to go with both their lives and their learning, and then to develop their power to get there.

In this website you will be able to find out more about our program, including major course requirements, a list of faculty members, and information on lectures and special events.

Please explore these pages, and feel free to contact us through regular or electronic mail.

Samuel D. Kassow
Department Chair