New degree gives global perspective

The Department of History has become among the first academic departments in the country to offer global history as a major field of study in its master's and doctoral programs.

Around the academic world, degree programs in global history are in their infancy. A few universities--including the University of Hawaii, Northeastern University, SUNY Binghamton, Rutgers University, the University of Texas, and Ohio State University--have been experimenting for more than a decade with courses or programs of study in "world" or "global" history, but few schools have formalized the study into a degree program.

"This is clearly a new trend," says Joseph Inikori, professor of history at Rochester. "There's a greater appreciation to see history more in global terms. Many historians say a lot of United States history would be better understood in the context of global forces."

The new field at Rochester is designed as a major and largely self-sustaining field of study that looks at the processes that have simultaneously affected local, regional, national, and international developments.

"The uniqueness of this program is that, unlike other programs or courses of study, this is not just a version of regional or comparative history," says Dorinda Outram, the Gladys I. and Franklin W. Clark Professor of History. "This is the study of the factors that have gone into construction of the global system we now have."

The offer of a graduate field in global history has generated a substantial jump in applications to the history department. The program, notes Outram, will strengthen the qualifications of those, both from the U.S. and abroad, who are seeking careers in higher and secondary education--where there is a growing demand for instructors in world history--as well as in diplomacy, international law, or international trade.

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