Interested in studying medieval history?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm in my late 20's and currently a prison guard in CA, pretty fed up with that and recently started going to community college (night classes) now about 8 years out of high school. Decided I'm interested in majoring in History once I one day finally get all my transfer credits ready. I'm completely fascinated by medieval warfare/history and interested in studying it if at all possible. Interested if it is possible to study those in the US since they seem to be more of a European thing?</p>

<p>Do I just generally study history as an undergraduate or is it possible to specialize in something specific that I'm interested in such as medieval history or history of warfare? I seem to notice that not much attention is paid academically to warfare, more to the "positive" aspects such as art, philosophy, religion, etc, all things that I have limited interests in. Sorry if I seem short-sided, I'm just a prison guard trying to step into a somewhat more positive environment. Interested in learning which schools are known for their history programs, ideally in the above areas I'm into (if at all possible)???</p>

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<p>Some schools have a medieval studies major, which is slightly different from history, but I don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for.</p>

<p>At my school courses on warfare are offered by the history and poli sci departments, with different focuses. Colleges do not generally shy away from the subject of war, believe me. It’s just that military history is a relatively narrow field, so smaller departments do not always have the resources to offer courses in it.</p>

<p>In any case, I don’t think it would be possible for you to take courses exclusively on medieval warfare even if you found a school that offered many of them; you’d still have to fulfill some sort of gen ed requirements (some of them you will have taken care of by the time you’re done with community college, but every four-year school has its own graduation requirements, so you may still have to take classes outside of your major after you transfer).</p>

<p>And history is a broad major by design; at the undergraduate level it is supposed to introduce you to the historical method and the underlying principles, generalities and patterns of human history. Again, I can only speak for my own school, but as a history major I have to take at least one course in pre-1800 history and one in post-1800 history, and courses in European, American and non-Western history, plus a special humanities class, i.e. intellectual history and philosophy, *and *courses in two social sciences of my choice. I wouldn’t actually be able to graduate with a degree in history if I just took courses in, say, post-WWII European history for four years, not even if I became a great expert in that area. And I don’t see anything wrong with that; being a historian is about thinking like a historian–the ability to see patterns and put things in context, to relate different events to each other, to think big if you will–and not about being really knowledgeable about something really cool.</p>

<p>Grad school is where you specialize. As an undergraduate you will most likely have to study things you’re not interested in–but again, if you’re not interested in any type of history other than medieval history, then I don’t think you’re getting the point of history at all. (If you choose to major in medieval studies instead, however, you will probably encounter another problem; medieval studies, while focused exclusively on the Middle Ages–duh–overlap with literary studies, philosophy, art/music history and even theology at many colleges, and you may find those equally irrelevant to your interests.)</p>

<p>Also be aware that 1. most graduate programs in history, and certainly all the good ones, have foreign language requirements. As a medievalist you will be affected by this more strongly than most–in other words, you will probably be expected to know French, Latin and German, or some combination thereof; and 2. even in grad school you will be asked to develop several areas of interest.</p>

<p>P.S. I apologize if I sound like I’m attacking you; that is definitely not my intention. I’m just trying to explain to you why no history department worth its salt would let an undergraduate student, or even a graduate one, focus on military history exclusively.</p>

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<p>I don’t believe you were attacking me in any way. Thanks for responding with so much information. As I said I have absolutely no college experience up until very recently, just a blue collar prison guard. You were right to assume I’m trying to knock out as much of my general ed as possible while it’s still affordable (community college). I guess if I want the history degree I’ll have to bite the bullet with the stuff that I find not interesting, and assuming all goes to plan (we’ll see?) hope to find an interesting graduate program a few years down the line. . .</p>

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<p>

Traditional military history, including tactics/strategy, weaponry and fortifications, logistics, etc., is actually very much out of vogue at the moment; in fact, it’s been so since at least the end of the Cold War. Most historians view it as an outgrowth of “big man” or political history, both of which are decidedly out of favor these days – fields like social history, cultural history, gender history, and intellectual history are far more common in most history departments. Many historians do not shy away from war, but they typically address a war as one issue within a broader sociocultural and political context rather than tackling a history of warfare itself.</p>

<p>Only a few schools have stubbornly kept military history tracks. Ohio State, Duke, UNC, Texas A&M, Kansas, Kansas State, and a couple of others I’m probably forgetting are some of them. Ghostt is correct in stating that undergraduate courses in military history are difficult to come by anywhere; at best you might find a survey course in the subject or a upper-level class in ancient warfare or WWII occasionally. I wouldn’t get too caught up in finding that focus; most professors would be willing to do an independent study with you on the subject. If you have the time and money, I highly recommend studying abroad; military history is alive and well in the UK, and universities there dominate medieval military history. </p>

<p>What colleges you choose can depend a great deal on what you plan to do with your degree. A history major is not as readily marketable as a major in engineering or business, and if you want to get a job right after college, you’d probably be wise to aim for some of the best colleges you can get into (for example, the UCs). If you want to teach K-12 kids, be sure to look for colleges with certification programs in secondary teaching, especially with an emphasis on history and/or social studies. If you want a research position - say, teaching college or working for a museum - you’ll need a MA or PhD, and in that case you’ll need colleges with decent preparation in Medieval history. Languages would be a factor here, as Ghostt mentioned, and you’d need a good reading knowledge of German and 2 or 3 years of Latin as a minimum.</p>

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<p>What are you going to do with a degree in medieval history? This isn’t going to help you in anything. If you want to move on from your current job, you should get a degree that will actually help you in life. Note also that you should be looking at your current state school for financial aid and in-state tuition.</p>

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<p>My mom always said, “college isn’t trade school”. This sounds like something you are truly passionate about, and the fact that you have had several years out of school makes it even more valid. You have the maturity to know what truly interests you at this point.</p>

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<p>Vassar College has a Medieval and Renaissance Studies major. My cousin is in it and absolutely loves it. </p>

<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>

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<p>Vassar may be a bit of a reach in this situation.</p>

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<p>I’m at the point in my life where I’m not going to waste $50,000 on an education I do not care about. I have a job, I have a pension, I have health insurance. The last thing I’m going to do is go get a degree in Psychology or Engineering when I could care less about the subjects. History is the only subject I have ever been interested in an academic sense. I am now learning based on what I’m hearing that it is impossible to simply study one aspect of history (IE: military history or medieval history). This is unfortunate, however I will just have to deal with it. Plus if all else fails, in my line of work, simply having a degree is good enough to get you promoted, whether it be in Quantum Physics or Basket Weaving. </p>

<p>My ultimate dream goal I suppose (that is realistic anyway) is to just teach at a community college or something. If I could do life over again I suppose I would have gotten good grades in high school and gone to a top school where I could be studying abroad in Europe researching medieval history. However I took the blue collar route and now I “walk the line” and respond to race riots. I can only hope one day I will be able to earn a living in a more “positive” environment :-)</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your information, I will not take it lightly. . .</p>

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