The Department of History, Philosophy & Social Sciences (HPSS) employs the principles of experiential learning in guiding students in the development of those skills necessary to achieve success in graduate school or their chosen career. Those skills, fostered in our department’s degree offerings, include the ability to analyze relevant sources and data, draw original conclusions, and effectively present research.
The faculty and students of HPSS share a core set of values that unite us in singular purpose, despite our varied disciplines and backgrounds.
The first of these core values is Scholarship. Scholarship entails our shared commitment to the values of academic freedom, responsibility, integrity, and professional ethics—values that we strive to pass on to our students.
Our second core value is Citizenship. This value reflects our understanding of the importance of public higher education and the social sciences to promote the attitudes and competencies needed for citizens to engage in the democratic public sphere under the conditions of global diversity in the 21st century.
The third core value of the Department is Experiential Education. This value includes our commitment to include the best practices of pedagogy into our teaching, embracing the innovative opportunities offered by Experience One and setting the highest standards for the work of our students.
Jessica J. Fowler is an Associate Professor of Latin America and the Atlantic World. She teaches courses such as Colonial Latin America, Modern Latin America, Witches and their Bewitched in the Atlantic World, Race in Latin America, History of Science, Introduction to the Atlantic World, and American History II. She is also currently developing various new courses to make History as engaging as possible for the broadest number of students.
My love of history and the world began thanks to my parents, immigrants from Poland who came to the United States after World War II. An appreciation of the many different experiences, realities, memories, and identities that shape history is what I try to convey to my students.
Turning youthful exuberance to practical use, I earned a PhD in 2009, focusing particularly on Russia and the Soviet Union. Since then, I’ve taken up teaching Western Civilization, World History, Russian History, and the Philosophy of History.
“It’s really nice having concentrated time with the professors. The Experience One program is preparing me for graduate school.”
-Roberta Irvin, Psychology
“The program has exposed me to the ideas and backgrounds of different cultures.”
-Sarah Woomer, Sociology and Anthropology
“The instructors help you with preparing for the next steps in your education and career.”
-Callie Kanthack, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
“The faculty are really supportive and help to guide you in exploring your personal interests.”
-Nate Eury, Modern History
History, Philosophy & Social Sciences
