Associate in Arts Degree in History for Transfer

Golden West College

History is the study of past human events and ideas that continue to inform the present. The study of primary sources (i.e. original documents and objects) fosters essential critical thinking, analytical, and interpretative skills for students. Multiple voices and conflicting interpretations of sources encourages a healthy skepticism of preconceived information and challenges students to ask essential questions, to explain historical causality, to pose new interpretations, and to conduct their own research using historical evidence. An understanding of the past, moreover, enables students to better understand their identity and to contribute to their society as more informed citizens.