Assessments

History Core Outcomes (HH104, HH215x, HH216)

1. Student will be able to provide a plausible reasonably accurate explanation of the historical event in relation to world history. 
2. Student will be able to provide a plausible reasonably accurate explanation of the historical event in relation to or in contrast to American experiences.
3. Student will be able to explain the role of sea power and maritime networks in history.
4. Student will be able to explain the influence of human interactions on history.  
5. Student will be able to explain how leaders, peoples, societies, and states prepared for and acted to defend themselves and/or prevail in conflicts.
6. Student will be able to identify and explain the role of agency in history. 
7. Student will be able to answer historical questions to explain events/developments by adequately interpreting  the most relevant evidence understood in context, including evidence that is multi-sourced, non-uniform, incomplete, contradictory, and ambiguous.
8. Student will be able to show positive engagement, creativity, ability, and comfort with complex historical questions where the evidence is challenging to interpret.
9. Student will be able to articulate a clear historical argument/conclusion based on relevant evidence competently analyzed and understood.

History Major Outcomes (HH200, HH300, HH400A, HH400B)

The History Department’s Major Learning Outcomes for HH200 are as follows:

1. Demonstrate effective evaluation of primary and secondary sources materials
2. Locate relevant primary and secondary source materials
3. Demonstrate proper documentation of primary and secondary source materials.
4. Demonstrate awareness/understanding of significant philosophies of History, such as cyclical view of History, providential view of History, postmodern view of History, etc.
5. Demonstrate awareness/understanding of significant genres and methodologies of History (political history, social history, cultural history, military history, public history, Postcolonialism, etc.)
6. Demonstrate awareness/understanding of the historiography of a central course topic or subtopic.
7. Demonstrate the development and completion of historical products, such as article or book reviews, historiographic and primary-source analyses, podcasts, etc.
8. Demonstrate awareness/understanding of the professional activities of historians in both past and present times.
9. Demonstrate improvement in the style, effectiveness, and utility of written language as a tool of historical analysis

The History Department’s Major Learning Outcomes for HH300 are as follows:

1. Demonstrate appropriate scope in the research question.
2. Demonstrate a tentative but plausible hypothesized answer to the research question.
3. Demonstrate appropriate response to the “why should we care” question.
4. Demonstrate appropriate identification and/or definition of key figures, events, concepts, etc., to contextualize the project for the reader. 
5. Demonstrate recognition and consideration of subsidiary questions that need to be answered to address the larger question. 
6. Demonstrate sufficient motivation as an author.
7. Demonstrate adequate knowledge of the relevant secondary literature(s). 
8. Demonstrate appropriate identification of a relevant & plausible historiographical opportunity. 
9. Demonstrate development of a research question answerable with the primary sources suggested.
10. Demonstrate accessibility of primary sources for midshipmen. 
11. Demonstrate a sufficient appreciation for the methodological challenges (including biases) associated with the project and offer realistic plans for addressing them. 
12. Demonstrate effective writing and cogent argumentation. 
13. Demonstrate ability to create an Annotated Bibliography (including annotation) that supports the proposal paper. 
14. Demonstrate ability to follow the formal directions for proposal paper preparation. 

The History Department’s Major Learning Outcomes for HH400A are as follows:

1. Demonstrate understanding of what historiography is. 
2. Demonstrate awareness of the breadth and depth of the historiography on the course topic.
3. Demonstrate competence in reading historical arguments with particular attention to sources, methodology, and bias.
4. Demonstrate competence in posing and answering the “so what” question to the various works in the course topic’s historiography.
5. Demonstrate competence in comparatively analyzing and placing a historical argument within the historiography of the course topic.
6. Demonstrate competence in placing one’s own thought within the historiography of the course topic.
7. Demonstrate competence in cogent argumentation. 
8. Demonstrate competence in the use and citation of primary and secondary sources.
9. Demonstrate competence in the mechanics of citation (according to The Chicago Manual of Style).

The History Department’s Major Learning Outcomes for HH400B are as follows:

1. Demonstrate ability to articulate a clear thesis (with a statement of the topic, analysis and clear answer to the “so what” question) with a scope appropriate for the length of the paper and the research topic.
2. Demonstrate the ability to identify the key figures, events, and concepts of the topic researched.
3. Demonstrate ability to discuss elements of causation, conduct, and consequences of the history researched.
4. Demonstrate adequate knowledge of and engagement with the secondary literature on the era or the topic. 
5. Demonstrate ability to engage with, analyze, and derive evidence from the primary source and archival record of the topic researched. 
6. Demonstrate ability to analyze the events or topic in relation to the historiography of the secondary literature, and its analytical methods or frameworks.
7. Demonstrate ability to use structure, logic, and argumentation in paper. 
8. Demonstrate ability to craft paper that is effectively written, cogent in its mechanics and presentation, and consistent in its style.
9. Demonstrate ability to employ citation and formatting, in keeping with the norms of the historical profession. 
10. Demonstrate ability to create a bibliography that supports the topic in width, depth, and context.