UI&U Master of Arts Online | Areas of Specialization

History & Culture

"History & Culture" is a big tent holding many possibilities for fields of study, questions to ask, approaches to take.  We find ourselves with interests from a wide range of disciplines: religious studies, anthropology, historical studies, area and cultural studies, archeology, women's studies, art history, peace and justice studies, and many more.  Some of us are interested in postmodern theory, others in language, others in social history or feminist scholarship, and still others in ethnography, to name a few.  The range of topics and approaches enhances our larger conversation and stimulates thoughts that we might not have otherwise had!

In our core Disciplinary Foundations course, we guide students through three levels of learning:

  1. Understanding Your Field: in which you familiarize yourself with the history and the present practice of your chosen field,
  2. Gaining Core Knowledge: in which you learn the major contributors and ideas in your field and begin to define your own plan of study, and
  3. Becoming a Practitioner: in which you engage these thinkers and ideas through your own research and writing, as well as complete your plan of study.
A hallmark of our program's philosophy is the value of the intersection of theory and practice, so experiential learning is embedded in our program design. For this component, you might travel or visit an archive, museum, education center, or site pertaining to your area of interest.  You might have an informal conversation with a historian, an archeologist, a religious leader, or an activist.  Our students have used this class to develop lesson plans for their students, to do internships in museums, to write a children's book, and to write college syllabi for classes that they will propose at their local community college after they complete their degree.

Students enroll in our program for a variety of reasons: for career change or advancement, as a foundation for doctoral research, or simply to fulfill a lifelong dream and engage in the joy of learning.  We welcome your inquiry!