NPC_understanding_historyA report by USA Today indicates the study of history is one of the top 10 college majors in the United States. The American Historical Association says students of history are employable in a wide range of occupations, including careers in teaching, media, business, public administration, museums, law and more.

“We can better understand human beings when we understand our history,” says NPC History Professor Amy Grey. “It’s essentially important for a general cultural understanding to know what happened in the past and things people had to do to establish where we are today.”

Currently, NPC is offering six history classes, including the Southwestern History class which has been updated and will be offered in 2018. In the near future, the college will also add three dynamic new classes to the course list: World History: Prehistory to 1450 CE, World History: 1450 CE to the Present and History of Women in America.

Professor Grey says the new Women in America course is about the history of gender and of women’s lives in North America from the 15th century to the present. Among the topics covered are the lives of Native American women; British, French and Spanish colonial women; African women; education; wage labor; and housework.

World History: Prehistory to 1450 CE looks at themes of human change over time. Among these changes are the spread of humans out of Africa; the shift to agri-culture and urbanization; the rise of city-states, such as Sparta and Athens; the classical cultures of India, South America, Greece, Rome and China; the rise of major world religions; and more.

The companion class is a survey of the Early Modern Era and continues from 1450 CE to the present. Among the areas of study are the growth of European and Asian empires, the beginnings of globalization, colonization, slavery, exploration of the Atlantic World, the Industrial Revolution and world wars.

The revised Southwest History class is a study of Arizona’s past, including Puebloan culture, Spanish influence, the Mexican American War and the arrival of Americans. The course also covers the 20th century character of the Southwest and includes suburbanization and Sunbelt development, civil rights movements, tourism, immigration and water issues.

Professor Grey says the new and revised history classes will provide interesting and relevant ways for students to learn about the history of the world and their immediate surroundings.

If you’re interested in taking an NPC history course, see our class schedule or contact an academic adviser.

www.npc.edu/history

– Dennis Durband