Winthrop's Department of History is home to an impressive group of teacher/scholars who cover a wide range of fields grounded in active research and reflected in an array of scholarship from digital works to traditional monographs to resources for K-12 social studies teachers. The department offers programs of study leading to the BA in History, the BA in Social Studies Education, and the BA in Individualized Studies. In addition, the Department of History is home to minors in African American Studies, Medieval Studies, Peace, Justice, & Conflict Resolution Studies, and Community-Based Learning. Exploration in Digital History, Oral History, and Public History are offered through affiliations with The Louise Pettus Archives, local museums and historic sites, and museum studies courses. The Department of History is located in Bancroft Hall in the heart of the Winthrop campus.
The Department of History offers several pathways social studies to teacher certification at the high school level. The Social Studies Education degree is a Bachelor of Arts that allows students to take numerous content courses in history and social sciences as well as field-based courses in education. Students have early field experiences and a full year-long internship to provide them with practical on the job training under a qualified mentor teacher. Winthrop also has a Master of Arts in Teaching degree. History or Individualized Studies majors wishing to pursue a career as a social studies teacher may minor in Educational Studies, leading to admission into the accelerated MAT program. For more information about teacher certification, contact Dr. Margaret Wilson Gillikin.
History Careers (PDF - 35.6 KB)
Now Available for Pre-Order! Dr. O. Jennifer Dixon-McKnight's "We Paved the Way: Black Women and the Charleston Hospital Workers’ Campaign" will be out October 2025! In "We Paved the Way: Black Women and the Charleston Hospital Workers’ Campaign", Dr. O. Jennifer Dixon-McKnight explores the story of hundreds of working-class African American women who forged a hospital workers’ campaign in Charleston, South Carolina that led to a strike that erupted, in 1969, at the intersection of the local Civil Rights and Labor movements of that era. The Hospital Workers’ Campaign emerged in the broader context of African American working-class women engaging in critical struggles for access and equality in healthcare.
Dr. Eddie Lee recently published, "Crossing the Aisle", with John L. Napier. This book analyzes the importance of cooperation, coalitions, compromise, and civility in the formulation of public policy. Dr. Lee and former Congressman John L. Napier suggest that acrimony, partisanship, narrowness, and political polarization are impeding the relationships among members of congress, the president, and elected officials at all levels of our government. Lee and Napier look at the 250th year history of our nation and offer suggestions for the future. The book's foreword was written by former North Carolina Governor James Martin and former congressional and gubernatorial chief of staff John Merritt. Lee was an elected official in South Carolina for 22 years. Napier served as legislative director to United States Senator Strom Thurmond for ten years, as a member of congress in the 1980s, and as a federal judge.
Dr. Greg Bell, Assistant Professor of History and Program Director for the Medieval Studies Program,
has a new book, "Logistics of the First Crusade" that is now available!
Logistics of the First Crusade: Acquiring Supplies amid Chaos looks at the plans that they made and the methods they implemented to sustain themselves on this remarkable expedition in an attempt to understand how they persisted on the First Crusade. Alex Roland, Duke University, states, "this thoroughly researched and richly detailed study of supplying the First Crusade makes two important contributions. It demonstrates firstly that the crusaders were capable, thoughtful, effective, judicious and-if necessary-ruthless supplying themselves. Secondly, the First Crusade's logistical success reveals more skillful leadership than previous scholarship has usually portrayed."
Are you a current student or alumni of the History Department and want to share your achievements? We would love to hear from you! Please send us your news at hartnettk@winthrop.edu. Thank you!
US History courses that satisfy the General Education Constitution requirement address by nature and design America’s foundational documents. These include but are not limited to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and essential Supreme Court decisions as relevant to the period covered by the course. All documents will be made available by individual course instructors as will specific guidance as to their application. Eager students, however, may consider consulting sources such as Yale Law School’s Avalon Project https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/usconst.asp to begin the exploration.
For the general approach to the Constitution and its evolution presented in HIST 211 and HIST 212, click here (pdf - 60.3 KB).
