Letter to Undergraduate Students
Dear Students,
Welcome to Brown or welcome back!
Here is a quick guide to the undergraduate program in history. All students are welcome in our classes. If you’re a concentrator or interested in concentrating, there’s an advisor standing by to help you. As always, we divide students according to the first letter of their last names for advising purposes. The concentration advisors are:
A-D Joan Richards – 208 Sharpe House
E-H James McClain – 105 Sharpe House
I-M Howard Chudacoff – Peter Green 303
N-Sh Amy Remensnyder – Peter Green 202A
Si-Z Naoko Shibusawa –Peter Green 206
[Click this link to see advisors’ office hours]
You may also see advisors by appointment.
During the 2012-2013 academic year, Professor Douglas Cope (Peter Green 004) is serving as Director of Undergraduate Studies and transfer credit advisor.
The concentration requirements are posted on the website. Please consult this link for further information relevant to your class.
Connect to the Brown History Department on Facebook! We’ll be posting some items of interest now and again but most of all we’re hoping that the Facebook page will create a better network between students and alumni.
Finally, please scroll down to find useful tips for each class.
Sincerely,
The History Department Undergraduate Advisors
Frosh – Welcome to Brown! Whether you’re considering history as a concentration or just interested in sampling our offerings, we welcome you to our courses. We are offering a range of first-year seminars which are listed as HIST 0097 in Banner. You are also welcome to take any other history course except the capstone courses (limited enrollment 1970 and 1980-series seminars). Feel free to discuss any course with the professor or a concentration advisor.
Sophomores – During your sophomore year, we encourage you to sign up for seminars and lecture courses numbered either below or above 1000, depending on your background and interests. The 1970 and 1980-series seminars are considered capstone courses, so we give enrollment priority to juniors and seniors
Juniors –Welcome to your new life as a declared history concentrator. You will probably spend the next semester or two following the plan of study you arranged with your advisor last year. Feel free to substitute “like for like” courses with those in the plan (based on the geographical and chronological designations). If you depart significantly from that plan, we recommend that you consult with your advisor.
As juniors, the question for your consideration is whether you would like to do honors. HIST 1992, the course for prospective honors students, is recommended but not required. It will be offered by Professor Cope in both the fall and spring semesters. For further information, please consult our course website.
If you know that you want to do honors, consider enrolling in HIST 1992 in the fall. The advantages of fall over spring enrollment are:
You will have a thesis prospectus by the end of the semester, which you can then use for
applications for fellowships such as Royce and UTRA.
You can complete your thesis at the end of your 7th semester.
If you will be abroad during the spring semester, you’ll be better prepared to carry ot
archival research while you’re away.
If you’re interested in honors and have questions, please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Robert_Cope@brown.edu).
Seniors – If you did not take HIST 1992 yet are still interested in doing an honors thesis, you may submit your prospectus to the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the History faculty member who will serve as your advisor by the first day of classes of the fall semester. For information on submitting a prospectus and on the honors program, please see the website.
All members of the class of 2013: we urge you to check in with us before registration for your final semester, so we can be sure that you’re on track to fulfill your concentration requirements. Please bring a copy of your original concentration plan.