History, BA - New England College

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History, BA

History is the exploration of the thoughts, aspirations and achievements of every human life. As historians, our role is to sift the records of accumulated years through research. As the record of the past grows, we make sense of it, each of us in our own way.

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Overview

At New England College, students of history apprentice as researchers, analysts, and communicators. They also have the opportunity to experience history as it is made: Every four years, the presidential campaign season begins in New Hampshire and reminds us that America was born in the towns and woods of New England.

Young historians have numerous opportunities to study abroad as part of their program at NEC. As they grow in the profession, our journeyman students often choose to ply their skills in the area of public history. Internships in historical societies, living history sites, and political campaigns are just a few of the ways in which young historians gain experience and confidence.

The study of history offers students the tangible benefits of a strenuous educational program in the types of skills required of successful citizens of the world in the coming years. The ability to find and retrieve information is only the beginning. Students trained in the discipline of history acquire also a facility with language, the ability to analyze information, synthesize it, and convey the results in a clear, effective and meaningful way. The student of history has the added joy of exploring the cumulative thoughts and actions of the millions of men and women of all races, creeds and nationalities which, taken together, constitute the story of human interaction through the centuries. A major in history connects the student’s life today to those who have lived before.

Faculty

  • Craig Gallagher

    Assistant Professor, History
    Office: Spaulding 109, Henniker Campus
    Email: cgallagher1@nec.edu
    Professional Website: craig-gallagher.com

    Recent Awards and Press

    Recent Press

    • “‘Them that are Dispersed Abroad’: the Covenanters and their Legacy in North America, 1650–1776” in The Scottish Historical Review, December 2020
    • “Country, Crown and Kirk: Scottish Anti-popery in the British Atlantic World, 1550–1715” in Against Popery: Britain, Empire, and Anti-Catholicism, University of Virginia Press, 2020

     

    Recent Awards

    • W. M. Keck Foundation Research Fellowship, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
    • New England Regional Fellowship, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA
    • John D. Rockefeller Library Research Grant, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA

     

    Educational Background
    PhD in History, Boston College
    MA in Transnational History, Central Michigan University
    BA (Hons) in History, University of Strathclyde

    Research Interests

    • American history
    • British history
    • Native American history
    • History of capitalism
    • History of religion
    • Academic labor Issues

     

    Bio
    Craig Gallagher came to NEC after teaching in the Global History program at Boston College (BC). Having earned an honors distinction as an undergraduate in his native Scotland, Craig first moved to the United States in 2009, where he discovered his love for the history of Early America, including the colonial, revolutionary, and early Republic eras. As a PhD student at BC, he further developed his research interests in the histories of capitalism and religion, and combined them in his dissertation (and now book-in-progress) on the role that Scottish religious refugees in the late 1600s played in reforming the imperial institutions of the British Empire in the decades prior to the American Revolution. Craig has developed this project thanks to research fellowships from some of the most prestigious archives in the world, and recently published a cutting-edge article, drawn from his book manuscript, in The Scottish Historical Review, the leading journal in the field of Scottish history.

    Craig’s wide-ranging research interests allow him to offer classes to NEC students on a multitude of topics, including early and modern American history; British history; Native American and African American history; and the histories of capitalism, religion, and slavery.

    In addition to his research and teaching background, Craig was also previously a content editor for Adam Matthew Digital as part of their project to digitize primary sources related to the American colonial era to make them available online to students and faculty alike. He is also currently an examiner for the AP US History exam, a member of the board of incorporators for the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH, and with his wife, a long-term volunteer puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. If you see a man working with a trainee guide dog on campus, that is probably Craig.

  • Inez McDermott

    Senior Professor of Art History
    Office: Tower House 4, Henniker Campus
    Phone: 603.738.2204
    Email: imcdermott@nec.edu

    Expertise and Awards

    • Freelance curator for art and history museums around New England
    • NEC’s Kilgore Faculty of the Year Award, 2012
    • Campus Compact for New Hampshire President’s Good Steward Award, 2012
    • Educational Background
      MA in Art History, Boston University

    Research Interests

    • White Mountain landscape painting
    • History of New Hampshire photography
    • New Hampshire art colonies

     

    Bio
    Inez McDermott has been a professor of Art History at NEC since 2000. In her courses, she encourages students to examine the role of art in public life and to discover the ways in which the creative process can play a role in social engagement, participatory democracy, and activism. Inez’s research interests focus on historical and contemporary New Hampshire art and artists with a particular interest in 19th century photography. She has also curated major exhibitions at museums in the region, including A House of Dreams Untold, the story of the MacDowell Colony, at the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1996 and, most recently, as a co-curator of Mount Washington, The Crown of New England, (2017) at the Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire. Inez has served on statewide arts and humanities boards and currently serves as a board member for the Saint-Gaudens’ Memorial, which supports the work of the only national park dedicated to an artist, in Cornish, New Hampshire.

  • Kyrie Kowalik

    Lecturer, Political Science
    Office: Spaulding, Henniker Campus
    Phone: 603.428.2591
    Email: kkowalik@nec.edu

    Recent Press

    • Co-author of “Receptive or Restrictive: A Comparative Analysis of Local Refugee News Coverage in the United States” in the Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 2021
    • Co-author of “The Global Refugee Crisis” in Peace Review, 2017
    • Author of “Defining Refugees in Terms of Justice” in Peace Review, 2017

     

    Educational Background
    PhD in Global Studies; University of Massachusetts, Lowell
    MA in Political Science, University of New Hampshire
    BA in International Studies and Spanish, Allegheny College

    Research Interests
    My research analyzes immigration trends, crime rates, media coverage of immigrant groups, and immigration policy.

    Bio
    Kyrie Kowalik came to NEC in the fall of 2019. She began as an adjunct professor and has transitioned into a full-time role teaching Political Science. Before coming to NEC, Kyrie acted as an adjunct professor for the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where she also acted as the Emerging Scholars Program Coordinator. In this role, she worked to guide students through year-long research projects with faculty mentors. She also had the opportunity to act as the International Studies Association program chair assistant for the 2019 annual conference, where she assisted in organizing a conference program of over 3,000 attendees. Her research has been published in Peace Review and the Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies. She has also presented her research at numerous conferences, including the annual conferences for the International Studies Association, the American Political Science Association, and the New England Political Science Association. Before beginning her career in academia, Kyrie acted as the Grants Analyst for FIRST, a K–12 STEM nonprofit in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she distributed grants to participating teams. She also spent some time working for Habitat for Humanity, Nonprofit Vote, and the International OCD Foundation. On occasion, she also acted as a ballot inspector for the City of Manchester. When she is not teaching at NEC, Kyrie spends her time teaching dance at Miss Kelsey’s Dance Studio, where she has taught since 2014. She also enjoys spending time with her family and beloved chocolate lab, Brady, or taking virtual dance classes through Broadway Dance Center.

Degree Requirements

History, B.A.

Download Course Requirements

Requirements

(50 Credits)

Core Courses
Survey Sequence

Select one History Survey Sequence:

Required Electives
Twenty-four (24) credits from among the following:
Note:

* An internship of four to twelve credits is required for the History major. All of those credits will count toward the 120 required for the BA, however only 4 credits will apply toward the major.

 

Liberal Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum, Bachelor's Degree

Electives

Select additional electives to reach 120 credits for a Bachelor's degree. 

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