Beginning with the fall semester, the Division of Arts and Sciences at Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus will be offering a new Bachelor of Arts in History degree program.

“We are very excited to add a history major to the Division of Arts and Sciences here at MSU-Meridian,” said Dr. Dennis Mitchell, chair of the division and professor of history. “In addition to its prominence as a new major, the history curriculum will offer students majoring in other degree programs, such as education, broadcast communication, interdisciplinary studies, and others, expanded course offerings to enrich their areas of study.”

In announcing the new history major, Mitchell also revealed that Dr. Toby Bates has joined the faculty of the Division of Arts and Sciences as an assistant professor of history.

Bates, who will be teaching three history courses in the fall, comes to MSU-Meridian from The University of Mississippi, where he had served as a visiting assistant professor of history since June 2006.

The creation of the history program at MSU-Meridian resulted from a survey conducted by the Division of Arts and Sciences that showed a demand for the major, said Mitchell.

In addition, the campus trains a large number of teachers in the east Mississippi and west Alabama area, many of whom have requested more history course offerings, he added.

The history courses will be taught utilizing resources from the Meridian and Starkville campuses, including one through the Distance Learning Network and two online classes from Starkville, with the other regular classroom lectures taught by MSU-Meridian faculty.

“A degree in history opens many doors for students, personal as well as professional,” said Bates.

“First and foremost, it offers students a sense of place in the world – a sense of identity,” he said, noting the saying “How can you know where you are going if you do not know where you have been?”

“Knowledge of history also serves as a shield versus some of the very worst of the modern information age, an era which often does a fantastic job of sensationalizing the news,” Bates added. “It seems that every year the students witness the latest ‘trial of the century’ or an economic decline or political scandal that ‘threatens America’s survival.’”

Gaining knowledge of history does not necessarily make students apathetic regarding current events. But, it makes them better informed of the complexities of the issues, he said.

Studying history is very helpful in learning the skills of acquisition of evidence, arrangement and interpretation of facts and presentation of argument, Bates noted.

That’s why a history degree is beneficial to students who plan to attend law school, pursue a journalism career, seek employment with the Federal Government, enter politics or pursue teaching as a profession.

Students can earn the bachelor’s degree in history with 124 hours of course work.

This fall, Bates will be teaching three history courses: “United States Since 1945” (Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. until 12:15 p.m.), which will examine the claim that the United States asserted itself onto the world stage following World War II; “America’s Vietnam War” (from 6:45 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays), which will explore a conflict that in recent decades has undergone many changes in American memory; and “The United States and Latin America” (4 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays), which will detail the very important relationship between America and its neighbors to the south.