History is one of the central disciplines in a liberal education. As broad as human experience, it provides a context for the understanding of literature, art, philosophy, and the sciences. Akin to both the Humanities and the Social Sciences, history gives attention to the individual and to society as a whole, revealing the vast range of human experiences, the extraordinary variety of human institutions, and the inevitability of change. The study of history provides perspective for understanding contemporary society and its problems; however, it can also offer a sense of one's unique heritage as well as a comparative view of life in other cultures and other times.

The history faculty at Eckerd encourages students to pursue areas of interdisciplinary concentration. Our faculty members have formal ties to related fields such as East Asian Studies, American Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, Russian Studies, Classics, and Environmental Studies. In addition, students are welcome to design concentrations or double majors with other fields in the humanities or social sciences, including political science, international business, philosophy, religion, literature, and particular language fields.