This Commonplace Book, and the ideas behind it and for that matter the entire Historically Thinking enterprise, were first written down by Dr. Lendol Calder at Augustana College as part of our “degree specification profile”, a document answering the question “What does it mean to have a B.A. Degree in History from Augustana College? Here are the “Purpose” and “Characteristics” sections:
A Bachelor of Arts in History prepares students for:
1) Employability in meaningful vocations
2) Public life as responsible citizens
3) A life well-lived, enjoyable to self and in service to others.
We intend the History B.A. degree to make the inside of your head an interesting and principled place to live the rest of your life, and valued by others.
Does it matter if an Augustana history graduate knows the birthdates of all the presidents? Not to us. Because there’s a lot more to history than knowing facts and stories.
At Augustana, historical training is “brain training.” Every course reinforces a disciplined way of making sense of the world. Brain scientists call it “historical thinking.”
The mental habits and skill sets cultivated at Augustana include:
• a lively, infectious passion for the study of the past.
• knowing how to solve difficult, ill-structured problems that resist recipe-book analysis. Or, if not solving them, at least reducing the negative effects of the problem.
• a knack for recognizing nonsense
• evidence-based thinking, self-criticism, and intellectual humility.
• the ability to digest, analyze, and synthesize large data sets and quantities of information.
• awareness of how historical contexts and processes matter for understanding our own time.
• a capacity for working effectively in collaborative, team efforts.
• Clear, effective communication, orally and in writing
• awareness of the development of differing values, systems, traditions, and societies
• discerning yet tolerant personal attitudes