The Honors Scholar Program at Temple

A general overview of the Honors Scholar Program at Temple may be found at http://www.temple.edu/vpus/programs_initiatives/honscholars.htm

UNDERGRADUATE HISTORY MAJORS SWEEP LIBRARY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PRIZES 2007

$1000 WINNERS in alphabetical order:

Joseph Basile ($1,000)
"Ending the 'Inhuman Traffic;' The Role of Humanitarianism in the British Abolition Movement."
History W387 - Sponsoring Faculty Member: Dr. Travis Glasson, History

Clay Boggs ($1,000)
"The Jews and the Pharisees in Early Quaker Polemic"
History 399 - Sponsoring Faculty member: Professor David Watt, History

Matthew M. Rodrigue ($1,000)
"Rethinking Academia: A Gramscian Analysis of Samuel Huntington"
History H385 - Sponsoring Faculty Member: Professor Kathy Le Mons Walker, History

In addition, the following history students were selected, along with students from two other departments, to receive Honorable Mention:

Michael Gieda (Honorable Mention)

"The Civilian Conservation Corps; Conserving Discrimination"

History W386 - Sponsoring Faculty Member: Sharon Ann Musher, History

Stephanie L.S. Sikora (Honorable Mention)
"The Great Escape: 21st Century American Politics and the Kyoto Protocol"
History W397 and H385 - Sponsoring Faculty Member: James Rogers, Political Science

READ THE HISTORY HONORS THESES OF 2007 IN THE ARCHIVE

HISTORY HONORS SCHOLAR PROGRAM GOALS

Students in the Temple Honors Scholar Program may choose to specialize in History and be part of the The History Department Honors Program. The Department inaugurated its Honors Program in the academic year of 2004. Through mentoring, university research funding, and scholarly events, the History Honors Program encourages and supports History majors to make the creative most of their undergraduate years, not only with in-depth research, but also by making an early start in their plans for graduate and professional admissions and fellowships. Undergraduate research may range widely or in some cases focusing narrowly on intellectual interests. History Honors students will develop the analytic and research skills necessary for graduate or professional schools.  These skills are indispensable for any career in the public sphere and deepen the skills in information literacy learned during matriculation in the General Education requirement.

Through a careful sequencing of courses, students learn about the nature of primary sources in the discipline of history, the challenges of reading such sources critically, and the rhetorical practices of writing a complex historical argument.  The History Honors Program encourages students to conceive of their work in broad  interdisciplinary and geo-political contexts that link historical problems with art, film, literature, philosophy, politics, technology, science, gender studies, race studies, and postcolonial studies. Students complete the History Honors Program with a polished and closely-argued thesis (a minimum of 8,000 words exclusive of footnotes and bibliography) suitable for publication in a scholarly journal. This thesis can serve as the core of a student’s dossier as she or he applies for graduate fellowships, professional schools, or post-baccalaureate employment.

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Graduating students in the Honors Program participate in an Honors Symposium in the late spring of their graduating year.  At the symposium students will present a ten-minute long synopsis of their Honors Thesis to the community of History Majors and faculty. The presentations describe their thesis journey: how they formulated their thesis problem, what kinds of sources they used to investigate their problem, and their reflections on their arguments and findings.

FUNDING AND SUPPORT 

Honors Students can apply for financial support to cover research related activities, such as visits to archives, travel to present scholarly papers etc, up to $2,000 through the Undergraduate Research Incentive Fund (http://www.temple.edu/vpus/programs_initiatives/URIF.htm). There are also funds available in the Diamond Research Scholars program (http://www.temple.edu/vpus/programs/initiatives/upperdivision/diamondresearchcholars.htm).  Honors students are also encouraged to submit their completed thesis to the Library Prize for Undergraduate Research (http://library.temple.edu/prize/howtoapply.htm). Further information about funding opportunities for post-baccalaureate work may be found under Undergraduate Research Links.

SOCIAL EVENTS

The History Department will host an HONORS box-lunch at the opening of each semester to encourage the growth of a vibrant community of undergraduate scholars.