About the Department

Welcome to the History Department at the College of Charleston.  History is a wonderful field of study for students.  In our department you will learn about the past, come to understand the present, and be in a position to shape the future.  A degree in history will give you the tools to understand the world, to add perspective to your knowledge of society and politics, and to improve your critical analytical and writing skills.  Organizations such as the History Club and Phi Alpha Theta (the honor society for students of history) give our students the opportunity to network with each other and build the social skills that will help later on in life.  Our graduates have gone on to successful careers in medicine, law, public history, archive management, museum work, business, teaching and theology.

Set in the historic city of Charleston, the study of history at the College of Charleston is particularly exciting.  As a glance at our website will show, our majors can do independent research with faculty, win SURF grants, and do internships for academic credit in historic houses, archives, and museums around the Lowcountry.  Our students have studied abroad all over the world, including Brazil, Britain, France, Gambia, Germany, and Israel. History provides a grounding in a number of interdisciplinary fields, such as African Studies, African-American Studies, Gender Studies, Jewish Studies, and Urban Studies.

Members of our faculty have written books and articles on topics as diverse as Crime and Punishment in Germany, Satan in American Culture, Children in the American Civil War, Convicts and Orphans, Christian Science, African Americans in Charleston, and Communism.

Please come by and talk with me, Professor Bernard Powers, Associate Chair or any of the faculty to learn about the exciting possibilities in the History Department.

Richard Bodek, Chair
Professor of History
Maybank 221
E-mail: bodekr@cofc.edu
Phone: 843.953.8030

Bernard Powers, Associate Chair
Professor of History
Maybank 323
E-mail: powersb@cofc.edu
Phone: 843.953.8127

Jason Coy, Director Graduate History Program
Associate Professor of History
Maybank 215
E-mail: coyj@cofc.edu
Phone: 843.953.8273

Department of History business offices are located in Maybank Hall 204, 202 
Office Fax: 843.953.6349