Extracurricular Activities

Students have the opportunities to join the History Club, become a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society, and participate in student-faculty research.

Phi Alpha Theta

The Phi Alpha Theta, Omega Phi Chapter at the College of Charleston, is a professional society whose mission is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians. We seek to bring students, teachers and writers of history together for intellectual and social exchanges, which promote and assist historical research and publication by our members in a variety of ways. Interested in becoming a member? Just complete the application for membership in Phi Alpha Theta.

 Student-Faculty Research

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program (URCA) supports and funds creative and scholarly research of undergraduate students and their faculty mentors.

2011 Summer Undergraduate Award (SURF) recipient and a description of her research
Student: Mary Caroline Hoyle
Major: History
Mentor: Patricia Ward
Title: "Three Anglo-Saxon Prayer Books in Their Manuscript Context"

   Christianity was established in Anglo-Saxon England during the seventh century, and with the growth of the church in England came the production of literary, legal, historical, and religious texts in both Latin and Old English. However, relatively little is known of the practice of private devotion in Anglo-Saxon England or of the ways in which such practice was intermingled with earlier, pagan folk customs. We seek to understand this practice more fully through the study of three ninth-century prayer books housed in the British Library in London, some of which may have been written by or for women; these books, written in Latin with interlinear Old English translations, contain a number of prayers interspersed with charms. To prepare for the study of these manuscripts, the faculty mentor will teach the student investigator the basics of Anglo-Saxon paleography (manuscript study); the student investigator and faculty mentor will work with the medieval manuscript collection at the University of South Carolina and will also study the British Library prayer manuscripts in microfiche facsimile before examining the originals. The aim of the project is thus fourfold: 1) To conduct research on Anglo-Saxon devotional practices and popular religion; 2) to introduce the student investigator to the study of paleography; 3) to provide the student investigator and faculty mentor the opportunity to examine the prayer books in their original manuscript context; 4) to apply the findings to the research on Anglo-Saxon devotional practices, which will be co-presented at the Southeastern Medieval Association.

History Club

This club is open to all students with an interest in History. The History Club is a college campus organization devoted to providing a forum for historical exploration and discourse to any student with an interest in the field of history. As a club, we seek to provide students a social setting to meet fellow history scholars through a series of trips to historical sites, lectures, movie showings, and social gatherings.
The History Department offers the Outstanding Student Award each year to a graduating senior with a GPA of 3.5 (cum laude) and SERVICE to the History Club or Phil Alpha Theta.

Follow the History Club at the College of Charlston on FaceBook
Contact:
Amanda Bush, President
Alex Kirby, Vice President
Katie O'Neill, Secretary

First Meet Up: Thursday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m. Stern Center Room 206

Tentative Upcoming Events:
Charleston Ghost Tour
Exchange Building Tour
Gibbs Art Museum
Hunley Tour