History is the discovery and interpretation of the human past.
It is an act of both investigation and imagination that seeks to explain the ways in which people have changed over time. History majors are trained in the methods of discovering and evaluating these sources, and in the more challenging task of making historical sense out of them. History is also a self-reflective discipline which teaches critical consciousness of its own methods and assumptions. Through study of the methods and philosophy of history, majors at Siena are invited to learn the various ways history has been understood in human culture and to compare the contemporary discipline with concepts of history in other societies and periods. History is not a blueprint for the future but it is a means of understanding the past and present.