History is to society as memory is to the individual.
In 1953 a man, known only as H.M., literally lost his memory due to an operation for epilepsy. He could not remember a conversation held five minutes earlier, and as a result had no settled convictions or beliefs. A society which cannot remember is similarly doomed to rootless wandering. Classes At Bethel a history major will take at least two courses in American history, two in European history, one in non-Western history, the Senior History Seminar, and four additional elective courses. The history major has been deliberately pared down since we firmly believe that good historians ought to study literature, philosophy, art, science and psychology as well as people, events and civilizations.