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The Program

Students who successfully fulfill the requirements of the program will receive a certificate in the history of ideas; their participation will be listed on their university transcripts.

In order to declare a minor, students should meet with the undergraduate advising head of the history of ideas program, who will help them to plan a course of study tailored to their intellectual needs while meeting core and elective requirements.

The Requirements

A. Two history of ideas seminars. Two such seminars will be offered each year. Topics and faculty for the seminars will change each year. The follow seminars will be offered in the spring 2010 semester:

• NEJS 154A World without God: Theories of Secularization, Eugene Sheppard (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
• PHIL 122A The History of Ethics, Kate Moran (Philosophy)

B. Three courses selected in consultation with the HOID undergraduate advisor, at least two of which will be taken in departments or programs beyond the student's major(s). When joining the program, students will write a brief statement explaining the intellectual relationships that connect the subject matter of these three courses. Only one course from a student's major -- or one from each major, in the case of double majors--may be counted toward the total of five courses required for the minor.

C. Students will present a substantial research paper or project to HOID faculty and students at a spring colloquium. This paper or project may develop out of work done in a history of ideas seminar. But it can also be drawn from independent research, such as a senior thesis or independent study, or from other work that students have done since coming to Brandeis. The colloquium is designed to give students the opportunity to engage with each other about their creative work at Brandeis.