School of Arts and Humanities
History of Ideas
Overview
The History of Ideas focuses on the study of history and philosophy, and especially the intersection of the two. Students may optionally choose an emphasis in either history or philosophy. While students with a history emphasis will not exclusively focus on intellectual history, their work will be informed by philosophical reflections on the nature of interpretation, history, and knowledge. While students with a philosophy emphasis will not exclusively focus on the history of philosophy, their work will be informed by the way that historical context influences philosophical ideas. Students who do not declare an area of emphasis will combine coursework in history and philosophy to meet their own specific interests.
Faculty
Professors: Charles R. Bambach, Matthew J. Brown, David F. Channell, Pamela Gossin, David A. Patterson, Nils Roemer
Associate Professors: Monica Rankin, Natalie J. Ring, Eric Schlereth, Daniel B. Wickberg, Michael L. Wilson, Benjamin (Ben) Wright
Assistant Professors: Rosemary Admiral, Katherine Davies, Anne Fischer, Kimberly Hill, Amy Kerner, Songyao Ren, Whitney Stewart
Professors Emeriti: Joan Chandler, R. David Edmunds, Stephen G. Rabe
Associate Professor Emeriti: Peter Park, Gerald L. Soliday
Clinical Associate Professor: Jeffrey Schulze
Doctor of Philosophy in History of Ideas
60 semester credit hours minimum beyond the master's degree
Coursework: 42 semester credit hours
Forty-two semester credit hours of which at least thirty-three must be in organized courses.
Required Courses: 15 semester credit hours
IDEA 6300 Proseminar in History of Ideas1
ARHM 6310 Team-Taught Interdisciplinary Seminar
9 semester credit hours of Field Examination Preparation:
Six (6) semester credit hours of IDEA 8305 Field Exam Preparation in History of Ideas
Three (3) semester credit hours of exam preparation in any discipline at the 8000-level.
Breadth Requirements: 6 semester credit hours
One 3 semester credit hours course each in HIST and in PHIL.
Major Electives: 15 semester credit hours
Fifteen semester credit hours in any combination of HIST and PHIL courses.
Free Electives: 6 semester credit hours
Six semester credit hours of electives in any organized graduate-level courses.
Option: Disciplinary Emphasis
Students may optionally declare one of the following disciplines of emphasis, in which case they must meet the following additional requirements:
History Emphasis
Required Courses: 3 semester credit hours
Courses in History: 12 semester credit hours
Twelve semester credit hours in HIST courses, at least 3 of which must be in a course that is marked in the syllabus as "Research Oriented" and has a final product consisting of a research paper.
Philosophy Emphasis
Courses in Philosophy: 15 semester credit hours
Fifteen semester credit hours in PHIL courses.
Foreign Language
Students in all Ph.D. programs in the School of Arts and Humanities are expected to demonstrate intermediate-level reading proficiency in a foreign language (equivalent to two years of foreign-language study at the undergraduate level). Students must fulfill the language requirement before scheduling doctoral field examinations.
As part of its approval of a dissertation proposal, the Graduate Studies Committee will consider the appropriateness of a candidate's language preparation for the research or creative project. Faculty members chairing field examinations and dissertations should ensure that students possess the necessary language proficiency to carry out their proposed doctoral research.
The requirement can be satisfied upon enrollment in a Ph.D. program by demonstrating evidence of one or more of the following:
- Completion of a second-semester, intermediate-level foreign language course or higher (e.g., an undergraduate literature course in a foreign language) with a grade of B or better.
- Completion of a graduate course taught in a foreign language or with more than 25% of its required readings in a foreign language.
- An undergraduate major, graduate degree, or certificate in a foreign language.
- Successful completion of graded coursework at a foreign university at which the primary language of instruction is not English.
- A degree in any discipline from a foreign university at which the primary language of instruction is not English.
The requirement can be satisfied during graduate study at UT Dallas in one of the following ways:
- Completion of a second-semester, intermediate-level foreign language course or higher at UT Dallas or elsewhere with a grade of B or better.
- Successful completion of LIT 6326 Translation Workshop with a grade of B or better.
- Successful completion of one of the following: HUMA 6330 French Workshop; HUMA 6331 Spanish Workshop; HUMA 6333 German Workshop with a grade of B or better.
- Passing a written translation exam in an approved foreign language at UT Dallas.
Doctoral Field Examinations
The doctoral field examinations consist of three written sections and an oral defense. The examining committee, composed of three members of the faculty (at least two in History of Ideas), oversees the definition and preparation of the three examination fields within guidelines established by the program. Initial committee formation must take place during the 36th semester credit hour of coursework, which will typically be followed by nine semester credit hours in Field Examination Preparation. Exams normally should be completed before the completion of 60 semester credit hours.
Dissertation
Students are formally advanced to Ph.D. candidacy when they have successfully completed the doctoral field examinations and received final approval for dissertation topics. Students should submit a preliminary dissertation proposal for consideration during the oral section of the doctoral field examination. After that examination, a four-person supervising committee is formed, normally from the examining committee plus another faculty member proposed by the student, to oversee dissertation work. The supervising committee must then approve a formal dissertation proposal before the student submits it to the Graduate Studies Committee for final approval.
Each candidate then writes a doctoral dissertation, which is supervised and defended according to general University regulations.
Master of Arts in History of Ideas
33 semester credit hours minimum
Coursework: 33 semester credit hours
Thirty-three semester credit hours of which at least twenty-seven must be in organized courses.
Required Courses: 6 semester credit hours
IDEA 6300 Proseminar in History of Ideas1
ARHM 6310 Team-Taught Interdisciplinary Seminar
Breadth Requirements: 6 semester credit hours
One 3 semester credit hours course each in HIST and in PHIL.
Major Electives: 15 semester credit hours
Fifteen semester credit hours in any combination of HIST and PHIL courses.
Free Electives: 6 semester credit hours
Six semester credit hours of electives in any graduate-level courses.
Option: Disciplinary Emphasis
Students may optionally declare one of the following disciplines of emphasis, in which case they must meet the following additional requirements:
History Emphasis
Historiography: 3 semester credit hours
Courses in History: 12 semester credit hours
12 semester credit hours in HIST courses
Philosophy Emphasis
Courses in Philosophy: 15 semester credit hours
15 semester credit hours in PHIL courses.
Professional Option
Students in the professional option normally complete all thirty-three required semester credit hours of coursework in organized courses. They are not required to complete a portfolio or meet a foreign language requirement.
Research Option
Research Oriented Coursework:
Students focusing on the Research Option under the History Emphasis must take at least one 3 semester credit hours course that is marked in the syllabus as "Research Oriented" and has a final product consisting of a research paper.
Foreign Language
The research MA degrees require demonstrated proficiency in an approved foreign language. The requirement can be satisfied upon enrollment in the M.A. program by demonstrating evidence of one or more of the following:
- Completion of a second-semester, intermediate-level foreign language course or higher (e.g., an undergraduate literature course in a foreign language) with a grade of B or better.
- Completion of a graduate course taught in a foreign language or with more than 25% of its required readings in a foreign language.
- An undergraduate major, graduate degree, or certificate in a foreign language.
- Successful completion of graded coursework at a foreign university at which the primary language of instruction is not English.
- A degree in any discipline from a foreign university at which the primary language of instruction is not English.
The requirement can be satisfied during graduate study at UT Dallas in one of the following ways:
- Completion of a second-semester, intermediate-level foreign language course or higher at UT Dallas or elsewhere with a grade of B or better.
- Successful completion of LIT 6326 Translation Workshop with a grade of B or better.
- Successful completion of one of the following: HUMA 6330 French Workshop; HUMA 6331 Spanish Workshop; HUMA 6333 German Workshop with a grade of B or better.
- Passing a written translation exam in an approved foreign language at UT Dallas.
Portfolio
Two substantial pieces of work (two research papers or a creative project plus a scholarly essay) originating in or completed for graduate courses are revised and presented in a portfolio for evaluation by a master's committee.
1. This course must be taken during the first Fall semester after enrollment in the program.
2. This course must be taken during the first 18 semester credit hours of coursework.