Georgetown University Makes History with the Launch of a Brand New International History Degree

Education City’s Georgetown University Qatar (GU-Q) officially announced the launch of a brand new major, International History, as a part of a major expansion initiative. The new major will join a list of current offerings that includes degrees in International Politics, International Economics and Culture & Politics.

“Georgetown’s main campus in Washington D.C. boasts one of the best international history programs in the United States, and now, we are delighted to bring that academic opportunity to this region, where it will be the first time such a degree is offered,” said GU-Q’s Dean Gerd Nonneman. “This new major strengthens our standing as a student-focused research university through our world class scholarship, our regional and global orientation, and our commitment to hands-on teaching that is inspired by our research.”

New faculty have joined the university to teach the new major, including 4 new academics trained in internationally recognized universities, including Harvard, Georgetown University in Washington D.C. , the University of Toronto and UCLA. “We now have an African historian, another Middle East historian, a specialist on Islam in South Asia, and someone whose focus is on China, to list just a few.” said Professor Karine Walther, who both teaches history and is also the faculty chair for International History at GU-Q. “All of these are developing areas that our students in Doha want to know more about, and with this major, we are making a tremendous contribution to our students’ understanding of the politics, economics, and histories of these regions.”

The current academic year has the largest student body to date – a total of 248 students enrolled in GU-Q’s four-year liberal arts undergraduate program, representing 44 different countries. “With such a diverse population, both here on campus, and more broadly in the region, there is a greater focus on how countries have interrelated over a longer period of time,” said Professor Walther. “Specifically, there is greater interest in understanding how Doha is bringing Qatar into this globalized world and learning about the various influences that have shaped this country.”

Beyond the new major presenting the first opportunity for regional university students to pursue this type of degree, GU-Q’s teaching methodology is also an innovation for students of history in the region. “Students still need to know a chronology of events, as history has traditionally been taught, but I also talk to my class about narratives; about the idea that historians are not objective tellers of a single truth. History is always being re-written, especially in times of flux.” By teaching students to rethink history, says Professor Walther, they are “training to be able to one day write their own historical narratives, and not have them written by others.”

But Dean Nonneman is quick to point out that a career as a historian – or even a thorough understanding of how our societies came to be where they are – are not the only things the new degree prepares students for. “History is one of those majors that trains people incredibly well in analytical skills and in coping with large amounts of complex information. Our International History majors in DC tend to be some of the most successful people on the career front because they are so well rounded and skilled: they do very well on the job market. International History graduates also go on to remarkable success at medical school, law school, and a range of other graduate programs”

The recent growth campaign at GU-Q also includes a brand new Media and Politics Certificate offered in partnership with Northwestern University in Qatar, and more teaching staff to accommodate the increase in student enrollment. 15 new academics slated to join GU-Q includes faculty members from across several disciplines, including economics, applied linguistics, English, literature and culture, world literature, and Arabic language .