.
Background
In its national mission of expanding the horizon of knowledge to larger populace, Haramaya University has made a commendable and great leap ahead since its inception. One of its tangible manifestations of the expansion and extension of higher learning was the opening of the Faculty of Education in1996.Two years later the Department of History was opened under the auspice of the Faculty of Education. Its major objective was the training of qualified secondary school and above history teachers.
Since 1998, the Department has been offering the four year-degree program in History education with Geography as minor. This four years program has been in place up until 2004 .By then the Ministry of education introduced a paradigm shift in teachers’ training with what it came to be known as Teachers’ Education System Overhaul, better known in its acronym-TESO. Accordingly, the department has been running a three years degree program in history education minoring geography.
However, in light of the recent rethinking and scholarly debate on the approaches or the modalities of training new university entrants who are going to be assigned in our faculty, our department has opted to implement the add on approach . Through this approach, the department strongly believes it would train and produce well-qualified historians. To realize the end, the department, by taking the timely opportunity, revisited its existing curriculum and developed a new curriculum.
Rationale
History is the study of past worlds and how they have changed over time. It is a way of thinking about how and why past environments, societies, governments, and beliefs were different from and similar to our own. History is not about memorizing lists of names and dates; it is instead about finding clues about the past and following those clues to craft true stories about ourselves and others. By asking questions of available evidence, students of history can make rational, informed judgements about human actions in the past and examine why people were motivated to act as they did and the effects of these actions.
Studying history develops our historical consciousness, enabling us to orient ourselves in time and place our experiences in a broader framework of human experience. Being historically conscious transforms the way that we perceive the world and our place in it, and informs how we see the future development of the world. Having a ‘’big picture’’ of the past helps to develop our historical consciousness. It allows us to see major patterns of change and gives us a framework to understand and put into context the knowledge that we gain about the actions of people that came before us. Investigating evidence to identify moments or patterns of change in the human experience, and to make judgements on the significance of such change, is the key practice of the historian.
The study of the past allows us to examine the impact of human actions in a wide variety of dimensions, including politics, government, law, society, economics, culture, beliefs and ideas. When we learn about the past, it is important also that we understand the nature of history as a discipline that allows us to make sense of what has happened in our world over time. This involves understanding such concepts as: continuity and change; time and space; how evidence allows us to make judgements about the past and how such judgements may need to be changed if new evidence emerges; awareness of the usefulness and limitations of different forms of evidence and the importance of being objective and fair when investigating the actions of people in the past, and taking care not to let opinions or prejudices affect our judgements; how human actions in the past have different levels of significance; that we see people in the past and their actions in the context of the time in which they lived. Understanding the actions of people in the past and understanding how we come to know about these actions helps us to develop positive values about history. These include a respect for truth and evidence, a commitment to being open to seeing the past from different perspectives and a regard for the integrity of the past.
Mission
History and Heritage Management is designed to produce graduates who have a sound knowledge of history in general and an appreciation of multiculturalism and regional history in particular. The degree is designed to prepare graduates for employment in fields requiring a firm foundation in interpretive, analytical, research, and communication skills.