Which is better for history?

mikemac
Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:42:54 +0000

My suggestion would be the LAC. A U will have a larger selection of courses, but the info presented in those courses is also in books. Scholars make their reputation by writing books to spread their ideas, not just presenting them to those lucky enough to attend their lectures or seminars on campus. So if you have an interest in some area not covered at a LAC you can learn about it independently.

More important than just facts or theories about how to interpret the facts is learning to think like a historian. At a LAC you will be taking part in small classes where you are expected to give your thoughts, will have them challenged, and will benefit from the overall interactive style. At many larger U’s the classes will be much larger, often hundreds of students, for your early years. And even upper-division classes for a popular topic may have 100+ students, and other classes can still have 50+ which makes discussion difficult. Take a look at [Berkeley - Online Schedule Of Classes](http://schedule.berkeley.edu/?PageID=srchsprg.html) and search for upper-division history classes to see what I mean; seminars are small, but the meat of the course offerings starting with History 106 can still be large.