Penn History is delighted to release a pilot version of a web-based app designed to help undergraduates create their own unique path through the department's rich curricular offerings: Penn History Pathways!
The Pathways app can be used in a couple of ways. By selecting one of the “Pathways” listed at the top of the page, students can explore courses with topical and methodological similarities. Pathway options include Gender and Sexuality, Cities and Environments, Ideas and Beliefs, War and Revolution, Law and Society, Slavery and Race, Wealth and Inequality, Culture and Everyday Life, and Global Connections and Movements. (See image 1). Clicking on a particular course’s image then reveals more course information. Or, if a student has already taken a history course, they can select it from the menu and see how it connects – literally, via the network of pathways – to other courses. (Image 2 shows this “Network View,” with the Pathway “Culture and Everyday Life” linking HIST 314 to other courses by the wide red line).
Simply put, this fun and engaging game-like platform encourages students to ask “how can history help me answer big questions?” instead of “which requirements does this course fulfill?” We hope these Pathways will spark new conversations between students and advisors that take them beyond the confines of General Education and Major requirements. Please give it a try and let us know what you think!
Visit the Pathways App here: https://pathways.history.upenn.edu/