Hist 10a Could Be Ancient History

The March 3 article, "Hist 10a Could Be Ancient History," incorrectly characterized Baird Professor of History Mark A. Kishlansky's remarks regarding a proposal to change requirements for history concentrators. Kishlansky did say that the department was considering a proposal to scrap a rule that makes History 10a and either History 10b or 10c mandatory for concentrators, and to replace it with a requirement that concentrators take one pre-modern history course and another course geographically removed from their area of interest. However, Kishlansky did not say that the department was considering the outright elimination of the 10a course, which is formally titled "Western Societies, Politics, and Cultures, From Antiquity to 1650."

Kishlansky did say that the department may face difficulty finding instructors for 10a and its counterpart, History 10b, "Western Economies, Societies, and Polities: From 1648 to the Present," once the courses are no longer required for concentrators. "By eliminating the requirement, we would not have to exert pressure each year to get someone to do this," Kishlansky said.

"The department cannot abolish courses," Kishlansky wrote in an e-mail clarifying the matter. "At any point, no mater what the new structure is, anyone could announce that they were going to offer it and any undergraduate could decide to take it," Kishlansky wrote. "It is just far less likely once it is no longer a departmental requirement."

The Crimson regrets the error.