History

Deep learning is at the core of a Thacher education. Our History Department is no different.

Here, you’ll find students engaged in rigorous class discussions and tackling analytical writing assignments more often than you’ll find them memorizing dates and discrete facts for a test. This approach is tied to the belief that gaining a deep understanding of complex historical issues can and should allow our students to become more empathetic global citizens, with the tools to effect positive change in our diverse and evolving world.

Our Courses

When it comes to curriculum, our history faculty regularly reshape core courses and electives to ensure they continue to be engaging, authentic, and relevant. This emphasis on flexibility is a win-win, allowing faculty to focus on areas of expertise and interest, and students to have a say in the topics they study. The department routinely polls students about which junior and senior electives they would like to see, and sophomores can choose from a diverse selection of courses, including the histories of Africa, China, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim.

Contemporary Context

Thacher’s history department strives to connect the past to the most pressing contemporary issues, integrating examinations of diversity, citizenship, race, sustainability, and social justice leadership into its courses. In this way, we aim to prepare students for global citizenship in the 21st century.

- Alice

From the rigorous analysis of primary sources to discussing paper writing strategies to in-class debates…the history faculty taught me how to think beyond the easy and to seek out more complex analyses of the past. That history at Thacher prepared me so tremendously to tackle college courses with a sense of confidence in my analytical abilities is a testament to the strength and rigor of the program as well as the teachers who enact it.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

History Department Faculty

List of 8 members.

  • Photo of Sarah DelVecchio

    Dr. Sarah DelVecchio 

    History Teacher
    Colby College - BA
    University of Pennsylvania - MA
    Brandeis University - PhD
    Bio
  • Photo of Jason Carney

    Mr. Jason Carney 

    Afternoon Program Director, History Teacher
    805-640-3201
    Villanova University - BA
    University of Hawaii - MEd
    Bio
  • Photo of Jake Conway

    Mr. Jake Conway 

    Bio
  • Photo of Gina Greene

    Dr. Gina Greene 

    History Teacher
    Harvard University - BA
    California College of Arts and Crafts - BFA
    University of California, Riverside - MA
    Princeton University - PhD
    Bio
  • Photo of Katherine Gregory

    Dr. Katherine Gregory 

  • Photo of Russell Spinney

    Dr. Russell Spinney 

    Chair of the History Department, History Teacher
    Pennsylvania State University - PhD
    Middlebury College - MA
    Colgate University - BA
    Bio
  • Photo of Miguel Wise

    Mr. Miguel Wise 

  • Photo of Christina Yuan

    Ms. Christina Yuan 

    Chinese Language Instructor
    Principia College - BA
    Chinese University of Hong Kong - MA
    University of California, Santa Barbara - MA
    Bio
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