Introduction

Hi everyone!

My name is Emily, and I'm a junior who lives in Texas. This is my third semester at ASU online, and so far I have really enjoyed it (I went to Keystone, an online high school, so I’ve enjoyed getting back to online learning). Before I transferred to ASU, I actually was a mechanical engineering student, but as I got deeper into the math and science classes, I found myself missing the research/writing aspect that the liberal arts and sciences offered. Last year, when a family member fell ill and I needed a more flexible schedule so I could help during treatment, I came across ASU. I saw that it offered a history degree, I transferred, and I have never looked back.

So far, I have taken American History to 1865 and from 1865; Immigration and Ethnicity in the US; Europe in World History Since 1789; World History Since 1500; the Modern Middle East; and a handful of religious studies courses that have examined religions in various historical settings.  Throughout my studies, the greatest lesson I have learned is that history is not always black/white and “this-caused-that”. In reality, history is a fascinatingly complex story that often falls into gray areas, where sometimes no right or wrong exists and sometimes a single event is caused by a myriad of interwoven issues. The job of a historian, then, is to unravel it.

Needless to say, I am excited for the course, and I wish everyone a great semester!