The Social Science department of Negros Oriental State University announced its new course offering: the AB History program that will start this semester which begins this month of August.
Dr. Justin Jose Bulado, Department chair, said they had been toying with the idea to open the program, and it was through the advice of the accreditors from the Commission on Higher Education during the recent Regional Quality Assessment Team that the Social Science department is eligible to offer History as a course.
“They suggested to change the AB Social Science program to AB History program, as it is more specified,” explained Bulado.
Thus, this year would see the last batch of AB Social Science majors completing the degree.
Bulado also explained that the Social Science Department will then have two programs: AB General and AB History. “We plan to open two more programs: AB Sociology and AB Political Science when we have enough qualified faculty members.”
To be able to open a specialized program, the department must have at least three qualified faculty members (at least with Master’s degrees) specializing in the respective fields.
The AB History program will have Dr. Bulado as faculty, including a regular faculty, and three part-timer lecturers. Four more part-timer lecturers are currently finishing their graduate degrees to join the faculty roster.
The AB History program will be accepting a maximum of 50 students this semester. Ideally, the enrollees are expected to have focused on the Humanities & Social Sciences (HumSS) strand in senior high school. A bridging program is also being offered. Interested students will go through an essay examination and an interview.
“All we need are curious students who ask the right questions because in History, it’s not only finding answers but getting [to] the bottom of it, and finding the truth about it,” said Bulado, who qualified that the Department is after the quality of students, and not quantity.
The AB History program offers a wide range of courses connected to History. They will be focusing on four major branches: Philippine History, Southeast Asian History, Western Civilization, and American History. History students are also required to take up Spanish “since historically, the Philippines was under Spanish reign for more than three centuries, and if they decide to do research during the Spanish occupation in the country, they would need at least a background in the language.”
“It is important for [the students] to have some foundation in History because right now, people are discrediting historians as people who are just talking about the past without evidences but when we talk about the study of history as an academic discipline, it’s actually quite rigorous,” said Dr. Bulado. He said there are methods in writing history “so we have to teach them how to write proper history, how to weigh in, and counter-check the veracity of evidences, and the different theories in History,” he added.
The opening of AB History is quite timely due to the current issues happening in our country and the world. Dr. Bulado advised when one decides to study history: 1) Do not easily believe in what you see online and in social media; 2) Do your research, and be careful where you get your sources (ensure that these are relevant and credible ones); and 3) Listen to experts on history and those who specialize in that field, and not just celebrities, vloggers, and “instructors” who do not specialize in the field.
For interested applicants, enrollment is going on at NORSU Main Campus. Information can be found on their Facebook Page, “NORSU Social Science Department” or they can send an email to socscideptmain@norsu.edu.ph
“When we look at History, we look at the narrative, we look at the meaning and its essence, and when we understand the meaning and essence, we would understand why we are like this today,” Dr. Bulado said. (MFB)
